mr. caterpillar?

yeah...we are still waiting...how long? the leaves are all dry and i wonder if he is still alive???

hard at work

these kids...i tell you...they just love to work and study! (at playing :D) you can see that paul is face painted to look like spiderman...this was the day greg and i painted faces on the kids at the school and he didn't EVER want to wash his off :D ...they are making...???? something very important! good times hammering with your toes so close to the nail paul!

an inside shot

this was taken by hazel and i thought..."oh...maybe people would want to see a shot from the inside of our house?" this is sitting at our computer desk in our office looking out to the dining room. we keep pictures of you friends and family on our doors so we see you everyday... i will try to put some more "inside shots" on here in the next few days. i know my mom has been asking :D sorry to delay those but the inside is soooo daily to us

Ladies

the ladies from our org went out for a 4 day retreat and had some great times together. we were given the pleasures of eating amazing food, talking in full complete sentences (in english) and without children to interrupt, and sleep all night long in air conditioning! we had some relaxation mixed with spiritual deepening...so all in all...it was truly a "retreat" and i discovered i am very blessed to have so much wisdom to glean from and grow with.

Martha teaching how to make earrings

yeah...i'm not so crafty but ladies really enjoy learning how to make earrings...or anting-anting as you would say in Indonesian. everyone is surprised at how easy it is! it's all good!

Field Days at school

with it being April, Gavin has had a lot of activity at school.
Field day with the entire school. it's a FREE day for the students and an extra hard day for the teachers but a whole lot of fun :D there are maybe 10 teams and there is almost one student in every grade on each team. Gavin was carried around the whole day on Mr. Jay's shoulders and then when it came to track and field day i asked Mr. Jay if Gavin would have to run his own races? :D he did and it was good competition! he came first in the frizbee throw...my favorite part was the long jump...most of the kinders ran, stopped and hopped. after 3 or 4 jumps and watching others...they caught on pretty quick. then he had a field trip...and paul and i got to go along with :D we went to the train station and road a little train through what seemed to be national geographic! it was amazing all the things we passed and if we stuck our hands out we could touch it all. men were digging up mud that would be bottled and shipped to places to put on people's bodies all over the world. men were fishing, herding ducks, plowing the rice patties with cows, smoking, carrying huge loads on their backs, talking with neighbors about the load of foreigners in the train and the women were doing a lot of laundry! it was a great trip and then afterwards they got to climb on a bunch of old engines that were parked there cuz the train no longer runs through there. good times this mr. gavin has had!

Miss "I DON'T WANT TO"

we knew that she was a loud child when she was born. we knew that she liked the sound of her own scream since she was born. we DIDN'T know that in all that screaming she was just trying to tell us "I DON"T WANT TO!" cuz now that she talks...it's all she says :D so we have to be very creative in how we ask her to do things and how we suggest things. even when she obviously has to go to the toilet, it has to be her idea to go. so we don't ask otherwise she waits for the last second! i don't know who she gets this from????

diligent children

we have hard working children. they are studying all day long and we can hardly tear them away from their studies. (i wish i could be more like them :D)

Jan (yon) and Greg

this is Edith's husband, Jan (showing how tight his shirt is)...he is also a good friend...and so edith and i thought that since they are such good friends...they should enjoy wearing the same shirts...and they got into it. they wanted the same drink, the same pizza, the same the same the same! it's good to have "the same" in foreign places :D

so much going on

we have had a busy time on our hands here lately. does that mean it's spring? we can't tell any difference in the weather other than it's not raining EVERY day :D. we have had a lot of workers at our house again.
+hazel had a bed made that has stairs up to it and she can play underneath...ohhh soo big!
+the kids had a long table and benches made to hold them while they draw and eat with friends and what not...then we are painting them all fun...so it's good! then we had little step stools made i am going to go check out a local furniture factory here and see if he would be interested in started some painted furniture and then we could teach and employ those who need better work? if anyone knows or needs this kind of thing stateside...let me know :D. this guy already has a lot of connections...it's just a matter of him wanting to take us on :D
+we are making our driveway cuz we reached the 6 month mark and we can get a car! but friends in our org are going to be stateside for 6 months...maybe a year...so we can borrow their car until they return. we just have to wait till may 20 to get it...no problem! even our fence is being painted and we are adding a lot of plants around...feels very good to be getting these things done! and the fence in our front yard is pretty cool...i have to take a picture when it's done.
+school had a fun day last week where we painted faces on the kids and next week is an elementary track and field day...i'm excited to see Gavin race for that!
+we end unit 4 this week in lang...so that mean we get out of school on thursday and friday! and then we start unit 5 on monday again. i am still not a very good lang. learner but somehow i am able to communicate :D this week i will be teaching about 20+ ladies how to make earrings in our neighborhood...they are all so excited...so i hope my lang. holds up for that :D they are calling me "Guru Marta" which means "teacher Martha"
+then i also hope to meet with a group of prostitutes that i met with back 7-8 years ago. i used to help teach them art to make for money instead of being on the streets. i don't know if it will work this week, but hopefully by next week! that is exciting for me cuz they want someone to help them learn English...I KNOW English...:D hopefully i can help again :D
+the kids have been pretty sick all week. fever, bad coughs, throw up, the big D...now they just have bad coughs...hazel might still be sick and still sound the worst...but she rests the least...so naturally she will take longer...poor girl is trying to learn potty training as well...she is doing great though! no diapers back on her anymore!
+Greg has been really improving in his lang. and has long conversations with almost anyone. i am glad i married him...he can get us through anything! He is also growing so much with His relationship with God right now...it's a bursting time for him where he is seeking and finding in a way he has never known God before. we are blessed to know a God who cares so much for our details in life...and HE never gives up on us!
+i too have been having a lot of exciting things going on in my relationship with God. He is showing me so much in picture form that i will treasure it always...and i have been asked to give my testimony to the school here before it ends in 5 weeks. i did that 7-8 years ago as well and i think about what i talked about then...in comparison to what i have to ADD to it now....and it's amazing how far God has brought me in that time. i too am blessed here.

and while i can list all the amazing things going on...somehow even after 6 months...it remains hard to be here. somehow we will always be foreigners in this land and we will always long for the road where people can at least understand what is coming out of our mouths. where people understand why i doctor my children the way i do. where i can sit with an old friend face to face. where i don't get stared at for walking down the street. where i can do things like shopping, getting from point A to point B, seeing a Dr. and getting all projects done quickly and efficiently. i guess culture stresses will always be here and sometimes i will have a great attitude about it and sometimes i will have a rotten attitude about it. lately...it's been getting rotten again...but I know we are here for bigger reasons than Culture Barriers...there are TREASURES to be found in our own hearts as well...so please keep praying for our attitudes to see the treasures.

i know i haven't been keeping up with the blog as good but i will keep trying...thanks for reading!

Potty Party Day for Hazel!

"mom, there's a cecuk on the wall. mom...look..." anything else to talk about instead of what is going on...
"can i have some more grapefruit?" (actually jeruk bali...a HUGE sweet grapefruit) she just gets hungry after sitting there for so long...chit chatting

this is all just too much fun!

well...it wasn't like gavin's day...i followed the book (potty training in less than a day) to a tee (and he has hardly had an accident since!)...then with paul...i didn't so much but still got the idea across but he had already learned from his brother. (he had accidents cuz gavin wouldn't stop playing to "let him go to the bathroom" so he just continued in his play and would change his pants when it was more convenient) now hazel has figured this all out on her own and didn't need to be taught...or so she thought! (her brothers have enlightened her on the bathroom world and she mourned the fact that she isn't made like them but seems to get along fine now.) she would not do the 'practicing' and only told the doll to go "pee" and that was over for teaching the doll. she wasn't going to have it. so she then got on the pot and went herself. she didn't need this instruction! so we were all happy! we went on with the day and tried to just play it her way and she had a few accidents but she doesn't like them so i don't think it will be a rough road for her. she just takes FOREVER sitting on the pot...she actually likes it. but she doesn't really like the thought of #2 because she kept saying "but it will smell stinky!" and i wondered why this mattered now? she has only been 'sitting' in her stink for the past 2 years! but she did come through a couple of times already and had to run as soon as she was done! funny girl! but i am rejoicing cuz i have no more diapers to contend with! we made it!

Before and After shots

Before in her big ol droopy diaper that the neighbors could never understand. they were always telling me she needed it changed. they don't use diapers...they use nothing but the clothes they wear. we think it's gross yeah? but they think we are gross for letting our kids walk around with it attached to their bodies...



but here she is in her all her panty glory! she has such a hard time deciding "which one" she will wear...maybe that is why she is having accidents...just to pick out another pair!!!

mr. caterpillar

well...we said we hoped that he would make a cocoon...and he must have heard us! the next morning we woke up and couldn't find him in the bug box...he had, overnight, made his cocoon! greg caught him just in time...now we just have to wait...how long? the very hungry caterpillar had to wait for 2 weeks...

dad and daughter naptime

after a half days work, there is only one thing to do....so they can make it for the rest of the day. normally it's just hazel who takes a nap but if dad is the one to put her down...it usually turns out this way...so irresistible!

the very hungry catapillar

yes...greg has found him! we are so lucky to have a dad with great eyes for bugs! i don't know if you can really get a sense of his size by these photos but he is pretty fat and big! we are going to see if we can't see him make a cocoon and become a beautiful butterfly! later on him...

Adults helping at Gavin's party

Gavin's party wouldn't be complete without an 'auntie' around :D Miss Ashley loves to come and play and be a part of our lives and we love her being around as well :D it's nice to have people who are willing to step into roles that our kids are missing so much...
Greg was trying to give instructions on how to play "dodge ball" only he didn't know they had all just had a week of playing it at school and loved it so much that they wanted to have a tournament...
so instead of getting a lot of talking done...he had to go after the boys...unfortunately i cannot post those pictures...ha ha ha...just kidding...there just aren't any...its was so funny i missed it with the camera

Gavin's party part TIGA

so many times i look at this kid and i can't get over that he is as old as he is. it was just yesterday that i was sitting at home trying to figure out how to nurse, how to sleep, how to keep this little guy smiling all the time and how to take a shower without waking him up! oh the good times of being a new parent...and somehow we are parents of a 6 year old boy! now i am trying to figure out his mind and heart and help him understand the world he lives. he seems to understand so much but he keeps his thoughts to himself most of the time. his sensitive heart helps him have compassion and empathy for people. he loves to challenge himself and others to be 'doing' all the time and it's hard to keep up with him. the art he creates is framed and on our walls...we ar proud of him! recently, he is getting out more in the community with riding his bike. all the time he is growing up and i love to watch and be apart of this...only it's all going so fast for me...we love Gavin and how he ventures out to try all the new things coming his way. What an awesome big brother he is as well...always looking out for Paul and Hazel...sometimes too much :D
circles have been made by the 100's here in our driveway! i think i would get dizzy!
under the stairs...we made a little doghouse of sorts under our back stairs...but so far the kids like it more than the dogs...

Gavin's party part DUA

here is the gang(missing the girl)...all painted up...some wanted to do themselves so we have a big display of fun on their faces...
Gavin getting his power rangers pinata...they all got a turn...and then some...greg and i have to figure out a way to not make them so strong but yet hold a lot of candy????
it's so hard to be the little 4 year old at a 6 year old party. his bag wasn't near as full as he wanted it to be of the candy from the pinata cuz he bumped his head. and gavin's little friends had pity on paul and most all of them put one piece of candy in his bag...how sweet!
sorry i did this backwards but i am trying to add more than one picture at a time to one post. the connection is sooo slow that i don't know if it will happen. but these shots are just for seeing a little more of the day before you see the beginning :D we had a good time and the kids were great! i think the parties get easier as the kids get older. but now we are done with birthday parties for awhile...it's fun to have them all close together but now we have to wait so long for Hazel's to come around again! thank you all for helping us celebrate by sending little blessings...it's fun for him! and he really misses America...or as they say "english"

Gavin is 6!

can you see it? no? power rangers cake? we had no power...so 1/2 of gavin's party was in the dark!
ahhhh...but luckily camera's have flashes! here is his "power ranger cake" we had a hard time deciding between a skateboard or a power ranger...

Monday was another celebration at our house as Gavin had been WAITING FOR SOOOO LONG to be 6! He wore his T-shirt that says "6" on the back and went off to school but he returned for a party with his 12 friends from Kinder and 1st grade. only one girl in the whole bunch, but luckily Miss Ashley brought a girl friend for Hazel and her. The boys had a great time even though we didn't have electricity at first (from 9am-4pm) so our ice cream was a little on the drippy side. and the weather didn't cooperate...it rained...but then these boys didn't care about such things so they were still happy to play a little outside while the house was still dark :D.

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.