Happy B-Day x 3

Happy Birthday to Eden and Saiah! 3 and 5, we can't believe it... and Zeke turns 8 in a week or so! We kept our parties small and simple (of course I had a leadership training all that weekend!). Eden got a chocolate cake (American) and Saiah got this frosting bonanza right here in Darhan. Thankfully the weather has been great so they have played outside LOTS! Their favorite toy is the shovel and so far we have a nice big pit right in the middle of garden. We're just happy to have them outside!

Intensity on Ice

Ok, last picture of ice for the year, honest! (Actually I don't have a choice because our long Mongolian winter is apparently over!). We are now officially moving on to Birthday season. Two of Zeke's friends had birthdays recently (the Liberda boys), and they went ice-skating at the nearby homemade rink. It was Zeke's first time and he had a wonderful attitude... he also got lots of advice, like from this young expert. Next week we will celebrate both Isaiah and Eden's birthdays, followed next month by Zeke and Krista! With all of these parties, along with the slushy puddles, tis our season to be jolly...

Sledders

Yes, I know you are getting tired of pictures of snow and ice...
but you are going to have to deal with it, about half the year, and be thankful you are not living it! We had a lot of fun this last weekend on a team Prayer Retreat. Normally trees are not a hazard to consider in Mongolia, but it was quite exciting to try and avoid them as well as all of the small children wobbling around! Thankfully all of those layers act as a good buffer. Now we are looking for Spring, especially with the temperature dipping above freezing the other day. Here come the T-shirts and shorts!

Watering Hole

Here is the local watering hole - the Haraa river about 100 meters from our house. Thankfully we mostly only see the cows using it now, although before taking the picture I told another man to please get water from our well. The ice is at least a foot thick, perhaps not smooth enough for skates but great for a little sled ride with our friends! If you can stand the bitter wind, that is...

Here's Johnny...

We have an announcement to make... our middle son will heretorfore be referred to as "Johnny" - a head-banging lead guitarist for his new band, Rockadooz. He's been practicing quite a bit, and he has some moves that will really make you gasp (in amazement, or perhaps just in fits of laughter). Anyway, thought you should know.

Beauties

Things are much better now that everyone is healthy ... mostly. Krista is on her last couple weeks of medication, praise God! Eden is a busybody - up and down the ladder, carrying the cat all over the house, and changing her clothes like a mad woman. She also colors in most of her free time (when she is not helping Orna to wash dishes and clothes). Anyway, I think they are pretty! Zeke, though, is in his "I hate girls" phase, so don't ask him.

Rough Start

Well, 2008 is off to a "rough" start. I know we look happy, but it is COLD! And it is going to get colder this weekend (-40). Several of us were sick this last week, including both parents. Who is supposed to cook and keep the fire going when that happens?! But things are looking up. Actually we are always looking up, which is where our hope and our strength come from! I believe it is going to be a wonderful year after all...

First Christmas

Eden has never celebrated Christmas before ... but I think she likes it! She loves keeping all of her goodies in a stocking, especially her gum. She can chew it for hours! She likes getting presents, especially her little plastic tea set (it is hard to find nice gifts here, i.e. anything more than $5). Unfortunately she is not quite old enough to understand WHY we are celebrating Christmas. Hopefully all of Mongolia's children will come to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Lots of silliness occurred during our Christmas break. Most of us had been sick one way or another, so we didn't do anything productive the entire time... but I realized that just living can be pretty hard work sometimes! How did the pioneers do it? How do Mongolians?!

Eden's 1st Christmas

We put up our decorations, which took about 15 minutes total, and we spend about that much time every day picking them up again as Eden takes ornaments off the tree, figures off the advent calendar, or pictures off the Waiting Tree. I think she likes Christmas! She is either cute as pie, walking around singing "Yesus, Yesus" (Jesus in Mongolian), or a mischeivious elf. Isaiah usually is too, but he has hardly gotten up from his bed all week with a fever! A blessed Christmas to all...

Christmas cookies

We had a very enjoyable weekend at our friends' (the Bergevins) new home in Bulgan (3 hours west of Darhan). They have 4 little girls and will hopefully begin some new projects and house churches there this next year... they've got their hands full! We had a lot of fun with them - for me that meant checking out their house's construction and contraptions,
and for the kids that meant playing and making Christmas cookies. Although I did enjoy a cookie or two myself...

Can you dig it?

The ground is beginning to freeze here in Mongolia, but Saiknaa and his crew are still driving wells. We have slowly perfected the process and completed 14 of these wells. Next year we are praying for God to enable us to do at least 50. It's pretty simple - weld a point on a piece of pipe, beat it into the ground, weld on another pipe, repeat - but it sure is HARD work! This well (about 35' deep) was for Tsetsekmaa and cost about $150, half of which the families are asked to raise themselves.

Yard Soccer

We got in a little game of soccer this weekend, which is good because we got a lot of snow last night. Not that you can't play soccer in the snow! It is Zeke's new favorite sport (can you tell his school is very international?!). Also notice the little green tree in our yard... I planted 3 of them (plus my 6 poplars). Anything to add some green!

Work, work, work

We are back to work ... well, at least these guys are. Zeke is doing great in the 2nd grade at our little MK school. He's especially working on spelling and reading, which he is finally interested in doing. Saiah is back going to Mongolian pre-school, which some days he is excited about and other days he cries hysterically. But he loves coming home and doing English homework with his big brother! And so does Eden, though nobody is quite sure what she is writing or drawing. Isn't it funny how kids love to try things and learn ... whatever happened to us?!

Excitement

I love the nervous energy of kids starting school! Our boys are so excited to go and make friends, learn how to read, swim or play dodgeball (do they still do that?)... it's a little bit scary, and it's a lot of work, but think of the experiences and growth that will occur! I have to say that I kind of feel the same way about going back to Mongolia (Sept 23rd). It's a little overwhelming to follow Jesus, and there will be plenty of sacrifice, but think of the chances to grow and help people... possibly even save them for eternity. That's exciting! We hope you are excited to go and grow this year too.

Extended vacation?

More fun for the Fields family! Most of us had never been sailing before. It seems like endless vacation, but there really are some important things we are doing...honest. And we would really like to go back and get to work for Jesus in Mongolia! Two more weeks until our next tests and Krista's x-ray...

US time

Although restless to be back in Mongolia (or back in God's calling?), we are enjoying some extra time in the States. We even had a little romantic getaway for our 11th anniversary! Some US time in the U.S. How cute are we?! And how beautiful is Oregon?! Thank you, God!! We have about 3 more weeks before Krista's next x-ray, but she is feeling good and we are hopeful to head back into "the fray" late September...God willing.

Close to Home

Due to unexpectedly being diagnosed with TB, our family will not be returning to Mongolia for at least a couple more months. Although we were looking forward to going back, we will certainly enjoy some more time around here with family, friends and church! This is "The Cabin," our favorite hangout, on the family farm where I grew up on the Santiam river. It's my "homeland" or, you could say, the closest thing to heaven on this earth. And a pretty nice place to be semi-quarintined for a couple months!

More Oregon Fun

Another fun outing this past month was the Enchanted Forest. We met up with some cousins and spent a whole day among the kiddie rides and fairy-tale creatures. It was a LOT of fun even for us big kids (very nostalgic). Eden liked it too, even though she hasn't heard any of the fairy-tale stories yet! Even with the roller-coaster and log-ride I still think the boys liked running around in the Indian cave-maze the best.

We're not in Mongolia anymore...

No, this is not Mongolia...it's the Oregon coast! These last couple weeks we have spent a lot of time with our families in some really neat places. Krista's parents live in Reedsport so we spent several days visiting sand dunes, tidepools, and the beach. Then we were off to spend a few days at a hot springs resort in the Cascades. Surrounded by green trees and warmth... we are a long ways from Mongolia!

Airports

Travelling with 3 small kids can be a challenge. Especially when it takes 2 car rides, 3 airplanes, a host of metal detectors, and about 30 hours to get home! Thankfully they all did great ... notice we are mostly smiles and only one plane left to fly! Of course real french fries and a grande latte go a long way in making us happy (even if they do cost twice as much in the airport). It is sure nice to finally be "home" for a couple months. We're not in any hurry yet to do the 30-hour trip back to Mongolia!