I just checked my blog and couldn't believe it's been a whole week since I posted... then I realized it's Monday morning, not Saturday!

The plantation that hosts our flight program in Mindanao has asked Garry to do a maintenance seminar in another city, so we're on the road again. Being away from home and taking a week off school makes it feel like a weekend-- a LONG weekend! Garry is working, but the boys and I plan to take some time to have fun: hanging out at the pool, checking out the mall, and just doing a bit of nothing.

A friend recommended a book to me last week, and I've been enjoying "Who Switched Off My Brain?" It's a fascinating look at how our thoughts control our emotions and physical bodies. As we enter yet a another phase of change, it's encouraging to see the truth of the Bible backed up by science.

The cold that attacked Garry and Kaleb on Friday has now decided to stalk me. The fact that they're both feeling a bit better already gives me hope that I can win this battle!

I am so happy it's Friday. I am so pleased we finished with the dentist yesterday (given our record, that's likely it for at least 3 years!). I am thankful for the rain this morning, it suits my quiet mood. I am blessed to have a wonderful family. The list is endless, really!

Kevin got his stitches out yesterday and had high hopes he'd be back to badminton today or tomorrow. However, the dentist told him his rackets are likely to stay right where they are for the next week. Ahh... more time with no exercise doesn't suit a 17-year-old very well.

It seems like Garry and Kaleb have a nasty cold this morning, but hopefully that will pass soon.

Monday, and the road goes on. Kevin got a wisdom tooth extracted on Friday and he's been rather quiet since then. He can't talk much and can't do much moving around at all. It's nice to have him around the house more since he can't train or ride his bike. But I do feel sorry for him with his swollen face and not being able to eat much. Today is better than yesterday, so hopefully he's on the road to healing!

I think it's almost as hard for Kaleb as it is for Kevin, this healing process. Kaleb doesn't have anybody to do fun stuff with, and he is getting a percentage of the chores Kevin can't do. All in all, this is a family affair!

Garry spent the better part of the day in the office and then had coffee with a friend this afternoon. After school I went to Missy's to do bookkeeping for a while-- and came home with a nice bag of treats. They were generous enough to share some candy from home with us, which the boys are already enjoying.

When I got home I made some hamburger quiche for supper, and now I'm vegging in my chair while it bakes:).

I need a nice cup of brew about now... it's been a crazy day for some reason. At least my week started out calmly!

Kevin and Kaleb both started piano lessons this semester, and the teacher comes to our house for lessons. The teacher asks for a minimum of two lessons per week, preferably three. Wow, I've never heard of that! If you have, message me and tell me, cause it's a new one to me, but we've never done music lessons before either. Dyndee is an incredible teacher, so whatever.

We had a great chat with our missions committee from our home church this morning. It's encouraging to touch base with them, to know people at home are praying for us and actually know what's happening with us these days. Three cheers for a great team! Thank you, each of you who are part of our team, our lives!

I was thinking that this blog has evolved into more family news and less ministry news in so many ways... I suppose it's part of training people. Our interactions simply take on a different flavor and intensity, and most of them are not the same kind of "shareable" as the more hands-on flying and maintenance we've done most of our lives. I'll have to ponder that...

Mondays are sometimes hard days... but I woke up this morning feeling quite cheery about a new week. A new week to proclaim God's love and goodness. A new week to get school done. A new week to attack some of the projects I've got going on at home. It's a rather nice way to start a week! Now, if I could just have this feeling every day... but faith walks on promises, not feelings....

Kevin has been researching business opportunities when he isn't playing badminton, riding a bicycle or motorcycle, or eating. He's coming up with some pretty cool ideas. It's really fun to see him growing up, taking more responsibility, thinking through new things. A friend was just in Manila and took this photo of a jeepney. Made me smile:). Thanks, Anja!

Kaleb is into photography of any and every sort lately, making videos with friends, creating video animation, researching camera angles and special effects. This is from one of his animations of a building blowing up-- who knew cotton was key to animation?

Yesterday we listened to a sermon from home, enjoying the message as well as a taste of home. I've been thinking lately how home, for us, is a sense of belonging, of things being familiar. As we've moved between countries and communities, we've picked up things from each of them. We love our Venezuelan arepas and glop and Paraguayan yerba and chipa. Some mornings when we walk the we can smell the pine trees, and it feels comfortingly like Manitoba. The list is rather long, because we've been blessed by various things in each place we've lived, encouraged by various things in each community we've become a part of.

Yesterday we also listened to a song by MercyMe, "This Life" and I love the line that says "This is not my home, not my space... can't get comfortable, can't get settled in". Check it out:). It's a beautiful song about how this world is not our home, we shouldn't settle for less than heaven, and we won't be there until we get there: in the meantime this life is an opportunity to shine, to make Jesus known!

Wednesday afternoon and I'm back in the office, for a little while, anyway. I love the routine of doing school every day, but sometimes it feels like there isn't much time left after school for doing other things, like blogging. Or exercising. Or getting together with friends. Then I am reminded again that these days of schooling our boys are quickly coming to an end.

Garry got home just before 11 pm on Saturday. They had a remarkably quick trip considering the road and weather. He's been trying to catch up on some office stuff, then this morning he went to the airport to do some flying with Joel, who is getting ready for a possible medical flight tomorrow.

The boys always tell me how beautiful it is where they go biking and running, and this week they took some photos to prove it. You can't really appreciate the whole view with these little photos, but it is amazing. Now, maybe I'll just have to go riding to see it in real life.

Yesterday my friend Nancy came for coffee and brought cookies and cups with her! She texted me her plan and I was pretty curious as to what it was all about. She brought me some really cute little coffee-themed cups and saucers. Then this morning Missy sent me some biscotti. I am blessed.

I'm sitting here listening to some of my favorite Spanish music, being blessed again by the reminders of how blessed we are to be children of the Most High. God's favor rests on us!

Garry's mom is in the hospital. It's hard being so far away right now. One of my friends who has grown children and a grandbaby was telling me recently how they are just realizing the cost of what they've missed in terms of their family. So many milestones that you aren't able to be a part of. So many things you simply can't walk through with someone from half a world away. Somehow, I think God must have a special plan to make up for all that... and I can't wait to see what it is, because we, too, are seeing some of those costs with our parents and siblings.

Garry, on the other hand, is on his way home! His flight was delayed quite a bit, but he is now on his way home from the airport, munching a hamburger in the back of a taxi. Since it's dark and rainy, he might make it home by 11 pm, which is much nicer than tomorrow:).

It feels like he's been gone a lot lately, and I guess that's because he's been on 3 trips without me since the last week in November, plus we've made 2 day trips together during that time. I guess some days I feel about like these boots look-- a little dirty and travel weary! Sometimes I'm weary of the moving we've done so much of in our lives, sometimes I'm tired of the constant travel Garry does. Then I consider all we would have missed if we would have eliminated those things, and I'm thankful for each of them. Because the truth is that our lives have been incredibly rich, incredibly blessed!

Today Rich's family was in the city for the day, so Kevin & Kaleb had lunch with him then they went on a long bike ride. They came home dirty, tired, and hungry. Now they're watching a funny movie, passing time until Richard's parents and Garry get home.

This morning the boys had invited Rich over for waffles, so we started the morning early by making a huge mess and some pretty good waffles. I'm not really sure where the idea came from... I don't even make waffles! But at any rate, the recipe I found worked out OK and we enjoyed breakfast together!

Kevin and Kaleb went biking in the mountains yesterday and took a bunch of pictures, so they all went downstairs after breakfast to look through them and have some good laughs at themselves. They also got plenty of good photos, so the laughing was in good humor.

Last evening we took pizza to a friend who's home alone with 4 sick little kids. It was fun to see them, though they all looked pretty tired and sick. I got a short education on Strawberry Shortcake and Fancy Nancy and was reminded why young moms are often tired-- little people have LOTS of energy! Little people are also terribly cute if you take the time to listen to them. Over dinner I reflected just a bit on the fact that not too long ago my boys were little, and now Kevin drives me places and is happy to run home for anything we forgot!

Garry sounds like he is enjoying field conference. The teaching has been really good and very encouraging. He's also enjoying catching up with lots of people... some of them he's talking to especially to answer all my questions, since I'm not there. I am pretty impressed:).

I'm reading a really interesting, challenging book about faith... how we must live by faith because it is the only way to please God. How our faith, if genuine, must give birth to works. How faith is seeing that God not only exists, but that the rewards He give are more valuable and better than anything we can get with our best works.

Despite the interesting start to our little anniversary get away, it was a great time! This was at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, where we enjoyed a quiet supper. The boys had a ton of fun while we were gone, watching movies, playing video games, and riding their bikes.

We spent New Year's Eve with friends... in fact, this is 3 years in a row that we've spent the 31rst with them, which definitely makes it a tradition! We never actually make it quite til midnight, but we enjoy a bonfire, hotdogs, popcorn, and fireworks in the evening.

This morning Garry left for field conference. He took a bus to the city, which worked out quite well. We went to the terminal, and the bus driver said they weren't picking up anyone. So we drove down the street, and when Garry flagged the bus down, they stopped and picked him up. Figure that one out! Anyway, he got on and is now in the city getting a little dental work done before he heads to Manila tomorrow.

Our Christmas photos are still buried somewhere on my computer.... oh, to be a techie!