Braces :-)

I remember having braces as a teenager. Never did I think my own daughter would have them at the age of 7. But, here she is - all smiles. But who is that in the background getting ready to take a look at those pearly whites???

Actually, the whole family went to get our yearly (?) teeth cleaning (we hadn't gone the whole time we were in Costa Rica - shhhhhh, don't tell the toothfairy), and the dentist suggested braces because of the way Bekah's front teeth had come in. Well, it was braces now or surgery later. So, here she is with pink rubber bands.

Side note: dental work here is MUCH less expensive than in the US, so if you're thinking of getting any dental work done . . . why not treat yourself to some warm weather this winter . . .

Of course, everyone had a good time at the dentist because clean teeth are sooooo much better than cavities!

Celebrations

Celebrations are great times of getting together and honoring someone - but what happens when the celebration goes awry?
Here is Jonathan eating his piece of cake as we celebrate him not sucking his thumb anymore - a very significant feat for a three year old going on four.

The very same night, while celebrating after finishing his cake, he gets cut on the back of his head, requiring a trip to the emergency room and 3 decent size stitches.

Here he is making a call to his lawyer.
If you look closely, you can see the stitches there behind his ear, along his hairline.

Today, five days later, we returned to the doctor in order to remove the stitches - no infections, no problems. This little guy is a trooper.

He has shown us how to take everything in stride. I had prayed on the way to the hospital that we were going to trust Jesus in everything. And we are. Every day, celebrating and trusting when there doesn't seem like much to celebrate.

After leaving the doctor's office tonight, we headed to a pizza place for supper (less to celebrate - more because I didn't plan on making anything to eat after we got home ;-0). I wanted to relay a cute little story about Jonathan. He had stopped eating his pizza and started asking me questions about stuff, "Mom, do you know how to make a pizza?" Then, after answering him, "Mom, do you know how to make a table?" I answered again, interested at his questions. Then a third question, "Mom, do you know how to make a chair?" To this I began, "Well, it has legs, a seat and a back," as I motioned to a chair next to me. To this he replied, "Does it have a head, too?"!!!

What a kidder! Hope you enjoyed that one as much as we did. Kids can teach us so much - everything from trusting God to sharing a good joke!

Follow along with us to . . . Mérida, Mexico.

Whenever one makes a move to a new city, there is a list a mile long of things to do, let alone people to meet and places to see.

As you may know, our family has relocated to the VERY hot city of Mérida, Mexico. Here we join veteran missionaries Paul and Sandy, along with their 3 kids.

The life of a missionary varies depending on the place he is living, people he is working with, and the call and ministry that God has placed on his life (or her life, of course).

Currently, Dave co-teaches at the Bible Institute, preaches at local churches, works on computer issues for the missionaries here in Mexico and is revamping the Mexico AG website as well as blogging at www.disciplemexico.org.

I have the opportunity to homeschool our kids during the week, accompany Dave as we visit various local churches, and spend time with local ministers. I even had the opportunity to teach a children's Sunday School class (unexpectedly . . . :-) ).

This site is dedicated mostly to our family life, so you will see lots of pictures of the kids, along with outings we take and fun things we do. However, since our life is intertwined with ministry, I will undoubtedly share our experiences here among the churches and ministry opportunities that we have.

I hope you will follow along with us as we discover more about Mérida. Please visit often and enjoy more photos here as well.

More Family Fun - Erie, August 2006

We enjoyed the beautiful peninsula with Grandma Joy and cousins Samual and Levi. The kids had a blast in the water.
We had a great time with Papa Bob, eating at Sarah's on Presque Isle and another day eating at Perkin's Family Restaurant - both great pasttimes for us growing up in Erie, PA.

There are so many great memories of Erie -most center around family. And, for that, we keep coming back to PA.

Right now we're missing that cool fall weather. Drink a hot chocolate for us - it's still in the 90s here.

We also hung out with Auntie Al, Uncle Micah - who celebrated turning 18, and Roni, and of course Grandma Kim and Papa Dave.

We missed seeing Auntie SKY - which was very sad. But she is living in Spain right now! - How cool is that? Maybe this Spanish thing is in our blood . . ..