Just let this little boy melt your heart! He’s just as sweet and happy as he looks. He always gets compliments from church nursery workers and regularly naps in their arms. And no, we’re not letting anyone keep him!
Ezra has done great with all our travels. We’re so thankful that the Lord gave us this baby for such a time as this.
The last week of April Ezra cut his first tooth – bottom middle. Shortly afterwards his second tooth right besides the first. Along with the tooth came a bad cold. It was a rough 2 weeks.
Two weeks ago Ezra started sleeping through the night. I wasn’t expecting it to last – but he’s done great since then. I’m one very happy Mama – with the extra rest.
With all our traveling, I haven’t had time to keep up with Ezra’s month posts. So let me catch up.
On April 25th left Wilson, NC to head to Burlington, NC. On the way we had lunch with our friend Nathan Rittenhouse. The next evening Nathan and his wife came to have dinner with us where we were staying.
April 25-29th we stayed in Burlington, NC at the missionary house of Beacon Baptist Church. Saturday ad Sunday we enjoyed visiting with our friends the Councilmans and some of the pastors from the church. We also stopped by the Alamance Battlefield.
Monday morning, April 29th we drove up to York, PA to participate in the Mission Festival of Church of the Open Door. We stayed with my parents that week, since they live nearby. Isaiah got to go to first grade with my mom.
We had a wonderful time at the COD Mission Festival (April 30-May 5th). It was great to see people, meet new people, and fellowship with other missionaries. Josh went to the Bible Museum with the church. Our kids loved the Saturday evening Street Faire – highlighting different missionaries and countries. I enjoyed the special missionary ladies pamper morning. One special treat was being with Rosa, a missionary who I met when I was 17, and watching my kids interact with her – their favorite Tea Lady from the Street Faire.
Tuesday, May 7th, we drove down to Arlington, VA to spend some time with the Gustafsons. It was great to see them again.
Wednesday morning, Mr. Gustafson dropped us right outside the entrance of the National Museum of Natural History. We had a great morning looking at lots of things. For lunch we met our friend Rebekah for a picnic out on the Mall green, rode the carousel, and spent a little bit of time at the Air and Space Museum. The three older kids drove the Metro with Rebekah back to her apartment and the rest of us were picked up by Mr. Gustafson to get back to our car. We’re very thankful for his generosity to us with all the time he spent driving us around.
Wednesday evening through Saturday morning we were with Richard and Rebekah Yamada. We enjoyed getting to spend time with them both. Good to catch up with Rebekah in person and get to know Richard better.
Thursday, May 9th, Josh took the older three kids to Mount Vernon. They had a great time.
Friday we drove to have lunch with Bob and Anne Headley. Bob is the author of The Cambodian and English Dictionary. Josh has enjoyed corresponding with Bob. They were a delightful couple to be with.
Saturday, May 11, we drove to Engleside Baptist Church and spent time with the Smith family. Our kids loved playing with their children. We enjoyed our time with the Smiths and with the church people on Sunday.
Tired yet? We were! So the next thing we did was to head to our long awaited vacation (see next week’s post). On May 12 we hit our halfway mark for our time in the States. Less than three months until we get to go home!
Due to Grandpa Hess’ funeral, we had some extra time in Greenville from April 8-13. We took a trip to the Columbia Zoo with the Floyds and Mom J.
April 13-14 we were in Wilmington, NC visiting Grace Baptist Church. We had a lovely visit with the Martindales.
On Monday, April 15 we drove to Charleston to visit with friends and family. It was great to see my childhood friend Steffanie and meet her children.
We also spent time with Josh’s childhood friend, Joshua Pregram. Everyone got along so well we could have stayed all day.
Our main reason for visiting Charleston was to see Uncle David and Aunt Sandy. We enjoyed the time we got to spend with them from Monday to Wednesday.
We arrived back in Greenville Wednesday evening. The next morning everybody (minus Clara, Ezra, and me) went to see The Horse and His Boy. Everyone loved it! (Thanks Grandma!)
Thursday evening, I took Becca to see BJU’s Living Gallery. We enjoyed getting dressed up (I didn’t have the proper shoes to wear so I wore my Chaco flip flops that I normally wear in Cambodia. 🙂
Friday morning we decorated eggs at Grandma Jensen’s house.
We enjoyed the Easter service at Hampton Park and then a lovely afternoon with Josh’s side of the family. The kids did an Easter play and enjoyed hunting for eggs.
Sunday evening we had Uncle Joey over for supper.
Monday we enjoyed visiting with the Simpson family again. We had a picnic at the park and ice cream back at our house afterwards. Wish they lived closer.
Monday evening we enjoyed visiting with Michael our friend we met in Thailand. We are thrilled that he’ll be studying at BJU next year with his children.
Wednesday, April 24th, we set off on a 3.5 week trip to NC, PA, VA, & TN. Wednesday evening we visited Peace Church in Wilson, NC.
April 6-8 we were in Florence, SC with our friends at Berean Baptist Church. We enjoyed our time with them. A highlight was using Pastor Don’s canoe!
On Monday the 8th we traveled back to Greenville to attend Grandpa Hess’ funeral. Grandpa Hess was Josh’s adopted grandfather and lived to be over 100. He was a faithful man to the end.
