Good afternoon! We trust you had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. We enjoyed a quiet day at home and some badminton. We feel so blessed to have this time to do projects at home and catch up on some of the things that are pending after the past couple of months.

The men have been building a table in preparation for moving the washing machine out to our shop. The washer is really loud, so we'd like to move the noise! That invovles getting some kind of table to fold clothes on, so that is what the guys are doing. They've been enjoying the process, from all appearances.

This afternoon the boys have badminton training, so Garry and I are working on some office stuff. I'm attacking my inbox... and hoping to empty it out!

These days we've been thinking about God's blessings, how all of them are gifts. We never deserve God's love and care. We can never earn His approval. But he approves of us because we are in Christ and He blesses us because we are His children. Amazing! We pray you are enjoying His blessings today!

Hello from Palawan! We are incredibly thankful that the annual inspection is finished and the paperwork was delivered to the appropriate office in Manila this morning! It's a huge answer to prayer to have that finished... not that an annual inspection is usually a big deal, but just now it has been a lot to think about:).

This week we baked many dozens of cookies, and this morning Garry and Kevin took them to our friends around town-- the security guys that watch out for our hangar, the airport manager, the hardware store that we a lot of our business with, the man who delivers our bottled water, and so on. It is fun to be part of this tradition of blessing those who bless us all year long!

The boys enjoy being home again and able to work in their shop. Kevin has been secretly making Garry a Christmas gift and Kaleb is trying to perfect a rocket he drew "blueprints" for at the beginning of the week. In between the important things of their lives we've also been doing reading, writing, and math!

Garry is still on a gluten-free diet and seems to feel better for it. In fact, we recently learned (thanks, Anita!) that children with allergy-induced asthma often have problems with wheat or gluten, so Kevin is joining Garry on his diet. I'm scratching my head about what to cook, but overall it's gone quite well. I was thankful to talk to a friend in Manila whose husband is also a celiac and she gave me some good pointers about cooking and local food. I'll be calling her again soon!

Good evening-- or morning-- to you! We are incredibly thankful to say that Garry has had two good days in a row. In fact, he looks better than I've seen him in weeks, so we think we are seeing the end of this sickness! He just has one more day of antibiotics to go and then another couple of weeks on other gastritis medication.

Garry has had some difficult days this week, and even worse nights. Our primary doctor is out of town, so we had to contact another doctor. This doctor believes Garry may have celiac disease and has recommended that he go off anything containing gluten for at least two weeks. In just a couple of days he seems to feel better, so we'll definitely continue to stick with the diet.

Badminton doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but I thought I'd post a couple of photos of the boys playing anyway:).

Our plan right now is to head home on Sunday and complete the inspection. We're thankful for a couple of guys that are coming to help! When that is complete Garry is hoping he'll be able to do a couple of flights before Christmas.

I'm hoping to get back to posting more often when we get home and hopefully get into a semi-normal routine!

Good morning! This will be quick as I'm headed to the aiport again, but I wanted to post a quick update. Garry found a great doctor in Manila who ran a huge number of tests. They found a nasty bacteria in his stomach and are giving him two different antibiotics for that as well as treating his gastritis. He has finished 4 days of antibiotics and has 6 more to go. Medication has traditionally made him feel pretty awful, and this time is no different.

Many of you have prayed for us, sent encouraging words, and offered helpful advice. Thank you! You cannot imagine how blessed we feel to be part of a team that is standing with us through this difficult time. We are learning new things about faith and grace as we walk through Garry's illness. We are also seeing our Loving Father give us good gifts wrapped in unexpected packages. Thanks for being part of the journey!

Garry is actually at our guest house in Manila by himself right now, where they are taking good care of him. The boys and I came to Palawan for a major badminton tournament. Those of you who have kids in a sports community may imagine what this meant to them, so we decided to get them here. They really enjoyed their play time and came home with 2 tropies and 2 medals for their categories! It was a good time with our friends here as well.

This morning we head back to Manila if I can rouse them from their sleep! We've all been missing Garry, though it's only been a couple of days. The doctor recommended that we stay in the city for at least another week, and we are doing our best to follow orders:). Our airplane needs an annual, which includes an inspection, so we are trying to figure out the best way to make that happen!