My new friend Tinette has three kids. We see them a lot and really enjoy all the boisterous company! Marguerita "Gita", Enrique and Emilio LOVE Mia and Nykolas!

Reza's girls came with her one day last week. Sooo cute!

Who would have ever guessed that my children's first sight of the ocean would be the South China Sea! It sounds so exotic and lovely...the landscape was beautiful but the beach couldn't compare to the panhandle of Florida.

Chad had a ministry meeting with several men at this lovely old resort at Bay Caybne. Reza, the kids and I were invited to tag a long. It was such a wonderful retreat. Nykolas loved the ocean! (no surprise) The first day we walked to the beach he had on his overalls and in minutes he was soaked and covered in sand. We watched crabs scurry about, laughed at the mud guppies that skipped across the water and fed fish that looked like they had jumped straight out of "Finding Nemo". Mia napped in the shade to the sound of the waves as Nykolas chased each and every one.

Next we moved on to Tagaytay where Chad was teaching at an evangelist's conference. If you look on a map of the Philippines, look south of Manila past Laguna Lake to Lake Taal. Tagaytay is with in sight of Lake Taal - which has a beautiful volcano right in the center. Chad rented a wee cottage. It was very small - felt and looked like a dwarf house. Very tight...or should I say cozy. We got really close to Reza- sharing a bathroom, hearing the kids every wimper and turn in the night, washing bottles and baby bibs in the bathroom sink and laughing at Nykolas' antics. It dawned on me that we will all cry when we must take our leave of Reza. She has become such a part of our family. Chad loves to scare her, I love the companion she is to me and the kids love her sweet spirit and constant laughter. What a gift!

Chad spoke in the mornings. So the first morning the rest of us took a Jeepney to 7-11 for food and snacks then we took a motorcycle with a sidecar home - THAT was the highlight of Kola's life! He did not want to get out when we got home. In the pictures he is so somber....riding bikes is serious business when you are a boy.

Chad got home about noon and we all went to a small zoo that is built on the side of the mountian overlooking Lake Taal. Wow! I think I loved it more than Nykolas - we pet exotic birds, held a python, were within inches of tigers, bears and monkeys AND we got to play with a baby tiger cub! SO FUN!

I am having the time of my life introducing the world to Nykolas and Mia. I know it will be even more fun the older they get. The earth is full of the abundance and creativity of the Lord....orange crabs, red dragonflies, blue butterflies, shy snails, playful cubs, bright geckos, friendly ponies, funny monkies, noisy colourful birds...so many amazing things to experience. Wherever the Lord may send us I intend to teach my children to marvel at the goodness of the Lord and the beauty of our world - but to also remind them that this is a mere shadow of a glimpse of our home in heaven!

The next morning we all went with Chad to the Christian Developement Center to hear him speak. Nykolas didn't last long and Reza put him to sleep on a sofa in someone's office. Chad did a wonderful job. It's great to see him "in action". Being a part of real 'hands on' ministry is our heartbeat and being with evangelists from around the Philippines was a real treat.

When we got back to the house Chad was exhausted from late nights and days of teaching. So the rest of us took a Jeepney to Starbucks and again enjoyed the view of Lake Taal. Then we took a motorcycle to a streetside vendor of plants and flowers. I went a little crazy. I thought of my grandmother the whole time as I browsed among the gorgeous brightly coloured tropical plants. When Chad recovered we took a long drive in the mountains and on the way home stopped at the famous "Mushroom Burger" restaurant. Kind of a dive on the side of the road famous for their...yes, you guessed it...mushroomburgers. We also bought baloot from a street vendor....Chad and I really wanted to watch Reza dive into this Filipino delicacy. Baloot is a boiled duck egg, but the part we can't seem to swallow (pun intended) is that it has a partially formed duck fetus that is part of the treat. And yes you can tell it is a wee bird....

On our way out of town on Friday we took a boat ride in Lake Taal to the volcano...stopping short of riding horses up to the top...we were afraid a couple of grandmothers might come to Manila and take the kids from us if we took them up an active volcano! It was beautiful. Chad drove us all the way home....with traffic, what should have been a 2 hour drive took us 5 hours! We were soooo glad to see our home and just as we got in a horrendous thunderstorm hit.....ahh home sweet home!

Check out the slideshow of our trip!

Freddy Young and his family

Off to Tagaytay and Lake Taal for the week. Will write of all our adventures when we return!

Mommy and Mia all ready for church!

NOTE TO SELF:
Playing Peter Pan and Zorro with your one and half year old boy (even though he has not a clue what you are talking about) ~ sword fighting with coat hangers and tying him up to a pillar is great fun. It keeps him still for about two minutes.
* This is legal in Philippines may cause a stir in the States! Having him walk the plank, even in the Philippines, is not looked upon in a good light...especially if there is water involved.

Note to those aghast at these pictures: No Nykolas' were harmed in the making of these photos...

Nykolas must hold his sister from time to time....

She is absolutely as sweet as she looks!

Mail!

Nykolas received his first personal piece of mail today! We were on our way to the swimming pool and we checked our mailbox as usual to find....a card from Aunt Hollye! He was so excited...kissing it and showing it to Reza, Daddy and every friendly stranger walking past!

Today it is raining cats and dogs...not literally of course, as that would be quite noisy! I do love a good thunderstorm with torrential rain and loud thunder - especially if the kids are down for a nap, my 'chai tea masala' candle is burning and I can just write or read. But I am reminded of the church we visited several Sundays ago....with lots of rain the street becomes a raging river and with torrential rain the first level of the church is flooded....one person's delight may be another's curse. Deep, huh?!?

It's been a quiet week. Routine and nice....I did take Nykolas to Gymrunners at the Gymboree and he was into that much more than the music class....I think he is not quite old enough for the music thing. Although there is some music in the Runners class but climbing and balls and such are also included. The teacher said he was the best in the class! He pushed a big ball up the slide, climbed like a monkey on the equipment, sat under the parachute as the mommies and ya-ya's swished it up and down and picked the cutest girl in class to plant kisses on throughout the hour! I do hope we get over the kissing thing before high school!

Last Sunday, Chad thought it would be fun to drive a bit and see what we could see....honestly I wasn't really in the mood but in an effort to be submissive and generally amiable I agreed. We drove and drove AND (surprise, surprise) got lost. We eventually found our way home with help from a friendly cab driver. Definately an adventure - getting lost in a foreign country with two kiddos in the back getting hungrier and hungrier by the minute. We ended up at a restaurant near our house finishing the evening with a Mongolian meal....Mia, of course, had rice cereal and apple sauce....her meals are ever so boring...poor baby...lucky she doesn't know the difference. All in all it ended up being a good Sunday.