That’s how E says Lubbock, and it was the last main stop on our tour of TX 2008. It’s always fun to go back to the place where we have so many fun memories - we bought (and later sold) our first home there, had our first child there, etc. And we are blessed with a special group of friends there that share lots of those special memories with us. It’s amazing to see how all of our kids change so much between visits, but we pick up right where we left off. We did lots of fun things this time around, from painting pottery for our girls’ night, to playing at the park, eating Mexican food, giving an update at our home church, and having picnics:

I’ve known these 3 girls since before we all had children, and now there are 9 (soon to be 10) children between the four of us.:

These two were born a day apart.:

E got to play with the “big” boys.:

All of the kids thought that bumping tummies was hilarious.:

We saw a few other friends, too.:

These two are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Not only are they so gracious, but they love on our kiddos, even when one in particular does gross things like picking his nose. It was great to see you T & V!

Also, the McC’s had us over for a feast, some great conversation, and some spectacular magic tricks Thanks D & C for such an enjoyable evening!

We had a fantastic week in Lubbock. Just one thing was missing, or just one family, rather. We wish the Bowlings could have joined us!
P.S. Happy 4th of July to you folks in the states!

As in Paris. Texas. As in the place we went next on our TX trip. Joe’s parents live there on a beautiful piece of land. We spent a fun, busy week there!

First up was Uncle Jonathan’s graduation. We were so thankful to be there for his big day. Take a look at the brothers:

And the proud parents:

The rest of the week, we enjoyed being with family. The great grandparents got to meet little M for the first time:

We sure love Grandma and D-Dad! We also enjoyed a lot of time in the great outdoors. One of the kids’ favorite activities was riding on Papa’s “boom-boom.”

And the tree swing was a big hit, too:

We had a fabulous time at Papa and Nana’s house. Thanks for a memorable and fun week! We love you!

And now, for the second installment of Texas updates….

Once Joe returned from his UK trip, we first breathed a sigh of relief. Were we ever thankful to see him! Then, we made the trek to Fredericksburg to visit his brother Jeremy and his wife and 3 children (plus one more on the way!). While there, Joe gave a ministry update in Fredericksburg and one in Austin. It was great to see some familiar faces and meet some new folks, too.

Evan had a blast playing with his cousins. They played in the back yard:

And in the “pool”:

And in the wagon, not to mention playing dress-up.:

The four of them are all about the same height, so it was a bit like having quadruplets around! There was never a dull moment!

Maren certainly got passed around and didn’t seem to mind a bit! Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Robin sure loved having another baby girl around. All of the kids were so sweet and gave Maren lots of hugs and kisses. Little R loved holding Maren every chance she got! I think they could easily pass for sisters!

One day, we drove to Llano to have some of the best barbecue in Texas, and boy howdy, was it good! I think the smoke smell seeped into our every pore and fiber, but it was well worth it. I don’t have a picture of it, which is good since I might just drool on this here keyboard. I reckon there is nothin’ like some good ol’ TX barbecue.

We had such a wonderful time. Thanks, J & R, for a great week. We love and miss you guys so much and can’t wait to meet baby #4!

We tried to stay busy while Joe was gone in hopes that the 3 and 1/2 weeks without him would go faster. One fun thing we attended was the FW Cats baseball game. The choir at my mom’s church was going to sing the national anthem, so my mom thought it would be fun to take E to his first baseball game. We had a big cookout before the game.:

And then the choir got ready to sing.:

And sing they did. It was impressive! E enjoyed the baseball game thoroughly - he danced to the music and clapped every time the crowd cheered. We’ll definitely have to take him to another game when we get the chance!

I try to see my childhood friends every time I go back to TX. I’ve known these girls most of my life, so we always pick up right where we left off. I LOVE these girls:

J wasn’t able to join us, so we made up for it at her house later:

I had fun catching up with the girls, and E had a blast playing with other kids. Thanks friends!

Aside from the game and visits with friends, my dad took us to the zoo a couple of times - once to see the animals and once to ride the train! I didn’t get any pictures at the zoo, but the FW zoo is fantastic!

Alright, Folks. I’ll try to recap 2 months of busyness in a few posts. Sit back and enjoy the show…

While we were missing Joe as he traveled around Europe with GoodSeed, we had our own adventures at my parents’ house. Joe had the camera, so I had to get these photos from others. (Thanks H & T)!

The first weekend was packed full of lots of family. There are so many pictures that I think it’s worthy of its own post. I can’t possibly list everyone who was there and explain who they are while keeping it short and still making sense, but suffice it to say that a good time was had by all!

Here are the youngest of the family:

As you probably know, I am a twin, and my oldest sister has twins, and that weekend was the first time for us all to be together. Twins meeting twins:

These are my sisters. I am not in the photo because only weird people were allowed

These are my cousins with E, who could not remember every one’s names. He really took to the boys, and resorted to referring to them by shirt colors. For example, when E woke up from his nap, he said, “I wanna see the boy with the yellow shirt and the necklace on the neck.”:

And this is my Aunt T with the babies, who got a lot of cuddles and attention.

It was so fun to see everyone. I’m so blessed with a fun family!

To the few people who are still holding out on the chance that we might actually post on this blog - today is your day!

We returned on Saturday after being gone for about 2 months! We heard that spring here has been very cool and rainy, but we arrived just in time for some gorgeous sunny weather. When we got back on Saturday, the high was about 53 degrees. You know I turned on the HEATER when we got home! Yes, the HEATER! In JUNE! It was so strange to leave Canada while there was still snow on the ground and return during a different season.

I have a lot to tell you. I still need to look through photos, so for now I’ll leave you with some pictures of flowers from around our front yard.

Check back soon for part I of our TX update.

Hi, friends! As you probably know, we’ve been traveling around TX. We’re having a blast, and we’ll be back here soon with lots of stories and pictures.

So far, we’ve all stayed well, with the exception of Evan’s short bout with pink eye. We were able to get a prescription for him quickly, and he’s as good as new! We were a little concerned how much it would set us back, but we were so thankful to pay only $4.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and encouragement. We feel so humbled that you all want to hear about our lives and ministry. We’ll see you here soon!

Sorry for our absence here, friends. We’ll be back soon with updates. Don’t give up on us yet! In the meantime, here’s what we’ve been up to, and it might explain a little why we haven’t been blogging!

Dear Family and Friends,

I’m sitting in a church in Stockwell, a neighborhood in southern London. The church was opened by Charles Spurgeon, and is now a church of about 240 Londoners led by a great pastor who is teaching the light of the Word of God in the midst of a dark city. Many of the church members are originally from Nigeria or Ghana, a number from Jamaica, and a few from right here in England. Eighty percent of the women in the church are single mothers. Some of the people are young, yet some are very old. The dynamic is quite different than what I’m used to seeing in North America. Among other things, the greatest thing we have in common is our identity in Christ. They have a great love and fervor for the Lord Jesus. Some of them drive over an hour each time they come to the church, and in England, that’s an expensive trip (the lowest price I’ve seen for gasoline is 1.10/liter, which calculates to $11.43/gallon!). And these aren’t rich people. But, it’s clear that they are indeed rich in grace and in their walks with the Lord.

Teaching in London
Our time here has been rich, and we have been truly blessed by the graciousness of the people and the friendships we’ve made. Our three-day seminar, which is now complete, has gone very well. Twenty-one of our attendees are from the local church here, while another 21 are missionaries with OM (Operation Mobilization). There are various others (approximately five) from other places in England and two from Germany. Among our students are believers from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, South America, and North America. It has been a joy to walk through the Scriptures with them over the last three days. What an amazing God we have through the Person of Christ our Savior!

Ireland, Europe, and Texas
Please pray that my voice will hold up, as I have another three days of teaching next week in Ireland. Then, after a few days in Luxembourg and Germany, I’ll be traveling to Texas to meet back up with Suzanne, Evan, and Maren to visit a few churches, family, and friends. Suzanne and the kids are currently in Fort Worth with family, and I miss them dearly.

If you’d like to get together with us while we’re in the area, please email us and we’ll try to work something out. Here is our Texas schudule (driving days marked in red):

May 21-May 27: Austin/Fredericksburg, TX
May 28-June 3: Paris, TX
June 4-June 10: Lubbock, TX
June 11-June 14: Fort Worth, TX

Please Pray
Please pray for us in the following ways:

• Safety for Travel. Pray that the Lord would protect me and our team as we travel in and around England, Ireland, and Continental Europe over the next two weeks.
• Wisdom and Words. Pray that I would rely on God’s Word to speak to our students as I teach over the coming two weeks. Please pray that I would communicate the message of the Bible clearly. Our students are Christians (there may be some exceptions, though), so we are training them how to teach others (esp. unbelievers) the message of the Bible from Creation to Christ’s ascension.
• Hearts to Hear. Pray that our students would be ready and willing to let God’s Word speak into their lives and, in so doing, would respond to the Lord by seeking to know and serve Him.
• Patience while Apart. Pray that the Lord’s goodness would satisfy Suzanne and me while we are apart for these weeks (As they say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and I’m sensing that!). Also, pray that Evan and Maren would be especially obedient while Daddy is away.

Thank you for your prayers. We look forward to seeing some of you in the coming weeks!

Whew! I got back yesterday from a whirlwind trip to visit family. Joe and I were talking about how I was in 6 different states in 2 days. I started out in Idaho, where we attended our annual GoodSeed Staff Bible Camp. From there, we drove to Washington to the airport. I had a layover in California, a stop in New Mexico, and landed in Texas. From Texas, my brother and I drove to Mississippi, which was the final stopping point for a few days to visit my sister and family. We had a great visit, but we were so busy that I hardly took any pictures. Here are a few:

Here’s my 14 month old niece. She’s beautiful:

And here’s the twin boy. And boy, can he eat! He wins for loudest burping baby I’ve ever heard! We laughed so much at the noises that came out of that little body. He is so adorable, and he has the prettiest lips I’ve ever seen on a boy.

And here’s the twin girl. She is beautiful, and she has the prettiest lips I’ve ever seen. I really wanted to put lipstick on them!

They were just starting to smile a lot, which will definitely lead to future spoilings by Aunt Suz. How can I resist?

As you can probably guess, my sister and brother-in-law have their hands full with 3 little ones. I loved every minute of taking care of all 3 kiddos, but I was EXHAUSTED after just a few days. Just look at the number of bottles to prepare each day:

Thanks J & L for a great visit and for having 3 of the cutest children ever!

As noted before, Suzanne is a twin. Her sister, Julie (a.k.a. Doody), and bro-in-law, Chris, live in NYC. Also, as you may know, Suzanne’s older sister just had twins. Well, Suzanne is currently in the South to visit them. Please pray for her safety as she travels. Evan and I miss her lots.