For Jason

Here you are in a place you thought you'd never be.

On life's roadside, broken and weary, wondering, "Why me?"

But the winds of change are blowing, spread your wings take to flight.

On the other side, beyond the tears you've cried,

There is freedom from life's dealing.

The pain behind the smile, will only last a while,

'Till we finally feel the healing, we'll understand its meaning, on the other side.

Acceptance of things we can't alter, courage to face what we can.

The wisdom to know the difference; to guide us and help understand.

The voice of change is calling, it's calling out your name.

You'll never reach it, clutching your burdens in hand.

You've got to let them go; come, enter this Promised Land.

The Other Side by Adrian Blanco worship Pastor at Paradise Valley Community Church

Happy Birthday to our Jason, 7 years in Heaven in the Arms of Jesus.

Young Padawan

We have an little inflatable pool in the back yard. The girls are always saying they are "so cold" when they get out of the pool and they want me to wrap them up tight in their towels. I thought I'd try to make a towel robe that would fit them tight and keep them warm. This is my first attempt. I cut up a beach towel and made it into a little robe with sleeves and hood. It looked pretty good. When I put it on the girls I got a good laugh, of course Brent loves it and being daddy's girls, they love it too. I made a little Jedi robe!

Orphan Alert:The little boy with the awesome hair looking for his Family

Don't you love his hair? I saw his picture on Rainbow Kids. He was born Jan 3rd, 2010. He is Asian but he is here in the United States, no need to travel! He has malformed ears and some degree of hearing loss. You can contact AAC Adoptions for more information on him. You can reach them by phone (970) 532-3576 or by email info@aacadoption.com for more information about this child or about their programs in general.


This little Emperor needs to find his family. His name is Nathan. It says on the site that right now they prefer the family be from Colorado, NM, California, Wyoming, Nevada or Utah. Man, Arizona is the only Western state not listed there!

Chuck Chuck vs the River

Chuck Chuck, Turtley, Bunny and Donald had a great trip. They took some time to reflect on their week at a quiet spot on the river. They will be getting in an airplane and heading home tomorrow.

Chuck Chuck vs the Mountain

Chuck Chuck and his friends went hiking in Yosemite.

Chuck Chuck made friends with a squirrel


and played in the snow.

Fun was had by all.

Chuck Chuck vs the hotel

After Chuck Chuck and the gang arrived safely in California they settled into their hotel for the night. They soon became bored and played a rolicking round of Hide and Go Seek in the Hotel Lobby.

Turtley won but they were a little loud so Brent took them back upstairs to the room.


They stayed the night at the hotel and then early this morning they loaded the van and headed to Yosemite. More to come...

Chuck Chuck vs the airplane

Brent left on a trip today. He'll be hiking in Yosemitie with some other Children's Pastors this week. Each of the girls gave him a small toy to take on his journey with him. He promised to chronicle the journey of the toys for them. Here's the first installment. Karianne gave him a small turtle she named "Turtley", Amy gave him a bunny, just bunny. Lucy gave him Donald Duck because she loves Mickey Mouse. And Angie gave him her prized possession, a little hamster named Chuck Chuck. All the girls are especially fond of Chuck Chuck, someone always has him in their hand or pocket or mouth. He belongs to Angie though, so all the other toys came to keep him company.

Brent sent me some pics of Chuck Chuck and his friends waiting in the airport. On the plane, I know Brent didn't fly first class but somehow Chuck Chuck and his friends convinced the stewardess to put them in first class. Brent sent us a picture of the gang in first class.

Orphan Alert: 3yo cutie

This little girl is 3 years old. Her file is with Children's Home Society.


This is a description from Rainbowkids.com:
This darling chubby-cheeked girl was born on 3/13/2007. She is an easy going toddler. She likes to mimic words when her foster mother reads her a book. She can say single words. She really enjoys listening to music and will dance along. She watches others closely and will copy their movements. Her motor development is just a little delayed but is improving daily under the gentle care of her foster family. She was born at 32 weeks gestation and has congenital syphilis. We recently received an update of her and she is just adorable. Her cognitive development is rather delayed for her age. She can follow simple commands and has a curious personality. She points out new objects in her surroundings. She waits for a loving family to provide her with endless support. A scholarship of $3000 is available to qualified families.

Brent told the girls to be good for me while he was at work today. Karianne said, "Ok Daddy, we'll be as good as Jesus!"
At the fountain yesterday, we saw lots of baby ducks. So cute. Angie started throwing rocks in the water and the poor babies thought she was throwing food and they dashed every time a rock hit the water.

Fountain Hills

We went to the "world famous fountain" in Fountain Hills outside of Scottsdale. It shoots off at the top of the hour every hour and we arrived just in time to see it. Pretty spectacular.

Here's what Wikipedia says about the fountain:

The eponymous fountain was built in 1970 by Robert P McCulloch... The fountain sprays water for about 15 minutes every hour between 9am and 9pm. The plume rises from a concrete water-lily sculpture in the center of a large man-made lake. The fountain, driven by three 600 horsepower (450 kW) turbine pumps, sprays water at a rate of 7000 gallons per minute through an 18-inch nozzle. With all three pumps and under ideal conditions, the fountain reaches 560 feet (170 m) in height, though in normal operation only two of the pumps are used, with a fountain height of around 300 feet (91 m) feet. When built, it was the world's tallest fountain and held that record for over a decade

Really Cute Picnic Blanket Craft

Diaper

Lucy came to me and whined, "Diaper" and turned around to show me her read end. I felt her diaper and pulled out a knife- a kid's play kitchen knife. I walked away but she followed me and said, "diaper!" I checked it again and pulled all these sundry items out of her diaper. Just thought I'd share the laugh.

Oh How He Loves Us

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.


When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.


And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all


He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves.



We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.


And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about, the way…

He loves us.

- He Loves Us by David Crowder. Pictures taken in Christopher Creek, Arizona

Orphan Alert. 2 brothers looking for their Forever Family.

Six year old Yu-Hsuan and his four year old brother Yu-Hsiang are a real dynamic duo...cute as bugs, healthy, happy, active and loads of fun! They have been in foster care for almost four years with the same family. The brothers are very close and play together (and quarrel) as expected. Older brother attends school and gets along well with his friends. He does well in school, with encouragement from his teachers. Younger brother has been the baby of the family and foster mom often has a hard time letting her baby do things for himself...but he is very independent and all boy, so she has been unable to stop him from growing up! These two will be a whirlwind of scraped knees, ball caps, bicycles, tree-houses, Kool-Aid stands...and a few tears along the way. But what fun! We need a mom and dad with energy, lots of love, and a sense of humor.

You can find out more about them from IAAP by clicking here. You'll have to register by giving your email and making a password. Then click on Taiwan and find their names on the list.

Love

"If life has taught me anything,
It is that love is of all things great,
powerful, eternal, the very sword of God. "

- from the book Robert The Bruce; The Price of the King's Peace

Lake Pleasant

We spent a relaxing day last weekend at the lake. It's not far from our house, and it reminded me of Florida. Just with Cacti... and rocks...and mountains...

Remember

"I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of Tyranny over the mind of man."

--Thomas Jefferson

Warning

Hey, if pattern can't tell it like it is, who can?