All I want for Christmas...

Today, Abby lost her first tooth...her left front, on the bottom. We went out for a little ice cream to celebrate tonight. She was so excited that all of her hard work wiggling her tooth with her tongue (We won't let her stick her fingers in her mouth, here; you never know what you've just touched and haven't thought about!) and eating apples paid off!

For the last few days, Valerie and I have had meetings with the couple that will serve as our supervisors during the first year. We've enjoyed getting to know them better. The down side is that we don't get to spend as much time with the kiddos. Please pr*y that we'll always remember the balance that needs to be had for our whole family. I really do believe that, in the short-term, the children often get the "short end of the stick".

Last weekend, we attended a house ch*rch about 40 minutes from our house. It was a great time, but very far away. So I explored the internet and found a more formalized ch*rch that looked much closer...wrong. It was a very nice experience. We enjoyed the Western (not country-western) style of music and the English pre@ching, but the children were still exhausted by the end of the day. Please pr*y that we'll find something closer to our side of town.

We've begun to settle into a good routine, with homeschooling. The boys are learning to play on their own for a little longer, but then still enjoy sitting at the table some with the girls while learning. It doesn't seem as much of a stretch as it had previously. The L*rd has really blessed our family with a wonderful mom/wife. She has worked very hard to make it all come together.

Language is still going slow, but steady. We're definitely making progress, but it's difficult to see. It's a little like watching a child grow. Every once in a while, we'll look back and realize the changes that have taken place. It's nice to have those times of reassurance.

Friends are growing slowly too. Jonathan was so excited Monday when he got to see his favorite (really, our whole family's favorite) driver, whom I'll nickname Charles. Jonathan hasn't seen Charles for about three weeks, but still ran right up to him and stayed in his arms for about five minutes. Today, we received our first newspaper. One of our requirements is to subscribe to a local or national newspaper so that we know about the events that surround us. Hopefully, this will lead to an opportunity to engage in more conversations with the nationals. I've included the picture of one of our security guards who only speaks Hindi. So you can imagine how difficult it was to ask him to help me get the subscription (about $3/month) set up!

A big thanks to those of you who have written words of encouragement. And, to those asking what needs/wants there are. I hope to compile a list by the end of the month so that you could send it in time for the Ch!stmas holiday.

We miss you ALL!