Our Precious Kids
I wanted to thank all of you who have prayed for Josiah, Siri and Jonah. They are doing great. They have handled all the changes with such Grace. They still miss their friends in Hawaii as they daily remind me. They have not really gotten close with any other kids here yet but they are enjoying each other and growing in their relationships as a family. I am so blessed to see them thinking of each other before themselves and especially as they reach out to Jonah and include him in their play. Jonah is doing great. He loves to be outside so he is making the most of summer. We have notice a marked improvement in his responses to verbal instructions. Please pray for his ears as he seems to be getting more sensitive to sounds.....Maybe it is all those buzzing and chirping bugs around here.

The Mall Of America

This week we had our first official visitor. Our dear friend, Lisa, came to visit from Hawaii.

We had so much fun. We tried to do some fun things, including the MOA as we like to call it. We got to ride the rides, have lunch and even do a little shopping.

How Does Your Garden Grow?
Well, We are not really sure. We have inherited a beautiful garden from the former owners of our new home. We are getting to reap what we did not sow. We have peas, green beans, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, cucumbers, chives and another herb that we have not identified yet. It has been so much fun for Siri and I to pick vegetables in our garden. We love the cherry tomatoes best of all. Few of them ever make it into the house. We sit outside in the evening popping all the ripe ones into our mouths. They are not very red but they taste delicious.

Josiah's Birthday

Yesterday was Josiah's 8th Birthday. We had a great time celebrating the day that God brought him into our lives. He is such a precious gift to our family. Chuck and Kathi Ripka graciously hosted a little party for him at their home on the lake. We invited another family who have 6 kids. Four of them boys, around Josiah's age. Josiah had so much fun swimming, fishing, tubing and hanging out with some of his new friends. Siri and I made him an "Animal Planet" cake....Vanilla, of course!! All in all it was a perfect day. I was so thankful for it. I had worried that he would feel sad missing his Hawaii friends and wishing for a party at the rec center with all things familiar. God's grace and joy was present for all of us and we had a wonderful time. Thanks for all the prayers. They are being answered!!!!

It has been 2 weeks since we arrived in Elk River, MN. Our new home. The adventure has begun about how I expected it to. We have had good days and bad days and in between we have done a lot of shopping. The other night while I was shopping at Target...for the 6th straight day in a row, the gal asked for my ID at check out. When I showed her my Hawaii ID, she imediatly exclaimed, "Oh, I heard about you, you're the people from Hawaii." I guess word is getting around. I will keep you posted on how the adventure is progressing and hopefully add a few pictures.