Oceanograhpic Coastal Center

Yesterday we spent the day petting sting rays at the museum right across from Stuart Beach (because it's been way to cold to be on the beach). The kids had a blast feeding the rays and socializing with them.



We also went on a mile long nature hike to the Indian River estuary area and the kids (and Nathan the big kid) asked so many good questions and we learned so many new facts about wildlife and plants of Florida. We even got up close and personal with the black mangrove tree, which sweats salt out of it's leaves. Yum?




The kids loved the touch tank, and since we were pretty much the only people there yesterday, they got to ask so many questions. The volunteers at the center were impressed at our kid's attention spans. They must get their love for nature and love for learning from Nathan! It's cute to me because Boaz can remember all kinds of crazy facts, but not the names of the creatures he's learning about. He keeps telling me things about the "shoe fish" (horse shoe crab) and the "sea swimmer" (sea horse).

FLORIDA!

We arrived in Florida last night, spent the morning at Community Baptist Church, had lunch with the pastor's family and other missionaries, then hit the beach (come on, it was 50 degrees warmer than when we left Virginia). The kids braved the cold water, Nathan and I wrapped ourselves in beach towels and watched.
The kids were really excited to arrive in Florida. This morning they kept commenting on how much it reminded them of Africa because of all the palm trees and because it was so warm they could wear sandals again. I think up until today, Asher was convinced that warmer weather was gone for good. Folks at the church who had been around for years were excited to see Nathan and I heard lots of "I used to watch Nathan in the nursery". Asher, our 4 year old who has the knack of saying the cutest (and most embarrassing) things, stood at the door and greeted people as they came in for the evening service with a handshake. I thought it was cute until I got a little closer and heard him telling someone, "My Dad is an African, and so am I!" I realized that what he was meaning was that he was wearing his African shirt just like his Daddy was.

Our New Prayer Card Is Here!

Nathan picked up our new prayer card from the printer today! Doesn't it look incredible? Thanks to Karyn Fuchs for doing such an awesome job designing it and Ken Staab (Safe Harbor Press) for printing it for us! We've been blessed to have so many folks to help us out and support us in various ways, including getting our prayer card done.

We plan to link it to our website soon so that you can download it, and we'll mail it out at the end of the month (when we're back from a mission conference in Florida)!

If you would like to request an autographed copy, just email us at....just kidding! :)

What's On His Mind

Asher Isaac is our "happy laughter" and you never know what he's going to say next. People often ask us if the kids miss Cameroon. Well, Asher does! This past Sunday, as I was walking away from the door of his SS class, I overheard him say to his teacher, "You know, if you don't see me here for many times, it's because I'm in Africa!"

Amusing

In Cameroon, this was one of the ways that the boys amused themselves inside. Especially in the evenings when it was too dark to be outside, we would put on a CD and the boys would add their own beat.

Now...back in the states, (well, since Christmas) the DS has been a big hit with the boys! Asher is very vocal when he plays, often narrating what's going on. "Now the missile is shooting, and now it's going over to the other guy, and I HIT HIS SHIP AGAIN!" (Battleship) But he doesn't narrate in a normal voice, he talks in what we call his "outside" voice, though, I think it actually is the norm for him.