Paul & Ana Teresa Wedding Video

I made this video for Paul & Teresa's Europe Wedding Reception. It is kinda a summary of the beautiful wedding they had in Tenn. I just finished it this week because the reception is tomorrow June 5th in Switzerland. I really wish I was there. This was my contribution....

ENJOY!!!

Springtime Fun.....Pictures

Adelei---Our little girl is growing up. She is almost 2 1/2 now.

Mikkai-One of his favorite things right now is baseball with Papa.
Mikkai is now 4 1/2 & is such a sweet boy.
Mama enjoying the Botanical Garden with the kids.
Kaija--loves flowers and being God's princess.

She is 6 years and 4 months now.
She loves life!
Mama loves doing her best to be there for the kids.

Our Bus & Park Adventure

So today....we created a fun adventure for the kids. We took the BUS to the park downtown. The kids were so excited on the way there. Waiting for the bus to come was no big deal. When they got on the on the bus they were so excited (Adelei was a little scared with how fast the bus went).

The park ended up being super fun. We ended calling up two boys from church that live close by and they were able to make it to the park. Then we brought a bat and balls. Playing baseball was a huge hit with the kids at the park. KJ ended up with a little line of kids waiting their turn to bat the ball.

On the way home it was funny because we were waiting at the bus stop with a poster size picture of a MacDonald hamburger. Yes, we were hungry and I admit I really wanted a hamburger. We just don't pick up stuff for dinner. So I came home and made Chinese Chicken salad. The kids love it and love helping me get things all ready!

Enjoy the Video!

This is what Kris said about our day... "Comparing the reaction of the kids in the parks we have been to in the last two days...i would have to say that baseball attracted more attention then the other b-ball we were playing. We came across about 6 kids that were loving the opp. to smash a ball...after a few hours, one kid boldly declared, "I am the king of ...this game!" He did hit some bombs...gotta love the childlike spirit..."

Easter Vacation

KJ is off for a couple of weeks so we started off our weekend with some good vacation fun. We drove up to Paul do Mar and Kristjan went surfing. Then we went to Jardim do Mar and hung out with some friends, ate and threw rocks. Then we drove to the other side of the island to see a bit of the destruction that happened during the flood. It was crazy....you cannot recognize things anymore with all the destruction. The video I will post does not do it justice. Anyhow, I am a video girl now so enjoy our short videos. I think they speak more than words!:)

Here is a video of our day....

Also here is a video of the destruction that we saw on the other side of the island.

The kids 1st & 2nd Judo Competition

I have a camera now to make little videos....so this is my new thing. I love making vidoes to send to family & let them know what we are doing with our time. The weather was perfect today.....so happy springtime is in the air. We had so much fun being busy and being outside a lot. Glad for some sunshine after lots and lots of rain.

Anyhow, here is a fun little 10 minute video of the kids in their 1st & 2nd Judo competition.

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday......they come all at once!

Mikkai's Birthday Oct. 24th

We had just arrived to Madeira about a week before. My aunt Lori was here so she helped me get the house in order and made the spiderman cake for Mikkai. It was a welcome to our new house/birthday party.

Adelei's Birthday Nov. 5th

We went to the park with the kids and then enjoyed Pizza for lunch. Time with the family & a simple family party!

Kristjan's Birthday Nov. 25th & Thanksgiving!

Breakfast was pancakes with strawberry and cream! Later we had a huge Thanksgiving dinner with a totally packed house. Celebrated KJ's birthday and Thanksgiving together.

I was so busy I never got pictures of our Thanksgiving party!

CHRISTMAS Dec. 25 th

Kaija's Birthday Dec. 29th

Waited till Christmas and New Years was over and had a special saturday with friends. The kids had fun playing games and winning prizes.

Andrea's Birthday Jan 7th

I had a special French Toast Breakfast and a wonderful friend took me out to a special lunch. She had a bakery make me a beautiful cake. She took a picture and I will try to get a copy from her.

Happy New Year! 2010

Madeira is known for decorating elaborately for Christmas.

Every street downtown Funchal is decorated with different themes.

Kaija shaking hands with a live statue. The difference between CA and Funchal is that our streets only had one.

The manger sceen is the biggest part of the Christmas decoration here. Every house has a manger sceen but may or maynot have a Christmas tree. This is the biggest one in the heart of Funchal.

Enjoying the Christmas spirit in downtown Funchal.

The kids enjoying the little but long train in Funchal.



The kids getting into the Christmas spirit.


Andrea making Peppernuts with the kids....a family tradition.



Our good friend Sofia enjoying Adelei on New Years Eve.


Kris hanging out with our good friends New Years Eve.

One more year has gone and our kids are now 6,4 and 2. We had a wonderful but rainy Christmas and then we rang in the New Year with our adopted Madeiran family...the fireworks were amazing as usual. God was good to give us with one day of clear skies, since we have had lots and lots of rain and wind lately. This year's family resolution is to become prayer warriors for God and learn to develop our resurrection hope through concrete and personal visualization of life in the future kingdom. We all are committed to growing in spiritual maturity (not so sure if Adelei is ready yet) because we know that one day we will reign with Christ and judge angels (God says so - not us). Sometimes we forget about the 1000 year reign of Christ and our role in that epoch of history, and yet our historical examples of Jesus-followers had their hearts and eyes firmly fixed on their future reign with Christ in glory... This is the secret to defeating materlialism and its grip on our lives in this consumer age...

Click here to enjoy the link which is Dr. John Pilkey.