Tuesday night, we had the opportunity to surprise a friend and celebrate her birthday. 



May is definitely a great month for birthdays!

Wednesday night, our kids participated in a fabulous program at church based on the names of Jesus. 

 The whole group, pre-K through sixth grade, did a such a great job!

Then Thursday, we got to spend some time with our Pacific Area Director and his sweet family.  I think this is the third continent on which we've met, and we'll get to see some of them again in September in the Solomon Islands.



Our time in Texas may be drawing to a close, but the days are still so rich with God's abundance of relationships:  the blessings of our relationship with Him and with those around us.

Almost time to go...

 

The end of our time here in Texas is really near.  All I have to do is look around...

 

-Four little cotton balls on these sweet, newly injected arms

 



-Empty (for now) boxes just pulled from the attic built into a castle

 



 

-Kids playing inside the castle with the army of baby dolls that will soon be given away

Thanks to the thoughtfulness of a friend of mine, the Sunday School kids in Marulaon Village will receive some really cute prayer notes in a few months.

The second graders at our church here in Texas decorated cards that say "Lalomomea Hobea" (Good morning) and "We are praying for you".

 



My prayer is that the seed is being planted in these kids so that one day, they might hear and obey God's call on their lives. 

 

 

Maybe even to be a translation advisor in the Solomon Islands for the many languages that still remain?

So when our little package goes in the mail today, it will include letters for the children on our island

 



as well as some goodies for our colleagues in Honiara.

 



 

Sweet, encouraging gifts for both!

Texas Woman's Daybook

Just for today...Tuesday, May 28

Outside my window...a volunteer sunflower that grew underneath the birdfeeder,

and peaches that survived the late frost slowly growing bigger



On my bookshelf..."A Continual Feast:  Words of Comfort and Celebration Collected by Father Tim" by Jan Karon.

A heart of thankfulness...for all of the birthday cards and e-mails that came my way this weekend.  I feel so loved!

Praying for...my sister-in-law and her family.  Her mom, a model of Christian hospitality, is in "comfort care" awaiting death as her organs shut down.

Noticing that...goodbyes are hard, but this article articulates those third-culture-kid feelings well, and this one, well, I could have written it.

I am hearing...the packing tape "screech"

Around the house...geraniums.  About the only flower I can keep alive, but oh, how I love their sunny disposition!

One of my favorite things...finding great book lists.  And then having the time to enjoy the books.

Pondering these words..."We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for giving."  ~Billy Graham

From the kitchen...after a weekend of cooking, we have lots of leftovers, including a yummy turnip and baby spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette, made with turnips and greens from Scasta Farm.

From the learning rooms...officially, school is finished until July.  But Olivia still has to finish up her math book, we're planning to watch "Magnificent Desolation:  Walking on the Moon", and I anticipate lots of reading going on in our house.

A few plans for the rest of the week...shots, dentist appointments, enjoying a little more company, sharing about Bible translation with an Indonesian church this weekend

A peek into my corner of the world...Olivia took our extra timeline stickers and put them all over her face for about 30 minutes.  By the end of the day, she had red rectangles on her face, but she was fine by the next morning.  Silly Olivia!

Don't cry...smile!

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."  ~Dr. Suess

God has a way of pouring blessings into our laps.  When we arrived in Texas, some of our SITAG colleagues were already here on furlough to continue sharing life with us.

 



The weekend they left, God brought some of our other SITAG colleagues to Dallas, and we have absolutely reveled in their sweet presence.  They actually take us up on the offer to just drop by the house, like on May Day when they brought us basket of popcorn unannounced.

 



They have helped us celebrate Easter and choir concerts and baptisms

 



and have just been great friends through thick and thin.

 



Monday, this family came to stay at the Choate Bed and Breakfast as they got read to hit the road for their summer travels to churches and families.

 



We will get to see them again next spring when they come back to the Solomon Islands for the dedication of the Kwaio New Testament on April 19.

 



Until then, we won't cry because we miss them,

 



we'll just smile because of all the time we've gotten to spend together.

 



And we'll continue to pray for God's wisdom and blessing on them.

Weekend Wonders

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.  He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  He redeems me from death and crowns with love and tender mercies.  He fills my life with good things.  My youth is renewed like the eagle's!"  Psalm 103:2-5

Just a few good things from this weekend:

-a mother who taught my daughter the best way to roll up cinnamon rolls and who sewed for my girls all weekend



-a father who patiently scanned almost 500 old pictures from my huge Rubbermaid box of photos



-a husband who, once again, began packing boxes.  He takes such good care of me.



-for friends who made time and energy on their road trip to come see us

-for a slumber party with five girls in one room and three boys (and a dog) in the tent

-for a full birthday breakfast table



-for my beautiful mother who birthed me on this day just a few years ago



 

-for this lovely little one who held my hand in church and belted out "Bless the Lord, oh my soul..."



-for families whose hearts are knit together in a way only God could engineer



-celebrating our May birthdays together two years in a row



-for a fun caribou head that presided over our table (and friends that decided to join us at the last minute)



-for a table for nineteen for a birthday lunch (and four May birthdays!) at Babes Chicken Dinner House

-for the "Hokey Pokey"



-for funky chicken hats on the birthday girl





-for finger lickin' good birthday biscuits

Scasta Farm

Friday, we joined three other families who serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators for a tour of Scasta Farm.

 



Becky read a book about chickens and eggs to the kids...

 



let them hold chickens...

 



and chicks.

 



Then we moved on to the garden where each child was given a pair of gardening gloves and a cute handmade produce bag.

 



 

We walked around the garden talking about the different vegetables and harvesting some for each child to take home.

 

 

What a sweet time we shared!

 

 

These lovely beets turned into Sautéed Beet Greens with Roasted Beets and Pork Tenderloin for supper, just in time for my parents to pull in the driveway to spend the weekend with us.