Fire Evacuation

Hey all.

Just a quick note to let anyone out there know our status vis-a-vis the fires that are burning up the southern half of our state.

First, we're fine. We are up in Visalia with Danny's folks. We saw on the news that the fires were coming west pretty quickly with the winds, and we heard a fire chief on TV say that the fire would almost surely hit the coast before it was all over. The fires were (and still are) completely out of control, and the situation wasn't looking up for the next 2-3 days. Our apartment in northern La Jolla was uncomfortably close to where the fire seemed to be heading based on the wind patterns, so we decided to get out of southern cal while we still could. No sense in waiting until the last minute so that all the freeways are shut down or clogged with traffic. It was surreal driving through the thick smoke and even ash in multiple patches along the I-5 heading north.

We just found out that Danny's school (UCSD) is closed for the rest of the week (as are most all school districts in SD county), so we plan on just waiting it out up here in central CA.

Some friends of ours from church (Daniel and Christina Norwood) came up with us. They have a home in SW Escondido and were given a manditory evacuation notice on Monday morning. As of right now there are still fires burning within a mile of their home. Many others in our church also have homes that are at risk (including people who lost their homes to the Cedar Fire of 2003!). Our new church building, into which we were supposed to move in two weeks, is also right in Rancho Bernardo. Yikes. Good thing it's only stuff.

If you are the praying type, please pray. For the firefighters especially.

October

Time is flying by and October has been a busy month. Here are some exerpts about the kiddos:
-Jordan is growing daily. She is becoming more aware of her surroundings, and actually shows an interest in little animals and toys that we show her.
-Isaiah's speech continues to impress us. His new way to start a sentence is, "Actually..." He inquires about random things such as, "Are you real? Is that man real? Are my bones real?" I have him sit in the corner on a dot sometimes as a form of discipline, and to have him change iis attitude. He normally objects, but then I have him stay there and fold his hands. Each time I've said this he starts to pray on his own. (The only other time he folds his hands is when we are praying at the table.) He starts with a prayer he learned from a video, "Thank you God for this day, for my famly and my friends", then he continues on his own and asks God to help him obey. It is so cute, and he has gotten up with a totally different attitude.
-Naomi is showing more responsibility, and even cleaned out the dishwasher without my solicitation one morning! Nice. She loves to spend time with her little sister, often asking to hold Jordan. She talks to her, shows her toys, etc. She spontaneously gets out paper to draw on, normally to make a card for someone. She is quite the competator as well. We often make putting on our PJ's a game to see who can win-her or Isaiah (we have to put his on for him still). One night we were ready to start this game and she told Isaiah to hide from Dad, so he couldn't put PJ's on Isaiah. He of course obeyed her, thinking it would be a fun game. In the meantime, she put on her PJ's as fast as she could and declared herself the winner! Danny was still trying to find Isaiah! Win at any cost is her motto! :) We thought it was pretty clever.


































Below: Naomi did this book in preschool. I thought it was really great and shows just how grown up she is.







Isaiah's art is a little different. See below.





Art by Isaiah Michael Frese. (His sister's face is his canvas.) I noticed he was quiet for a while, and this is what he was up to!







































Danny gets the great task of cutting fingernails!













Yikes, I'm the mom to all these kids!













-Sisters-































Jordan Kate is really starting to smile now.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch with Grandpa & Grandma Frese when they came to visit us. The kids had their first pony rides. Naomi sat tall, feeling so proud. Isaiah was all smiles, loving every minute. It was so fun to watch. We captured every angle as there were 3 people (Danny, Rod & Joan) taking pictures!

Naomi & Isaiah also enjoyed this gigantic slide. There were only 2 other kids, so they just went up and down as fast as they could.

September-First Month

We made it through the month of September, and our 3 kids are alive and well, by God's grace. So many of our friends from church and the neighborhood helped out with meals, gift cards, visits, etc., and we have appreciated their help so much!
Jordan is growing and doing great. She already has a little more 'fluff.' Which is good.

Below: Sept. 17th, one week old

Below: Sept. 25th, 2 weeks old

Below: Sept 26th