PES-KES News 1997 (December)
Hi everybody! How quickly this year seems to have flown by! We have had a super-eventful year, with so many precious memories made. We decided to do a lot of big changes at once, to get them out of the way, so in late June, moved house, had Michael’s surgery (well, he did), and gave birth (well, Karen did), all in one week!
We were all delighted to welcome our beautiful daughter and sister, Cascade Grace, on June 30th (her name means “God’s grace is rushing forth in abundance”). She is now 5 months old, and is full of life – such a happy little darling. We love to wake up to her beaming face. Her brothers compete for her affections. She is preparing to crawl, kicking furiously whenever we lay her down. She loves to coo and sing, and enjoys being tickled. The boys love to choose her outfit for the day (dresses and tights are such a novelty!). Everything is going in her mouth, and she is quite adept at grabbing plates during meals. Paul & Karen celebrated their 12th anniversary this year – 12 years is traditionally “pearls”, so we figure God gave us another beautiful pearl to add to the strand that is our family. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to each of you who so thoughtfully sent cards and gifts to welcome her arrival. We appreciate every one of you!
Michael is almost 2-1/2 now, and is a delighful little boy. He loves books more than anything – always has his nose in one. He is so cute when he runs – his rear end wobbling from side to side as he dashes enthusiastically from place to place. He loves his “Pee-a”, “Jon-jon”, and “Ca-kay”, as he calls his siblings. Despite expensive blocks and manipulatives all over the place, he enjoys milk bottle tops and sticks just as much. He loves to snuggle, and enjoys stuffed animals of any kind. He is very good at kicking and throwing balls. Michael loves riding around in his van, car, or tricycle outside. His favorite videos are “Dumbo” and “Jungle Book”. Michael attends a nearby church preschool 2 mornings a week, along with Jonathan.
Jonathan is almost 4, and is an engaging little boy. He enjoys coloring and cutting, and can be found drawing any time of the day. When Peter finishes a school paper, Jonathan excitedly dives right into it, tracing all the letters and numbers. By the time he is doing school for himself, it will be a breeze, as he is picking everything up effortlessly. He still adores anything to do with trains. He enjoys birthday parties more than anyone, and his squeals of delight are something to experience. A day rarely goes by without Jonathan asking to eat out at “Chuck-e-Cheese’s”, “Baskin-and-Robbins” or “Dunkin Donuts”. He enjoys jigsaw puzzles, counting, reading speed limit signs, and board and computer games. He did gymnastics for a short while, and is looking forward to doing more sports next year. Jonathan is a very organized and neat little guy, who talks and sings constantly.
Peter has just turned 6, and is a unique little boy. He enthusiastically puts his heart into whatever he does. He is an excellent student at the “Sculley Academy”, learning far more than academic pursuits! He played some summer T-ball, and since then has played soccer (he moves up to the under-8 league this month). He’s enjoyed Master’s Academy once a week (a fine arts program for homeschoolers). He recently began piano lessons, and seems to love it, asking when he can practice next! He bought himself a bike shortly after we moved here (his first purchase with his own money), and races outside to ride at every opportunity. He is a superb model builder, enjoying Fischer-Technik and Lego’s. He’s a whiz on the computer, and has beautiful handwriting. Peter is a creative dreamer, and constantly astounds us with his inventions and insights. He would love to build real rockets one day (look out NASA). He spends countless hours in the yard playing, examining insects and plants, and just dreaming.
Paul started the year off with 11 days in Brazil, along with a team of 25 others from our church and YWAM. They learned mimes, dramas, and Portuguese songs, and communicated via interpreters. They spent most of their time in Sao Paolo (pop. 21 million)! He had a great time, and felt a great love for the people of Brazil. P & K did the “Elijah House” Christian counseling training course in the first half of the year. It was very intense, but very worthwhile. We learned way more than we’ve learned in years in a short period. Paul worked very hard at Georgia Pacific this year, “bringing home the bacon. Recently Peter was talking about what Paul does at work, as Paul had explained that G.P. owns a lot of trees, and makes paper, etc. Peter had most of it right, but we suspect he thinks what Paul really does has something to do with being a lumberjack! Paul continues faithfully as Sunday school teacher to 3-year-olds. He is also now the director of the preschool ministry at the Vineyard, with approx. 100 children, 20 teachers, and 50 helpers under his guidance. Paul has been a busy beaver working on 2 houses at once, as we are trying to sell our old house back on Fulton Circle. He has had to force himself to buy several new toys, I mean tools, to take care of our enormous yard and house. We could never understand why people bought leaf blowers until we saw what 100 deciduous trees do to your driveway every day.
Karen is SOOOOO glad that we’ve been blessed with a beautiful healthy baby after yet another arduous pregnancy. She loves her job / calling, and spends her days teaching, nurturing, feeding, organizing, planning, and equipping Paul and the children. She is getting better at remembering to take time for herself! She is very sentimental about Cascade being our last baby, and is savoring every stage as it swiftly passes! She loves teaching the children at our “Sculley Academy”, and enjoys the research and preparation just as much as the actual “school” time. We rely heavily on library materials, and several librarians at our local branch have remarked, “Oh, we know you!” when she borrows yet another large stack of books. She enjoys the internet for e-mail, reserving library books, buying groceries, and keeping up with homeschooling and news. She is enjoying making our new house a home, and has great plans for the yard (once it gets warm again, thank you). She works with Paul in planning for and equipping the preschool department, and teaching Sunday school.
We had been browsing around for another home for the past 2 years, but couldn’t get serious about it, as we still had to sell our unit in Brisbane. Well, on Mother’s day weekend, Karen was away at a ladies retreat, and came home to find that Paul had picked up a few “for sale” flyers from our subdivision. As soon as we read the flyer for this home, we knew it was “the one”, having looked at dozens of other homes, with none of them “jumping out” at us. But, alas, we could not even entertain the idea because of our unit! Well, unbelievably, THAT NIGHT around 11:00pm, we got a call from our agent in Brisbane that we had our first offer on the unit! Even more incredibly, the unit closed in 3 weeks (lots of faxing), and then this place closed in under a month as well. We never dreamed things would happen like that, but God doesn’t do things the way we would choose to! We are so grateful to Him for His provision in this way, as our home has everything we always wanted, and didn’t think we’d ever have (short commute, 1-1/2 acres, big house, reasonable price).
We were thrilled to have Paul’s mother come visit us for 6 weeks. We were able to take her to the mountains the first week, which was a great time to go and enjoy the autumn weather. She also got to experience her first Thanksgiving (the day she left). Mum kept busy shopping, helping with the children, shopping, knitting, shopping, driving all over town, shopping, eating out, and, of course, shopping! She was a great help to us and we already miss having her around. We enjoyed seeing many other family members and friends throughout the year (you know, you’re always welcome!) (plus, we have a great deal on a house if you want to move here!).
The coming year promises lots more excitement, as well. In mid-January we welcome a bonus daughter – we are hosting a 16-year-old Brazilian student next year, so are excited about meeting Marcele in a couple of weeks. Paul is looking at some job changes in the near future. Karen is preparing to teach Origami class at Master’s Academy. We love each of you very much, and hope to see you / talk to you / email you soon. This is one of the few times of the year we actually use postal mail! We have many of your pictures on our fridge, and look at them often, pray for you, and wonder how you are. May the Lord bless you as you enter another year of His grace.
Lots of love and blessings – Paul, Karen, Peter, Jonathan, Michael, Cascade (& Jaffa)
