Kite Runner

Sarah and I got a chance to go out to dinner and a movie last night (thanks for babysitting Patrick and Megan!). We hadn't done both in one night in a long time. After a great dinner at the Greek Isles Restaurant in Uptown, we headed over to the only theater in Charlotte that was still showing the Kite Runner.

I started reading the Kite Runner last year at the urging of my good friend, Holly, in LA, but I never finished it. When I heard that the movie had come out, I really wanted to see it. Many people have never even heard of it, but I highly recommend you check it out! The movie is mostly in subtitles and it is a little slow in spots, but overall it was one of the best-written movies I think I've ever seen. It is a beautiful story of friendship, loss, guilt, and redemption. Holly, I'm going to have to go back and finish reading the book now!

possible move to the Philippines...

I haven't written anything about this yet, mostly because I figure that if you're reading this blog, you're probably also reading Sarah's blog and she has spent a little time on the subject.

There's a very good chance we might be moving to Davao City in the Philippines this summer for 2.5 years! This is something we've been praying about and considering for several months now. Sarah was recently accepted to a midwife training program where she will work at Mercy Maternity Clinic (the largest charity-based maternity clinic in the Philippines) while she is working towards her certification as a licensed midwife through Newlife International School of Midwifery. I'll have the chance to take part in lots of exciting ventures possibly including building water filters for nearby villages! I'll write more about that later.

It has been quite a process, but we have never felt more sure about anything we've ever done. God has confirmed this to us over and over. For example, we prayed that if He wanted us to go, that He would take care of Avery's severe eczema, digestive issues, and weight-gain problems. Not long after, her skin cleared up and she received a glowing checkup from the doctor! She's even gaining weight again!

The biggest challenge facing us now is that in order to go, we must raise our financial support because foreigners are not allowed to earn a salary in the Philippines. So we are required to go on missionary visas.

We've begun the process of raising support, which I must say has been a surprisingly fun process so far! We raised support before we moved to Los Angeles to work with Kairos, and that was probably the most difficult thing we've ever done. However, this time, we feel like we have a fresh vision and a renewed hope that where God leads, He provides. We've also taken a little different approach which feels more natural and fits us a little better than the way we were trained to do it before. So far, we've received a very warm response! We've already had several thousand dollars in special gifts pledged and several hundred dollars in monthly gifts pledged! Thankfully, our living expenses will be much lower in the Philippines than they were in LA! We can actually live on less than what we paid in rent there each month!

Please join us in praying for this mission. We have to pay a deposit by April 1 to secure Sarah's position in the program, so that will serve as our cut-off date to see if we can go this summer. If we don't meet our support goal by then, we'll postpone it till next year. We are meeting with the mission committee from our new church, Carmel Baptist, this month. The missions pastor has said they might possibly take us on as one of their missionaries and the support they typically give would provide approximately 25% of what we need! We will find out their decision on February 25th and we are praying that we will have a clear picture by then whether or not this will become a reality for us this summer! Thanks for reading, I'll keep you updated!

resurrecting G.I. Joe...

When my dad cleared out the attic of our family's house in Richmond before he sold it, he discovered boxes and boxes of my old G.I. Joe men, guns, backpacks, rockets, trucks, tanks, helicopters, and the like. He packed it up and brought it down to us when we moved to Charlotte. The original plan was to put it up for sale on Ebay, but Kyla and Avery had different plans! When they discovered them, you would have thought we had spent a million dollars on the latest, greatest toys. It was far more valuable for them to play with than the 30 bucks or so I might have made on the stuff on Ebay. The funniest thing, I think, is that Kyla thinks the bigger guns are fishing poles. We haven't really explained guns and war and such yet! Maybe when she turns 4. :)

a proud marine

Our neighbor is quite proud of the fact that he was a Marine. He is also extremely proud of his two Marine sons (one of which is serving in Iraq). I have often tried explaining this pride to my friends and family, however, words simply cannot express how he truly feels. I find that a picture of his truck is worth a thousand words. I recommend clicking on the picture to get the full view...

sidewalk chalk!

After riding bikes, we hit the driveway in front of the garage with sidewalk chalk. I was quite proud of my rocket! The girls had a blast "hopping in" and flying to go visit people. I thought I should share.

it's a beautiful day!

We had to get the kids outside today because it was so beautiful. The sky was blue, the air was fresh, and best of all, it wasn't cold! Kyla had a blast riding her princess bike she got for Christmas and Avery loves ringing the bell on her hand-me-down tricycle from Kyla! Kyla has gotten pretty good at riding. She finally mastered the art of the brakes and doesn't have to slam her feet to the ground to stop. She still has a hard time remembering to look where she's going because she likes to watch the scenery pass by!

why don't you just kick my dog while you're at it?

Several residents were billed by Time Warner for cable equipment that was destroyed by a tornado earlier this month in Wisconsin. One lady was billed $2000 for a few cable boxes that were destroyed along with her house! When she called, a manager said there was nothing they could do. It appears, though, that Time Warner is changing its tune and trying to be a little more reasonable.