Cincinnati!

What an incredible week we had with the Taylor family! We enjoyed hanging out with them so much. It was sooo good to see what their life is like in Cincinnati.

While we were there we did many fun things. We started with a visit to King's Island which is an amusement park. The kids enjoyed seeing characters such as Dora the explorer, Spongebob Squarepants and The Backyardigans. We saw the Eiffel tower (american version) and of course got to ride the roller coaster, swings, helicopters etc. I (Tina) got to experience a ride on the "Beast". It has been such a long time since I have been on a roller coaster. Let me tell you that this was a good one to jog my memory! Whoo hoo! Thanks April for going with me. (at the very front too!) And thanks Jeremy for watching the kids while we did this!

Isaac and I went with April to The Freedom Center. This is a place in downtown Cincinnati that talks about Slavery, the underground railroad and much more. From the Freedom Center, you can see the Ohio river. This river is where many slaves would swim across as they began their journey to freedom. As disheartening as it was to learn about slavery and how people were treated, Isaac very much enjoyed learning about the underground railroad and how it helped people find freedom. We learned how to tell which houses were safe to go to and which weren't. A lantern in the window means that this home will hide and help protect people escaping from slavery. (Can you see Isaac hiding?) It was good for us to learn about all that has happened and to see how far we have come with this issue. However, there are still many people in our world that are in bondage. This flame will continue to burn at the Freedom Center until we see an end to slavery.

Of course there was much playing, swimming and ice cream eating! As well as having a chance to visit Kenwood Baptist. The place that brought the Taylors to Cincinnati to begin with. We leave with many fond memories and look forward to many more.

Happy lots of things!

This past week was one full of much joy.

July 1st marked Canada Day as well as Tim's birthday. We were blessed to be able to celebrate with our friends in honor of Tim. Of course the event was marked with yummy food, including the CAKE (the ever important ingredient to a successful birthday). Even our relatives the Taylor's took a turn celebrating this great day as they enjoyed their cake as they thought of Tim and of course the homeland.

A few days later, we spent most of the day with many friends as we honored and celebrated the United States of America. There was swimming and fireworks and food and fireworks and volleyball and fireworks. You get the picture. At the end of the day we were blessed to spend time with our friends down at the beach where we watched and participated in a spectacular display of pride for this nation. A great time was had by all.

Summer

School is out! It is nice to have a change of pace and be able to relax and sleep in a little bit. (At least hopefully sleeping in)

This summer is going to be a busy one for us Stobbes come the end of July as we plan on doing a bit of travelling. The kids and I (Tina) are headed to Cincinnati for 1 week to visit the Taylor family. The kids are so excited that we decided to make a chain to hang up in the house, allowing us to rip off a link of the chain for each day that we get closer to visiting our family. Thankfully this has stopped them from asking "how many more sleeps until the trip?" because they can now see........thanks to the chain. :-)

After our trip to Cincinnati, we will travel to Abbotsford (Canada) with the Taylors. We are very much anticipating a trip up to the lake with all the family. (Stobbe's and Taylors) We are very excited about this. Dad Stobbe has just bought a new dirt bike and there is a rumor that they are trying to fix up the small bike that perhaps Isaac can learn to ride all by himself. This was VERY exciting news for him. Makes mom a little nervous though.

From Abbotsford our family will head over to Calgary for a long awaited visit with the Dow family. More importantly we will be celebrating Dad Dow's 60th birthday! We will stay there for about a week and then return home.

At the end of August we are planning a little excursion with our good friends Chris and Rachel Smolko and their family up to Birch Bay, which is very close to the Canadian Border. The guys will fish, the girls will shop. Life is good. :-)

So........until the travel starts, we will hang out, play with friends, swim at the lake, BBQ, mmmmmmmm. Let the good times roll.

Catching up!

~Wow, it has been a long time since we have written anything! Sorry to those of you who may have come to see new news and found nothing. ~

Since the last entry, much has happened for the Stobbe family.

- We have had two new additions to our family. Tim's sister April and her husband Jeremy welcomed their daughter Naomi Corrine Taylor to the family last August. Tina's sister Heather and her husband Mike welcomed their son Ewan George Joseph Mitchell in October. We are so blessed!

- Megan started her first year at preschool and Isaac went to 2nd.

- We received our green cards and are now free to travel to Canada and the US as we want! We are super excited!
- We welcomed our puppy Tucker to the family this past April. So far he has been an excellent dog for us and look forward to many happy times with him.

This past spring, Isaac and Tina were involved in a musical at the local theater in Gig Harbor called "A Pirates Life For Me". It was tough work but in the end proved to be an excellent experience. I(Tina) am so proud of Isaac. He danced and sang his way to a very successful first theatrical experience as the boy who wanted to be a parrot.... And all he wanted was a cracker.

We are pleased to say that we have begun the building project for the new church! Our ground breaking ceremony was held yesterday. As we stood in the spot where we will hold our services, I was overwhelmed with joy! After we sang a couple of songs, the children were invited to come up for the turning of the dirt. It was explained to us adults that as much as this new building will be for us to use, it is also for our children as they will be the ones to come after us. It was such an encouragement to remember that we need to teach our children that the building to come is to be used as a tool to reach out to those who need Jesus! May the words of the one song we sang be ever true in the future at Waypoint Church.

"Let your glory fall in this room, let it flow forth from here to the nations. Let your fragrance rest in this place, as we gather to seek your face."

A recipe for an enjoyable summer

It has been a very busy spring. Plans for the new church are coming along well. We look forward to the beginning of building! This could start possibly in September.

Annie was a blast and Tina is glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of that play. She is still working on the music for Pocahontas and is also enjoying it!

Isaac has had a good year. Grade one took a little getting used to but has really paid off. It is fun to watch Isaac sit and read a book, even to his sister Megan, who is dying to go to school with Isaac. She will start preschool in September. Where has this time gone?

However, we are excited to say that Isaac has only 18 days of school left! This is a time that marks the upcoming summer season. We have much planned in the Stobbe family. On Tim's birthday (aka Canada day), we travel to Abbotsford to spend some time with Tim's family and celebrate his birthday. We then will travel to Calgary where we will spend 2 weeks with Tina's family. This should be a time of much needed rest for us all. After these two weeks we will make our way back to Abbotsford. Tim will return home to Vaughn, and Tina and the kids will stay to spend a little more time with the Stobbe's.

Lots of travelling and lots of resting. Thank you Lord for your goodness!

Annie

It has begun.

After a very long and tiring week, the musical Annie opens. With much anticipation and excitement from a cast of forty some people, our first show with an audience, was last night. It was so much fun. I know that during some rehearsals I wondered if it was really worth it, however when you see the final product, it is truly a blessing to be able to be a part. I am having a great time! I guess you could say that I am fully dressed, with a smile!

I am grateful for the patience of my family and especially Tim (my honey). They have not only been patient but supportive and helpful. I consider myself lucky to have such loving people in my life!

Another exciting bit of news for me (Tina) is that I have the opportunity to direct the music for the next show, Pocahantis, at the theater. Thankfully it will be a less hectic schedule and considering music is something that I totally love, I am very excited.

Yahoo!

Reading is fun!

Isaac started the first grade this past September. One that came with much anticipation. As the first month came and went, it became apparent to us that Isaac needed a boost in learning how to read. This took much patience on all of our parts. So off to work we went. And we worked hard. Using flash cards, playing games, spelling out simple words so that he could figure it out with the letters on the fridge. Isaac also joined a community after school reading program, in which he had a mentor named John. This man was so good for Isaac and because of him (and other efforts too) Isaac started to improve.

By the first report card and parent teacher conference, we were greeted by a beaming Mrs. Selfors (Isaac's teacher). She shared with us that Isaac was one of the most improved kids in the class in 6 weeks when it came to reading. She asked him if she could share his work in the class that she attended to show his improvement! Of course, Isaac was thrilled and said yes.

By the time the second report card came, and another conference with Mrs. Selfors, we learned that Isaac has now reached grade level in his reading and is continuing to soar! In all this time, Isaac has continued to attend the after school reading program. One day he met the leader of the program with these words. "I know how to read the f word now! I am so excited!" Knowing that Tim is a pastor, she quickly found out what Isaac meant. Phew! Each book has a level marked by a letter. Isaac is now on level "f". :-)

This past week, Isaac graduated from the reading program, as he is at grade level reading! I (Mom) was greeted with a phone message from the principal congratulating Isaac and awarding him with a certificate (He got a huge book too). When asked by the principal if he wanted to say anything, these were his words. "I just wanted to say that I love reading, I think it is very fun. I think that everyone should read because it is cool. I want to keep reading, it is so much fun."

Happy Reading!