March!

Really the only reason why there has been a lag in updates is because Wil and I have been kept quite busy planning for the mission trip to Mexico and I've kept myself busy taking pictures, hanging out with junior high girls, and keeping the house lookin' good.  Winter is already melting away, and the farmers are out once again, spraying the wheat fields and watering/fertilizing/whatever.  The landscape of the surrounding area has changed dramatically in just a few short weeks from frozen and bleak to warmed-over and green.  I should have taken a picture when I first noticed the difference.  It's been about a week now that things are looking brighter around here.  You can kind of tell where fertilizer and GMO's have taken root, because the crops are significantly brighter/greener than anything else around them.

All that to say, days here are brighter and life is sweeter now that Soren and I can be outside without bundling up for five minutes beforehand.  We can lay on a blanket outside and bask in the sun and not be chilled by the wind.  It's getting better.

The girls came over last week and, like usual, we took pictures around town.  Then we went to the River Park which is about a mile outside of town.  There is an AMAZING tire swing out there that deserves a picture.

I gave a close-up so you can see just how awesome this thing is.  It's tethered to a tree about three stories high.  That is probably an exaggeration, but it feels huge.

Wednesdays are good days.  I hang out with these girls, and then we go to Community Youth Group.  I think I've told you this before.

Anyway, last week we played some crazy game in which Wil lost his toenail.

This is the game.  The goal is to try to get everyone else to hit the trashcan.  It's quite strange.  Wil's big toe is black and blue because things got too rowdy and someone stepped on his foot.  Poor guy.

Okay, I know why you really read this blog:

Soren's 5 months now!  He's getting cooler every day.  Yes, he is crawling.  Slowly.  But he's up on all fours and scoots around.  Hasn't quite mastered the left-right-left-right thing yet, but it's not too long for him.  He's also sitting up a bit on his own.  Above is him slumped down right after a few successful minutes of sitting upright.

So, basically, he's growing just like a baby should.  :)

Sorry.  In keeping a blog about my family, it's easy to get so involved in every detail of Soren's life that I end up writing ten paragraphs about every little thing he does.  I'm trying to avoid the annoying "my baby is the perfect baby and there has never been a more beautiful perfect baby" attitude.

You gotta admit, though.  He is a cutie.

We're getting closer and closer to leaving for Mexico.  We'll be in the state of Coahuila come this Saturday.  Eek.  Then we'll be gone for two and a half weeks.  Double eek.  So, in conclusion, don't expect any updates for a while.

I leave you with this.  It rained today for the second time since we've been here.  It rained ALL DAY.  When it finally eased up, it was about 6 o'clock and the sun was casting such a beautiful light that I had to go check it out with the camera.  This was taken on the street in front of our house from a low angle.

Love you guys.  Please pray for us while we are in Mexico.  Here are some things we could use prayer for:
- That God would be glorified
- That my translating would be effective, understood, and that it would bring glory to God
- For our team (Doug, Wil, Myself, Jessica, Soren, Matthew, Krista, Shannon, Samantha, Cameron)
- For the Mexican people, that they will be blessed by us and us by them
- For all cultural boundaries to be broken
- For patience and flexibility
- For good health, good attitude, a willing servant heart, a love for the Mexican people
- That God would be glorified :)