jkslade.net

I’m writing this week from the airport in Denver — waiting to go to Portland, OR for a couple days. I was just there all of last week — I got home about 1am saturday morning. It was a very productive week for me, working with some of the same guys I’ll be working with in Israel. But it was hard to be away, especially since Kim is still not feeling well at all. Fortunately she has good friends who have offered a lot of help. These two days are just a continuation of last week… I’m glad I was able to go home for the weekend.

We had Grandpa take some pictures of us after church today, for Kim. She stayed home from church today, hoping to get as much rest as possible. Not a real fun Mothers Day for her.

For the boys, I brought home a collection of golf discs (special ‘frisbees’ for disc golf), and we went out to play for the first time Saturday evening. I’ve played lots over the years, but it finally occured to me that the boys are old enough to start playing, too. We’ve got an excellent course right down the street and Edora Park, and we had a great time. Alec just enjoyed throwing his disc into the basket when we got close enough, but Caleb and Trent really got into it. Kim wasn’t feeling well enough to walk with us, but that won’t last forever. It’s aweseome to be able to do fun things together.

I feel bad being away from home with Kim not feeling well, and I know she’s been very frustrated about not being able to do what she wants — and what she wants is to be a great mom. She devotes a lot of energy to our boys, and so it’s hard when she is constantly wiped out. But even when she’s laying on the couch, she’s laying with the boys watching TV, or reading books, etc. I honor her for her constant dedication. It was said in the last general conference that the ability to nurture and love is a great spiritual gift given to women, and Kim definitely exemplifies that. I am very privileged to preside over this family.

It’s getting time to board, so that’s all for this week… More pictures here.

I’m writing this week from Hillsboro, Oregon… I’m here on business for the week. Kim’s really not been feeling well the last few weeks with her pregnancy, so we’re all hoping that this week goes better. I get to fly home Friday night and turn around and come back for two more fun-filled days next week as well.

Kim and I went to see Les Miserables on saturday. The company was great, but the show was very disappointing — mostly because it was much more lewd than I remember. Sure, that’s part of us growing up and being more discerning. But I think it was definitely staged with very poor taste. I guess we can count on the world’s standards to continue to decline.

Not much happening with the boys this week. Trent got to go to the zoo for a school field trip. Caleb and Trent are both very anxious for school to be out. Alec takes good care of Kim when she’s not feeling well.

No news on Israel yet… We’re still assuming we’re going.

I’m trying something new, starting this week. A weekly post for family happenings, intended for family and friends. Of course one of the goals is to include photos… I’ll be experimenting with the best way to make that work, so patience please.

Caleb had his first Pinewood Derby this week. We both enjoyed the process of creating the car. It didn’t place, but it was “a sweet ride”. Caleb’s been working hard and really enjoying soccer, as usual. The team is undefeated the last two seasons.

We were finally able to have the party for Trent’s 6th birthday — he was sick the day we had previously scheduled it. The kids enjoyed commando-style face painting, an ‘obstacle course’ with water balloons and squirt guns, and getting custom photo id badges. I’m enjoying my new camera

Kim had her first pre-natal care appointment this week for baby number 4 — as near as we can tell, it’s a turtle. The ‘official’ due date is around Thanksgiving, which should put us in Israel if all goes according to plan. We were told this week to expect visas around July 25th… hopefully it will be sooner, but we’ll see. We are still waiting final approval of the cost estimate, so it is still possible that this won’t even happen. So please pray for us that we get to go!