Justin boy is 12 years old....

Well, since today is Colton's birthday, I was reminded that I hadn't posted anything from Justin's bday party a few weeks ago so I better do it before I get in (more) trouble. Justin is 12 years old, and as they say here, No puedo creerlo--I can't believe it!. So here goes (I'll post pics of Colton's party after we have it!):

Here is a picture of Justin vanquishing his 16 year old foe at Twister.


Here is the female contingent and Abby sporting her prize for winning a game.


Here's Justin with his buds opening a present.


Here are some participants getting their game-face on.


And this was a crowd favorite: Ninja, Warrior, & Indian (Kinda like Rock, Paper, & Scissors, but more fun).

Happy Birthday Justin! We love you!!!

Kevin Turns 10!!!

I can't believe it. My second son, Kevin (aka "K-pac") turned 10 this past week. I am so thankful that God has given him to our family. He is a sensitive, caring, and fun covenant child.

Kevin received some cool gifts for his bday, including a sword and a big-boy 10-year old gift that he has been waiting for some time to receive: his very own pocket-knife.


After his birthday party in the afternoon with his friends, we celebrated by eating some great pizza at our favorite Italian restaurant, Lil' Tescana's.


Kevin, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make His face shine upon you and always be gracious to you, may the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you His peace. And may you keep your eyes focused upon Him and grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Old Man

As some of you may or may not know, I celebrated another b-day several weeks ago. Yes, I know, it is hard to believe, but I hit the big 3-7. I'm certainly feeling my age a bit more these days. I think it must be something of the combination of living in a foreign country trying to learn a new language (the perpetual fatigue-headache is lessening!) and raising five covenant kids.

At any rate, my b-day didn't pass without a healthy dose of humility. I was up on the campus of the National University of Trujillo and was chatting with some students. One girl asked me how old I was, and I told her to guess. I braced myself to be flattered. That was a mistake.

She thought about it for a minute and said, "Cuarenta y cinco años" (45 years old). Trying to not to look too deflated, I said in an encouraging voice, "No,try again." She then said, "¡Cincuenta anos!" (50 years). What do you do in a situation like this? Slightly embarrassed, I said, "37." She said, "Oh! I thought you were older because of the little gray hairs on your chin." I nodded my head knowingly and thought its probably about time to start mourning the passing of my youth.

I told my wife about the incident and she encouraged me by saying that these gray hairs are evidence of wisdom and maturity. (That's why Heather is a great wife.) But it is getting harder and harder to pretend that I'm a recent college graduate, especially when twenty-somethings refer to me as a father figure. Oh well.

Here is a picture of a surprise birthday celebration (Peruvian style) that my friends in RUF gave me after one of the lectures on the campus (see the following blog entry).

Mis amigos gave me a song and a cake to share with the attendees of the lectures.


Here I am with Isabel and Geraldo, Pablo, Calin, & Obal. They (read "Pablo") tried to play a trick on the Gringo by telling him that it was a tradition for the birthday person to take a bite out of the cake. I was immediately suspicious (after all, I wasn't born yesterday!), and I had seen a birthday celebration or two and had never seen this, but I'm on the spot with a bunch of folks looking at me so I thought, Sure, why not. I'll be the butt of a joke and do something crazy. So I opened my mouth and at that moment felt Pablo's hand conspicously on my neck. Then I knew what he was up to! Doesn't he know that in my old age that I am skilled in getting even?