Riding Bikes

Our friend from China, Alexander Bowmaker, gave Elijah his bike last year. Elijah is loving it this spring! He wants to ride it all day long! Anna is excited to be able to ride her bike again too.

A sweet Easter Sunday picture

Birthday fun

2 of my sisters, Joy and Kate, and Joy's boys Jacob, Austin, Peter, and Patrick drove from Williamston to surprise me for my birthday! It was so fun to hang out for a couple of hours!!! Thank you guys for my surprise birthday party! What a special memory--being in the basement, doing laundry, and having my thoughts go from, someone is in the house--are we being robbed? to SURPRISE!!!!!

The kids had a blast playing together! Jacob came to school to pick Anna up with me! What a fun surprise for her too! When Ryan got home from work, we had a party and then had to rush off to Anna's school program.

Anna and her school for the spring program, King of the Jungle. It was so cute and really well done.

Worship Him

We picked up Hillsong's "Saviour King" on iTunes a few weeks back. Seems like half of the songs have already cycled through our favorites. This one continues to stick with me though.

Sad data reported from China

"Sixteen million girls are missing in China. And now we know what happened to them: They were aborted because they weren't boys."

That's from this article, about the vast gender imbalance in China due to their "one child policy" and a preference among those in Chinese society for a son as opposed to a daughter. That combination has made for some tragic outcomes, including abortion and the abandonment of girls that end up filling orphanages.

And it's one of these girls that we intend to adopt! We are going to submit our formal dossier in the next few weeks. Pray for God to speed up the waiting process. We want to meet our daughter!!

Rocking the monkey bars

Anna and I did some pretty amazing work on the monkey bars today. Take a look. You can't deny what you see on video.

Another mass update

Anna without her 2 front teeth.

The Critter Barn a couple of weeks ago. We love this place. The kids were able to hold the cats, bunnies, ducks... and this time even run with the new baby goats. It was so cute to watch! Rachel did not want anything to do with the curious and playful kids but Anna and Elijah loved it.

We enjoy any opportunity to enjoy the nice spring weather. This is at Hemlock Crossing on a beautiful day.

Our fearless leader.

Rachel's first haircut. I fought it for a long time but finally had to give up--she needed it!

Love and blessings to you! Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

Elijah's February Birthday

Here are the long awaited Elijah bday pictures. I can't believe that he is 4 years old!!!! We love you, Elijah!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Aimee and I rented a documentary of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer last night. Coincidentally, yesterday was the 64th anniversary of his hanging by the Nazi's for plotting in the assassination of Hitler. I look forward to meeting him one day. What a tremendous witness for Christ amongst one of the worst storms ever known.

A quote from him that I found on John Piper's blog today:

"The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call. (The Cost of Discipleship, 99) "

I find the challenge convicting on this Good Friday. Remembering the God-Man, Jesus, that perfectly avoided every attachment of this world and yet, still died a criminal's death. Amazing Grace, isn't it?

Mexico.

Quick and easy. Here is a handful of pictures of our trip to Mexico, celebrating 10 years of marriage. Had a great time despite some abnormally cool weather.

Biking in Shanghai

My biking friend, Evart, posted a great video of a recent bike ride in Shanghai. I saw a lot of unique scenery when riding in Shanghai, including sights similar to those in the video. Lots of memories. Thanks Evart for posting it.