Abby's Baptism

Today was a special day for our family! Abby chose to be baptized! After last year's church baptism she said, "I want to be baptized, but I don't want to do it in the Sandy River, it's too cold!" So exciting and so cute! Well, apparently quite a few people felt that way, there were 14 people baptized today at the swimming pool in Sandy. One of them was Autumn, Abby's best friend, but unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them together. I'll have to get that soon! ;) It was so fun to see 11 kids at our church baptized, choosing to follow Jesus and let others know they love Jesus! So exciting!

We are so proud of Abigail and how she loves the Lord and is choosing to follow Him. Sometimes, it's standing up for others on the playground at school, sometimes it means telling the truth when others are choosing lies, sometimes it means she's teased at school for being different, other times it means she's honoring to her teachers in ways that others around her are disrespectful. She's not perfect...she still fights with her siblings, has bad attitudes and challenges her Mom and Dad from time to time but she's choosing to walk a narrow road to follow Christ in life and we're so proud of her. Our hearts are filled with joy!

Our kids are surrounded by such great families and kids their age at our church who love Jesus and are following them! It makes it easier to go to school during the week where there are fewer friends who are following Jesus. We love that our kids have a "mission field" to go to Monday through Friday, to be able to  share Jesus and feel challenged in their faith, their daily walk and their living out Jesus' love for others. On the other hand, I'm so happy for our kids to have such loving, caring friends at church who also love Jesus and look forward to seeing them all grow up together through the years! After the baptism, there was open swim (and pizza!) for a couple hours. All the kids had so much fun! It's one of my favorite events at Cornerstone!

 Uncle Jon, Aunt Erin, Noah & Hudson came and brought her pretty flowers! So sweet!

 Grandma & Grandpa were in town for this and squeezed in Elijah's baseball game yesterday too! What a treat for us and for them!

 Emily & Hannah, loving the pool time!

 It's hard to see it, but Elijah was squirting Joel with water...funny boy!

 Hannie was soooooo cold after she got out of the pool!

 My friend, Kelly and I...had to ask someone to take a picture with me in it! ;)

 Caleb is such a cutie-pie!

Kaitlin and Abby

There goes my heart...

Almost four years ago a piece of my heart was left behind in Slovenia. A large piece. Joel and I lived there for almost 7 years, were a part of two youth ministries in two different churches, had American & Slovene friends that were more like family as well as starting our own family over there. Yes, a large piece of my heart remains in Slovenia.

This morning, two huge chunks of my heart boarded a plane to return there for two weeks! Joel and Abby are going on the team with our church to do an English Camp with the youth group that Joel and I started in Kranj. Our family is beyond excited for their return to join, again, in the ministry and for Abby to return to the town of her birth and see a small piece of what we were about while we lived there.

Joel posted this picture on Facebook just before leaving Portland. I love that both of them have genuine smiles on their faces! These two are so alike and don't give their smiles for free, so this is a very special picture, capturing their joy for the journey before them! I absolutely love it!!

We re-applied for Abby's passport back in March at the Gresham City Hall. Her first one had expired when she turned 5 so it was fun to apply for a new one for her, in her new town! She was just  about a month old the last time we applied for her passport. Joel's hand was holding her head up for the picture and they had to photoshop it out of the picture for the passport. What a way to mark the passing of time!

I wrote Abby a card for her to read on the airplane, telling her how proud I am of her. She amazes me with her bravery and courage! She is so much like Joel when it comes to trying new things with confidence and courage. I love that about her! On the other hand, Elijah and I have both showed our similarities this week as it is SO hard for both of us to say goodbye. We are switching out a dresser in his room, for a new one and even that brought our little guy to tears and me as well as I can identify with his emotions of saying "goodbye" to anyone or anything. It just endears me to him much like Abby's similarity to Joel endears me even more to her!

In her card, I also shared a couple verses for her:
Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." As well as her Daddy. ;) And this verse as well.
I Timothy 4:12
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers (and Slovenes) in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 

She is so strong and courageous and I'm praying that she feels the Lord's presence in special ways these next two weeks and that her strength comes from knowing that He is with her and guiding her. It can be a scary thing for anyone to enter or even re-enter a new culture, language, with new food, smells, sounds...for an almost 7 year old, it might be scary for her. I encouraged her to just lean in to the different-ness and experience all that God has for her during these next two weeks! I'm so looking forward to hearing stories of how it all unfolds! I just love my "Abigirl"!!

Number Two!

Abigail got a special surprise in her cereal this morning! It was her second top tooth! That's the second tooth that has come out while she's been eating a meal. The first one came out when she was visiting Yellow Grandma & Grandpa this summer. She was having a tuna fish sandwich for lunch and found something hard in her bite. It turned out to be a tooth that was very loose that week!

Last night, we were picking out Abigail's special outfit for school today. It is "Picture Day" at school! What a fun day to lose her second top tooth! I am looking forward to this year's school picture, memorializing this rite of passage in our daughter's life! How fun to have lost a tooth on picture day! I encouraged her to smile big for the photographer today! She may not enjoy it as a teenager some day, but this morning, she was pretty happy and my Mama heart is happy for her!

She was pretty excited this morning! We snapped this picture shortly after it happened. She was still in her pajamas! I wanted to get a picture of her in her "picture day" outfit and toothless grin, but it will have to wait until she returns home from school.

Another one gone!

Just before walking out the door to leave for school this morning, one of Abigail's top teeth came out! It was becoming considerably more and more loose the past week and on Saturday I decided to take a picture of her as it was starting to make it's way out.

Ever since her teeth came in as a baby, she has had a gap between the two top ones. This weekend, she looked so different to us, as her gap had closed between her top two teeth. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to fall out, it was starting to "jut" out and she was complaining about it hurting to eat. Saturday, she was at a birthday party and she had a hard time eating her hot dog because her tooth was hurting so much. I'm glad it's out now and she can enjoy her food again...until the next one becomes more loose, right?! 

 

 Here she is at the park earlier in the week, you can still see that sweet gap!

 The gap was closing!

 Sun in her face, but you can see the teeth!

Bye-Bye tooth!

She's pretty excited to be in the "lost tooth club" in her class at school now!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Well since I haven't posted since Abby's first day of school last year, I thought it fitting for my first new post to be of her first day of school this year! Hopefully I'll make it past the first day this year with stories of our family!

She is 6 years old now and ready for another year of learning! Abby's in Mrs. Taylor's class at Kelly Creek Grade School. We've heard such wonderful things about her teacher, so we're very happy for Abby to be in her class. Since last year's first day (which I hope to get around to writing about!) she's lost three teeth and has several more loose teeth on their way out!

 Last year she became a "Cougar Kid". It's kids who demonstrate respect, safety and responsibility and they earn the privilege. Her special Cougar Kid badge is around her neck. Good job, Abigail!!

 Every student in her class has a number and hers is No. 1! With a last name of Woodard, starting with a "W" we've prepared her that most times she'll be last to be called on or have the last cubby in the room, etc. This year, her teacher is starting with first names, and with hers starting with "Ab" she is first! Probably the last time that will happen!

 Mrs. Taylor made this and was planning on taking all the kid's pictures with it for a classroom project. Since we were early she offered to let me take a picture with it! It's so fun and creative!

 This is Abby's closest friend from Kindergarten, Olivia. Both girls are happy to be in the same class again this year!

 This special treat was waiting at Abby's (everyone's) place at her table. It says, "You're o-FISH-ally a 1st grader!" So cute!

 This is Lindsey, she's a neighbor down the street and it's her first year in public school. We're happy to have a neighbor girl in Abby's class and hoping a good friendship will develop! I'll be watching Lindsey before school each day and after two days a week. We're looking forward to getting to know her and her family better this year!

 This was actually the "second" day of school, but her first time to ride the school bus in the morning! Tomorrow she'll be riding the bus with Lindsey as well.

She's such a big girl!!! Wow! We're proud of her!

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, these are more like the first days of Kindergarten. Last week was Kindergarten Screening where kids and their parents went together for two hours. Then today it's "Gradual Entry" where only half of the class goes for the day, tomorrow the other half goes. Then Thursday will be her actual "first day" where it's just her, the teacher and the whole class together.

Abigail is ready and excited for school! It's been such a joy to watch her grow these past five years and to see her taking this new next in her life is delightful. It feels monumental for our whole family. Our first child is beginning school which is a whole new life for her. It's a whole new thing for all of us now. Elijah is now the "oldest" at home, leaving him to learn how to play with his younger brother. I'm looking forward to their friendship developing this next year. And to only have three at home, feels a bit lighter to me, even if my "easiest" is away at school. Aahhh, it's just fun to be making this change as a family...just fun.

In my devotion book this morning it was quoting Psalm 20. It's a Psalm that I know well. Lori Jackson read it to me at a retreat that all of us JV Slovenia women were on back in the fall of 2004. We had just lost Isaac. The baby I was pregnant with until 20 weeks and then had to deliver. We were devastated and heartbroken. I remember clearly sitting on the double bed with all these wonderful JV women and having Lori read these words over me as we all cried. Then three years later another JV woman, Sarah from Croatia, read those same words over me at a baby shower for Elijah.

So this morning as I read those same words on this "monumental" day for our family, I was just drawn to the Lord as this time, He spoke those words over me, Abigail and our whole family. As I read them and wrote them in my journal, I was just in awe of all the Lord has done for our family and that now those words are for her as she begins this new journey in life. So I wanted to post them again, to memorialize this day for Abigail.

Psalm 20

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.

May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
O Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call!

 

 

 

We love you sweet Abigail and are very proud of you!!

Vacation Bible School

Abigail was able to participate in Vacation Bible School this year at Grace Community Church. She was ready and excited! Stephanie Leiby was taking her girls and offered to pick up Abigail and bring her home. I asked Abby if she'd like Mom or Dad to take her the first day and maybe stay awhile till she was comfortable or to just go with Stephanie and the girls and she said, "I'll be fine, I want to ride with Tennyson." Her bravery at jumping in to new things amazes me sometimes!

She loved every day of VBS! On Wednesday she came home and when I asked her what she learned about she said, "Dirt!" "We all have "dirt" in us, Mom and I realized that's what Elijah's problem is! He has "dirt" inside and he hasn't asked Jesus for his blood to make him clean!" There I was, praying for her each and every day, thinking maybe one day she might come home saying, "Mama! I asked Jesus in my heart!" and she comes home saying her brother is the one who needs Jesus! : ) 

So I asked her what the "dirt" was they were talking about. She said, "I'm not sure how to explain it...here, I'll show you." She went to the back window and pointed outside to the dirt outside. Then asked me, "Mama... did you play with dirt when you were little?" I nodded and she said, "then you need to ask Jesus for his blood to make you clean." It was so cute to hear our little concrete thinker explain salvation. 

On Thursday evening, there was a family night with food, games and a program. It started right at Caleb's bedtime, so we weren't really thinking straight when we decided to take the whole family, but we did anyway and suffered through. : ) The program consisted of all the songs they've been learning all week that the boys were NOT at all interested in watching. : ) Joel spent the next 45 minutes to an hour entertaining Elijah (and Caleb part of the time.) Caleb wandered around, playing with a game for awhile, finding Cheetos on the ground to munch on... I fed Hannah, then thankfully, she was content to just lay in the stroller while I tried to watch at least a little bit of the program. I think next year, we'll plan that differently! : ) We were super proud of Abigail though! She's a joy to watch as she makes her way through life!

 Caleb helped himself to some cookies and jammed to the music!

 A fun, haphazard family photo! ; )

 Take two...oh wait, who's that crazy kid?! Come on! We almost had a decent family picture!! Ugh!

 Another silly boy!!

 Abby's in the middle with the blue shirt on...

 Here's Joel entertaining Elijah!

 

 This one's blurry...but Elijah is so high! Joel really got a workout! : )

Here's Caleb making friends, playing some random game. 

Here he is stealing the balls (he LOVES balls!!) from that game and munching on those Cheetos he found in the grass. Oh well! : )

 

And here's sweet little Hannah too!

Abigail's Spring Recital

 Before it got too outdated, I wanted to get Abigail's Spring Recital video and pictures uploaded. There was a Disney Theme for all the different dance classes. It was really cute. Abigail's class did a song from Disney's "Chicken Little" and she loved all the feathers on her costume! She was completely absorbed in watching all the performances. At one point I was in the back with her trying to ask her if she was having a good time, etc and she didn't want to waste any time in answering my questions, she only wanted to watch. It was cute to see her so engaged in the show.

 

Joel's parents are in town--we're having a great time with them--so it was really, really special for Abigail to have two sets of Grandparents and her Great-Grandma in town for her special performance. My brother and his wife, Dawn drove down from Tacoma as well to watch her. She felt pretty loved by everyone! 

 

 

 

 Abigail with her three Grandmothers