Naomi's Bike

So when did this happen - my baby girl zipping around on a bike?



For Naomi's birthday, we gave her a bike - covered in pink, flowers, and princesses. She loves it. Complete with her princess helmet, she would spend most of the day riding it if we let her.
Below she's ready to ride in front of the "little church":



One of the bonuses of living here is that our home is surrounded by an extensive network of sidewalks around all the buildings, as well as two large parking lots. It's all relatively flat or only mildly sloped, so its perfect for Naomi to zip around on. Here's Kevin, Naomi and Johnathan (riding his tricycle) in the parking lot in front of the "big church":



Aaand now we're playing follow the leader in the parking lot behind the church:



Naomi took to riding like a pro (with the assistance of training wheels, of course!). The only thing she needs to learn is to stop talking and watch out for trees. She's so excited about her new skill, she can't stop talking about it! Many evenings you can now find us in the parking lots, tooling around and getting plenty of exercise.

What I learned from my pastor... 7-26

This morning we were in the belly of the whale. In his sermon entitled, "The Downward Spiral," Kevin pointed out how Jonah's physical journey mirrored his spiritual state: He descended the mountains of Gath-hepher to Joppa... Got in a boat and then went into the depths during the storm... and into the belly of the whale. Meanwhile, his spiritual state reflected a downward spiral of sin as well. Kevin took us to James 1:14-15, talking about the spiral of temptation, desire, sin and eventually rebellion.

But the good news for Jonah, and us, is that as long as we're alive, we have unlimited second chances. Just like Jonah, we were reminded that the first step out of the downward spiral is on our knees. More about second chances next week as Jonah gets spit up!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

Johnathan turned 3 this year. Naomi turned 5. Put them together, and what do you get?


Happy 35th birthday, Daddy!


Johnathan and Naomi helped Daddy open his birthday stocking. 'Cause it's hard work, you know?

Then Daddy and Naomi went for their second annual daddy/daughter birthday breakfast. (Baby doll Katie also went, along with her fully stocked new diaper bag.)


Kevin had (what I hope was) a relaxing day off, and he and I went out for a date that evening, during which we ate delicious fresh fish and enormous amounts of dessert.

We love our daddy and husband - He works so hard to take care of us, help us grow, and make us laugh. Happy Birthday, Kevin!!

To Naomi on your 5th birthday

It's been such a joy to see how much you've learned and grown this year, Naomi! You have an incredible enthusiasm for life - you get so excited and passionate about entertaining friends, learning things in school, and going on our little (and big!) family adventures. You make it so fun for everyone because your enthusiasm is contagious. And we've loved seeing your desire to learn about Jesus and use your first little Bible as you ask me to help you look up the book your'e learning from in Sunday School or that Daddy is preaching from. Never lose that appetite for Him, sweetie.

This year you made a big move from Casper to Kurten. It's been fun to watch you embrace all the new aspects of living here - Making new friends at church, chatting with people at the post office, running errands to Daddy's office, riding your scooter and new bike on the network of sidewalks... It's hard to believe you're growing up so fast.

We're looking forward to all the ways you'll grow and learn this year, Miss 5 year-old! Love you!

Naomi's Birthday

Naomi has been counting down the days, and it was finally here! Not wanting to miss a minute, she got herself up promptly at 6 a.m. and was ready to get the party started!! As per tradition she opened her birthday stocking before eating her birthday bagel.

The big event of the day was a little party with a couple friends. The theme was Candy Land - Here is her Candy Land-inspired cupcake mosaic:

That should cover it in the sugar department, right? We started the party with some parachute games courtesy of former PE teacher Mr. B (That's Kevin, for those of you who didn't know him in his Remington Elementary days)... Lots of fun popping balls in the air, making an "igloo", and the ever-popular "popcorn" free-for-all!

Next, a pinata. This pinata designed for little people was supposed to open a trap door when the right ribbon was pulled from the bottom. Everyone waited in anticipation as each ribbon was pulled. Finally we came to the last ribbon:

Naomi pulled it.....

And the ribbon snapped off. Not be detered, everyone took a swing at it with the bat. When a crack showed, Kevin helped it out a little!

I filled the pinata with little toys and trinkets (and confetti) - I think the cake had enough candy, don't you?

Naomi got lots of help blowing out her candles.

After cake and ice cream, we ran off the sugar in the playroom, fighting fires with Fire Chief Johnathan and his new fire truck tent.

Next, birthday lunch - mac and cheese! After "rest time" and her birthday dinner of chicken nuggets and 7 layer dip and chips, Naomi opened gifts and we had our Daddy/daughter birthday cake. Daddy is 35 tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Cutie! Watching your enthusiasm for friends, family, and fun is a gift to us!

What I learned from my pastor... 7-19

We "dived" into the book of Jonah this Sunday with a sermon entitled "Fear" - something I'm quite skilled at (in the worldy sense). Jonah's fear led him to try to flee from God's presence in the boat, and the sailors' fear of the storm led them to cry out to their gods. But when the sailors saw the power of the one true God, they feared Him in the way in which we were intended to fear Him. Kevin pointed out several ways we respond when we truly fear God, including witnessing and living purely. He shared a quote from A.W. Tozer: The fear of God is... astonished reverence. I believe that the reverential fear of God mixed with love and fascinaiton and astonishment and admiration and devotion is the most enjoyable state and the most satisfying emotion the human soul can know. I want to grow to truly fear God so that my human fears will diminish.

Gang activity in Kurten, Texas

Gang activity? In such a small town? I'm afraid so...

May I introduce the group known around here as "the Kurten Guineas":

They can be a noisy bunch, but they eat bugs, so they're welcome in our yard.

Friday Fun

Naomi finished her swimming lessons today - Wow! She's learned a lot these two weeks. She's become so much more comfortable in the water, trying all kinds of strokes and going all the way underwater - voluntarily! She even rode the log slide:



"I passed Frog level 1!"

After her lesson, we hopped in the van and drove to Brenham, about 45 minutes away, to go to the Blue Bell factory. We took a tour of the factory and saw how they mix and package our favorite ice cream. Then, of course, we ate some!

Mmm - vanilla!

Rainbow sherbert on my tongue!

After the factory tour, we went to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center to swim and let Naomi show off all her new swimming skills. Naomi slid down the banana split slide and splashed under the giant ice cream sundae.

Even the pool is full of ice cream!

A fun day off with Daddy!

To Johnathan on your 3rd birthday...

You're not a baby anymore, are you, buddy! You're 3 now and suddenly you're a little boy who has so many things to say and such an imagination. We love hearing what's on your mind and learning what makes you tick... You love music, and seeing you turn hockey sticks or pens or my arm into a guitar is so fun! I smile every time I hear you singing "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord," or trying to repeat a praise song you just heard. Keep praising Jesus, buddy. We also love watching you play - you love lining up your cars, putting out fires, and cooking cake for us. It's been so fun to see the wonder in your eyes when you see the cows across the street or a lizard on the front porch of your new home in Kurten. And its great that you love to read - seeing you poring over an animal book is amazing!

We also love seeing how much you love your family. Just the other day, I asked you if Naomi was your friend. You emphatically stated, "No!" but then you added, "Naomi my bes' friend". And you just light up when Daddy gets home from the office. And Mommy loves that you give such great squeezes and ning-nings before bed.

I know being 2 hasn't always been easy, son. You've had your share of days when it looked like life was pretty rough for you! But you've learned so much this year and have gone through some big changes - a new state, house, and routine. We are thankful for every day with you, whether its a rough day or a happy one, and we can't wait to see how you grow in the coming year.

Love you, Johnny!!

Johnathan's Birthday

Johnathan's big day was packed with activity and fun! He started off the morning much earlier than he normally would so he could go to Naomi's swimming lesson at 8 am...

Whose idea was it to make me wake up so early today?

Opening the "birthday stocking"... (I realize some of you may have never heard of a "birthday stocking" - in the Stata family, because we love our Christmas stocking gifts so much, we started the tradition of having your own stocking on your birthday, too!):


You mean I get presents? Well, maybe I can wake up for that!

After a quick breakfast in the car, Johnathan watched his sister swim. Then we met Mrs. Linda to go frog catching and duck feeding at a park near her house.

Look out, little frogs! Mrs. Linda is going to get you!

We spotted lots of herons and gave the ducks some donut holes (whatever was left after Naomi, that is).

After some errand-running in town, Johnathan chose to pick up lunch at "Old MacDonalds".

While Johnathan rested, Naomi and I made his cake:

Johnathan's birthday cake contained all his latest favorites: Vanilla, chocolate, trains, guitars (the Quincy figurine is playing one), and, of course, Rocket!

Opening presents!

After a dinner of his favorite "hamagers and hot dogs", it was time to blow out the candles!

To top off the evening, we went to the Kurten's home to ride Polly the pony. What a fun way to finish off Johnathan's 3rd birthday! Thanks, Mr. Jimmy, for saddling Polly up and teaching us how to ride. I think we combined all Johnathan's favorite things into one big day.

At "Rocket's House"

We've been asking Johnathan for a few weeks now what he would like to do for his birthday, trying to discern the mind of a 2 year old whose whims change daily. One request that became a theme was, "I want to go to Rocket's (from the Little Einstein series) house". So, with the help of a couple from Zion who have a beautiful cabin here in Kurten, we took Johnathan to "Rocket's house" for an overnight trip on Sunday.

We had so much fun - We rode the Gator through the clearings, looking for deer...



Johnathan loved "driving"




We clomped around in our new rubber boots (to protect our feet from snakes!)

And we did a little fishing and caught some perch (I think) and a few bass.

Daddy and the kids stayed up way too late making coyote howls from their bunk beds, and we topped off the little trip by swinging by our neighbor's house to see some newly hatched baby chicks. A fun weekend and successful trip to "Rocket's House"!

What I learned from my pastor... 7-12

Kevin started his series on the book of Jonah this week. Now, this is going to sound like the world's most shallow thought about a sermon, but I'll go ahead and say it: This week I learned how many historically accurate details the VeggieTales writers included in their Jonah movie! Please don't judge me!!! But seriously - I learned that Ninevah was named after Nimrod, a fish god (hence the fish-slapping veggies), and what a popular prophet Jonah was with the Israelites because his message to them was one of success in I Kings. Plus Kevin hinted at several other intriguing details that will come up in the weeks ahead. So I'm excited to hear more. Stay tuned...

Simply Summer

Our weeks have been filled with all the simple fun of summer. Naomi is taking her first "solo" swimming lessons and is learning all kinds of new skills. She's also excited to be at an "outside" pool (I guess we didn't get to many of those in Wyoming!). Here she is on her first day... a little concerned about it, but being very brave!



We had a fun 4th of July. Naomi and Daddy made crepes for breakfast. Yummy!



The rest of the day was interspersed with mini firecracker shows put on by Kevin:



For the grand finale of the day, we went to the Kurten community center for the town's fireworks display. For a town of 200-something, it was quite spectacular!! We were highly impressed by the 40 minute show, fantastic ending, and of course, cotton candy...




Naomi loved both the fireworks and the social opportunity - I think she spent equal amounts of time watching the fireworks and engaging people in conversation! Johnathan wanted "to go home" - the noise and shock of the fireworks was not his favorite. But by the end, he opened his eyes to watch!

It's hot out these days, and very dry. But we're enjoying the flower bed in front of the house and trying to keep it beautiful. We got a gift of some plants in the mail from the Olsen's garden, so we love having a piece of our Wyoming family here in Kurten. I think the little plants are a bit shocked by their drastic change in climate, though!

Meeting Carolanne

This morning our niece, Heather, David, and their new baby Carolanne drove down from Dallas (and their home in Oklahoma) to come to church with us and visit! Carolanne is now 2 1/2 months old... Isn't she precious? We were so excited to meet her and to show more family our new home here in Kurten. Thank you so much for driving all this way to visit, Heather and David!