Bullet Post Update...

Also Known As...

I haven't blogged in forever...

Life has been cruising along at top speed...and been quite...well...normal, actually.  I'm grateful for all of the "mundane" moments in which I can serve the Lord, my husband and my kiddos.  I'm also grateful that the past weeks have been weeks to fill with extra times of prayer, extra time to read and extra time to learn.  But our "mundane" days are also filled with much beauty and I don't like for weeks to pass by without some record of that...so to that end...here's a little of what's been going on around here...

:: The kids' pigeons finally laid some eggs.  Yesterday I climbed up, stuck my camera in the jerry-can and took this picture...today we found the empty, pecked-through shell on the ground...I haven't actually climbed back up to see the baby bird yet, though.

::We've been spending lots of time with these dear friends before they head back to America.  They officially got the legal guardianship they petitioned for in January.  Now they are working through immigration and then they will be off...much to the breaking of our hearts.  In the mean time Talitha enjoys a lot of time with her little friends, who are more like cousins.

:: I'm working on taking updated pictures of all the kids.  I haven't done that since half a year before we left Oregon...yikes!  Here's a little preview of what I've done so far.  I may have to post more of Talitha's shots one of these days because they were oh so cute!  :)  (Actually, I just created an album on facebook, so you can check them out there)

:: This kitten somehow got into our house and within 3.9 seconds had a name, a flea collar and a bowl of food given it.  Sweet kitty, but really kids?  I'm not sure this one is here to stay...but if he does, just so ya know, his name is Checkers...

:: For the past year, I've been struggling to keep my iron up...head rushes and dizzy spells were abounding...ugh.  We consulted an endocrinologist and it was suggested that Celiacs might be a possible cause.  I wasn't able to do any of the testing here, but decided to go off gluten just to see what happened.  The difference has been astounding, so I'm pretty sure we are on the right track.  While I really miss my bread...and biscuits...and cinnamon rolls...and pizza dough...and...okay, I'll stop depressing myself now...I'm so thankful to be feeling better!  I'm quite impressed with how many different kinds of flour I can get here, but I'm also super thankful for friends who already have stuff in the mail to me.  :)  I've gotten a few recipes for cookies and muffins down, but I'm still struggling to make a decent loaf of bread.  Hopefully one day I'll get the hang of all this.  Are you gluten free?  You are more than welcome to share your favorite recipes and tips in the comment section!

::April Fool's Day reached new levels in the Tuininga house this year... one little brother woke up with Kitty whiskers drawn by a sister.  The Sisters woke up with no clothes in their closet thanks to a brother.  Our morning tea came in two different colours...yellow and red.  Mama's school box was locked even though she never locks it and Daddy's computer mouse some how ran away to hide and left this poem behind...

Your mouse decided to run away

It was tired of being pulled on all day.

As it left the top of your desk, it cried,

“All this work I have supplied,

Has totally gone un-thanked

So I am off to run and hide!”

To keep from being called a fool

On this the first day of April so cruel,

You must find your mouse

And thank him for all the work he actually does in this house!

Haha!  Life is never dull around here!