Brad the Citizen

Brad is now a U.S. citizen! After being given different types of "alien status" for the past six years, he is now a citizen. He had his oath ceremony at the end of May. Here he is waiting in line before the ceremony.

The families of the new citizens are sent to the balcony to watch from there. December is waving at Brad down in line.

Here are all the people becoming citizens! I think they hold these ceremonies a couple of times a month or so.

Brad's the blurry little blob in the middle with the cream-colored shirt on. This is everyone raising their right hands during the oath part. It was interesting to watch when the different people were called to stand up when their countries were named, just to see where everyone was coming from and what countries were represented. Some countries had alot of people coming from them, but others only had one or two people.

My mom had flown in the day before Brad's oath ceremony, in order to help us pack and get ready to move away for the summer. So she got to see it, too!

It was all just too exciting for Isaac to handle... :o)

Brad the new citizen!

December, proud of her Daddy

Brad's "Certificate of Naturalization," I think it was called

Us waiting in line to apply for Brad's passport

Brad is now a dual citizen, and now we all share one citizenship. That should make it easier in crossing borders, which we do quite often!

Friends Far and Near

This is my favorite picture of December and Isaac. Auntie Kim took this picture a few weeks ago at her house, and I just love it!

This is a picture taken of December on the final Park Day -- we went to a really fun park that we had never been to before, with water spouts and a beautiful playground to play on. (December is full of character, as always...!)

December and Noah on the last Park Day, on one of those toys that I dont' know its name -- it's usual some sort of metal animal on a big metal spring and it rocks back and forth. I've got no idea what they call those things...anyway, December is hanging on to Noah for dear life so that she doesn't fall off

My good friend Naomi and I with "the Isaacs" -- they left this week to go back to England to live again, and we miss them terribly! Noah's one of December's best friends, so I know when we go back to California, December will be asking about him and wanting to see him again. :o(

Samuel and December at the mall, on one of those coin-operated cars that jiggle around. Samuel and his family are in Virginia for a summer internship, but thankfully they will be coming back for another year of school!

This picture was taken at Noah's house, at one of the last times we saw him.

Just about all of our California friends have now moved -- they are now in England, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and all over the place! That's the hard part about being in seminary. We are very thankful for the ones who will be coming back to school in the fall, and we're excited to meet the new ones who will be coming in this year!

California Adventure!

Early in the month of May, we went to California Adventure with our friends, the Seymour family. We had gone to Disneyland in April with Dad and Debbie, and we had passes that let you get into California Adventure for free, if used within a month of going to Disneyland. And we couldn't let that offer pass us by!







This is a talking trash can -- there is a man controlling it remotely and using a microphone to make the trash can "talk" and roll around. If you look closely in the upper left hand of the picture, you can see the bottom of half of the man controlling it. It was pretty fun to see a trash can moving and talking all by itself!

This was December and Noah's favorite place. It was full of kids' rides, and the lines were super short, so they got to go on alot of rides here! We had let December watch "A Bug's Life" the night before we went, so that she'd know the characters here.

The Monster's Inc. ride

Here we are in "A Bug's Land" riding on the bumper cars!

Matthew and little Noah, chasing December and I down to smash into us. :o)

And they did it!

December and Noah, waiting in line for a Playhouse Disney show, with Mickey and Minnnie Mouse.

/Here's the show they watched and loved!

Isaac having fun at the parade

Waiting for the parade to pass by

The Play Parade! What a fun time -- it is so well done, and there are so many dancers and fun music and bubbles, etc. We ALL had a blast!

Crush from "Finding Nemo" (one fo December's favorites)

And Nemo, of course! The people in the parade were great and really interacted with the kids.

Isn't it cool how all of the parts to the caterpillar aren't connected, but there is a person inside each part?!

December getting special attention from one of the dancers. December was doing a pretty funny dance of her own in beat to the music, so she got alot of attention!

These guys were one of my favorites. They're the green soldier men from Toy Story. Their costumes were pretty cool!

The Toy Story float, complete with two acrobats swinging around.

There's a person inside the back end of the dog, just waddling along behind the float!

A picture of December's pretty sweet dance moves.

About Mother's Day (a bit late)

This is a poem I had read a while ago and loved, but then forgot about until our Michigan church put it in their May newsletter. It's about being a Mom. I fell in love with the poem all over again, because these words are so absolutely true! Here it is:

BEFORE I WAS A MOM
~author unknown~

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth every day.

Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't worry about whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been thrown-up on,
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mom
I had complete control of
My thoughts
My body
And my mind.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that someone so small
Could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it would be to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that someone so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every ten minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.