4th of July and 7th Anniversary

 The boys had tons of cultural experiences on the 4th of July--their first one in America.  We saw a parade, with floats and tons of interesting things passing.

 They were happy to learn that parades included people throwing candy at them.  Just looking around at all the people and seeing what they wear, what kind of strollers they had and the various tents for shade was a lot of "America" at once for us to take in.

 Malachi wanted to decorate his bike for a parade too!

 That afternoon at Sarah's house the cousins had their own 4th of July parade.  So fun!

 Sisters!  We were so happy to see each other many times while we were based in Omaha.  I love you, S!

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Refreshment in Orlando, FL

 I got to meet John Piper in Orlando, FL!  He has encouraged me so much in my thirst for the Word and in scripture memory.  I am also currently reading "Desiring God" for the first time.  This leader loves the Lord and His glory!  It was neat to sit in the second row right behind him in worship and to know we are all raising our hands to Jesus together.  "The ground is level at the foot of the cross," and yet it still is fun to meet him in person!

 Here is the huge room that I got to sit in for a weekend and just soak in the feast of the Word and in worship!!!  There were 3,800 women who attended "Here is Our God", the first women's conference with "The Gospel Coalition."  I felt like I was under the Niagara falls of spiritual refreshment!  I kept crying at all kinds of random times as I feasted and worshiped and soaked it in.  Nate was wonderful in helping with the 3 boys while I attended.

 http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/07/10/now-available-audio-video-from-tgcw12/

I totally recommend you click this link and try to listen to some of the sessions.  It was a conference "For women but not all about women."  It was about God.  I am so hungry to know Him more!  They walked us through the Bible, from Exodus with Moses on the mountain, to the temple in 1 Ki. 8, through the Psalms and Isaiah 6, into the NT with the Transfiguration, and to end in Revelation!

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American Experiences

 Nate had an awesome time with his college buddies hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon!

 Elijah discovered that he LOVES biking around all the smooth cement sidewalks in Omaha.  How fun to have time with his uncles too (here Uncle Micah)!

 Uncle Daniel gave Elijah the experience of playing with a "nice" dog, Jack.  I had trained my boys that  we cannot trust the dogs in the Philippines, so they were happy to meet one that was trained.

 Uncle Daniel reads bed-time stories with his nephews!  Precious moments in America!

 Grandma takes the boys to the zoo!  So many new experiences!

 Luke discovers a real shark.

We love the beautiful parks and landscaping all around the city of Omaha!  So many places to go and things to do and see.  Thank you, Lord, for these blessings!

The Journey to America

 May 28th we stood in our front yard of the Philippines ready to go.  We were sweaty and hot, not prepared for the cold chills we would feel upon landing in the USA!

 Our friend offered to drive us to the airport, which was a huge blessing, because I don't know how we would have fit all this plus the 5 of us in a taxi.  We tried to travel light, but still, there is a lot to bring.

 We spent a day in China, going through 2 airports.  Malachi wanted to try eating noodles with chopsticks.  There were tons of crazy things happening at the last minute with Elijah's ticket, but whew, God parted the "red sea" and we were able to fly after all.

My fam met us in the Omaha airport!  Whew!  We made it!
Elijah is extremely tired and jet-lagged (under the yellow blankie).
I guess we all were!

 Nate and the 3 boys are boarding a plane.  It took us 6 flights to get to Omaha, NE.  I can't tell you how many hours, but the longest flight was 13 hours.  I got sick and had to lay on the floor of the lavatory, but that is another story.  Thankfully we spent 2 nights in LA to recover from the first 4 flights of our journey.  Thanks for your prayers!  We survived!
 Luke's great-grandma was so happy to see him!  We had 2 family weddings the first week.  It was great to see so many of our loved ones and family, and yet the boys and I really struggled to recover from jet-lag.  Thankfully we are now adjusted.

 A rare moment, 4 siblings together!  Sarah, Jessica, Daniel, and Micah!!  Love you guys!

 Jessica and Ali--Micah's Fiancee!

 2 couples--Nate and me; Micah (my bro) and Ali

 It was great to reconnect with one of our home churches--Brookside.  They had a wonderful child-care program and gave us such a warm welcome.  It was so nice to sit in church with Nate!

We also had a fun reunion for the 2Extreme youth group when I was in high school.  How fun to see families with kids and to reconnect!