For the past month or two, our family has been enjoying learning American Kenpo Karate.  All of us except for John have gotten into it (and John even tries a bit but he is still too little to learn it formally).  During a recent Saturday lesson, Mr. Kellogg gave Joshua and Caitlin the chance to try their hand at breaking wooden boards.  They felt really good and doing it successfully and it was fun to watch as parents.  The boards were not very thick but you've got to start somewhere :-)

Watch "Joshua & Caitlin Breaking Boards" on YouTube

I'm sure our experience is similar to many other parents of young kids but I thought I'd put this video here so John can watch it 20-30 years from now when he has kids.

The (very short) backstory is that I was semi-successfully taking a nap on Sunday afternoon when Joshua (11 yrs) woke me to find out if a Minecraft book he wanted to read was available online yet, or if I could download something for him from a website. After getting some answers, he went away and then John came in to show me a picture he drew. I affirmed it was a good drawing and he went away. I turned over and tried to get a little bit more shuteye, but before long John bounds in again, which is what you see in the video below. I didn't get much rest after that, but John did succeed in getting me to play Legos with him.

Watch "You Are Not Allowed To Take A Nap" on YouTube

Coming back to the U.S., the kids have resumed piano lessons and we were delighted to hear Caitlin play "Banana Peel" for her first piano recital at the Watson Piano Studio, Fullerton, CA, on May 20, 2017.

Watch "Caitlin's First Piano Recital" on YouTube

Last year, when our family was planning for our 2017 home assignment in the U.S., one of our kids' top requests was snow.  They wanted to see snow and play in it.  So we planned accordingly and now we are here in New Hampshire enjoying the snow.  God providentially sent a big snowstorm the day after we arrived and we have taken the kids sledding a couple of times.  In fact, I took them to the very same hill that I loved to sled on when I was growing up.  

Below is a video of the kids (and occasionally Mom and Dad) sledding at Mack's Hill in Londonderry, NH.  As you can see, the kids have realized that there is a bit of learning curve when it comes to sledding.  If you scroll down, there are also some regular photos of our kids and family in the snow.

Click here to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ6pv1e3AcU

Our youngest is cute as a button at 2.5 years old, but can also be completely frustrating when he refuses to stay put after we have tucked him into bed for the evening.  Last night was particularly wearisome and I assembled a list of all his excuses for getting out of bed.  They are rather comical if you aren't the one having to deal with his fussing at the end of a long day.

At 6 years old, Caitlin is growing as a reader, striving to catch up with her older brother.   As an incentive to keep pushing forward in reading, we told Caitlin she would get a special reward when she finished a series of graduated readers and a big book of Bible stories.  She pressed on and got the prize at last - her very own Kindle, with a snazzy pink case, at that.  Now she won't have to battle with her older brother for reading time on the Kindle :-)