Karis has had quite the love of horses for awhile now.  She had mentioned, before our move, about taking riding lessons and I just never figured we'd find it possible in our budget.  After moving into our house and meeting our neighbors, we learned from them of a lady who gives riding lessons from her country farm.   We talked about it for a few weeks, looked at riding gear (a helmet and boots.....this ain't no Texas cowboy ridin'!  Ha!!) and when Karis offered to use some of her birthday money to help purchase boots and a helmet, I knew she was serious! I really love the set up.  It's not a riding school, it's just a farming family in the country helping a handful of kids (girls, really) learn how to care for, groom, ride the horses and muck out their stalls.  That's exactly what we were looking for and she has loved it!! Two hours every Saturday morning is what she looks forward to!





I haven' actually been able to see her ride.  Most parents drop them off and leave.  I want to stick around soon and get some photos.  Karis is learning to trot right now.  She's a bit impatient and expects to know how it's done immediately, so it's teaching her some patience!  The owner says she is a good and quiet rider and is doing well!

What a joy it is to see your child come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ!

Karis made the decision to follow Jesus a couple of months ago at an after school Bible time led by some long time missionaries in this part of the world.  They part-time teach at our school and attend the church start, Crossway, that we've been a part of. We thought Karis was close to making a decision when she did just that!

I was so happy to learn that our church was going to hold a baptism once the weather warmed.









One of the men in our church spoke some words about baptism.  He had a dirty shirt on, replacing it with a white shirt and said some other really cool stuff.  I thought it was a great visual for the kids.....and for me too!






We rounded it off by heading back to the water hole/baptistry for a short swim with a couple other families.  Karis earlier said it was freezing and then wanted to go back for more!! Ha!

What a special, wonderful, memory making day!!

Back in January I made the kids pick their birthday party theme for their April & June birthdays.  Why so early?

Jerry was headed to the US and to get any kind of themed party stuff we had to decide early so he could pick it up while in the States.  I ordered all their plates, table covers, goodie bag items and tissue paper.

Karis had recently seen the Spy Kids movies and Spy Next Door and decided she wanted a Spy Girl Party.  Because she was turning 7, I also incorporated the 007 theme.  Oh yeah!  I knew this was going to be fun!

I scoured all kinds of blogs, online stores, cake ideas, party favors and decoration ideas.  We came up with one fun party!!

It is so hard to limit how many kids can come, so we narrowed it down to mostly kids her age from her class and from church.  We had over 20 kids!!

I had been seeing all kinds of banners and printables on Pinterest.  I learned that my friend, Kristi, had made the cupcake toppers, subway art and food labels for her son, Eli's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party in January.  She inspired me and I made all the decor myself.

This will be picture heavy, but worth it!!

I started out with a secret mission invite message to our agents.  They had to decode a secret password to enter the party.  Making the decoder was really simple.  I had character fonts, so I made the decoder chart myself.











I made these cute dynamite table decorations out of paint brush roles, crepe paper and the wick is leather string.  So easy!