Let The Games Begin!!!

We had a blast celebrating Parks' 5th Birthday...Olympic style! From the Opening Ceremonies to teams with lots of great competions, water breaks and even medals, the Phillips Olympics is not soon to be forgotten!!! Happy Birthday Parks! We love you!!!

Check-out our online photo album to see all the pictures from the Phillips Olympics Celebration.

Good Night!

Good night from our new bedrooms!!! We miss you Granny!!!

Our New Home!!!

We arrived to our new home at 3:45 and were so excited to explore and get settled in!!! Village Baptist has done a wonderful job welcoming us. They have not only provided a wonderful home, but stocked the shelves, made brownies and left treats for Gideon and ME!!! We are so greatful!!!

We can walk across the street to go to Church or to this great park and playground that the kids have already had an opportunity to enjoy!!!

We have already been to eat, bought groceries and explored our new hood and our now blogging, while watching TV from our new living room!!! Life is good!!!

Bye Granny and Grampy!!!

The kids were sad to have to say good-bye to Granny and Grampy!!! They have been such a huge blessing to us...from providing us with room and board, unlimited babysitting, laundry service, room service and so much more!!! We have had sooo much fun chatting over coffee or green tea, watching the kids play and do battle, cooking, making messes and just being together. We love you guys!!!

Once Again...

I have lost count of the number of times we have packed the car and said good-bye! Once again, we are on the move and headed to our new home in Oklahoma City. This tops the trips for worst ever packing job!!! I woke-up at 8 AM, dumped all of the dresser drawers into suitcases while Keith threw in all of the hang-ups in the car...we ate breakfast, took showers and are headed out at 8:35!!! Did I mention that I also still had time to Skype 2 people and Blog!!! We love you guys and covet your prayers in the weeks to come!!!

We Love You Granny!!!

Waiting...

Gideon watched the clock tick off the minutes until it was time to go to see Star Wars with daddy. He thought 8 minutes was way too long and that the clock would never reach 6!!! They had a great adventure and loved the new Star Wars Movie.

Messy Face!

ME is loving life with Granny...playing, cooking and making messes!!! We love you Granny...even if you are flappy!!!

Prayer Request...

This summer has been challenging, but at the same time refreshing and rewarding. We have learned once again that our plans are not always the same as the Lord’s. We are still in the states!!! We were originally scheduled to return to Russia the end of July, but our now on medical leave.

Our concerns regarding Gideon’s development were affirmed in June; Gideon has a learning disability. Gideon completed a battery of tests that showed he is functioning below age level, but was inconclusive in that it was unable to identify the cause. Therefore, a more thorough evaluation was recommended. We have scheduled an appointment at the Child Study Center in Oklahoma City on August 28th. Gideon’s evaluation is scheduled for the entire day and even though we will not get the written results until approximately a month later, we have a follow-up appointment on September 8th.

This appointment is very important. We want to be able to best educate and equip Gideon for the future God has planned for him and pray that we will be given clearer insight into how to do this. In addition, this appointment will also determine whether or not we will be able to return to Russia. We are praying that the diagnoses will be clear and will show us how we could best meet Gideon’s educational needs in Russia. If there is something more serious or it proves beyond our means to educate Gideon, we will not be able to return to Russia.

This has been a summer of trial and learning, and God has proven faithful! We have grown in our walk with the Lord, felt his hand guiding us step by step and have been blessed by family, friends and answered prayers! We have been able to place Gideon and our future at His feet and trust he will lead us according to his perfect plan.

So, right now we are enjoying the gift of extra time with our friends and family. We are currently in New Mexico at the Baptist Children’s Home in Portales, spending all our extra time with Granny and Grampy. Next week some time, we will move to Oklahoma City, to a home provided by Village Baptist Church, to prepare for Gideon’s evaluation.

Please pray for us during this time of waiting and uncertainty.
*Please pray the evaluations on the 28th will clearly show what is going on with Gideon. Pray he is healthy and has the confidence and endurance to complete the necessary tests. Pray we will have wisdom to know the next steps to take.
*Pray we take full advantage of the extra time we have in the States. Pray we have special times with the Lord and with friends and family.
*Before we left Russia we began the process of applying for Russian work permits. Pray the Lord guides our paperwork through the channels of Russian red tape in His will.

Clovis Fair!!!

Even though the night started off windy and rainy, we had a great time at the Fair with the Scotts. A Demolition Derby, loads of food...including Keith's first ever funnel cake, so many rides our heads were spinning and so much laughter, shouts of excitement and pleas of "AGAIN!!! AGAIN!!!"...the kids were fast asleep before we even left the parking lot...at 10:45 PM!!! Thanks guys for a totally fun, unforgettable night!!!

Tug Of War...

The kiddos versus...

GRANNY!!! And the winner was...Granny!!!

Thanks Granny for filling our days with fun and laughter!!! We love you!!!
Cute Face and Princess

Fun At Our House...

We were so excited to be able to invite the Scotts to our temporary home in Portales!!! We ate pizzas, went to the Barn and visited all of the animals, played on the play ground taking turns flying through the air on chains attached to a pole (very fun, but could not be that safe!!!) and ended the night with Brianna's totally delicious brownies and milk!!! What a great night!!! Thanks for coming to visit us!!! We had a blast!!!

This Is Not A Toy!?!

Daddy, Grampy and Gideon spent the morning at a local shooting range...mommy spent the morning praying!!!

Life Is An Adventure...

The kids love playing in Grampy's garage where they find many hidden treasures!!!

What's Up?!?

We have spent the weekend with Keith's parents, taking advantage of Granny's love for the kids so we can do absolutely nothing, but eat, watch mindless movies and then eat some more!!!

In Portales...

We moved today to the Baptist Children's Home in Portales, New Mexico, 30 minutes from Keith's parents. We are living on the 300 acres campus that includes a pool, farm, gym and playground, but we live in our own 3 bedroom home (pictured above). We are so thankful for this opportunity to meet so many great people, be surrounded by adventures and still be close to Granny!!!



In just a few hours, we went swimming, helped feed the animals, learned the various names of horses based on body parts (or lack of parts) and their sexual status! Thanks guys for your wonderful hospitality and making us feel at home!!!

Back In Clovis...

After driving over 1,500 miles, we arrived back in Clovis around 7pm and the kids were so excited to see Granny!!! Gideon spent today playing with all of his toys and ME stayed glued to Granny!!!

Our New Home...

We will be moving to Oklahoma City in a few weeks to wait for Gideon's appointment (scheduled for August 28th). This week, while we were in OKC for the funeral of our dear friend and colleague, Teri Tarelton, we went to see our new home. It is in a great area and owned by Village Baptist Church. We are sooo looking forward to having our "own" place, even if it is only temporary!

A Wonderful Suprise!!!

In January 2002, we meet the Ammons and spent five weeks together in training for the mission field. We were so excited, curious and ready...or at least we thought we were ready!!! Over the next three years in Russia, we learned lots, experienced lots and changed lots!!! Even though the circumstance were not ideal, it was so good to see the Ammons!!! I pray our next reunion will be back in Russia!!! We love you guys!!!

Maxine

Maxine, a super, sweet lady, dear friend and prayer warrior...especially for missionaries, moved from Enid to a retirement community in Oklahoma City. We love visiting her, looking at her pictures and hearing amazing stories of her life. This weekend, we joined her for a few yummy meals, pool (I beat Keith!), Wii and lots of fun memories! We love you Maxine!!!

The Houks

The Houk family has lived in Clovis, NM (where Keith is from), Enid, OK (where I am from) and are currently living in the Oklahoma City area...it is like we are stocking this sweet family!!! Thanks Houks for opening your fabulous home to us unexpectedly this weekend!!! It was so great to get to see you all and I sooo can't wait until we will be neighbors...or at least in the same area!!! We love you guys!!!

24 Hours With The Skinners

For 3 years, we were able to simply cross (except for Anna who was to little to cross the road by herself...which makes the fact that she is now moving to Germany to finish High School seem impossible!) the road to visit our sweet friends for early morning times of prayer and accountability, late night spades battles and so many meals and memories. The 90 minute drive to Yaroslavl in 2005 required more planning and more phone calls, but not the less still was a regular occurrence. Then the Skinners moved to Saint Pete and our sweet times of fellowship were limited to occasional phone calls and emails. So to be in the same state, only 3 hours away, made a trip to Grove required...and once again, we it was as if we were back in Russia! We love you guys!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!! We are so proud of you and have confidence that God, who has done a tremendous work in you already, will see it through until completion!!! We love you and can't wait to come visit you in Germany!!!

Good-Bye Abernethy Family!!!

This past week with the Abertheys was a highlight of our time in the states. My family moved across the street from the Abernethys in 1986 after my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, Anne has become a dear friend, wonderful encourager and mentor to me. I have always loved spending time with Anne and use to run across the street in the mornings, in my PJs to eat muffins, drink tea and have such sweet times of fellowship. Anne has taught me so much about the Lord and seeking him in all I do. I am so thankful for the wonderful hospitality, the wisdom, debates, laughter, encouragement and sweet memories (especially morning Tia Chi, coffee frothing, bug zapping, incredible cinnamon rolls and of course fritos and mint julep!!!) that we made this week!!! We love you guys!!!


Thanks Sensei Anne!!!