Sick in the Spring

Arianna falls asleep on the floor.

I made a carrot cake Sunday.

Arianna models the summer gown series.

Another week is passed and this month looks like it will fly by like the last one.  Things went well again last week.  We got a lot of work done in the yard this week.  It had gotten run down and needed a good overhaul.  Everyone enjoyed working on it, the boys liked the work and the thought of earning money, Lilia liked the boys not bothering her, and Arianna just liked being outside.  The cherry trees have bloomed in the back yard and they look beautiful.  Angie had a few doctors appointments this week.  She visited the doctor, the radiologist, and the lab for a blood test.  Her blood pressure was high and she is now on medication again to lower it back down.  She had been having some pain in her neck, and had a lot of cricks in her neck over the past year.  After an x-ray it has been confirmed that she has a abnormal curvature in the spine due to an injury in the past somewhere.  It is called cervical kyphosis, literally the curve in her neck is leaning the wrong direction.  With some anti-inflammatory and some massage it should work itself out.  Angie has not complained at all at the thought of getting a few good massages  Thursday night after the Bible study, Andrew got sick to his stomach.  He just kind of layed around all weekend.  He was feeling better Sunday, but Sunday night he got sick again.  Arianna got sick also on Friday and Sunday.  I stayed home with the two sick ones while Angie went to church on Sunday.  It is rare for her to get to go to church without any little kids.  Currently working on first of the month paperwork, the Bible Study for this week, and some stuff for this summer.  We finally got our key for the attic and have been storing stuff here and there.  There is some really old stuff up there and I have asked permission to be able to use it of throw it away.  We also got Arianna's official name change requested.  We went to the office to get it done and they told us that we could not do it in person, we have to write a letter :(  What are the odds.  We are working with Andrew to get him to stop sucking his thumb. I think that is probably why he gets sick and spreads it to the rest of the family.  So far his thumb has remained dry all day.  We will see how long it stays that way.  Thanks for you thoughts and prayers.   Continue to be in prayer for us this week and for this month.  God bless, JASON



Just my size.

Peek-a-boo.

La vie en "roses"

She is as pretty as a flower.

We have had a good week.  The weather has been wonderful all week long.  It has been dry however, about two weeks since it last rained, and this is usually the wetter time of year.  Several people were out with traveling and so we ended up not having anyone for the Bible study.  We did have a Sunday School lesson for the kids instead.  Angie taught and I kept the nursery.  The market went well Friday morning.  It started off a little slow.  Nobody came the first hour, one person stopped by the second, but there were several more that came the third hour.  Friday night, we had basketball practice outside because the gym was being used, Angie took the kids to the park during my practice.  Today we did quite a bit of yard work, weeding and mowing.  I did find the opportunity to take a bike ride with Caleb and take some pictures.  One of our neighbors stop by and gave us some cherries from their garden.  She mentioned that roses are one thing that grows exceptionnally well here, as you can see in the pictures.  Another neighbor stopped by this week gave us a lot of clothes from her daughter.  Lilia was excited about that.  Currently Angie has taken Lilia to a youth meeting in Carcassonne.  I am excited that Angie is getting this opportunity. They needed to have at least one women there so Angie volunteered.  She always does a great job with people of all ages, being a natural "people person".  The grand event this evening is the Monster Truck show that has come to town.  The kids are excited, they even claim to have the largest monster truck in the world.  I'm sure the boys and Lilia will enjoy it.  I will make sure and include some pictures.  Enjoy you weekend.  God bless, Jason

Let's go fly a kite

The problem with not blogging for a few days is that when you do get the chance to blog you have a lot to say. My language session was good and we discussed misconceptions about the United States. He thought that there were Tornados and floods everywhere and violence on every street. It was good to get some of those cleared up. The bible study went well Thursday night. Only one came but we had a good lesson and good discussiong afterwards. Friday we did shopping, we had some guests over that evening, and Pastor and his wife from Scotland to fill in for the pastor in Carcassonne during his vacation. We had a really good visit with them. Saturday was a beautiful day. The high temperature was only 78 degrees. There was also a nice breeze blowing. Angie and Lilia went shopping. I stayed and worked on watering the plants and cleaning up around the yard and house. After lunch we went and flew a kite. It was a lot of fun. The wind was perfect and the kids caught on quick about how the keep it in the air and even manipulate it. Sunday we enjoyed the services at Carcassonne and stayed talking afterwards for a while. I was glad that we were able to catch the services at our sending church Sunday evening. We had missed the last couple of weeks. After the services were finished and we were finishing supper Andrew fell asleep at the dinner table (pictured). Monday we left the house at 7:30 and met soem friends to go watch the tour de France. We found a nice spot on at a corner were we could see them coming from a long way off. We really enjoy the Caravan, a line of supporters and sponsors of the race that follow the trail a couple of hours before the racers. They hand out a lot of free merchandise, including hats, candy, sausage, water, newspapers, laundry detergent, key rings, etc. Afterwards we stayed at our friends house and let the kids swim and have supper together. We got back home around midnight. Today I am working on the bible study lesson, finishing up a brochure for handing out about our bible study, and I hope to stop by the prefecture this evening to see about our visa paperwork. God bless, JASON

Catch-up

The first part of this week has been spent catching up. We have tried getting our sleep pattern right. Monday night was wierd. Lilia and Caleb couldn't go to sleep until about 1 am. Andrew and Micah woke up at about 1 am and could not go back to sleep until 4 am. Monday morning, after dropping the kids off at school, we went grocery shopping. Then we returned home and did some more unpacking. We picked the kids up for lunch and enjoyed the meal with them. They seem to have all enjoyed being back in school and seeing their friends. Monday afternoon, I went and bought a lawmower. Apparently there has been a lot of rain, because our grass was high enough to make hay. I shopped around a little, alternated between electric and gas, and finally settled on a model. I decided gas, because I would need the extra horse-power. I purchased the lawnmower (pictured), returned home, assembled, dis-assembled, re-assembled, and started mowing. It was a slow going process that ended up keeping me busy until supper. The yard does look a lot better. Tuesday, the kids took some Double Bubble to the kids in their class as a gift from America. It seemed to have gone over well. Lilia said she had to teach them how to blow a bubble. We stopped by and spoke with one of our friends who was checking the mail for us while we were gone. We had a good visit. I weeded the flower garden. We had some pretty flowers that I had planted as bulbs that were now blooming (pictured). I also cleared my email inbox most of the way. Drving back into town to get the kids, I picked up a hitchhiker, Sedric, (I'm not sure how to spell it), lives in Magrie, and I give him a ride at least once a week. I mentioned before we left that we would like to have him over to eat somtime and he seemed surprised. I was glad to see him again. He is probably in his early 20's. I hope that we can build a relationship with him, and share with him about Jesus. After supper, I was prepared to got to the Bible Study in Carcassonne, but found Angie asleep in her chair. She was in a deep sleep, so I stayed. She had a good nap, but ended up staying up late as a result. She is gone right now taking Caleb and Lilia to their swimming class. So I'd better check and see what Andrew and Micah are so quiet about. God bless, JASON