birthday girl

Things have continued to be really busy around here.  On Easter we had a very special day.  Not only did we enjoy celebrating that special holiday with our family and some friends, we also celebrated Kait’s 9th birthday!

On Saturday we had a few friends come over for a little party.

Kait organized an Easter egg hunt for the little girls who attended the party while earning a Girl Scout badge at the same time.

Kait wanted a rainbow cake this year, and the most important thing to her was that the clouds be made with whipped cream.  Yum!

Kait, we enjoy you every day . . .your creative spirit, your compassionate heart, your wild and crazy stories, your love for life and friends, your commitment to Jesus and your family, your craftiness, your sense of humor, your inquisitiveness, and so much more.  You are a joy to us, and we are blessed to be your family.  Happy birthday, sweet girl.  Can’t wait to see what great things are ahead for you, and we’ll enjoy each day we have with you.

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biker girl 2

She did it!  Pendo learned to ride her bike!

It only took a couple of days for her to figure out how to pedal, then she was off!

Only 3 1/2 years old and this girl can ride a bike on her own!!

Way to go, Pendo!!  We’re so proud of you!

Rose has continued to improve and can now stop and start on her own.  She’s also getting better at making turns.  Before long we’ll have to dust off G’s bike so we can all go for a family bike ride, with no training wheels needed!!

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easter is here!

I was so excited to unpack our resurrection eggs this year!

The little girls and I have played and played with them.

They help to tell the story of Easter, and the other day I asked the girls to show me their favorite part.

Rose chose the stone (likely because she’s always finding and collecting rocks), and Pendo insisted that the spear was her favorite because “I really like the sharp part”.  Huh?  Not sure about that one.  When I asked her for a second favorite she chose the whip.  I don’t get that either.

These eggs have caused much discussion around our house this Easter.  I hope they enjoy them for many more years to come.

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fashions for freedom

Those who know us know that Amani ya Juu is close to our hearts.  We’ve spent hours there on the many trips we’ve made to Kenya, and we are SO excited that one of our dear friends is now living and working at Amani in Nairobi.  Many at our church know and love Amani and have been there as well as part of the annual trips that G leads to Kenya.

Well, this weekend I had the beautiful privilege of volunteering at an Amani ya Juu fashion show.

An area church spent several months planning and orchestrating this amazing event, and our church took part by selling the beautifully hand-sewn products before and after the fashion show.

See that sweet little blue and white wrap-around tunic on the far left?  That was made by Annie in Liberia and now hangs in my closet!

Over 400 people bought a ticket to come to the fashion show and supported Amani ya Juu by purchasing everything from scarves, purses, bags, dresses, potholders, place mats, children’s items, etc.  With every sale, I was SO excited to be a very small part of supporting the beautiful work happening in Nairobi and now in Liberia.

Here are a couple of pictures from the fashion show.  I didn’t get very many good ones from where I was standing.

I can’t even begin to describe what it was like to watch the fashion show.  It was presented as the story of one of the women who was left destitute and broken from situations out of her control, then she found out about Amani ya Juu, then she met Jesus and her life was transformed and restored, now she has the opportunity to learn a skill and support her children in a respectable way.  My simple description can never really explain the way this powerful story was shown through the fashion show.  I’m just SO thankful  that G could watch our girls so I could spend the day sharing in this experience.

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the big 1-0

Well, our little dog, Macie, turned ten years old.

That seems old to me, but she’s really 70 in dog years!

So what do we do when our dog celebrates her first decade?

Well, make a chocolate cake of course.

This is how she felt when we wouldn’t let her eat any of it.

Happy birthday, old lady.  🙂

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