Andrew and Megan's Mentionables

Growing Up!

2011-09-26T16:53:00.004-07:00

We just wanted to share some pictures that we got taken of the kids for Brenna turning one year old. This first year has flown by, and it has been so fun to see Brenna grow and see what her little personality is like!

Buhay Pa!

2011-08-01T04:58:00.004-07:00

"buhay pa" means "still alive" in Tagalog, and I'm posting this as our blog title because it has been SO long since I've written on here- too long! So yes, we are STILL alive and well in the Philippines! I will do my best to give a bit of an update on the last couple months- the first update will be very easy...

June- the biggest reason you maybe didn't hear from us, is because everyone (but me, Megan) was sick for the whole month just about. Since living here in the Philippines our bodies have really had to adjust to our new environment, which also means that our bodies aren't really at their best when it comes to fighting off "bugs." So everyone had a cough/fever off and on for that month, and it took a long time and much rest to kick it!

July- we visited the island of Palawan! Our family has really been desiring to have a short break from our language and culture study, so we went to the island of Palawan (here in the Philippines) and relaxed for a few days, and also got some time in visiting a couple tribal locations. We had a great trip, and found out that Kaden is MADE for living in the tribe! That kid absolutely loved being out in the wide-open, and able to run around, play with animals, and do what boys do best, get dirty!

We are so thankful for those of you who faithfully keep in touch with us via our blog, and we will continue trying to keep you updated!! We miss you all back home and send big hugs!!

Until next post,

Megan for the Smith's :)

Kaden's favorite part of the trip- flying in the airplane into the tribe!

A family shot before we take off from the tribe.

Brenna hanging out at the pool we visited :)

Pizza Night! Home-made style...

2011-05-29T05:22:00.004-07:00

Well after getting a whopping 10 pounds of mozzarella cheese that I ordered (and I actually split half of it with another missionary- cheese is sometimes hard to come by here at a good price so we bought bulk...) I decided to make some home made pizza to use some of it up- yummy!

Our chicken BBQ style pizza at Andrew's request- and the fact that we couldn't find any pepperoni or ham in any stores (sorry, the picture rotated against my will...)

Brenna was a little perturbed that she didn't get any pizza...

... but ended up being happy with her chicken and mango dinner anyway ;)

Buddies

2011-05-22T00:26:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to share some pictures of Kaden and Brenna playing- they are growing so fast these days I can hardly believe it! Brenna just turned 9 months old and Kaden is already 3 1/2 years old! It is funny to think despite the almost three year age difference, they play together so well! :) We'll see how long it lasts... :)

Kaden asked me to make a "fort" for him with the pillows from the couch, and then right after instructed me to get Brenna in there with him by saying, "Brenna sit, Brenna sit"

Kaden really likes getting right up into Brenna's face- and since she can't get away from him very easily when he does it, he finds that pretty entertaining...

But she doesn't seem to mind since she loves being in the middle of the action so much! :)

Family Favorite Pancakes

2011-02-11T18:02:00.004-08:00

I've been meaning to share with you this recipe from Andrew's mom that makes an excellent pancake, and is different than your everyday pancake. It is a favorite in our family, and I hope you can try it out and enjoy it for yourself!

Cottage cheese or Philadelphia Cream cheese
Pancakes (makes 16-20}

6 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cottage cheese or cream cheese (we use cottage cheese, a little healthier)

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Then cook on a greased griddle over medium heat. I pour the batter right out from the blender. We make the pancakes a little on the small side, but you can do it any size. Once they are a little cooked through flip over, and take off when golden brown.

You can put about any topping on these, from a fruit sauce like boiled down blueberries, strawberries, apples, pears, peaches, etc. Or you can put jam on top, maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, fruit pieces. But the Smith tradition is to sprinkle some sugar on top and then dribble some fresh squeezed lemon juice on top- yummy!

Hope you enjoy!

Change, Change, Change

2011-01-25T04:08:00.003-08:00

One thing that we can always count on raising another baby is change! With all that has happened over the last few months, the time has flown by and we can't believe that Brenna is already five and a half months old!

This little girl of ours has started to take an interest in food, so tonight was her first "meal" with us at the table, so precious.

Gotta love the "firsts"

Before she gets the spoon shoved in her mouth... lookin' pretty oblivious ;)

Brenna actually did really well with her first meal of rice cereal mixed with breast milk... She definitely didn't get the whole swallowing thing down, but she was watching that bowl and spoon so close and would take a grab at it any chance she could to try to bring it to her mouth herself! Andrew and I both agreed she did better at her first feed than Kaden (didn't spit as much out and actually swallowed some!), which says A LOT if you are familiar with Kaden's eating habits as a baby ;)

At the end of things, I think she was still a bit confused about what just happened...

Good start to eating and we'll see how it goes!

Christmas in the Tropics

2010-12-28T02:33:00.002-08:00

It has definitely been a strange experience to have our Christmas in the hot and tropical climate of the Philippines... At about 85 F (28 C or so) and humidity, it is hard to feel like it's Christmas, even for me being from California! But it also gives neat opportunity to vacation in summer-ish weather to celebrate the holidays.

During Christmas time we were able to take a 6 day vacation to the island of Mindora, where we stayed on at Puerto Galera. We had an awesome time there and the kids did really well. Kaden LOVED to play in the ocean with the waves breaking right on shore. He would sit and wait for the water to rush up to him when a wave came, and then go back down afterwards. He thought it was great. Brenna did really well too, and had a great little "baby-sized" tent to sleep on at the beach (thanks to Aunt Debbie for that wonderful gift!).

We miss you all back home, especially in this season when we usually are visiting family and friends, but are slowly making our own family "way of doing things" here which is definitely bringing us closer together.

And finally, here is the link to view our pictures from the trip!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=598306&id=792025654&l=c37aa5db2e

Just because...

2010-11-19T21:48:00.004-08:00

This post is just because Brenna is so stinkin' cute, couldn't keep it to myself!

She is smiling like crazy these days, so much fun :)

This is the "squirrel" face... bright eyed and bushy tailed...

Buddies

2010-11-09T05:36:00.005-08:00

It has been so fun in these last couple weeks to see the kids really starting to connect with each other and engage one another. I think it started in some ways with Brenna's play gym- her first real toy, and Kaden thought it was so fascinating he started wanting to lay down with her and look at the toys. But now he hangs out with her when she lays down at her toy, and plays with them too.

And now whenever Brenna hears Kaden or gets a glimpse of him walking by, she gets a big grin on her face, like, "Is he going to come over and talk to me??" And Kaden loves coming up to Brenna and looking at her, because she does the funniest smiles for him where she'll stick her tongue out and wiggle all around- he just giggles and giggles at her!

He also likes to sit next to her when I'm holding her and hold her arm or leg, just sit there and hold it.

But I have loved SO much to see my kids building this bond between the two of them. Siblings are such an awesome gift and impactful relationship to have growing up- so excited to see these two grow up together :)

Just thought I'd throw in, one of Kaden's new favorite things to do is look out our window at everything. So many new things to see, the rain we get throughout the day when it pours, the cars, the palm trees (his new favorite word).

And I couldn't leave out another picture of this cute little button- almost three months old!! Time flies!!

Rollin'

2010-11-01T05:05:00.003-07:00

Just had to share with you all that our little Brenna rolled over for the first time today!! She was crying up a storm in her room, and when I came in I noticed she was not laying on the side that I put her down on! She is only 2 1/2 months, and I was so surprised to find her rolled over! Our Kaden didn't roll over until... well, lets just say it took a while, I don't want to embarrass him ;) Our little girl is growing up so fast! :)

P.S. Notice how in the picture she is holding onto her toy... she is blowing us away at how fast she is doing things!

Farewell to my beloved friend

2010-10-28T22:37:00.003-07:00

There was a hard good-bye that was said the night before we left for the Philippines, and no, it wasn't to a close friend or family member (although it does feel like both to me)... it was to my car! My beloved 4Runner has treated me so well in these last 7 years I've owned it, and I just wanted to pay it regards for all that is has brought me through...

This car has...

- Gotten me back and forth to Jackson, MI for school, back and forth to Durham, ON twice, and back and forth to California from British Columbia countless times!!

- It has taken me to the beach I miss so much down in California dozens of times

- It took Andrew and I from our wedding reception back to our hotel...

- It took my two kids each home from the hospital after they were born!

- It has been our tent for camping.

- It has hauled our possessions all over the continent countless times!

- It has been our concert hall while listening to our favorite CDs in the car (including Kaden's favorite, Rise and Shine by Raffi :)

- It has been a place where Andrew and I have been able to share our lives, thoughts and struggles and grow closer through it all.

- It has been a mini-apartment for us as we were living out of it for the last 7 months.

- It has been our "motel room" when driving through the night and weren't able to make it all the way...

- It has been a diaper changing station for the kids too many times!

- It has been an infant nursing room.

- It is one of Kaden's favorite places to be in the world, the only consistent thing he's really had since he was born!

Most of all, it never failed us and broke down in all the 100,000 miles we've driven it!

We will miss you car! :)

An Early Birthday

2010-10-05T12:21:00.005-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Almost...

Chris, Natalie, Matt, Mike, Nancy, Megan and Andrew (kids Noah-7, Chloe-5, Jackson-2, Madison- 3months, Kaden- almost 3, Brenna- 1 1/2 months)

Since we are going to be overseas for Kaden's third birthday, my (Megan) family decided to have a party early so the cousins could all celebrate Kaden's birthday together! We had a great day together, and I think everyone's favorite time was when all the kids were able to run around at the park near my parents' house and play games! So happy early birthday, Kaden!!

Jackson and Kaden are just 6 months apart in age, love running after each other :)

Matt, Natalie and Madison

dad relaxing

Kaden opening his presents

He got a leap frog tag junior with books from grandpa and nanna

He got "Gill" from the Cars movie from his aunt, uncle and cousins :)

He loves his Cars!!

in action...

his Cars cake (just look at Andrew's fancy decorating, not the giant crack that happened from Megan putting the cake together poorly... ;)

Lightning McQueen!

Blowing out the candles!

Family Times

2010-09-11T16:29:00.003-07:00

As we have less than 6 weeks until we head to Manila, we are spending as much time with family as we can! We took a trip down to Megan's parents' house for a visit, and the night before that got to meet our new nephew, Callum!

Brenna and Callum, both born on August 14th!!

The family in my (Megan) parents' backyard... our first family picture of all four of us!! :) (took long enough ;)

Three generations!!

Baby Brenna, four weeks old today!!

Kaden hanging out with his Uncle Chris!

Strike a Pose!

2010-09-01T13:13:00.005-07:00

We found the funniest series of pictures, after visiting with friends and realizing Kaden was in our bedroom, with our camera, taking a bunch of "head-shots." And the hilarious thing is, he did a pretty good job of getting pictures of himself! So here is Kaden's personal collection of head shots, done by himself!!

"A little washed out, lets try this again..."

Peek-a-boo!

Jowls, people, my child has jowls!

"mom & dad have no idead what I'm doing..."

The lovely "nose shot"

annnnd, the other 10 shots he took looked mostly like this... you get the picture ;)

Big Boy Bed

2010-08-30T14:04:00.003-07:00

For the first time since we left Durham in May of last year, Kaden has his own toddler's bed!! We "down-graded" him from a twin bed to a toddler as he kept falling out (poor guy), and he absolutely loves being in a bed he can get in and out of so easily by himself!

We have finally gotten Kaden to smile for the camera!!

For you, Katie ;)

She's Here!!

2010-08-23T15:58:00.004-07:00

We are proud to announce the arrival of our little girl,

Daddy Nesting

2010-07-19T15:24:00.004-07:00

It was so cute to come home and see that Andrew had not only done the laundry, but had hung it out on the clothes line to dry! I sense a bit of "daddy nesting" as baby's arrival is getting closer and closer...

And on top of that, he put together a great structure to hang Kaden's new swing from in the backyard. He was definitely in "daddy mode" on the weekend!

Pictures to come with Kaden actually on it in the future... he's still a little nervous on it now, big boy swing and all :)

And as many of you know, I have been on my special low carb/low-no sugar diet during the pregnancy... this is how I cope- enough fruit to constitute half of the meal, and then delicious salads and veggies! Yummy!

Back in Canada!

2010-07-14T16:45:00.005-07:00

We are officially back in North Vancouver, sitting tight for the next few weeks until our baby girl arrives! We had a great trip down to California, and as we were leaving the state that is so dear to my heart, had one last meal at In-N-Out as we won't be back until after we go overseas...

Andrew's last double double- all you could imagine! :)

Milkshake and a water

At the drive thru they give kids In-N-Out stickers... Kaden decided to put them all on his legs!

The In-N-Out we stopped at is the last one in California as you head north on the I-5, and we actually stopped there twice that day during our drive (don't tell anyone...) haha

Chillin' at the rest stop in his diaper- it was a hot drive that day through the San Joaquin Valley!

We took a short stop at my (Megan) parents' house in Washington for about five days, and had lots of fun visiting them and seeing our new niece, Madison! She is so cute and precious, can't believe we'll have a little one of our own just like her in a few short weeks!!

Me and Natalie with our babies, Madison has graced us with her presence, our baby girl is still waiting... :)

Pool party at the Wilde's- Kaden was elated to say the least!!

Chattin' with my wonderful dad, was so nice to see him for a bit (mom was taking all the pictures, get her in one next time!!)

Playing together with all the cousins- stickin' close to little Jack as the older ones play!

In September we are heading down again to Washington to spend some time with the family- looking forward to the visit, and introducing our baby girl to the family soon!

2010-07-04T19:37:00.003-07:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

We had a lot of fun at the Ojai 4th of July parade- it was Andrew's first time at a U.S. independence day parade, and Kaden had a lot of fun too! The weather was amazing, it usually is cooking in Ojai by this time, and we had some mild weather and a bit of a breeze (being pregnant I really appreciate that!!).

Here are some photos of the parade...

Our little dual citizen- he's waving his American pride today... haha

Kaden loves resting on Andrew's head when he's on his shoulders, it's so funny

Our bright eyes

View looking down the avenue

watched the parade along with our friends Roy and Norma, they are like us- half American half Canadian ;)

GO SOCCER!!! World Cup float!

The most awesome horses- they dance to mariachi music!

Remembering our local fire fighters- the weather in So. Cal keeps them busy!

First Beach Day of the Summer!!

2010-06-24T15:48:00.007-07:00

Kaden LOVES the ocean, and had a great time splashing around with mommy & daddy in the water. He loves the waves and when they crash into him (our fearless son!), and wants us to take him out as far as he can get us!

Andrew taught him how to run towards the water when it recedes, and then run away from it when a wave comes in- he likes that game!

His favorite thing to do though is hold both of our hands, and have us swing him over the waves as he comes.

He'll spend a good 45 minutes in the water, and then we towel him off and take him home. Our ideal time to take him to the beach has been around 5 p.m. oddly enough, because it is still foggy in the morning usually, and then we have to wait until after his nap. So it's beach time, then dinner at In-N-Out, then home... I am going to miss CA when we leave! :)

Happy Father's Day Andrew!!

2010-06-20T13:54:00.005-07:00

Andrew, you have been a more incredible dad than I ever could've imagined- you are always willing to step up to the task, get right in there with Kaden, play with him, change him, console him, get him out of danger, teach him, be creative with him, and most important of all you are giving him an example of a godly man, someone who walks with the Lord and depends on Him for everything.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Here are a few pictures from your fatherhood so far- you have a remarkable son and you are a big part of why he is so unique and special!

Only a few hours old...

Always up for giving Kaden his bath- you did give him his first one after all!

Like father...

...like son!

Kaden loves watching daddy on the computer... what does that mean for the future..?

My favorite picture of you two!

Here is where the creative side comes in... "What should Kaden be for his first Halloween?" I ask, thinking maybe a pumpkin or something cute and babyish. But no, Andrew replies, "A nerd!!"

Always will remember our best family trip in Mexico- didn't have to cook meals and swam everyday!

Taking Kaden down the slide for the first time

Loves his daddy!

You gave him his first haircut

Sleepy boys!

Saving him from child obesity...?

Cutest boys I know!

A Taste of the Philippines

2010-06-19T12:07:00.010-07:00

We have done a few desserts night now, and I thought it would be fun to give you the tools to make your own Filipino treat! Our most favorite dessert we've done is "Filipino Leche Flan" so enjoy the recipe and directions and remember to share the results- that is the Filipino way!

Filipino Leche Flan

Preheat Oven: 350F

Ingredients:

Caramel:

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tbs. hot water

Flan:

8 egg yolks, beaten by hand

1 (14oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 (12oz) can Evaporated Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:

Caramel: In a skillet melt the sugar over a low fire until brown and syrupy and slightly bubbling, mixing often once sugar starts melting. Take off the heat and mix in 1 tbs. hot water. Use to coat the bottom and sides of a 8' pie pan lined with aluminum foil. (can also be done in a 4'x8' loaf pan)

Flan: Mix ingredients in order given. Pour into caramel coated pan, cover with parchment paper. Place in a pan of hot water to bake, water should come up about half way up the side of the pan.

Bake: at 350 for about 40 minutes or until inserted knife blade comes out clean.

Refrigerate: 4 hours or overnight.

Un-mold on a dish that has a little depth so that none of the caramel is lost.

I didn't get a chance to show the finished product :( But, try it out yourself and see what it looks like!!

Smith June Newsletter

2010-06-16T22:09:00.002-07:00

Dear friends and family,

We wanted to share with you our latest news, as we are now four short months away from leaving for the Philippines!! We appreciate you all so much for keeping up with us on this journey that the Lord has us on, so click below to check out our newsletter:

June Newsletter

We also have had a great time being able to see many of you as we travel. It has meant a lot to us to catch up with friends and family, especially since it might be another two years at least until we are back on this side of the Pacific! There are so many of you who have taken us in or shared a meal with us- it has been a sweet time with each of you!

Thanks so much for your love, prayers and support as we follow the Lord's leading overseas to serve Him!

Andrew, Megan, Kaden and ??? (T.B.A. mid-August!!)

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2010-06-16T07:55:00.006-07:00

I feel like I am too young to be titling this blog like I did, but we got a chance to house sit on my old street I grew up on, and took a few photos... so this is for you, mom :)

Me and Kaden in front of my old house, 2430 Bonmark Drive! My family moved into this house right after I turned one, and moved out when I was 23 years old- lots of memories at this house, and it seriously still looks the same as when my parents moved out (with some additional growth of the trees :)

A view looking down the road- lots of bike rides and roller blading was done on this road growing up!

A larger scale view of the front of the house (unfortunately we could only get pictures of the front yard, wonder why... felt like I should've been able to walk right in the front door though ;)

The owners have done a great job keeping up the house, sure mom would appreciate that!

Our view we use to have of the mountains- loved those sunsets we got to see everyday over those hills, the Ojai "pink moment" will always be remembered!

Kaden was chugging along on the sidewalk, running, running, running!

A view from across the street- the three trees my parents planted have gotten HUGE from the time they were put in there- taller than the house now!

Checking out the old neighborhood

Will always look fondly back at the good times and friends I had in this neighborhood- thanks for picking a great place to raise us kids mom and dad (and a great place to retire up north, near all the kids and grandkids!!! :)

Summer So Far

2010-06-12T10:39:00.004-07:00

We've been in Ojai for a week now, and it has been great to see friends, enjoy the sunshine and make plans for the month we're here to connect with different churches and people.

We've been trying to get time in as much as we can to take Kaden outside and enjoy the weather, so we wanted to share some pictures...

Highlights:

- There were still four or five nights that we didn't know where we'd be staying for our trip down here, and within the first few days we found places to stay during those days!

- I needed to get in for a doctor's app. this week, and was able to get an appointment the next day after I called the office- praise God! And after the appointment I found out that everything is OK with baby and me!

- We've had a really fun time taking Kaden to Libby Park- that's where all the park pictures are taken at.

Lowlights:

- The car was having trouble starting so we almost got stuck in Ventura... but luckily there was an auto parts store right nearby, so we found out we needed a new battery and got it fixed on the spot... it all worked out in the end!

- I (Megan) found out I have to go on a low-carb/no sugar diet for the rest of my pregnancy... you can pray for me to stick to this during our trip, as it's hard when we go over to other people's houses a lot for meals and out for meals with people as well- so much for my In-N-Out splurges... haha!

Kaden LOVED the swing at Libby Park! We even stopped pushing him in it, and he just wanted to sit in it and stay there... wasn't happy about having to get out to go home :(

We had a fun time babysitting Bella (my friend's daughter) the other day, it has been fun getting some "practice" in with two kiddos- thanks Keri ;)

A picture of the family at Libby Park- can't really see us, but you get the idea

We went to the soccer field Andrew plays at so that Kaden could get some time in. He LOVES soccer, and kicking the ball all over the field (finding out he's a "lefty" when it comes to soccer). He even ran the whole distance of the field without stopping- soccer player in the works!

Bella and Kaden got lots of time to hang out since we stayed at her house with Keri and Stephen the first three days we were in Ojai. They got along really well, and she loved playing with Kaden's Cars toys.

2010-06-10T20:53:00.006-07:00

Our Niece is here!

Congrats to my brother and his family on the arrival of their daughter Madison.

We can't wait to meet her!

Madison Jeanne Wilde

June 9, 4:53 pm

8 pounds, 10 ounces

19 inches long

Southwest Family Birth Center

Heat Wave!

2010-06-05T15:40:00.011-07:00

Hello from sunny Ojai, California!! We made it down to my (Megan's) hometown last night after a 17 hour drive from Vancouver, WA. We are leaving the last three weeks spent in the northwest where it rained every day, and are now heading into a weekend here in Ojai that is suppose to be in the mid 90's F (about 35C)- so all that to say, I am ready to be back in the heat, and am just waiting for my body to adjust ;)

Funny things from our first day in the heat...

1. We visited a friend who has a kiddy pool, and when I took Kaden down to a diaper to swim he was appalled... Not use to warm weather and running around in a diaper yet!

2. We were at the park with Kaden and he was running around barefoot- it was really hot out, and he was realizing everything was hot from the heat of the sun- blacktop, anything metal, etc. "What is this mom?!" I'm sure he was thinking!

3. We put Kaden down for a nap, and while waiting for him to fall asleep Andrew and I fell asleep too- "OH yeah, heat drains you of all energy- forgot about that" (And probably driving for 17 hours the day before ;)

So, we are "re-acquainting" ourselves with life in the heat. But you know what, I couldn't be more thrilled for it- that means more days at the beach and by the pool. And oh yeah, I promise we're actually doing things with our days beside relaxing... but hey, I'm pregnant, so don't I get to do what I want- haha :)

We also want to catch you up on the last couple weeks, so here's a few pictures of our fun time with family between North Van. and Vancouver, WA:

Playing with Uncle Chris

Playing play-doh with the Wilde cousins: Noah (7 yrs), Jackson (2 yrs), Chloe (4 yrs) and Kaden

His favorite is making snakes :)

Lunch time with Nanna

Playing in his new sandbox at grandma's (Andrew's mom's) house- excited to get back to it when we're home again!

His fishy mold

The new grand babies on the way- my sister-in-law Natalie is due June 18th, and we are due August 18th. Fun to have cousins the same ages as Kaden and the new baby :)

Jackson and Chloe playing in the rubbermaid bin- the simplest things become the greatest toys!

Grandpa with the grandsons (smile Kaden...)

Home Sweet Home...

2010-05-23T14:13:00.006-07:00

... wherever that may be! We are "home" now, after our long trip out east, where we've been traveling since April 6th and drove almost 6,000 miles! Lots of hours in the car, and thank God that it carried us the whole way through safe and sound with no trouble whatsoever!

We've been spending the last week with Megan's parents after a straight 24-hour drive from Fargo, ND to Vancouver, WA (1,500 miles total). We stopped for a couple hours sleep, but made it in just fine!

So now we have been catching up with family, and Kaden has enjoyed hanging out with his cousins (Noah, Chloe and Jackson). Natalie and I both have girls on the way, and are exactly two months apart in due dates (she's earlier than me). So we are excited to be adding more grandkids to the clan this year! :)

Here are a few pictures of our traveling, and an idea of what's up next!

North Vancouver, B.C.- visiting next week

Ojai, CA- visiting June/July

Baby's Due Date- August 18th

Kaden hanging out with Alaena in Fargo (our friends daughter from training with New Tribes). Kaden discovered her sunglasses and wouldn't take them off for the next hour!

Thought he was one cool dude.

"This is mission to control..."

Kaden found some more fancy sunglasses to wear- mommy's. Don't know what his thing is with girl's glasses... :)

Kaden hanging out with his cousin Jackson (6 months younger than Kaden). Watching Diego together... I think Kaden was annoyed with the photo shoot :P

Our Time In Canada

2010-05-04T11:26:00.015-07:00

It's been a couple weeks now since our last update, and in the meantime we've made it up to Canada for our visit to Durham and Owen Sound. We've stayed in Durham for half the time, and Owen Sound for the other half, and have really enjoyed being able to catch up with friends from the church we attended during training, and also our friends here in camp in Durham!
We wanted to share a few pictures of what we've been up to- we've had some amazing weather here, so we have a few pictures of a canoe trip (in the pond by our guestroom in Durham), which we do daily with Kaden and he always looks forward to!

I'll start out first with some Kaden shots (although most are him ;)

Kaden really loves the pond on camp- we can hardly keep him out of it! He just walked in with his shoes on yesterday and didn't seem to mind a bit- "things dry" I tell myself ;)

When we were staying in Owen Sound with our friends we'd walk down to the park each day to give Kaden a run- he liked trying to stand on these steps (but would never let go of the base...)

???

This is our buddy Rowan- we stayed with some friends of ours from Owen Sound for a bit, and Kaden got to experience living with a baby- I think he adjusted well towards the end...

This is another buddy, Xan, who is four months younger than Kaden and a long-time friend from church nursery :) Xan and Kaden got along great- Xan likes to eat veggies and is not too interested in other foods, so at dessert he gave Kaden his cookies- Kaden liked that! ;)

The boys checking out a tractor book together...!

My favorite picture! :)

He was havin' a pretty good time!

Getting some splashes from dad- he wasn't laughing the whole time...

Lastly, a shot from our dessert night at Owen Sound Alliance Church. I attempted to make some Filipino desserts for our guests, serving kutsinta, maja blanca, leche flan and baohlu. We had a great opportunity to share about what we're doing with New Tribes Mission with this group, and I think everyone enjoyed the evening.

Road Trip Update

2010-04-21T12:32:00.007-07:00

We are back in Canada, Ontario that is! We had a great visit at the New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson, MI, and it was really neat to walk the halls again as it's been five years since we graduated (I feel old saying that...). We visited the teachers that are still there from our time at the school, and enjoyed meeting some of the students and sharing with them about our continued training and Durham and a bit more about missions and how God has lead us to be involved.

the above picture is a list of languages that don't have any Scripture translated into their language, or only small parts. As you can see, there is a HUGE need to get God's word into the hand's of these remote people groups!
Kaden settled in really well at the Bible school since we got to be there for four days. When we arrived, he immediately found his room- and the bed, and started rolling around in it playing and squealing. He really loves beds!

Crossing the bridge back in to Canada

Another bed picture- this bed is special because this is the same apartment we stayed in when we brought Kaden home from the hospital after he was born! Since the one we had for the year had no running water, we appreciated staying at the guestroom on campus that had a kitchen and shower!

We are now in Owen Sound, ON staying with some friends and connecting with people. There will be more to come sooner than later I hope :)

Bumpoline

2010-04-11T14:10:00.004-07:00

Wednesday to Friday we got to visit our friends out in Fargo, and I think that Kaden's highlight of the time was definitely jumping on the trampoline (or "bumpoline" as he calls it) with his friend Alaena, who he hasn't seen since our time in Durham almost a year ago!

They were so cute together, and played great with each other! He was pretty sad to leave, but we are looking forward to visiting with them again on our way back west when we're headed home. So here are some cute pics of the kiddos:

Laena and Kaden bouncin'

Laena's crazy static hair!

Kaden playing with his car, Laena rolling all over

Just So You Know- We Hit the Road!

2010-04-08T17:44:00.007-07:00

Our family officially started out our voyage eastward on Tuesday... at 3:30 a.m... and this is what we hit just a few hours into it:

I guess we can say we weren't exactly expecting to hit snow within the first four hours of the drive, and I wasn't too excited about being the one driving in this- but after about an hour we got past the summit and out of the snow (just in time before they closed the road to anyone without chains for their tires!).

Afterward, the rest of the drive went pretty smoothly- we drove from North Van, B.C. to Billings, Montana that day, covering about 950 miles- our longest leg of the drive for this trip, so glad it is over.
Then the next day we left for Fargo, ND- where we've gotten to hang out with our good friends Matt and Erin, Alaena, their little girl who Kaden was in child care with the whole time at school, and meet their newest addition, Logan who was born last August. We'll have pictures to follow- Kaden and Alaena have had SO much fun playing together during our visit, it has been so cute to watch them!

So this trip is for the purpose of catching up with friends, family and churches as we travel out to Durham, ON (where we went to school) with stops along the way. Our next stop is at Wakesha, WI, where we'll be visiting one of my best friends and then we'll head to Jackson, MI to visit where we went to Bible school.
We'll try out best to keep up with our blog during the trip, so keep in touch!

Travel-bound!

The Smith's

Kaden was pretty happy about our stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream on the way...

... and so was mommy!

Daddy and Kaden got a little snooze in the back- don't worry, I wasn't looking through the camera when I took this pic, I just shot towards the back and it turned out OK!

Bon Voyage!

2010-04-03T22:06:00.002-07:00

So after three weeks of silence, here is the deal:

We're moved out!!!

So you know when packing always turns out to be more than you could've ever imagined- well that happened, and then when we got over it, we packed some more, and more and more, and then you just start getting rid of things more and more- so all that to say, we are moved out of our basement suite and now rooming with whoever will take us- within reason :)

For the next three and a half months we are traveling in our trusty 4-Runner (it better prove to be so!) across to Ontario and then down to California with lots of stops along the way to visit family, friends and different churches. We are going to be staying with friends and family along the way, and for our trip down to California a place to stay at is still not set up (let us know if you know anyone in Ojai who is on vacation at all during June and need house sitters!).

Along with moving comes new contact info, so here is ours:

Andrew & Megan Smith
1541 Burrill Avenue
North Vancouver, B.C. V7K 1L8
Canada

Phone: 604.628.2180

We are going to be dropping our cell phone plans, Megan's in a couple days and Andrew's at the end of our trip, so try to use the number above to get in touch, thanks! :)

Happy travels!

A Part of the Olympics

2010-03-10T11:27:00.011-08:00

(at the base of Whistler)

We took off for Whistler Sunday night for a couple days, and it was a neat experience to be there in between the Olympics and para-Olympics and see everything set up, but obviously nothing was going on.
We have been wanting to go on a short vacation to get a couple days to relax, and had a great time staying at a friend's house in Whistler and taking it easy. Here are some pictures...

High light: Sleeping in a king size bed and hanging out in the jacuzzi!

Low light: We totally don't know how to dress for cold- gloves next time!! (you'd think we'd have this figured out by now after two winters in Ontario- the Californian in me has not faded out, not in the least...)

We walked from the house down to a nearby lake where Kaden got a chance to throw some rocks in. We had to be careful though that he was no going in himself- crazy water child!

We unfortunately don't really have any pictures that do justice to the awesome landscapes around us there, but the mountains were beautiful! If you saw any of the B.C. commercials though during the Olympics you have a pretty good idea!

One of the quaint little cabins in Whistler- yeah right! ;)

We spent a little time in Whistler village, and in the background are a bunch of ski runs at Blackcomb, one of the ski mountains used during the Olympics.

We found a huge playground for Kaden to play at in the village, and Kaden went down a "big boy" slide all by himself for the first time there! :)

This was Andrew's idea... Kaden wasn't too hot on this shot! (but still entertaining)

Still have some Olympic spirit left, those mascots really bring it out!

We've been wanting to get Kaden his own little mascot, so we ended up getting him "Quatchi," who he affectionately calls "Scratchy."

Day at the Park

2010-03-06T21:06:00.005-08:00

Today the family took a trip down to Stanley Park so Andrew could go for a run with his dad around the sea wall, and meanwhile I took take Kaden around the park and hung out with Andrew's brother.

Kaden got to kick the ball around a lot, and play "catch" with himself... He will only throw the ball up to himself, and doesn't want to give it up and throw it to anyone else- nice game!

Kaden has been working on his soccer skills, and is getting better at kicking the ball and chasing it.

We ended up meandering around the sea wall to see the sea gulls on the rocks, ducks in the water, and the supposed whale that Kaden kept pointing and saying was there (quite the imagination- or too many times he's seen Diego rescue the beached whale episode...).

Daddy ended up finishing his run by going right past where we were walking, and as quickly as Kaden got excited to see daddy running towards him he started crying when daddy ran right past him... pretty funny. Then I told him to cheer for daddy, "Go daddy go!" and he liked that. I think that all the cheering from the Olympics games has given Kaden a whole new perspective on sporting events- he is still cheering "Go CANADA!" about fifty times a day. Oh man!

Well, just wanted to share a few pics from this beautiful day, it was so nice out and I am definitely going to miss this gorgeous place we live in!

March Update

2010-03-06T20:57:00.002-08:00

Hello everyone! It seems that spring has officially sprung here in Vancouver with new blooms showing up in flower beds and warm bright skies. As we are enjoying this transition in weather, there are also many life changes going on for us these days. We have news to share about our departure for the Philippines, when we will be visiting your town or sharing at your church, family photos (including one of baby #2 "Peanut"!), and more, so please read through our update to check out what the Lord is doing and has ahead for us in tribal church planting by clicking on this link:

****March Update****

We also wanted to send a special edition update to you straight from the magical typing fingers of Andrew. This is an update on how things went with the Olympics Outreach he was a part of at our home church here in North Vancouver during the Olympics- view it by clicking this link:

****Olympic Outreach Update****

As most of you have noticed, we are trying a new application to use for sending out our newsletters, so hopefully you weren't worried this was some sort of spam or something! Hopefully this system will cut down on some of the time it takes to send our updates out to all of you. Let us know if you have any problems reading the e-mail or accessing the newsletters!

Thank you all so much for your love and support!

Andrew and Megan

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Our Adventure Downtown

2010-02-24T14:22:00.008-08:00

Last weekend we had a fun visit with my (Megan) parents, who came to check out the Olympic fever going on here and come to an amazing BBQ we were having at our church. We had a little trek downtown to see the cauldron, and it was quite the experience seeing as how it was like being at Disneyland on the busiest day you could imagine or something! There were people everywhere, but it was a great experience and it will never really be like that again- so why not partake?
Anyway, here are some pictures from our adventure... And Kaden has learned to say "Go Canada Go" so the Olympic fever has spread to the family- sorry U.S.A., I guess I became a traitor! haha

My mom Nancy getting ready to cross on the sea bus over to downtown Vancouver (in the background)

Me and Kaden (mouth full of licorice... thanks grandpa)

Grandpa Mike, me and Kaden (what is with that face he is making..?)

Splashing in the water at the fountain at Lonsdale Quay. He actually tried to climb in the fountain multiple times, seriously... like sitting on that ledge and trying to get his feet in so he can stand in it and play. He LOVES the water, can't wait until summer and taking him to the beach!

Getting his hands wet- "Fun!" as he says.

Sunday night we went to the church BBQ to watch the Canada vs. U.S.A. hockey game (and you can tell what team we cheered that night- as I said, yes, I'm a traitor...) We had my parents come to the BBQ and also Andrew's dad Pete and his wife Sylvia, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with family altogether! And we got to enjoy some awesome food- the BBQ was put on by a famous BBQ-er who has won the nationwide BBQ competition and also a BBQ ribs competition in Louisiana. So needless to say, there was some good eatin' going on, and I think between the three of us we ate about five pounds of meat!

"Muda Duk"

2010-02-17T23:17:00.002-08:00

Five Little Ducks" is Kaden's favorite book these days, and he has basically memorized parts of it, so I decided to get a little clip on video to share with you since it is so cute (to me at least :)

Much love,
The Smiths

Translation: "Five little ducks went out one day, over the (hills) and far away. Mother duck said, "Quack Quack Quack," but only three little ducks came back."

The Torch

2010-02-14T14:09:00.009-08:00

The torch being passed at the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge, just a five minute walk from our house.

Andrew, Kaden and I got the neat opportunity to see the Olympic torch last Wednesday from standing at the end of our street! It literally was run right down the block from us, and if I was thinking when we had the camera, it would've been fun to take a picture of it with our street sign behind it- but it was quite the experience to see all the kids and adults painted and dressed up to cheer on Canada, all chasing the torch runner down the street. It was a great experience and a fun way to get excited for the games ahead! Here are some of our photos- not the best, but you get the idea :)

Hanging out waiting for the torch to come

The "approach." The torch is faintly seen in the middle of the picture, following a bunch of police cars and trucks with people dancing around on them- kind of like a parade...

The smile and wave...

There she goes!

They also took the torch up one of our ski hills, Grouse Mountain, and I just think this picture is funny of the person standing on top like this.

Baby on Board!

2010-02-03T16:03:00.002-08:00

So yes, we are excited to share that we are expecting a baby this summer- for now "baby on board" is just a little peanut in my belly, but seeing as how things went last time, we know that time goes by quickly when the baby on board needs to get off (no offense Peanut).
Andrew and I are elated with the news, and also very aware of the fact that this means we will be going to the Philippines with a newborn. We are still planning to leave in the fall, but see that God has been faithful to us this far, and know He will continue in our new child's life. Our hearts desire is to be a family living life in the Philippines and making God known to those who have no opportunity- so life does not go on hold, but continues, following the Lord and the direction that He is taking us. He is faithful to do this!
We appreciate so much all of our family and friends' love and support- we honestly couldn't and would not want to do this without you behind us. Thanks for your encouragement and prayers, and please keep "Peanut" in your prayers as he or she grows and gets ready for life with the Smiths, and for Kaden as he is going to be a big brother soon!

Much love,

Megan, Andrew, Kaden and "Peanut"

A Quick Peak

2010-01-18T20:58:00.004-08:00

I just wanted to throw another post on here because it has been a while... there is more to come from this!! But to keep you happy until I have time to write and catch up, here's Kaden :)

Sushi Night

2009-12-27T20:35:00.008-08:00

So after all the festivities of Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day Andrew and I just wanted to take it easy today, and decided to just do sushi for dinner tonight (not to mention I was really craving it after my friend said she had some ;) So this is not the most exciting thing to write about, but what makes it worth posting is the hilarious pictures I have of Kaden devouring the sushi! He absolutely loved his teryaki chicken box and sushi rolls. It's hilarious, and you have to see! :)

Trying to get his peas with the chopsticks

Taking things into his own hands (or chopsticks I guess)

Yes, he did manage to get that whole thing in his mouth

Forgot he doesn't like avacado (crazy kid- more for mommy!)

Waiting for his next sushi roll...

December Happenings!

2009-12-19T13:25:00.012-08:00

Hey guys! I'm just trying to get on here more frequently to keep you all updated- I have definitely been behind on my blog! But all that to say, here are some pictures of our family's latest day to day activities- hope you all are enjoying this season!

Kaden watching daddy get the tree ready

Kaden liked helping put decorations on the tree. He absolutely LOVES the Christmas tree, and every morning the first thing he does is ask us to turn on the Christmas tree lights- "On? On? On?"

We had a little bit of snow stick around a few days the other week

Kaden's latest "Cheese for the camera" face

Making hand prints in the snow

Kaden's favorite thing to do these days- make "pizza" with PlayDoh!

Lovin' the PlayDoh
(if you are enjoying seeing the pictures of Kaden's long curly locks, you might want to look away at the next pictures...)

About to chop the locks... he is in a borderline unconscious state as he has the movie Cars playing infront of him- perfect for cutting hair!

Good-bye curls... will be appearing next in 2-3 months- stay tuned!

The Smith Clan!

Our Hope is in Christ

2009-12-12T15:37:00.002-08:00

Andrew had the opportunity to preach at our church, North Shore Alliance Church, on the topic of our hope in Christ. It was a neat experience for Andrew to be able to not only teach from God's word, but always teach from a place where God has been working in his own life on the topic of this sermon.
So if you'd like to hear the sermon he preached, check it out online at:

http://www.nsac.bc.ca/index.cfm?i=6689&mid=18

Just copy and paste the above link into your browser or type it in.

December Newsletter!

2009-12-02T21:42:00.002-08:00

Hey, check out our latest newsletter! Our updated contact info. is on it as well, and we'd love to hear from you! If you'd like to sign up to receive our newsletters, give us your contact info. by sending it to megksmith@hotmail.com.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Kaden's 2nd Birthday Bananza with Diego!!

2009-11-30T17:06:00.015-08:00

We had a blast spending Kaden's birthday with the Wilde side- my mom and dad, Matt, Natalie, Noah, Chloe, Jack and Chris!! The kiddos got to play outside, eat tons of "toddler" food for dinner (chicken strips, mac & cheese, fruit, and peas and carrots), and had a yummy Diego cake for dessert. My highlight was Kaden asking to play with his balloon instead of wanting to open his presents... until he saw what he got! :) So now one b-day party down, Smith side of the family b-day party to go! What more can a kid ask for?!

Birthday breakfast- muffins and cream of wheat compliments of nana- "thanks!"

Scoopin'

sloppin'

Chewin'

"What?"

Checkin' out the airplanes in the sky

Chloe and Noah ready for dinner

Kaden's cousin Jackon- 18 months

Chowin' down on the chicken strips

opening presents

Blowing out the candles- I ended up having to do it after Kaden exclaimed, "FIRE, HOT!!"

Blue, green and orange Diego cake with ice cream

Diggin' in!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T22:56:00.003-07:00

Genie in a Bottle

The highly anticipated "halloween outfit" is up for you all to see. After some rather "interesting" ideas that we tossed around for kaden to dress up as, we decided to put him in his cute silky pants that his Aunt Aileen got him in India, and have him be a "genie." FYI Megan dressed up as a water polo player, and Andrew was an army ninja!

Official Bizz

2009-10-10T20:54:00.007-07:00

Ever get tired of seeing picture after picture of Kaden on this blog...? Well, maybe you don't =) BUT, Andrew and I have been given a website by New Tribes Mission where we will be publishing articles about our ministry, specifically what God is doing in and through our lives here, and what He is doing in the Philippines.

This website will also offer you the choice to view pictures, check out how to support our ministry and give online, and has a link to the official New Tribes Mission website that has all sorts of cool information about the organization and how to be involved from praying for missions around the world, to joining New Tribes Mission for a career!

We plan to update weekly, so type in the given link and check out what we are up to. And of course, we want you to keep checking out this blog, which will have more stories about day to day life- mainly Kaden (I know family- we're giving you what you want!)

www.ntm.org/andy_smith

September News

2009-09-24T22:50:00.003-07:00

Hey, just wanted to put up our latest newsletter. Click on it to check out what we are up to and where God is leading us right now, and if you want to receive a newsletter and don't already e-mail us at andy_smith@ntm.org or megksmith@hotmail.com

Love,

Andrew, Megan and Kaden Smith

Waiting

2009-09-17T13:47:00.002-07:00

This is a picture of Kaden waiting in the airport to go through the scanner on our way to California... Life definitely has its moments of waiting!
We just wanted to give an update on things with our housing. We have been waiting... trying to figure out what a good place would be, and seeing if that place would come along. But the more we thought about it, the more we feel that we are not in a rush to get into a place since we have a place to live until we're ready to move.
So we will be looking more avidly for a place for the 1st of November. We are still hoping for an above ground basement suite, and something close to North Shore Alliance Church where Andrew interns. Maybe close enough to bike there. So we appreciate your prayers for us as we seek where God would have us right now, and are thankful to see how through this He has taught us to find our contentment in Him.

YA Campout!

2009-09-12T22:02:00.003-07:00

Alice Lake

"YA" stands for Young Adult, and particularly the group of people we are going to be spending a lot of time with this year as we are in pre-field ministry here in North Vancouver. We started off the year with the annual Alice Lake camping trip, and we were blessed with an AMAZING weekend of gorgeous and warm weather!
The whole family went, so it was our first real "camping" trip since jungle camp (although that wasn't really camping... long story!). We had lots of fun catching up with the people we've known since before we went to Ontario, and getting to know the people that have recently joined the young adults group.
One thing we will take away from the trip... the loud group at a campground somehow always finds their way to where the babies are! Long story short, Kaden and myself (Megan) had to cut the trip short because Kaden couldn't get any sleep next to the loud group beside us keeping him up, so we came home a day early.
But we did have a fun time anyway and got to go swimming, and are excited for the year ahead as we get to know the young adults in the community better, and really to serve them and challenge each other into deeper relationship with Christ!

The one and only picture taken of the fam this weekend-I couldn't get over how much Kaden looks like Andrew in this picture!

Location, Location, Location

2009-09-08T10:05:00.003-07:00

House hunting, or more like basement suite hunting, is in full swing for us now that we have arrived in North Vancouver! We are hoping to find something that is walking distance to North Shore Alliance Church so Andrew can walk to work (since we only have one car), and we would like a basement suite so that we can have a back yard for Kaden as well.
We appreciate your prayers as we try to find a place that is reasonably priced and close to what we want, and that we will be patient and flexible during this process!

Let us know if you hear of anything! =)

Heading to Canada!

2009-09-02T14:31:00.004-07:00

Don't you hate it when you lose something that you are not allowed to lose... it's OK to not know where a pair of socks went or a book you know you have- but losing your permanent residency card (A.K.A. proof I can be in Canada with my family), you can't lose that!
I (Megan) had a bit of a scare when I couldn't find my permanent residency card (which is basically what lets me into the country) for the life of me today, but found it after an hour of frantic searching and was really relieved! All of this traveling has made it hard to keep track of things, but you'd think it would also make you better at keeping track of things! Oh well, it's a learning process!
So we are finally heading back north!!! We will be back in North Vancouver by this weekend, and Andrew will be starting his new job at North Shore Alliance Church!
We are excited to be coming home, and would love to catch up with everyone, so give us a call at 604.987-2511 or e-mail us at andy_smith@ntm.org if you want to get together! And remember we have been in the States for a while now, so if we forget to take off our shoes in your house, please forgive us! ;)

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you all!

P.S. If you think of it, please pray for us as we continue to look for a place to move into October 1st.

The Car is Fixed!

2009-08-19T22:33:00.005-07:00

If only I could go back in time and post this last Wednesday... the car is fixed!! Thanks for all the help that we received from so many people while we were waiting for our car to get fixed, from having a car to borrow and people having us over- we appreciate you all and your prayers! I wanted to wait to have a cool picture to post with the car, so that's why I took so long to post this- and sure enough there is no picture anyway!! But after waiting about a week and half, the car was fixed by August 12th and we left to go to my (Megan) parents' house in Washington that day. We had a safe trip and are having a great time in Washington! Will definitely be updating more soon, so stay tuned! =)

An Oasis

2009-08-06T12:08:00.009-07:00

So with all the droughts, fires and dry climate of southern California we seek water. A couple of days ago we took Kaden to the Casitas water park, which is a little water park by a local lake- all pretty small town. We had fun going around in the "lazy river," which as Andrew said wasn't so lazy with all the kids racing around the river and getting kicked here and there by passing swimmers. But Kaden was in awe of these kids swimming all over the place, so he had fun watching them. We also put Kaden in the shallow pool for toddlers to play, and he really liked it. It was nice being able to get out and get wet- now that it's August the heat will really be setting in! So hopefully the car will be done soon so we can get out of here before it stays in the 100's =)

Kaden liked being swung around in the water

showing daddy the water

A successful swim day!

A Look Under the Hood

2009-08-04T10:23:00.002-07:00

So I wanted to give a quick update on the car if any of you read the last post about it. We have a mechanic taking care of it right now, and he said that he will be calling us toward the end of the week to let us know where things are at. When they take apart the engine to replace the head gasket they usually replace everything else that is hard to get in there. So we are praying that will be the extent of things, and they won't find anything else wrong (i.e. cracked head, etc.) But more than any of that we are praying that we will just be content no matter what the outcome is, because the well being of our car does not dictate the well being of our family. We are learning a lot through this experience, and although it is challenging, we are thankful that God has put this in our life to cause us to depend on Him more. We definitely have seen our tendency to let "bad news" wreck our day, and thankfully God is patient in teaching us!

A Bump in the Road

2009-07-30T08:33:00.003-07:00

With just getting the news that we need to replace our head gasket or our car is a "ticking time bomb" when we drive, we have felt like this is more than a bump in the road, and feels like we have the hazard lights on, smoke coming out of the hood, and are pushing the car to the shoulder. Now we didn't physically have to do this, and thankfully that's because from having a friend look at our car after describing what's wrong with it, we found that the problems we have been having with the car point pretty undoubtedly to the head gasket needing to be replaced. We've had problems with the cooling system of the car for a while now, and this summer alone have added about two gallons of coolant to our car- so there is obviously something going wrong, and we are thankful we had someone look at the car before it died on us on the road!

In ways that it would take too much room to fully describe, the Lord has worked things out that we can get our car worked on next week, and we have a car to drive in the meantime while we are waiting for it to get fixed. We are praying that everything will go smoothly, especially since we have a wedding we need to go to in Washington a week from Saturday, and hope the car is done in time for us to make it to that. This will be a huge expense for us, and we know that the Lord knows our needs, and are praying that we will just rest and trust Him to provide. As we are trying to move into a place September 1st this poses it's challenges since there are certain expenses that go along with this, but we again are just trusting God to provide, and are thankful for how He has so far.

So we would appreciate it if you could be praying for us during this. Not to feel discouraged, but thankful that it is getting sorted out now, and for how people have helped us out. This is really the best time for us to get this done since Andrew isn't working and we don't have anywhere to be right at the moment.

We will keep you updated on the status of the Smith car, and are hoping it will be good to go by Thursday of next week!!

Best Day Ever!

2009-07-23T18:35:00.006-07:00

Today we took a family trip to the World Famous Santa Monica Pier for our California beach day. We had "Hot dog on a stick" or corndogs and walked the pier. Kaden got to play in the waves for the first time and had a crazy fun time. He was soo tired on the way home he slept through the busy Malibu traffic and as a way of saying "thanks for taking me out today" he stayed sleeping so we could get some In-N-Out on the way home.

Kaden is getting a little "stroller tan."
What a view!

Hamilton Mini-Reunion

2009-07-20T15:46:00.006-07:00

On Saturday Andrew and I drove to Agoura Hills to visit my mom's side of the family, the Hamilton's, all of whom we haven't seen since almost three years ago! It was a lot of fun, although it would've been more complete with my mom and dad there too (missed you guys)! Despite the broken air conditioner we had a good time catching up and having Kaden get to know everyone!

Uncle Gary and Aunt Linda on the left. Uncle Bill and his girlfriend Christine on the right.

Someone gave kaden a little water mister to play with, which is good practice for being a future fireman =)

Like daddy like son! Wonder where he learns it from?

5th and 6th Grade Summer Blast

2009-07-17T07:56:00.006-07:00

This summer we had a chance to hang out with some 5th and 6th graders and share with them about the Gospel and missions. We met at a family's house every Thursday afternoon and hung out at the pool. We played a bunch of crazy games involving sticking half an oreo to your forehead, pool races, "different" foods, some native characters and five gallon water jugs. We would usually play one game that tied into what we were teaching that week, so that the kids could experience what they would learn and not just hear about it. The biggest thing we wanted them to get out of it was knowing for themselves what the Gospel or Good News is of the Bible and being able to articulate it. And then also how there are people that need someone to go to tell them the Gospel because they live in isolated places where they won't hear it unless someone comes and tells them. It was a huge learning experience for us since we have never taught that age group. We had a great time with the kids though and got to work with amazing parents who helped out!

Ally, Bailey and Spirit-missionaries to the people below for a day

The natives from Papua New Guinea- you have to put a little imagination into it. Andrew can look the part better than me!

Nadine helping out with watching Kaden. We took him with us to each Thursday and we are so thankful for all the parents helping us with watching him!

Getting roped out of the pool.

Beach Day- Check!

2009-07-08T13:32:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I finally got a day off to go to the beach yesterday! It was so funny, because when we were walking up from the street to the beach Kaden saw all the sand and just started screaming and squealing in excitement! He LOVES playing in the dirt and sand, so it was a good day for him!

Andrew and I also played some beach volleyball with our friends, rematch from our visit during spring break in March, and.....we WON! =)

After the game we went swimming and caught a few waves body surfing, and called it a day! Good stuff!

HAPPY 4TH!

2009-07-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone enjoyed their fourth of July!! Here are a couple shots from the parade we wanted to share!

A cool fact- in 1909 Ojai had 5 graduates from Nordhoff High School and a population of 400 people.

The Mardi Gras crew

Kaden was sad after his favorite float went by...

Kaden's parade buddy Layla

Azteca of Ojai

the cutest baby horses!

Check this out! These jeeps were driving on top of each other! Look close at where their tires are!

Kaden's favorite float

Grow Food Party Crew

After the parade we let the kids have some fun in the pool- this was my favorite picture! Kaden's splashing is out of control! =)

Pool Party!

2009-06-22T14:43:00.005-07:00

Kaden got some time to splash around in his blow up pool the other day, and was joined by his 9 month old friend Carly, who he had a lot of fun splashing... maybe too much! ;) He absolutely loved the water, and would crouch down and splash so much it would go all in his face and he'd stand up gasping because he could barely breath with all the water going into his face- but once he got his breath he would laugh and giggle about it! So, I guess we can officially call him our water baby!

loved the splashing!

Hopefully Carly had some fun too inbetween Kaden's splashes! :)

June Update!

2009-06-21T12:28:00.004-07:00

Take a look at our latest newsletter! If you are interested in receiving our quarterly update just e-mail us and let us know! We can send it via e-mail or snail mail, whichever you prefer.

We also wanted to mention that we are in Ojai right now and will be in town until the beginning of August. So if you'd like to get together and catch up over a cup of coffee or meal please e-mail us or call us to let us know! 805.890.9831

Thanks for your love and encouragement!

Andrew, Megan and Kaden

Class of 2009

2009-06-13T16:28:00.001-07:00

I finally got a few pictures from graduation that my parents took. I can't believe that it's only been two weeks today since we graduated because so much has happened in the meantime. Right now we are in Vancouver, WA and are staying an extra couple of days with my parents until we head down to Ojai. It has been nice to see my side of the family and have Kaden introduced to his cousins (reintroduced I should say, he saw them last summer). We are excited for the summer ahead of us and thankful for the safety and fun we've had so far!

Our graduating class

Us with our friends Matt, Erin and Alaena after grad

Our car getting cleaned after two years of Ontario weather ;)

Kaden's response when I asked him to help out...

Kaden hanging out with Noah and Chloe (cousins)

Daddy and Kaden by Lakamas Lake

Let Summer Begin!!

2009-06-06T13:47:00.011-07:00

The best traveller I know!

We made it home (North Vancouver) last night after driving from Durham, ON cross country through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho and Washington State to British Columbia... just going through that list I have to sit and take a break!

We are going to be here in North Vancouver for a week and then head down to Ojai, California for the summer (wahoo!!).

Some highlights of the trip- Kaden! He was such a good boy and handled the travelling really well! We saw Mt. Rushmore, very cool! We stayed with my aunt and uncle in Wisconsin who I haven't seen for a couple years. And I became a big fan of Montana, it's really beautiful there!

Some not-so-high lights... Kaden had some explosive diapers while buckled down to a carseat- made for an interesting/disgusting experience! Having the interstate highway worked on right outside of Chicago so it took forever to drive through. Having to leave our friends back in Onatio- we miss you guys!!!

Anyway, here are some pictures to give you a look into our trip.

Checking out the great M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I River! (Kaden is running from the great torrent in this shot)

Mt. Rushmore! I was quite impressed by how clean their faces are, seriously... good job people who maintain the park!

Gotta have the shot infront of the men!! Sorry Kaden, you missed out by falling asleep in the car!

Kaden is ready with stick in hand for anything that comes his way.

If you know Kaden, you know this face! (right aunt jenny?)

This was Kaden's favorite game in the car ride- we call it "the spit face!"

Last Day of Class!

2009-05-29T04:28:00.002-07:00

We just wanted to let everyone know that we had our last day of class Wednesday. The morning was spent reflecting on what God has called us to do as the church, and the purpose of our training here. It was said that the training is helping people become more effective servants of the church for God's glory, and we are excited to be coming to our home churches for pre-field ministry and serving them before we head out. We have also been seeing over and over again that this is God's work, not ours. He could have chose to reach the lost in other ways, but He chose to use us, weak and fragile people. But by doing this God can demonstrate His power and grace through us, so people can see Him through our lives.

We are excited for our graduation ceremony tomorrow which will be at 10 a.m. You can think of us then and the rest of our class- there are 17 of us being sent out all over the world- we are excited to see what God will do in and through this class!

One Week to Go!

2009-05-23T06:55:00.005-07:00

Dobu Island

Andrew and I haven't given an update on our classes for quite some time on the blog, so I thought it would be a good thing to do before we don't have any classes left to talk about!
About two weeks ago Andrew and I finished our tribal simulation practicum, where we had about two months of classes that were designed to simulate what it would be like to go into a tribe as missionaries for the first time. We went into a little village where we were interacting with and building relationships with the Dobu people. So our instructors simulated their culture for us and even spoke Dobunesian, the language we were learning during the practicum. The goal was for us to apply all the training we've gotten over these past years into a simulation, from language learning principles, to culture investigation, relationship building, literacy and Bible lesson preperation. At the end of it we were that much more excited for when we get to go overseas and do this in the Philippines!
After this practicum we've had a class that gave an overview of our previous year of training, focusing on tribal church planting. Then we are wrapping things up with giving presentations that are geared towards our churches back home or home groups we'd share with about what we're doing. It was an opportunity to put something together that we'd share in the future, and to prepare us for the year ahead where we'll be telling people about New Tribes Mission and what we're doing.
So now it's down to the count down, exactly one week from today we will be graduating, and to be exact, since it's 10:00 am right now, it's down to the minute exactly a week from now we'll be graduating, which will take place at the Hanover Missionary Church at 10 a.m. on May 30th. If you are interested in attending and are in the area please e-mail us at megksmith@hotmail.com to let us know! We'd love to see you!

When we started this journey together back on September 25, 2005...

graduating May 30, 2009!

Babies, babies, EVERYWHERE!

2009-05-18T15:07:00.003-07:00

Congratulations to all you new moms out there!! There are so many people that I know having babies right NOW, seriously- one was just born a few hours ago! Because there are so many of you new moms, I just want to say that I am so happy for you and your new baby that you finally get to see after waiting a whole nine months! Between five people I know back home that had babies in the last month, two people here in the last week, and four to go this summer- watch out, the baby boom is upon us, bigger than ever!

Rockstar in the Making

2009-05-12T18:29:00.005-07:00

My friend Jen had these hilarious pictures of Kaden at her house playing Rockband, and looking at it I think we might have a rockstar in the making... Anyway, I had to show these because it is too cute! And I bet Uncle Chris will be proud to see his nephew busting a move on the drums- looking for a drummer, Chris?

You can see young talent in this picture?

And since I haven't really written a blog about Kaden for a while, I wanted to applaud him on something else this week. Our thoughtful and kind child has been taking three hour naps this week (much better than his regular 1 1/2 hours), just to give mommy and daddy a bit of extra time as we're getting all of our papers written up for class. What a sweet kid! ;)

I know it's a bit blurry, but I had to post it because you get the idea- this is what I had jumping at me when I went into Kaden's room when he woke up from his nap. He is such a great kid, I can't imagine life without this little bundle of boy!

He's such a sweet boy!

Prayer Updates

2009-05-11T18:36:00.002-07:00

Dear friends and family,

Surprised to hear from us again so soon?! As we are a short three weeks away from graduation, it is overwhelming to think of how fast the time went by. At the same time when I reflect on the last two years they are full of times of seeing the Lord's faithfulness to us. One example of this is in His provision for us to stay in school for these two years, which has been a huge encouragement. God has taught us so much during this time, and as we often say we are looking forward to being with you shortly so we can share with you and catch up.

While we have been away from our home, family and friends we have seen and felt the need to stay connected with people back home. To encourage us in our own lives, in our training and future ministry, and also so we can be involved as much as possible in your lives as well. In looking at this we desire to start sending out a frequent Prayer Update, that will hopefully be sent out weekly so we can share our prayer requests and the ways the Lord is answering prayer as well. We feel that in ministry and our relationships with the Lord in general, it starts with prayer and coming before Him daily. It is a humbling thing to ask for others to do this for us, but we realize how much we need a strong support system as we are away from our local church body in the ministry we are heading towards.

If you desire to be a part of this prayer team, we would love to hear from you! If you could e-mail us at andy_smith@ntm.org or reply to this e-mail that would be great. We plan on doing these updates by e-mail, so it will get to people quickly and frequently. We look forward to seeing how the Lord works through all of our lives to reach a people that have never heard the word of God before with the Gospel.

Thanks again for you care and support!

Philippines!

2009-05-03T16:50:00.001-07:00

We just wanted to let everyone know that we have decided on a field to serve with New Tribes Mission of Canada- the Philippines! So we are heading in that direction as the Lord leads. Check out the letter below for details. We also wanted to let you know if you want our regular updates and you don't already receive them, e-mail us and let us know at andy_smith@ntm.org (this e-mail will be what we use from now on to send out our newsletters by the way).

Hope you all had a great weekend!

The Smiths

Wedding in Cancun

2009-05-02T07:30:00.021-07:00

First things first, our family is totally healthy, and no, we did not come home with an symptoms of the swine flu, all we had was a bit more color on our skin!
Anyway, we had an amazing time in Cancun, Mexico this last week as we had opportunity to celebrate the wedding of our cousin Jeff to his new wife Caitlin. They are not just family of ours, but really close friends that we are so thankful to know and to have been able to be a part of their wedding.
Our family had a great time, from all you can eat buffets everyday, to gorgeous beaches and pools to enjoy, to visiting ancient Mayan ruins, and best of all spending time with our family and having them get to know Kaden better!

Andrew and Kaden infront of the flamingo pond

Kaden being silly on daddy's lap

Grandad and Kaden at the sea pool. This was an awesome pool that was actually fed from the ocean, and the water level would go up and down with the tide of the day.

One cool dude!

Me and Kaden hanging out at the kiddy pool

Jeff waiting at the alter (in a good way)

Caitlin and Jeff saying the "I do's"

Kaden had fun playing with the petals on the ground after the ceremony

A house at the Mayan ruins in Tulum that we visited

Andrew and I at the beachfront of the Mayan city

Kaden was pooped at the end of a morning full of swimming and playing in the sand

Our amazing beach, we miss it! We had weather in the mid 80's everyday with a bit of a breeze off the ocean. It was great- we are ready to go overseas!! ;)

Kaden.... enjoying.... the hammock (he always had a scowl on his face in pictures, I think it's just the sunshine in his eyes) ;)

The family on our last day at the beach

Easter Weekend

2009-04-14T13:06:00.005-07:00

It was nice to get a break from class and enjoy some time together as a family this past weekend. We had four days off for the weekend which I think we needed with how busy classes have been. It was a good time of reflecting on what the Lord did for us in the sacrifice of His Son on the cross, and was exciting to me to think that this message is one that we will shortly be bringing to people that have no way of hearing! What a powerful message, that God has a way to reconcile man to Himself, and what a privilege to be involved in the spread of it!

We just wanted to also share some pictures from the weekend that we took, and yes of course they are mostly all Kaden! :)

Skype!

2009-04-11T19:35:00.005-07:00

So we just downloaded skype onto our computer since we've been feeling like our long distance phone calls just aren't enough! Skpe is a totally free online service where all people signed up with skype can call each other for free via the internet on your computer. And the thing I like about it is you can see each other in your webcam as you're talking! So we just got it today and I haven't even used it, so I'm not sure how this is going to work out... But if you want to try it out with us, our skype name is andrew.and.megan.smith so we'd love to hear from/see you!! Check out www.skype.com

Recovered

2009-04-08T12:10:00.004-07:00

Kaden's face has healed now, with only a week's worth of time! Not the best picture to tell while he's stuffing his face, but you can see.

Retreat!

2009-04-06T18:55:00.005-07:00

I (Megan) had a great time this past weekend on a women's retreat with the ladies from my class here at school. We got to stay in a house in Kitchener that had an indoor pool, mini-theatre room to watch movies, and vast beautiful property to walk around. It was fun to get away from the classroom and enjoy my friends here at school on a weekend away. And Andrew got a boys' weekend with Kaden, which was good for them to have some time together just the boys!

The house we stayed in, so nice!

My pretty place setting when we had our 7 course meal Saturday evening- I was stuffed afterwards to say the least, quite a delicious dinner!

All of us girls Sunday morning

Kaden's Wipe Out

2009-03-31T17:18:00.002-07:00

So our poor little guy had his first big spill since he started walking. On Saturday he was outside while Andrew was washing the car, and when Andrew went to put the hose away he heard a big scream, and then saw Kaden sitting up on the concrete (yeah, he fell on concrete) with a big bloody nose. Andrew said he stopped crying when he picked Kaden up, so he was a brave boy during it. Now when people see Kaden they cringe, not a response I ever really got... so it's been interesting. But he's on the road to recovery, and is officially a toddling, and at times falling boy!

The Rest of Spring Break

2009-03-27T12:57:00.018-07:00

We had such a great time in California and wanted to finish showing you the rest of our pictures from the trip. We had opportunity to catch up with a lot of our friends that we hadn't seen for a while. It was nice to just take a break from what we've been doing in school and get some refreshment away from everything.

Kaden and Andrew relaxed in the hammock a lot

Kaden liked spending time with daddy during the week

Back to the beach day: the boys had a fun time playing frisbee... notice Andrew's amazing catch, so impressive!

We also had a fun time playing beach volleyball (my personal highlight from the week :)

Team Smith definitely dominated! ;)

Nicki hung out with the kiddos while we played (and Katie too, but she took the picture). Next time you guys are playing- I need a target to serve to ;)

little Layla was so cute at the beach, first time in her bathing suit! Woohoo.

Dave and Katie with baby Layla, so cute! Thanks for housing us for the week guys!

The family... Kaden making his stink face for the camera

Kaden liked to hang out in Layla's carseat

Isaiah and Kaden checking out each other's toys... Isaiah is my friends Tabby and Joe's little guy, 9 months old but definitely closing in on Kaden's size!

Kaden relaxing on the couch... I think we have one of the most calm one year olds there is ;)

So the last picture sums it up, we had a nice relaxing trip, getting to sleep in, hang out in the sun, and enjoy catching up with friends. We are looking forward to being back soon!

First Hair Cut!

2009-03-26T16:50:00.006-07:00

Kaden got his first haircut today- take a look! It was Andrew's birthday present from Kaden, because Andrew has been wanting to "clean up" his look for a bit of time now. It took a bit to convince mom ;) But I think it's pretty cute!

BEFORE

AFTER

Beach Day!

2009-03-19T11:38:00.005-07:00

Beach day... in March!! It's awesome! Andrew, Kaden and I went out with our friends to the mall to walk around and then after a quick lunch at In-N-Out we headed for the beach across the street to lay in the sun and play some volleyball. We had a ton of fun and are looking forward to many more beach days to come when we're here for the summer!

Kaden lookin' cool in daddy's shades outside of In-N-Out

Hanging out under the umbrella with the kiddos at the beach

There are more pictures to come from spring break...

Soaking in the Sun

2009-03-17T09:21:00.007-07:00

We arrived in Ojai, California on Saturday evening and have been enjoying every bit of it as it's given us opportunity to temporarily escape the cold temps in Ontario and enjoy some warmth! Kaden has just been entranced by the whole experience, and has been so interested in touching and seeing all the plants and trees and flowers around. The grass has been a little scary to him, since he hasn't been around it since last September (our winter started in October with snow on the ground).

Kaden getting ready to go through the scanner at the airport... just kidding! But he did like sitting in that box and didn't try to get out.

We had a nice sunny afternoon yesterday so my friends Katie and Keri along with our kids hung out in the front yard to enjoy the warmth and company.

And here is Layla Sage, our friends Dave and Katie's cute little girl. She was born in September last year and is so sweet and smiley, it's been great getting to know her!

Our trip out to Ojai was mostly for the chance to catch up with friends and my church family, and to just be able to share with people about what Andrew and I have been up to for the last couple of years in our training with NTMC. We have had opportunity to share quite a bit about tribal missions and how we're involved in that, and would appreciate your prayers as we continue to build a team of people who want to join us in planting a church where the Gospel has never been shared.

And if you are interested in getting together with us while we're in Ojai we'd love to do that, as we're in town until the 21st. Since we don't have a phone number you can e-mail us at megksmith@hotmail.com.

March Newsletter!

2009-03-13T04:44:00.003-07:00

Andrew and I are getting closer and closer to the end of our training with New Tribes Mission and excited about what is ahead as we prepare to go overseas! We have been so thankful to be going along on this ride with all of you, who have been keeping up on what we've been doing. There are a lot of transitions ahead, but we know that the Lord has been faithful to us this far and will continue to guide us each day giving us just what we need. I just wanted to give you a quick look ahead, although this is in the newsletter as well!

What's Coming Up-

Spring Break March 14-21

We will be in Ojai this Saturday for a week long visit! We won't have a phone at the time, but if you'd like to get together let us know by e-mailing me at megksmith@hotmail.com or Andrew at andy_smith@ntm.org During our time in Ojai we will be having an Open House Night, Sunday March 15th at the O'Brien's house at 7pm. 1287 Avila Drive, Ojai. We will be sharing and showing pictures of what we have been up to during our training, and tell you all about what lies ahead of us as we are transitioning into our ministry overseas as church planters with New Tribes Mission. Please come and join us if you can, we'd love to see you and introduce you to Kaden as well!

Spring-ing!

2009-03-08T15:53:00.004-07:00

Things are finally starting to change around here and we are really looking forward to some warmer weather!

It was only two weeks ago that this was what we were looking at out our backdoor, having one of the biggest snow storms yet. Not to say that the snow is completely over, but the break so far has been nice!

We have also been seeing a lot of progress in Kaden's walking which has been REALLY exciting!! He now is walking all around the apartment, which he just started up suddenly on Friday night. He would walk to me, but not on his own to get around. So our little boy is growing up!

Prayer Request:

As many of your families have probably been experiencing this winter, our family just can't seem to beat sickness cycling through the household. Kaden has had a bit of a cough for a while now, and then Andrew got sick over a week ago and I got sick on the weekend. We would appreciate prayer for sleep and rest to be able to beat this, especially since we are in the home stetch of school, and are going to be travelling in a week back to California.

Fixed Car!

2009-02-24T16:58:00.004-08:00

I realized that I haven't updated yet on the happenings of our car... So, after much labor about two weeks ago we got the new radiator, thermostat and radiator cap in. Then we found there was a smaller leak in one of the hoses that works for the heater (explaining why our heater wasn't working), and Andrew replaced that as well.

All this to say, our car is working great now and we are very thankful for that since we are still very much in the midst of winter and appreciate the heater a lot now!

Kaden walks!

2009-02-21T16:16:00.003-08:00

So Much Snow!

2009-02-20T11:07:00.008-08:00

So we haven't updated for a while, which I think is largely due to the busyness of the class we just had- Bible Translation. This was a GREAT class, we learned a lot, and will need it's own post to give more of an idea of what we did!
Snow- I have seriously never seen so much in such a short amount of time ever! We got at least a foot and a half of snow yesterday, starting in the morning and continuing through the whole day and night! It took Andrew and the other students here almost an 1 1/2 hours to shovel it all, and because of the incredible job Andrew did I made him a big breakfast to say "thanks!"

Here are the guys from our building shoveling the long walkway behind our apartments- in parts the snow was right up to their knees that they had to shovel- hard work!

Alaena and Matt came over yesterday to hang out with Andrew and Kaden while Erin and I were playing sports. The kids get to have lots of fun without the moms around, like getting to jump on the back of the couch!

After burning some energy jumping around they watched the show Gummy Bears- nice babysitter to free up the dads to cook dinner for us moms- thanks!

Three Day Problem

2009-02-10T12:15:00.004-08:00

In our Structures of Communication (grammar) class for our last assignment we were given a language to break down as our final practice of all the structures and meanings we've learned from our class. We started with looking at the different complete thoughts of each sentence and how they were contructed, to how each word broke down to the root, prefixes and suffixes. And it really was a three day problem. We spent a lot of time on it and it was a good opportunity to apply what we've learned from this class. Here's an idea of the problem and our solution (you can't really read what we wrote... don't know if you would want to though... ;)

my homework

Andrew's homework

Next we are starting our class on translation which Andrew is really looking forward to- you'll probably be hearing from him soon about that one!

Overheating in -18 C... Go figure

2009-02-07T11:40:00.007-08:00

On the way to youth group this week our car overheated- and yeah, it was -18 C out, one of the coldest days we've had this winter. We sort of saw it coming, with our heater having problems last week, and the fact that we've had problems with our cooling system ever since I bought the car (a whole other story).

But yesterday a mechanic on campus took a look at it and ordered some parts for us, and today Andrew and our friend Sean did some work on it, replacing the radiator, thermostat and radiator cap (maybe Andrew should've written this blog, he knows a bit more about the subject- but I think his nap is more important at the moment :)

With all this done we can look to see if there was an original source other than the radiator of the problem (which we're pretty sure there was something else going on), which we'll be looking into next week. So, to be continued- but so far so good!

I just had to throw this in as well, Kaden was really interested in my apple this morning and did quite the number on it. He really likes eating "grown-up" size food ;)

SUNLIGHT!

2009-02-03T18:09:00.007-08:00

It is amazing how much you appreciate sunlight when you don't get it very often! Today, the sun was out and it was a bit above freezing, so it was a good time to take Kaden out to experience the "outdoors" (or really just our porch).

He was a little unsure at first, and just stood there taking it all in. But I think he had a good time, and hopefully days like this will start to become a more frequent occurence!

Re-living the Teen Years

2009-01-31T11:42:00.002-08:00

As some of you know it has been a week where I (Megan) have made a couple trips on my own to Owen Sound (where our church is) for youth group get togethers. I am very thankful that I made it there safely, where both nights I drove out it was snowing and the roads were covered. Andrew had to take care of our "sicky" Kaden, so I went solo.

It was a good week though, getting to have discussion groups with the teen girls (grades 9 & 10) and seeing them grapple with the passage we were studying in Matthew 20. We were talking about questions of whether it's harder or easier to be a Christian since you were young, or becoming one further along in life. We talked about whether we think God is fare or not. We had some moments of deep conversation, and of course mixed in with that moments of uncontrollable laughter (what else happens in a room full of teenage girls) and one of our girls deciding to sing a little number for us to finish off the night. All in all it was a good discussion group, and every time I go I am so encouraged to see what the Lord is doing in the lives of these teens.

The next night we had a girls sleepover to celebrate the students finishing their exams this week (good work ladies!). So on Thursday I drove out again in the night and snow to Owen Sound (takes an hour to get there with the weather) to spend time with these ladies- we had around 15 come out for it. We had lots of fun eating snacks, getting sugar highs, playing huge group games in the basement of the church, and having a girl sing and perform about half the songs on her ipod for us (yes, this is the same girl that sung at the discussion group the night before, she is hilarious).

It was a great to feel like a teen again, playing card games and just being crazy together. It has been such a blessing to get to know these girls this year, who have a heart and hunger for the Lord, and just such free spirits that are not afraid to look silly or crazy to those around them (I remember those years...).

But I thought I'd just give a little update on youth group from my (Megan's) perspective... Sorry, no pictures of Kaden. It has been a fun year with these kids and I am so greatful for the opportunity to share in their lives. Please keep praying for Andrew and I as we try to demonstrate the love of Christ to these students in Owen Sound and encourage them as they are figuring out (and we are right there with them) what it is to follow Jesus and become like Him.

A Look In

2009-01-26T11:13:00.014-08:00

So it has been such a long time since we've posted on our blog and we wanted to give you an idea of what the last few weeks have looked like for us.

Today was the last day of our "sounds & symbols" class and "phonemics" class. In sounds and symbols (it used to be called phonetics) we reviewed the sounds we learned last semester and then learned a few new ones. Today was the highly anticipated "clicks" day where we learned how to make certain "clicks" and "pops" that are more common in African tribes. I wasn't exactly successful in making all of them, but it was pretty cool to listen to a recording of native speakers using them. Here's a clip we listened to in class if you have the time, just click on the link of the post.

http://www.esnips.com/doc/b2d3f491-9bc8-4c30-b2e9-33c33173243f/Click-Song---Miriam-Makeba

Phonemics was a new class to us this semester. It was a really interesting class to me and I really enjoyed it. The class is designed to teach us how to make an alphabet after we've learned the sounds that are spoken in the particular language we've learned (which will be in a tribe for us). The idea is that we want to make an alphabet according to what the native speaker believes he's saying, not what phonetically it comes out as. Here's an example to hopefully clear up the confusion...

In English we have the letter "t" But when we say the following words in a sentence:

"talk"

"stop"

"mitten"

Those are all different sounds we make when we pronounce the letter "t" in those words, but to our english speaking ears it is not a big enough difference to have a different "symbol" or letter to put for those sounds.

Another example is if the native speaker recognizes certain sounds as one sound when two are put together, or two distinct sounds. An example in english: "chicken." The "ch-" in the word are actually two different sounds, but in English we hear it as one. "Ch" is actually combining the sound a "t" makes and the sound we make when we say "shhh." So there's your "phonemic" lesson of the day... ;)

Andrew and I had some homeworks to see the patterns in different languages and find what sounds the native speaker uses and are distinct, and which ones are non-significant variations.

Here's a look at that- it was fun, like solving puzzles.

And last but not least, a little update on the little guy. Kaden is doing great, he's been a little sick the last week but is still in a good mood despite it. He actually took his first steps the Saturday before last which was really exciting. But he's still a little timid, so I think it's going to take some time. And then I saw just today that he is getting a monster-size molar tooth coming in on the bottom. I'm sure he'll be glad to have that chomper to help him get the food that he loves so much down!

This won't hurt a bit...

2009-01-06T15:58:00.005-08:00

The break is over and classes have begun again for us. Kaden is going back to chilcare in the mornings which is sad for us but it was great to spend the days with him over the break. Right now we are learning about International Health and Wellness. It is a really fun class for us because one of Megan's biggest passions is medical work and I get to make use of all those episodes of E.R. and House I have seen (jk)! Actually the class is really practical for life overseas and the biggest stress is on prevention. Here is a picture of Megan administering a shot of saline and Megan getting her blood pressure tested.

"This clock is really fast..."

Here's Kaden eating and standing (his two fav things)

Fondue Fun

2008-12-29T15:15:00.008-08:00

Today Andrew and I got to carry on the fondue tradition from his family. Andrew's mom, Kathi got us a fondue set for Christmas and we got a chance to try it out today. It was delicious, and we are excited to have it to use with our own family!

We also had a chance to go to Mount Forest and look around downtown. We took a couple cute pictures of Kaden so of course we have to share!

Swiss Cheese Fondue!

I think Andrew is ready to start...

Kaden showing off his grape, wow!

We had some very intellectually stimulating conversations with Kaden at the coffee shop.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T10:30:00.011-08:00

We had a really good Christmas yesterday and wanted to share it with all of you who are back home. It was a pretty low key day, just making the meal for Kathi (Andrew's mom), Andrew, me (Megan) and Kaden (and greg who is our neighbor and came back from vacation christmas afternoon). We had some pie afterwards and just relaxed.

Excited to open presents!!

Sporting his X-mas onsie

His book from Nanna

On our way out for a walk in the snow (and we did put on big jackets after the pic ;)

Chowing down on Christmas cookies! (we all partook)

One of the pies I made- I was trying out the criss-cross crust and it came out alright.

Playing with his new ball (which he can say the word for now :)

All sitting down for Christmas dinner.

Christmas Break- Part 1

2008-12-23T08:05:00.016-08:00

Here are a few highlights of our Christmas break so far. We have been able to spend time with family and see a new city, and experience the effects of LOTS of snow! The houses we saw while walking around Montreal

It was really cold while we were visiting, and this particular day it was -17 C! We were out for about another 15 minutes before going home because it was too cold.

Daddy and Kaden after the cold morning walk.

Kaden was pretty pooped after going outside as you can tell.

Warming up by the heater

Grandma with Kaden after we got back home to Durham

Kaden was pretty excited to be back home. (for those interested, notice the two top teeth showing in the shot... Kaden has 8 teeth now, four up top and four down bottom!)

the "can't wait 'till Christmas" face

Bath time with Auntie Aileen

Kaden loved his bath time with Auntie Aileen and can't wait to see her again (hint hint) =)

Kaden all bundled up for a sled ride! Doesn't he look thrilled?!

The fam out on a little stroll around camp. Andrew is cross country skiing and I'm just pulling Kaden along for the ride. You can't tell as well from this picture, but we hav been getting PILES of snow out here. We have stairs that go up to our back door porch, and the snow is as high as our porch almost. Anyway, I will have to do a post another time with pictures of the crazy amount of snow we have. Until then, hope you're enjoying this beautiful and very cold time of year! :)

December Newsletter

2008-12-15T10:58:00.009-08:00

Hi everyone! It has been a couple weeks now since we've posted on our website, and a lot has happened. We are FINISHED with our second to last semester of school here at New Tribes, with only one more semester to go!

We are spending the majority of our break here in Durham, so we unfortunately won't be seeing any of our friends and family back home this Christmas :( We'll miss you, but look forward to seeing everyone after we graduate end of May.

This is our latest newsletter to keep you posted on what's going on. Take a look, and if you are not on our mailing list for receiving our newsletters and updates e-mail me at megksmith@hotmail.com or andy_smith@ntm.org and we will put you on our list!

Thanks for keeping up with us out here in Ontario, and we hope you enjoy the holiday season as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Kaden's First Birthday

2008-11-29T14:06:00.022-08:00

Today, November 29th, we celebrated Kaden's 1st birthday! It was a lot of fun and Kaden REALLY enjoyed the day!

He woke up to the house decorated for his birthday and he really liked playing with the balloons and streamers! He had his favorite breakfast- pancakes, and scarfed it down in record time! After a little sled ride outside he went down for his nap, and when he got up it was party time!

He had lots of his friends over and people that have taken an interest in our irresistable little guy. He opened lots of fun presents, and as much as he loved his presents he kept picking up his old book and looked through it while we were doing presents. He just really wanted to look at his book!

We had fun kid snacks and sandwhiches for lunch, and then a big lion cake with a candle and ice cream afterwards. Kaden went down for his nap hyper on sugar and with a smile on his face! Despite a record breaking amount of tumbles (five by 1:00 pm), he was happy the whole day!

His favorite- pancakes. This time with a special grape smile :)

His first present to open, looks bigger than him...!

Gettin' the hang of it. He actually started ripping the paper and flailing it around!

He got a car garage! "Shiny!"

Opening his present from Uncle Matt and Aunt Natalie!

For some reason Kaden just wanted to look at his "Brown Bear" book and was not interested in his presents. I tried to hide the book so he would look at the presents and he just scooted around in search of it... he did end up getting into his toys though, don't worry.

As seen in this photo- thanks Grandpa Pete for the cool tractor and animals!

His lunch, didn't look too excited about it at the moment... but it was cut up into fun shapes :)

All the kiddos playing with the zoo Little People toy (Emry, Alaena, Kaden and Isaiah)

A little confused...?

The Lion cake!

Quick! Catch that mean farmer before he steals all of our animals!

Kaden in his element

Kaden Sledding

2008-11-24T11:46:00.006-08:00

Today we got Kaden's sled out of storage and tried it out. He was giggling and laughing, having a great time. Here is some video of it.