Mark and Jessica Spangler

Well, we have a pool here at JAARS and we are happy to say we bought a pass and are members. We go swimming nearly everyday! It is especially fun to see the kids improving in their swimming skills over the weeks. Caleb is learning how to swim nicely and I hope that Zoe catches on before we leave for Cameroon! We will see. One big step is that we all swim on the deep side now. There is a nice and big wading pool at our pool and Zoe used to refuse to get in any other water but I am thrilled that she enjoys the deep side now!

Caleb got a beach ball for his birthday!

The girls love swimming together!

Caleb showing off his “bumps”

Well, we had a good time for Caleb’s birthday. We enjoyed time swimming, we had some friends over for lunch and to play. And we also went to Krispy Kreme’s for dessert with more friends! He had quite a full day but Mark was out of town. So, we decided to save cake and ice cream for the next day when Mark could help us sing!

There he is sitting on the table while we lit the candles and sang!

Big blow!!!!! Happy birthday Caleb! You have brought an incredible amount of joy, laughter, cuteness and favor with strangers into our lives!!!!

We have made some cool new friends here in NC. It is the beauty of being a global nomad, you make friends wherever you go! Well, one of our new friends happens to have two young daughters that Zoe loves to play with. Zoe always wants to go over there and play and spend the night and paint nails and watch movies and do whatever. So, as the perfect birthday event we thought we should have an evening over there just us girls. We ate Zoe’s favorite foods, painted nails, colored and watched a hello kitty movie. Then the boys joined us for cupcake decorating!

Here is the table all set and a banner that my sweet friend made just for Zoe!

The girls around the table.

A banner Ali made for her sister.

Time to decorate cupcakes!

We even had hello kitty sprinkles!!!!

We love our Zoe! We also loved celebrating her as a part of our family!

Singing!!!!

Happy third birthday Zo-Zo!

Well, during our time in NC we planned ahead to get Caleb and Micah in sports and Micah chose T ball. We had such a fun season! I never realized how much fun I would have watching Micah play T ball. Here are a few pictures to show off his season with Lee’s Tigers.

After the season was over Micah was invited to play on the WAA’s T ball all star team! What a fun time. We have been watching practices and can’t wait to see Micah play and have some more fun!

I asked Ali to take some pictures of Mark sling loading today. This is what she got!

Hahahahhaha! Did you see the helicopter?

So, we planned to meet our dear friend Hannah at the airport when she laid over on her way to Jamaica for a missions trip this summer. Well, wire were crossed and so were my dates so I realized at 11pm last night that indeed I needed to be at the airport at 6am with my four lovely children the next morning. So, I made a quick phone call to confirm, set an alarm and dozed off to sleep. 4:30am rolled around and I hopped in the shower. Mark hopped out of bed and made two lattes to go. After all, he is quite a man! Then Mark went into the boys room and I hear him quietly say something but could only make out the words airport and Hannah. Then I hear loud and clear,”Reeeeaaally!!!!???”. Caleb was up and dressed faster than I knew he could move. Ali even heard him from her room and,”is it the day to go see Hannah?!” comes from her room. “yep, get dressed if you want,” I reply. That is how we got out the door and down the driveway at 4:56am! Go team Spangler! Mark two points for Mark, one for each coffee :). So off we drove, chatting all the way to the airport. We made it in time and we got to spend a few hours with our precious friend Hannah! What a good start to Friday.

Hannah getting ready to take pictures.

Attempting to persuade Caleb to take a picture.

Hannah and Jess

I started this project before Christmas but I had to pack up my sewing stuff and head to NC. Now that we are settled and school is nearly finished I can spend some time sewing. It has been fun mending and hemming and finishing projects. Ali has even learned how to use be sewing machine and is pounding out purses and things. Here is a picture of Ali’s new nightgown. I love love love the French patterns that I brought back from France! The plaid doesn’t do the pattern justice. I need to find some sweater fabrics. Linen perhaps.

It has brought me so much delight to watch Micah play T-ball He has always had a good arm. Now he has a good swing and a heart that loves baseball to go with it. He is cute and humble to boot.

This picture was taken on opening day. Micah surprised me by waving at the crowds when his named was called. That’s my boy!!!

This year the night before Resurrection Sunday or Easter we made resurrection cookies. Each ingredient is a symbol of part of the Easter story. Mark made the cookies adding each ingredient as he explained what it meant and read scripture. It was a neat way to retell the story of Christ’s death and resurrection. It also reminded us about how as Christ followers we’ve been washed clean!

The tape signifies that the tomb was sealed and in the morning the kids saw that the tape had been cut reminding them that the tomb had been opened! Inside each cookie was a hallow spot reminding us that the tomb was empty because He has risen.

One of the things about being an MK is moving around so often. When we visit places we reconnect quickly and jump right in. This also means leaving and as we leave it is sad to hear people talking and planning for upcoming events. Leaving Phoenix was especially difficult for Ali this time because there was a daddy daughter event within days after we left. So, she saw the fliers, heard the announcements and listened as the girls chatted about it with excitement.
God knows all things and just after we arrived in our new location we saw an announcement in the church bulletin about a father daughter date night. You better believe Mark bought tickets and asked Ali to go. It was bitter sweet because it couldn’t replace going and seeing all her friends and their dads, but it was a clear demonstration to how God loved her! And, of course it is always fun to dress up and go on a date!
We chose this bush not just for the color but also because, being from AZ we have no idea about all the different plants here. That said one morning shortly after I woke up the kids started screaming to me to come quick because our bush was turned pink! Well, much to my surprise it really was! I’d never seen anything like it. So, to remember that we took their daddy daughter pics in front of the pink bush.

Mark and Ali had a fun night. They even drew a picture together. I wish I would have taken a picture of it but I still have time because it is hanging on our wall. They drew a picture of our house in Africa :).