Life is just more fun with Omi and Opi around!

(Left to Right: Opi (Dean), James, Ethan, Omi (Esther), Dorie, Phoebe, Rhoda, Keziah, Sam)

Ethan's parents and his four youngest siblings are making our lives very rich right now. Dorie just thinks she is one of the big kids! She always has someone who has the time to read to her, draw with her, or play outside with her. Today we all went to the Children's Aquarium, even Ethan, who has been incredibly busy with his Field Methods class. We had such a good time petting stingrays and touring a nearby garden. It feels like I'm on vacation!

Opi and James during lunch at the Dallas Zoo

Uncle Sam and Dorie chilling at Fair Park

Wonderful Weeks

My mom has been here for almost two weeks. We have had so much fun together! Here are a few pictures to highlight our good times.


We went to the zoo at Fort Worth--the reptile house was splendid!














Dorie and her Grandma had a "Grandma Day." Mom took her to McDonalds for breakfast and then to Walmart's toy department. They found all kinds of fun things but when the shopping cart went by the Crayola section Dorie asked Grandma to put everything else back! I had just done an art project with her and she fell in love with cutting and pasting paper. Dorie chose some red safety scissors, some construction paper, and a pack of crayons. Happy creating daughter!



Mom found this toy guitar for James at Texas Thrift. James had already discovered a love for his daddy's guitar; now he has one of his very own. :)

Dorie loves to sing, and the first song Dorie learned was "Who made the pretty lilies." Her grandma taught it to her while swinging on her front porch. Here is my mom revisiting those days.
We have had such a wonderful time!
( blog is www.xanga.com/pollythepatchworker and she has even more pictures than me about her week!)

The Gift of Prayer--QM--

We went to a birthday party this evening! Dorie's friend Edward turned three yesterday. I love birthdays so much and my little girl does too--even when she not on the receiving end. She was so excited about giving her friend a copy of her favorite music CD (Blue Moo by Sandra Boynton) and she specifically requested that we also give him smarties.







I love to make this little girl happy! I never knew how much fun it would be to give little gifts to my children. God feels the same way about us, and he has given us the gift of prayer to express our needs and desires to him. Ethan and I would like to ask you to join us in praying for our future. We had hoped know by now where we will be serving overseas, but we are still waiting and looking. We are specifically interested in Asia. Please pray that we would be lead to the right place in the right time.

Taking the Time to Enjoy Life -QM-

Life has been so busy at the Mast house these past few months. Ethan and I have both been taking classes at GIAL. We took a little break last week to go camping at a state park located an hour west of here.




Dorie's first smore.

Texas has sand-burrs and fire ants, but the weather in October makes up for all that. In the past two weeks I've been swimming six times--and November is a few days away!





James loves to play in any kind of water...even when
its a little chilly and smells a little like pond scum.

Welcome to our World!

Hello and welcome to our brand new blog! We are the Masts--Ethan, Queena, Dorie and James. We are living in Texas, far from our hometowns in Delaware and New York and we wanted to take the time to keep up with friends and family.