Keeping busy

There's nothing terribly exciting to tell, but I hate to go too long without an update. I've been staying quite busy with all my AYUSA responsibilities since taking over as Regional Director on Jan. 1. It's lots of fun, and there's always something interesting going on.

Our local TV news, KCBY, called me asking if they could do a follow-up story on the exchange students. (They covered their arrival in August.) Yesterday I went to the studio for a 5-minute interview that will air this Friday on their News at Noon show. Later this month I'm holding a mid-year orientation for all the AYUSA students and KCBY will send a reporter to cover it. I'm guessing they'll tape a bit of our orientation, interview several of the kids, and probably do a short interview with me too. This is a great time for this story since we are just starting to look for host families for next school year.

The kids and I are back into the swing of things with school. In addition, Julianne and Caleb are both playing basketball and also involved in chess club. In between Kindergarten lessons, Elisa stays busy drawing pictures and playing with Polly Pockets and beanie babies. She's got her heart set on taking ballet lessons--I keep trying to let it slide, but she's not forgetting.

Marie is doing fine too. She brought home a good report card and I think everything is going well at school. We still love her dearly and she becomes more a part of the family each day.

Brad continues to build his business and still loves the job. I feel blessed that he is good at finding a balance between work and home so we never feel neglected. Our pastor has been on sabbatical and Brad had the opportunity to fill in preaching the past two weeks. He did a wonderful job!

So there you have it in a nutshell--an update on our busy little family. Leave a comment or drop us an email. We haven't heard from anyone in ages.