Mission Trip Movie Night

We just returned from a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with Christian International Fellowship, Inc. While there, we (Jon, Christi, Blaize, Brodie, and Anna) stayed with our dear friends, Bill and Peg Pearson, who run the mission from their apartment in the middle of Santo Domingo. Their home is an open door to people from all over the city. It is quite common for them to feed 20-30 + people on a given afternoon and/or evening. We had a wonderful trip with many great experiences, both in Santo Domingo and out near the border of Haiti.

One evening after we ate supper, the kids went back to brush their teeth and get PJs on for bed. After a little while, I went to check on them since it was very quiet. Upon arriving, I saw the door closed with the light off and thought, "Wow - they must really be tired if they went to bed on their own already!" As I quietly cracked open the door, this is what I saw: all three kids perched by the window watching a movie from the open window of a room in the adjacent building, sound and all.


The "guilty" party - thoroughly engrossed.



The view out their window to the next building.

Brayden describing his accident . . .

We recently returned from a family vacation in Williamsburg, VA.  Jon's parents and Christi's parents (from Kansas & Michigan) met us on the east coast, and all stayed together for a fun week of learning about the founding of America.  On our drive back, Brayden had a bit of an accident in his pants before we could whisk him into a restroom.  After this little episode was rectified, I took a short video of him as he came back in the van.

Following is a bit of history on his informative monologue:
You will hear him recounting how he kept dropping a golf ball.  This happened at the beginning of the week while playing miniature golf.  I told him he could carry his own golf ball to the course, as long as he was careful not to drop it.  Well, the poor guy just couldn't keep hold of it as much as he tried, and he kept saying how silly it was that the ball wouldn't stay in his hands.

Next, he reflects on dropping a sandwich.  This happened while eating a picnic lunch outside.  All of a sudden, half his sandwich popped out of his hand and found the ground.  Sheepishly, he recounted how the other day the same thing was happening with the silly golf ball.

Finally, he couples the whole thing together to include the recent "potty" accident.  Well, it delayed our trip a few minutes, but it was well worth the joy of being entertained by his quizzical explanation!

It's shower time!

Shower time is ALWAYS a highlight for Brayden and Brennan.  You should see their smiles and excitement when the announcement is made, "Get ready for your showers!"  Each time, they never fail to have some new and exciting activity.  This day after we finished, I sent them to get dressed.  Well, upon hearing snickering and the all-familiar sounds of "up-to-no-good", I turned around the corner and found this - a proud new hat design.  The "little boys" (as we call them), provide loads of entertainment for us, and them!

Welcome home meal

Aliyah, Anna, and Brayden had a doctor's appointment this morning.  Upon arriving home, Blaize, Brodie, Ava, and Brennan were excited to present them with a special "meal" they had put together.  Brayden was especially proud of his blue tongue from a lollipop he received at the doctor's office.

Sing for Your Supper

Each day, someone is assigned to pray and pick a song to sing before we eat.  This day it was Anna's turn, and she picked "Doxology."  On Brayden's day, he usually tries to get away with the Baroche-era classic: "I have a little turtle, his name is Tiny Tim, I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim ..." 

Brayden does NOT care for cherry tomatoes!

Brodie immitates a goat.