big smiles

for uncle mike and aunt carrie...thanks guys!
we love you too!

hazel being hazel

this is a good example of hazel's personality. the white tile represents her bedroom. the brown tile represents the dining room. she is not allowed to come out of her bedroom after she is put to bed. so she inches herself up to the line and sits there, cries there, lays there. last night she fell asleep there...but we are catching it on photo that she is "indeed" across the line! :D just kidding...but the poor thing slept here until about 11pm...then she went back in her bed. you can only protest soooo long! :D

Laris Aseri Hotel Pool

3 families, ours included, enjoyed the first day of spring break at our local pool. it's a great resort here in town and only costs $1.50 to go swim for the day :D and we purchased a swim cap here for gavin so hopefully now with the ear plugs and cap...we can all enjoy a swim without an ear infection afterwards :D yeah for that cuz our family has missed the water!

posers

it was misting...not truly raining yet...the 3 wanted to get "all soakin' wet" but the jungle rains never did come yesterday...it's kind of funny here...culturally it's much worse to be standing out in this "mist" than actually standing in the pouring rain...if greg is to play soccer and it's misting...they might just call off the game...but if it's raining so hard you can hardly see...they keep playing...and this hard rain usually happens every tuesday when he plays...

our last meal for 6 months

we had the Horlings over for our last times together for 6 months...they are headed back to grand rapids, MI to spend time on furlough (they have almost arrived back in the states???)

painted palms

we are starting to cover more of our walls with murals...this is our bathroom palm tree...it's a hallway really between the kitchen and the boys room...that has a sink and counter...and a silly gavin who couldn't resist making faces at me...this one is all greg...

batik

this is our areas traditional colors...browns, yellows, oranges, white and black and a little blue...every island (or people group) has their own colors for their batik...

green...

we were on the porch yesterday waiting for the rain to come and noticed how bright this plant was and the smell in the air was like that smell in Iowa just before it rains...nice and clean! we usually don't have that smell along with the rain here so it was really refreshing...

Sate

our pimbantu was cooking sate...chicken on a stick...and it became the attraction of the afternoon for about an hour or so...a tiny little grill with charcoal and bensin...then we eat with peanut sauce...oh so good!

gavin

paul

hazel

hotwheels

the kids have two new little tracks...one has a dinosaur that hides a car and after the fast car comes by...the one hiding in the mouth of the dinosaur comes along behind...kind of like those police car chases we so miss in LA...and then the other one does the famous loop and flying of the car. once again...good times!

iguana

we were taking a break at the school pavillion and we looked up and saw this big green guy. i wasn't able to get too close before he ran up the tree. then he was even harder to spot on the tree cuz he is the same color as the leaves. but just had to show you one more impressive little jungle guy.

Work day at the International School

last friday was a good outreach day at the school. h.s. kids went to Malang...an area of 99% cousin and were able to witness and be in with a school there. they also went to Jogya and had a good day of cleaning up a big yard...pulling weeds all day :D and some stayed in Salatiga and painted a retirement house. while others even stayed at the school and hosted "compassion international" and this is where we came in. i helped with the H.S. and greg helped with the Jr. Highers. we taught them english in the morning and then played games in the afternoon. the whole day and weekend was successful for all involved and i am so encouraged that the school is able to do things like this now. when we were here before this sort of thing was not allowed. compassion international has 170 kids here in Salatiga. we had a good time getting to know each other by playing a lot of english games and trying to talk in small groups and understanding their world a little bit more. all who came this day were believers.

the new fad

here is our neighbor boy sporting the new fad for the month. the boys make these stilts out of bamboo and then walk around on them...sometimes getting good at just one stilt too :D good times for everyone who is doing it and for those watching...and of course gavin and paul want them :D

a few random thoughts

paul was being extra naughty to his older brother while playing games on the computer and after many attempts to solve the issue, i resorted to a spanking. instead of spanking him on his bum-bum, i missed and got his lower back. he said to me while crying, "mom, you almost broke my heart!"

i was going to potty train hazel today...the one day deal...but again...she has the big D...so it would not be a pleasant experience for any of us. but i feel bad for her as she doesn't quite know what to do with herself when she feels so bad. if only the neighbors would stop feeding her...i think our problems might be solved...

i know i am getting used to things here when i am just brushing ants off my food, knocking them out of my toothbrush before i brush, and accepting them crawling on the floor (instead of trying to kill all of them). last night i noticed as we sat and talked there was a tile 30cm x 30cm...and on that tile were 3 different sizes of ants. what are they doing???

gavin is excited about a dodgeball tournament that HE INSISTS is happening at school. every day he goes to school KNOWING that today is the day it will begin. i keep waiting myself cuz he is into this...unfortunately, tomorrow is his last day of school. then they get a 10 day spring break. so it won't be happening any time soon. i wish that our lang. school break (going on this week) would happen at the same time as the international school (next week)...it keeps us from going anywhere...but maybe that is ok too...seems we are quite busy the way it is staying right here :D and catching our breath.

we have started to paint a mural in the boys room. it's a jungle and the boys are so excited and not afraid to give their "honest" opinions of our work. gavin said, "mom...the monkey's head is lopsided." or to his dad, "is that ALL you are going to do there?" he is quite the artist critic. but he wakes up every morning in hopes that we have done SOMETHING new on the walls. he loves it...but hazel will come in and exclaim "wow!" jump and turn "woah!" jump and turn "cool!"

today we purchased a parrot clock to go in the boys room. when we lived in america we had to do this same thing and have just now gotten around to installing the old idea again. paul loves to wake at the crack of dawn and here the crack starts about 4:30 am...with the mosque going off. he can't help but get up and want to play....with someone... but we can't help but be annoyed with this. so we are going to give the clock game another try. he can't come out until the bird says 6:30. or like i told him, "you can't come out until you can clearly see the bird." but that is much earlier than 6:30...but much later than 4:30!

we picked out fabric today for little "smoks" to be made for the kids to where at school in greg's art classes. (so they don't get paint on themselves) we picked army looking one for the boys and a pink pasley, glittery one for the girls. i think it will give attitude in the classroom! :D

when the kids from the neighborhood are here to play...they have a routine now to have a drink of water from our "good water tank" just before they leave. after they ask for the water...they go home. this is kind of the custom here when at a party...you wait and when the hostess gives you a little box of "goodies" everyone leaves...immediately... cuz they want to run home and see what is inside cuz it would be rude to open it in front of everyone. so they are used to getting something before they leave...i'm glad they have settled on water for now :D...once in awhile our pimbantu will make some donuts or cookies and they love that...30 donuts gone in less time than i can hand them out! it's fun to have the kids playing games and seeing our kids enjoying it more and more.

since it's rainy season...everything seems a little damp. i wonder if you were sitting by me...if you would think that i smell? i don't feel like i smell but i hope i am not just getting used to "the smells" here...

anything wrong with this picture?

i have to laugh at this one. greg rides this bike around without a seat. the funny part is that he rides like there is still a seat...i tried it and it's so hard and too big of a work out for my little legs! the problem here is that when he bought the bike here, brand new, the model is a little small for his tall body...which most things in the country are for mr. greg...so he just pushed the seat up high...but that made it bend back and eventually broke off...he went again to the bike shop and bought a new, longer post to hold up his seat...the same thing happened! so now he just rides it like this and i think it's pretty halarious! oh...and you might wonder about the towel but that is where we put kids to ride around. without the seat he can only ride with one child and i take the other two on my bike. we will be thankful when we get a car...only one more month to go!

in this photo is a huge,

no, gynormous spider!! and the reason i show you this is because you can't even see him really until you are right up to him and his web! these guys are everywhere and while i know they do good with eating the insects that bite and all...i just can't get over their jungle size! he is looking white in the photo, pretty much smack in the middle (and a little up)

here is a better shot

this guy is bigger than Greg's hand...this was as close as i dared to get and paul wasn't helping as he kept saying "mom! don't! he's going to get you! he is going to jump on you!"...we could see his big ol mouth chewing or gumming or something...a little unnerving for me...but the most disturbing thing for me is that we have seen many many spiders out lately and then one morning we are walking and NONE...they all disappeared! where did they all go? and do they still see me??? i don't like it. but...we just have to keep going...

my prayer group

these are the ladies who hold me up each week here...and thankfully many of you reading this blog. we have grown to be very open in a short amount of time and i am blessed to have them call me a friend! from left to right...Edith, Jewel, Julie, and myself...we just went out to eat last night because Jewel will be going back to the states for 6 months...that means we say good-bye for a time. and Julie will be leaving us for good in Sept. because she will go into the tribe. all of our kids are great friends but i am realizing that everything here is just temporary...we have temporary friends, temporary happiness, temporary sadness, temporary homes...and my good good friend Chrissy reminded me today of Psalm 66...we have temporary pain in life to refine us and make us more like the one we are living for...and so i am just writing this little bit to say that i am so thankful that He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping...He has provided so much and continues to come near the instant i need him and for this i have much to give thanks.