Birthday party and more...

The next day, we went to M&B's for Em's birthday party. It is so hard to believe that three years ago, we were in the hospital praying that God would spare this little girl's life. And here we were, celebrating with our family and all these Sesame characters  that the little miracle girl loves!

The weather was a bit cool, but the rain did not fall on her party, so the cousins had a great time playing outside. 

The pink car always seems to be a focal point...

...as well as the bounce-house

...and the swings

...and the playhouse!

We even got to see the newest cousin and her daddy via Skype.

All the kids did a craft project, organized by Miss B.

It was very serious work.

When asked how old she was, Em kept telling us that she was one!

The two youngest cousins thought the cupcakes were just too irresistible!

The birthday girl was all smiles this year when we sang for her!

There were plenty of eager helpers when it came time to open presents.

Such fun new toys!

Em finally got her hands on that cupcake...

and finally got to eat it.

The cousins found some fun new toys to play with while we watched over them for several hours because their mommy had a fall and ended up in ER with an injury to her L ankle. 

Happy Birthday! This was one very excited and happy little girl who loved her new Sesame toys!

While little sister was napping, Nana helped big sister sew the flower on her pretty new ballet dress.

She loves her dog!

The cousins enjoyed using my stethoscope to listen to their heartbeat.

Soon it was time to head out to a neighboring town for the next big event--K's first ballet recital. As we left, we glanced back at the snow-covered mountains and the gray canopy of clouds. What a beautiful sight!

The auditorium was packed, standing room only, as we enjoyed these lovely little ballerinas.

Of course, our attention was focused on this special little dancer.

She had such a good performance! It was the perfect ending to a fun weekend with family. We are so thankful that God has allowed us to live close enough by two of our boys so that we can enjoy some of these special events in their lives.  

Re-connecting

A couple of weeks ago, Marilyn was privileged to attend a conference in San Diego for pastor's wives. It was held at the Shadow Mountain Community Church, where David Jeremiah is the lead pastor.  

It was a very informative conference and so enjoyable to hear from fellow PWs, sharing about their joys and sorrows in their ministry roles of the church. We heard from a variety of speakers, including Jani Ortberg and Lisa Chan, and also met many new friends from several different states.

The best part of this conference was being able to spend two whole days with my long-time friend and colleague DL. Our paths in life have been so similar: both born and raised in MN; we went to the same school in France, one year apart; while attending school in France, we both gave birth to our firstborn;  we served together for many years as missionaries in Africa; our children grew up together (we both had four kids!), and now we are serving neighboring congregations in SoCal. The time of sharing and praying together those two days was awesome!

Last weekend, we were invited to spend a wonderful afternoon with some more missionary friends. We first met this young lady while she was attending high school in Nigeria. What a joy to visit her home and meet her family, and to renew friendships with her parents and her brother and his family.

Two more colleagues from our years in Africa! And, as always, these lovely women are spending long hours in the kitchen preparing delicious food! What a treat to have African Groundnut stew again, YUM!

Good friends, great fellowship, wonderful memories!

Our sons grew up with this young man, enjoying many hours of hunting and exploring together. 

And many years ago, this young man told us that he was never going to get married...

...twelve years ago we went to his wedding, and look at him now! 

Lot of cousins, lots of toys, lots of fun! We had such a great time together and so appreciate the spiritually rich friendship that we have enjoyed with this family for so many years. Thanks for the invite!

After we visited our friends, we drove to J&K's  to spend the night. Little brother was in bed by the time we arrived, but big brother was still awake, and quite excited to see us and also to show off his trophies from his summer sports. 

"Grandpa, did you see my trophies?"

What a thrill for us to visit our boys in their homes and enjoy their family life, close-up and personal!