Jordan's Star Wars Party

Jordan is ready to pass out his invitations to the boys in his class.


Day of party: With the help of our good friend, Marlo, she and Casey filled up their cars and brought home 8 boys from Jordan's class. The party started at our neighborhood's park with a Jedi Training Obstacle Course. First station - Zero gravity light saber practice


Second station: Force choke on Darth Vader (aka Nick)

Third station: Balloon pop with force foot or light saber

Final station: Light saber battle against the Sith (aka Luke)

The Jedi second graders always dominated the dark side fourth graders.

I do believe Jordan had a great time! Poor Luke and Nick, I think Jordan and his friends went through the obstacle course at least 4 times!!

After the Jedi Training Course, the boys decided to play soccer. Here is team: Star Wars

Team: Wookies

Jordan and his friends love to play soccer.

We ordered Dominos Pizza and drank Yoda Sodas.

Marina is our precious neighbor and a part of our family.

Blowing out the big "8"

Sweet friends

The silly picture is always my favorite!

We ended the party playing at the park waiting for the parents to pick up their kids. What a fun day to celebrate our Jedi Jordan!

Asaf

Here is Jordan with his first friend he made when we moved to Quito. *Asaf Ladines* This picture is taken the first day of school this year. On the first day of second grade, Jordan and Asaf were standing in the back of the room with terrified looks on their faces...until they saw each other and could sit together - now look at the smiles on their faces! They have a special friendship.

We found out that Asaf and his family are moving back to Uzbekistan to be missionaries there. Jordan is so sad to see his closest friend move. I tell you all of this because we were planning to have Jordan's birthday party on Friday the 29th. Well, Jordan came home on Tuesday and told me that Asaf is moving on the 29th! Needless to say we moved his party up a week. A great thing about living here in Ecuador is that you pass out invitations for a birthday anywhere from 3 days to the day before the party. Jordan and I made his invitations that night, and he passed them out the next day. Now for the Star Wars birthday party...

Luke's Birthday Sleepover

Luke turned 10 on November 23, and we finally had his birthday party on January 8. Luke wanted a sleepover party, so he invited 3 of his friends and what a great time we had! First, we went swimming at our friends' pool at their apartment.

Jon & Luke

Nick & Caleb

Little sister Molly had fun swimming, too!

Second, we ate tacos (Luke's request) and cupcakes.

Third, we went to our neighborhood's park with glow-sticks! Casey was so excited to find some glow-sticks here in Quito. Our friends and neighbors in Tyler can appreciate Casey's excitement for discovering we can buy glow-sticks here.

Fourth, the boys watched G-Force and ate popcorn. Then finally fell asleep right at midnight. We woke up to lots of giggling in the tent a little before 7:00 on Saturday morning. Casey made his famous chocolate chip pancakes. Lastly, there was time for more playing and everyone was delivered home before noon. Fun, fun times!

Feliz Cumpleaños Luke!

New Year!

2009 - what a year! I feel like our family has been turned upside down, inside out, and everything in between. We are very happy to welcome 2010 in the Bryans' home. God has shown Casey and me the importance of fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ. We were faced with many challenges in 2009 and sadly much of our time was spent focused on ourselves. Casey and I both finally ran out of our own strength - praise God! Each day we ask the Lord to increase our trust in Him and keep our eyes fixed on Christ, spend time together reading His Word out loud, and praising Him for at least 3 things. Worship may not change our circumstances but it can definitely change our attitudes. We praise God for His unfailing love, all-sufficient grace, and constant faithfulness. Thank you Lord for your gift of salvation, your mercies that are new every morning, and for opening our eyes to Your Truth.


Feliz Año! Hooray for 2010!

Baptisms at the Beach

We went to the beach with Casa Gabriel and Jordan and Jefferson were baptized in the ocean.



Jordan, we are so proud of you that you want the world to know that you love Jesus with all of your heart. For your baptism, you shared with all of us your favorite verse - Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Getting ready for their baptisms

Out to the Pacific Ocean

Jefferson's turn

Rejoicing after the baptisms!!

A time of prayer for Jefferson and Jordan on the beach

We praise God for the privilege to be a part of Casa Gabriel. This was a special time to love and encourage one another, to laugh and have fun together, and to celebrate the baptisms of Jefferson and Jordan.

Good Golly Miss Molly is 4!

Our precious Molly Margaret, you are wonderfully made by God and words cannot express how much joy you bring to our lives. Happy 4th Birthday!


You are the toughest "girly-girl"! You love princesses, tu-tu's, and wearing bows, but you also love light sabers, riding your brother's scooter, and not afraid of dirt. You fall all of the time and get bruises and cuts and rarely do you even stop because you do not want to miss out on any play time. I think for you at the end of the day during bath time - the more dirt in the tub, the better the day!


Hooray - a Dora Big Wheel

To celebrate your birthday, we went to the new movie theater and watched G Force. It was the only kid movie that was playing in English, but we all liked it.

Birthday Lunch - Crepes & Waffles, great choice Molly!

One of my favorite things about you Molly is that you love others deeply.

I love that you call all of the Casa Gabriel boys your brothers. They are so protective of you and care about you. I guess you do have to be tough to have 2 older brothers plus a house full of teenage brothers, too.

You three are buddies, and I pray that you will always be close.

Daddy's little girl. I love to watch your face light up when Daddy comes home.

You are named after my great-grandmother, Margaret Hutchison. She was very special in my life and the sweet thing is, you remind me of her. She was loving, spunky, beautiful, funny, generous, and always had on high heels and a matching purse. I love you Molly Margaret. You are a treasure in my life. Feliz Cumpleanos!

Fun Day at the Zoo

Living in a city of 2 million people is very different for our family and can be exhausting, so sometimes you just need a break from all of the traffic, horn honking, car alarms going off, living in a small apartment without a yard... After living here for 10 months, we are quickly realizing the importance of taking a break from Quito - so we decided to visit the zoo about 45 minutes outside of Quito for the day.


Our favorite animals were the huge turtles and bears!

We also got to feed carrots to llamas and donkeys!

Just a day to be silly, laugh together, and enjoy living in Ecuador

I just completed an intensive Spanish course - 3 weeks of all day Spanish. It was difficult but so good for my language learning. While I was in classes, Luke, Jordan, & Molly had the opportunity to go back to the zoo with a local preschool. This preschool is located in the city dump where a community of people live. A group from the States came down to serve this community and Casa Gabriel served alongside this team. It was a special day for our kids and the Casa Gabriel boys to watch the excitement and joy on all of the preschool kids enjoying a fun day at the zoo. How quickly I can have my life put into perspective - I started this blog with how hard it can be to live in Quito and now end it with how thankful I am to not live in a city dump but rather the beautiful city of Quito. Thank you, Lord.