Some of the News Fit to Digitize

So much for coming back to post regularly, huh?

I've started a few updates over the last couple of months, but each time I got interrupted before I could finish, then lost my motivation or my train of thought or my seat at the computer. Now, seemingly suddenly, more than two months have passed.

As you might imagine, our son is growing by leaps and bounds. He's already seven months old. He crawls and cruises and he's been fussing the past 10 days or so sprouting four new teeth! Solid foods are his friend and he has started eating at least one full meal a day of nothing but solids. His favorites are avocado, banana, potato, and popcorn (just the soft puffy bit, not the kernel).

Rosi is doing her best to alternately care for him and torment him. She likes the idea that we'll trust her with the responsibility of watching him for a few minutes while we change out the laundry or check on dinner, but that doesn't preclude her desire to bonk him on the head with one of his stuffed toys just because she can.

She's been really making some breakthroughs of her own in the beginning stages of reading and spelling. She's able to pretty consistently sound out simple words, though the process is still slow. Rhyming is a favorite pass time (and car game) here. Her imagination is really been running wild as well. She enjoys making toys and tools from paper and whatever she finds around the house. The other day she came into the room carrying a dowel rod with her belt tied to one end. "Look, Mom," she told me. "I made a fishing pole!"

The whole family is getting ready to visit Adam's parents for the dedication of the New Testament translation they've finished. We've got our passports and we're working on making the travel arrangements. Despite my own experiences traveling to many places around the world--and not all of them easily accessible--it still amazes me that, in this modern age, there are places that require five days travel just to reach.

I'm also a bit overwhelmed at the idea of trekking through the jungle with my kids in tow. In all the adventure travel fantasies I ever had, I was never toting children along with me. Adam, on the other hand, is excited to be going home. He's not had the opportunity to visit since he left for college, which was nearly 20 years ago, now.

Otherwise, things are moving along. We're still trying to find a church home. It's a bit frustrating to visit church after church after church and still not be able to claim one as "ours." It does make for a bit of a sociological study, though. The biggest hurdle, for me at least, is that we show up on Sunday only to be completely ignored. Now, I'm not the sort who wants to stand up amidst a crowded service and introduce myself and my family, but isn't there even one person willing to go out of their way to recognize and welcome a family they don't know? Apparently such folks are few and far between.

Instead of that personal touch, we've gotten brief surveys, a worship CD, a gift card to the local bakery (because, as the enclosed note explained, "Jesus is the BREAD of life"), and an invitation to be included in the next church directory.

The bread was yummy, anyway.

So, we'll keep at it.

Well, not just for the bread ...