Drew's 30th Birthday

Drew turned 30 yesterday-whoa! We had a party for him at his parent's house. Many things threatened to spoil the day but we survived.

Benjamin got the flu Friday morning and was feeling better on Saturday morning, but throwing up and no food on Friday + playing hard outside all day Saturday + hotdogs = more throwing up after the party and no sleep for us.

Then, as I was giving instructions on the meal, we heard a giant thud. Sam had climbed up on the bench you see in the picture below with all of the big kids and then fell off backwards onto his head. It terrified me. He seems to be doing fine. Thank you Lord for protecting his sweet body.

The day started with cleaning up the wet leaves. The kids were so helpful of course.
There was badminton,
and a hammock to snuggle in, and a tire swing to enjoy,and a swarm of birds that fired poop on four guests within one minute of sitting down on the deck to eat (which is why everyone is sitting on the driveway), and a bear and monkey to cuddle after taking a major fall, and marshmellows to roast with friends. Happy Birthday to the leader of our little clan. We love you.

Grandparent's Day & Book Recommendation

Benjamin's preschool invited Grandparents and Grandfriends to come to school with them today. Benjamin was super excited to have both of his grandmas come and see his school. This picture is a little blurry but is the only one in which they are all looking--and no, Benjamin was not the one looking in the wrong direction or closing his eyes. :) C'mon Grandmas, get it together!On a totally separate note--If you have not read Same Kind of Different as Me, you need to order or borrow a copy. So good. So, so good. I won't do the story justice so that's all I'm going to say.

Time to Update Frames

When we moved to Indiana and upacked all of our stuff we had been storing at my mom's, I realized that none of my picture frames were up to date. I currently have about 8 frames that have pictures of Drew, Benjamin and I or just Benjamin. (Remember we moved to Vancouver two months after adding Isa and Sam to our family and most everything but clothes stayed in OH when we moved.) One of Drew's PAs (thank you, Kyle!) graciously wasted a half hour of his Saturday morning taking pictures of us.

Pretty Woman

Had to snap some pictures of Isa before we left for church this morning. She looks so beautiful and so grown up.

Fundraiser

The country of Guatemala is obviously dear to our family and the news coming about the food crisis is hitting hard. Some trusted women that we met through the course of our adoption of Eloisa have started Across All Borders to address the rising needs of children and families in Guatemala. 'The mission of Across All Borders is to improve the lives of orphans by raising the standard of care in orphanages as well as to prevent more children from becoming orphans by providing outreach to families living in extreme poverty. We will eventually reach out to other countries around the world, but for now, we are focused on reaching those most in need in Guatemala.'

I realize that most people are feeling the strain of the economy but my prayer is that through it we become more generous and selfless people. Not everyone is called to help with the same needs but we are all called to share lavishly of what the Lord has given to us. If you have a heart for orphans, I wanted to make you aware of an opportunity to give. Across All Borders is holding three raffles in an effort to raise much needed funds for upcoming projects in Guatemala. Proceeds from each of the raffles will benefit orphans and vulnerable children and families in Guatemala through projects like a vitamin and de-worming program, feeding programs, education projects, medical/dental clinics, building projects, etc. Please consider purchasing tickets to any of the raffles in an effort to support children and families that are in desperate need of our support.

Click HERE to help support the children of Guatemala and the increasing need there.

"What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful." Mother Teresa

"Don't we live as though God was created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones? We keep on questioning Him: 'Why are so many people dying of starvation?' He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving." Francis Chan

Join us in prayer for provision for the people of Guatemala through God's people. Pray for action and encouragement for those who are hungry and hurting.

Bike-A-Thon

Earlier today, Benjamin participated in a bike-a-thon to raise money for his preschool. Many thanks to the five lucky relatives we hit up for donations. He rode hard for you.

Benjamin was the only one with a Toot Scoot so I was feeling bad before I went and wishing we had started him on a big boy bike. Drew tried to tell me he would be fine and would be able to keep up and of course he was right. They all did such a good job watching out for each other.

Labor Day Parade

Benjamin's preschool class was in the Labor Day Parade yesterday morning. It was so fun. I laughed most of the morning. Grandma Pam made the trip down and we were so glad she did because it turned out to be such a fun event. Sam loves Upland!
The only 10 minutes of the parade that Isa was still. The rescue vehicles were loud, very loud.
Isa and Sam were in a constant squat picking up candy. Little people are so adorable in the squat position. Big people-not as adorable. The lady next to me said they were a target because they're so cute. Sam was so excited to see the horses that were in the parade.
Benjamin took his job of candy distribution very seriously. Benjamin is a 'rule keeper' and his teacher told them to throw one or two pieces of candy at a time so that they would have enough for the whole parade. Benjamin threw out one piece every 5 minutes or so and had most of his candy still in his bag at the end of the parade.
Benjamin and his classmate, Samuel.
I was sitting down and totally missed Benjamin's reaction when he finally saw us because Drew stepped in front of me, but according to Drew and my mom he really lit up. :) He takes one Starburst out and yells, "catch!" Password: Parade

Labor Day Parade from drewandbekah on Vimeo.

Surprise Visit

Our great friends from our time in Vancouver (who now live in TX) called us on Wednesday to see if we had the weekend free to hang out with them. They arrived on Thursday afternoon and head out tomorrow morning. It has been so good to see them. The kids were so pumped to be together again.

There's the love.

Grey's new favorite book, Dear Zoo.

Benjamin loves rolling down the hill in front of the dorm.
Brittney wanted a picture of the kids in front of the cornfields (because that's all we have here ya know) but Grey and Sam wanted nothing to do with it.

Sam was not pleased about Benjamin taking his 'bobbie' away. Isa's wondering where Grey ran off to.

Little buddies.

Brittney and I left the dads to feed the kids lunch and we went out to eat. It was wonderful.

How hilarious is this pose? He is even pointing his toe.

Grey and Sam have spent the majority of their time pushing pinecones, balls, and rocks in these strollers.

Full Swing

For those who have asked for an update, we are doing fantastic. It is really fun to have all of the students on campus. The kids love all their new housemates and the activities that have begun.

Benjamin's highlight of the past week was playing Candy Land and Uno in the lobby with the PAs. He also loves playing baseball outside with an audience of fans. He continues to love preschool and his little friends there.

Isa loves climbing up next to males she has never met who are sitting on the couch with their laptops. She sits as close as she can to them and watches what they are doing/watching on their computer. Most of them laugh but some look really uncomfortable. We are working with her on personal space and boundaries but it does make me laugh inside when guys are visibly uncomfortable.

Sam continues to enjoy the rocks around campus and has a new found love for throwing balls into the Samuel Morris Fountains. Sam happened to be standing directly under the bell towers on Wednesday morning when they proceeded to go off and they completely paralyzed him. His little feet would not move forward and he just stood there looking straight up until they finally stopped after what seemed like 10 minutes for those of us waiting for him to keep moving forward.

Drew and I were laughing last weekend about what a difference a decade makes. We walked over to the Freshman Hoe Down last Saturday night-an annual event here at Taylor for Welcome Weekend. At Anderson, we had the similar-really ackward-Freshman Walk where 'you know you might meet and hold hands with your future spouse'-hello pressure! I realized half way there that I had my slippers on and just shrugged my shoulders, said, 'ehh', and kept on walking. Drew commented that if it was 11 years ago and I had made it all the way to my destination with slippers on, I would have sprinted home and changed.

We feel blessed and humbled every day for the chance to be living and working here. It has exceeded all of our expectations and we are feeling wonderfully connected with the community here.

We attended the first football game last night. The kids got to be part of the human tunnel the players ran through. Fun times.

Benjamin's little buddy Andrew.