The kids are packed. Their suitcases have been sitting by the door. Not because I'm so on top of it, but because they are so excited about going to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa in Tallahassee. Tomorrow morning we will get up bright and early and head out to the airport. We'll fly to Jacksonville where Matt's parents will pick them up. (It was cheaper to fly than drive. But at least it wasn't $7 a gallon! Go figure!) They spent a week at their house last summer. This year they are staying for a week and half while Matt and I travel down to Peru with our church's short term mission team. We meet at the church on Thursday night, but our flight isn't until 1:45 am on Friday. But it's ok. The airline thinks it will distract us from the ungodly time of night by serving us dinner.

We would love your prayers in the next couple of weeks as we travel all over and as we are away from our kids. Please pray for:

*Christ to be lifted up and God be glorified
*the eyes of the team to be opened to Christ's work around the world
*the work of the Holy Spirit in people's lives
*the team leaders: Gordon and Matt for love, wisdom, and patience
*all last minute details to come together
*safety in travel to and from Peru and during our stay, while I travel tomorrow to take the kids to JAX, and when Matt's parents travel back to Tally with the kids
*for me to be free from anxiety during the flight

For the team members:
*to love and respect one another
*safety on the job site
*the team to be a blessing to the Gahagens
*for our family members while we are separated

I'm not sure what to expect as this is my first mission trip. I have heard incredible things about all that is happening in Pucallpa and about the Gahagens in their neck of the woods. I am certainly anxious to experience it for myself! I will be sure to post all about experiences when we get back (at least within the first month after we return...) It's a little early, but Happy 4th!

Duncan update

My in-laws called me yesterday afternoon to give us an update on Duncan's surgery. He was taken in to surgery around noon, and the procedure took about 3 hours. They removed the upper lobe on his right (?) lung. He will spend two nights in the hospital so the doctors can monitor him. He was a brave kid! He seems to be recovering well. Thank you for praying for him and his family! Later today I will post some prayer requests for our family as we get ready to go to the jungle! (stay tuned...)

Our nephew, Duncan

Please pray for our nephew Duncan this morning as he is having surgery to remove a spot on his lung. He was born with this "spot", and the doctors have been monitoring it through the years. They were hoping that it would shrink and go away as he grew, but it appears that it has been growing as he has been growing. (I am not sure of all the details so forgive me for being sketchy.) This surgery has been planned for a few months, and here we are. He is a happy, healthy boy who just turned 9. If you think of it pray that he would come out of the surgery without any complications, that God would guide the doctors' hands as they work, and that his parents (Matt's brother), Todd and Janie, would have a peace that goes beyond all understanding.

Thursday Night Knitting Club

A sea of color, textures. Needles long and needles short. Pumping out hats, mittens, scarves, shrugs, bags, socks. Movements smooth and fluid. I have wanted to learn how to knit for about four years now. My grandma tried to teach me, but the info filtered out four years ago. (I call it youngheimers.) I might consider myself a "crafty" person, of the amateur variety, but crafty none the less. So why can't I get this crap????

My movements, jerky and rough. My fingers have a mind of their own. Where there are supposed to be knots in the yarn, somehow they have made their way into my brain. This craft is most certainly not coming easily to me. Of course, tonight was my first night with the group I have named (in my head) the "Thursday Night Knitting Club". (By the way, have you read the Friday Night Knitting Club? Good book!) Back to the group. This is an intergenerational group of ladies from church. They meet at someone's house, and they've been doing this for about a year now. It started out with just two ladies and has grown into a group of six.

As I sat there trying desperately to "cast on" and "purl", I felt as if I had crossed the border into a different country. What is this language they are speaking? Patterns, rows, counts, huh? But I won't let this craft beat me down. Oh no...I will prevail. And I'll have more scarves than anyone in South Florida.

For the Love of Learning

I will be a working woman come fall. That's right! Call me Ms. Kim. I got a job at the sweet little preschool where Mackenzie attended and where Ethan will start Pre-K in the fall. I will be teaching a Pre-K class, and no, Ethan will not be in my class! Today, I met with the pastor of the church with which the school is associated. Next week, fingers will be printed and paperwork will be filled out. I'm in the process of taking online classes. School-marm Kim is ready for a classful of little ones.

I was daydreaming today, after seeing my classroom. Fresh flowers always blooming. A fish called Freddy. The calming sound of Vivaldi in the background. A rainbow of colorful classroom decorations. The room steeped in wordage. A book nook. Various centers. Students blooming before your very eyes. And Ms. Kim, donning her crisp denim apron, watering her sweet little ones, encouraging their love of learning. Very Mary Englebreit. It's ideal. But one can dream...

Thou Shalt Be A Peacemaker

I went to our church's women's retreat this weekend. We were blessed to have Tara Barthel speak about Peacemaking Women. Wow! Not only was she enthusiastic, wacky, and really funny, but Mama Tara had a gentle way of taking us by the chin and guiding our eyes back to the gospel.

I was a wee bit sour about going on Friday, even though I had been looking forward to this event for a long time. I am thankful that I was carpooling with someone else so that I didn't have the choice of backing out. It was an incredible time with a great group of women.

The conference center where we stayed was nice. I walked around on Saturday morning taking some pictures of the very green grounds. (Not many flowers, but it was pretty none the less.) This was my first women's retreat experience, and I look forward to going next year!

My Baby's All Grown Up

It seems like yesterday when Matt and I dropped Mackenzie off at her kindergarten classroom on the first day of school, and tomorrow will be her last day of kindergarten. Oh how time flies!

The last couple of weeks have been busy with all of the end of the year activities. Last week her class had their Kindergarten Awards. They also sang a special song for the parents. They signed the words of the song while they sang it. I was a little worried that Matt wouldn't be able to contain his emotions, but I was the one who shed a few tears.





This week has been a fun week for the kids (mainly so they can keep attendance up).
Today they had Camping Day, where they watched movies, told campfire stories and, most importantly, ate smores! Tomorrow is a half day, and they are having Games Galore! day.





See someone else familiar in this picture? Her teacher was very gracious when I'd come to class with Ethan tagging along.



For a long time I prayed for the friends that Mackenzie would make when she got to kindergarten. She was very blessed to make some really nice ones!



Her teacher this year is fantastic! She is a very gifted, patient educator, and we feel very blessed that Mackenzie was able to have her for a teacher.



Just like I had a tear in my eye dropping Mackenzie off on her first day of school, I know I'll have a tear in my eye as we leave school tomorrow for the summer. Praise God for a great school year!

A Photo Diary

We had a very enjoyable weekend. Aside from our picnic lunch on the beach, the summer kickoff BBQ with the neighbors, spending time with Livi girl and her parents, taking care of my furry brother and sister (aka-my parents' dogs) and my cousin's graduation party, here are some pictures to walk you through our Memorial Day:


Two patriotic children


What a perfect way to kick off the hot summer season-a buzz cut for the boy. Pops is the best barber!


He was pretty hairy...


The end result.


We took a picnic lunch to one of the local parks...


We forgot to bring us some lawn chairs, so we just opened up the tailgate and watched the kiddos play in the sand.


The girl wanted a summer cut too...to look just like her kindergarten teacher. She also informed me that she wants to color it like her teacher's hair too. That's where I draw the line...


Do you know where I'm going with this? Fried delight on a plate (fried green tomatoes)


Ethan started his swim lessons with the city yesterday evening.


He was very anxious to show the teacher all he knows (like splashing and acting goofy)




I had to take a picture of my bromeliad that bloomed this weekend. Happy Summer!

Was a'happenin' a' hot stuff?

What? You've never seen the 80's cult classic 'Sixteen Candles' before??? That is a classic quote from the ever-popular Long Duck Dong. You have to say the title with his Asian accent. Whatever...

Here are some pictures of what's been happening with us:

I called it last year when I saw one of the kids in Kenzie's class acting up during a performance. "Ethan is going to be like that kid when he gets to school!" Give me my prize 'cuz I was right! We went to the Awana Awards on Sunday night. They have been attending Awanas since September where they have learned lots of Bible verses, played lots of games, learned many valuable lessons, etc. etc. While standing on stage Ethan started making monster faces for the crowd. They couldn't miss him because he was smack dab in the center of the group! (Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that.)









Mack was much more reserved on stage. She loved Awana! She especially enjoyed making a boat for the Float a Boat races. I couldn't get a close up picture close enough to show you this....



My girl is practically toothless! She has been showing everyone her toothless smile. Why can't that look so cute with the older folks?



Oh well.

Family Time

I had a very nice Mother's Day weekend (yes, be jealous. mine lasts for two days. ha!) My sister and her family came down for a visit. We visited a local water play area because it was as hot as a monkey's armpit. Livi was a little reluctant to get in the water at first, but she was loving every minute of it once she got adjusted. (Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to the pool and I didn't get any pictures of her cute little bikini-clad body. So cute!)

My mom, my sister and I enjoyed an iced coffee at one of the THREE new Starbucks within two miles of each other, all down the street from my house. LOVE IT!

Because of the monkey's armpit issue, we (me) decided not to go to my dad's baseball game. Poor decision! His team played a double header and won both games which allows them to go on to the State Championship next weekend. This will be the ONLY time you will hear me and Matt say 'Go Gators!'



Today we went to my parents' house for a BBQ with the fam. My aunt and uncle and the cousins came along with mi abuela. For dessert I made a chocolate cake fit for a pioneer woman. It definitely made my skirt fly up as it was the BEST chocolate cake EVER! Love in a pan...





How could I forget to mention that I was served scrumptious pancakes and sausage for breakfast?? Mackenzie is the best pancake flipper east of I-75!

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day!

Time Out

This week I took a time out. Time out from doing all the things that normally make up my days. Instead, I filled my time with distractions like baking (banana bread, cookies, cake, etc.), shopping (not so much buying, as window shopping), playing (at Bobbilee's house and at Mackenzie's school for Kindergarten fun day), and painting (not a Mona Lisa paint-by-number but the hallway and up the stairs area).

Our dear friends, the Rosses, left for home in Virginia on Sunday. I have known that they would leave for awhile now, but it did take them a year to sell their house, so I've gotten used to them not leaving. I didn't anticipate this sense of mourning when they moved. Mourning? It sounds kind of harsh. It isn't like I'll never see them again. Virginia is less than a day away. I just really miss seeing those little guys every week. As I have gone about my business this week, I would come across a place that we would frequent, and it was like someone picking at a scab. The pain would come rushing back again. How could a place that I have lived all my life and that is so familiar to me seem so different after they have left? So this is why I've taken a time out. I'll be able to resume my normal activities and responsibilities next week. In the meantime, I'll play as I bake a cake and paint the hall and ponder my next window shopping destination.

Reflections on Beauty and Brokeness

For those of you who know me, I do not write well. After all I am a numbers guy. I do better with numbers than I do with words. This is why it has taken me so long to post about our trip to Wien Austria. Our close dear friends Brad and Stacey along with their three children are missionaries to a land that is full of beauty and brokenness. I have heard Brad describe a city of marvelous beauty and extreme brokenness before, and I got a first hand look at that recently.






After visiting Schonbrunn Palace on the first Saturday we were there, we took the

underground to Karlzplatz(the main underground station). It was there, just after witnessing marvelous beauty that we saw extreme brokenness in the blank stares of the drug addicts that were aimlessly walking the subway halls. The brokenness was there in the faces of the beggars who were holding out their cups for money outside St. Stephansdom Cathedral.



Our friends are planting a wonderful "Garden in the City" and we need to constantly remember them in our prayers as they build relationships with the neighbors in the apartment below, or the fellow students that Brad meets in the halls of the University. Pray that they will be able to reach a people who are hungering for something, what they don't know, they just know that something is missing.

My wife wrote a few blogposts ago that my favorite part of the trip for me was eating the horse liver sandwich (Brad, help with the German please). That would be a distant second to the night that Brad and I walked the entire 1st district praying for the people of Austria, searching hungering for something more. Then right after that walking into St Stephansdom at 9:00 P.M. and praying for the people again.

This trip has left me with the deeper realization that we too live in world of beauty and brokenness and that we too are called by our Father in Heaven to build gardens in our city. You don't need to go around the world to see that, but every once in a while it helps.

Dozens of puffs and one tooth later...

Mackenzie has a lot of teeth loose. But she has been especially anxious for her front tooth to come out. Three tries later...









Wah-lah! Tooth extracted.

Tonight at Awana the kids both had friendly competitions to look forward to. Ethan has been working on his box car at home for a while now, and Mack worked on hers yesterday. They were very excited to bring their creations to the group, and they did great! Ethan ran as fast as his little legs could carry him (run ethan run!), and Kenzie blew as hard as she knew how (believe me...she kept blowing in my face to show me her technique). They came home with participation ribbons and couldn't wait to show Daddy!