Just after my last post Kaleb got a pretty nasty stomach flu and then Garry got a touch of it. Kevin is still struggling with a cold, though he's doing quite a bit better today than he was yesterday. I guess it will just take a little while to really feel good.

The other night when the boys were sick I was up with them and found a rather large gecko on the wall. He wasn't really huge, but probably a good 12 inches long or so. Too big for me! Since I've been thinking of some of the things I won't miss from here, I decided to take a picture. When I got my camera I turned on the light and found two other "friends" right in my front room! I thought maybe you'd like to enjoy them with me...
Garry has been home most of today, though he did spend a couple of hours at the hangar showing Ben some of the paperwork stuff that needs done for the annual. I was so thankful to have him here packing with me! He packed several boxes, moved stuff to the hangar, fixed a light outside the house, and did a few other things. Wow!

On a slightly more normal note, one of the things we enjoy here is a kefir drink called Yakult. A lady sells it on the street and stops by our house about every other day. It comes in really small bottles which always makes me smile! Here is Jhean (my helper) getting Yakult from Chit, our friendly delivery lady!

Friday Keith and Simon stopped by to pick up some stuff and took a quick look at Kevin's garden. These men are helping local people learn to garden organically among other things. They've both been such a blessing to us and Kevin in teaching him many things about gardening!

This weekend I've been thinking a bit about little things I'll be glad for when we arrive in Canada... not watching small lizards run out of my sink, no mosquitos under the table when we eat dinner, the ability to actually speak English freely with nearly anyone you meet, frozen vegetables, fresh milk, good product labelling (I hope!), and lots of other little things. Insignificant things, really. But things that cost time and energy in our everyday lives.

Of course, there are also things I'll miss when we go-- small things that nonetheless make our lives easier or more enjoyable.... fruit shakes for a reasonable price at nearly every restaurant, living in our own home with our own things, fresh mangos, househelp, great deals on text messaging, warm weather, and lots of other little things. Every goodbye has a hello waiting on the other end, and every loss is gain!

One of the things Garry wanted to do before we leave Puerto is paint his toolbox or have it painted. He found a shop in town that looks pretty good and was able to take it in on Friday. The people there were helpful and we're hopeful that it will turn out well!

This weekend we all came down with colds, so this morning we're all moving a bit slowly. Actually, Garry went to the hangar early so he may be going at his normal rate as he didn't seem to be hit quite as hard as the other 3 of us. He's getting a computer set up for the program today and hoping to get the annual paperwork passed on to Ben.

We trust that your week is starting well and that is a week of enjoying life where you are. We certainly intend to savor the good things here in the weeks we have left!

Good afternoon! It's been a cool day here due to yet another long rainstorm. I enjoy the coolness, but I could use some sunshine! Actually we had enough sun yesterday to empty the clotheslines so that was a huge blessing!

Last evening we sorted Kaleb's art-- his pictures he's drawn and painted. It was fun to look through his creations and see how he's developed in the last years (no, he hasn't been good at throwing things away throughout our time here!). Kevin has also done some neat art, but he doesn't have the same passion for it that Kaleb does.

Today Kevin has been busy about a million things. We had a young guy come help in the yard and shop and he and Kevin did a lot of work in one short day! Kaleb pitched in with some sorting and burning papers also!

The annual is going well. In fact, I think the guys are hoping to finish this afternoon since Ben is flying tomorrow. They'll still have the paperwork left to do, but hopefully the work on the airplane itself will be done!

and yes, the photos are pretty random these days!

Good morning! It continues to rain almost non-stop here and the clotheslines are getting very, very full. Everything is wet. In fact, Monday evening we discovered that the boys walls were nearly covered in mold. This happened incredibly quickly as Kevin's allergies alert us to mold and mildew in their room. We wiped the walls down, but the added moisture of wiping them made it impossible for Kevin to sleep in his room. So, being friendly brothers both boys brought their mattresses into our room for the night. We're thankful that we were able to clean the room sufficiently for them to move back in yesterday!

Both Kevin and Kaleb have had colds lately. This one seems to take a long time to get over-- Kevin's been feeling rather down for over 3 weeks now. Every time we think he's better he gets hit again. This morning he woke up sounding terrible, but went to the hangar to help Garry anyway. Soon they should be home for lunch and I'll hear the rest of the story!

Garry, Ben, and Kevin are working on the annual this morning. They hope to finish inspecting in a few days and then move on to the paperwork. This is the first time Ben's been involved in annual paperwork here in the Philippines so they're planning some extra time for him to learn the process.

We got a neat message from our church this morning. People have been contacting the deacons to find out what we'll need when we get home. Since we don't have anything stored in Canada and need to set up housekeeping for our 8 months there we were pretty excited to hear that!

For my part I've been busy sorting and packing. In between times I continue to cook, clean, and generally take care of things on the homefront. I think I'll be quite happy to have the moving process finished!

The days are passing quickly with sorting, packing, and trying to finish things that we need to do before we leave here in about 3 weeks. Wow, time flies!

The boys did finish their school last week, completing their assigned work for the semester. It really is a great feeling to be done for now and we celebrated by going out to a little restaurant in town! Now the books are all packed away or given away and we're officially on our semester break.

One morning last week Kody, our dog, accompanied us on a visit to Ben and Suzy's. She was pretty excited to get in the truck and responded to every dog we passed on the way. She is going to stay with them while we are gone, so we wanted to be sure Tanya, their dog, and Kody would get along before we made final plans that way. We adults had a short business meeting and enjoyed Suzy's blueberry strudel. The younger kids enjoyed playing together. Kevin didn't get to join in the fun as he was busy doing school.

Ben is flying today and tomorrow, getting missionaries and their supplies back into their remote locations. When he finishes his flight tomorrow he and Garry will begin work on the annual. It shouldn't be a big job this year, though the paperwork always takes some time.

Saturday was another fun day! We spent the day with Galangs at the Underground River-- the longest underground river in the world! We went with Filipino friends, which made it extra fun! In fact, these are the same people we did baking with last week.

We drove about 3 hours north and across the island, then had a picnic at the town of Sabang. Jo had brought hotdogs, rice, watermelon, mango, and pork adobo. I took some taco soup and honey bars and we both brought some snack kinds of food. The older kids played Uno (a new game to this family!) and the adults and younger boys walked on the beach or sat by the ocean.

Then we took a boat about 20 minutes to the mouth of the underground river. From there we took a smaller boat into the river itself and enjoyed a guided tour.

The river itself was amazing! The cave is amazingly beautiful and diverse. We only went just over a kilometer down the river, but the total length is 8 km. The ceilings were sometimes high and sometimes low. Overall it was an incredible reminder of the creativity of the God we serve!

This week is off to a quick start. The boys are trying to finish their last week of school and are quite enthusiastic about their assignments-- or should I say finishing their assignments?! Garry and Ben are fixing some little things on the airplane in preparation for several flights later this week.

Yesterday Garry and I did some running around town and doing errands. I never cease to be amazed at how long life takes here! Even little things can eat up enormous amounts of time! One thing we did was get fresh milk from the farm. They are still only milking one cow, so the supply is quite limited!

Hope your week is starting out well-- enjoy the journey!