Posts Tagged ‘boys’

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How many more days till we can go swimming???

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Having an adventure at the river

Having an adventure at the river

With temperatures climbing up towards 115 degrees in the afternoons we look forward to any chance to cool off.  If Steve is going to be able to spend some time with the boys without constant interruptions we have to leave home for a while.  So, what better way to fix both of these problems than with some time at a pool!  We try and go every few weeks to a town about an hour away to stock up on some groceries, eat a meal that mom didn’t cook, and spend some time splashing in the pool.  Oh, how we all look forward to these days.  Sweating it out every other day and just keeping an eye on the calendar for a day when we can get away!  We’re so thankful for our wonderful friends, the Bryants, who are usually always up for a day at the pool too.  Our kids have a blast together coming up with all kinds of death-defying tricks to do off the diving board.  If there’s no chance to head to the pool we can try the river about a five minute drive from our house, but it’s just about dried up after six months with no rain.  Here’s a few photos of the kids getting a chance to cool off…

Jumping contests off the diving board

Jumping contests off the diving board

Enjoying the river

Enjoying the river

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Tea Time

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Afternoon pastime

Afternoon pastime

I have posted before that making tea is quite the past time here.  Not with ladies sipping from dainty cups – more like boys downing shots of espresso.  I personally am not a fan of the whole tea making process.  It’s messy, takes a long time to do the right way, and usually our boys have a stomachache afterwards.  But, culturally it’s definitely something that boys do, so I need to let go once in a while and let them have at it.

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Soccer crosses the barriers

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Malachi and Micah going for the ball

Malachi and Micah going for the ball

I love seeing our boys forgot about the cultural and language barriers that separate them from the kids around them.  There doesn’t need to be a whole lot of conversation going on for a soccer game!  These photos of when Steve took the boys out to visit some friends who live in a village about an hour from us.  Their boys are used to these nightly soccer games in their front yard.  Our boys had a blast.  Even Ephraim was staying tough and going after those big guys.  Malachi, who is usually not a big fan of soccer, was out there giving it his best.  And, of course, Micah was in full competitive mode.  It’s always a blessing to see our kids feeling at home in Guinea.  We don’t want them to feel like this is just some place that we dragged them to – instead we want them to build their own friendships and relationships with a heart to see those friends come to know Christ.

Ephraim staying in the middle of things

Ephraim staying in the middle of things

Pretty serious game!

Pretty serious game!

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Trip to the beach

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Thursday, March 24th, 2011

I have a lot that I’d like to write about these days, but the time just gets away from me and before I know another day has passed.  I promise to get to that writing soon, but here’s a few pictures of our trip to the beach this past weekend.  We went with good friends and we all had a great time.

I love this picture of Ephraim

I love this picture of Ephraim

Beach football

Beach football

The pool on the beach - a hotel sits here as well - no running water and no electricity, but they cleaned out the pool. It may be too dirty to swim in next time we go, but for now it was great.

The pool on the beach - a hotel sits here as well - no running water and no electricity, but they cleaned out the pool. It may be too dirty to swim in next time we go, but for now it was great.

Malachi can find a dog anywhere - the owners dog wanted to jump in for a swim

Malachi can find a dog anywhere - the owners dog wanted to jump in for a swim

This is totally Ephraim

This is totally Ephraim

There are so many times I catch him in a photo and think "when did my little boy grow up?"

There are so many times I catch him in a photo and think "when did my little boy grow up?"

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Getting his wish

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
Malachi with his new braids

Malachi with his new braids

Malachi has been growing his hair out for months – just waiting for the day when it could be braided into cornrows.  He loves watching athletes on TV with braids – always talking how that will be him soon enough.  I think he asked me about 50 times in the days before we returned to Guinea if I thought someone would be able to braid it already.  I tried to give him a realistic answer that it might not be quite long enough.  One of our first days back we were visiting with friends in the village and my friend said that she would be able to do Malachi’s hair already.  He was so excited.  She came over the very next day and in no time his head was in cornrows.  He loved it.  I kept asking if it hurt, but he said no.  I don’t think he would have admitted even if it did.

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We made it here!

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Monday, March 14th, 2011
A little hotter than we're used to

A little hotter than we're used to

We have really felt all your prayers in the past few days.  Thanks for the emails and comments on facebook that have truly encouraged our hearts.  How incredible it is to feel such support behind us.

It’s been quite the journey so far!  We made it from Detroit to DC to Senegal with no problems.  The long flight actually seemed to go by really quickly.  We were greeted in Senegal by friends and were looking forward to a day of just resting up before the next flight down to Guinea.  That’s when we learned that our flight to Guinea had been cancelled!  Talk about a little panic!  It turns out that Senegal set up their own airline and has banned all other airlines from flying throughout Africa from their airport.  Long story short – we got tickets on their new airline the next day.  It was an unexpected layover, but we enjoyed a good nights sleep in a hotel and everything worked out in the end.

We spent the last couple of days in the capital city picking up a few supplies and enjoying a pool.  Our friends, the Bryants, had come down to greet us and spend those days with us.  It was a nice chance to get used to the heat again!  It’s so hot here!!!  Quite the change from the Michigan winter we left behind.

Yesterday we traveled up to the Mission Center – a very hot, dusty six hour ride!  We are settled into the guesthouse for the time being as we make a few repairs to our house.  We are very eager to not live out of suitcases indefinitely.  Our co-workers have been very gracious with us and we’ve begun greeting friends from the village.

In some ways, it seems like we never left.  Which is a good thing I guess.  We feel like the transitions are going well and we’re just trying to ease into things slowly.

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Getting kids involved

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Monday, February 14th, 2011
A group shot of the kids during one of the services

A group shot of the kids during one of the services

It’s awesome to see kids get excited learning about a different way of life.  We had the chance to get with the elementary age kids at our church this past weekend.  We shared with them about what life would be like for kids in Guinea and how different it is from the life they know.  It was so cool to see the kids get excited and ask lots of questions about Africa.  It was wonderful to be able to share with them why our family is heading back to Guinea and our desire to see people come to know Christ.

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Journey to Florida

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Monday, February 14th, 2011

My mom and I with the boys in front of the castle

My mom and I with the boys in front of the castle

We have been planning a trip to Florida to visit one of our churches there for a quite a while.  But, we were not planning on our entire family being seriously sick for that trip.  It was the longest drive of my life with Ephraim crying to lay down and go to sleep and all of us running fevers and coughing uncontrollably.  There was no way we could reschedule the trip with just a few weeks left in the states, so we just had to go anyways.  After what seemed like an eternity we finally arrived in Florida and prepared to speak with the church.  We were both afraid that we wouldn’t be able to speak more than a few words without breaking into a coughing fit, but God really got us through it.  We really enjoyed meeting people down there and seeing first hand the great church that is standing behind us as we leave again for Guinea.  We were able to share about our ministry and hopefully gave people a vision for what we are wanting to see happen there.

We have a bunch of family down there as well – most of them with the church that we visited – so it was a great chance to visit with them as well.  We hadn’t seen some of them in years and it was a great time to catch up and thank them for being a part of what we’re doing.  It seemed like family time went quickly and we were on the road again.  We headed up to Orlando for a couple days of fun with the kids.  I wish they all would have been at 100% for a visit to Disney, but they were doing much better than I had anticipated.  We spent one day at Magic Kingdom and it seemed like the boys were the perfect ages for everything – they loved all the rides.  There is nothing that they are afraid of!  They didn’t care even when it started raining – they didn’t think that should stop any of the rides.  So, we got some ponchos and headed back to Thunder Mountain which was their favorite.  I loved seeing the look of awe on their faces with things.  We spent another day at Seaworld – it was a freezing day – less than 50 degrees, but we still had a good time.  The boys loved feeding the mantarays, watching the dolphins, sharks and penguins.  We went to a couple of shows – a very funny sea lion show and the Shamu show.  Malachi was chosen from the audience to be a volunteer and he loved it.  He got to go up in front of everyone and talk with the trainers – it was all on the big screens so he felt like a celebrity.  It was a busy couple of days and then it was back on the road.  We were able to stay with friends on the way back – so glad for the chance to visit before we leave for another couple of years.  I think I learned that I don’t want to drive to Florida anytime soon, but it was some great memories with the kids.

Malachi was chosen to be the volunteer for the Shamu show

Malachi was chosen to be the volunteer for the Shamu show

Ephraim absolutely loved the Jungle Safari ride

Ephraim absolutely loved the Jungle Safari ride

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Basketball season

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Monday, February 14th, 2011

Making a break for the basket

Making a break for the basket

I think I might have been a little insane to sign all three of the boys up for basketball with just weeks left until we head out to Guinea.  Seriously, practice for someone almost every school night and 3 games every Saturday morning – what was I thinking?  Plus, no one signed up to coach Micah’s team, so being the great dad that he is – Steve got to take over that job.  It’s been crazy with homework and dinners and trying to get everyone where they need to be for all these practices, but the boys really enjoyed the experience.

Micah is our most competitive player – he takes every play so seriously.  He gives 100% out there every game – and there were some moments of watching him take a hit, but he just gets right up and gets going.  Nothing is going to keep him off the court.  He will need to learn to not take everything so personally in the years ahead, but he really does have the heart for sports.  I was so proud watching him running up and down that court – he is great at stealing and rebounding especially.

Malachi played for the YMCA and again it was a little tough for him that he wasn’t in the same league as Micah.  But, I think he learned a lot of skills.  He was just six when he had played with a team before – so a lot of it was new for him.  He really enjoys shooting baskets and he’s a great defender.  It’s hard to play on a new team with kids he doesn’t know, but he stuck with it and I love watching him out there.

Ephraim played for the YMCA too and he had been asking for months when he could play basketball.  He was so adorable out there.  He was by far the youngest kid on his team and everyone seemed to tower above him, but he didn’t notice at all.  He was just so happy to be out there and having a good time.  He is the ultimate defender – he sticks to his man like glue and there is no getting away from him – even when he’s supposed to be playing offense!  He is just too cute out there!

Soon basketball games will be over too.  Time is flying by and I’m glad that they could have these experiences here in the States.

Micah is loving every second of playing

Micah is loving every second of playing

Learning to dribble

Learning to dribble

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Piles of snow

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Monday, February 14th, 2011

Snowball fight with his brothers

Snowball fight with his brothers

A few weeks from now these piles of snow will be a distant memory.  Instead of jumping in snow piles, we’ll be sweating out our days.  I’m not a fan of snow.  I really don’t like bundling up the boys from head to toe – only to have Ephraim come back inside 15 minutes later because snow went down his neck.  I think life is much more convenient without hats, gloves, snowpants, and boots.  All that being said, when the days are 110 degrees and sweat is pouring off of me – I may look back on the winter wonderland photos and dream of these cooler days.

Our boys have loved all the snow.  They have become quite the snowboarders in the past couple of months.  They have had a great time racing down hills big and small.  Ephraim’s class went sledding one day and his friends were pretty impressed with his ability to get all the way down the hill without falling.  He was only too happy to show off for everyone.  They’ll really miss the snow and winter weather!

For a few minutes he's happy in the snow

For a few minutes he's happy in the snow

Malachi perfecting his snowboarding technique

Malachi perfecting his snowboarding technique

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