dominican & haiti pics...

so, i realized i was supposed to post these pictures 3 months ago...time just seems to be moving oftly fast lately. i was able to go down with a group from our church for 8 days...4 in the d.r. & 4 in haiti. the group i went with was a medical team that was able to provide some simple medical care for people in villages who couldn't afford it and even get to it. it was such a blessing to be Jesus' hands & feet to people in another part of the world! there are so many stories that i could share and i hope to be able to the next time i see you...in the meantime, here are some pics...

downtown santo domingo


christopher columbus' house...this is where he landed in the New World


one of the mountain churches we visited had an unbelievable hand-painted door


at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new water treatment facility...these two gals were watching as the first bottle was filled :)


one of the schools we visited to provide medical care


our arrival in port au prince, haiti...our bags were promptly taken hostage...these guys literally will fight over the bags...not quite like arriving at sky harbor :)


i had the opportunity to share with some seminary students about my role at palm valley church and the importance of creating a welcoming atmosphere...cultural differences made for a stimulating q&a at the end, but they were definitely excited about what could be...


our arrival at a mountain village, joulien. this village is so far up in the mountain that we had to hike the last mile because of how dangerous the roads became...when i say roads, i mean dirt paths in the mountainside. in the background you can see people waiting in a concrete housing structure...this is the only building in joulien besides the church that is currently under construction just next to it. we provided medical treatment to the people in this village for 4 hours. the number one cause of most symptoms was unclean drinking water...palm valley church is partnering with a local missions group to drill a well in this town to help curb this problem...the well should be done by the end of the month.


kids from the village as we were preparing to leave


this kid and a couple others ran about two miles down the mountain following our trucks...barefoot...and he was still able to smile!


later that same day, we spent about 6 hours helping out medically in a village named value...afterwards, we were able to be a part of an amazing time of worship...these guys were my buddies by the end of the day...


mountainside housing in port au prince


i'll close with a cute picture...this is the daughter of the missionaries at a ministry called Haiti Arise...very cool place...seeing all the kiddos made me miss my boys


what an amazing experience! i would love to show you all the pictures that were taken while we were there...and hopefully i will be able to some day. i can't wait to have the opportunity to return to the island...you really do develop a special place in your heart for the people when you get the chance to do overseas missionary work. until then, i plan on continuing to develop the relationships God has placed in my life in my current mission field...phoenix, az.

if you would like to hear more about the trip or find out how you could be a part of missions opportunities in the dominican republic or haiti, please let me know.

God bless,
brent

sweet day with the boys...

We haven't done anything out of the norm today, but my perspective on the day has sure been an appreciative one. I had a couple hours to spend with Mase while Cash slept this morning, and Mason has just been so sweet today. We played with boats outside in his new table from grams and pops, as he talked with me the whole time, I LOVE having conversations with Mase now...he kept saying "thank you, mommy" when I'd play with the boats, too. Then he wanted to put the boats down for a nap, so they could sleep like brother was sleeping. So we 'hushed' the boats to sleep and while they slept we drank some juice, played in the sand, and came back to wake the boats up a few minutes later.

Then we got our grocery list together and when Cash woke up we took a trip to the grocery...

Cash, being so well rested, squealed and talked all through the grocery store. Smiling at everyone who payed any attention to him. What a little flirt we have on our hands, and with those eyes...lady killer! I love taking these boys out, I'm just so proud of them! Mason wanted his blankie with him in the store since he had started to fall asleep on the way there...and as we were checking out he proceeded to tell the cashier he wanted to take a nap. Referring to himself in the third person as he does so well these days :) "Mason take a nap, please..." over and over. The cashier said she's never seen a two year old sit so still in the cart...let's just say that's not ALWAYS the case.


Then after we all had lunch together, Mase went down for his nap and Mommy and Cash had about an hour and a half together before he was ready for his second nap. He jumped and squealed in his jump-a-roo and helped me make meatloaf for tonight, then we sat and snuggled, just looking out the window as he was mesmerized by the wind blowing all the bushes and trees. He had his cheek rested against mine and played with my hair the whole time as I told him stories. My heart is so thankful for these boys God has blessed us with.

Thank you, Jesus for the amazing gift of children and the joy they bring to everyday, ordinary things. I pray we do all we can to help them know you one day...and enjoy every moment with them along the way, as it all goes far too fast. We love you.

more bath pictures...as Mason thinks "mom, really? can't you see I'm busy taking a bath here!"

family picture at Mason's party...TWO big years old...such a fun 2 years it's been!

When Mase saw the elmo cake in progress and half-decorated he said, "OOOOOHHHH!! Elmo in there...Mason wants some!!!"

Just out of the bath...sweet boy!

2...already?!

happy birthday, mason! mommy & daddy couldn't be more proud of you. we love you buddy!

six months, really????

my goodness...I have been getting worse and worse at finding time to post on here, and for that I apologize...if anyone even reads this, HAHA! I want to keep this up so that Brent and I have it to print off later in life and to always have to look back on, all the things that were going on, etc. Well...I don't really know even where to start. It seems as if there's been so much going on lately. We recently got the opportunity to go to the Catalyst West conference in CA with Palm Valley....the boys stayed with Grams and Pops for four nights, and LOVED every second of that! It was so sweet to hear Mason asking for them a couple days after leaving their house! They sure love their Grams and Pops. We were so grateful we got the chance to go on this trip, so a BIG thanks for keeping the kiddos for us. The conference was amazing, I felt challenged in so many different areas of my life. The series we're doing at church right now is really stretching me in many ways as well..."live like you were dying". I feel like my heart is bursting with ways I want to grow closer to Christ and things I want to strive to do better in my life with God's help. I am just so thankful for the individuals who've obeyed God's calling and are teaching the word of God to so many! I pray all the things God is prompting and tugging at my heart with, I will obey...causing change in me...to grow in Him...and closer to those around me as well.

So....without writing a complete novel...I'll continue on and speak about our little Cashers. Who is now a big SIX months old. We can't hardly believe that. HALF of a year has gone by since our sweet baby was brought into our lives! Some things Cash is doing now that we're really enjoying...
*sitting up un-assisted! :)
*laughing and giggling LOTS, especially at Mase
*responding to books...loves reading!
*gives little flirty eyes to any girl who looks his way
*gives big open mouth kisses
*eating cereal like a champ and gets to start some fruits and veggies already!
*sleeping 10-11 hours...we're working on 12. Mase was around 12-13 at this point, we're getting there with Cash! :)
*is just so sweet-sprited and so smiley nearly all of the time!

Cash just has the biggest heart. He's so sweet, and just literally melts our hearts on a daily basis. He's weighing in at a large 20 pounds...putting him in the 90% for weight, 90% for height, and 97% for head size. :) biggie boy! we're so proud of him. Here are some recent pictures...Sorry it's taken me SO long to post...Hopefully I won't regret staying up this late in the morning because it's now midnight...Goodnight!
Here's one of Mase and Cash reading a book together...

Daddy and Cash at his 6 mo. appointment...

having fun, before shots of course :)

happy boy...

sweet memories....

Oh my goodness...Time is just flying by and it's making me sad. I can't get over Cash being five months old....that's almost HALF of a YEAR! crazy...I sometimes wish I could freeze time for a while, although I love looking forward to all the milestones and fun new things the boys are doing, I can't help but get a bit saddened how it's just going so stinking fast. So...in effort to remember some sweet little stories, I'll tell a few of my favorite things of the moment... :) I will love having this blog to look back on years from now!

As bedtime nears...Mason now that he's sleeping in his big boy bed, likes to have a few songs sung to him before he goes to sleep...here's how it goes...

Mommy/Daddy..."the wheels on the bus"...
Mason..."Children!"
Mommy/Daddy, "Jesus loves the little children...all the children of the world..."
Mason..."BUS!"
Mommy/Daddy..."the wheels on the bus go round and..."
Mason..."Children..."
Mommy/Daddy..."Jesus loves the little children...all the children of the world..."

hahah...he loves both of those songs and can never decide which one he wants to hear so about one line into each one he asks for the other one, it's so cute! He's talking so much some of my favorite things he's been saying...

"oh Hi there Mommy"
"what you doing bubba, swimming?" (to kristen's fish we're 'fish-sitting') :)
"oh it's okay broder" (to baby Cash)
"come-on Momma! come-on Dadda!"
I LOVE when he says "thank you momma or thank you dadda" without being prompted, that melts my heart! It's so amazing hearing him talk so much and phrase sentences together. we're also nearing the lovely age of two...so we're dealing with some stubborness to say the least as well..but we'll leave that for another blog :) this one is remembering all the sweet things!
Here's one of Mase in his big boy bed...

So...Cash...our little ham! Some of the things he does that I LOVE right now...
If you laugh at him, he just starts laughing right back. You giggle, he giggles, you giggle, he giggles...it's so sweet.

Cash has the best little spirit. He is always adoring and smiling at his big brother, he LOVES Mason. He tends to look at everyone out of the top of his eyes, so it looks like he's flirting with everyone or giving them goo-goo eyes or something, but it's SO adorable.

I can't believe in one more month he can start eating baby food...he's doing great getting his cereal in the meantime! he's one big baby....and he's truly a sweet sweet little boy. He gets me through some of the days that are harder with Mason...because in between time-outs and spankings, Cash is there with big smiles and goo-goo eyes for his mommy! God gives us moments everyday to treasure with both of these boys and I don't want to ever ever take them for granted. I pray that the routine of life doesn't get in the way of enjoying these sweet memories.

We've got some cute new ones of Daddy and the boys, just don't have them uploaded yet, so we'll save those for the next blog! Love you, All!

quick update!

Talked with Brent last night and he and the group he's with is having a great time...and he's so pumped to tell me all about it, show pictures, etc! He'll blog some he said! He said it's going great so that's good news!

and one cute story...we were playing out in the sandbox today and an airplane flew over and Mason got excited and said..."airplane.....HI DAAAAAADDDDDDYYYYYYY!" :) too precious, choked mommy up a bit.

I miss my hubby and the boys sure miss their daddy! But the week's going surprisingly smoothly (I hope I don't jinx myself here!) I want to take a sec to say thanks for the prayers, calls, drop by's...etc to those of you who've offered help, company, time...that all means so much to me. I've felt so blessed and taken care of while Brent has been gone by family, and dear friends. I'm humbled by the support and love...and am so grateful.

our daddy....

well, I'm excited for my hubby right now as he's in Haiti with a group of people from church...doing missions work, giving medical help to children, speaking with pastors there, visiting churches there...etc. I am so happy that Brent's had this opportunity to go experience what God has in store for him and the group he's going with, there. I can't wait to hear about everything that God's doing in lives there, and in lives of those we know who went there!

Meanwhile, we miss our daddy! The boys have been so good for me, so far...almost 2 nights down :) I just thought I'd fill you all in on the list of things I want to try to get done while Brent's gone...this may be a bore to most of you, BUT i figure if I tell the whole world my goals maybe I'll be more motivated to achieve them while I'm husband-less. Mind you all of this will probably more than likely be done once the kiddos are down for the night...so from 8pm-until I can't do anymore HAHA!

Here's some things mommy wants to get done...when boys are sleeping!
clean/organize/declutter our desk
take Mason's crib apart and out of his room/put in Cash's room
take apart Cash's crib and get ready to return it to Bethany and Justin
go through our closet/clean out...donate clothes
paint finger and toe nails hahah
de-clutter kitchen cabinets
clean out honda and exterra...Honda's done (thanks jason!) :)

I think that may be about it...so there they are...pretty lofty goals I know, it seems like alot, but if I do a little each night, I may get it all done, we'll see....Brent would be so proud :)

So..I did say, take apart Mason's crib, and that's because of sweet baby is now sleeping in his BIG BOY bed! we have some pics of that but they're on the camera brent has with him, so those will have to wait, but I can't believe he's not sleeping in his crib anymore. He's sooo good...he just waits in bed for mommy and daddy to come get him when he wakes up and before he falls asleep he'll sit in bed and read or just talk...he's even taking his naps in there...man, we're so proud of him. not even two...he's a stud!

Now, I'm going to get some sleep...big week ahead...most importantly I also plan on having lots of fun with the boys. Today was a good start :) Cash cracked up alot at me today...I LOVE that, and Mase was being super sweet all the way home from my parents talking with me about Daddy and his trip. These boys light up my life.

Dear Jesus,
Be with Brent and all those he's with. Keep them safe and work through them to accomplish so much in your name, God. Thank you for the opporunity to serve you in this capacity...we love you, Lord.