Party of Five

Oh my

2007-11-24T17:34:00.001+01:00

Greetings! I am posting this picture here because the phipps family, as you know if you are reading this, are beyond bad at updating their blog site. So I say they deserve it- enjoy the pic- and know that the funniest part is no one in the picture had any idea what anyone else in the picture was doing until they saw the picture

Signed,
elf M

Summer Travels Begin

2007-06-29T12:39:00.000+02:00

We’ll in just a few days Janet and I will be leaving for a programing assignment with Young Life International in Istanbul, Turkey. We are both very excited and also a little nervous because we’re leaving the kidos in Brussels. Janet's mom is saving the day and is coming to stay with our kids. Please pray for her as she is taking this on alone. Pray for her strength and good times with the kids. The kids will be active in a local sports camp while Adelynn crawls around at home. Please pray for them! We return to Brussels on the 14th and depart for the States on July 16th. Once again, can't wait to see everyone!

How about them Apples... I mean Cherries

2007-06-11T11:10:00.000+02:00

It's been just under two months since we moved and we're beginning to feel somewhat settled. We live in a rural area (next to a field of cows) - Ironic how we moved from Oklahoma to Europe and a herd of cattle are our nearest neighbors. Anyway, we really like our new place (always helps when it's less expensive). We have an enormous size cherry tree in our back yard that yield incredible cherries. Brooks and Braden take turns picking and catching. One will climb up in the tree to pick and toss them to the collection basket below.

Here we are at the kids annual school festival. Each class performs a different dance and this year the theme centered around various countries. Braden got his groove for Peru and Brooks danced for Sweden - pretty cute to hearing them say Peru and Sweden with their Dutch accents. They both seemed to enjoy center stage! After our third year of coming to these festivals and mingling with the parents we finally have our first BBQ with a local family! They are French speaking, of which we speak non, and they speak very little English while the kids carry on in Dutch - wow how our lives have changed... The kids are winding down the school year and we are looking forward to their last day on June 29th. Grandma comes July 4 to visit the kids while we head off to Turkey for a Young Life project.

Next stop T-TOWN! Can't wait to see everyone!!!

Time of Transition

2007-06-05T14:18:00.000+02:00

May of 07’ was crazy, unpredictable and down-right difficult at times. We moved to a new house, the McGuires moved countries and Liesl (our awesome YLB Intern) moved in with us, twice. First, when she transitioned to Brussels early April and again in May after things didn’t work out with a house she had already moved into. Liesl just found an incredible flat five minutes walk from the International school. Janet, Brooks, Braden and I will miss having Liesl around our home all the time. Our kids love having people come live with us for extended periods – they get bored otherwise. Braden often asks, “Who’s coming for dinner tonight?” and lets out a deep sigh if the response is, “No one, just us Buddy”.

We thank everyone for praying for our kids because they’re doing great. We weren’t sure how they were going to respond to their best friends leaving. They obviously miss Alaina, Alivia and Luke but Brooks and Braden are doing surprisingly well - Amen.

Quick story about Brooks… She was in class and her teacher was talking about the origins of man and woman and how we came from apes. The textbook had pictures and everything. Brooks thought it was interesting and kinda funny how everyone thought humans came from apes. Two of her good friends asked her what she thought. She went on to describe how God created man and woman. Her friends laughed and commented that her idea was stupid and that God’s not even real. Brooks responded by saying, “If you want to believe that you came from apes, that’s okay with me. But I know that I came from God.”

Cool, isn’t it. It’s not easy to put yourself out their like that. To stand up for something you believe in when you know it can cost you something big… like friendships. Brooks has always been a people pleaser which makes her response even more special.

We're Blog'n Now

2007-06-04T14:32:00.000+02:00

Hello Family and Friends,

This is our attempt to keep you better informed as to what's going on here in Brussels. My dad says I'm doing a terrible job of keeping him "up to date" with personal things especially related to the kids. Okay dad, and everyone else, here you have it and more to come...