We are spending a few days in Texas getting ready for the summer. We made a quick trip to Austin to visit Laura's family and check on some official paperwork for our next round of visa applications.
These pictures are for our Latvian friends. Central Texas is a beautiful place, especially during the spring time. But, the tradeoff is a huge traffic problem.
We're back to East Texas for a few more meetings, summer ministry planning and house repairs.
So long for now....
Laura and I are enjoying a few days in Texas ... catching up with family and friends, taking care of Uncle Sam's April 15 paperwork and planning for the summer's activities.
Here are a couple of unusual cows that were grazing the Amsterdam Airport and then a big bear we found while taking our son Adam out for Mexican food in Dallas.
One of truly gracious ladies of Cesis Baptist is Vija. She has been so kind and helpful to us in every way and it was our honor to be invited to her 70th birthday party.
Vija has six children (see picture below) and all of them were in attendance. In view of the seventy year mark, she was given seven cakes! Latvian birthday cakes are a little different from the US.
Her big present was a digital camera, which she was already putting to good use by the time the party really got going. Pictures of the cat, pictures of the door, pictures of the kids, pictures of over-stuffed Americans full of good Latvian food...
One of the neat things here is that they include Laura and me in nearly everything (even if they forget to tell us ahead of time "Oh yeah, we are having a birthday celebration right after church...You are coming aren't you?") So, we show up, presents or not, and get to participate in another culture's traditions.
By the way, I hope I am able to do the things that Vija does daily when I get to be 70.
