2, 4, 6, 8

For the next 4 months and 7 days, our kid's ages will be 2, 4, 6, and 8.




Shea's 8th birthday is today. We had a sleepover party last night/this morning with 3 of his friends (Jacob, Peter, and Robby). They played games, made gingerbread houses, ate spaghetti & birthday cake, watched "Everyone's Hero" (thanks Aunt B!), and stayed up way too late talking and giggling on the living room floor. Then they got up for pancakes this morning. It's pretty humbling to be Dad to such a great young man! Jod and I are honored to be his parents.
Some other highlights from our last couple of weeks.
- We've started Christmas Vacation! Friday was the last day of school until January 7. Jodie and the boys are excited to have a break, and Jadyn, Luke, and I are excited to have Mom, Shea, and Micah around all day. Nate Saint School had their Christmas musical, "Meet Me at the Manger", on Thursday night. Shea and Micah (and everyone else) did a great job. Shea had a small solo and Micah a brief speaking part.
- Visitors are coming soon! Jod's Mom and Dad arrive next weekend and my sisters come a few days after Christmas. Then our friends, the Derricos, are coming to visit in January, and my Mom and Dad in February. We're so excited to see everyone and show them all the sights and sounds of our new home and community;-).
- We've had fun learning some Spanish Christmas Carols. Currently, I can't get "Navidad, Navidad, Hoy es Navidad" (to the tune of "Jingle Bells") & "O Santisimo, Felicicimo" (sp?) out of my head.
- Friday night was our MAF/Alas de Socorro Christmas Dinner. We ate at a nice restaurant in Puyo and I coordinated some group games. Meanwhile, the kids were home with the babysitters- 2 middle school aged brothers. It seemed like everything went well, nothing was broken at least (that's often not the case when Dad's home alone with the kids).
-I've been playing basketball in a league in Puyo. We're in the championship tournament (a 4 team, 3 game round robin) now and are 2-0 after winning our second game last night. The league is the most competitive atmosphere I've played in since high school. We have uniforms (shorts too), specatators pay admission, and there's often a fan with an air horn(last week there was a base drum, too). I'm doing alright communicating with the other guys on the team (there's 2 other Americans on our team which helps- although one week I was the only gringo in the gym). Last night one of the guys was talking and I asked Steve what he was saying. Steve couldn't tell since he was talking fast and has a coastal accent. So Henry had to translate for Steve who then translated to me.

Feliz Navidad!

November Recap

We've been busy in the last month since I last posted- here's a quick recap of some of our November highlights.

* Hola Vida is the name of a great waterfall we went to a few Sundays ago. It took about 20 minutes on the main road, 20 minutes on a dirt road, and then a 30 minute hike through the jungle to get to the waterfall. We went with some other MAFers here as well as a group from California that was here as a work team for MAF. What a beautiful day exploring our Creator's handiwork and enjoying a VERY COLD dip in the water.



* The 1st and 2nd grade (Shea and Micah's) and 3rd and 4th grade (Jodie's kids) classes combined on a Thanksgiving program and feast last Wednesday. We heard the story of the Pilgrims and the 1st thanksgiving. The 3rd and 4th graders did the narration and the 1st and 2nd graders were the actors (Shea had the role of Governor Bradford). Afterward we had a potluck traditional US Thanksgiving feast with turkey, mashed potatoes, and all sorts of other good comfort food.



* The next day (Thanksgiving Day) the MAF and ADSE (Alas de Socorro de Ecuador- Ecuadorian missionaries serving with Alas de Socorro) families left for our annual Thanksgiving weekend family retreat. What a fun weekend! The retreat was held at a resort near a town called Salcedo in the Andes. Due the mountain elevation, it was much cooler. It was a nice treat to feel cold and wear a sweatshirt. The view from our back window was pretty amazing- as is usually the case, the picture below doesn't quite capture it. We had a team come in from the U.S. to lead us in worship, teaching, and also to provide childcare for all the kids. We all had a good time relaxing, swimming, playing touch football, and hiking. Here's also a picture of our MAF-Ecuador team.



* Yesterday, was the annual Shell Day parade. All of the local schools, as well as some other groups, participate with dancing and costumes. Nate Saint School went with the Western look and danced to "Cotton Eyed Joe". Shea was a great dancer, Micah had fun "playing" guitar on the truck, and Jod did a wonderful job tossing out candy. Jads, Luke, and I enjoyed watching all the groups in the parade.





* Miscellaneous notes
- George and Princess (our kittens) are continuing to grow. They're both very active climbing, wrestling with each other, and playing with the kids.
- We put our Christmas tree up last Sunday. It's a real one and the kids had a lot of fun decorating. Micah, especially, did a great job with getting the lights on.


- The "Jungle Grizzlies", my fantasy football team in the NFL Ecuador league, are 10-2 heading into this weekend- thanks Tony Romo & TJ Houshmanzadeh.