Summer is definitely in full swing.  The girls are on the Garfield Park swim team again.  We’ve had visits from our missionaries - the Stilwells in Costa Rica, and the Petersens in Scotland.  That has been a real treat for all of us to get to spend time with dear friends. 

We had our annual Fourth of July party, despite a huge construction project on our street which has prohibited parking there.  On the 4th, we had a huge hole in front of our house and we had to keep the little ones from going too close to it!  They are replacing the sewer pipes, which we hope will be an improvement of some kind.

Next week we go to Massachusetts for a family reunion and wedding.  We are excited to drive through Buffalo and visit some old friends there.  And Cape Cod is beautiful in the summer, so we are looking forward to seeing family and enjoying the ocean.

A week ago Fadel, the Saudi student that has been living with us since October, moved out.  We really enjoyed having him in our home.  He treated us all to dinner at a GREAT Egyptian restaurant in Indianapolis, called Cairo Cafe.  I highly recommend it!

After he left, we had Eliza’s birthday sleepover with a few friends on Tuesday.  On Wednesday a guy named Josh Olson came to stay with us from Escondido, CA.  He’s from Calvary Chapel in Escondido, and came to do a discipleship training course with people from our church and a few other Horizons around Indy.  It is a great course, put together by a man from India.  We are excited to implement it at church.  It’s been fun getting to know Josh as well.  We taught him “Ticket to Ride” (the train game), and “Blockus”.

Tomorrow night my parents come from Massachusetts to visit for a week.  My mom’s sister (named Aunt Sis) from Milwaukee is coming on Tuesday and will stay til Friday.  It will be a special treat to have the three of them in our home.  So that’s what’s going on around here!

Yesterday was a prime example of why I love living in Indianapolis.  I was watching the Velazquez children for two days (ages 2, 7, 9 and 12). We all decided to go out for the afternoon. 

The first stop was the NEW Central Library.  It is an amazing structure, reminding me more of the Children’s Museum than the old library. I felt like we should pay to be there, but it is completely FREE.  After spending time in the children’s section, which includes a computer center for kids of all ages, a metallic wall with magnets of all kinds for little ones, a stage for performing, lots of cool chairs, and books, books, and more books, we rode up the 4 escalators to the top floor.  From there we had a beautiful view of the Indianapolis skyline. We stopped at the cafe on the way out. Normally libraries don’t allow food and drink, but here they encourage it!  The friendly man at the cafe even gave us a free cookie besides the one we purchased.

 After leaving the library from our close, low-cost parking space, we drove 5 minutes to the center of town. The downtown sites are quite accessible.   After finding another convenient, low-cost parking space, we walked a block to the Monument at the very center of the city. The friendly men at the base informed us it costs only $1 to ascend.  The view from the top, though cramped, is panoramic.  From there we descended to the FREE Civil War Museum located at the base of the monument.  Having recently performed a play about the Civil War with our homeschool co-op, we found the exhibits very interesting. Even the 2-yr. old enjoyed it!

 On the way out Luke (the 2 yr old) tripped and fell in front of the monument.  We sat on the steps and tried to stop his lip from bleeding, and while there a friendly man came up and asked if he could interview us.  He was John Strauss, program producer and host for WIBC 93.1 FM, located on the circle.  After interviewing us about our activities that day, he gave us an unexpected, behind-the-scenes tour of the radio station.  The entire interview was played after the 6 pm news, and it was a thrill for all of us to hear ourselves on the radio. Truly it was a day of adventures!

On such days as these I love living in Indianapolis. And that’s without even mentioning the Colts, the art museum, the zoo, the Speedway museum, the canal, the low cost of living, the symphony, the theatres, the public parks, the rich soil for growing, the weather,  and the GREAT friends we have here.

On Wednesday night we saw a lunar eclipse. It was cool to watch. We went to church that night, and on the way there, we had noticed how full and bright the moon was. Then, after church, when we came back outside, it looked only about half full. During the next hour or so, we watched the moon grow smaller and smaller, until all of it was in shadow. One thing I thought interesting was that the part of the moon that was covered was still visible. Even when the whole thing was in shadow, we could still see it; it just wasn’t shining. It was really neat to see a lunar eclipse. I had never seen anything like that before.

We went to Clifty Falls last week. Clifty Falls is a state park. It is a lot of fun to go there. The inn is on a hill, and it has a very nice view of the Ohio River and the town of Madison. They have a swimming pool, a hot tub, games to play, and nice places to read. They also have trails to walk on, but since we go in the winter we don’t walk on the trails. In the winter they have a special deal, two nights for the price of one. Another good thing about Clifty Falls is that it is very close to where our good friends the Murphys live.

When we got there on Sunday, we watched the rest of the pro bowl, then we went swimming in the indoor pool. After that we read until it was time to go to bed.

On Monday, we slept in pretty late. After we got ready, we went downstairs and read our Bibles by the fire. Then we drove to a restaurant for a late breakfast. When we got back, Mommy and I played catch with the football outside, and Daddy and Krystiana took a walk. When we came in, we watched a movie that we had brought. Then Daddy played checkers with me. After the game, Mr. Murphy and 3 of their kids came to the inn, and we went swimming with them for a few hours. After that, we went back with them to their house and ate dinner together. When it was time to go back to the inn, Mr. Murphy brought us back. The weather was very snowy that evening, and there are many hills, so he had to drive carefully.

The next morning we got up and started packing our stuff, because that afternoon we had to leave. We went swimming for a while before we left.
We had a very fun time at Clifty Falls. I think that Clifty Falls is a very nice state park.

Since we moved into our house in 2002, we have had the privilege of hosting international students.  Our first was a guy from Ecuador named Juan Carlos, and presently we have a guy from Saudi Arabia named Fadel.  All of these students have been at the ELS (yes, that’s correct - it’s called ELS) program at IUPUI, which is just a short bus ride from our house.  We have also hosted 3 Japanese girls, one Korean guy, a Taiwanese man, and another Saudi Arabian guy named Abdulaziz.  One of the Japanese girls was young - only 16 - and she joined our home school  for several weeks. 

It has been such a great experience for our family to have these special students in our home, and the rich cultural experience for our girls has been invaluable. We have found them all to be very gracious and giving people, and open to sharing about their cultures with us.  Abdulaziz even brought us some Saudi Arabian cookbooks that he and his mom picked out when he went back for a visit. We hope to enjoy many more international students in our home.

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Yesterday the Indianapolis Colts lost to San Diego in the playoffs.  Two years ago, the same thing happened, except for they lost to Pittsburgh.  One year ago, the Colts won the Superbowl.  This was the last game they will play in the RCA Dome, because they are building a new stadium that should be ready by next season. 

 I like the Colts a lot, and I am very sad that they lost. I would also be very sad if Tony Dungy (their coach) left.  He is a Christian, and is a very example to the rest of the players.  Quite a few players are Christians also.  If he left, he would be able to spend more time with his family.  But he is going to try to decide what to do this week.  I think he’s one of the NFL’s best coaches, and I hope he remains our coach.

Eliza did a new post today about our football team’s loss in the playoffs.  You can check it out on her page. 

On Saturday Dave and I attended a “homegoing celebration” for a friend, Kim Bellamy.  We met Kim at Horizon Northeast in 1997.  She played the piano for the first wedding ceremony Dave ever performed.  She was only 50, and leaves behind her husband Howard and two children, as well as many family members.  And friends - she had so many friends it was hard to find a seat in the church (which was no small church). But it was truly a celebration.  Read more about it on the women’s link of our church blog.

We added some new pages as you can see if you look along the top.  They include a number of photos, two essays by the girls and artwork by Eliza, Krystiana and Ginger. 

Feel free to comment as much as you want.  I’m trying to encourage greater computer literacy within my family!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the Greek & Roman exhibit at the IMA.  If you plan your group tour 3 weeks in advance, it is free.  Our group was only 12 people, although they want a minimum of 15.

We were amazed by a few facts.  This is the first time the Louvre has allowed this exhibit to leave its premises.  They flew the whatever-ton exhibit in one Air France plane to Chicago, and then put it in crates and trucked it down to Indianapolis.  I’m glad that Air France plane didn’t crash, and all of those precious pieces go to the bottom of the Atlantic! I was impressed that the exhibit didn’t first stop at the Art Institute of Chicago, but came immediately to the IMA.  What an honor for our city and our museum.  The director of the Louvre came as they were setting up the exhibit.  From here, it goes to Seattle.

The white marble is so smooth and beautiful, and the sculpting amazingly detailed.  I need to brush up on my ancient history, especially the few emperors who were decent ones. 

This exhibit was fabulous.  I hope you can go see it.