The Waiting Begins

Had a call from Jon this morning, since Sunday I was busy with the Y Malawi Steering Team. It was great to hear his voice, especially since I anticipate having his voice connected to his whole body next week. So the waiting begins. Still a few days till he leaves his current location and then it will be a few days before he can call and let me know when he will be arriving in my location. Got it? :) Don't want anyone trying to hinder this trip. But, Lord willing, by next week at this time our family of three will all be together.

The weekend was very productive for our Y Malawi team. We are getting more organized and I always appreciate time with this great team of folks who come from numerous churches. Our meetings were from Saturday lunch through Sunday evening this time and so the team joined me at the 8:00 a.m. service at San Clemente Presbyterian. It was wonderful to worship with our Y Malawi partners at my church. The meetings also went well because I had four women who volunteered to help serve and clean up our meals. Thank you Debbie, Lisa, Rosalis and Peggy. You were a blessing to all of us, but especially to me.

This week Joshua and I will be having play dates with friends, hanging out at home, going to the Circus (first time for Joshua) and waiting for Jon.

Sheryl

More fun this summer

We returned from our two weeks of vacation and Joshua participated in a week-long Spanish Tae Kwon Do Camp. He loved it and I was glad to have him immersed in Spanish for a week. I don't want him to forget what he learned during the school year. The kids were supposed to speak Spanish to each other as well as to the teacher, although Joshua told me the trick was to whisper. If you didn't get caught speaking English, then you didn't get a time out. The time outs involved standing outside until the next student got caught speaking English. The day Joshua got a time out he told me that he hadn't even gotten to the door yet when someone else spoke in English, so he didn't have to take a time out. :)

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a Faith Academy 50th Celebration. Faith is one of the mission kid schools I attended while growing up in the Philippines. They celebrated their 50th anniversary by having small gatherings around the US and the world. We were honored to have 5 staff members who have worked at Faith over 25 years each. I connected with my 2nd grade teacher Miss Fox, who I haven't seen since 1969. I also saw my Home Ec teacher from 7th and 8th grades. No one from my class ('79) was there, but there were older friends and friends from my sisters class ('81) that I was able to reconnect with. It was awesome to hear and see what God has continued to do through that school. For more information on the school, check out their web site at http://www.faith.edu.ph/.

This week Joshua is with my brother Steve and family. Joshua is attending a sports camp with his cousin Evan and I am sure they are having a great time. When I took him down Sunday evening, I could barely get a "good bye, Mom," out of him before I left. It is such a nice gift from my sister-in-law Sandi who has three kids of her own and has to keep their house clean as they are trying to sell it. :(

I am getting various things done at home. I'm also having fun. Went to see "The Devil Wears Prada" yesterday and had a great, cool time. For those of you not in Southern California, it has been almost as hot at Iraq this past week. Our little mobile home does not have AC, so I have been finding other places to go to stay cool. Today I am meeting a friend at the Cheesecake Factory in Irvine for lunch and then a group of friends are going to Las Brisas in Laguna for dinner before viewing the Art-A-Fair.

Thursday evening I'll drive down to Escondido and meet Sandi and the kids. We'll take them to the Wild Animal Park and have a picnic dinner. It should be great to see the animals in the cool of the evening. Friday I'll get to hang out with my sister Sandy for a while as well.

The coming weekend is another Y Malawi Steering Team meeting which I am hosting at San Clemente Presbyterian. Fortunately I have a great team of volunteers helping me and plenty of time this week to prepare. I am looking forward to productive meetings.

Well, now you are caught up on Joshua and me. Of course the news that Jon will (probably) be coming home for his R&R soon, if very exciting. Although I must admit that part of me is wary -- you never know with the USMC.

Sheryl

Pictures from Franklin, Michigan

Our time in Franklin, Michigan, was very active, as you can see from these pictures. Joshua loved bouncing on the trampoline. Here he and Riley showed off for the camera. All the kids enjoyed the two days at the pool. The day at the lake was perfect. The water and the air were just the right temperature for swimming and building sand castles. Joshua got to go bowling for the first time to celebrate Baker's 10th birthday. He posed after getting his first strike! What an experience. Yes, we had an awesome time with our Moran relatives. Thanks, Greg, Sharon, Baker, Regan and Riley for your hospitality for 9 days.

Sheryl

Pictures from Lanesboro, Minnesota

Here are some shots from our excellent time in Lanesboro, Minnesota. We enjoyed our time with Ann, Bob, Nathan, Kimberly, Ethan, Karen and Mike. It was an awesome vacation. If you are ever in the south-eastern corner of Minnesota, I highly recommend the Cozy Quilt Cottage owned and operated by the Weavers. I'll have shots from our time in Michigan in a day or two.

Sheryl

Home Sweet Home

We're home. We arrived at our own doorstep around 8:15 p.m. My folks had dinner for us and a few necessary groceries for the morning. Joshua fell asleep on the drive to our house, which was to be expected since his body thought it was 11:00 p.m. (we just came back from the Detroit area).

We had an awesome vacation. Our 5 days in Lanesboro, Minnesota, with the Weaver clan were relaxing and fun. Our 9 days in Franklin, Michigan, with the Greg and Sharon Moran clan were full of lots of time for Joshua to play with his cousins and for me to enjoy time reading, relaxing and conversation with Sharon and Greg. We even got to see Jon's brother Matt, when he came up from Indiana for a day and a half. We were so blessed by all those who hosted us these past two weeks.

I'll post a few pictures in the next few days, but wanted to let y'all know that we made it home.

Sheryl