jonathan’s blog

This little guy…is actually a pretty easy kid.  He eats well, sleeps well, and for the most part…listens.  But the day I go to the Call, the exact day that I’m gone, he gets really, really sick.  Sore throat, fever, won’t eat, won’t sleep, won’t stop crying!  Super hungry, tries to eat everything, but can’t handle it, throat is just too raw.  The ONE day that I’m gone!  Dennis called in some antibiotics for him.  SO GOOD to have doctor friends!  During our stopover in Denver, I grabbed a bag of Trail Mix.  Noah loves this stuff, and found it in my carry-on bag.  He knew that he couldn’t eat it…but that didn’t stop him from carrying it around the house, everywhere he went, for 2 days!…guarding his stash, just waiting for his throat to get better.

These girls have been getting up early for school.  Having gotten used to that, they get up early even when they don’t have school!  But, at 7 and 5…they have become ‘relatively’ self governing.  Emily and I try to sleep in, letting them play and make a TOTAL mess until Noah proclaims he is hungry for breakfast.  Then the morning starts.  Kay’s hair keeps getting shorter!…so short now, that it gets ‘messy’ when she sleeps…ha!

Noah LOVES to sing.  He’s always singing in the car…the single, lone, really low and raspy voice coming from the back seats.  Here he is, worshiping like his sisters.  To be perfectly clear…Noah was NOT dancing and prancing around…just lifting his arms in praise.

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Happy Birthday, Emily!

The birthday celebrating actually started last night, with the Young’s and the Yap’s, at Cinzetti’s.  Good friends, good food, kids eat free!  By the looks of our table, I think we all had more dessert than actual food!  There were a couple of scary points during the night, where Emily actually thought she was going into labor!  Not yet, baby!…stay in for a couple more weeks please!

I’m not sure what the kids were all doing…but they were ALL doing it, right down to little Sarah and Noah.

Today was a stormy, rainy, cloudy, day…so I got Emily some sunflowers for her birthday.  I am posting pictures and including these flowers here in this blog, that they may be immortalized, and so that all can see that I do buy flowers for my wife…from time to time.

The girls had school, so Emily, Noah, and I went to get some yummy Japanese Udon for Emily’s birthday lunch.  After, we picked up the girls and headed over to walk around the mall…one of only two that are in the area.  And guess what!?…the American Girl store opened.  Needless to say, the girls were really excited.

Noah on the other hand…was totally bored in 5 minutes.  He started running around pushing Bekah just to annoy her…then came and sat/lay down with me on the couch.

Dinner was at Joe’s Crabshack.  Easily the best meal I’ve had in a LONG time…maybe since last mother’s day, when we ate…Joe’s Crabshack!  Why?…I’ll tell you why.  Ragin Cajun Steampot.  That’s Dungeness Crab, Shrimp, Sausages, Red Potatoes, and Sweet Corn…all bundled into this steam pot, covered in garlic cajun seasoning, and then steamed in their own juices!  Wow.  Everyone’s smiles are a bit funny…I think it probably has to do with me having them all say, “Joe’s Crabshack!” instead of “Cheese!”

Noah and Bekah, sporting their bibs…very excited for the food.

Kay…trying to figure out the word search.

Happy Birthday Emily!  You are such a private person…so I won’t embarrass you with all the things I love, love, love about you.  Suffice to say…you are the best part of my life (besides God!).  Thanks for marrying me!  Happy Birthday!

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Guess who this is?  I don’t even know which Veggie Tales it was…but we saw one recently where Larry the cucumber wears a bag on his head!?  Anyway, Bekah saw an empty grocery bag, and wanted to give it a try.

Poor girl…I think she was really bored.  Kay is always reading, always has her face stuck in a book.  Bekah has started to read a lot…but doesn’t have the attention span to get through a whole book.  The fact that she can read is pretty amazing, because Emily and I spent ZERO time teaching her!  haha…Kay has been coaching her.  Good job Kay!  Kay reads, Noah is always playing with trains and cars.  A lot of time, Bekah finds herself wandering around, looking for things to do.

Carole has been in KC for a few weeks, and came over to spend a night with us.  She took the girls out for a walk on our nature trail…

…which leads to a park…

…and then capped the evening off with a Bible story before bed time.  Let me just say, that by the time she left, our kids were TOTAL fans of Auntie Carole.

The weather has suddenly turned…really nice!  Not the freezing cold of winter.  Not the over saturated pollen air of spring.  Not the melting humidity of summer.  It’s actually been really nice out.  What a welcome change.  So…today being Saturday, we swung by the Oriental Super Market and picked up some fresh made Korean style sushi…Calpico…

…sushi…

…at the park!  The three of them started off playing together.

Then they slowly started going their separate ways.

Noah continued with his random exploration of the same jungle gym.

Bekah struggled to get past the 3rd monkey bar.

Kay left the entire play area and began picking flowers.

Great weather.  So what’s the current drawback?  Bugs.  Tons of them.  Loud ones…chirping and buzzing so loud, sometimes it’s hard to hear myself think!  Biting ones, we all have itchy bites on our arms and legs.  But this takes the cake for grossest bug experience thus far.  I was edging the lawn with my weed wacker…and out emerged this HUGE spider.  I’m talking huge, and disgusting.  Wolf Spiders can get up to 1.5 inches big…that’s their body!  So when we are talking about their legs and everything, they can easily span upwards of 4 inches.  4 inches!  Anyway, edging, and then there is this huge Wolf Spider, grey, trailing this blue sac.  What is that!?  Turns out…they carry their own egg sac!  Eeewww.  I see road kill and dead animals all along the road.  Doesn’t bother me in the least.  But this spider, with this huge sac…had me unglued.  Disgusting.

FYI…this picture isn’t one that I actually took.  I found this off a google image search.  I was too busy…weed wacking the spider!

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Yesterday morning, Wendy and Lillian threw Emily a baby shower.  They had brunch with a few of her friends at Cinzetti’s.  Emily was really blessed by the prayer time…thanks guys, this was so thoughtful of you all!

We are almost done with the baby room.  Having trouble painting one of the walls, driving me crazy.  But with the crib in the room…along with a baby shower, it’s all starting to sink in.  We are having another baby!  Wow.  Three more weeks.  So far, no bedrest…God you ARE GOOD!  Emily has been feeling really uncomfortable carrying this little girl around.  We went to the doctor today, and apparently all the physical signs are pointing to an imminent labor…but one of the tests came back negative, showing that ‘chemically’, her body is not yet ready or going into labor…which is a good thing.  Chemically, she won’t be going into labor for at least another week.  We need to get three more weeks in for this baby to be full term.  Almost there!  Please continue praying for us on this final stretch!

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Campfire Beef at The Cracker Barrel.  “Like a meal right out of the campfire, two pieces of our thick-cut, lightly seasoned USDA Choice chuck roast, slow-cooked in foil until fork tender, with corn on the cob, whole-cut carrots, fresh red skin potatoes, chopped onions and tomato wedges. Served with your choice of corn muffins or scratch-made buttermilk biscuits.”

Doesn’t that just sound REALLY good?

Doesn’t that just look…really good?

Now get this.  I know the Bible says to fast in secret, not to make a big deal out of it, to look your best…basically so we don’t fast for the praise of man, but only for our Father in Heaven.  But I need to disclose this, so that we can all feel the full effect of the Campfire Beef!  The Exodus called a 40 day fast in preparation and anticipation for The CALL Sacramento, so I decided to hop along, fasting with them and also for God to breakthrough in our own lives.  Desperate times call for desperate measures!…sheesh are we desperate!

Anyway, what started out as a fast from meats has turned into a fast from solid foods.  Some time last week, we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, and I saw this on the menu.  Ugh…I had to order a bowl of cream of broccoli cheese (yuck!), but oh so wanted to try this.  I mean…come on!  Beef, potatoes, corn…all roasted and baked in their own juices!?  That’s like my dream meal!

And then a special treat, a gift from heaven.  Some of my parents’ friends called last night, in town, and wanting to meet up.  They were visiting their son, who recently started a residency program at one of the local hospitals.  Ooohhhh…my mind started working.  Well…we should definitely try to catch dinner with them.  We should take them to Cracker Barrel…Cracker Barrel runs are always appreciated.  And…I should probably break my fast for that meal.  I mean, it’s less awkward than ordering soup while everyone feasts on real food, and easier than trying to explain why I’m fasting, etc.  And…it only makes sense that I really go for it, and get the Campfire Beef.  Perfect plan!

ALL day…I’ve been waiting.  Checking the clock.  Anticipating the beef, the juices, the potatoes…

And finally, dinner rolls around, it’s time!  But guess what!  It wasn’t that good!?  It wasn’t bad…it just wasn’t that good.  The company was great, they were the nicest people, brought gifts for the kids, fun conversations.  But all my anticipation, the picture, the description…breaking my fast, alas, too much hope in the Campfire Beef.

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Yesterday, Kay and Bekah got to visit their classrooms, in preparation for the big FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.  There was a whole list of supplies and books each of them had to bring.  Here is Bekah in her assigned seat, armed with backpack and personalized plastic bin full of school stuff.  She has literally been counting down the days with such excitement, bursting at the seams to become an official Kindergarten student.

Now an official 2nd Grader…Kay is a pro at these types of events.  She was so excited to see her friends as they came trickling in.

All of that exciting preparation, getting ready for TODAY!…the big day!  We’ve been slowly adjusting the kids’ sleeping schedule, to get them used to waking up super early for school.  Emily stayed up late, getting their lunch ready, getting their clothes picked out and ironed…my alarm rang at 6:40am today, and as Emily and I got up and got ready to get ready…Bekah burst through the door, having found the clothes Emily laid out last night, she was already changed into her school clothes, had her teeth brushed, face washed, she was ready to go!  I have no idea what time she actually woke up!  Here they are, The Daniel Academy, Day 1.

Kay just zipped into her room, hung up her bag, said hi to her friends…not even a real good-bye!  Emily took Bekah to her room…here she is, peeking at us through the door.

Where’s my school?  All this time, this little guy has been following his sisters around, asking where his room was going to be.  In the excitement of his sisters getting ready…folders, notebooks, backpacks, and lunch sacks, Noah insisted on bringing with him one of his train books.  Here he is, just having said good-bye to his sisters, doing a perfect Chinese squat in the hallway.

So what do we do now?…with only one kid at home?  Well…in between looking for a job, watching some cartoons with him, and napping (me, not him)…I tied a couple of his boos on his head and waist.  He REALLY liked this…and for some reason, dressed like this, he said he was Uncle Dennis?!  I have NO idea what his line of reasoning is.  The closest thing I can think of…maybe he saw Dennis in a set of scrubs?…unable to confirm.

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Carole came to visit and play with the kids.  She came bearing gifts, which got her instant notoriety with the kids.  As soon as we got home, Bekah ran upstairs, sat at her desk, and went through all the little Hello Kitty goodies Carole brought.  Kay kept thanking her…and Noah would NOT leave her alone.  He followed her everywhere, calling out to her, to come see his room, play with his trains, see his cars…I hope he didn’t scare her off!

OK…there’s a ton of stuff going on in this picture.  First, it’s an empty room.  This used to be Noah’s room, but he’s moving out to what was once the upstairs guest room.  This room, the new baby room, is getting painted a light sage…we are almost done with that, pics coming soon.  Second, Noah is ‘pretend’ getting his hair cut by Bekah.  And third, Bekah…I have no idea what she’s dressed as.  She did it all herself, gone one minute, and came back decked out like this…wings, ribbons, skirt!?

Noah in his new room.  More pics coming soon…but here he is getting settled.  Actually, it took him no time at all to get used to his new room.  Here he is playing alone.  Poor guy is ALWAYS asking me, emily, or one of his sisters to come play with him.  You want come my room?  You want come see my trains?  You want come play for me?  And then he’ll come grab my arm and just start tugging!  On that same token, Noah will sometimes be totally fine playing by himself with his toys.  I love hearing his little sound effects.

I’m not sure which one of his sisters taught him this…but it’s his mad face.  He does this on call.  He doesn’t do it when he’s really mad…but when you ask him for his ‘mad’ face, this is what you’ll get.  Arms, always crossed.

Check this out.  Shaved ICE!  This is a sure bet to help get through the heat and humidity.  We picked up this dinky little ice shaver back in LA, before we moved to KC.  I only JUST took it out!…and it works great!  We have red bean, mochi balls, peanuts (yuck!), grass jelly, lychee, and condensed milk.

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Bekah’s been wanting short hair as well…and now, with Kay’s hair the way it is…this cut was inevitable.

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The HEAT has been unbearable.  I thought LA got hot.  I thought Las Vegas/Palm Springs can get hot.  But here…hot AND humid…it’s disgusting to go outside.  I think today was something like 97 degrees?, but with the humidity, the heat index was up at 107-109 degrees!  Walking outside feels like walking into a steam room or sauna…yeah, not a good feeling.

In spite of the heat, yesterday was our annual Neighborhood Block Party.  BBQ, neighbors, tons of kids, and games…some good old fashioned fun in the midwest.

There were different age groups of kids that got to compete in games.  Everyone got a prize.

Noah had to play ‘musical chairs’ and ‘dress up race’.  I’ve never seen ‘dress up race’, but he had to run to one side of the field, put on an adult sized hat, scarf, and single boot…then run back as fast as he could.  Both games…NOT A CLUE.  He had NO idea what people were telling him to do!  But, in all fairness, none of the other 2 year old kids new how to play either.  The silver lining?…Noah had his eye on a little ambulance toy on the prize table.  He got it!

Bekah’s age group, which included Jesse, had to run a leaking cup over to fill up an empty bucket.

Next game, grab the sock off your ‘opponents’ pants.

This went a little better than the 2 year old games, but not much.  They ended up just running in a circle…for a really long time, no one pulling any socks.

Kay, Juli, and Luke’s group had to pop each otherss balloons, without getting popped themselves.

But the BEST game of all…was a new one that I’d never seen before.  They called it, ‘Poop in the sack’, the first one to take a dump in the sack wins!  Just kidding…it was the favorite sack hop race.

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Kay has been SO happy with her new haircut.  She’s watched Ayi-4 get ’short’ haircuts all this time, and has been wishing for her own.  What do I think?  Well…it does make my 7 year old seem a lot older!  Either way, haircut or not, she’s growing up way too fast!  She starts the 2nd Grade in 1.5 weeks!

With the school year about to start, and the weather still way too HOT and MUGGY…we visited this nearby ’splash park’.  We went early, to beat the crowds…here we have the whole splash park to ourselves!

Noah was way too excited, ran out into the middle of the water (which was really cold) and fell.  Bad start.  Here he is, slowly building up his courage to go back out.

The kids thought this part was like a little car wash.  Most of the time, the splash park was calm, with little fountains of water.

But every so often, the whole place would just erupt in sprays of drenching, un-escape-able streams of water.

Eruptions also mean water gun fights.  I’m not sure if anyone is really winning or losing, since everyone is getting soaked either way.

Samuel…or should we say Rambo?

My monkey daughter…

My monkey son…

I think the girls made him this hat.  It looks a bit like a dunce hat…but Noah enjoyed wearing it around the house.

Here he is, the rascal, turning off the lights…

…while his sisters are playing the board game LIFE.  I think Noah would refer to it as…the ‘bored’ game.  I don’t think he enjoys it when they play this…today I heard  the girls screaming at him to get off the board.  Actually, after 10 minutes or so, Bekah becomes pretty disinterested as well.  You can see her lying down while playing.  Today, I also overheard Bekah telling Kay to just spin and move her car when it was her turn, “Kay, you don’t even have to tell me what happens to me.”  That’s how much she cares after 10 minutes.

No pictures for this…but on the ride home today the girls were talking about their special Ayi’s.  Well…Kay was (as often is the case) doing most of the talking…

Kay:  Mommy is like the ‘Children Ayi’…because she has a lot of kids.
Kay:  Ayi-2 is the ‘Crafty Ayi’.  (To clarify, this is ‘crafty’ as in arts/crafts…not sneaky/shady).
Kay:  Ayi-3 is the ‘Cooking Ayi’.
Kay:  And Ayi-4 is the ‘Artsy Ayi’.

Me:  Why is Ayi-3 the ‘Cooking Ayi’?

Kay:  Because she cooks with us!  Bakes with us.  She knows how to make crepes!

A moment of silence…and then Bekah gets in her thoughts…slightly jealous…

Bekah:  Wow.  Uncle 3 gets to eat crepes EVERY day!

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