Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

On October 31st, I let the kids wear their costumes while we did our schoolwork.

I guess Caleb/Zorro was embarrassed that I was taking his picture. That's a first!!


Carly's friendly ghost.....her own creation.

Some of our October worksheets on display

Caleb LOVES mazes!


This time Zorro posed for the camera.

Is is Carly? NO! It's.....Hannah Montana!!


Even Cody (bless his heart) got in on the action. He was Underdog!



Since hardly anyone in Legazpi knows anything about Halloween, trick or treating is kinda out of the question. Our evening consisted of going to Shakey's for dinner and me giving the kids some money to pick out a little candy at the candy stand in the mall. They were the only two kids in the whole mall that were in costume! Needless to say, they got lots of attention!! Here Caleb poses with his Monster Meatball - his fav at Shakey's.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Birds and Birthdays

One morning while we were eating breakfast, we noticed these beautiful birds sitting on the wire.
First there were two....

....then one flew away....


...to the mango tree.

On October 25th, I celebrated my thirty-somethingth birthday!! I was greeted by this picture and message (from Caleb) on the board in the schoolroom.


That night for dinner, we were joined by our good friends, the Johnsons, for dinner at Mr. Crab.
(Carly took this picture of all of us.)



This is my fav from Mr. Crab.....Lemon Butter Prawn!! Wow. So good!

And of course, we ordered crab also!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Pastors and Workers Conference

During the third week of October, Wade was invited to be the speaker at the annual Pastors and Workers Conference, which was held in Bulan, Sorsogon. He said it was a wonderful time of fellowship together and the pastors here in Bicol were so encouraged by the attendance of several pastors from the Visayas.


Bro. Danny leads the singing







Pastor Rudy Rioja and family

One special treat during the conference was an Awana presentation by Patrick Flestado, the Awana missionary for our area. Our prayer is that some of our established churches would consider starting up an Awana club. In order to explain some of the games, Kuya Patrick got everybody involved!!







Saturday, October 20, 2007

Milestones and More

Recently, Carly got a cool new bike! It's pink and can fold in half! Well, it's sad to say, but to this point Carly hasn't learned how to ride a bike. The main reason is that there is just no good place to ride around our house. The roads are either not paved or too busy. Plus, you add the fact that whenever we get out, we are such the spectacle, and so bike riding - or learning how - has been put to the back burner.
So a few days ago, after the purchase of the new bike, we made a day of it and loaded up the bikes to search out a place in Legazpi (with good roads and somewhat secluded) to learn how to ride. After driving around a while, we found a spot and Wade began working. After about 15 minutes, Carly had it down and was riding on her own!

Carly showing off the new bike


At this point, she had no idea Dad had let go!

Here's the first time she came down the road by herself. I wish I would've kept the camera rolling for a few more seconds because when she turns around at the end, she realizes that Wade wasn't holding her up the whole time! It was great!


Caleb even worked some with Dad on his "new" (Carly's old) bike. We've still got some work to do with him. He's a wild man on wheels!
After all that riding and running (sorry, Dad) we were pretty hot so we went swimming!

One of the coolest things about rainy season is that it can be sunny one minute and a downpour the next. This happened while we were in the pool. Since there was no storm to go along with the rain, we let the kids continue to swim.

Whew! A long, but fun, day!

Recently, Caleb achieved an important milestone also. He finished his first piano books! Woohoo! In this video, he plays the last song in the book. (This video is especially for Minnie.)

Caleb works on his last few pages of theory.

One thing I especially like about the piano series Caleb is working in is that the kids are taught sight-singing/solfege from the beginning. Again, another video for Minnie!


Good job, buddy! Now you're ready for Level Two!

These last few pics are pretty random. Here, Caleb shows off his new pjs Mom bought him in Hong Kong at the Ladies' Market.

Recently we cleaned out the attic over our carport area and found quite the termite nest! These are some pieces of Wade's old wooden bunk beds. Needless to say, they were thrown on the burn pile!


A picture of Mt Mayon at sunset. (Taken by Carly)



Saturday, October 06, 2007

Church Planter Training

Here are some pics from the Church Planter Training in Oct.


Bong takes advantage of the hammock during one of the break times.

Serious discussion!


Ellen and Rucel dealing with the receipts/finances.


Training time



During the breaks, Caleb had a blast playing basketball with Pastor Elvis! (Carly didn't enjoy it as much seeing as how she was the one who got hit on the head at the end of this video!)

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Hong Kong

Here's a pic of Caleb's latest injury. He gashed his head pretty good the night before my trip. Other than bleeding pretty good, it was a minor injury and healed just fine.




When I arrived in Hong Kong, I had a new buddy. This is RJ, the oldest son of Pastor Jo Jo. I'm not sure he ever realized my name was something other than "Caleb's Mom", but nonetheless we were pretty "tight" during my time there!


Pastor Jo Jo during the Sunday Morning Worship


Sunday Activities




I took this video one night when Des and I had a chance to go to the Ladies Market. Needless to say, New York isn't the only city that never sleeps!

I guess since I was around, RJ was really missing Caleb. All he could talk about was wanting to play with Caleb. He also kept telling me that if I'd bring Caleb there (Hong Kong) he would teach him some Chinese. (RJ is learning Chinese in his school.) So before I left, RJ taped this message for Caleb.

Pics from Monday's conference






















Thank you, Lord, for again giving us a wonderful time of worship, study and fellowship. I tell the ladies each trip that I wish I could live in two places! It's always hard to say good-bye.


Until next time!



A personal note....


....to a dear friend who was not able to be with us for this conference, due to other commitments.