HBD One Year Old Lola Mae

We got to eat breakfast with Lola Mae on her 1 year birthday before leaving town that day. That was 3 weeks ago but I still want to document it for our memory.

I can't believe that this little doll baby is already one year old.

An all time favorite breakfast stop when in Fayetteville is Rick's Bakery! 

This was her first time to eat a donut and she got her very own. 

She had no trouble deciding what to do with it.

Sweet one year old!

She enjoyed her gifts too.

Daddy and Mommy picking out her smash cake for later in the day.

Happy Birthday Lola Mae!  Papa and Nina love you so so much! 

Allen's move to Broken Phone booth

We are spending a few days here in Arkansas with Michael and Bethany as they are preparing to move their family to work with the Jesus Film in Orlando, Florida.  As you can imagine, it's not a small feat to move a family with toddlers across the USA.  As they continue to meet with potential ministry partners; we are helping with the girls, packing boxes, and trying to assist in any way we can towards the move.

For Michael, this move is a dream job for him to be able to use his gifts in film making and production. He will be working with the "Broken Phone Booth" ministry of the Jesus Film in producing new films, documentaries, and other tools that will be a resource for ministries all over the world.  It's purpose is to reveal Biblical truth and create tools for spiritual discussion and growth, primarily through narrative film.

The video below is one of Michael's recent projects.  It is a recap of the GPro congress that we all worked at this summer in Bangkok, and wrote about here and here. Tomorrow night, in Dallas there is a celebration dinner that we were hoping to be a part of, as they reflect back over the 2500 pastors that were trained from 100 countries. We are thankful to have been a part. Enjoy this glimpse of God's purposes accomplished.

Global Proclamation Congress 2016 from Michael Allen on Vimeo.

Ellanora turns three!

Ellie Faye turned 3 years old on Saturday, August 20.  We drove down from Iowa on that day, just in time to eat dinner together and share her birthday cake.

Aunt Jen and Aunt Lori also came into Fayetteville that weekend.  It was so wonderful for this mama to get to go to church Sunday morning with 3 daughters.  But pretty sad that Marisa was not there with us, especially knowing that she was missing us all even more. 

The Allen family with a 11 month old and a 3 year old.

Ellie Faye and cousin Ruby Kay are still the best of friends, and are so much fun when they play together. Sorry Rubes, it doesn't look like you wanted to take a break from your play for this photo. :)

We were at Miss Maggie's house in Waterloo when we heard that Ellie's party was a "Little Mermaid" theme- so she quickly sewed up a costume for here that morning before we left the house! Amazing Maggie!

Bethany had fun decorating with lots of "under the sea" decor. 

Our own dinglehoppers....

...and ocean water to drink with fishies in it.

Michael's parents and Aunt Kristen were also there that week from California. 

Oh Ellie Faye, you are so loved by your family and friends!

The party was at the new "splash pad" in town. Aunt Lori helped Lola Mae in the water. 

Sweet Lola Mae!

Ellie had a great time opening her gifts and Ruby Kay was so excited to watch her with each one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLANORA! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Allen's from UofA to Orlando

We love the work that Michael produces with his camera.  This was one of his last projects at the University of Arkansas where they have worked with Cru for the past 5 years.  They will be moving to Orlando, Florida to work with Broken Phone Booth which is a ministry under the Jesus Film Project. Both of these are still ministries with Cru. We are hoping that they can get their new financial support amounts raised in the next two months so that we can help them with their move at the end off the summer before returning to Thailand.

Watch this and enjoy hearing what God has done in students lives at UofA this last year.

Cru Vision Dinner 2016 Final from Michael Allen on Vimeo.

Siam Niramit with grand-babies

The middle day of the GPro Congress (Sunday) was a half day off and it was much appreciated because of the intense schedule.  Our group opted for the Siam Niramit cultural show. Of course, it was fun to enjoy it together with part of our family.

We were all actually very impressed with the whole experience.  They would not let me take my camera inside, but it is said to be one of the largest stage productions in the world, with over 100 performers and more than 500 costumes. The sets were amazing and it told about Thailand's culture and history.

Before the show started there was a lot to see and do outside of the theater.  Yay... for more elephants!

The grand-kids enjoyed having some other kids here to interact with during the congress.

Sweet Hayley Ann! 

Sisters, who did NOT plan to be matching.. just happened!

I love the way she is adoring her daddy here.

Lola Mae is a chill baby and was so easy to take a long cuz she just watches the action.   

Back at the hotel, I took a few more photos of her.

She turned 9 months while here in Thailand.

Her eyes melt me every time!

Ellie Faye is a good big sister and will be 3 next month. Missing you little sweeties, thankful for all the fun times that we had,  and look forward to seeing you again soon.

YAY!!! The Allens are in Chiang Mai!

Michael and Bethany were in East Asia for 10 days doing some work concerning filming with our company.  They will also be working at the GPro Congress in Bangkok next week, so in between we've been able to enjoy them here in our home for two weeks.  They had this grand welcoming crew at the airport 12 days ago. Marisa and the girls love making signs and this was a fun summer craft that they did at our house in anticipation.

The cousins were so excited to meet at the airport and have had so much fun.  It was actually the first time for the Foltz family to meet Lola Mae and today she turned 9 months.

Both Michael and Bethany have loved just being in Thailand- minus the heat! Bethany has especially enjoyed all the reasonable coffee shops around town.

A trip to the Sunday night walking street is always a must.  It brings back high school memories for Bethany- and yet it's always fun to see what new handicrafts they have come out with.

Papa even joined the family at walking street, which is unusual and of course he enjoyed buying for the grand-kids.

I have really enjoyed getting to know Ellanora during this time. She is almost three and at such a fun age. She is very talkative and pleasant and smart.  We have had a lot of fun playing together at my house and she has slept in our room with us each night. She told me yesterday that I was her best friend.  Ha ha! I am really not use to keeping this busy and sometimes feel so physically exhausted - but then remind myself that I only have two weeks- so I want to enjoy it to the max.

And then there is this beautiful little doll baby- Lola Mae, named after my mama. 

She is an easy going chill baby and has won over all of our hearts.

I had not taken the time to get any pictures yet- so yesterday finally got my camera out to capture her beautiful 9 month old face.

I love her eyelashes and when she tucks in her bottom lip and scrunches up her nose. Oh....... grandma bliss, right here! 

We really have not gone on too many outings- but did stop out to see the giraffes a few days ago. 

Ellie Faye loves animals- especially the lizards on the walls in our Asian home. 

Michael and Bethany have been happiest to eat cheap Thai food. In Michael's opinion- sometimes the cheaper the better (like $2/person)

Silly 'ole Ellanora is getting her share of rice these last few weeks.

We have also had an AIA USA Women's volleyball team here in Chiang Mai the past two weeks, but Sao is doing a great job with their daily schedule.  Pray for the new contacts that they have made around Chiang Mai while here.

Life definitely has it seasons of busyness and we have been in the midst of an extremely busy time. Trips back and forth to Bangkok as we continue with leadership transitions, getting ready for the 3000 pastors that are coming for the GPRO Congress next week, (which our TCCC staff are helping a lot with), and having family in town. It's a full season that we need to live one day at a time because soon they will all be gone and life just may slow down again.

missing those four baby girls

I am pretty sure  most of you know that one of the greatest sacrifices and challenges for a missionary is being so far away from their family. We've only been away from our grand-babies in Arkansas and Oklahoma for three months, but it's feeling longer. They change so much at these ages.  We said good bye to Kennedy when she was just four days old and now she'll be three months this week. Michael sent us a photo of Lola Mae today and we could see that she had changed so much too.  I told him "she does not look like a newborn anymore", and then I was reminded that she will soon be six months.  

While Jen was in the hospital with Kennedy, one of those "for hire" photographers came around, and I decided "why not?".  Knowing that we had to say good-bye, I wanted some nice photos to bring back with me.  These were taken when she was not even two days old. We left two days later and this is how I remember her.

Oh, I love those squishy little newborn cheeks.

I also arranged for someone to come in and get photos of Lola Mae soon after her birth, and realized that I never shared them yet. Time moves slowly but passes quickly!

This precious baby girl just had her first bites of food today and Ellie Faye is jabbering up a storm now. Like I said, they change so fast.

I love my family and each photo that I get of them. And yet, I am so very thankful for all the ways that I can watch them grow and change in this new world of technology. There is not a week that goes by when I don't see our darlings on our computers or phones. 

The girls were together last weekend, and got this photo for us of the four of them together. You can bet it's my new screen saver. 

Two 2 years olds, a 3 month old, and 6 month old! I can hardly stand the cuteness here.  Keep those pictures coming Bethany and Jennifer! We miss our babies!