2009 in Review

2010 in Review

These are videos only family would love, but since they're too big to email, I'm putting them here.

The Marshmallow Test...

Ok, I redid the video to include some funny footage and make it shorter. Enjoy!

2011 in Review....

Osmosis

I love how God always provides what we need, and so often, what we think we need. This last week was full of pleas from my eldest. He LOVES science, and he is constantly asking me if we can do experiments. Well, my genius expired after mixing baking soda with vinegar, so I've been fumbling about trying to find other things to do with him. After all, you can only take so much, "I want to see ANOTHER chemical reaction!" before you just give in. 

I was feeling particularly desperate a few days back, when by God's providence, I stumbled upon a gift. It was a gift from my dear, sweet friend Sandy Hardy. Ironically, it's something she sent almost two years ago in a box of blessings, and I'd set it aside for a future date when the kids were old enough. There on my bookshelf was a book of 13 science experiments to do with kids! Elijah was SO excited, especially when I read him the sweet inscription inside. He wanted to Call Sandy immediately. 

It got me thinking- God often provides for our needs, even before we realize it. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

He has ALREADY granted to us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness... through CHRIST. What a gift! He even throws in little things like science experiment books, and friends who think of things you might need before you do!

Here are the boys learning about osmosis....

Pulse

This morning I walked the brisk three miles from the health clinic in La Orotava to my house in Santa Ursula. As I walked, I was overwhelmed with the simple sounds of early morning life. The sweet melody of the caged song birds perched on balconies. The soft and barely audible howl of a Husky lamenting the lack of frost and snow. The TAKK…TAAk…TTak…tak…of a workman’s hammer bouncing off the canyon walls. The whir of a blade coming from behind the sausage factory’s wall. The THROOOOM of the city bus as it zoomed a few inches from my shoulder, whipping my hair violently across my face. The baying of hungry goats rummaging along the mountainside. The steady hum cars shuttling tired workers to their daily grind.  The strange absence of sound from the ocean that is ever present and never heard. All of this swirling together to form the steady pulse of life—life sustained by the heart of God.  

18 Months Of Bonks

My dear, sweet, surprise baby is 18 months old! It's hard to fathom that I cried the day I learned I was pregnant, as this little man has brought so much joy into our lives. It's amazing to see how unique each of my children are, and yet how they each just "belong" so well in our family. Lucas is the glue amongst the kids. He's an equal-opportunity lover. He has endeared himself to each sibling so much that they all bend over backwards for him. He's a hugger. He gives great, big squeezy hugs when you ask for them (and even when you don't), and he even exhales an emphatic, "Huuu Waah" as he squeezes. Lucas is also our most adventurous. He climbs on top of chest freezers, over the tops of sofas, up and down the slide, and he walks (not scoots) down our horribly hard tile stairs. He has gotten SO many bonks in his short life :-(  We are tempted to buy him a helmet to protect his head from his many hard knocks. Here's a glimpse of what his face currently looks like. You can't even see the bumps in his hairline from falling off couches!

 Lucas is our linguist. Someone recently told me that a child begins to speak words after they've heard a certain number of thousands (millions?) of words. Well, I think being in a home with 5 other chatter boxes has given little Lu a jump start. I sat down at dinner and started writing a list of the things he says. These aren't things he just repeats, these are his words that he uses in context:

hold it, want it, get it, get down, up, come on, vamos, aguita, some, food, book, lap, doggies, pizza, pick up, eat, more, please, gracias, give back, thank you, don't touch, obey, see it, agua, water, milk, leche, juice, jugo, juice box, yogurt, cereal, stinky, fuera, damela (give it to me), mio (mine), I do, no throw, no scream, no-no-no, boca, no hace, toma (take it), chupa (binky), chocolate, luna, nose, how are you, good, name Lucas Daniel Thiry, apple, chips, cheese, hungry (which sounds like hungaly), hola adios, suave (gentle), there ya go, animal, buckle, shoes on, lego, cookie, chocala (give me five), daddy, Julie, Elijah, Levi, Eliana, Natalie, Oscar, Dafne, Jasmin, Sophia, Rodrigo (Rigo), careful, splash, peek-a-boo, cucu, ei-ei-ooooo...  

We are so thankful that God has given us this little man, and we're excited to see what his future holds.

To play, or not to play?

I find I'm constantly struggling to balance taking care of the kids with taking care of the home. The kids would love 12 hours of non stop attention, yet the Everest of laundry beckons. Bacteria swims freely in the sink overflowing with dishes. But, shamefully, I often prioritize a good looking house over good feeling kids. It's HARD to sit down and play with them! My imagination wears wrinkles, and my silly bone is broken. But, today, I decided to play. (Please don't come by unannounced- if you do, I'm going to make you do my dishes!)

But the results were worth it!

I'm finding I really like my kids when I take the time to play with them, talk with them, and just BE with them. When I view them as a hindrance to my housework, it makes for a very bad day.

Hey YOU....

I have become a lazy blogger. Perhaps it's the unshakable weight I feel when I pick up the proverbial pen and whimsically wonder what it is I could possibly write that both connects you with the silly goings-ons of our family and yet also carries eternity in each stroke. It seems simple enough to divide the two, and yet is equally unimaginable to separate two things that really aren't two things at all. Our family exists to know God and show God (neither of which we do perfectly). Some of that knowing and showing comes in the antics and fun seen in rearing four pint-sized people, and some comes in the joys and sorrows of being church planters in Tenerife.

You know what else is weird?
Hey....I'm talking to YOU.

That's right, you sitting there behind that bright LED screen. Yeah, how weird is that? When I blog... I am writing to you. I may or may not know YOU very well, but I'm giving YOU a window into our very real lives. Maybe you're a dear friend. Maybe you're a stranger stopping by for a quick read, but I hope YOU have a chance to get to know my God better from having paused here. 

One thing I'm certain of- the minute my life stops being about knowing and showing CHRIST, it is no longer worth writing about.  

That being said, my less philosophical reason for having been a lazy blogger is that we have had a very busy two months. We are thankful to have had Nathan's parents here for a month-long visit. They are a blessing to us in so many ways. Beyond their friendship, it's an unspeakable joy to have family here to love on our children. Living across the pond makes me appreciate family all the more deeply. 

We also celebrated Christmas, two birthdays,had multiple sicknesses (don't worry, we're all still alive and well), and moved from one house to another, all the while continuing to be involved in the ministry of our dear church here. 

One of our greatest joys is participating in baptisms at our church. Last week, we had the joy of seeing five people get baptized in the sea. While the waves were very impressive...

 they weren't as impacting as the testimonies we heard of God changing lives.

I continue to think God humorously has it in his plan for us to have a ministry to mechanics here, as well as electricians and doctors. Despite our "trials," I'm confident He's up to something far greater than I can see.