Dancing Pics

Joseph and Faith love to watch SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) with us! Faith says, "Mommy, can we watch 'So We Think We Can Dance'?" They love to try to do the dance moves with the dancers...it's fun to watch!

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School Uniforms

One of the things we needed to do to get ready for school was go to the tailor and get Joseph's and Faith's uniforms made. When I registered them at the local preschool, I paid for uniforms. I thought it was pretty cheap for a uniform and then I realized that I only bought the fabric.

This was a new experience for me. I had to take the fabric to the tailor to make the uniforms. Thankfully I've been to the tailor a few times lately, but I still didn't know which style to ask for. Joseph's was easy, but Faith's was more difficult. I am still hoping that I chose the right style for hers.

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Olympic Friday

On Friday I got to teach the kids at Friday School. (We have church on Friday mornings.) I used the Olympics to point the kids to the Bible!

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Verses

Joseph and Faith are both very good at learning verses from the Bible! They enjoy it! It keeps me on my toes because I learn the verses with them. Below you can see a couple of videos of them saying their verses!

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Swimming in May & June

May & June have been good months for swimming! Both kids have grown so much in their swimming skills, it's been so much fun to watch them!

Just the other day they were holding hands jumping into the pool. Joseph said, "I LOVE swimming, Mommy!" Faith said, "This is fun!" My heart is so full of joy when I see my kids happy!

Below you can see a slide show of some more pictures and a couple videos...

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Faith is growing up

It's so much fun to watch this girl grow up! She has such a fun personality. I love it when she gets determined to do things that big kids do.

Just this week she blew me away by deciding to jump off of the diving board! After she does these things she feels so empowered and proud of herself!!

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B is for butterfly

We're coming to the end of our little preschool group and it sure has been fun! Joseph and Faith can hardly imagine what school is like without Jonathan, Eli, and Morgan!

This week the focus was on B for butterfly. I tried to make it fun since none of us are all that motivated to work hard on academics right now. So, the kids got to play Elefun. They enjoyed catching the butterflies!

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Pool Time

It sure is heating up here in the Middle East and this week we started swimming at the pool again! It has been fun for the kids and for me.

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Superhero Birthday Party

Last week I got to be the photographer at our friend's 3rd birthday party! It was a very fun party with a superhero theme! The kids each got a mask and had to fight ninjas (balloons)! My kids brought their ninjas home with them and kept fighting them for the rest of the day.

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J for Juice

Last week the letter of the week in preschool was J! It was especially fun for Joseph and Jonathan! They said, "It's OUR day!!" I agreed with them that the best names start with J! ;)

Part way through the morning I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the village to order some juice! I asked Diana who was in the other room, homeschooling her older daughters. She didn't sign a permission slip or anything, so maybe we shouldn't call it an official "field trip." The kids had a lot of fun!

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fun at the park!

I took the kids to a new park yesterday with some Arab friends. It was fun because there is an aviary with several really big birds! Joseph loved the birds!!! Faith loved running through the fountain. She was soaked when we left.

There's a few pictures and videos below:

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comparison

Here's a fun comparison of how much these kids have changed in one year. It sure is fun to watch these two grow! Each new stage is so much fun! 

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Joseph's friends

Joseph is a very social boy and loves to interact with the boys in the village. The problem is that there's a language barrier. They don't understand him when he speaks to them in English. I guess we need to work on teaching him Arabic!

The other day he was at the center of this group of boys. He didn't mind being the center of attention! They were trying to practice their English with him. I told them to teach him Arabic!

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Jojo Day!!

Four years ago, on April 28th, we were in Ethiopia picking up our baby boy. We celebrate this day every year and we call it Jojo Day. Last weekend we celebrated Jojo Day and it was a lot of fun! The first Jojo Day was a lot of fun too, but these kids just keep getting more and more fun! I can't believe we've had our fourth Jojo Day. I look forward to many more Jojo Day celebrations!

This boy is such a blessing in our family! Tim and I agree that we couldn't have picked a better one...God's choice of putting Joseph into our family is best! I love so many things about him. I love that he is so outgoing, happy, caring, silly, energetic, and downright cute!

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Z is for Zebra

This week in preschool the kids learned the letter Z! They got to make zebras with toilet paper rolls...they had a lot of fun doing this! Each of the zebras had different colors.

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Regular Week

Last week was a nice week for our family. It's the second week of the session at the institute where Tim teaches and we're settled into our new routine. We've been able to be in our community and have been intentional about spending time as a family! We are thankful! Here are a few pictures of our week...

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School with Jojo

Between traveling, back pain, out of town visitors, and sickness I haven't taught the preschool group for a while. So, it's just been Joseph and me doing school.

It's been such a sweet time that makes me look forward to officially starting homeschool this fall!

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Random Pictures

I take a lot of pictures of my kids throughout the week. I want so much to treasure this time when they are little and so cute! I wish I could somehow save these moments that are so precious and I know it's going by so quickly.

So, I'm including some of the random, fun pictures that I took this week. I hope you enjoy them! I sure enjoy these kids.

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Easter Egg Hunt

On Easter morning we had an egg hunt for the kids! It was a lot of fun. They all loved it and the parents enjoyed watching them! What a blessing to have so many friends to do this with and a fun yard to hide the eggs in!

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Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Joseph and Faith!

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Friday School

When we are in the States we go to church on Sundays and the kids go to Sunday School. Here in the Middle East we have church on Fridays. The kids have a lesson and some play time while the parents have prayer time and a Bible study.

These kids are really close in age and they have a lot of fun together! We tried to have some play time outside before it got hot...the kids liked that! We even got a picture of the kids all together before they started playing!!

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Jojo's pictures

Here's a slideshow of the pictures Jojo took in February. I always like to see what life has been like through his eyes!

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letter G

Today we worked on the letter G and reading three letter words! These kids are so smart. Sometimes I can't believe how much they can do.

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Faith's Hair

I sure do love Faith's hair. It's different than what I've been used to, but I'm slowly learning how to take care of it. I'm so thankful for the times that I can take her in to get her hair braided at the Ethiopian salon! They are SO good at it! They are also such sweet ladies!

Whenever we get ready to go there, Faith starts practicing the greeting that we know in Amharic. Today she walked into the salon and greeted the ladies. They kissed her and said, "Look how big she's getting!"

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Our Cats

I have been asking Tim to get me a pet bird, but he thinks they would be loud and messy. Don't tell him, but...he might be right.

Instead of birds, we have had some cats coming around to visit us. They like it when we put a little bit of milk out for them. Joseph and Faith love to watch them drink the milk! It's fun to watch the kids and the cats!

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i is for insect

This was a fun week in preschool! I love teaching these kids and they seem to love learning!

They learned about the letter i for insects. We talked about time to the hour. I was surprised at how well they understood this! After learning about the clock, they heard the story "Grouchy Ladybug."

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W is for Water

This week the kids were focusing on the letter W for water. On Monday they learned about how water can be solid, liquid or gas with Rachel.

I decided to have them paint with water...I mixed some paint with water and gave them a straw to blow it around on their paper! It was fun!

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O is for octopus

Last week in preschool we talked about the letter o for octopus! The kids are starting to read more three letter words. It's fun to watch them put it together!

On Wednesday we made an octopus by tracing the kids' hands. They used finger paint to make an ocean scene...it was fun!

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hanging out with my kids

I was recently out with the kids right at sunset. There's something really wonderful about hanging out with my kids! I feel really blessed.

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Joseph January Pics

Here are some of Joseph's pictures from January...

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D is for Dinosaurs

Preschool is a fun time for all of us! This week we were working on D for Dinosaur! It was fun to talk about how God created dinosaurs and then pretend to be scientists digging up the dinosaur bones. We also made Dinosaur tracks with plastic dinosaurs and paint!

The kids are starting to sound words out with the letters they've learned! It's really fun to watch them learn these pre-reading skills!

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Proud of Joseph!

This is going to be one of those posts where I get to brag on my son a little bit... I'm so proud of Joseph!! He has been learning a lot in preschool and working really hard! It's been a lot of fun to join him in this. I love being with him during the school lesson time!!

A few weeks ago he was really struggling with writing his name. So, he and I worked and worked on it. We worked on it a little each day. Now he's doing it on his own!! He's so proud of himself!

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extra cooks in the kitchen

Lately I've been having to relearn how to cook. It used to be something that I did by myself. A time to work and listen to music. It was nice to have some time alone to think. But, this has all changed. Joseph and Faith have suddenly become really interested in cooking. They want to be big helpers! Sometimes it's so much fun. It takes a lot longer to do anything. But I can't resist them...they're too cute!

I know that I need to treasure this time with them because it seems to go by fast. One day they won't be begging me to put on the aprons Grandma made them. So, even though it takes longer to cook...I'm enjoying it! 

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Faith's new friend

One of my new Arab friends has a sweet daughter who is a little younger than Faith. It's so cute to see them playing together. Faith speaks to her friend in English and then her friend responds in Arabic! The other day when they were at our house the girls played dress up...so cute!

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Happy Birthday Faith!!

Faith turned 3 years old on January 4th! She was so excited about her birthday party. I loved hearing her talk about how her friends were going to come celebrate her birthday!! She was most excited about everyone singing "Happy Birthday" and getting to blow out her own candles.

This girl keeps getting more and more fun! She has a wonderful personality. It's fun to listen to her thoughts and watch her play.

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Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was a special time for our little family. It was the first time that we have had a Christmas with just the four of us. The previous two Christmases were in the States, which was also a special time!

The kids were so excited that it was Jesus' birthday. We explained to them that since His birthday is EXTRA special, we all get to open presents! They were so happy!

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Winter Wonderland at the Mall

The other day we went to the mall to play in the snow. That's the only place that we can find snow around here!! They actually had a real snow machine! It was fun for the kids and for us!

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Preschool before Christmas

The other day we went to the English Institute where Tim works. Joseph was so excited to get to write on these huge white boards! He's been learning how to write a few of his letters. In this picture he was practicing his M!

I've really loved watching Joseph learn in preschool! He is totally into it and loves to learn! I just feel so blessed that I get to do this with him. :)

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Riding Bikes

 Joseph's Grandma and Grampa sent money to buy Joseph a bike for his birthday in September. Between moving, traveling, and very hot days...he ended up getting it at the end of November.

He feels like such a big kid! Sometimes he gets frustrated, but he's learning to ride. I can't wait to see him take off those training wheels!! 

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Faith Day Slideshow

Yesterday we had a bunch of friends over to celebrate Faith Day! I wish you all could have joined us to celebrate this wonderful girl! We had ice cream sundaes with treasured friends...what a blessing!

I made a slideshow of Faith. Here it is, I hope you enjoy it: 

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