Difficult time....

Sorry I took a two week or so hiatus, but some close friends were dealing with a tragedy, and I found it difficult to post something cheery when I wasn't feeling that way. Mike's close friend lost his 24 year old daughter, whom I coached when she was in high school, in a tragic bike accident. Situations like that really make you reflect on your own relationships with family and God. I am really proud of my husband, being such a good friend and listener; so difficult to know what to do at this time, but he was always there for Brian. We both have reflected and appreciate that we have many good friends and family to turn to if we found ourselves in a similar situation:) Enough said....

On a lighter note, Josh had homecoming last weekend. Oak Harbor won their football game on what was a beautiful, warm fall evening. Josh took the same date he took last year, and even got a shout out in the paper as to how he asked her out. I love the fact that Josh let me help him pick out a tie to match her dress! He wears pink very manly:)

They went with a large group of friends to dinner and then bowling, dance, and finally a movie and dessert at our house. I think having dates in a group takes such pressure off, not to mention Josh has a great group of friends!

Sweet 16 and more....

What better way to celebrate your 16th birthday than to go back to school! Well if your name is Josh, and you love to be social, then seeing all your friends again made it a great day:)

Not only did Josh begin his sophomore year, but the girls had their first day of first grade! After a couple years at the Montessori school, this was a big change to public school, but both girls had a great day.


Notice that Jaelyn has on a second change of clothing? If she's already doing this in first grade, then what is middle school going to be like???

Now that Josh is 16 he can't wait to get his license. Just have to find time between volleyball, football, and soccer games to get to the DMV!


Josh loves his new OSU snuggie! Thanks Grandma and Papa:)

Tired kids winding down a busy day by reading a book together.

Answered Prayer....

Since returning from Chaoyang, one of our goals has been to get Wu Jia Wei a tutor, and I am thrilled to share that our prayers have been answered!

We first met Wu Jia Wei two years ago, after she had been left at the orphanage by her grandparents. They had been raising her, but due to age and health, they were unable to care for her anymore. We were told by the orphanage that they would send her to school that Fall, but they did not. Their reason was that she had already attended school through fifth grade, which is the top grade at their boarding school, so she was too smart, and they felt she would get made fun if she went to the next level of school. So their answer was to do nothing! Both years we had worked their with her, she was craving to learn, and Tracie always took a lot of care to help her do school type work. Wu Jia Wei also expressed a desire to learn English. We bought some books to leave with her, but what we really desired was to sponsor a tutor for her.


After much effort on one of our leaders, Ying's, part, the pastor of the Chinese church we attended hooked him up with a member of his congregation that agreed to work with her. She also speaks English! Coincidentally (or maybe not), the same lady that wrote an article on us for the local newspaper happened to be at the orphanage when the two worked together, so we received this photo. I love the grin on Wu Jia Wei's face! Please pray for their relationship, and hopefully I can meet the tutor next year:)

The Deadliest Catch...

Today we attended a salmon BBQ and meet-n-greet with the crew from the Deadliest Catch television show. This was the second annual gathering in our community, but the first time we attended. Four were crew members from the Northwestern, and one was from the Time Bandit. If you haven't seen the show, it's a lot of fun to watch, with lots of excitement, drama, and sometimes even a few tears.

Josh and Jake from the Northwestern. Jake is a local guy from Anacortes, and has seen some rough times. On one of the shows he left the boat early because his sister died, and this past January his father went missing. You can view the website they have set up to help find him.

The family with Edgar from the Northwestern and Mike from the Time Bandit.

Here we are with Matt, Jake and Nick from the Northwestern. After Mike took this photo, Matt put Kaia down and picked me up, but that photo was not very attractive of me, to say the least!

I can already imagine the squeals coming from the girls the next time we watch the show!