Trip Log: Albuquerque

We had a good time in our quick trip to Albuquerque. We visited the old Route 66 and several historic sites. The local museums and historic sites are great. We also ate at amazing restaurants including Standard Diner featured on the food network. Tucanos Brazilian steak house did not disappoint either, specially considering the price, just $19/person for dinner, a bargain for all you can eat steak Rodizio.

We spent the first night at Holiday Inn Express but we moved to Hilton, which had much better beds for the same price. It did not include the continental breakfast but you really don't care for that when you spend as manu days in hotels as we have this year.

The city is easy to get around and tourist friendly. We should stop there again in the near future on the way to Grand Canyon and Santa Fe.
What to do next time:
Train rides - Takes the whole day but you get to see many sites along the way
Indian reservation -
Petrografic or something like that...
caves

Ian's Birthday

July 10 is finally here for Ian. It came too fast for us. He jumped on our bed around 7:30 shouting "it's my birthday." Yes, we did spoil him with a few gifts. First, we gave him the bike (see video). He preferred the cheap Toy Story one over the $200 Trek, which makes no sense too me. Second, I gave him the Hot Wheel truck immediately after arriving from the park. It was the only way I could get him and his bike in the car to come home.

31 Types of Snakes

We have had a good year after a tough 2007 and 2008. Angie's health has improved greatly, Ian is fully potty trained, and I can enjoy the football season again. We give thanks to God. It is great to have an awesome God and a great family, and we would like to give a quick update on what He is doing in our lives.


Angie
She is experiencing stability and incremental improvements since January. She went from not walking to walking with crutches last spring. Today, one can hardly guess she has been very sick. Angie plans to resume her career and perhaps go to graduate school once she has clearance from the doctors.

Day out with Thomas

Growing up in a big city, I rarely had a chance to ride a car. Instead, I used public transportation daily, including trains and subways. Today, I had to drive over 2 hours to give my son an opportunity to have a 25 minute train ride. Granted, it was not an ordinary train. It was Thomas the train in person. Pretty nice guy despite the smoking habit. It was a great day. Ian is growing up in a different world from mine, but I pray that my son will know the same love and grace from God I experienced as a kid.

Angie's Condition

Angie's health has improved significantly since February. She was able to enjoy life again this summer. We thank you for all the prayers and support. Our families and church family were phenomenal supporters.

I can now enjoy seen Angie going to the park, to the grocery store, helping with chores around the house, and most importantly,participating in Ian life. Simple abilities most of us enjoy, like standing for more than 2 minutes, was a dream 12 months ago. I borrow the words of a country song by Lonestar "the view I like the most if my front porch looking in."

Psalm 25

More Children

Children are a wonderful blessing and I want more blessings. Last week, in Kansas City, while visiting Angie's doctor for one more checkup before changing doctors, we were reminded again that our plan for God's blessings depends on God's blessing. The doctor told us that the chances of another pregnancy are very low. We would have to wait for at least two years before considering the odds.

Thus, we begin to pray as we embark on the arduous journey of adoption and conception. I really hope we will get another YES from Him on this one.

KIDMO Review

I have been using KIDMO (www.kidmo.com) on Wednesday nights for about a year. It is a nice video based curriculum for children in grade school. It is easy to implement and requires relatively less preparation time. It includes a 10 minutes small group time at the end of each lesson, which can be lead by volunteers or parents without seminary degrees. On the down side, it could become a lazy way out for children's discipleship. We counter balance by offering other small group opportunities for children to participate (Sunday School, Connection groups, and children's worship).