2 Weeks Until Furlough

I've ignored this blog long enough. Preparation for furlough is in high gear and we're running around like chickens with our heads cut off! Check back in the next day or so for a "catch-up" post.

Euro Relief

Man, this is nice! We're not losing as much to the exchange rate as we were just two months ago. Every missionary in a European country that either uses the Euro or a currency that is based upon the Euro is thanking God for the slip of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar. We hope this trend continues. When we served our 6 month internship in 2002 here, the exchange rate was in our favor as it took only $0.90 to buy 1 Euro (those were the good ole' days). Hopefully, in the next few months, the exchange rate will once again at least equalize. That would be very helpful.

4 Years Ago Today

Do you remember what you were doing 4 years ago today? We remember exactly what we were doing October 1, 2004. This is the day that we landed at the Athens International Airport with all of our stuff packed in 13 bags and stars in our eyes. Brandie was 6 months pregnant with Emily and was at the end of the time that it was safe for her to fly. We landed about 6:30 pm local time. Only 9 bags made the trip and the other 4 were delivered in the next few days. We rented a car though orbitz.com...it was supposed to be an automatic. When we got to the counter of Europcar, they informed us that they didn't have any automatics to rent. I had never driven a stick shift out side of a supermarket parking lot. But, with God's help, we made it. It's about a 26 mile drive from the airport to the apartment were staying in at the time...and it was quite a bumpy drive (Ha! Ha!). We had a map and some foggy directions to the house....but we made it. Finally, at about 11:00 pm, we were able to grab something to eat and turn in for the night. This was the start of an adventure that has shpaed our lives in so many ways.

Santorini Getaway

During the last of August, we had the privilege of having Adam's parents come and visit for a couple of weeks. During that visit, we made an unexpected 3 day trip to the island of Santorini. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. There is an underwater volcano that the island is a result of and because of this, the beaches are black! It was so cool! Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures that we took while we were there. Enjoy!

These pictures were not taken on the island, but I thought I would throw them in anyway!

Nanna with her babies.

New Family Picture

Dead, Dry Summer

Hey all, Sorry it has been so long in updating the blog. Honestly, not much has been going on this summer. It has been pretty quiet around here, especially so since the beginning of August. The Greeks just celebrated a big holiday this past weekend. They celebrated the assention of Mary into Heaven. It was actually very quiet around here because everyone is gone from the city until the beginning of Sept. The girls were even suppose to go for some shots this month, but the doctor said that he couldn't do it until Sept. because of August being vacation month. All of Europe is this way. We get a kick out of it and just enjoy the down time.

Adam's parents will be coming for a visit starting next week. We are very excited about it. Emily is especially excited for them to get here. Every time our door bell buzzes, she thinks Nanna and Poppy are here and she gets so excited until I have to explain, yet again, that they are not here and they won't be here until next week. She is such a funny little girl.

Here are a few pictures of the girls at play for you all to see. The babies are getting so big now. Abigail has a new tooth, but Adalyn still is working on it. Getting teeth is hard work for little babies. I feel so bad for them. It will all pass soon enough I suppose. Anyway, enjoy the pics.

Emily playing "dress up" with the babies.

Isn't she a doll!!

Adalyn fell asleep in her walker!

Adalyn and Abigail love "Baby Einstein" just like Emily did at this age!

This one is Adalyn and below is Abigail.

The twins love to cuddle with each other. They sleep in the same bed and sleep right on top of each other. It is so sweet!

Platia Terpsithea

Last night, we went as a family to the local park. This is the highlight of Emily's day! She loves going and playing with the other kids. This is a nice park that's about a 10 minutes walk from our house. Since we live in the middle of the city, having a park close is really nice. It gives Emily a chance to get some energy out and interact with other kids. Enjoy the pictures!

Adalyn

Abigail

What does that sign say?

I'm sorry that it has been some time since our last post. I won't offer any excuses as to why it's been such a long time (other than old fashion laziness). We had an opportunity to see a different part of the country this past week and we found the following sign. Isn't it great?


It has been a very warm, sometimes hot summer thus far. The highest temp that we've been able to confirm so far is 102. It's still early though...August is usually the hottest month of the year. So, we're just waiting for the heat to come. We're not using both air conditioners in the house. We have one in our bedroom and one in the living room. They are like hotel units...not central air. But, we're not complaining at all. It's much better than just using traditional fans. Well, that's all right now. We'll keep you updated if anything exciting happens in the next few days.

Adam

Summer is Here!

Well, Summer is finally here and the temperatures are soaring. We have already had temperatures in the upper 90's and the beaches are full! As for our family... life has been a bit crazy for the past few weeks, but it is starting to slow down some for the summer. Adam has been teaching a Bible study in the home of an elderly woman who lives on the East side of Athens, but she and her daughter left this week for their island home and will be there until Sept., therefore that study is on hold for the summer. During the month of August, there will be a mass exodus throughout the entire country. Everyone heads to their island homes, or to other various vacation spots and the city is much like a ghost town. It is actually a nice month to be in the city if you can stand the heat!

The girls are all getting so big. Emily seems to have grown 6 inches in the past month and the babies are each a little over 10 lbs now. We took them for their first injections this past week and they let us know that they did not wish to do that again. They got over it though and we will go for a repeat performance at the end of the summer.

Well, there is not much else to report, so I will end with a few new pictures of the kids. Enjoy!

Aren't my girls sweet?

Emily playing with her little sisters.

Emily likes feeding her "baby" when we feed ours!

Abigail is on the left, and Adalyn is on the right!

My Beautiful Girls!

Just thought I would show off my three beautiful girls. The twins are growing so quickly and they are so much fun. They are laughing now. It is so sweet. Emily is a great "Big Sister." She is great with the girls. We are so proud of all three of them.

Can you tell who is who?

Abigail and Adalyn

Adalyn, Emily, and Abigail

Daddy and his "Girls."

Dedicated to God!

On Sunday May 11, we had a special dedication service for the twins. We invited many of our Greek friends and ended up with a total of 18 people in our home that evening. My mom and I prepared a meal and after we ate, we got a phone call from our home church in Missouri. It was the end of their morning service. Our pastor spent some time over our speaker phone talking about what it means to dedicate our children back to God and he explained that it had nothing to do with their salvation, but it was about Adam and I as parents giving our children to God to do with what He will. He then prayed over our girls. After he finished, my dad prayed over the girls and then Adam did the same. It was a wonderful evening and we were able to share Christ with many of our unbelieving friends. After the service ended, we had several questions from our friends as to why we do not baptise the children and what we believe. They were happy that we allow our children to choose what they will believe and that we don't believe that they are born into it. I found that very interesting!

Here are a some pictures of our girls and their special friends that shared their special night with them.

My mom and dad, Dr. Jerry and Christine Mullendore with Adalyn and Abigail

Costa, Nicole, and Daniel (Daniel is only 2 months older than our girls! AMAZING!!)

Tracy's husband Dimitri with one of the girls, I am not sure which!

Our Wonderful friend Tracy!

Our new friend and new Believer Irene

Adam praying over the girls.

A Visit From Friends

I know it has been awhile since our last post, but we have had a very crazy few weeks. Earlier this month, we had 5 men from Franklin, Virginia come for a visit. Adam and my dad had a great time being tour guides for the days that they were here. They went all over Greece. They visited many of the Biblical sites including a couple of sites in Northern Greece. They seemed to have a good time. They dubbed this trip as the "That's Just The Way It Is!" trip because they heard either Adam or my dad say that so much. Here in Greece, things are not always as logical as we think they should be, but there is nothing we can do about it... "That's just the way it is!"

The men left here and flew to Romania to do some electrical wireing for Missionary Keith Price. They were dead tired when we put them on the plane, but I hope it was a good trip anyway!

Here is a couple of pictures of the group.

The men with our church people on Sunday after our service.