Better LATE than NEVER - Thanksgiving Party with our neighbors

John and I have been blessed with some great neighbors - Canadians, Mexicans and Peruvians. We all celebrated Thanksgiving the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Everyone brought a dish, we put up our ministry tent and chipped in $30 a family for a bounce house. It was one of the most memorable and special Thanksgivings we have ever had - even though we weren't speaking our native tongue, with our family or even in America. You can see how awesome the day was just by the pictures!

Tent and bounce house!
Every family had their own table and we brought our own dishes!
The bounce house also came with a trampoline. We had sprint races on the bounce house and also a bobbing for apple contest. Yep, I won! :)

The neighbors and all the kids!
One table of yummy food! Thanksgiving ROCKED!

The kids seeing their Papa Dean and Nana for the first time in 2 years - Arizona

2 days before Christmas, my dad and Step-mom flew out to Arizona so that they could see the kids since they hadn't seen them in 2 years. Although I took the baby to Florida, they weren't going to get a chance to see the other kids. They just couldn't resist hopping on a play to see their grandkids, and us, for 48 hours. What a tremendous two days we had. One of God's greatest blessings is definitely grandparents.

Avery and her Papa (my dad)!
Nana (my step-mom of over 25 years) with Miles and Jaxson at a yummy Mexican Restaurant.

Now you know where I get my maturity from! :)

All of us at the zoo! I was SOOO sick this day thanks to greasy Chic-Fil-A! John was not with us as he was visiting his sisters.

Nana and her Avery. Avery didn't miss a beat. It was us as if she sees them every single day.

Me with the world's greatest dad!

Papa Dean and 4 of his grandkids.

My dad took this picture of us at the zoo!

Nana and Miles on Christmas Eve at Cracker Barrell!

Miles getting lots of loving from his Papa Dean!

a book I would LOVE to get my hands on

http://www.amazon.com/Hole-Our-Gospel-expect-Changed/dp/0785229183/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266639818&sr=8-1-catcorr#noop


Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns

A perfect book for missionaries working with the poor.

Avery Brooke, Avery Brooke - all it took was just one look!

4 years ago today (actually at 12:05 a.m., which would've already passed), I gave birth to one of God's sweetest creations, Avery Brooke Pham. We celebrate her life and the joy that she brings to our family and home EVERY single day!

Avery has her own little song that I made for her when she was a few days old. It goes like this:

Avery Brooke, Avery Brooke, all it took was just one look

for me to know it's a joy to watch you grow

can't you see you mean the world to me

Avery Brooke, Avery Brooke, all it took was just one look!

Our 4 year-old princess!

Almost 4 years old! :)

3 years old! Running through the park with a pretty dress on and a skateboard helmet! Can we say "Tomboy!"

2 years-old!

1 years-old!

6 months old!

3-4 days old!

An hour old

Just minutes old - born at home!

Words to describe Avery:

JOYFUL

OUTGOING

SPUNKY

DIVA

FRIENDLY

GIVING

SMILEY

INTELLIGENT

SENSITIVE

TALKATIVE

KIND

PRINCESS

2 blogs for the price of one

First blog: The team meeting today was EXCELLENT! We topped it off with a fun trip to Chili's. Yummy! To sum it all up: in 3 years, when it is time to ship off to a new location, we have the option to learn a new language and go to Asia, Europe, Africa or to any UPG (unreached people group) that we feel God is calling us to. Or, we can stay in Central or South America and go live in a VERY rural area, learn a new language (tribal) and work with indigenous people groups. Fortunately, we have plenty of time to see where God is leading us and what He has in store for us. Either way, we will be moving and learning another language. We do feel called to Columbia and there are some UPG's in Columbia. So, we do have the option of taking our Stateside assigment until January and then when we get back we could decide that we are ready to go to any of the above locations, and then pack up and go. It is all very flexible. Our boss told us today that we will not be missionaries that stay in one place for 10 years and that missionary work is "mobile." Boy, God has such a sense of humor to give me five kids and then send us all over the world with all kinds of crazy foods, exotic languages and interesting cultures. I guess I never have to worry about my kids being 1 dimensional or uncultured. Instead, I'll need to make sure they know how to settle down in one place and get grounded and rooted. There is a reason they are called Third Culture Kids (TCK'S). They are 2 cultures mixed together, that make a third culture. But in our situation, they could end up being 5Ck's or 6Ck's. As they grow up, they will never be short on stories, I'm sure.

2nd blog: Met with the kid's teachers today. The school is hyper-conservative (and I mean that as a positive) and exceptionally strict. So strict in fact, that Jaxson was in tears as I read him the new handbook. He's not that crazy about rules. ;) The girls have to wear long skirts or dresses everyday (LOVE IT), and the boys have to be neatly manicured as well. The only kids who attend the school, are children of missionaries and English speaking children. There are about 30 kids in the school and I could not be more pleased with it. Here is the rundown:

Jaxson and Ally will share a teacher. She is young (early 20's) and SUGARY sweet. Jaxson is in First Grade and he will have one other boy in his class.

Ally will be in 2nd grade and she will have 2 other, very kind and gentle spirited girls (like herself), in her class. So there will be 1 teacher, 2 grades and 5 kids. I had the opportunity to look over the curriculums, and after a week or 2 of review, my kids should be flying high and easily on grade level with ZERO problems. I think the maturity level of all the kids and that class, will help Jaxson to mature a little bit as well (this is a good thing).

Parker will have a nice, young teacher as well. She has 3rd and 4th grade. I looked over the 4th grade math curriculum and I about fainted. NO WAY could he do that kind of stuff. It is Abeka math and I promise you it is like 5th grade stuff - fractions, long division, long multiplication. It is all WAY above his head. All the rest of the stuff he is easily in 4th grade, but he would completely be so lost in the math. And if you skip these fundamentals or rush through them, he could struggle with math for the rest of his life. So.....we are allowing him to go into 3rd grade, which is the grade he would be in if he was in an American school. He is going to have a very easy year, except for math, and will be able to sharpen some of his fundamental writing and spelling skills. I am very happy for him because he gets easily frustrated. We think this is the very best decision for him. It's not like he is dropping a grade level or anything, he just won't be doing what we were doing at home, which was probably way too hard for him anyway. He took the news very well. His 3rd grade class will have 4 kids in it in total. The 4th grade class has 5. So, his class will be on the larger side with a combined total of 9. Isn't that funny? That's still a tiny class.

All 3 kids cried tonight at one time or another about starting school or some school related issue - the first of many tears I am sure. I have an incredible peace that this is the right school for us right now and that we are making the best choice. However, I know that this is going to be a bit of a challenge for the kids at first, but once they get into the groove, they will love it and excel. I think they will be challenged spiritually, academically and socially. I am going to be super hands on and involved in everything. I never thought I would feel so excited about a school before, but I truly am. If it was any other school, I might not feel this way.

Well, it was an information packed day and I just wanted to let you guys know what is going on in our lives. John starts his "research" tomorrow. Please keep his safety on the forefront of your -prayers.

Prayer Requests

Sunday night when I can't sleep, due to a VERY heavy heart, seems like a great time to post some prayer requests:

My brother's wife suffered a miscarriage last night. She was at the end of her first trimester. They were SUPER excited about the baby, their first, and have been married for about 9 months. Please pray for them. The entire situation is very sad.

Please pray for another family member who was once a strong Bible believing, Jesus-loving Christian who no longer believes that Jesus is the "way, the truth and the life" and is searching for Truth, but doesn't believe it comes from the Bible.

And now you know why I can't sleep!!!! :( :(

Also, please pray for:

John this week as he will be doing 3 days of research in some very dangerous areas that are new to him. He is taking 2 nationals with him, but it is still dangerous none the less. He is scoping out what areas need evangelical churches and Christian witnesses as we are about to start "planting" in other areas.

I found out that we will be at an IMB "debriefing" conference in Richmond, VA the entire week and day of Mile's first birthday. There is absolutely NO way around this and it has me a little bit down. I can't imagine him being in day care on his first birthday. It just doesn't seem right.

Please pray for, Alberto, who is the man that John has been training up to be the Pastor at the Oasis church. John was set to pull out in March, but some "serious" theological issues/beliefs (ie., losing and earning your salvation) have come up recently and now we are deciding what is best. John is continuing to meet with Alberto and they are discussing at length these issues.

Tomorrow we have a team meeting with our boss from Ecuador. Please pray that if there is any "new" stuff sprung on me (trust me, it happens), that I will handle it with grace and love and dignity. Sometimes I get really stressed at changes that effect our family a lot. But hopefully this meeting won't be like that, but one never knows.

Please pray for my mom. She has some serious addictions and health problems. She is unsightly skinny (5'7" 110 lbs) really needs deliverance on many different levels. I am extremely concerned about her well-being.

Pray for the people that we work with here in Peru that the scales would fall off their eyes and they would come to know and love Christ and Christ alone.

Pray for Parker, Ally and Jaxson as they prepare to start school next Monday.

Last but not least, please pray for my Spanish. It is seriously getting worse by the day.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, but more importantly for praying.

the cutest kids who won't all smile at the same time

I have about 4 months of pictures that I am behind on. So, as time permits, I will be uploading slideshows. That is the easiest way to share a bunch of pictures at one time.

How does a family with 5 kids get a cute picture of everyone? Well, here you have it....take 100 pictures. I'm sure there has to be at least 1 that is good of EVERYONE. Which is your favorite?

Flagstaff, Arizona - the kids first time seeing snow

Baby's first trip to the Beach (last week)

If this picture doesn't make you want to just eat him up, I don't know what will. Now you know why we just CAN'T STOP KISSING HIM!!!

Only at the beach in Peru

can you get your picture taken on this:

I thought that might make you smile! :)

Grocery Shopping

Since little Miles is not so little, I decided he should start eating some cereal. I went to the grocery store and a box of rice cereal, that cost about $1.25 in the U.S., costs $5 here. That is almost 5x the price. Needless to say, he won't be starting cereal for a long, long time. And when he does, I will definitely be making it.

Going to the grocery store here is always an adventure. 2 things that I really, really enjoy are that I can get the entire outside of my car washed for $3 while I am shopping and the cart boys at the store always unload my grocery cart onto the belt for me, pack it all up nice and neat, carry it to my car and then unload ALL of it into my car while I am loading up the kids. I was thinking today what a nice perk this is when you are shopping. I just get to stand around instead of being all stressed out checking out.

Another cool cultural thing here is that you NEVER have to clean up your mess at food courts or restaurants. You just leave your trays on the table and they clean it up for you. At first it was hard for me to leave it, but I noticed when I returned to America in December that I was accustomed to not having to clean up after myself in restaurants. I think that's how it should be all over the world. :)

And....each grocery store has about 25 different representatives of different "brands" located throughout the store. They each try to get you to buy their "brand" by giving out free samples. It is kind of annoying to constantly be hasseled, but it is tasty to eat the entire time you are shopping. Sometimes I send the kids around to get all the free samples they can find. How fun!!!

Plans

Due to the holidays and vacationing and new baby, I have completely neglected to fill you guys in on the changes that will be happening over the next few years in our lives and ministry. I will try to summarize this as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail or call.

Due to budget cuts and bad economy, the IMB is not appointing many new missionaries this year although the need for missionaries is still VERY high. It is not clear when the economy and giving will bounce back. So, the IMB is relocating missionaries that are currently overseas with their organization to different assignments that are considered "high priority." They are only relocating missionaries that are currently serving in areas that are not considered "high priority." It makes sense to use the resources you already have to meet the current needs.

So....John and I will be returning to America from August 1, 2010 to January 15, 2011 for our first furlough (a.k.a. Stateside Assignment) after being overseas for 3 years. We will be living in a furnished 2 bedroom mission house that is about 3 blocks from our hometown church, First Baptist Church of St. Cloud. It is located in the center of town and we are looking forward to living there temporarily.

We will then return to Peru to continue ministry here. Although it looks as if John will not be doing much church planting at that time. He will be working with local churches to help get them to reach their own people and also to encourage them to send Peruvians to other countries to be missionaries of the Gospel of Christ.

Lord willing, we will serve only 2 more years here. After that, we will pack up all of our stuff (yet again) or sell it and we will take another 3-4 months to live in the U.S. for another brief furlough and then will be relocated to another country. It is unknown to us at this time where God will be sending us.

At first I was really upset, but it is more than true that God gives us peace that surpasses all understanding. I am glad to have a few years to process another big life change and possibly a new culture and language. God is not surprised at any of this and since He has called US, He will equip us. And that is what comforts me the most in all of this. No matter where we are or where we will be, He will be right there, too.

So now you know the concrete plans that are scheduled to change at a moment's notice. ;) It's always an adventure with God.

playing catch up with blogging

Where to start?

Well, a few weeks ago Miles had his 4 month check up and he is actually considered advanced with all his rolling over. His head progress is PERFECT. I guess he has become a back sleeper since he refuses to sleep on his belly. Unfortunately, his sleep is not as sound as it was when he stayed put on his belly. (video of him flipping himself over to come). He weighs a little over 15lbs. and is in the 50th percentiles for height and length, and 75% for his head. He smiles and talks to us constantly. The doctor said we don't even need to return to the neurologist because he is absolutely, perfectly normal and right on track. We could not agree more. Avery is really smitten with him and spends most of her time rubbing his head and just touching him while she lays next to him sucking her fingers.

Speaking of Avery, her birthday is next week and she will be turning four. I have tried every which way to get out of having a party, but she is not to be detoured. So, we are having a party with a few other families (although I still need to invite them) and a water bounce slide thingy. She can hardly contain her excitement.

We found out that Jaxson and Ally will be in the same class at school. The classes are so small (3-4 kids), that they put first and 2nd grade together. Ally is not thrilled about it, but I think it will be good for them to be together everyday. I am really pleased at this latest development. Please pray for them as they start this new stage of life.

John and I are continuing to "push play" every night on our P90X workouts after the kids go to sleep. Boy is he getting ripped and strong. My running is dramatically improving. I am kind of surprised at that. And I think I might be leaning up as well. I do know that I am getting stronger than I have been in years. We are enjoying our time together every night after the kids go to bed.

Ministry is going well. John is working a lot these days and stays constantly busy. He is meeting with local pastors to help get them involved in reaching their own people here.

John has been a doll to do breakfast with the kids every morning so that I can shower, nurse the baby and spend time with the Lord. Mornings are NOT my best time anyway, so I appreciate that he is taking over that responsibility and also protecting my quiet time. And when I do come downstairs to start the day with the kids, I am refreshed in the Lord, awake and not at all grumpy. I can't tell him thank you enough.

I interrupt this blogging break to proudly announce, to my running friends, that I ran a 7:35 mile yesterday for the first time in years. Oh yes I did!!!!

School

After many months of going back and forth, prayer, consideration, and reaching deep down, the decision has made that starting February 22nd, three of our children, Parker, Ally, and Jaxson will be going to a private, Christian missionary school her in Peru. There are 25-30 kids in the entire school, and the average class size is 2-4 kids and I know most of the mothers and children that attend there. It is a wonderful place and my kids have many friends from this school. Our children will be enrolled there until June. In August, we will arrive in America and at that time I will homeschool them through December with the curriculum that the school gives me to carry to America. Next January, we will once again reevaluate where we are at in life, how we are doing, and decide what is best for our children and family at "that" time. With this sojourner life that we live, we have decided that we cannot have "absolutes" except for the Word of God. So for this moment of our lives, they will be in school and who knows what the rest of their schooling years will look like, except for God.

Parker will be in 4th Grade, Ally 2nd and Jaxson 1st.