Kids in Houston

On Tuesday, I (Chris) loaded up the kids and took them to Houston with me. We stayed last night at my sister's house and then the kids and Kim took me to the airport to drop me off. I'm on my way to Spain today to do a seminar on how to use our new DVD. There will be leaders at the conference from campuses all over Europe and the ME. I'm looking forward to how the Lord will use it to draw students to Christ.

As for the kids, they were so excited to be at their Aunt's house. They were running around and jumping up and down. You'd think we'd been in the car for 14 hours. When we got to the airport today, Zach was unhappy that he didn't get to go with me, but Kim said by the time the got out of the airport he was fine. I'm sure they'll have a great time in Houston. Isabella wanted to know how many planes I would take to get all the way to Spain. It will be 3. She was unimpressed. "We've taken three planes before with the whole family!" she said.  I'll try to write from Spain, but it all depends on if I can get to the internet. I appreciate prayers for safe travel and for the kids in Houston and for Liza as she goes to the Crusade Mom's conference outside of Austin. Thanks!

Love all the time (part 2)

Tonight at the table, Isabella and Zach were talking while I was cleaning up.  Isabella asked Zach, “Does Isabella love you in the morning?”  To which he squealed, “yes.”  She said, “Does Bella love you when we are going to bed?”  “yes” was his reply…
I think they got it

Out and about

Today I am out with the kids running some errands. I've learned how to blog by email so it is easy to blog something quickly. 

At the stop light we saw a big truck. Isabella asked what the big pipes on the side of it were. I told her they are the exhaust pipes that go high so it won't get in your face. She replied, "Oh yeah. So if you get close you should watch out so you don't smell your own breath!" 

:-) I told her that is another problem entirely.

Baking Cookies

As many of my friends know, I (Liza) do not love baking cookies, but Isabella got a baking set from a good friend for Christmas and has been wanting to use it.

Last week she asked me a couple of times if we could bake cookies. At the store that day, I picked up some cookie dough (one area where I don’t think cheating is necessarily wrong) and after nap, before Zach woke up, we set to it.

She really does a good job, although she doesn’t really need the roller. She has it, but prefers using her hands.

The only sprinkles I had were Christmas trees and green and red sugars, but she didn’t care. After some deliberation, she decided she would take her cookies to AWANA that night to share. They were a hit! And she is a good baker.

Oh, yes!

For a long time if you asked Zach a question, he was quick to say "No" but almost never said "yes." If he said nothing, that probably meant yes. In the last couple of weeks that has changed. He'll say yes if you ask him something, but if he really means it, he'll say, in a very serious voice, "Oh... yes."

For example, when we went to get Isabella's mattress at Sam's, I had to move his car seat to the front seat for it to fit in the back. When we got going, he looked all around with wonder at all the stuff he could see and pointed everything out to me. When we got home, I said, "Zach, did you like being in the front seat?" "Oh yes daddy." I knew he really meant it. It makes us laugh every time he says it.

Love all the time

A couple of years ago, a teacher talked in our Sunday School class about how he affirmed his love to his children.

Each night as they were going to bed he would ask them “Does Daddy love you in the morning?” and then he would answer “yes, daddy loves you in the morning.” Does Daddy love you at play time?” “yes, daddy loves you at play time.” He would continue through different events of the day, and at the end he would say “Does Daddy love you all the time?” “yes, daddy loves you all the time.”

Well, I did that with Isabella, and have been doing it with Zach. A couple of nights ago, I asked him, “Does Mommy love you in the morning?” and he actually responded “oh, yes.” I walked through different things during the day, including do I love him when he dumps his food on the floor. He paused at that one, and then said “oh, yes.” It was delightful because I didn’t know he had gotten it, and he understands that I do love him all of the time, even when I don’t like what he does.

Just like...

Tonight we went out to get the mail. When Isabella saw the dead plants that died from the recent freezes, she said, "Daddy- all your plants are dead!" I agreed. Then she said, "It's ok. They'll grow back again. Just like Jesus when he died for our sins and then on the third day rose again!" I had to laugh in agreement. 

I wish I enjoyed food this much

Pictures with Nonny & Papasito

Tonight I was uploading pictures to print and thought I would post these of Zach with my (Chris) mom and step-dad. The kids call them Nonny and Papasito.

Zach was enjoying some Thai food and learning how to use chopsticks.

What's he doing?

Can you guess what Zach is doing?
He's watching Thomas the tank engine on TV. For some reason, he spends most of the time watching Thomas with his hands over his eyes just peering through his fingers. I think he doesn't like it when they are frowning or when they derail (which is quite a lot it seems...) But despite the way he watches, he still requests it all the time. "Ont to atch choo choo! Ont to atch Thomas!"