Presenting. . .

. . .the belly



*Angela I took these just for you (:

Abundance

Last night Emily and I hosted the ICS Thanksgiving potluck. I am still stuffed this morning. In the past we've only invited the American teachers, but this year decided to invite all the teachers (so long as they didn't bring Chinese food!!) In addition to the many Americans we had Brits, Kiwis, South Africans, and Canadians. I have no idea how many people were there, but we bought 80 dinner plates and ran out- it was such a big, lively family!
Last year the (CANADIAN) elementary principal played a prank on our Thanksgiving. So of course, when he came this year we had to give him a hard time. He was a good sport and led us in the Star Spangled Banner and Yankee Doodle (: Aftter the meal Jason organized a putting tournament with some of the guys. It was a great night of laughter, games, pecan, apple, pumpkin pie. . . a heart- warming reminder of how thankful we are for our friends and family near and far.

Grandpa Comes to Visit

Jason's dad has spent three weeks helping out some missionaries in Thailand and came to visit us at the end of his trip. Josiah had an instant connection with Grandpa and has been his little shadow. They've built airplanes together, gone "golfing" (on our little putting green), and played on the playground. Harry brought all of his plumbing tools to Thailand, so I put him to work on my sink(it works now!)

On Saturday we look a ferry out to Lamma Island. This place is so relaxed and a haven for hippies. In four years we'd never made it out to this island, so it was fun to explore some place new. It was so great just strolling around, eating a huge Chinese lunch, and then hiking across the island to where the other ferry took us home.
The fishing village at Lamma Island


Lunch

I love this photo!!

What a ham!

The three generations

Thanks for visiting Grandpa! I love you!

Boys to Men

I love my husband. I love him because he is so into the big picture and concerned with the heart. He also attempts things that are chaotic, messy and a ton of work because he believes they are worth wild. I love that he is a dreamer and has big expectations that people can be transformed through the power of love.
This week is the annual "Week Without Walls" trips for ICS. The last few years Jason has led a trip to the Philippines. This year he designed a local trip on an issue that is close to his heart, manhood. "Boys to Men" consists of 18 middle school boys and 3 awesome men. Over the week the guys are participating in lots of fun "guy" stuff including kayaking, go cart racing, air- soft duels, competitions, community service, hiking, and camping. At the heart of trip the boys are receiving affirmation from other men, their fathers, and ultimately Jesus. Each father wrote his son a letter that the boys will read on their camping trip, and the last night the fathers will join the sons for a closing banquet.
I've been joking with Jason that for him the trip is "Men to Boys". He gets a boyish gleam in his eye as he builds a potato launcher, jousts, torches and other "man stuff". It is fun to see him doing something that he is excited and passionate about. Tonight I am especially proud of them as they are camping on the coldest recorded night of the year (12 C, about 53 F- doesn't sound that cold, but with the dampness it feels freezing).
If you love Jason too, please pray for him this week and for the boys that they would grow into men after God's heart.

Tickle Torture

Josiah and I love to wrestle. I steamroll him, toss him high in the air, and chase him around the house saying "I am going to get you" in a voice that immediately guarantees giggles and the pitter patter of feet away from my presence. Often it ends with a tickle attack, like the one shown here. I feel a bit guilty, since I am very ticklish and remember others pinning me down deaf to my pleas to stop. At least it helps squeeze that ever flowing fountain of energy of out him so he can sleep more soundly.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What a shock we received when the doctor told us it was a girl! We both had so wrapped our minds around having another boy. I'm surprised he was able to proceed with the ultrasound because I kept giggling and looking at Jason in amazement saying "a daughter". As the doctor measured and checked on all the baby's organs my mind was flooded with thoughts of little dresses, tights, and pink hair bows. We are so thankful to God for a healthy, growing baby. Depite the fact people have been telling me I look small, the baby is just the right size for 20 weeks (about as long as a football). It has been 60 years since there was a girl born to the Paine side of the family so this is going to be fun!

Pink or Blue?!

Last day to cast your vote! The girl- boy race has been neck and neck. For a long time it was tied 50%-50% (a very safe guess). Now "girl" has a slight lead. Jason and I both have a strong impression that this baby is a boy (which is also what the Chinese grandmas have been telling me), but it will be fun to find out for sure tomorrow. . . stay tuned!

1 1/2

I took Josiah to the clinic this afternoon for his 18 month check up. He weighs about 22 pounds now, keeping him in the 10- 25% where he has consistently been since his birth. They don't track height here, but Jason and I measured him at 31 inches. Not sure what percentile that it, but he seems short to me. The nurse was impressed with his development and he even stacked blocks and pretended to feed the baby doll like she asked. When it came time for his two immunizations Josiah didn't cry. He just let out a grunt as each needle went in his tiny arm, such a tough guy! He then told the nurse "tank you" before we walked out the door (:





At 18 months Josiah LOVES:
- Opening anything and exploring its contents
- “Styling” his hair with lotion, vaseline, shaving cream, pudding or whatever else he can get his hands on
- Airplanes. We live along the flight path and every 5 minutes he gets excited all over again, pointing and looking for the plane out the window
- Balls
- Watching sports. Whenever we pass the tennis courts he will stand at the fence watching the game until I pry him away. Already his attention span as a spectator is longer than mine.
- Popsicles and ranch dressing (not together- actually he probably would like that)
- A knock at the door
- Dogs
- Swings
- Being tickled and belly laughs
- Hugging other toddlers (especially girls!)
- Greeting people with “hi” “bye” and flirtaous smiles
- Praying with mommy and daddy. He loves holding hands, bowing his head and pronouncing “amen”.


Josiah Does NOT love:
- Teddy bears, blankets or anything cuddly
- Hoods of hats
- Footsie pajamas
- Being fed one more spoonful once he has decided he is “all done”
- Parting from the company of friends, the mailman, or anyone at all
- Time out (he’s not supposed to like this one)
- Having his teeth brushed. He has learned to scream with his mouth tightly sealed shut!
- The first 20 seconds of being left with a baby sitter
- His hands being dirty