1st job

Julianne got to babysit for the first time. A friend of ours who is a foster parent to an infant had a hair appointment in Coquille, so she asked if Julianne could babysit at our house. With just a little help from Mom, Julianne got the experience of trying to please a little one that keeps you guessing at what he needs to quiet those cries. It was good for her, and she's looking forward to taking a Red Cross babysitter training course so she can start earning some money.

Julianne turns 12!

For Julianne's 12th birthday, we headed to the West Coast Game Park near Bandon. It's always a fun place to go, especially for an animal lover like Julianne. Rod was visiting, so he joined us, and Mom & Dad also met us there along with Yola, who was staying with them.

Julianne thought this sweet donkey was very cute.

A handler got out a lynx for us to pet. It's hard to see in this picture, but his paws were enormous. The strength and beauty of these big cats are amazing.

This baby cougar is quite tame, but with such sharp teeth and claws, even play can be dangerous. His handler had a toy for him to play with while the guests took turns petting him.

More basketball

Today was a nail-biter of a day for ball games. Julianne & Caleb both had games at the same time in different places. Brad went to Julianne's game and watched the girls fight tooth and nail to alllllllllmost come out with a win--but not quite: final score 14-16. Julianne's team made more shots, but had a hard time getting the rebounds from the tall girls on the other team. Julianne played some good defense and got an awesome steal, but was disappointed to end with a loss.

Caleb's team played two games. The first game was a blowout, with a final score of 43-6. (That's not a typo.) Caleb scored three baskets and two freethrows for a total of 8 points.

The second game had enough excitement to cause me to work up a sweat! It looked quite hopeless at half-time when Caleb's team was behind 19-7 to a team that outsized them significantly. The boys put their all into the second half and showed some beautiful teamwork. Quite honestly, I was amazed as they started bridging the gap, and for most of the 4th quarter it was anybody's game. It came down to the wire, but in the end Caleb's team pulled off a win, with a final score of 39-38.

And now for some of today's highlights:
Caleb checks out his options on offense.

The boy at the freethrow line.

Caleb got to guard the biggest boy on the team.

Watch out Michael Jordan....it's Air Caleb!

Valentine's Day

The kids and I had fun preparing a special Valentine's Day dinner. We set the table nice and pretty and placed valentines on everyone's plates.





We sat down to a nice candlelight dinner together, but the best part was dessert. I made Raspberry Heart Puffs from Taste of Home magazine, and it was out of this world! Brad said it is, without a doubt, the best dessert he's ever had, in a restaurant or otherwise. I will definitely be making it again!

Missions talk

Not too long ago we had a local pastor over for dinner. I mentioned to him that if there's ever anything my exchange students can do for his church to just let me know. Tonight we got our opportunity! The church was having its faith promise weekend and had various activities related to world missions. At their evening service, four of our Christian students were interviewed by the pastor. They talked about the difference between Christianity in America and in their countries, as well as their vision for the future. It was so much fun, and quite touching. It brought tears to my eyes more than once! The girls expressed themselves so well, and it blessed me to hear them talk about their heart for the Lord and for people.
L to R: Our Marie, Betty (a pastor's daughter from Korea), Sophia (from a Christian family in Germany, now living with a pastor host family), and Sunny (from Korea, wants to be a missionary to Mongolia).

Basketball Season

Julianne and Caleb are both playing basketball, and unfortuately their games are often at the same time in different places. Today Caleb headed to Powers (for a win with 8 points from Caleb), so we caught Julianne's back-to-back games at home. In the first game, they were way behind at halftime and came back in the second half for a win! The second game looked like it would mirror the first, but I think they girls were tired and they ended down by five points.

Tin Grin

Well, today was the big day--Julianne got her braces! The office visit went very well, but tonight her mouth was pretty sore. That is to be expected, so we're keeping pudding, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and other soft foods on hand for her for the next few days until she feels better. She's not too excited about having them right now, but I have to say that they look adorable on her!

Day 3: Touring Portland

From the Silvas' home, our first stop was the Lloyd Center, which was the first mall in the United States. The kids enjoyed shopping and Auntie met us for lunch at the food court. All but one of the kids on the trip are Asian, so we made a stop at an Asian market in Portland. They had so much fun shopping for a little taste of home. After that, Auntie went home, and the students and I rode the Max downtown. Our destination was Pioneer Square, but a block before we got there we went past "the silver man". He poses like a statue until you put money in his jar. Then he comes to life and does a robotic act, which is really fascinating. Each of the kids put a quarter in the jar for the opportunity to get a picture shaking his hand. Our tour of downtown was short and sweet, but we did get a good group shot in Pioneer Square before it was time to head for home.

Day 2: To the Silvas

When we decided to take this trip, I figured if we were going to go as far north as Salem, we might as well go a bit farther and see Portland too. I emailed a pastor I know there to see if some families in his church would be willing to host us. My new friend, Rebecca, responded offering to host all 11 of us! We arrived at their home Friday night and had a fabulous time with them. Rebecca's husband, Tony, taught the kids now to play Texas Hold 'Em, and that kept them happily busy for hours. (They only bet poker chips--no money!)The Silva's little boy had some books in Japanese, which Naoko (from Japan) had a great time reading to him. We stayed up late, then got up to a wonderful breakfast before heading off to see the city of Portland. We all loved staying with the Silvas and were sorry when our stay had to end.

Day 2: Touring Salem

We got up bright and early Friday morning and met up with the other AYUSA students to head north to Salem. First stop was the capitol building, where we took a guided tour. It was lots of fun, very educational, and we even got to get a group picture at the governor's desk. From the capitol, we drove a few blocks to Willamette University where we took a tour of the campus. They even fed us lunch! The kids enjoyed it and had lots of questions for the admissions counselor.

Later in the afternoon we spent some time at Riverside Park where the kids got to ride one of the last hand-carved carousels left in the world. We took a walk beside the river, and befor we knew it, it was time for the other AYUSA kids to head for home. Our group, however, had more playing left to do!

Day 1: To Eugene

The Eugene area AYUSA coordinator invited our group to join them for a tour of the capitol. Since my kids had been wanting to take a trip together, I thought this would be a great opportunity. I borrowed the church van and headed off with ten of our south coast AYUSA students. Thursday afternoon we drove to Eugene, did a little shopping, and then headed to the homes of our host famlies. Connie, who works with AYUSA, hosted the three boys. The seven girls and I stayed with Miriam, who has worked with AYUSA for 16 years and was the Regional Director before she retired and handed the job over to me. Here we are with Miriam and her husband, Larry just before we left their home.