We are back in indo

hey all...
we are back to slow internet and so much more!
i will be writing again???
:D ha ha ha...we'll see!
but i have a new blog cuz we aren't copeland five anymore...we are now COPELAND COMPLETE!

so...
go to http://copelandcomplete.blogspot.com
or just click on the address there in green (i have to say this for my mom who is now on the internet!!! wooo hooo!!! :D)
for more about our lives :D

one of the first family pics of copeland complete :D

the reasons i love being called mom

Baby Ian and those loving him

Copelands + one Hansen

uncle joel

uncle mike and aunt carrie with baby ian

grandma carolyn and grandma linda

uncle eric

grandpa copeland

Some of greg's mural work in bellflower, ca

Family times

Birthday celebrations

March 2009

Brookie painting pinecones with kiddos

We all enjoy the green grass parks

the ocean is a favorite

gavin climbing under the pier

hazel got a pic of gwandma "winda"

Ian Elias Copeland

Everyone- IAN ELIAS COPELAND IS BORN!

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!! Ian is here, as of 2:20 pm, April 24, weighing in at 8 lbs. , he's 20 inches long. He has a good amount of hair, a good sized head (mom is glad she went the C-section route after hearing that) and pretty content so far. The first thing he did when the nurse laid him on the table was to pee all over the place. It caught the nurse by surprise and I had a good laugh. Maybe the beginning of a great sense of humor? He is doing great, and after waiting 5 1/2 hours to finally get to hold him, mom and son are together atlast. The last hour before I left the hospital to come home Martha finally felt a little bit of relief from the constant pain she is in- the med. helps take some of the edge off, but she has been through alot! Sorry there are no photos yet, it is late and I'll get on that tomorrow and post one as soon as I can. . . .thanks so much for all the prayers, the love and little facebook notes sent our way throughout this last little bit, we appreciate it all. That's all for tonight!
Greg

birth days

happy birthday to my dad! he would have been 62
happy birthday to chrissy! a stunning 21???? :D
and it will be a BIRTH day on friday for our little #4! YAY!

we have relocated to a very nice place in seal beach and we are enjoying the area a great deal...the sun has been hot since we moved so we get in on the pool action and the beach every day! life is refreshing...and then life is also coming at us very quickly...little baby #4 has turned into the breach position so i was advised that standing on my head in a pool would work to turn him...so i did...and he did! i KNOW he did cuz his feet remained in my ribs for the entire night. the next day we went swimming again and i could tell he was moving around but didn't expect him to totally flip...but he did. so he is breach again. the dr doesn't really want him to be flipping around any more for fear of getting all tangled up...so we had to weigh the options of having him turned in the hospital (which i hear is very painful) and then being induced right after...or going for a C-section. i don't know why, but C-sections are way scary for me...maybe because all 3 of my births have been prepped for an emergency one? i don't know? but i have never had one...but i couldn't make a decision on what to do...so Greg made it for me. he called it out that there are still lots of tricky parts going for inducing...but with the C-section...it's easy and done and people do it more and more these days and it's less stress on the baby and most likely me...so that is what we are going for. We prayed for peace and we both feel relieved today to say this is what is going to happen:

1:00pm on Friday, April 24, 2009...we will be having another baby! that is weird to even say that we know the timing and all but it's also a relief to make the decision and just pray we don't go in before that. my contractions are still hard and often but not consistant so today i am trying to lay lower and not do as much so that we make it to friday with no big deal.

so now i can say i have had all the ways of labor...no epidural, epidural, and C-section...i can give my opinion on all 3 ways...crazy! so if anyone has good advice on a C-section...let me know...otherwise we would appreciate your prayers as we go into yet ANOTHER transition :D

Gavin my Gavin

What a kid! i can't believe it's been 7 years...that seems like another stage of life he has entered now. he now reads, writes, plays grown-up games with us, takes care of babies and little kids without being asked cuz they love him (maybe he is like his father and will be a pied piper as well???) i love what gavin brings to our family. his character is all his own and he represents sensitivity, structure, commitment, love, sillyness, creativity, adventure, and his inward world is yet unknown to anyone...his brain and emotions run deep inside him and it's mysterious to us. how great to know he brings such things into our family. i love his freckles that come out more and more as we have been playing at parks and at the beach (where he feels most comfortable in the waves). i think his doggie that he has had since his 1st birthday (given by grandpa paul and grandma linda) will stay with him till his wedding day...he holds on to those sensitive things...and even though i am not one to hold onto much...i can appreciate why he does and how he does it. as we wait for our new little addition to come into the world, he asks how i am doing and asks how he can help and wonders what is wrong with me when i grunt and groan to get up into our van...ha ha ha! he cares for people...and...he knows his role as big brother...how to get paul and hazel to do what he wants, how to get them in trouble, how to make them scream, how to trade candy for his benefit...it's so funny to watch! Greg and i are proud of gavin for going through so much the past year+ in indo...it's not easy for him to go through what he does but we are all learning to trust in our God more. i pray that as he grows even more this year that his faith develpes as he grows to know he is a SON to our God and not an orphan just wandering about aimlessly...there is a purpose to math, reading and writing. there is a purpose to learning responsibility and the hard stuff of living overseas... there is a purpose to having fun in life...there is a reason he is the oldest in this family...we praise God for gavin in our family...happy birthday mister gavin...we love you!

too long

i know, i know, i know...
i haven't been keeping up with the blog...mostly cuz i can hardly keep up with my own daily life. but nonetheless...i have heard from MANY of you that you want updates so you know we haven't fallen off the grid here in good ol bellflower, CA

no baby as of Easter sunday night :D...still waiting...
the first dr...my main one...told me he thinks i am earlier than we thought and wants to induce on the 24th of april...trying to wait for baby to be ready INCASE the 24th is early and yet trying not to wait too long in case he is right. he can't prove his theory without a test and the test normally starts labor...so we wait...on God...and HIS perfect timing...right? :D but i am definately ready to go!

we have been active and busy out most nights visiting friends and catching up with stories of life. during the day greg has been super busy with work and we praise God for the work but now he needs to slow down and we are thinking 3 days a week will work good. he has quite a few murals lined up and has already done one...he loves that! i am trying to keep 3 kids busy and happy at the same time while also homeschooling gavin. this has been a huge challenge for me...i knew it wasn't going to be easy...but it's way harder than i thought it would be! i am just not that structured of a person...but i have heard of this new thing called "unschooling" and i think that is what we do in our lives...learn without curriculum...but thankfully i have a friend who is helping me and gavin out in a most huge way! she takes him every wednesday morning and does a bit of schooling with him and then gives me "lesson plans" for the week...so that it's not so overwhelming for me :D what a gift she has and i am in debt to her (pamela) for this blessing in my life! and gavin loves going to her as well...cuz she is a "REAL" teacher...i'm his "MOM" :/

the kids still love it here and often say they don't want to return to indo...hmm...what to think about that? i don't know? we have so much we have yet to accomplish that it's not yet time to think of going back...so i think we have time to cross that bridge at a later date. but you can pray for them as they process america, indonesia, friends, new baby...and pray for us to have wisdom in helping them along the way...

juggling...i feel we are juggling a lot of balls right now...

i have some friends here who are very precious to me and it's been sooo sooo sooo great to have them around to look in their faces and talk and laugh and cry and live life again...but i am learning that writing has become my main form of communication...one in which i just am not doing right now...so i think i better start again! ha!

so tomorrow i will write the delayed birthday blessing of gavin...only 2 weeks late!
and we will do homeschooling...
and help greg recover from a small surgery he had this weekend...one in which will aid in us NOT having more than 4 children... :D i have taken extra good care of him so that he recovers as fast as possible in case i should go into labor! and just be able to help with the kiddos again!
we will go to the library and check out more books...return some books...get some movies and return some movies
greg will go and check out a job and we will research for a mural he is doing next week
i have two loads of laundry
3 meals to fix
deal with hazel who has a fever...at least she did today
and 3 kids who will be coming off the sugar high of Easter candy...
but i will get to this blog tomorrow...i promise :D

Jet Leg

so...we haven't slept so much since we left indo...i am thinking...oh...this is how it's going to be with a new little baby too! greg and i went to our dr. appointment today and for some reason it hit both of us that in about 2 months we are going to have a little baby! the time has gone fast...i guess? but the dr. was so interested in our time in indo...he wanted to talk about that more than the pregnancy and i wanted some answers! but he was not concerned with where i am now. he says having more contractions are normal with each child and with the stress we were under, it's just no doubt that brought on more. he says to monitor and call him if it gets to be more than 5 an hr...with consistancy. so all in all it was a very quick talk on my life the past 6 mo but i am relieved to know that he isn't so concerned...and he didn't put me on bed rest or anything...i just need to rest when my body says so. and i think my body knows the stress of the matter of getting here is over so it has calmed down but my body is all weirded out with the new time zone...along with everyone! it's 1 am and we have all been up since 11pm. eating and playing and reading and playing hide and seek. i feel good right now...but during the day...we are all like zombies trying to stay awake. yesterday we went to bed at 5 am and had to get up at 6:30 am for the dr appointment. greg and i said we were just going to keep moving till 6pm...we barely made it...hazel went in and put herself to sleep about 10 min before our goal. we all slept 5 hrs and somehow our bodies say "get up!"...and we do try to just lay there and sleep but we are wide awake. hungry! and the uncles gave the kids a PS2 for their birthdays so this keeps everyone occupied as well...and quiet for grandma and grandpa. anyway...just a little update as to what is happening...we have so many good friends here bringing us warm clothes to wear and waiting for us to get over this groggy state so we can be alive again. it's good to be back where i feel comfortable and just KNOW what to expect...but everything seems very open and spread out and big and yeah...definately some reverse culture shock going on. i'm excited for when the sun comes up...we are going to TARGET!

On the other side!

hey you all! we made it! God gave us so much encouragement to keep going with the whole trip! we are here in LA and it's pretty surreal but we are here all the same and only the last five hours of the last flight were more uncomfortable with contractions. i am just updating this so you all know cuz i KNOW there have been MANY praying and that is what brought us through...faithfulness and persistance to our God...he has taught me so much through this whole pregnancy...it's good to be in amercia...the kids are already in culture shock with drinking fountains, automatic doors and toilets flushing, not too many motorcycles on the freeways and getting a taste of a malt...its' all good and we love america! good night!

T - 22 hours

ok! so we are down to the hour count! we plan to make it through the whole way to LA. thank you so much for praying...there won't be another update until we are on the other side...so stay tuned but we will let you know asap! love you to all!

Happy Birthday Paul

oh what a kid! he comes in to our room at 5am asking if it's light enough for it to be his birthday yet. and so i say "happy birthday paul" while still sleeping and he jumps up and wants to party! he wants to decorate and get the plans going for the party today and have people over all day and come on mom...why aren't you already up!? thankfully miss ashley came over at 6:30am to wish a happy birthday (and goodbye) to us so he had a visitor already! he has to wait until 1 to have his party...19 friends will all go and play at a play place downtown...they will eat a soccer cake (not made by me...so very sad for me...but bed rest keeps one down) and drink kool-aid. it's going to be a great party in paul's mind cuz they have a trampoline...and he has tricks!

paul is right now sitting in a cardboard box, poking holes in it with hazel on the outside...all is well. he is such a great kid and we love him so! i can't believe he is five already...the days go too fast and he is asking so much of life already...he expects grand things from it and has passion for everything he does...whether he is happy or mad...you don't question cuz it's written all over his face. he loves to laugh and make others laugh...he is quite smart...and asks a lot of deep questions. he is into bugs, cars, drawing, Ben 10, super man, spiderman, batman, (and even enjoys a good barbie movie, computer games, skateboards, skitters, scooters, bikes, and the like...he has a bigger social schedule than anyone in our family and makes instant friends with any age. people around town know paul and like to call out his name when we are out. he does get embarrassed about this but i think he really likes it. his mouth is always going with some noise coming out...he will maybe be a sound effects guy? or a drama king? or a great dad! i think he will LOVE school and be excited for each new subject and getting to be like big brother gavin. right now he is annoyed with a little sister who wants to be just like him and is pretty much a parrot for him. he doesn't understand he is already a leader...and he has followers who love him.
we are happy to have paul in our family to keep us on the lighter side of life. he is so excited to get to america to go to chuckie cheezes...good times! we love paul and are blessed by him daily. happy birthday bud...high 5 for 5 fingers!

3 more days

just a little update for those interested...thanks so much for your prayers and notes already!
still having to do this bedrest thing. i tested the waters and tried to do little things but that backfired pretty good and so i MUST lay. ;(
we have been doing our best to research meds to take on the plane to stop contractions, seems everything has pretty bad side effects. please pray that something comes up very soon that will just "WORK" and it's not so scary. i don't like meds to begin with!
but we went to the dr last night and found i am only 1cm so that confirms in our minds that i can indeed get on those planes unless God closes the doors. we have done what we know and most of what we KNOW is that He is in control and this is why we follow Him in the first place...to put all trust IN HIM and not to think we can handle it ourselves. i have been gossiping the gospel to myself all day cuz i want the control on this one since i figure this is one of the bigger decisions we have had to make. (to get on the plane or not to even start) the idea that we are being taken care of is totally breathtaking...and sometimes hard to grasp but slowly slowly i am learning i am so proud to want to do it all myself! i am a daughter, having a son to a King...it doesn't get much better than that. so help us rest in that peace by praying us through and we'll let you know just as fast as we can that we arrived safely.

8 more days

so i am going to write to update everyone at the same time since i am not SUPPOSE to up.
one week ago i started having contractions...but as there was much to do and i knew this was normal braxton hicks...i kept going with day. by the end of the day they were pretty strong and within minutes of each other. so the OB nurse for our school sent us into the hospital to see if i could be monitored. Praise the Lord they recently acquired a monitoring machine so i was able to get some meds to relax everything and be hooked up to the machine. the contractions stopped within 10 min and i had no more for the hr i laid there.
so the next day i had more contractions and everyone decided i should take it easy. so i rested for the day and went out to dinner with many friends that night but then pain started under my belly and lasted all night. i didn't sleep. the next day i rested again and contacted who i knew could help. my dr in the states can only really reply with "i recommend you not fly" for legal reasons i suppose...and most here were saying the would not recommend it either. so we all decided i would go on bed rest until i was stable. and i also did a urine culture to see if there was any infection making all this happen...but no...only a slightly elivated white blood count...but we decided to go on an antibiotic to see if that could be the cause. and it has seemed to help! the spazms have gone way down and the contractions only go when i am standing. the pain has been reduced by 80% and i feel fine when i am laying down now...so i guess it makes it harder to remain laying down :/ but i do lay as much as humanly possible for me at this time...we leave in 8 days. there is still a lot to be done and while friends are helping with certain things...there are things that have to be done by either greg or i...we are doing our best to deligate and the community here is great to lend hands to help! i had planned to lead a women's retreat this weekend but in the end...i am not there...i handed it over to another lady who will do it for me. thank goodness i have a helper too! this whole pregnancy would look so much different if i didn't have her! she at least feeds the family and helps me not to have to get up every time they need something! so anyway...long story! after one week i am much better but i am writing all this so that you can pray better for us...we leave Feb 27 at 3pm california time and we arrive in LAX Feb 28 7pm...so we need a good amount of prayer in that 28 hr period...i really don't want to be walking off the plane with a baby! i am more and more confident that things are going to be just fine... the indo dr. here gave me the same med i had that night of the contractions and told me to take one before i get on the plane and then every 6-8 hrs after until i get to LA...and that seemed to work for me very well and didn't affect my very active little baby boy inside! so we will pray that we get on the planes we need to and God will stop anything we aren't suppose to do. He knows this plan and so i trust we are in the best care possible. you can also pray for mr. greg...he is so stressed with all this, getting his school work done for the subs to take over, getting the things done that i can not, the stress knowing that i am on bedrest, he has an ingrown toenail...just to slow him down with pain! we are going to be grateful to land on the other side of the world here next week! the kids are very excited and can't wait to get there...we have 4 birthday parties from today until we leave and one of them is Paul's...he will be five already!

so there is our life from the last week...sorry for the many words...but we appreciate the prayers!

peace and love
martha

Gavin learns about Germany

This past month was international month for the elementary. because there are so many kids from around the world, each class picks a country to learn about and then on the last day they invite all the parents and other students to come and travel the world. this year gavin has a many from around the world in his class of 12. some from america, holland, germany, indonesia, korea, and denmark. this year they picked germany for their class to learn about and here are some shots of the boys making food from germany.

if you ask gavin about germany, he will tell you quite a bit of information. he learned about WWII and what happened and who helped the Jews. He learned about how poor people were that they had never even tasted a banana but had only seen pictures. He knows the black forest isn't really black but dark green. he knows why castles were built high on the hills. He even knows some german lingo. it's great they can be exposed to other countries from people who actually live there!
other countries they learned from the K-6 were Dessert countries, India, Costa Rica, and Thiland. Paul and Hazel were given passports to travel around with and get stamped at each country. it was a great creative day :D

Lizard found

this morning when i dropped off greg and gavin at school, paul decided to put on his cowboy boots that had already been in the car overnight. he got on the boot and screamed and threw it off...out came the big lizard onto the passenger seat and hazel, paul and i were all screaming! luckily we were still parked and not on the go! greg came back to rescue us but even he didnt' want to be surprised by the lizard who had now crawled under the floor mat. about 2 min later greg found it and got it out of the car. the poor thing ran to a drain probably suffering greatly after spending the night in paul's shoe! (chrissy, you can sleep at night now...there are no known animals in the car)

27 more days

till we reach LA!

Princess Parties

have you ever been to one? today was my first! hazel and elleah (hazel's friend who has almost the same birthday as her) had their 3 yr. old princess party this afternoon...combined. we had 9 little girls showed up in their party dresses ready to be pampered. we did hair (hazel had hers done 3 times and took it out each time saying "actually, i don't want that.") we did nails. we did toes. we did make up. we did body jewels. we did lipstick (i have to say this one for elleah cuz she constantly put lipstick on for the 2 hours we were there). we did dress up (hazel changed outfits 3 times...are we seeing a pattern here?) the girls were primped and princessed...they felt and acted like it! we played a game, and had a story told to them by miss ashely. then we decorated cupcakes and i made a special barbie ice cream cake. "what?" you might say! yeah...i wasn't thinking...ice cream cake in Indonesia? the two don't mix...i got the form ok...but it melted pretty fast...so i stuck it in the freezer overnight...the next day i took it out to frost. i was proud of the frosting that uncle eric had sent especially for this occasion from america...but the frosting didn't like us! i began to put on the pink icing...trying to make it look like a dress of a barbie (and then later i would put the barbie in the middle) but i could see right away this wasn't going to work! the ice cream was melting, the frosting was drooping, the whole thing was becoming a huge mess...so i stuck it in the freezer for 5 min...opened, and the little bit i had done was NOT what my eye was looking for! so i stood in the freezer and attempted to spread the frosting little by little...having to keep closing the freezer every min. or so...wait 5 and then go again. it was torturous... but in the end barbie wore her dress and all the little princesses ooohhh'd and awwww'd and it was successful...but i learned my lesson...even on a colder day in Indo...we don't frost ice cream! (cuz it never get's that cold) after they ate, all the little ladies went outside to play on the play structure...it looked pretty funny...all the color and fluff out there...pretty soon we heard a brawl. hazel had taken the body jewel off of hasten's arm and hasten was willing to fight for it back! so, we watched and the two of them eventually made up when hazel asked miss ashley for her jewels and then returned to hasten with jewel's AND a ribbon from the decorations...friends again! so easy. i must say this party was much more quiet than any of the boys parties i have had (besides the few screams of excitement)...will this continue to be this way? the brothers thought it was VERY unfair they did not get to attend the all girl event...but we did save them some frosting and cake and ice cream cuz they didnt' like the idea of getting all princessed up...but all that mattered was that we saved them the frosting! (on a side note paul and i came home real quick before the party started to grab a few things i had forgotten...and we found a large lizard in the house...paul HAD to catch this lizard for all the boys (gavin and elleah's two brothers) back at elleah's house...HAD TO MOM! so i tried to wait patiently and a little timid as i was scared of it too and didn't want it in my house...after several attempts and me hurrying him along...he truimphed with little giggles and his cowboys boots to show the friends and brother...but oops! he lost it in the car as he was showing the boys! uh oh! oh fun days...gotta love it! but the lizard was never seen again...does this mean...it's still in the car? oh i know Chrissy would just scream and faint!) the day ended very well and hazel had a great time...even though she ended up looking more like Cindy Laper (spelling help?) than any princess i have seen... but then again...she is "her own princess" as she likes to say :D

Hazel is officially 3!

It's amazing to me that our kids are this old...especially Hazel. How does it happen so fast? I guess when life goes at full speed...it's bound to happen faster! She is very proud to be 3. our big goal was to have her going potty all by herself...she has been trained for almost a year now but she insisted on people helping her to the potty and being with her while she went. she COULD do it by herself, as she would at other friends' houses, but i guess that is the part of girls want company in the bathroom? i don't know? but for what ever reason turning 3 was the magic day (cuz we had been talking it up) and now she climbs up all by herself and has yet to fall in all by herself! one time this week i did help her get to the toilet quickly as she was getting ready for a bath and had not realized she had to go so bad as she pulled her clothes off...she replied a little frustrated after i sat her down, "what? now i am 2 again?" no no hazel...you are seriously 3!
she brings a lot of joy to our lives and a lot of patience practice. girls are just very different than boys and she keeps us on our toes with more creativity in this journey of parenting. we enjoy her hugs and her soft touches to our faces. her attention to detail. and all her questions and comments! greg loves it when she helps him shave. i like to have someone to do my hair and make-up with. she loves to be held or be in the middle. she takes care of her babies and sings to them when no one is looking. playing dress up and grocery store is a favorite past time...along with picking on her brothers. she knows just how to push their buttons or give them a nudge as she walks by to show them "who is boss"...if we can all just play her game and keep her thinking she is boss...life is grand! paul in turn, loves to put her in her place. she is strong in all her personality strengths and she knows where she is going in life. she is a favorite among her aunts and uncles here in Indonesia...it's great to know she is loved world wide too :D we can't wait to go back to LA so she meet everyone again and speak to them this time :D...the girl doesn't stop talking most of the day...one can even hear her talking to imaginary friends and gavin has the hardest time with this..."why does she do that?" he askes. hazel is a blessing to anyone she is around and we are grateful she is in our family to help us grow and love better. Happy 3rd Birthday Hazel Bazil

Family photos

Martha's Grandpa Emmert...in Italy WWII

Greg and Eric...in Bellflower 2007...enough said

Martha's Dad...Paul taking wheat from a Colorado field in 1981

paul sayings

paul asks a lot of questions.

he asked, "Who made God?"

and he said, "When God makes a turkey, he stuffs it with cheese."

he said, "my dad has the biggest muscles of anybody i know. you can see his bone."

life in 2009

it's great to be able to tell you that we are having another BOY! fun fun fun! hazel seems to be in denial about it though and will insist she is having a "stisster" NOT a "brudder" but i think she will love on the little guy anyway! paul and gavin both said they knew it was boy and it seems we have been calling him a "he" for some time now. (except for hazel) we do have names we like...but we are keeping them on the downlow this time :D but gavin and paul want to name him after their favorite cartoon...

and now for a few of paul's quotes

they kids were climbing around on an old abandoned building and they wanted me to join them. i said i better not cuz i had to protect the baby. paul says, "why?" and i said, "cuz i am the mom and that is what mom's have to do with their kids...keep them safe" and paul says, "why? you think you are having baby Jesus or something?" and i said, "no...." wondering where this was coming from but he went on to ask a lot of questions about Mary being Jesus mom. this christmas we all watched the movie "the nativity" so they really got into it i guess.

another time i was doing laundry and this is always the time paul likes to askes questions. he said "mom, we have to go to america to have this baby so it isn't indonesian right?" and i said, "well, this baby will be a copeland no matter where he is born." and then he clairified..."but if he was born here, he would have brown skin right?"

we were having a particularly hard day with cultural things here and by the end of the day we were both pretty frustrated with what to do. paul came in with a new found catepillar. it was as big as a man's middle finger and bright green...like the hungry little catepillar. his eyes though were the funniest thing and i wish we could download our pictures of it...but it looked like someone had drawn cartoon eyes on him...they were big and droopy and just halarious. i told greg this must be God's way of telling us to just laugh off this cultural stuff and that He sees us....everything's gonna be alright.

hazel and gavin crack us up too. they enjoy picking on each other just as any normal siblings would but i think hazel tends to have the upper hand...and the higher pitched scream. if it weren't for our kids...we wouldn't have near as good a time in life!

gavin has entered into a new stage of life...losing teeth! he lost his first one while eating an apple. it kind of freaked him out a bit but he was pretty happy to wake up and find Rp. 9,000 under his pillow in change. that would be coins in Rp. 100 and 200! so it seems like a gold mine for him but it's acutally about 80 cents!

we are counting down the days till we return to LA... just 42 more days!

i am officially in month 6 now and this little guy likes to sit in my ribs like gavin did. i have to fight him. my sickness has calmed down but not disappeared...and i am exhausted most days but continue to keep moving. we have much to do before we go. life just keeps on the fast track.

Christmas Eve Quote

Christmas gave us some great times with the kids! they said so many funny things and reacted to each gift they got with great drama and joy! halarious and fun for us parents! on Christmas Eve we went to friends house and had the whole turkey meal and it was so nice. on the way home, paul said, "oh my goodness! i have waited sssssssooooo long for Christmas and it's HERE! i can't believe it's here!!!! mom, dad! Christmas is in my heart!!!!!!!!!"

A good shot of the Mt. (volcano) around Salatiga

Mr. Greg AKA studmuffin

Dream and Kelsy, two students and good babysitters for us!

and little Hazel...pretending to be shy