We've added an album to our Flickr page just of pictures of Michelle. Now all of you can sit and watch slideshows of her- just like we do. Click here to see the album (and it's got an RSS feed, so you can even subscribe to it).
Friday, March 28, 2008
Michelle's Album
We've added an album to our Flickr page just of pictures of Michelle. Now all of you can sit and watch slideshows of her- just like we do. Click here to see the album (and it's got an RSS feed, so you can even subscribe to it).
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A BOY!!!
We went to the doctor this week and found out that the little one we're expecting is a BOY!!! I would have been equally as excited if it was a little girl, but it's a BOY!!! Woohoo!
We've gotten a kick out of how they say it in Spanish. Instead of saying "It's a boy!" they say "It's a man!" Kind of gives a different feel to it...
We've gotten a kick out of how they say it in Spanish. Instead of saying "It's a boy!" they say "It's a man!" Kind of gives a different feel to it...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Holy Week
We returned to Guatemala just in time for the full swing of Holy Week activities. The week was filled with a trip to a water park, afternoon games Tuesday to Friday, a sleepover for each age group, special breakfast after each sleepover, Good Friday service, bonfire celebration on Saturday, Easter sunrise service, special Easter breakfast, an Easter egg hunt and a picnic lunch!
Although I don't have any pictures of it, Daniel and I again this year prepared a special activity for the kids called Journey to the Cross. Thirteen different stations were set up in classrooms of the school building. Each station represented a different event in Jesus' life during Holy Week, leading to the resurrection as the final station. Each room was decorated and had a recording for the children to listen to on headphones of corresponding scripture and then they had an interactive activity to do to go along with that event. I was impressed that many of the kids took their time at each station and with each activity. I pray that they experienced the Lord's presence and His great love for them during that exercise.
It was a very busy but great week! Here are a few pictures with explanations below each picture:
Lee & Staci did a great job with games this year! In this picture, Edgar is trying to catch the ingredients for a hot dog (bun, hot dog, ketchup, mayonnaise) as they are thrown by his teammates off the second story of the school building.
Each evening, dinner had a theme for how the kids should dress with a competition held for the most creative team. This night was jungle night.
Angie ready for Crazy Night at dinner.
Tug-o-war in the mud pit (a trench dug on the soccer field).
Eagerly waiting for the pool to be filled up by the water truck.
Enjoying the pool. The water got pretty gross throughout the week!
The little boy and little girl sleepover. They watched two movies and had snacks together in Lee & Staci's apartment. Then the girls slept at our apartment. They actually did sleep.... hooray! Although, they were up and ready to go at 6:30 am.
Pablo and one of the newest little guys, Jorge.
Easter sunrise service was a little too early for Josue.
Checking out the candy from their Easter eggs. Randy and Jorge (the two little guys on the left) were confused by the egg hunt concept but quickly caught on and enjoyed the surprise of opening the eggs and finding great treats inside.
What post would be complete without a picture of Michelle?! Here she is in a preemie outfit that we couldn't resist buying for her while we were back in the U.S. (By the way -- Michelle got a great report from her doctor on Monday. She is up to 6 pounds 11 ounces, has grown a centimeter, is getting her first tooth, and she is no longer anemic. While these may seem like only small gains, they show continued improvements and we celebrate them!)
Although I don't have any pictures of it, Daniel and I again this year prepared a special activity for the kids called Journey to the Cross. Thirteen different stations were set up in classrooms of the school building. Each station represented a different event in Jesus' life during Holy Week, leading to the resurrection as the final station. Each room was decorated and had a recording for the children to listen to on headphones of corresponding scripture and then they had an interactive activity to do to go along with that event. I was impressed that many of the kids took their time at each station and with each activity. I pray that they experienced the Lord's presence and His great love for them during that exercise.
It was a very busy but great week! Here are a few pictures with explanations below each picture:
Lee & Staci did a great job with games this year! In this picture, Edgar is trying to catch the ingredients for a hot dog (bun, hot dog, ketchup, mayonnaise) as they are thrown by his teammates off the second story of the school building.
Each evening, dinner had a theme for how the kids should dress with a competition held for the most creative team. This night was jungle night.
Angie ready for Crazy Night at dinner.
Tug-o-war in the mud pit (a trench dug on the soccer field).
Eagerly waiting for the pool to be filled up by the water truck.
Enjoying the pool. The water got pretty gross throughout the week!
The little boy and little girl sleepover. They watched two movies and had snacks together in Lee & Staci's apartment. Then the girls slept at our apartment. They actually did sleep.... hooray! Although, they were up and ready to go at 6:30 am.
Pablo and one of the newest little guys, Jorge.
Easter sunrise service was a little too early for Josue.
Checking out the candy from their Easter eggs. Randy and Jorge (the two little guys on the left) were confused by the egg hunt concept but quickly caught on and enjoyed the surprise of opening the eggs and finding great treats inside.
What post would be complete without a picture of Michelle?! Here she is in a preemie outfit that we couldn't resist buying for her while we were back in the U.S. (By the way -- Michelle got a great report from her doctor on Monday. She is up to 6 pounds 11 ounces, has grown a centimeter, is getting her first tooth, and she is no longer anemic. While these may seem like only small gains, they show continued improvements and we celebrate them!)Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Briefly back in the U.S.
A few years ago, Daniel sang "I Can Only Imagine" at my grandma's funeral. After the service, my grandpa pulled Daniel aside and asked him if he would sing at his funeral. Last year we were sad when Daniel's Grandpa Tom died that we were not able to return and be with that side of the family, so on Saturday when we found out how ill my grandpa was we decided that if it became possible for us to get back, we wanted to return to the U.S. to honor this request as well as to honor my grandpa's life.
We left the children's home at 4 am on Sunday morning and had a very long day of travel due to some delays. We arrived in St. Louis a little after 7 pm. My grandpa had been in a semi-coma all day and unresponsive. Daniel and I had some time alone with him -- a neat time that I will always remember where we each stood on either side of his bed, holding his hands and prayed and talked with him. Later, my grandpa opened his eyes, looked directly at me and moved his chin as if trying to say something. For me, that was such a blessing and a gift that I am very thankful for. I was able to tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me. He passed away only a few hours later, having seen each of his children and grandchildren. I am so thankful that God provided a way for us to return and at just the right time to say goodbye.
Because there are other out of town family members, the funeral will not be held until Saturday. Daniel will be singing "I Can Only Imagine." It is a sad time since my grandpa was my last remaining grandparent, but also a time of rejoicing because each of us have so many great memories of him and know that he was very ready to go and be reunited with his Savior and so many loved ones and friends.
Daniel and I will return to Guatemala on a 6:20 am (yuck!!) flight on Monday morning.
If you are interested, please see my sister's blog for a great picture tribute to my grandpa: www.kjohnsonfamily.blogspot.com. The link is also on the right side of this page under family links (The Johnson Journal: Krista).
We left the children's home at 4 am on Sunday morning and had a very long day of travel due to some delays. We arrived in St. Louis a little after 7 pm. My grandpa had been in a semi-coma all day and unresponsive. Daniel and I had some time alone with him -- a neat time that I will always remember where we each stood on either side of his bed, holding his hands and prayed and talked with him. Later, my grandpa opened his eyes, looked directly at me and moved his chin as if trying to say something. For me, that was such a blessing and a gift that I am very thankful for. I was able to tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me. He passed away only a few hours later, having seen each of his children and grandchildren. I am so thankful that God provided a way for us to return and at just the right time to say goodbye.
Because there are other out of town family members, the funeral will not be held until Saturday. Daniel will be singing "I Can Only Imagine." It is a sad time since my grandpa was my last remaining grandparent, but also a time of rejoicing because each of us have so many great memories of him and know that he was very ready to go and be reunited with his Savior and so many loved ones and friends.
Daniel and I will return to Guatemala on a 6:20 am (yuck!!) flight on Monday morning.
If you are interested, please see my sister's blog for a great picture tribute to my grandpa: www.kjohnsonfamily.blogspot.com. The link is also on the right side of this page under family links (The Johnson Journal: Krista).
Saturday, March 08, 2008
My Grandpa
My grandpa has spent the last week and a half in the hospital with some heart problems. I received a call this morning saying that he is returning home and hospice has been called in. He communicated to the family at his side this morning his great love for them and that he is going home to heaven. He has lived 88 great years on this earth and is deeply loved by his family and friends. He is a tremendous blessing to all of us. I ask for you to pray for him during these days -- that he will not be afraid but will instead experience great peace, that he will not have pain, and that he knows how much he is loved.The above picture is from this past October when Daniel and I were able to return to the U.S. We enjoyed some great time with Grandpa and are very thankful for that.
GoodSearch
Here is a very easy way to give toward the ministries of NLCH: Any time that you search or shop for something on the internet, use www.goodsearch.com. It uses Yahoo as a search engine (or for shopping, links directly to many stores- like Amazon.com and iTunes), and for each search or purchase, a donation is made to NLCH!
Please visit their website to get started. Once there, you will be able to designate "New Life Children's Home- Houston, TX" as the charity to receive the donations produced by your usage (It lists us in Houston since that is where our mission's US office is). You will also see easy ways that you can make GoodSearch your default search engine and make this simple way of giving to NLCH part of the things that you already regularly do on the computer.
Please visit their website to get started. Once there, you will be able to designate "New Life Children's Home- Houston, TX" as the charity to receive the donations produced by your usage (It lists us in Houston since that is where our mission's US office is). You will also see easy ways that you can make GoodSearch your default search engine and make this simple way of giving to NLCH part of the things that you already regularly do on the computer.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Quote of the Year
Yesterday after taking him to McDonald's, 4-year-old Jorge said, "I don't have a mommy, or a daddy, or a grandma... but I do have french fries!"
Belated Birthdays
I'm very far behind on posting our birthday pictures of the kids, but here they are:
Brenda turned 13 on Jan. 20
Brenda turned 13 on Jan. 20
Eslin turned 19 on Jan. 23
Marta turned 24 on Jan. 26
Edgar turned 18 on Jan. 29
Herbert turned 20 on Feb. 4(Esdras turned 16 on Feb. 13, but we didn't get the picture)
Luis turned 22 on Jan. 20
And Randy had his first NLCH birthday, turning 6 on March 2
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