Jon's Visit

Our friend, Jon Nuttelman, visited us this past week. He was here for the snowfall which he loved! There was lots of time to hang out, pray and be prayed for. We so enjoyed his visit - he played with the kiddos, told us all about his next step in life (military intelligence training) and even treated us to a super fun night out :) Thank you, Jon!!!

Ross and Jon

Weekly Roundup

We are hopping in the car for Portland (we will be there for the week for mini-outreach), actually the kids are already in the car, so here are a few pictures from the week, but no text today.

Selah with the "gloves" that Shae made her. She loves them! Thank you Shae!

WE LOVE SNOW!!!

We had our first BIG snow on Monday night of this week. Here is a panorama that Ross took with the new iPhone technology. Have you tried it yet? 

This is the view between the dorms, we usually have an amazing sunrise this direction. Our windows are the 2nd and 3rd sets on the bottom left.

The back of the student center:

The YWAM Montana sign by the street where we always see deer. Side note: For a few days, Ross was able to walk out of work, make a snowball and throw it at one of the deer by the sign, he said it looked at him, but didn't even run. We still don't know what to make of these beautiful, but not so smart,  animals.

Mason loving the snow!!! Isn't he cute?

All the kiddos enjoying the snow. Notice Selah is dressed appropriately, Kiera is 1/2 there (she has on jeans) and then Mason didn't know about snow pants yet... Don't worry, he has some and he is adorable with them on :) He wore them everyday this week so he would be ready for snow play at any time.

In case you forgot what we look like, here we are :)

Can you see each of their tracks? Isn't this beautiful?

Weekly Round-up

More pictures from the week and a few stories:

International Night: Thursday was "International Night" where all the countries represented on base have a table and they have some food or drink from their country. The kids thought this sounded like a really good idea, but they didn't actually like most of the food and by the end they wouldn't try the samples (I don't blame them). Thank goodness that Selah DID like the pad thai (which will be even BETTER in Thailand). Now I know that at least Selah won't starve while we are there. Now, to get the others ones to eat... There were tables from Canada, Iceland, Cambodia, Thailand, Norway, England, Nepal, India, Japan (sushi), Pennsylvania (whoopie pies!), New Mexico... and about 10 more that I can't think of right now :) I don't have any pictures from that night. Maybe I'll take some next quarter.

Bike Move Up Week: The kids all moved up to bigger bikes this week. Selah on a 20" (compliments of the Garrigans), Kiera on a 16" (Selah's old red bike), Mason on a 12" with training wheels (Kiera and Selah's old purple bike - compliments of Mimi and Papa!). It was a big week for all and they are loving their new big bikes. They are all much faster now.  (I'll try to get a picture of the girls on their bikes soon too!)

Funny Faces from the kiddos to their friends:

Kiera has been sick the past few days with a fever and feeling so tired. So tired that she feel asleep in my arms twice yesterday (so precious and pitiful at the same time).

Mason Story: He gives big hugs around your neck and then says, "I pop your head off". It sounds a little violent, but it is the most adorable thing ever. Oh, the things you can do and say when you are two and have dimples :-)

Tamaracks

We have discovered a new type of conifer here - the Tamarack Tree ("though the tamarack tree resembles other evergreens, it is actually a deciduous conifer, meaning that it sheds it’s needles every fall"). It is beautiful! I think the reason I love it is because it turns this amazing golden yellow color and the yellow against the backdrop of mostly green evergreens is stunning! (pictures below) We went on a very small hike / exploration trip yesterday and got to see the trees up close and also blazed a trail along a creek - over logs, under branches, across a fallen tree that was soft with age. The girls were muddy afterward, but happy! The reason the trip was short is because I'm a wimp. Yesterday was our first day of real cold and I was not dressed appropriately :) I did get used to it after a while, but by then the kids fingers were numb, so we hopped in the car and finished our sandwiches in the car.

Later that day we went to a friend's house and on the way (1.5 miles away), we must have seen at least 12 deer. Here is a picture of one of them that just posed for me about 5 feet away. CRAZY!

P.S. We also have a great restaurant at the bottom of the hill called "Tamarack Brewing Company", it is a brewery and pretty fancy for our small town. Come visit and we'll take you for some local beer :-)

Quotes for the week

My kids are saying some really funny things lately - not all of the things they say are nice - but it is pretty funny!

Mason:
Mason's thing to tell anyone who is giving him attention is to say, "I don't want you to leave." As they try and try to leave he just keeps repeating, "I don't want you to leave." That will tug at the heartstrings of anyone! A few days ago one of the guys was telling me about how Mason had pulled this trick on him and kept saying that he didn't want him to leave. As I'm being told this story, Mason was at the end of the hall saying to one of the girls, "I don't want you to leave." - I felt bad for the guy who thought he was special :-)

Kiera:
This girl has really come into her own.
A few days ago she looked at me and said, "Mom, are you going to do the puzzle with me or not?" (you have to imagine that she said this with confidence and attitude). I almost laughed at her adult frustration at me.

Kiera was sitting in the hallway with one of her friends, Samu.
Samu said: Do you like my sparkly shoes?
Kiera said: No.
Samu tried again: Don't you like my sparkly shoes?
Kiera said: Yes, I like them, but I don't like the way they look. (totally straight-faced. she tells it like she sees it)

Another conversation with Samu and Kiera:
Samu: Jesus would be sad if He heard you say that.
Kiera: He can't fit in this room anyway - He is too big to fit in the dorm and get through the doorway.
(After I heard about that conversation, I realized they both needed a theology lesson :)

Random Play Pictures

I need to do a better job of taking pictures of the kids close up, but until then, these group shots will have to do. I took this picture because I was amazed at the number of children that could fit on one playground piece. This is part of the playground behind the cafeteria. My children play on this playground at least once a day, but up to 4 times a day (after breakfast, after lunch, after nap, after dinner). They still love it. I'm guessing it is partly because the playground is fun and partly because it is the meeting place for all the kids. Do you see Mason at the top? Yes, he is a daredevil!

I took this picture because behind the big tree on the left / between the two buildings are 3 deer. You have to really zoom in to see them, but I wanted to give you an idea of how close they get to us - and you can imagine with this many kids on the playground, it wasn't quiet.

Here is another picture of Selah's school playground. Kiera and I went to her school on Wednesday to bring snacks for the class (chocolate covered frozen bananas) because Selah was the "Monster of the Day". Since we were there early, Kiera got to go to recess and play with Selah and her class, then we were there for spelling time and Selah's show and tell. It was a really special time to get to see her in her element. Let me tell you, she really is in her element, she loves the freedom and the way her teacher treats them with respect and lets them do a lot of things themselves. It was great to see her obeying and getting along with the other kids in the class AND seeing her swing on the "vine" in an around the world fashion. A true monkey, I mean, Lackey.

Kiera doing a trick - another Lackey monkey!

This is the scene when Selah plays soccer on Friday afternoon at the base. Do you see Kiera, Mason and Peter Garrigan watching? Kiera and Mason aren't old enough to play, but they really like to watch.

Selah is the one on the far left wearing pink