Bat Cave!

A friend told us about a bat cave only a few minutes from the school here. So Noah and I went with him to check it out. It was pretty crazy how many bats there were! You felt like they were going to fly into you at any moment.

Our friend Logan and Noah watching the bats inside before they come out. The entrance to the cave was barred.

Birthday!

For my birthday this year we celebrated with our close friends the Gundersons (center) and the Allens (left). We had a great time of talking, playing games and, of course, eating.

All of our kids together!

A Day in the Life....

Wow! I finally get to be on the computer again! Tim has been working almost non-stop on homework the last few weeks and he needs the computer to do this. (Speaking of which, please be praying for the funds for a new computer. The one we have is not able to handle a lot of the things we will need to do in the future between ministry presentations, language learning, etc. It is exciting to know that God knows exactly what we need and will meet those needs in the way HE deems best.)

I thought that it might be good to give everyone a little glimpse of what life is like for us these days. It has been strange for Tim and I to adjust to not being in classes together everyday like we have been used to. After four years of marriage and being with each other the majority of the time, it came as quite a shock to now see so little of each other. Little did we know what a blessing that was! It has also been a good time for me to adjust to having a new little one to take care of and being a full time stay-at-home mom. One missionary lady I talked to said that most moms don't get a chance to really adjust to that until they are on the field and have language learning and culture shock to deal with! I am thankful for that chance now!

A typical day for Tim (Mon-Fri.):

8-12 am: Linguistics class

12-1:20: Lunch

1:20-2:30: Linguistics class

2:30-5:00pm: Work detail (Tim works on the plumbing crew and helps put in new systems and fix the broken ones- both in school buildings and in people's homes)

5:00-7:30pm: Dinner, family time, baths, and putting the kids to bed

8:00- ?: More Linguistics! (They usually have to put in at least two hours of homework every night)

By the time he is finished it is usually quite late and I am already in bed. As for my day with the boys, we keep busy with play-doh, coloring, reading, going on walks, napping, nursing, cooking, laundry, and cleaning up messes. All this to say, we are both worn out by the end of the day. Tim- mentally exhausted from analyzing bizarre languages all day, and me- physically exhausted from keeping up with two little ones by myself most of the time. We would appreciate your prayers for quality time together as a couple and as a family, and for endurance to the end of this semester!

Tiffany

Tim working away at analyzing the Kuman language of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. (A little taste of what we may someday face!)

"No-No Fruit"

Sunday morning rolled around and I was exhausted from a long night with both boys. (Micah's possible growth spurt and sudden need to eat more, and Noah's new experience with nightmares.) Adding to that, I wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home with the boys and Tim went to church on his own. While Micah napped I decided that it might be good for Noah and I to sit down and read/look at our Bibles since we weren't able to make it to church. Noah has his own picture Bible that is actually quite good. I opened my Bible and began to read, but Noah wasn't going to be satisfied with just looking at pictures, and so he began asking questions. I put my own Bible aside and we began to read together out of his. It now being so automatic to teach chronological, we began with creation and Adam and Eve. It was exciting to see his eyes get big as we talked about the garden and the tree with "no-no fruit." He told me again and again how Eve did a "BIG No-No" eating that "no-no fruit." I then asked him if he always obeyed mommy and daddy. He looked at me and said, "No." We then talked about how mommy and daddy do "no-no's" sometimes too. His eyes got really big and he asked, "Did you eat the 'no-no fruit' too?!" "No," I told him, "but since Adam and Eve did, now all of us are sinners and we do other n0-no's too." I then asked him if he was a sinner. "Yes, I am a sinner." he said.
As soon as Tim walked in the door Noah ran up to him and said, "Daddy, we are All sinners!"

Though this morning was spent only planting little seeds of understanding, it was exciting to see the tables start turning in his mind. Please be praying for wisdom for us as parents as we seek to make disciples for Christ in our children.

Drive-Thru Animal Park

On the way back from our friend's lake house (see below) we stopped at a drive -thru animal park in Springfield. It was a blast! There were all sorts of animals...everything from horses and cattle, to wildebeests, zebra, and bison. Many of the animals roamed free and they would walk right up to your car where you could feed them special treats from your window! The only trick sometimes is getting their heads back out of your car. :)Looking for those animals!

Feeding a horse from our car window

Who knew there were camels in Missouri!

It felt strange having such a huge animal right outside our car window

More hungry animals!

Micah getting in on the action

This donkey was serious about getting fed.
(When I turned around I had another donkey with his head completely in my window!)

Visiting our Friend's Lake House

One of the guys in Tim's linguistics class invited all the linguistic student and their families to stay at his parent's lake house for the weekend. This place was AMAZING! The view of the lake was spectacular and the house itself was luxury that we are not really used to. We had fun visiting with friends and Tim was able to go for a ride out on their boat. My friend, Emily, and Noah's friend, Titus, with Micah.

Notice the three little boys on the couch watching John Deere tractors on a plasma screen tv!

Look at that view!

Bedtime stories

Bathtime!

Back to School!

It seems that this new semester has started off with non-stop potlucks! We got together with all the families in our building and the building across from us to help everyone get to know each other better. The building you see behind us is our 's. The building only goes a little bit farther out of the picture and yet there are four apartments squeezed into it! You feel pretty close to your neighbors when you can hear them talking through the wall. There are two new families in our building this semester, both of them families with young kids, so it has been nice to have so many moms around...especially since I am not able to get out much. We started off the year with a neighborhood picnic.

The man talking is our neighbor. He and his family came from Malaysia and we could learn a lot from them about sacrifice and serving the Lord! (Noah loves their family and likes to visit there often.)

Micah, doing what he does best...sleeping!

Noah really enjoys his new neighborhood friends....three sweet little girls!

A Blog...

Well, for those of you that have kept up with us, you know that we have experimented with several ways of trying to keep in touch. It has been difficult to find something effective, yet not time consuming. It has been this search that has led us to a blog. We plan to use the blog for more of the day-to-day events in our lives and see if it is something that we can maintain. We would appreciate any feedback that you have to offer as it is our heart to stay connected, in spite of the miles that separate us from many of you.

Tiffany