Hannah is 7!

The past year has been a whirlwind. It is hard to believe that our youngest is now a 7-year-old 2nd grader! She is quickly growing up in many ways, but in many other ways she is still our baby. :)

Hannah has learned a lot in the last year. She and her siblings have been working with a Khmer tutor for an hour each day to learn the Khmer language. We had hoped they would have some Khmer-speaking friends in our neighborhood and could learn that way, but though they do have a couple of Khmer friends, they go to English schools and so speak English with our kids. Hannah is a quick study, though, and a very auditory learner, so she has picked up a lot in her class and from listening to Nathan and I in our own studies. She doesn't have a very broad vocabulary yet, but she isn't shy about trying out what she knows, and she often understands the Khmer that Nathan and I speak to each other. Lord willing, once we move out to where all the kids speak Khmer, she will pick it up more quickly!

Hannah has also taken off in reading this past year. A year ago she was slowly working her way through picture books, but now she is enjoying easy chapter books like The Magic Tree House. She would still choose listening to chapter books over reading them though. Since she has less school work than the older two, when she finishes her work, her favorite thing to do is go play with her dolls or color in her room while she listens to audio books. The Chronicles of Narnia are still her favorite by far, but she enjoys many others as well, such as Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Ramona. She listens to so many audio books that sometimes we can hear her narrating her own day in storybook form as she goes about her daily activities, though she doesn't do this nearly as much as she did a year or two ago. She also has a great memory, and will often quote books or movies.

Hannah is our drama queen. Everything matters to this girl, and she has strong opinions which she very willingly shares! She gets emotional (happy, sad, excited, angry) very easily, and as she grows we are working at helping her manage and channel those emotions! She has such a strong, magnetic personality that she could be a very influential person - for good or for evil. She tells us that she came to know the Lord as her Savior a few years ago, and she gets very excited when we read stories about other people accepting Jesus, but we are still looking to see more evidence of faith and obedience to Christ in her life. We pray that she will grow to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit in her life more and more and that her exuberant spirit will help open doors for the gospel here in Cambodia!

Hannah Supriyah is SIX! (Birthday interview, update, and pictures) - Better late than never!

It's hard to believe our "baby" is six! But then she has considered herself "NOT a baby" for at least four years now. :)

Here is our annual birthday interview so you can hear from the source some of her likes, dislikes, and interests are these days:

And a little video from Hannah's 6th Birthday:

This last year was a tough one for our family, full of many changes and much faith building. Though Hannah is young, this was something that affected our entire family, Hannah included. This time last year she was praying daily that "Daddy's visa [to India] would come soon." When that didn't happen, we watched (and guided) as her 5-year-old faith grew to understand that God knows and will do what is best for us. We saw her learning to "trust and obey," knowing that as a family we want to be where God wants us to be, so we would trust Him and go where He led even if that meant not going back to India. Hannah's faith has grown and changed significantly over the past year.

In other areas Hannah is still pretty much the same Hannah! She's a fun-loving, people-loving, book-loving, adventure-loving, control-loving, bling-loving girl. ;) She is still our fearless kid who loves a good adventure (as long as it is HER idea), but who also loves all things fancy, girly, sparkly, etc.

She has taken off in reading over the past few months and loves the fact that she can pick up a book and read it on her own now. Her current favorite books to read herself are the Asterix books. Her absolute favorite books are The Chronicles Narnia books, which she brings to me to read over and over. I'm a little sad that we're already ending our picture book days as Hannah would rather have a Narnia book read to hear than any picture book!

Last fall Hannah learned how to ride a bike on her own. She was a quick study, needing lots of help on a Saturday, and taking off on her own by Monday. She had plenty of motivation as all of her older siblings and cousins could ride, and she certainly didn't want to be left out!

A girl on the move

Hannah was thrilled to be a part of the Awana "Sparks" program this year. Although our travels took us to many different churches, she memorized the verses in her book AND Daniel's (from listening to him say them)!

In January she (and her siblings) had her first experience spending an extended period of time away from Mommy and Daddy. Though she says she missed us especially at night, she had a great time with Granddad and Grandma Waldock and made some special memories. Grandma even taught her several different stitches which she found extra exciting!

Granddad and Grandma Waldock with the kiddos

An "extra" year in the States also meant extra time with cousins and grandparents. All of our kids have at least one cousin on both sides of the family that is their age, which makes family get-togethers lots of fun!

Hannah and Jerusha (4 months apart)

Hannah and Eskil (6 months apart)

Rife cousins (Gabe, far left, is 6 weeks younger than Hannah)

She enjoyed lots of special times with her Rife grandparents too - especially "Grandparent Camp" nearly every Friday! They went to playgrounds, museums, historical sites, put on circuses, sang at nursing homes and for shut-ins, had cookouts, and made lots of memories that won't soon be forgotten!

The Rife cousins with Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Eileen

Cousin Circus - a new tradition

In late Spring Hannah was able to play a season with Upward Soccer. This was her first organized sports experience, and although she loves action and adventure, she's not usually a very "sporty" kid so we weren't sure how she would do. She said she wanted to play though, so we let her. Sometimes her "playing" was more socializing with the other kids on her team, but she had fun and made some good friends in the process. =)

With some new soccer buddies!

Hannah also got to be a part of her first church musical, which is absolutely a "Hannah thing." She listened to the recording so many times in preparation for the musical that she had every part memorized. =) She LOVED being a part of it! We still hear those songs from time to time around here!

Hannah also got to be in a Grand Prix at her grandparents church last fall. She enjoyed the races and her car did very well, but I think she enjoyed making and decorating the car even more!

Over the past year Hannah has gotten over her fear of putting her head under the water in the swimming pool, and has gotten much more confident and self sufficient in the water. She thinks she has "learned to swim," though her parents still think it would be good for her to learn to keep her head above water. ;-) It is with much annoyance that she continues wearing the arm floats that her parents make her wear!

The day before we left the States to come to Cambodia (near the end of June), Hannah started complaining that her tooth was hurting. We realized that she had a couple of loose teeth and she was SO excited! The whole trip to Cambodia she would periodically exclaim, "I can't believe I have a loose tooth!!"

Waiting in the airport with cousins while Daddy and uncles get our luggage checked in

Flying to Cambodia!

Hannah's first Cambodian coconut!

 Moving to Cambodia has been a big adjustment, and Hannah definitely misses both India and our family in America. The Lord has given her (and Karunya and Daniel) some English speaking friends on our street, so that has been a blessing. Hannah looks forward to playing with them almost every afternoon!

She lost her first tooth in July and was THRILLED about that as you can see from the picture. =) She didn't want to pull it out, so she ended up swallowing it as she ate a brownie. Not a bad way to loose a tooth! She currently has several other loose teeth that she is looking forward to loosing as well.

Hannah is growing up far too quickly and thinks she is growing up even faster. We are so thankful for our sweet girl who brings so much life and energy to our family. If you don't know her well in person, the pictures below show much of her personality. That's something our Hannah has no lack of - personality! Our prayer for her is that she would grow in her love for God and her love for others over the next year.

A few more pictures of Hannah's year being five:

We had to go up into the mountains to find it, but we found some snow to sled in!

These precious three... willingly walking along wherever God leads our family

Learning some music!

Hiking at Pilot Mountain, NC

Hannah's "LOOK." If you haven't seen it... this is it... beware.

Just hangin' out with Opie Taylor

Riding in a Cambodian tuk-tuk

Enjoying Cambodia's monsoon rains

Daniel's 7th Birthday Interview

Daniel, Age 7

Recently we were looking at pictures from last July when we had just arrived in the States, and we were amazed at how young Daniel looked compared to now. A year of life on the road, meeting new people, and spending a LOT of time out of his comfort zone has grown him up in many ways.

Showing a new friend some things from India - one of the favorites is the toy auto!

Daniel has always been our introvert, preferring NOT to talk to people he doesn't know well. When we were in India (Daniel was not yet six) and people would talk to him at church or on the street, he would often shrink away, refusing to return a handshake. We knew that had to change, especially with the nature of our life on furlough. After a year, it is amazing to see how much he has grown in that area. He is still quiet, and meeting new people will never be his favorite thing. However, he has learned to be polite and talk to people when necessary, and he has done wonderfully at being in a different Sunday School class almost every Sunday! He has even come to enjoy passing out prayer cards and telling people all about India. And if you catch him at the right moment, he will happily (if quietly and slowly) tell you a story - just ask him about the time he got stuck under an inner tube in Thailand or got poisoned by a caterpillar while camping in Virginia! 

Passing out prayer cards

This year has been a big year of accomplishments and milestones for Daniel. Last fall he learned how to ride a bike on his own. He turned out to be a very intuitive bike rider, bypassing training wheels completely, and finding his balance very quickly. His main challenge was using the brake! The brake on this bike was a foot brake on the pedals. For some reason he was afraid to use the brakes, so when he wanted to stop, he would run into the curb instead! This continued for awhile until he ran into a curb going at a fairly high speed, and flipped over the handlebars into the grass! Thankfully he was more surprised than hurt, but it was incentive enough for him to learn to use the brake. =)

And now he has no fear...

In addition to riding a bike last fall, Daniel learned how to tie his shoes. In the spring he mastered the art of pumping a swing (among other random accomplishments like climbing UP a fireman pole and doing over 50 push-ups at one time). Just recently (in July), Daniel learned how to swim and lost his middle two bottom teeth. He has also become an excellent reader, and often surprises me at the words he can read. As of this fall, he is capable of reading at a 4th grade reading level, but at this point he still much prefers being read to than reading on his own. He's funny because if you ask him, he will say he doesn't like to read. But then I will find him off somewhere reading Calvin and Hobbes or Manga books (Bible story comic books), and he just looks up at me with this sheepish grin of his. Gotta love him. =)

Enjoying a story with Aunt Steph, cousin Gabe, and Hannah

Daniel is actually sharper than he sometimes lets on. He daydreams and often has "selective hearing," but he is quick with numbers and learns very quickly overall when he is into what he is learning. He doesn't enjoy writing unless it's just something he is doing on his own, but he loves learning when he is free to explore and discuss what he is learning.

This past summer, since we ended up in the States longer than we originally expected, Daniel got to play on a "real" soccer team. He was SO excited by this prospect, especially with the added bonus that he was on a team with his cousin Ethan. Daniel and Ethan worked really well together, and the coaches usually made sure the two were playing at the same time, telling the boys, "We need some cousin magic!"

Going for a goal!

Daniel is still our geography guy, and has learned a lot about the U.S. States since we've been here. Often he will show me part of a sandwich, saying, "What does this look like?" More often than not, it's the shape of a state. He knows the name, shape, and location of every state, and can identify many of the flags and especially license plates on sight. He and I (Rachel) have had a running license plate game going since we arrived in the States, and we have nearly finished our third time through! (The rest of the family joins in occasionally, but he's the main one who is actually interested and watches out for new license plates. The girls don't seem to care much!)

Traveling, traveling, traveling

Checking out the Badlands

Bird watching at Mt. Ranier

 He also loves puzzles of all sorts. He's not as big into jigsaw puzzles as he used to be (though if someone else is doing one, or he sees one sitting out, he's drawn like a magnet!), but he spends a lot of time working on other sorts of puzzles. He loves mazes, riddles, Where's Waldo type books and other such things. A few months ago some friends gave him and Karunya Perplexus puzzle balls which have been a HUGE hit. He has spent hours working on both of them, and has mastered Karunya's, which is slightly easier. He's still working on mastering his!

Daniel and friend Matthew working on the Perplexus balls

a map and a puzzle in one place - doesn't get any better than that for our boy!

Finding Waldo with cousin Kyra

Daniel is our introvert, sandwiched between two extroverted sisters. It makes for an interesting family dynamic! He is often content to just let the girls do the talking, but when he has something he wants/needs to say, he will stand his ground and say what needs to be said! He is usually hesitant about trying new things, but once he tries something and realizes that he can do it (especially if it is something fun and active), he is gung-ho and all there! For example, he was hesitant about riding his bike down the hill near my parents' house, but now that he is confident on a bike, he zooms and swerves down the hill, sometimes pretty recklessly! Also, over the summer the public library offered several different programs and activities, one of which was a climbing tower that rotated between several libraries one week. Daniel was excited to try it, but was a little uncertain as to how he would do. Once he had done it and succeeded, however, he was all over that tower and loved it!

Sibling love

Look at his face... can you tell what comes next?!

Having fun together

On the climbing tower (Daniel is on the left)

One of his favorite things - zooming down the hill into the driveway

Daniel loves hiking, swimming, riding bikes, and all things outdoors. He may be quiet and sensitive, but he is still ALL BOY. He loves exploring and is curious about so many things. I pray that love for learning will remain with him all his life.

Always out on a limb!

First time in the snow and looking for someone to throw his huge chunk of snow at!

Collecting rocks in the river

Enjoying the water with cousin Ethan

Our little pyromaniac roasting marshmallows in the backyard

 One thing Daniel has learned over the past year is to enjoy the time he has with people, but then let go and enjoy the next thing. That can be difficult, but it is necessary for the life our family lives. He has learned to make friends faster than he used to (although I think he will always hold back more than his sisters by nature of his personality). He usually enjoys whatever we're doing wherever we are, and then when it's time to go on to the next thing, he enjoys that too. However, of all the kids, he is the main one these days who will ask when "the next thing" is going to happen.

Saying goodbye to little cousin Rivers as he left for Thailand

Fun times with good buddy Caleb (a great friend even though they've only ever spent a few days together!)

Picnicking with Grandad and Grandma Waldock

Enjoying Grandparent Camp with the Rife grandparents

Daniel really enjoys creating things these days. He loves drawing, coloring, painting, etc. He is very meticulous in his work, and gets frustrated easily when he makes mistakes or when it doesn't work the way he planned.

Daniel is very observant, and notices things usually before anyone else - a bird song, a siren, an airplane (the sight or sound of it) the Mill Mountain star, a license plate, etc. Yet at the same time he is a typical male and often doesn't hear you when you call his name from three feet away. =)

Daniel also has a very silly sense of humor, and loves to tease and make people laugh. Most of the time, he would much rather be (and have everyone else be) silly than serious!

Fierce Tiger Daniel - still by far his favorite animal

Daniel has loved getting to spend so much time with his cousins over the past year. That has been a precious gift for all of the children as they had not seen each other at all in four years and now ALL of the cousins are or are preparing to live overseas and they will likely see each other even less often. Daniel has had a blast with the cousins nearest his age, but he has also been great with the little ones as well. There is a lot of mutual teasing that goes on. =)

Silliness with cousin Adisu - these two really seemed to "get" each others' wacky sense of humor 

(Still) finding Waldo with Hannah and cousins Kyra and Jerusha. They figured out that if you add "ck" to Waldo, it becomes "Waldock," the last name that they all share.

Hanging out with little cousin Malachi

 Daniel loved all of the travels across country. Yes, he got bored in the van once in awhile, but he enjoyed the multitude of audio books we listened to (the Narnia series was by far his favorite), and he loved getting out and exploring all of the National Parks we visited

Soldiers at Little Bighorn

Along the way...

Exploring around Pompey's Pillar (where William Clark stopped)

Checking out a replica of a longboat that Lewis and Clark used

Hanging out with William Clark, their friend because he was a fellow redhead. =)

Amazed at the size of the rocks that fall from Devil's Tower

Daniel was especially impressed by Mount Rushmore, and was talking about it for weeks afterward!

 Such a sweet, silly boy he is, cautious and sensitive, yet fierce and aggressive... all combined into one awesome little boy whom we love very much!