now is the time

once again we can help be a part of the process. debra and ernest parker, friends of my college roomate, are trying to bring their son home. ronel is their son and he is waiting with his dad at the embassy in hopes of getting on a flight to the U.S.

i actually received a reply from kenneth merten. he was very familiar with the parker family and their story. the more emails he receives the more likely he is to expedite the process. please take a minute to shoot kenneth merten an email.

Kenneth H Merten
US Ambassador to Haiti
Tabarre 41, Blvd 15 Octobre
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Haiti-earthquake@state.gov
P 509 22 29 8000
F 509 22 29 8028

head out on the highway

get your motor running

ringing the bell

the new thing is laying in a blanket and letting someone pull them around the kitchen and play room. part work out, part cleaning, all entertaining

another new game of ryder's is to throw something (hoodie, blanket) over his head and wave his arms wildly whilst running or sitting around. annie and i nearly peed our pants last night watching him bump into random things throughout the play room.

there are simply no words to describe how quickly life is beginning to slip by. it is almost february, the month in which isaac turns two and a half. he is quickly becoming a big boy, and we are already catching ourselves getting nostalgic for things that haven't even passed yet.

ryder regularly says "mama" and "dada", and is every bit as much as a daredevil as he ever has been. the other day at legoland i asked annie who she thought would be the first one of them to fall into a fountain at some point. we were both convinced it will be ryder.

tonight after a raging montgomery family friday night at costco eating as many samples as we could pilfer, there was an amazing so cal winter sunset. isaac was excitedly calling out the colors he could see and his eyes were all lit up with the waning dusky sun. i am trying to remember as many of those moments as i can.

best friends

these boys have so much fun together. we had no idea that having kids so close in age could turn out to be so much fun. the hard work is starting to pay off and not a minute too soon.

thank you

for praying for the howerton family. keanan is now in the U.S.

to see keanan reunited with his dad click HERE. i couldn't help but get teary eyed as i looked at this photo. what a sweet moment with many more to follow.

liquid sunshine brought...

indoor bike rides,

fort building,

hide and seek (please note ryder behind isaac),

emptying of baskets,

santa in january,

santa hiding,

making of pancakes,

and of course, coloring.

when it wasn't raining we tried to catch a glimpse of fresh air.

all eyes on me

our little entertainer

(he learned his moves from his big brother)

stole the show

then met his match in brewer.

another boy

cousin, that is.

Soren William Knudsen

Born January 14 at 8:37 a.m. He weighed in at 8.0 lbs with an overall length of 19.5 inches.

Congratulations Nick, Mindy and Avery!

the livesays

i have been following the livesays and their adventure as missionaries in port-au-prince. they are in the midst of some real heartache as they continue to care for the people of haiti. our prayers and support are much needed. i can't even imagine all that they are living through. to read more of their story go HERE. to donate to one of the ministries they work closely with go HERE.

please help

bring keanan home!

i can't imagine having to leave behind a child, but that's what the howertons were forced to do this week in haiti.

they are desiring humanitarian parole for their son, keanan.

we can help!

all the details are HERE

who needs shopping

i (annie) took the kids to the utc mall with my girlfriend, amanda, to play in the water while we enjoyed a starbucks. i should preface that enjoying a starbucks does not mean sitting down and relaxing, but simply consuming. we ran into a photography student who asked to take pictures of the kids while they played. in exchange for the photos (the last 4 posted) the kids were his models. clearly he couldn't find any better subjects.

heart breaking

today is national human trafficking awareness day. more human beings are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-atlantic slave trade.

boys will be boys

bodily fluids don't scare us...

neither does a messy meal.

we prowl like lions when we play,

and being naked ain't no big deal.

play hard to get,

or bust a move,

we always love a tasty brew.

ryder's first snip

before the big cut

good bye mop

what do you mean there won't be hair blocking my vision?

we love this face!

somehow we think he is going to make it.

a good start

grauntie invited us up to orange county for the day, to show us her newly remodeled condo, and to treat us to an afternoon at the richard nixon museum for their train exhibition.

the day started with lunch at grauntie's

the lego exhibit

playing in the fountain. not sure you are supposed to do this at a presidential museum, but the secret service didn't seem to mind.

lots of gear, just like anywhere we go

strolling the grounds

it may look like a cool crisp day if you consider 82 degrees cool and crisp

the life sized train was a big hit

grauntie bought the boys souvenirs from the museum. isaac a circus train lego set (elephant and clown included) and ryder a ball.