posted August 31st, 2010 by Shannon
Bear is THREE years old right now.
Tiger is SIX years old.
Kat is NINE years old.
And George and I have been married for TWELVE years.
But 10 days is all I get.
In a few short hours my little Bear will turn 4.
And 24 days after that the Tiger will turn 7.
Filed under: Family on August 31st, 2010 | 3 Comments »
posted August 9th, 2010 by Shannon
So, I’ve decided to return. (I think.) You can blame facebook for the long hiatus. It’s easier to write a sentence or two over there than to write a multi-paragraph essay over here. There are benefits to writing over here, though, and that’s why I think I’ll be coming back shortly.
But, first, tell me about you. Who ARE you? Is there anyone reading besides our immediate family members?
And what are you interested in seeing here? There are a number of things we could write about, but it would take a special person to be interested in all of them. I mean, there’s family things (like the Bear’s latest antics) AND homeschool things (wanna know the detailed account of what we’ll be using this next year?) AND there’s crafty/sewing things (the sewing machine I got for Christmas is finally getting some use) AND there’s nerdy computer things (only I’m too tired to think of any nerdy code example stuff right now). AND we could always get all serious on you and talk about our thoughts on life, religion, politics, etc. (Or not.) Obviously, it’s our blog and we’ll write what we want to write. But we’re still curious what you have to say!
Filed under: Family on August 9th, 2010 | 5 Comments »
posted May 11th, 2010 by Shannon
Tuesday at our house means peppermint tea, Milano cookies and poems. A recent favorite for you to enjoy:
Curious fly,
Vinegar jug,
Slippery edge,
Pickled bug.
– Anonymous
Filed under: Family on May 11th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
posted April 10th, 2009 by George
 |
| From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride |
The Tour Dallas ride was a resounding success. We all had a great time. In the 20 miler group we finished 3rd place (from the end).
 |
| From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride |
Kat rode the full 20 miles on her own bike. Tiger started out behind dad and the Bear in the trailer behind Mom. After a few difficult hills we decided to switch the trailer and afterburner.
 |
| From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride |
Once I started pulling the trailer I realized that it seems to be having some kind of alignment problem. There was far more drag than it should have. I had just recently put new tires on, but I must have gotten something out of whack. This didn’t slow me down too much at first, but as the ride went on it started to hold me back quite a bit.
We all had a great time, and the kids even got some cool medals for completing the ride.
 |
| From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride |
Filed under: Bicycling on April 10th, 2009 | 3 Comments »
posted January 9th, 2009 by Shannon
“Mom, if you’re ever standing on a dragon’s head and he’s flying … well, that’s a bad idea.”
– Tiger (Age 5)
Filed under: Laugh More on January 9th, 2009 | 2 Comments »
posted January 2nd, 2009 by Shannon
Here’s Bear at her Mother’s Day Out Christmas program a few weeks ago. The entire clip is here for the grandparents, but the rest of you can skip to 0:30 and watch until 1:00.
Filed under: Family on January 2nd, 2009 | 2 Comments »
posted December 21st, 2008 by George
I know I’ve been promising some updates for a long time. I have a confession to make; I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I tend to want everything to fall just perfectly in line the way I want it to be. It’s not always a bad thing. It can be quite beneficial in my job for instance. I have to be very precise, and my perfectionism keeps me from putting out software with tons of bugs in it. But in the real world, it’s usually more of a hinderance. You see, one of the big draw backs is that if I can not do something the way I think it should be done, I often end up doing nothing at all. It’s why my desk is a mess, why I have tons of unfinished projects, and why I haven’t written to you about my trip in more detail. I had all these elaborate plans about beautiful stories, photos, videos set to music. I know it’s crazy. Most of my friends just want to know how the trip went. So, I’ll tell you.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
We really had an amazing trip. It’s hard for me to say whether it was better or worse than the last trip because so many things were different. My last trip had more shock factor I guess. Everything was so new and exciting to me. I wanted to capture it all. I wrote as much as I could, took lots of pictures, and tried to soak it all in. We were surrounded by children nearly the entire time. This time was better in some ways though. For starters, Shannon was with me. It was so great to be able to share these experiences with her. I also knew a lot more of what to expect with the work and what we would be facing. Of course I would not have predicted everything that did happen.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
As many of you know by now, we failed on our first attempt at a water well on Monday. It was so disappointing and sad. We had such hopes to bring clean water to these people. It’s hard to even describe the scene as we were packing up the equipment to go to a different site. We wanted to stay positive, to have an encouraging attitude for the people there. We had already started to bond with the families and play with the children. There were hygiene classes scheduled and many people had promised to attend. But we had to call it all off.
We were blessed in that the drilling had gone so quickly that we had time to go to a second site, but this new site had a problem. The spot where we were to drill was not level. Not even close. And since we were not planning to drill there, no preparations had been made to get the site ready. Typically some of the local men will dig the mud pits for the drill teams because this can take up almost a whole day. Our lead driller told me we would have to spend the rest of the day digging to level the site. For a scrawny computer geek like me with carpel tunnel and back troubles, this was not good news. BUT, but after we arrived, Abel spots one of his friends driving down the road in a large back hoe / front-end loader. He waves him down and asks if he could spare 20 minutes to help us out. He agrees and just a little while later, we have a nice level spot to start drilling and I didn’t even have to pick up a shovel. Whew.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
So half our team, including Shannon, headed back to site 1 to gather the rest of the supplies while the other half, including me, started drilling at site 2. We started out with the air-hammer drill again which makes things go so much faster. Perhaps even too quickly. We hit clean water before the rest of our team got back from their equipment errand. When they arrived, they were both excited and disappointed. Excited that we had hit fresh water, but a little disappointed that they missed it. We finished drilling down and had to pack it up for the night. What a day!
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Monday night, the LWI team lead asked if we would be willing to try for a third well. Since things had gone so quickly at site 2, we could likely try for another well before the week was out. Of course we were all for that. The next 3 days were a bit of a blur, and I get it all mixed up in my mind as to when we did what at which site with who. Even on the way home we were discussing the trip and I kept getting the facts mixed up, but I suppose some of those details really are not the most import part of the story.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
The differences between site 2 and site 3 were huge. Site 2 was right on a highway, next to a bus stop, and across from a small store. It’s right at the cross-roads for 3 communities. Our LWI leaders guessed that over 3,000 people would be able to drink from this well! But we didn’t get to meet very many of them. Because of the busy road, there were no children playing close by. And I discovered later that several of the men we did meet were actually from our third site. They were there helping us because they were told that if we finished this well quickly, we would come and dig a well for them.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Site 3 was off the main road in a community just off the corner of a soccer field. This well will likely serve over 300 people as the families all around walk over to fill their water pots every day. We really bonded with these people. The LWI hygiene teacher, Katie, was able to have multiple classes with the women and children of the village. We played with the children on the soccer field. I threw more frisbees than I have in a long time. It was very relational. The people were so gracious and hospitable too. They cook food for us, chopped down fresh coconuts, brought bananas and limes, and just spent time visiting with us. A couple of the men had spent some time in the US and spoke some English which was great. Although my Spanish skills have improved some, I’ve still got a long way to go before I’m fluent.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Thursday evening, we had a dedication ceremony at Site 3. It seemed like the whole village came out to join in the ceremony. It was a really neat time. The village leader spoke to everyone and shared how grateful they were for the well. We also had an opportunity to talk to the people and I was able to tell them a little bit about why we had come so far leaving our children behind to be with them. Near the end of the ceremony, one of the elderly women from the village came forward to pray. I could not understand all of what she said, but her prayer moved me to tears. Her passion and gratefulness to God for His provision was amazing. I kept wondering how many people this woman has seen become sick or even die because of water problems in her life time. And now, she is finally able to see an end to some much of that pain. It’s hard to put to words the excitement we all felt. It was a beautiful moment at the end of a wonderful trip. I wish my 3 kids could have been there to see everything we saw. One day they will be.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Several of our friends and family helped us in so many ways to be able to go on this trip. Some helped with the funding of the trip, our parents graciously kept our children for us so we could go, and many prayed for us while we were away. We deeply appreciate all of the support we received for this effort. You have all helped to bring safe drinking water to well over 3,000 people and helped us to bring a message of hope and love to a people who often feel like outsiders. Thank you.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Filed under: El Salvador, Faith on December 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment »
posted December 12th, 2008 by Shannon
Kat: “It’s okay…. I know some karate moves!”
Said in response to George telling Bear to stop hitting Kat over the head with a toy.
(Kat’s homeschool PE class recently finished their third, and last, class in karate. Apparently they learned defensive moves that can be used when you are being attacked by a two year old.)
Filed under: Laugh More on December 12th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
posted November 24th, 2008 by George
I know many of you are eagerly waiting for more pictures and stores about our trip. Rest assured that there are more on the way. Between everyone on the team that took a camera, we had over 1,800 photos. That’s a lot to sort through. I’ve been working through the pile picking out the best ones for the slide show at Mosaic. As I go through them, I am reminded about all the things we saw and experienced. I have started writing those experiences down for all of you to share. Please stay tuned, much more to come soon.
Filed under: El Salvador on November 24th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
posted November 20th, 2008 by George
This has been an incredible day. We are all very tired but very happy. Today we finished 2 wells. We had to split up the team a bit so we could get everything done. Some went to drop the pump down in the well along the highway while others stayed to work at the well in the village.
Here Kent and I are taking the pump apart to make sure all the pieces are tightened properly. Then we will test it to make sure it works and does not leak.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Here’s Denise helping to hoist the galvanized pipe.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Carefully attaching the next piece of galvanized pipe and lowering it into the well.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Everything is put together and Brandy is testing it out.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Here’s Kent with one of our new friends testing out the pump.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Just before our dedication ceremony at the village, everyone turned out. It was like a big party. If you look to the left of the soccer field, you will see the cows being driven home for the night.
|
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Here’s our whole group behind the completed well.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Then many of the kids came out to join us.
 |
| From El Salvador – November 2008 |
Tomorrow we’ll dedicate the well by the highway. I’ll write more about tonights dedication ceremony later. It was a very special time for all of us.
Filed under: El Salvador on November 20th, 2008 | 2 Comments »