Silver Dollar City

Sometime before we left the Philippines, I'd suggested to my mom to buy some sort of "experience" gift for Christmas, rather than a lot of things we'd have to pack to take back. So we got our Christmas gift as soon as we arrived....season passes to one of our favorite places, Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. Before the season ended, we were able to go 5 times. Here are a few pics of our first visit.

Here Carly and Caleb pose with Papaw, Minnie and Uncle Sam.

Since Caleb had been so young the last time we visited SDC, he really had no idea what it was all about. This picture with Sam was taken on the tram going into the park. He was so excited just to ride on the tram. Little did he know what lay ahead!

SDC was finishing up their Kids Fest the weekend we went. As soon as we got inside the gate, they had this whole area where kids could draw and write all over the ground with chalk. I think Caleb was writing his name in this pic, but writing it backwards!

OK - we must be honest. The number one reason for going to SDC isn't the rides or shows or crafts. It's really for the food! Here Carly is having strawberries for the first time in about 3 years. Yum!

Carly and Caleb have the coolest uncle in the world! They all had a blast playing in the sandboxes of colored sand.

"WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO RIDE THE RIVER RAPIDS??!!"

(Caleb got the prize for being the wettest. He and Mommy got soaked!

And notice how dry Sam is. Grrr!)

On the way home from SDC, we spent the night at the cabin. Here Papaw is introducing Caleb to the world of John Deere Tractors. Caleb kept calling it "Papaw's green deer truck."

One of our favorite spots at the cabin is in Papaw's porch swing.

Doesn't get better than this!

Visit with the Haguewoods

Just a few days after the kids and I arrived in the States, some good friends of ours, the Haguewoods, we're leaving for language school in Costa Rica. So we managed to get in one short visit between the day we arrived and the day they departed! We met at a catfish restaurant near my parents cabin and enjoyed a couple of hours together.

Jamie & Kami Haguewood and their crew

We were joined by my parents and Kami's parents.

Kami and I enjoyed a few moments to do some catching up! (And we also enjoyed the catfish! At least I did. It had been a long time coming!)

When we'd completely stuffed ourselves with shrimp and catfish, we went to my parents cabin for a little more time to visit. The kids had fun getting to know each other better, especially the girls!

Headed Home

Maybe I should call this blog "Better Late than Never" but I'd really like to begin to post pictures from our furlough last year. It's been over a year since we left the Philippines, on our way to the States. We were in the States from August 2005 until May 2006. We had a wonderful time of reconnecting with many people and churches that have been so faithful to pray and support us. We especially enjoyed the time spent with family. There were many long, long hours spent on the road, but every trip proved to be an adventure! Little by little, I plan to post pictures here of our 8 months in the States.

Carly, Caleb and I left the Philippines about 3 weeks before Wade. We wanted a few extra days to spend with friends and family before we had to hit the road. This picture is of Carly and Caleb sitting in the Manila airport, waiting to board our plane. Needless to say, they were pretty excited to be going to America!

Caleb was only 18 months old when we left the States so he knew he had a whole new experience ahead of him. Before we left, all our friends here were asking him what he expected to find when he got to the States and he informed them all that "there were no cats in America!" (For those of you who don't know, that comes from a song in the movie "An American Tale.") It didn't take many days for Caleb to discover that there WERE cats in America! He also got a real kick out of things like water fountains, coke machines, pizza delivery and lawnmowers. A couple of days after we arrived, Caleb noticed his uncle drinking water straight from the tap and was horrified! "Uncle Sam! You mean you drink SINK WATER??!!" (something we NEVER do in the Philippines) This picture shows how grown-up Caleb was when we left for furlough - quite a change from the last time he flew across the ocean!

The kids and I also had another traveling companion, Laura Simpson. Laura had spent her summer with us in the Philippines as a Volunteer Student Missionary. We REALLY enjoyed having her around. She was an asset to our ministry and a blessing to our family. She was also a HUGE help to me on the trip. I couldn't have done it without her. Thanks, Laura! I'm still nominating you for VSM of the Year!