We're off!

In just a few hours, Carly and I will be flying to Manila. From there, we will go different directions. Carly will be attending a camp for missionary kids this week and I will be heading to Venice, Italy to visit my cousin, Karol. We will be doing some traveling around the next couple of weeks in Italy (and possibly Austria) so I covet your prayers for our safety. This trip is not ministry related. It's for the purpose of visiting with my cousin while her husband is deployed to Afghanistan.

Also, please pray for Carly. She's never been completely away from family this long - especially walking into a situation so unfamiliar. (She's never been to camp!) She does have a couple of close friends attending the camp, so at least there will be a little familiarity! She's really excited and I know the week will be great for her. I pray she makes many new friends and that she grows in many ways.

FYI....I've almost completely caught up on my posts. I still have some things to add from May and June, but in the past few weeks I've added lots of pics from January, February and March. Be sure to take a look at the archives. Also, I hope to be able to post while I'm on my trip, so keep checking back here.

Ciao!

Our New Additions

For several months, Carly has been saving her money to purchase parakeets. However, like many kids, the money tends to burn a hole in her pocket and she ends up spending it faster than she can save it. So as a surprise, we gave her a new birdcage and 2 parakeets for her birthday present.

The bird on the left she named Taz, because he's really wild! Anytime you put your hand in the cage, he goes nuts!

The bird on the right is ALWAYS singing, so Carly named her Zoe, as in Zoe Girl - one of her favorite singing groups.

Taz and Zoe in their new home

Just a few days after Carly's birthday, Wade had to go to Manila for a few days to meet with the ONG team as they came into the country. He was able to assist Dar in some of the training that first week. We will also be traveling (as a family) to Bacolod next month to participate in more training with the group.

(For security reasons, I can't tell you a lot about ONG at this point. Basically they are in the Philippines for several weeks to receive training in several areas before going to another part of Asia for a year. Please keep this group in your prayers.)

We were all excited when Dad came home - but even more excited to see what he brought us from Manila!!

However, we did have a little "surprise" for Dad when he got home. I won't go into all the details, but while he was away we "acquired" a new little calico kitten.

(You've heard the saying "Better to ask forgiveness than permission?" Well......Wade's not exactly a "cat person" but he's been a really good sport about the whole thing!)

This is Cali (short for calico) our newest addition. She is very sweet and really tame, which is unusual for kittens around here.

Cali is a little unusual in that she prefers Cody's dog food over her cat food. She also growls (a first for me) and "wags" her tail!! Maybe she thinks she's a dog?

Cali spent her first few days with us up on the roof of our generator shed. Needless to say, Cody wasn't too thrilled with her presence! Hopefully that will improve and they will learn to get along.

Can we say torture?? First 2 new birds and now a kitten?? Poor Cody!

Update: In case you're wondering....Cody and Cali have learned to get along quite well. In fact, they even chase each other around the yard just for fun!

But the sad news is that Taz and Zoe aren't with us anymore. One afternoon Carly and Caleb decided to take them outside and play "pet shop." Somehow, in the process, the cage was knocked over by either Cody or Cali and the birds flew away. Needless to say, the kids were pretty devastated. A hard lesson. We've told Carly that she can save up and buy more birds if she wants and the good news is that she already has a cage!

Cute as a Bug!

Recently, I caught little miss Samantha Kate in a really photogenic mood, so I took advantage of the moment! Just thought you'd like to see how cute she is and how much she is growing! In these pics, she was just a few days short of 3 months old.

Carly's Luau

For her 10th birthday, Carly wanted to have a Hawaiian party. So we had the party at a nearby resort called Oh La La. We had a great day of swimming, eating and visiting with friends.

Carly greeted the guests as they arrived and each of the girls donned a grass skirt.

This was the pool-side cottage we rented for the day.

(You know, when you live in the tropics, a Hawaiian party isn't too much of a stretch!!)

The kids decided that they would rather eat beside the pool rather than in the cottage with the parents!

Ben posed for me in his favorite tree

Doesn't every 10 year old girl need a picture with her dad wearing a goofy hat??!!

The whole crew - Allens, Hagens and Frenches

Carly and all her "loot"

Here's a picture of my "Island Cake." It was a little worse for the wear after traveling in the car, but we were able to piece it back together! (Notice the whales swimming in the "ocean")

We also had strawberry cupcakes. We've NEVER had strawberry cake mix here before! Who would've ever imagined we'd have it just in time for Carly's party? (Personally, I think it was a special gift for my strawberry-loving girl!)

My Birthday Girl (who is growing up way too fast, IMO!)

Carly's 10th Birthday

On June 12th, Carly celebrated her 10th birthday! She is excited now to tell folks she's lived for a whole decade! LOL

One of the greatest birthday gifts for Carly was a visit from Tita Dar!! It's not too often that Dar makes it to Legazpi, so we were all excited to have her spend a few days with us.

One tradition we've started around the Allen house is that whenever anyone has a birthday, we all go out for a meal at the restaurant of the birthday boy or girl's choice. It wasn't a huge surprise to any of us when Carly picked Shakey's Pizza for her birthday meal!

On the morning of her birthday - before we headed out for the party - Carly opened her gifts from her grandparents. Here she is seeing her new American Girl doll for the first time.

Meet Nicki, the American Girl Doll of the Year.

Here Carly opens a really neat American Scrapbook. It has lots of space for journaling and we're hoping to work on it during school.

Thanks Mamaw & Papaw and Minnie & Papaw for such great birthday gifts. Sure wish you could be here to celebrate this day with us!

BEEF...it's what's for dinner!

For the last several year we have been privileged to be a part of a missionary group here called BEEF - Bicol Evangelical Ex-pat Fellowship. We get together once a month for a meal, fellowship and a time of prayer. We are a very unique bunch of folks - all from different backgrounds, countries and denominations. But we all have one thing in common - we are here to share the Gospel among the Filipino people. Our monthly BEEF meeting is always a special time of encouragement and support from our fellow missionary friends.

We had an extra special treat this month because we got to welcome back a couple of "former BEEF-ers", Ray and Deborah Miller. They've spent the last couple of years in the States and have just arrived back in country, so we were really excited to see them again.

Bob French, missionary with World Team, shows Wade his latest Bible study book.

As much as the adults enjoy our time together, I think the kids enjoy it even more. There's just a special bond between MKs that can't really be explained. Here, Carly poses with two of her best friends in the world...Junia and Mikayla.

There's always plenty of nonsense during our meetings! I'll just let this photo speak for itself!

Our June meeting was held at the Hagen's house and the kids had a blast swinging on the "super" swing!

And the big kids enjoyed playing too!

One of the hardest parts of missionary life is the frequency to which we are always having to say "Good-bye." Missionaries are always on the move it seems, and as exciting as it is to welcome new people to our group, it's always hard to let others go.

It was with sad hearts that our BEEF group said goodbye to the French family. Bob and Koleen, along with Dave and Debbie Johnson, started BEEF several years ago and have been the "backbones" of the group ever since. The good news is that they won't be too far away - they are only moving to Manila! But it still won't be the same not having them here in Bicol. Hopefully, we will still have many opportunities to see them either when we are in Manila or they travel back down to Bicol.

To Bob, Koleen and the girls - we are so thankful for all you've done for BEEF and for us personally. We will miss seeing you every month, but are praying the Lord will use you mightily in your new place of service. We love you and hope you can come back to visit often!

Living with Nature

June is the official beginning of rainy season here in the Philippines, although the bulk of the rain will come during the "Ber months" - September, October, November, and December. Rainy season means that at different times throughout the day, it will rain really hard for a few minutes and then suddenly stop. Since the rain comes without thunder or lightning, it makes for great fun to play in - especially when it's a really hot day!

Wade found this really huge moth and brought it home for the kids to see. You can't really tell from the picture, but it's wingspan was about 8 inches!

Carly and Caleb enjoyed getting a closer look with their magnifying glasses.

One of my favorite things in my yard are the Dove Orchids. They bloom every few months and are beautiful! They are on the tree just outside our dining room window, and since they open up first thing in the morning, they are most beautiful to look at during breakfast.

A little closer view

And even closer

For those of you looking at my blog for the first time, you won't understand our history with the toads in our yard. (See previous posts if you're curious!)

When it's really hot, everyone has to find a way to cool off...even the toads!

Cody is wondering when his water bowl became a toad pool!

The continuing saga of the dog-food-eating toads!

Pizza, Paint, Puzzles and Pain

I can't begin to tell you how excited the Allen crew was when Shakey's pizza opened here in Legazpi!! In all honesty, it's not Pizza Hut, but definitely a step in the right direction!

One day in school I let the kids paint during their art time. Here they are displaying some of their masterpieces!

This is a picture of Caleb working with his Pattern Blocks during school.

Well, here is Caleb's latest injury. He had decided to re-arrange the furniture in his room and somehow he tripped and fell, hitting his chin on the table he was carrying. Anyway, we decided NOT to venture to the ER this time. Instead, Dad played plastic surgeon and used our liquid Band-Aid we'd brought from the States.

And Dad even made this really cool Spiderman butterfly bandage, which matched the Spiderman t-shirt Caleb was wearing. Caleb was pretty brave, but still in quite a bit of pain, hence the tear!