We're Leaving on a Jet Plane

It's official we have our tickets, our passports, and our travel dates. We've sold our car, and our to do before we go list is getting smaller and smaller. We are excited, anxious and a little more nervous to leave the country this time with a smaller person, but bigger responsibility in towe. We have been making a list of everything we want to take with us. Those things we want to purchase here just to make sure we have for the first couple of months before we know exactly where to buy them in Kenya. We will be visiting Gideon's side of the family before we take of mid January! Please keep us and our families in your prayers as we prepare these last couple of months. Pray for our to do list not to feel overwhelming. Pray for Gideon as he finishes up teaching. Pray for easy and safe travels with Kai. Pray for Kai's time adjustment and sleep for all once we are in Kenya. Pray for our adjustment to a new culture and new relationships. Pray for wisdom from God for us as we work with CWH and people in Eldoret to build a new school. Wisdom to know where to have it, who to invite to come to our school, when to start it, and all the details.

Experiencing Fall Again!!!

Gideon was so excited to experience the fall season again since we didn't have it in Cambodia the past two years. He was anticipating what it would feel like. Once it came he said it didn't feel new or like we even missed it these last two years. I guess because we had experienced it the majority of our lives fall didn't seem abnormal or out of the ordinary. We are excited that Kai gets to experience fall even if he won't remember it we will get to show him the pictures. Please enjoy some of our fall pictures!

Busy Busy Busy September

I think September has been the busiest month we have had since Kai was born. Gideon loves to be busy, but I would rather have relaxing weekends where we stay home and have nothing planned. September turned out to be how Gideon perfers, but I did have lots of fun. Enjoy these pictures to see what we have been up to this month.

        Kai was dedicated at  church.
We were also able to speak
       about our time in Cambodia and move
to Kenya in front of River of Life
  and First Baptist Palisade this month.

      This is Remy. I have been
    watching him during the day
    on week days. He is 14 months,
and full of energy. 

  Went camping one more time. Kai
    did awesome sleeping in the tent, but
   I froze. We got to see some beautiful
fall colors on the Mesa.

      Lunch with family and friends to
celebrate Kai's dedication

           

                    Gideon got a position
                      at Caprock Academy
                        teaching 8th grade. This
                                 isn't a picture of him teaching,
                                 but he always looks this
                             handsome when he leaves
                                 to go to work. 

      Made it to the top of Hanging Lake on
                 our second try this summer. Our first try          
         we only made it up to the first bridge.
      Hiking with a baby proved harder than
thought.

 

We celebrated our anniversary twice. I planned the evening of our actual anniversary. It was a theme of 3's since it was a third anniversary. We had a three course meal pic-nic. Gideon got 3 small gifts. We watched Home Alone 3. Gideon had these flowers delivered on our actual anniversary. Gideon planned a surprise weekend to celebrate. We went to Denver, had my uncle and aunt watch Kai for the evening and we went to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. It was so much fun. Gideon was even entertained, but neither of us figured out who the murderer was.

What in the world has Kai been up to? (sung to the tune of where in the world is Carmen San Diego?)

- Gaining weight now weighing 18lbs
- rolling over from back to stomach and getting upset he can't roll back over
-getting his 4 month shots, and handled them a little better than his two month still very lethargic for the following couple of days
- picking his pumpkin out of Bibi and Babu' garden
- laughing lots especially at other kids
-teething- always chomping on his paci, fingers or someone elses fingers. He has a couple of white spots on his gums.
- getting over his eczema hopefully it is just a phase from this dry climate
- watching football with Papa
- learning to eat yummy fruits and veggies even when his Papa keeps telling him that veggies are gross
- playing in the nursery during moms group at church.
-helping mama take care of a 14th month old during the week
- sleeping great only waking up once after 8 hours of sleeping to eat, then back to sleep for another 3!!!
-Playing with his toes!

Feeling Anxious To Go

We have been slowly but surely getting ready to go to Kenya. We got Kai's passport in the mail a couple of weeks ago. We skyped with Jerry and Danielle Sanders and met them for the first time. They are another American couple that just flew out to Kenya this weekend. They will be serving long term as house parents in the orphanage alongside of Peter and Maryann who are a Kenyan couple who are also house parents.  It was great to get to meet them. We hope to skype with them a couple of more times before we head over to join them. The part of our conversation with them that stuck out to me the most was when Jerry explained that he is so humbled that God would call him and Danielle to take care of all those kids. He also talked about how he is famous in his small town in Tennessee because it is unheard of for anyone to move to an African country. We are excited to get to know them and become great friends.

We have also sent out our support letters and have several opportunities to speak at churches. If you have not received a support letter and would like one please email us at gkkwalker@yahoo.com.

We have days when we wish we were leaving for Kenya tomorrow. Its hard to be in transition and see a goal but know that you have a long time before you can even start working for that goal. We also have those days when we are making great memories with friends, family and Kai. We know as we look back on this time in the States we will be so grateful that we had it.

We have been keeping busy. We just got back from a week in Portland, Oregon visiting my (Kristy's) college friends. Kai got to see the ocean, pick berries, ride up to the top of Multnomah Falls in his stroller, and meet lots of new friends. Gideon found out that his teaching job at CCU will not start this fall because they had a smaller number of students than expected. A little frustrating that they did not communicate that was the case when they hired him, but God continues to provide. He has been helping me take care of Kai. He is a great Dad! We are also watching a friend's 1 year-old everyday. It has made me realize that I would never survive if I had twins. I would never go anywhere. I would stay at home all day long. Gideon is also cleaning the office where the president of CWH (Children With Hope) works. All this to say God is taking care of us and knows exactly what we need.

June and July Praises and Prayer Requests

Praises:
* We are getting to spend lots of time with family. Grandma and Grandpa Walker came out in early June to meet Kai for the first time. We just got back in early July from seeing Kai's cousins closest to his age Hannah and Asher. We get to see Babu and Bibi (grandpa and grandma in swahili) almost every day.

* Gideon has a job and is in the process of filling out paper work and getting all set up to start his job as Adjunct Professor at Colorado Christian University for the online and some in seat classes.

* Kai is healthy and happy. He is experiencing a lot of firsts. First camping trip, first fourth of July,  first 5k run/walk, first hike.

* Despite feeling like we are in a period of transition we have been busy.

* God continues to provide for all our needs even when we are impatient and worried about exactly where God has us.

Prayer Requests:

* That Gideon's classes that he is teaching at CCU will begin soon.

* That we will continue to be prayerful about the way we are raising Kai. That he would see God through our interactions with each other, our families, our neighbors and with him.

* That we will be patient as we are eager to go to Kenya in January and start our next adventure. That we would be fully present here in Grand Junction, content,  and attentive to God's will while he has us here. That we will take advantage of spending time with family and loving on them.

We are thankful for each person that reads our blog and sends up prayers and our behalf. Please let us know if there is a way we can be praying for you.

Postpartum Lessons and Thoughts 2 Months Out

We always get asked if being a parent is harder or easier than we thought it would be. I think you can all guess our answer. Why is it that no matter how much we were warned to get rest during the pregnancy and warned how challenging parenthood will be that we didn't  fully understand what those words meant until the time came when we are experiencing it? I think overall Kai is sleeping really well, but still we are not getting as much sleep as we are used to. Also the changes in his sleep pattern throw us off as well.

With the lack of sleep also comes more of a challenge to show the fruits of the spirit to one another as we try to figure out our parenting style. I think mainly me, Kristy, gets a little less patient and moody with less sleep. Some of our discussions that have turned into small arguments have been over what exactly does a nursing schedule look like, should we use the pacifer at all times or just for nap times,  is it too early to put Kai on a nap schedule or should we just let him sleep whenever he wants. Of course we both want to have him sleeping through the night as early as possible, but what exactly does it take to get him to that.  I'm not sure we ever came up with answers, but we learned that even if we disagree with the way we do things we need to be more patient with one another as we learn what is best.

Last summer I wrote about how our  vacation time in the States was a reminder of our True Home in Heaven as we didn't feel completely at home since we missed things about Cambodia. These past two months after having Kai is another one of those reminders. Having Kai has given me a new perspective on how fast life on this earth is. When I am watching him grow and change so fast I'm so thankful to God for this gift and want to enjoy every minute and not  take advantage of what God has planned for us each day. It challenges me to have more faith and trust in God's promises as we live life here on earth.

We are loving our new life as parents and all the learning, challenges and new experiences that comes along with that. Kai is doing great. He is full of smiles, coos, dirty diapers,  and movements. He loves to be moving unless he is sleeping. His favorite toy is the ceiling fan. It entertains him for minutes. He has already more than doubled his weight and we think he is going to be a big boy!

We're Parents ( for over 2 weeks and its still sinking in)

If you are friends with either one of us on facebook you know Kai has arrived. He was born May 11th, 2012 at 10:08 am. He weighed 6 lbs 14.5 oz and measured 19 inches long. The birth experience was great up until the 2 1/2 hours of pushing. He was face up and had his arm around his neck and hand up by his face. I guess he did not want to come out. My midwife ended up using the vacuum to help pull him out. Gideon even had to sit down the last couple of minutes because he felt like he was going to faint. When I was pushing through a contraction he would also stop breathing.

Waiting for Kai was definitely not easy, especially since he came 8 days later than his due date. Gideon was getting really antsy and kept worrying about not having a job yet. After Kai was born Gideon was so glad that he has had some time to spend with Kai. Gideon is a great dad. He has changed more diapers than I have. Gideon always gets up at night after I feed to change Kai's diaper and rock him back to sleep. These first couple of weeks we can't stop commenting on how cute he is. We feel deeply blessed to have this new joy in our lives. We have enjoyed hanging out with my family. Grandma and Grandpa Mercer are so happy whenever they get to hold him. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Walker will get to come meet Kai in person the first week of June. Gideon is still in the process of looking for a job, but we know God has a plan for us while we are home for this little while. Please pray with us that we would be patient and trust that God will provide while we are here.


With no job and adjusting to a new family member, our lives feel a little bit in a jumble. We are now longing for some sort of routine to at least feel a little normalcy in our lives.  Please pray that we would continue to trust God, that He has everything in control and peace.


We have been going on long walks, hanging out with friends, doing lots of laundry (baby clothes, spit up rags, blankets), spending lots of time with family, applying for jobs, giving Kai baths and showing Kai off to our church family.

Thank you for praying for us these past nine months, as we have prepared and awaited Kai's arrival. He is healthy, absolutely adorable, and continuing to grow every single day! Please continue to pray with us that we would be great parents and we would be able to show Christ's love to him.

Since being home we have been able to meet with the Children With Hope board members. We have not quite yet began to prepare for our departure to Kenya, but it is always on our hearts and minds. If you would like to see more about the Children With Hope organization you can visit their website at www.childrenwithhope.org, and they are also on Facebook at Children With Hope. The organization has gone through some difficult transitions these past couple of months, but God is growing the organization through the difficulties. Our job will remain the same and we are excited to see how God will work.

Above pictures of Kai. He has already grown and changed so much.

Above pictures are of the new kids at Children with Hope Tobiah Home. Their names in order Jared, Joshua, Sophia, and Rachel.

It looks like Kai already has lots of friends to keep him busy.

6 Days and Counting

I've been counting down ever since I left Cambodia but we are officially at less than one week from when Gideon gets back to Colorado. We have been apart for 30 days and we have 6 more to go. Yes its been hard. A couple of days before I left Phnom Penh we questioned our decision to be apart this long and so close to Kai being born. We were nervous that Kai would come before Gideon got here. I guess that is still a possibility but I think he will hang on for a few more weeks. He doesn't seem to be in too much of a hurry.

Even though these last 4 weeks going on 5 have been hard I think both Gideon and I would agree that it has been good. Gideon said to me the other day in a skype conversation that God understood our needs and put us both in places that we could handle the hardships. Gideon is used to be alone and actually thrives sometimes in places where he gets lots of alone time. So him being in Cambodia with out me and family has actually been ok for him. He has had lots of time to spend with God. I on the other hand hate being alone so being able to be here surrounded by family and friends that I have not seen in a long time has been good for me. One of my strengths is being flexible and transitioning/adjusting well into new situations. Our hope is that I have done most of the transitioning that needs to be done before Gideon gets here, like setting up the house we will be living in.

So what exactly have we been up to the last 4 weeks while we have been apart. Here it goes:

Kristy:

1) Going to doctor's appointments

2) going on walks alone, with our dog filos, with friends, and my mom

3) making sure our insurance is all worked out with our doctor

4) opening gifts at baby showers for Kai and getting all the motherly advice I can get.

5) taking lots of naps because everybody says I should get all the rest now before Kai gets here

6) hanging out with my older brother Jake

7) cooking dinner for my parents (most of the time it has turned out good)

8) gaining weight from all the food I've missed, but I haven't gone to any of Gideon's favorite restaurants and I haven't opened the girl scout cookies yet either.

9) unloading all our kitchen supplies from storage in to the apartment we will stay at once Gideon gets here.

10) Making sure we have all the necessities needed once Kai is here.

11) Skyping with Gideon every day.

12) Using a humidifier because my body is not used to all this dryness.

13) Going to beauty school with my mom and getting all pampered. Hair dyed, nails done, facial, hair cut... the works.

14) Wearing jackets and sweaters in the morning because its a bit to0 chilly.

15) Watching basketball games with my dad.

I think that sums it up!!!

Gideon:

1) Missing me!! ;)

2) Enjoying every moment with his students.

3) Making plans to pack up and give away things he will not bring back with him.

4) Going out to dinner with friends, trying to make good goodbyes.

5) Sweating so much he soaked his i-pod and it doesn't work anymore. It is now hot season in Cambodia.

6) Finishing his practicum and class for his Master's program.

7) Working on lesson plans for his long-term sub, and working on unit plans for next years teacher.

8) Exercising and losing weight. Thank goodness his tennis shoes broke and hopefully he will gain some weight the last week he is there so I don't look like I've gained too much! :)

9) Playing games with 35 elementary students every Thursday after school.

10) Enjoying driving the moto without having to haul me around on the back.

11) Spending time with the guys getting fatherly advice.

I'm sure Gideon could add a lot more to his list. I think he has had the harder/busier 5 weeks.

Please pray for him as he travels to Grand Junction Wednesday April 11th.

We hope you all of a Happy Easter and a great time celebrating our Risen Savior!!!

School in School

School in School is a catch up program for local Khmer kids who attend government Khmer schools. Our teaching assistants at Logos International School with some other staff plan supplementary lessons to what the kids are learning at school during the day to help them with Math, Khmer, and English. Even after a regular school day many of our Khmer staff at Logos stay until 6:30 pm to help children that come to Logos for this extra help. They also get a chance to share about Jesus with them. My TA Sorphorn helps teach the grade 2 math class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

These kids do not have to pay anything to come to School in School, and after talking with Sorphorn about her classes I thought of some people back in the States that would love to send some school supplies to help make their class more hands on and encourage the kids to learn more. Thanks to one of our supporting churches, Grace Gathering, last week the math class got to use some of these new supplies. They are so grateful and it looks from the pictures and video they had a great time. Please Enjoy the pics!

Baby Shower #1

Leanne is getting so crafty. She made a sign with Kai's full name hanging behind us in the window.

Our good friend Leanne hosted a baby shower for Kai this last weekend. It was so much fun. Thanks Leanne! We played lots of games, snacked on some great food, and got to spend some time praying for Kai, Gideon and I. Gideon stayed home and worked on his Master's classes, but he did get to enjoy some of the yummy food when he picked me up.

We played a guess the baby food game. Check out some of our reactions to the DELICIOUS food. :)

Getting some advice about labor and the birth experience. I'll take all that I can get!

My Husband Spoils Me- Valentine's Day

I thought we decided to not celebrate Valentine's Day after how extravagantly we celebrated last year, but Gideon said that all his girls (right now that just means me, but hopefully more in the future) need flowers and chocolate on Valentine's. So he woke me up with a chocolate donate for breakfast, put some flowers and chocolate on the bed for me when I got home from school, took me out for a head massage, and a nice dinner. :) Enjoy our pics.

Home made card that Gideon said took him all day. He is very creative!

Gideon got a head massage too, it just took them twice as long to blow dry mine.

Flowers, Chocolates and a Card. Dark Chocolate

Yummy dinner at Steve's Steak House, best hamburgers in Phnom Penh.

First Cambodian Wedding

Gideon and I got to attend our first Cambodian wedding. One of the TA's at Logos got married in February. Kosal helped me coach soccer and is now helping Gideon with Mixed Sports for our afterschool program. We didn't get to attend the ceremony part of the wedding just the reception/celebration part afterwards. As you come in to the reception you get seated at a table even if you do not know the people. Their goal is to fill up the tables because they only serve you once your whole table has been filled with people. That was a bummer for us, because we didn't get to sit with our friends. We tried some of the dishes but we were very cautious about what we ate. We didn't want to be sick the next day. One of our co-workers was asking me the next day if I tried any of the food. I told her which dish I tried and she told me that was the one dish she avoids at every wedding. She has lived here for around 8 years and that did not make me feel very comforted. I didn't get sick the following day though. Please enjoy some pictures.

Gideon and I with Kosal and his wife. Yes my dress that I wear to every wedding still fits even if it was a little tight and Gideon had to help me zip it up. Kosal and his wife changed outfits 4 times through out the reception.

My TA Sorphorn, me, and Linda. The girls get very dolled up at weddings.

Gideon's TA Sophorn was in charge of counting the money the couple got as gifts. It is customary to bring money for the couple and put it in the same envelope that you received the invitation in. This money helps them pay for the wedding expenses.

December Rumblings, Blessings, Vacation and New Year Anticipation

Hello Everyone!

First of all, Kristy and I apologize for not updating for awhile... December was INCREDIBLY BUSY! However, here we are in 2012!

December Rumblings:

From teaching to being a student to co-directing a Christmas concert, I was busy! I thank God that Kristy is so patient with me because I really did not spend much time with her at the beginning of December. And she had to put up with me working late into the night, which meant we did not get to go to bed together at the same time. (For some reason that is a major issue for Kristy. Robin... can you help her with that?) Praise God though, since that and a couple of colds were the only major problems Kristy and I faced!

However, we did find some time to have a little fun together! Here is Kristy showing off her baby belly! She is sooooo beautiful! This is her at 21 weeks!

And here is me trying to show off my sympathy belly! Talk about a beauty! Woohoo!

Unfortunately, I think I pulled a muscle in my back trying to do that pose. See how much Kristy has to put up with! Please pray for her!

December Blessings:

Now that the "rough" is out of the way, here is how God overwhelmingly blessed us:

- Christmas Concert: On December 20th, we hosted the Elementary Christmas Concert and it went incredibly well... In fact, it went better than I even thought it could have! We did a musical called Christmas Time in Bethlehem and the fifth graders did all the acting parts, while the other grades sang songs! Here are some pictures:

Some Pre-K3 students helping Mr. Ketchum (the music teacher) tell the story of Christmas through actions and songs! They were/are so precious!

The 5th graders did a great job acting!

Even the guards and maintenance guys who helped bring the stage down to the gym were excited to watch the program. They even had to watch through the fence and the bushes.

The last song at our Christmas program almost brought tears to my eyes. It was Joy to the World sung in the three most common languages spoken natively by the students at our school, English, Khmer, and Korean. I could not get a video to download. I will try to download it on facebook. If you are friends with us please check it out.

We had a great time celebrating Christmas on the last day of school with our classes by having parties. Gideon's class had a pool/ pizza party, had a gingerbread house making contest, and filled up each others stockings they had made with gifts and cards. In Pre-K3 we celebrated Jesus by having a birthday party for him. We made chocolate muffins my mom sent from the States, we made birthday hats, sang Happy Birthday and played games. My students all month long were a little confused with us learning about Baby Jesus and me being pregnant at the same time. I think they finally understood that the baby inside of me is not Baby Jesus. Our students and their parents blessed us with precious gifts. One of my students mothers bought me a cambodian pregnancy outfit. I will wear it and it will always remind me of Cambodia and the precious people I have met here.

Being away from family is hard during the Christmas season, so we felt so blessed that they thought of us and sent us their love through packages. Thank you to both of our parents and families for our Christmas gifts.

People had been asking me if I could feel Kai moving ever since I turned 16 weeks, but it wasn't until week 21 that I could actually tell it was him. Gideon even got to put his hand on my stomach and feel him moving. We could even just stare at my stomach and every once in a while see my stomach pulsate in one section. It is so fun and reassuring to be able to feel him move around in there. Gideon continually says about himself, "I would not know what to do if I had a living human being inside of me. It would be so weird." For me it has gotten to the point where it is normal to feel him moving and I think it will be so weird for the first couple of days that he is no longer inside of me.

With all the busyness of life, school, masters classes, christmas programs Gideon has been blessed by being able to relax while watching the Broncos games live through the internet. He has finally figured out a way. Even if it is at odd hours of the day the Broncos games help him unwind and feel normal.

If you get our email updates you know that we have decided to make this our last year at Logos International School in Cambodia. In November, we had a skype interview with Children with Hope and are excited as we prepare to join them in their ministry to orphans in Eldoret, Kenya hopefully in January of 2013. We will be helping them start a school. We will keep you updated on what our new adventure will look like as we learn more.

December Vacation:

We traveled to Xi'an and Beijing, China this Christmas break on a 12 day vacation with Gideon's sister Anne, her husband Keegan, and our precious nephew and niece, Asher and Hannah. We spent the majority of the time bundled up in as many layers as we could wear as we walked through ancient Chinese buildings, walls and soldiers including: The Terra Cotta Warriors, The Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City, The Great Wall, and the Beijing Zoo (ok its not ancient, but we saw cool panda bears for the first time ever and the most beautiful tigers and lions we have ever seen in person.)

Some of our other highlights included: drinking lots of bubble milk tea and starbucks (for Kristy), running and not sweating (for Gideon), staying in a real house that had a dish washer and an oven, baking chocolate peanut butter cookies, making home made dinners, watching the acrobat show (AMAZING), bargaining at the pearl, market, practicing to be parents on our niece and nephew, cuddling on a leather couch under a fleece blanket and being just the right temperature, watching home alone, eating lots of yummy food (I hope my doctor doesn't yell at me for gaining too much weight), and playing games late into the night.

The Great Wall! We rode up the Gondola walked along for 2 hours and went down the slide. Don't worry I went very slow, but Gideon zoomed down as fast as he could.
The whole group. Asher had so much fun counting all of the steps.
Gideon and Keegan at the top of the temple at The Summer Palace. The emperor made The Summer Palace as a gift for his mother-in-law. It was such a cold day that day we were there, yet it was still busy. Can't imagine how busy it is on a nice summer day.
"TEBOW" Opening Christmas gifts on Christmas morning. Asher helped open most of ours. Thanks for all the help Asher.

Practicing to be parents.

Happy 2012!

Gideon was the only one to stay up till midnight on New Year's Eve. We didn't make New Years resolutions, but I know it is always our goal to be more like Christ in the coming year than we were this last. And I always say I'm going to be better at flossing every day :) We look forward to see how God works his plans for our lives out this year. We have many exciting things to anticipate. Finishing our school year strong and finishing up our time in Cambodia, God bringing Kai into this world, spending quality time with family, and preparing to go to Kenya. We pray that God has given you exciting things to anticipate this coming year. We love each one of you and greatly appreciate your prayers, care, concern and love.