And Four became Eight

We are finally on our way to our new place all together! These four extras are Isaiah, Jocelyn, Daniel, and Mikey Rios. Four kids from our ward in LA who are going to get out of the city and spend the summer being our slaves... Er I mean having fun on the farm. I'm excited to finally have Steve and the kids home and get life started!

A Little Sneak Peak

We have had a crazy life since Steven graduated on May 11- we moved the following day and I have been working two jobs while Dr. Boyle is awaiting his license in Idaho with the kids. But here are a few pictures of our new place in the Central Valley. We are looking forward to being re-united this weekend!

APRIL SHOWERS

Here are some pictures of Easter that Steven took while I was in the Dominican. I love this picture of Jackson and Katie!

Jackson loves guns! Today his Sunbeam teacher said they were talking about how we love animals. Jackson told some story about how he saw a raccoon and got out his gun, put a bullet in the back, and pulled the trigger. But don't worry, in Jackson's story the raccoon got away!

Here is cute Katie at the park. This week in Merced she learned how to go down the slide by leaning her body forward. Before she would turn over and cling to the side of the slide for dear life.

This past week we were in Merced for Steven's internship.

Monday I had a job interview in Turlock so Steve took the kids to a park there. To everyone's delight there was a duck pond! Woo hoo!

Katie is well on her way to walking- She can stand all by herself and take a few steps if there aren't too many obstacles.

After my job interview, we took a drive into Yosemite. It was National Park Week and so entrance was free. It was well worth the drive. Here we are in front of El Capitan. This a famous rock-climbing wall. 

We were also able to drive into Yosemite Valley and see "Half Dome" which is in the background of this picture. It's a hike that I hope to make this summer. 

On our way out, we passed a field with some little deer. We got out and admired for some time. The weather was beautiful, it was a great trip. 

While dad is working in the clinic, the kids and I try to keep busy rather than sit in our hotel all day. Tuesday we met up with some friends from LA who live in Fresno. Here we are at the Madera Fossil Museum. This is a terrifying skeleton of a short-faced bear. RAAR!

Wednesday morning we went to the library and I read books to Jackson while Katie napped in the stroller. It's a beautiful library. In the afternoon the clinic was closed so we drove around and Steve scoped out the dairies. And let me tell you there are a lot of dairies! We were going to go see "Chimpanzees" at the theater, but it was going to be $30! We went for the Red Box instead and saved ourselves $28.75.

Thursday we hit the Castle Air Museum which is a sprawling complex of WW2 planes. They are pretty impressive. If anyone has a special interest in WW2 planes this is the place to be! Jackson had a fun time running around and I tried to get interested... WOW, this plane went 665 mph!

I think we have done all there is to do and seen all there is to see in Merced. I think we have played at every park and driven every road. I even found this sweet Roman Villa... seriously, it's a house.  I'll take you to see it if you come to visit!

This should have been our last week living out of a hotel room. When you live in a little apartment in LA, you get used to going out and exploring. Hopefully when we have a yard and some land, we'll be happy to explore at home! 


Moving day is May 12th, two weeks from now. Steve is graduating and Family will be in town. We will miss loved ones here, but we are looking forward to changes, and grateful for such a great job opportunity. 


AND Friday I got offered a job in Turlock- YAY. 

God's Workshop

As many followers of this blog may know, I spent the last week in the Republica Dominicana. It was AMAZING, I had such a great time! 

First of all, thanks to Steven for not begrudging the trip, to Grandma Joy for helping with the kids for the week, and of course to Teresa for being my friend and telling me about the trip, and to the La Crescenta Presbyterian Church (LCPC) for letting me crash their party.

The trip was a cultural experience in all sense of the word. Not only was it great to get a taste of Dominican life and culture, it was fascinating to spend some intimate time with people from a different faith, mostly protestant (and some catholic). We definitely differ in our lingo and our worship style, but I have to say they are FULL of FAITH! The trip was very much Christ-centered. Every morning we began with Morning Meditation which consisted of some Praise Songs and a discussion about a passage of scripture. We also had informationa; presentations each evening and then separated into small groups to further discuss the highlights of the day and further discuss additional passages of scripture.The themes couldn't have been more relevant to our trip. (I'll quote from the NIV to give full flavor.):

* <SERVICE> Matthew 25- "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."  We were really able to loose ourselves in serving the people. And we talked, and I thought, a lot about how we can take the message home, to everyday life. It's easy to provide relief when you are on a mission trip, but not always so easy at home. It's easier to say, But Lord, when did you need relief? We didn't see you hungry or naked!... sometimes we have the blinders on. I hope to have my eyes opened to the needs of others. 

*<PRAYER> Ephesians 1- "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers." The members of LCPC and the Domincans that we were privileged to work with gave beautiful prayers. I couldn't understand most of the prayers in Spanish, (or Creole) but I did get the "gracias por" and it was said frequently and with much passion. We had a group of translators with us all week, representatives from Bien Samaritan hospital, Ariel who led the group would say every morning and every meal "LET'S PRAY!" holding his hands up high. There was no question about the mode of operations. How often do you get to go on a mission trip such as that?! Since the trip, I've really been trying to be more fervent, thankful, and sincere in my prayers. 

*<CALLINGS> Ephesians 2- "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which Go prepared in advance for us to do." I read this scripture as a vague generalization, but as we discussed the passages, one of the girls on the trip pointed out that God has prepared specific works for each of us to do, such as preparing this opportunity for us to be in the DR at that time. A major theme in talking with new friends and acquaintances was the feeling of being called to some work and seeking that calling and heeding that calling. For some who were in the Domincan Republic full time- they truly felt they were called to THAT work. I felt several impressions during the trip regarding my "life callings". 

*<ONE BODY, MANY PARTS> 1 Corinthians 12- "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ".  Almost as a continuation of the previous theme, everyone has their own talents and life callings, and we are called to support one another. We had three teams working from our group- a medical team (which I was a part of), a construction team building a school, and a teacher development team, working with the teachers of the new school. We worked separately, but came together for support and encouragement. 

*<TOTAL DEDICATION> Romans 12- "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." It was so easy during the week to let go of everything else and just love the people around me, Americans, Dominicans, and Haitians, to give 100% to serving God. The challenge is to continue to do so. 

*<DISCIPLESHIP> Pastor Andy- Friday night, to wrap things up, the leader of our expedition, the Pastor of the LCPC, Andy Wilson, spoke briefly about the fact that no matter what we do in our daily life, we are disciples of Christ. "That is who you are, that's what you've been called to do." 

It was really a beautiful week. And I hoped I helped someone along the way. What did I actually do? Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday I went with a group of doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, interpreters, and a few high school kids to visit BATEYs, which are little "villages" on a huge sugar cane plantation. The men who live there work in the sugar cane fields, and the people are very poor. Many of them are Haitian immigrants. They don't have clean water and therefore have difficulties with parasites and worms, along with skin conditions and other infections. They also have a lot of high blood pressure due to their genetic makeup. 

I took blood pressure and pulse and then wold intermittently move to the pharmacy where I would hand out medications. Pretty much everyone received tylenol or motrin and vitamins along with any antibiotics or creams/ointments. We had plenty of help to keep things running smoothly, so occasionally I would duck out of the clinic area and play with the kids or visit with the interpreters who are bright young adult Domincans. The cane fields are absolutely beautiful and the sky is so blue it's surreal. 

Tuesday we went to the prison in La Romana where were staying which was totally fascinating. The conditions there are very poor and there is great need for help there. The prisoners were very cordial. 

Friday was play day and we went snorkeling in the Caribbean and it was beautiful.  It was hot and sweltering all week in the Dominican and even though I sweat like crazy it was great to NEVER be cold, even with a little rain.  

Saturday was a long day of travel and reflection. It was a beautiful trip with beautiful people! Like I said, I don't know that I did that much good for the people of the Dominican, I think the show definitely could have gone on without me, but it was a great spiritual boot-camp and I'm very grateful to Heavenly Father and everyone who made it possible for me to go! 

Look, I even came to like pineapple!

AND if anyone is looking for a service abroad experience, the group that we were working through in the Dominican is a great venue, very organized and there is a lot of need!

*I don't have very many pictures of my own of the trip, my friend Candy was taking a TON of pictures with her nice camera, so when I obtain more I will post some good ones.