Yes...we ARE alive!

For those of you who are wondering if we fell off the face of the earth....we didn't. It's just been a crazy couple of months since returning back to Legazpi City. As I have time, I will try to post some of the things that have happened since our lives were turned upside down last November. Most of you know that we ended up returning to the States briefly during December and January. It was a wonderful, much needed break! The love and encouragement we received from family and friends meant more to us than words could ever express. Even though our time in the States was very hectic and didn't allow for much rest, by the time we returned here we felt much more prepared to deal with what lay ahead.

As of about a week ago, our computers/internet/network are all up and running! Hallelujah! All major appliances are back in working order and/or new ones have been purchased. The school room has been completely cleaned and repainted and put back together and school is once again in full swing. Our cable tv still has not been reconnected, but with everything else going on, there really hasn't been time to watch tv anyway! (However, we are really missing Fox News and the Mavs games!) We've been told that we'll have cable by the end of March, but I'll be surprised if that actually happens.

As of now, we have decided to stay in our house. We've looked at some other options, but they were all in worse shape than ours. We had a call from a realtor yesterday and he still has one option for us. Please pray for God to give us wisdom concerning our housing. If we stay here, there are some definite things that will need to be done before next typhoon season - mainly dealing with some drainage issues. Our landlord has been wonderful through the whole process and has been very willing to send guys to do the repair work. That is a HUGE blessing.

There have been so many things that have happened in the last 2 months that it may take a while to get everything posted. We have had some wonderful times of fellowship with our friends and colleagues here.

For the first time in a very long time, I can say that life (almost) feels normal again! However, there really is no such thing as "NORMAL" when you live on the mission field. But whatever it is that we are feeling, it feels nice. Thanks for all the prayers that have been lifted on our behalf. If it weren't for God's people praying, I don't know that we would have made it through the last few months. It has been hard, but God is good and we are excited to see what He has in store for the work in this area.

A Day in the Life of Caleb

Here are some pics from a typical day in Caleb's life.

Here Caleb does a chore that almost every Filipino child does each day...sweeping the yard. (Notice the broom - it's made out of the stems of the palm leaves off a coconut tree.)

(Don't be fooled. Caleb does have daily chores, but sweeping isn't one he does on a regular basis!)

Caleb's favorite thing to do in our yard is to play with the toads! He loves to capture them and put them in a bucket until Mom forces him to let them go! Here is a "pile" of toads in his bucket.

Here Caleb shows off one of his "prizes"....a toad he named Ham. (Who knows???)

And when he's not playing with his 4-legged friends, Caleb likes to play in his room. One of his favorite things to do is set up his GeoTracks.

Valentines and More

Around the middle of March, we received our annual package of Valentines from Sheridan Terrace Baptist Church in Palestine, Texas. This is the church Wade pastored for almost 4 years before we moved to the Philippines. There is a very special lady at Sheridan Terrace named Miss Barbara Brown. Through the years, Miss Barbara has been so good to remember to send cards to people for special occasions. And for the last 5 years, she and the church have been so sweet to send us cards on our special days. It is always so encouraging to see the names of the people that we love and miss so much. Each Valentine's Day, STBC sends the kids a package full of Valentine's and other goodies. Carly and Caleb are always so excited to open each Valentine card and hear stories from us about the person who sent it.

Thanks STBC and Miss Barbara for remembering us. You will never know how encouraging it is. We love you all and miss you very much!

Our dentist lost all of his office/clinic in Typhoon Reming. He recently re-opened and we scheduled visits with both the kids. Thankfully, neither Carly or Caleb had any cavities! Both had a great check-up!
Carly got her teeth cleaned...
...while Caleb played his GameBoy in the next room.

(Caleb had already finished.)
Carly and Caleb pose with our dentist, Dr. Gari.
Wade thought this was an interesting picture. He went down to our repair shop and these were all the TVs needing repair after the typhoon. And this was after 3 months!

A Special Treat

On Wednesday morning, March 14th, we received a phone call during breakfast from a chaplain in the US Navy. He was here in Legazpi with a detachment of Marines involved in a medical outreach in some of the devastated areas. He invited us to come out to the Naval Port and visit with him.

The U.S.S. Comstock out in the Albay Gulf

To get to and from Legazpi (from the ship) each day, the troops rode this hovercraft. We were standing on the shore when it came to pick up its passengers. It was pretty awesome to watch it glide up on the beach.

Our family with our new friends

Fun with the Hagens

With the summer months quickly approaching (April & May) and the temperature rising, we have been making an extra effort to find ways to stay cool. Many times that involves a trip to the pool or the beach. In the last couple of weeks, we've been able to get together with our friends, the Hagens, on a couple of occasions.

First, we got together to celebrate Ben's 3rd birthday. After lunch and cake, we headed down the road to a small retreat near their house. The kids spent the afternoon swimming and playing together.

Playing with our underwater camera!

The Birthday Boy!



Allen & Hagen kids

(Caleb's got that weird face again?!)

This is the cottage we rented for the day - a two-story one!

Pizza & swimming. This is the life!!

About a week later, we planned an afternoon picnic and swimming at a nearby beach resort. We invited the Hagens to join us. Swimming is always much more fun with friends!

No, Zach and Caleb aren't playing in the mud...that's our sand! Almost all of our beaches in Bicol are black sand beaches. The sand is so fine that it is like powder. And when it gets wet, it makes almost a mud-like substance. The good news is that it washes off easily. No gritty sand around here!

Caleb and Zach found these tiny little shells all over the rocks. Whatever was inside was still alive because they were crawling on the rocks.

Mud bath!

Secrets!!

Girlfriends!

Caleb's Real Birthday

We have a tradition around our house that whenever anyone has a birthday, we all go out for lunch and the birthday boy or girl gets to pick the restaurant. So on March 2nd, Caleb chose McDonald's! (This was the 2nd time we'd celebrated since we had his party a little early while his grandparents were still here.)

Kirby enjoyed his chicken & rice!
When the staff of McDonald's heard it was Caleb's birthday, they brought him this Big Mac with a birthday candle!
They also brought balloons....
...and a bag full of goodies!

Caleb's Birthday Party

Caleb's birthday this year was celebrated twice. Once (at his party) while Minnie and Papaw were still here and again on his real birthday, March 2nd. (next post) For his 6th birthday, Caleb wanted a CARS party. He's a huge fan of the movie and so while we were in the States in January, we were able to get a few decorations. Plus, Caleb's Mamaw sent him a really cool CARS Happy Birthday banner and t-shirt, both with his name on them! Thanks, Mamaw. They were a hit!

Caleb shows off a few of his gifts!

A special story - Carly had been working for several weeks on making Caleb his very own coloring book for his birthday. It was full of all kinds of animals she had drawn. She did an awesome job and was really excited to give it to her brother for his birthday.
This was Caleb's reaction - a huge hug for his sister!

There are just some things money can't buy!

I have no idea what this face was for. It's just a typical Caleb look! LOL. At least you can see his cool t-shirt from his Mamaw!

Minnie & Papaw

After all our adventures in Hong Kong, Manila and Bacolod, we finally ended up at our house in Legazpi to spend a few days with my parents before they headed back to Arkansas. I guess we were all "pictured out" by this time because there weren't many pictures with people in them!

One of the things we did with Mom and Dad was drive them around some of the areas of destruction. We took them up on Lignon Hill, a great point to see all of Legazpi and the surrounding areas.

View of Legazpi from Lignon Hill (our house is approx. in the center of this picture)
In these pictures you can see some of the mudslide areas.


Caleb & Papaw

Carly, Caleb & Minnie

And of course we had some Filipino food while they were here! Yum.
This is one of the old cathedrals in Sto. Domingo. This church is unique in that it is one of very few with a double bell tower.
We then drove out to one of the mudslide areas near one of our house churches.
You can see from these pictures the size of the rocks from the mudslide.
We enjoyed a wonderful visit with my parents. Just wish it could've been longer! Maybe next time we can spend more time at the house:)