Oh, the FUN of LIFE!

Stephen loves the beautiful Tiara Bekah-Lynn won at VBS. What a smile. "Hello, adoring Fans!" is written all over his face

My sister Ruth had her third baby boy on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. His name is John Ryan. He was 9 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long. While she was in the hospital my mom and I watched her two older boys, Isaiah (3) & David (2) as well as her two day care children, Lily (2) and Gracie (1). We added my three Caleb (5), Bekah-Lynn (4) & Stephen (2 1/2). What an interesting day and a half! I took some pictures Friday while they were playing. 

Presenting the Magnificent Seven!

Gracie was sitting on my Mom's lap.

Baby John Ryan, two days old.

The proud brothers: David on the right & Isaiah on the left.

What cuties!

Heritage Baptist Church, Riverboat Adventure VBS

We were able to join Heritage Baptist Church, our sending church, for the last two days of their VBS. The kids really enjoyed their time. Penny Parade was a blast for them as Grandma, Aunty Neely, Daddy, Grandpa, and many other people loaded them with pennies until Stephen lost his pants. (Caleb came close but Stephen actually lost them:)

We always enjoy being with our sending church. We are so blessed to have such a church family behind us as we are on deputation. They are faithful prayer warriors on our behalf. When ever we arrive we feel a little like celebrities must feel. 

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa Jones

We went to see Grandma & Grandpa this weekend! This is their house. 

As we arrive in Manhattan, where Grandma & Grandpa live, we play a game with the kids..."Where's Grandma's house? Do we turn left here? Go straight? Turn Right? Is this it? Are you sure?" The kids love to show us exactly where Grandma & Grandpa live. 

Besides Grandma & Grandpa's house the kids enjoy going to their church. The church secretary, Aunty Neely,  has trained them to sit against the filing cabinets and quietly, expectantly, wait for their "treat". :) It never fails, the first place they all head when we get to church is the office and their spot where they are promptly rewarded for their efforts.

This last visit Mr. Steinbach noticed the ritual and tried it for himself... he received a much healthier snack for his efforts. :) Although Stephen will at times chose a banana over candy.

Small, Dark & Handsome!

This is my handsome boy Caleb. Caleb is the quietest of my three children. He is bright, intelligent, caring, a wonderful helper, and GREAT big brother.  

He is always willing to help Bekah-Lynn or Stephen with the wagon even when it means not going down the roller coaster himself. He willingly picks up all of the shoes scattered all over the yard, without being told. He is always ready to help Mommy any where he can. I'm constantly hearing, "I be helper, Mommy?"

This is such a Van-Nes trait! My dad sticks his tongue out when ever he is working on a project, I stick my tongue out and so does Caleb! 

Treasured Girl!

I love my little girl! She is definitely "Sugar and Spice" :) She can hold her own with her brothers outside on the roller coaster or on the trampoline but she is quick to help Stephen when he is need and side with Caleb if Stephen's being demanding.

Usually Bekah-Lynn is my cautious one. But, once she has tried an activity and discovered the fun she's up for adventure. She loves to pull on the clothes line...I'm not sure what the thrill is but she enjoys it.

Bekah-Lynn is also my copy cat. If Stephen or Caleb are getting attention for an activity she wants to do the same thing and get the same attention. It is humorous to watch her mimic Stephen or try to do something Caleb can do but is just beyond her abilities all for the sake of attention. I'll have to keep my eye on her around the boys as she gets older.

Someday, a little girl will not be so excited to show me every blade of grass. I'll miss these times but I will enjoy embarresing her with these pictures. To me she is so beautiful even with the sweaty hair hanging in her face. It's in her eyes and the joy that shines from them.

This picture makes me think of a magazine picture. And this precious girl is my daughter...given by God! 

Silly Boy!

One evening last week Joshua and I looked out the kitchen window to see Stephen happily jumping on the trampoline with a bucket on his head! He is such a ham! As soon as he saw Daddy with the camera he had to start saying cheese and doing camera worthy "tricks" on the trampoline. 

His little head was so sweaty under this butter tub but when I tried to take it off it made a sucking sound and Stephen exclaimed, "No! Mommy!" He was bound and determined that his hat was the best and had to stay on his head despite the sweat running down his face.

FYI :) Catch up time!

I wanted to let all of you know that I'm putting posts beginning with January of this year. I'm being sneaky and putting them under the date I should've posted them. So be sure to check the "archives" for my newest posts as I play "Catch UP" on the blog. :)

All's well in Missionary Life

I know it has been quite a while since I've blogged. I had many people remind me that I needed to update. I'm impressed that so many of you still check to see if I've updated. :)

Things have been well and busy. This summer we only had one VBS and quite a few holes in our schedule. I've been working on preschool with Caleb and Bekah-Lynn. They have finished one book and we are close to being done with our second set. This fall we will be starting Kindergarten using the Calvert Homeschool curriculum. I'm looking forward to it. Stephen has been begging to have his own school time so I've been working on colors and shapes with him. I'm also doing numbers 1-10. He knows all of his letters and their sounds (fairly consistently) so I'm not to worried about that area. He's only 2!

We took another trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art this summer and took more pictures. Here are a couple:

Survey Trip to Zambia, Africa: Adventures in Lusaka

After wandering around Lusaka's two malls, Manda Hill & Arcades we were able to get an idea as to the cost of living. Since we didn't really have any plans, or know anyone in Lusaka we decided to head on down to Livingstone for the last part of our stay. 

We tried to find out when the "Luxury" buses ran to and from Lusaka to Livingstone but all we could discern was that buses left every hour headed to Livingstone. So we arranged for our taxi driver to pick us up at 7:30 am to drive us to the Lusaka Central Bus Terminal.

When we arrived at the bus terminal we discovered that the "Luxury" buses only leave at 6 am and 11 am. Or we could ride one of the family buses that left every hour. 

As I observed my unfamiliar surroundings I fervently hoped that Joshua would decided to wait back at the Guest house rather than at the very busy and crowded, outdoor bus station. Thankfully he did decide to wait for the 11 am bus back at the Guest house.

While I waited at the guest house Joshua walked back to Manda Hill and tried to exchange some money but was unsuccessful. The rules had changed over night and they were no longer accepting bills smaller than fifty dollars. Joshua got back just in time as our taxi driver pulled in the gate right behind him. We piled in again and headed back to the bus terminal.

Survey Trip to Zambia, Africa: Lusaka GuestHouse

The Lord provided the funds for Joshua and I to take a survey trip to Zambia this spring. Our first stop was Jo-burg, South Africa for a 24 hour layover. We enjoyed the opportunity to visit with fellow missionary Saundra Smith. She was kind enough to drive us to several stores as we investigated what we could and could not find in South Africa. 

Our first stop in Zambia was Lusaka, the capital, to investigate the cost of living. We were able to schedule a missionary guest house in Lusaka. The guest house was very comfortable. We had a kitchen/dining area, private bath and two bedrooms.  We were able to gather plenty of information about living in Lusaka and Zambia in general.

Daddy & His Boys

This morning Daddy was shaving and Caleb had questions... "What's that Daddy?" What are you doing?" "Can I do it?" "You look like a snowman!"  Soon Stephen joined the party and Daddy helped them each put some shaving cream on and wash it off.