Lily and Isabel on Death

We had just finished our family devotion time ("Devotions for Kids"). We then take turns praying and daddy prays for Hyon who is suffering from Pancreatic cancer. After I am done, Lily tells us that sometimes she is afraid to die because though she wants to be in heaven and all, she is afraid it will hurt. Then Isabel says, "Yeah, and I'm afraid the birds will peck at me." (In heaven when she is riding on a cloud....)

I'm Dreaming of a Cajun Christmas

Early Thursday morning it snowed! Amazing! The girls were so excited. They ran outside and wanted to make a snow man. Well, this little blob of slushy wetness is it. Ta-da! What a specimen. The girls were disappointed. I overheard Bel say, "This isn't like the snow at Grandma's. This is ridiculous!" When I told them it snowed--they pictured feet of white fluffy snow that they could sled and make snow angels with. This is snow--Cajun style!

Sleepy Little Man

What can a mom say? I am in love. Peacefully sleeping in his little crib--he warms my heart. This picture was taken after the parade we went to on Saturday. He had lots of fun and enjoyed seeing the horses.

Isabel's Baptism

I am so proud of Isabel! A few weeks ago Bel had been asking about being baptized. Just for a little background, Isabel asked the Lord into her heart two years ago on December 5th. However, she wasn't ready to be baptized. Bel was afraid of going under the water. She thought the pastor would hold her under the water too long. So, we waited until she was ready on her own accord. So, when Bel asked about being baptized, again. We asked the usual questions---why do you want to get baptized--what does baptism mean--and she was ready to talk to the pastor. We want to make sure that we don't pressure our kids to make a spiritual decision to please us. We want them to be fully aware for themselves what baptism means. Anyways, for those of you who don't know what we believe, I will lay it out. In order to go to heaven the Bible says, that you must be born again. What being born again means is asking Christ into your heart and having him forgive you of your sins. It means placing your trust in Christ and what he did for us. His death on the cross took the sins of the world on Himself. He died for our sins, so we would not have to. All we have to do is repent and place our faith in Him. We cannot be good enough to go to heaven. Ephesians 2:8&9 says this: "For by grace are ye saved though faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Salvation is a free gift. It has no strings attached. We just need to ask Christ for his gift of Salvation. What that means is that we are saved though faith--it is not because of our "good works." If is was of our good works--then we would be boasting about how good WE are. But--Christ is good. So, with all that said, Baptism is an outward express of our acceptance of Christ as our Savior. It to let everyone know that we have chosen Christ! We are so proud of Bel! When she was done, she said if she knew it was going to be so easy, she would have done it sooner. Too cute! The man in the pictures is John Andrews. He is the youth pastor at our church and he and his family are wonderful. The girls love him and his wife is a total blessing to me!

Christmas Parade

This weekend we went to a Christmas Parade. It was my first parade in December. Since I am from MN, it is a foreign idea for me to go to a parade in December. It would be too cold. However, it was perfect here! It started out at about 45 degrees and by the time it was over--I'd dare say-- it was approaching 60. I did, however, put a hat on little man just because it was sooo cute on him! The kids got a boat load of candy. We had some nice family time.

What cha' doing on Tuesday?

We had a great surprise last week. My dad came to visit. On Sunday afternoon, the phone rang and it was my dad. First I was shocked because my dad doesn't call. I call and talk to him, or my mom calls. So, my first thought was---what happened? Anyways, he came down on Tuesday and stayed until Friday. It was great! Bel was glued to his side. She just was so happy to sit with him and just be by his side. I was so glad to see him, and I hated to see him leave.

BON APPÉTIT.

Yes, this confirms it. We live in Louisiana. Do you see that crazy creature? It is locally know as a mud bug. Appetizing isn't it? For the rest of the country it is known as a craw fish. Well, this little fellow, or lass, came to an untimely death. The cats found this little critter and were batting it around. Lily comes running into the kitchen and says, "Mom the cats have a scorpion!!" (which by the way do live here) So, I run out to see what they have caught and it was this little morsel. So, I squished it and took it into the kitchen. Dinner is served! (For those of you thinking--did she really eat it?--no but I kept it to freak Josh out!)

Ava talks about her fears

Tonight, I was putting Ava to bed and she, of course, had to go potty (delaying the bedtime some). While she was going potty she tells me a little bit about life. "Bad guys are bad and they have cages (pause) and rubots (pronounced rue-bots), and scary things (pause) to trap good girls. I don't like them, but they don't like me either cause I'm good."

Hijacked

My blog has been hijacked by Josh. All of the videos are his doing. It did seem out of character for me to put a ton of clips on the blog. Anyways, since his Thanksgiving four day is over, I will be able to reclaim the blog. I will put a true post on later today, hopefully.

Mr. Sterling Dances to the Walton's

Mr Sterling 2

Mr. Sterling

The Kitties 2 by Isabel

The Kitties by Isabel

Lily

AVA

another short film

Sterling

bel

Peek 2!

Peek!

Short Clips

Getting Ready for Christmas

There is Mr. Hyper in My Diaper!

STERLING!

Sterling Sure Can Rock

Short Clip Segments

Sweet Doesn't Begin to Describe these heros!

More Cuteness From the Warriors!

My two youngest hanging out, a rub-a-dub-dub in the tub!

Today Sterling says "hello" while pushing buttons on the phone and holding it up to his face...it was like "ah ju" cute (nope, not French, Korean...can you believe it?).

Ava is running with a cheap bird whistle in her mouth and flapping her arms and hands up and down. "This bird whistle makes me fly like a birdie," she says. (Yes, we know that she kinds of looks like a strung out, crazed Popeye on the picture...but I needed a visual for the post..it would have been best had I been recording at the same time...which, of course, never happens it seems!

Ava had a crazy prayer tonight...it went something like this: "Maybe when I'm big like mama, and I get big, and I drive a car like mommy, and get earrings, but daddy makes loud laughing noises and keeps me up...(pause)...I like yoyos and when I'm big I have sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen yoyos."

Sweet Kids

There are so many sweet times we share throughout the day. Ava came up to me and said, "Mom, I love you." I replied and said, "Are you sure you love me?" She said, "Mom I love you this many. I love you two!" She was holding up two fingers. "That isn't enough," I replied. "You have to love me more that that. I love you ten!" I held up both of my hands. She slyly smiled and spread her arms out wide. "I love you this much!" Yes, it is love!

On Wednesday I left Josh and Sterling home while the girls and I went to church. Sterling had been running a temp and I wanted to see if he was going to get sicker. (By Friday he had an ear infection and a high fever) Anyhoo, after I had left Sterling started to miss he. Josh said he wandered around the house looking for me. He started out calling Mom in our bedroom and then he tried to find me in the laundry room. He figured if I wasn't in the room I must be doing school in the laundry room with his sisters. He is so precious. I missed him too.

Sterling's one year picture

I just love this picture of Sterling. We had his pictures taken for his big ONE birthday. He was so fun! He giggled and tried multiple times to get away from the camera lady. Too cute.

Comment Away

Hey family and friends. Just a few days ago I changed the setting of my blog spot account. Now you can leave a comment even if you don't have a blog spot account.

Deep thoughts by Bel

This morning as I was making breakfast for my crew, I had a cute conversation with Isabel. While I was ensuring the kids had their eggs and toast made the way they wanted. (Bel just likes peanut butter on her toast, Ava just likes butter, Lily likes butter and jelly, and Sterling likes it any way as long as it is on his plate)
Bel says, "Mom?"
"Yes, dear?" was my reply.
"You know what Mom?" Bel smiles looking at Sterling in the high chair.
"What, Honey." I answer.
"I like Sterling MORE than food!" she says sweetly. That was such a cute revelation. She would fore go food to have her brother. What a little sunshine in my day.

Our trip to MN in August

Grandpa and Grandma Enga and kids
Sterling loved to kiss Tika
Lily loved to snorkel
Ava, Bel, and Me
Isabel loved to climb Grandma's tree

Isabel, Grandma and baby Caleb.
Looking for the animals at Como Zoo.
Cousin Jack.
Fun on the swing set.
Grandpa Barry

Snoozing Azalea

Nine months pregnant Michelle
Best buddies
Elijah and Ava playing with the kittens.

This past August we went home to visit our families. We hadn't been home for 20 months. It was such a long time to be away from home. We had a wonderful time and we didn't want to go back to LA. Anyways, I haven't posted any pictures from our trip. So, family, here are some pictures. I'm only putting on a few--we had so many to pick from. We went to Como Park Zoo with the May side cousins. We went to the beach with the Aldridge cousins. We canoed on Reno Lake at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had a wonderful time. The kids loved being with their Grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles......We miss you all!

Baby Boy's 1st Birthday

Sunday October 12

It is hard to believe that Sterling is now a year old. It is so great to know that he is healthy, strong , and, of course, sweet. It saddens me to know how fast he will grow up. When I first had Lily time didn't seem to move as quickly. However, with more children and a busier schedule, it just seems like there is never enough time in the day. Okay, back to Sterling's Birthday! I made Sterling a country-farm theme birthday cake. It didn't look quite like how I envisioned it, but he enjoyed it immensely. (I won't quit my day job) When we put the cake on his highchair tray, he reached right for the frosting and started to chow. The girls giggled. He then thought he was pretty funny too. So, he smiled and laughed right along with them. he didn't quite get the blowing out the candle part, but he loved us singing to him. Sterling also received some great gifts in the mail. He especially loved a little John Deere tractor set. He would push it around the floor and make vroom vroom noises. It is amazing how he learned to do that without anyone teaching him to make the sounds.

My Little Man

I have a little joy in my life. That is Sterling. He is such a loving little boy. He has an infectious laugh that can warm any one's heart. He is so happy. One thing that makes him joyous is food. When it is about time to eat I will pick him up. I ask him, "Are you hungry? Would you like some num nums?" He responded with a delighted squeal and enthusiastic bouncing. When I was in the kitchen Sterling came crawling full boar at me. When he reached my legs, he stood up and said, "Ma, nums." Apparently, he is a food enthusiast. Now what side of the family would he get that from? (Just a hint: Both!)

Cat food

So, I am sitting across the room and I notice Sterling has something in his mouth. I look at him and say, "What is in your mouth?" He looks at me opens his mouth and pulls out out some cat food that was dropped on the floor. He sure understands a lot. His is not quite a year old and he knew exactly what I meant. Too cute!

frustration and patience

So, here it is. Frustration and patience collide. I sooooooooooo want to move back to home to MN. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss Sunday dinner with my dad and mom. I miss seeing my nieces and nephews. I miss that my kids don't know there family well. I am home sick. Josh is actively looking for employment in MN. Here is the catch. Josh has specialized skills that don't easily match up with conventional jobs. He has a job he loves right now, but in order to have ultimate job security in the federal system he has to be in for three years. So, do we leave the Fed. system before the 3 year mark and jump into an uncertain job? Or do we patiently wait until a federal job comes up somewhere closer to job. I mean I'll take what we can get. Anything 7 hours or closer to MN sounds great. Right now we are 23 driving hours from home. That stinks. Frustration again. I know what most of you are thinking. Pray. Yes, I know. The battle is I lost my patience about 3 years ago. Those of you who know me well know what I am talking about. (-: Anyways, this post is a rant. I feel much better letting my steam off. Okay, I will be patient. Patience is a virtue I need to work on!

Hurricane Ike

Well, we decided to weather the hurricane this time. It wasn't a direct hit for us, so we fared well. It is still raining, but only in spurts as the final bands of the hurricane come this way. Around 3am we had to bring the grill into the house because it was scooting across our patio. It was funny the girls came out of their rooms and said they thought the house was moving, but it was the grill moving closer to their window. Too funny. With the last hurricane, Gustav, the kids and I evacuated to Shreveport. It wasn't a fun ride with four kids and two kittens. Anyways, we stayed with a friend and we have fun. However, Josh had to stay on post for the whole storm and work with the command team of key and essential personnel. Anyways, this storm is passing and the worst damage I have is one of my plants has been uprooted and is gone.

General Update

This is a update about our lives. We are still living in Louisiana. Josh works on post and loves his job. He really enjoys his co-workers and bosses. It is a real nice work environment for him. That makes me really happy!
I still home school our children. Lily is 9 and is in the 4th grade. She loves history and reading. He favorite animal is a horse and she plays the violin. Isabel is in 1st grade and she always wants to do more school. She always says, "IS that all?!" She loves school. Ava is three and loves to play with her baby brother. She always wants him in her room. Too cute. Last but not least is Sterling. He is nearly 11 months old. He crawls everywhere and is so precious. He love to eat, and he can eat more than his older sisters. If I didn't stop him he'd eat until he was sick.
We would love to move home to MN. We are looking for work back home, but it is hard with Josh's work to transfer easily. We hope and pray that before the kids get too old we will be closer to home so the kids can know their Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. I really want to know my nieces and nephews too! I miss them so much!!!
Well, there you have it--a little synopsis of our lives.

my friends

I have just learned that my college friends are going to Vietnam to add to their family a precious new son. I am so exited for them. Children are such a blessing. I pray that they will have a smooth trip and be united with their son, Wyatt, safely. There already have one adopted son named Isaac. Congratulations!