Merry Christmas

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."-Hamilton Wright Mabie

Merry Christmas from our Tribe to yours!

Wish you could have been there

"I wish you could have been there for the sun & the rain & the long, hard hills. For the sound of a thousand conversations scattered along the road. For the people laughing & crying & remembering at the end. But, mainly, I wish you could have been there." — Brian Andreas

Still here

Wow! It's been a long time! We've missed you. We are back from the abyss. Enjoying the season and hope you are too. We will be posting more regularly again. For now...here are a few of our kids having fun in the snow.

Oh...there he is!

See previous post...

The mystery man is found!
.

Ty makes the best brownies in the world. He says he puts a "special ingredient" in them, but will not reveal what it is. I would like to think that it is "love", but I'm suspicious that it is something else.

-Rob

Lazy days of summer

Wow! The "Back to school sales" have been going on for weeks and we are still trying to catch up with the blog. In actuality, these days have been anything but lazy.

This was the sign that greeted us on our first trip to the lake this summer. All were intially disappointed. We made up for it with a vigorous hike and then caught a snake. Kids loved it when the snake bit me while I was holding it.

Christel and the kids have been working on an amazing garden.

Micah nurturing what will become "The Great Pumpkin"

Michaela and Amber on a cliff waiting for the sun to set on the 4th of July. Choice spot to see the fireworks.

Micah sitting too close to the edge.

Amber and her best friend, M. They grew up together when we lived in TX, and have both been living with us for the summer. They just recently moved to NYC to fulfill their dreams of one being a writer and the other, an actress.

Jazz hoping to get the best view of the fireworks once they begin.

Classic New England.

No explanation needed.

Honour growing fast.

Beautiful Michaela

Buddies. Lola, the gentle giant. She would give her life for any of our kids.

More to come...Like maybe some pics of Ty who seems to be strangely missing...Oh that's right, it's summer time.

-Rob

Celebrating summer! (update 3)

UPDATE NUMBER 2

SEWING LESSONS

Yes, even I gave it a shot. One of the kids laughed at me and made the comment; "Dad, you're like this tough guy at work, but NOW look at you! You're SEWING!!!

-Rob

Catching up

Wow! The summer is half over and we haven't posted in a long time. So the next few posts will be a catch up, beginning with the start of summer for our Tribe.

I have tried in vain every summer to grow and keep grass in our yard. Having a small yard full of many active kids usually results in trampled grass and eventually what resembles more of a desert. This year we finally pulled it off and have some hearty grass. Actually it's mostly clover and weeds, which are still green and better than dirt.

Jasmine grew some grass in a pot to use in case the grass in the yard begins to disappear again.

Kids hoping that the sun and warmth of summer will eventually arrive.

More to come...

Busting buttons

I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction this past weekend. For some reason, the buttons kept busting off of my shirt. I thought maybe it was because of my rigorous work out routines, but since I haven’t worked out in decades I knew that couldn’t be it. The malfunction took place during our oldest daughter’s graduation ceremony. Maybe there’s a correlation?!
Amber graduated this past weekend from Seattle University with a degree in Creative writing and English. Not only did she graduate, but she graduated Magna Cum Laude. And somehow, while tackling a full course load she also managed to immerse herself into a challenging and rewarding job, working at an inner city school in Seattle. Which she LOVED.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t feasible for the entire Tribe to travel to Seattle, so I called home from the ceremony, just in time for Christel to hear Amber’s name called to receive her diploma. There was a lot of crying.

The dictionary defines pride as; “Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association.” We would be making an understatement in saying that we take GREAT pleasure and satisfaction in not only our little girl’s achievements, but in the remarkable woman she is. We are beyond proud to be “associated” with her.

Congratulations Amber! We love you!

The real reality

I’m not a fan of “reality” shows. But in case you haven’t heard, actor Stephen Baldwin has selected Love146 as his charity to play for on NBC’s new reality show; “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here.” A few nights ago on the show he was talking about our work to end child sex slavery and exploitation. He posed the question; “What would you do and how far would you go if this was happening to your child?”

So I’d like to humbly ask… would you go so far as calling a reality show and voting for Stephen to stay on the show? And encourage others to do the same? The longer he stays on, the more funds Love146 will receive for our work. So…as crazy as this sounds…a vote for Stephen to stay in the jungle, will in essence be a vote to end child sex slavery and exploitation.

The real reality is that 2 children are sold every minute. And you can be part of the solution. A part of changing that reality.

How do I vote?
Each contestant has been assigned a toll-free number which they will keep for however long they remain in the jungle. To vote, when prompted during the show, dial the phone number assigned to vote for Stephen. Stephen’s number is: 1-(877)5 KEEP 10 or 1-(877)553-3710.
Or log on to www.nbc.com to vote online. Voting will open at the start of the East Coast airing of the show. You can vote up to 10 times per originating telephone number via the toll-free vote method or up to 10 times per e-mail address when voting online. Calls are toll free from landlines.
For more on voting see: http://www.nbc.com/im-a-celebrity/vote/elimination/faq-rules.shtml#faq
Website to vote: http://www.nbc.com/im-a-celebrity/

Thanks!! Wow, was that awkward.


-Rob

If you are interested, we have a blog we do for Love146 here: http://love146.blogspot.com/

Anticipation

An·tic·i·pa·tion: “To look forward to, especially with pleasure; expect.”

Jazz waiting for me to come home from work.

Still waiting

I don’t know who anticipates the reunion at the end of each day more. Me, or our Tribe. We like being together. A lot.

Getting ready to go to work with Dad on the bus.

(Yes, that's snow on the ground back in March)

-Rob

Simple and beautiful

It’s been so long since we posted. I’ve been travelling too much and we’ve had sickness make its rounds through the Tribe.

Yesterday, Christel captured one of Jasmine’s typical acts of compassion. Bandaging a cut on Honour’s finger. Simple and beautiful.

Sad
Compassion

Happy again