Father's Day

Father's Day presented a fun opportunity to take our Daddy to a new place to celebrate what a blessing he is to us! It is such a joy to see the kids interact with him. They love him so much. Here are Kris and the kiddos at a fondue restaurant in Dallas.

It was a very memorable evening and we had a great time!

Cutie

In Tyler with Friends

On June 13th, we had the privilege of journeying to my parents beautiful backyard in Tyler for a cookout and swimming with the Malarcher family (our neighbors) and my Korean ESL student, Sora, and her husband and two little girls. It was so much fun! The Malarchers made some scrumptious chocolate-and-sprinkle-covered marshmallows on a stick...



...and Sora brought a delicious cake from a Korean-owned bakery.


Irene loved watermelon and would have eaten the whole melon, I'm sure, if she was permitted.




Here are Sora, Kevin, Irene and Cailyn.

More pics from that day...



Anna and Lena





Thanks, Mom and Dad, for generously hosting us and our friends! We had a wonderful time at your beautiful property.

My First Cake

I don't know that I'll ever go into the cake decorating business, although a part of me would love to do it. But even so, I got my first real "job" decorating a cake for a friend. It was so fun to design and make. Anna was excited about it too and asked for special permission to stay up late to help me finish it.


This was for a bridal shower, and the napkin was the same shade of bright pink and the accent color was black.


All in all, it was a fun experience. If you have a cake to make and you don't want to go to the trouble, please let me know! If I can work it into my schedule, I would enjoy doing it.

Apricot Jam Addendum

Here is one last picture of our apricot jam. We had already given a couple of jars away by the time we took the picture, but here is our best effort at preserving the beautiful apricots (at least, the beautiful healthy apricots) that the Lord gave us this year. If we learn how to get rid of flies and their offspring, we may be able to have almost twice as much next year!

Peeps

Our dear neighbors found a tiny baby bird a couple of weeks ago. She fell out of the nest in their gutter, and the rest of her siblings didn't make it, but she survived. The Malarchers adopted her and researched what to feed her. We helped them feed her on days they had to be gone for an extended time. She would chirp every 15 to 30 minutes, and then we would give her a few drops of food, which resembled liquid dog food.




It has been fun to watch her grow. Jieun taught her how to fly, and last Saturday she flew onto our deck. It was so fun to watch her sit there, fluttering her wings but staying still, waiting expectantly for some food.





...Until Genny discovered her! Then we panicked! Genny pounced at her several times, while the kids (and I, I must admit) yelled at her to stop! Thankfully, Genny backed off.

We picked up Peeps and I attempted to carry her through the house to the safer front yard. She wiggled out of my hand while I was halfway through the house, and we all enjoyed watching her fly around the house for a few minutes (thankfully, she hadn't just eaten, if you know what I mean!).


I picked her up and put her out front.


Then, when I tried to go back in the house, she flew up and landed on me and wouldn't let go. It's very funny to have a real, wild bird clinging to you like you are her mother!



David came out with me and he enabled me to go back in by keeping her occupied for a little while. Kris found a worm from our compost pile and gave it to Peeps, and Peeps was a bit confused, but not for long. She quickly learned to keep it in her beak, and then swallowed, and swallowed, and swallowed, until the entire, whole, live worm was inside...except for a tiny part that still stuck out of her mouth. It is quite an education for us! David was quite concerned about the worm still sticking out, but she must have been successful digesting it, because she's still flying around our yard.







We have seen her every day this week. How do we know it's Peeps? She stood at the front door this afternoon, chirping. When I opened the door, she stayed, chirping, and ate some dog food pieces from my hand. I'm pretty sure that it was Peeps!

Not your typical trash

Last Friday, I asked Thomas to get his Duckie out of the dryer, as he was clean and dry and ready for cuddling. Shortly afterward, I heard HYSTERICAL laughter from the laundry room. "What in the world?" I thought. When I ran in to investigate, there was Thomas, stuck in the trash can across from our dryer. I guess that as he pulled the dryer open, he lost his balance and accidentally sat down in the trash. Then, the rest of the kids had to try it, too, which brought on not a little more laughter. Here's Thomas, right after it happened:

Apricot time!

Our apricot tree is prolific this year! Our current quantity of jam measures over four gallons, and we have at least one more batch to make (but need more jars!). We also tried out apricot pie. Needless to say, we probably won't have to buy any apricot jam this year! I won't mention that we found out that flies may lay eggs in the rotting apricots, which means MAGGOTS! But, we are developing our character and learning not to be so squeamish (at least, those of us who needed to learn it...) Here are some pics from the last week:

Hills and a Good Foot

Kris was so resourceful. His truck was leaking gas and he very efficiently bought the part it needed, scooted himself under the truck, and began to fix it...until he accidentally broke off a piece of it and got gasoline in his eye. Bummer. Then it would not work at all and he had to get it to the repair shop. This would have required an ordeal, except that we live on a hill, at the bottom of which and just outside our subdivision is a truck repair shop! It couldn't have been better. Here is Kris, powering his truck by a push from his foot, heading to get his truck fixed (with some excited children running to wave good-bye)!

Pastor Chheng

We had the privilege of spending a little time a couple of weeks ago with Chheng Nuon, his wife Sophorn, granddaughter Kayleen, and daughter-in-law Allyson (his son Soda is having serious back trouble and couldn't join us) as well as Edward, a brother of ours from church. The Nuons have an amazing story of how the Lord rescued them from the terrible regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia in the 1970s, brought them to the US, captured their heart with the Gospel of Christ, and now they are living again in Cambodia, longing to share the Gospel with their own people. Our dear friends Bill and Jennifer Hale went to join them in their work in 2007. They are here in the Dallas area for a couple of months this summer. Chheng is a joy to know and we respect him very much.

Readin' With Daddy

First Grade

Anna's last day of First Grade at Coram Deo Academy in Carrollton was May 6th. The final awards ceremony was May 11th, and our whole family attended. It was very long (2 hours), which was to be expected, and Daniel sat perfectly still on my lap the entire time, which was not at all to be expected. Truly, I was amazed, as was the sweet young woman behind me who commented that she was completely "stunned." "So am I!" I told her.

Here is Anna with Mrs. Wilson, her wonderful, exceptional, gifted teacher/comedian who was such a HUGE blessing in our lives this year! She loved her students and it showed.



We are looking forward to Second Grade at Coram Deo next year! Here we come, Miss Kisko!

Grannie

Thursday, May 21st was the day for Grannie's funeral. I thought the service was exceptional, and Mom and Uncle Joe did a great job planning. Thanks, MOM! You served all of us well! We sang "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" and "God Will Take Care of You" which I just loved. I wish I could sing some more hymns with Grannie!

Mom and many others spoke about the ways that Grannie had served them. It reminded us all of the wonderful example of serving others she was. She worked tirelessly, not regarding her own physical limitations, but just continuing to do as much as she could. I think the Lord honored her disregard for her own well-being and her unselfish service by keeping her body relatively healthy...for 97 years. It seems to me, if we are focused on serving Him by serving others, we need not worry about overdoing it. Why do I need to worry about my body if God Himself is watching over every hair? Of course, humility means we recognize that we need a decent amount of sleep, need to eat healthily, etc, which she did, but she didn't stop serving because she was afraid of "doing too much" and she rarely, if ever, said, "I'm just too tired." I think she just had such a desire to serve others and love for the Lord that her tiredness was not even comparable to those other desires. She was a great person, and I hope to be like her in many ways!

Her body was layed to rest at the Bosqueville Cemetery, where many of my maternal relatives are buried, including great- and great-great-grandparents and many great-aunts and uncles and many more relatives that I should know but don't!
Here are some pictures for me to remember the day.

Uncle Joe and me


My sweet-as-can-be Abbie (I would say my only niece, but not anymore! My second sweet baby niece is due early August!)


Daniel was so good for the funeral, and started to get a little wiggly during the graveside, so we eventually let him loose and he entertained himself by climbing on the mound of dirt. I know my Grannie would not have minded in the least!



This is the gravestone for my great-great-great grandparents - my mother's mother's father's mother's father and mother.


Here is the gravemarker for my Grandpap's parents, my great-great-grandparents. Notice the inscription on the stone: "They kept the faith."


This is the marker for my great-grandparents, Grannie's mother and father, Grandma and Grandpap. I was a baby when Grandpap died, and was present at the funeral though I don't remember. (Mom - If I'm wrong, please set me straight!). I do remember my Grandma, as we would go visit her with Grannie when I was young. Her name was Julia Anna, and I am named after her.


All the cousins (minus my niece who has yet to make her appearance!)