parenting tip: dry erase

rarely do i share parenting tips, but today i have one.  dry erase.  it's amazing.  we do dry erase markers sometimes (though they are usually without clothing because it stains) and dry erase crayons.  dry erase crayons are the best!  

this is when i let mary loose on our tile floors.  we had pictures everywhere!  and a sweet note that daddy left on the floor before he went away for three days.  :)

this is one of luke's first recognizable drawings.  i love it.  he explained it as a person with one big tear and two mustaches.  luke is obsessed with mustaches.  and it's embarrassing because he often points, squeals and shakes in excitement when he sees a man on the street with a mustache… and usually he wants to greet them.  as if we don't stand out enough here.  

sometimes after using the dry erase markers they look like they just got done working on a car or something… so beware.

side note: if your child is prone to write on walls, bodies or furniture i would not let them loose with markers… it DOES NOT come out.  

also, living in asia we have all tile floors… dry erase is only amazing when used on tile.  give it try!

traumatized?!? i hope not.

last weekend we took a weekend away with some friends to a little town in the mountains called Batu.  the change in weather and scenery was so nice!  it was green, fresh and a little cool in the mornings.  

i don't really have pictures from the weekend except for a few from the zoo.  there is a zoo there and it's really nice!  a ton of cool animals and a ton of rides.  my kids have never done rides before… so this was fun for them.  mary is generally timid and luke is usually up for a challenge.  

here they are on the very mild airplanes… nothing but going in a slow circle, all was well!

then, luke wanted to go on the jeep ride, like our friend eli (who is mary's age and very brave).  well, that didn't turn out so well.  

he was terrified, poor little guy.  the jeeps were supposed to be "off-roading" so they were really jerky and would feel like it was falling.  they can't stop the ride for a scared kid so every time he passed me i felt so bad.  i couldn't do anything about it but cheer for him and encourage him to be brave.  you could see his little face trying so hard not to cry, he was trying to be brave but he was so afraid.  i was dying laughing at his face and couldn't wait to go get him when it was over.  and i was being supermom, documenting his terrified face by taking pictures… which are blurry because of my laughing.  :)  i'm praying he forgets it soon… he was traumatized the rest of the day and wouldn't try other rides. 

mary thought she was so brave and awesome going on the dumbo ride with leslie.  thanks, les!  :)

feeding the giraffes… which could have clearly crossed the small fence and eaten our heads.  

us trying to get a family picture… while being afraid that thing's sick, long purple tongue was going to reach out for my hair or something.  

angels, i tell you.

last week i found a spot for photos that looked green and with a potential of seeing the sunset... not easy to find in this very dense, concrete city!  so i decided to take the kids there and try to *bribe them* to let me take photos.  it started out great... for about three seconds.  then, we saw the tiny red ants all over the place.  and, mary got her mad face on... she's got a good one.  

then came the pouty face... she also has a good one of those.  we had to relocate to the street... sad.  next time, i'm going with a can of bug spray and i will be victorious.  :)

luke had his "fake smile" debut... 

a small fact about luke... he's frequently "be right back" as i call it.  something will catch his eye (almost always the wind blowing trees) and he will just stare. it's like he's gone to another world and he'll "be right back".  he's done it since he was a baby and i think it's so weird that he still does it.  so weird and so cute.  

and i got one, genuine smile from mary... she has mastered her cheesy smile, as seen in the family photo  in the above header.  :)  but, that real smile... love it!

note of honesty: it's actually been a rough week or so with the kids... just rough.  so, to keep it real, life in our home does not always look like the first angelic photo of the kids loving one another.  they have sweet, sweet moments... but they are usually moments.  in fact, many times it looks like luke coloring on mary's masterpiece, mary sobbing and luke deciding to hit her while she's sobbing, just as the cherry on top.  they are adorable and i'm so thankful i love them... but man, do i need Jesus throughout my day.  like, really need Him.

lesotho baby

there's a big change in our adoption plans... 

we are now adopting a baby from LESOTHO!  

we feel peaceful as we transition and are getting excited about the change.  i just added an "adoption" tab on the blog so if you know nothing about adoption journey feel free to read up.  i have done a terrible job updating because it's been basically just paperwork, but i'm going to try my best to update about it more regularly.  

we need to submit 6 family photos for lesotho and i think we have 2.  danny doesn't love being in front of the camera and i'm always behind it.  so this is our attempt to get to 6, about to go to dinner and search for live music. :)

are you wondering where is lesotho!?!  it's okay.  it's a tiny, landlocked country in the middle of south africa.  the terrain is beautiful, with mountains and snow!  i was coloring with mary today colored the mountains of lesotho.  she said, "and there's snow!?  maybe i can wear my jacket!?!"  :)  i would love to wear a jacket mary... as long as i'm doing it because it's cold rather than for modesty reasons.  

one of the cool things about us adopting from lesotho is the personal connections we have with the country.  a friend from the church i grew up in ministers in Lesotho and because of this many of my family members sponsor children there and a few have even visited.  it will be neat to bring our child home and into a family that already has a heart for his/her home country.  

idul adha

last week was a big holiday in indonesia, called idul adha.  it is in remembrance of a sacrifice being provided to Abraham when he was told to sacrifice his son.  thousands of cows and goats are sacrificed in mosques and neighborhoods.  at the mosque in our neighborhood 8 cows and 25 goats were sacrificed... i only saw a few of them, but i've never seen anything like it.  

here's a look into the morning...

this is our sweet neighbor, luke's buddy's grandma

this is a becak (bike with seats in front) carrying all of the newspaper that was used on the ground during prayer

and i will stop at this photo.  you can imagine what happens next.  

it was actually a really fun day in our neighborhood.  all of the animals were tied up outside of the mosque and many of the kids and moms come to look at them.  we went and fed the goats with the kids' friends.  mary realized what was happening (though didn't see anything actually happen... just some blood) and had a ton of questions.  luke was oblivious, just trying to pet the goats and bulls.  

the meat is then cleaned and distributed to the those in need.  there was a gathering of about 250 women who waited 5+ hours for their coupon to get their 2lbs of meat.  that night we went to a friend's house and made goat sate (grilled meat on a stick).  i really love learning about the culture here and experiencing it.  even though we don't celebrate what the day represents, it is good for my heart to see things like this... the need to pray is so real and my love for the people grows.  

and we wait...

these two pictures are a photographic representation of our adoption journey thus far.

we do a lot of paperwork in a big hurry... in time to give all of the completed paperwork to the next random person we can find going back to the states who will carry it for us.  

this was danny very diligently working on financial grant applications.    

and then we do a lot of waiting... which is just about as fun as it looks.   

currently we're in a heavy paperwork/research phase, as some things are likely to change in our plans.  we're thankful for a God who is trustworthy and who always leads us in peace.  

we can't wait to welcome our new baby into our home... sometime.  :)  

those lips

a little afternoon fun on our street.  

luke 'helping' timo blow bubbles... they had so much fun together.  they would blow the bubbles and then chase them screaming and laughing.  it was so cute.

and i'm not sure what is going on with mary... i think someone was stepping on her sidewalk chalk picture... which she gets very upset about.  she's got a very unpleasant, easily annoyed, possessive thing going on these days.  we're talking/praying about it... hourly.  :)

 

those lips are just too cute. 

lastly, his hair was sticking up because he dumped bubbles on his hair... but now i'm considering buying some kind of gel for his hair.  i mean, cute.