{Moments :)}

"What a joy to live for Jesus."  Sound familiar? ;)  When I was trying to decide on a name for my blog, nothing seemed to be working.  Either it didn't sound right, or was already taken, or was too long for a title.  Finally I pulled out our hymnbook and started flipping through the pages, just trying to find some ideas.  I'd never even heard of the song 'What a Joy to Live for Jesus' before, but when I saw the title, I knew it was perfect :)  And ever since then, I've loved the name of my blog, but it hasn't been until I've arrived here in the Philippines that I've truly realized what an absolute joy it is to live for Him!!  These kids, who have grown up in situations that would make your hair curl, still fill each day with such laughter and joy....I can't even tell you how humbled I've been.

But if I'm perfectly honest, the photographer in me dies just a little bit when I look at my photos. "Your ISO is way too high - it's making your pictures grainy!" "Can't you see that their eyes aren't sharp?!""The lighting in this room is horrible...you shouldn't even bother taking that picture!"  All of these thoughts and more run through my head as I peer through the viewfinder.  Yet as demanding as these feelings can be, a much greater sensation always wins out, for these are the moments that make up our lives.  It's not the perfect lighting bursting through a cloud, or every person looking at the camera with their hair completely in tact, or the background being distraction-free.  In fact, it's just the opposite.   It's the wild hair, the sticky fingers, the mismatched socks, and, most of all, the crazy joy that fills each and every moment.  Thus, these are the things I intend to capture with my camera :) 

The other day we had our 'family night'.  It was an amazing time of laughter and lots of competition :D

We started out with a few rounds of Bananagrams and let me tell you - these students know how to play!!! ;D

Our pup presided over the events ;) (and I just realized that I never introduced you to her!!!!  Everyone, meet Izzy - our heart-melter extraordinaire ;P)

(in case you were wondering, she is well loved ;)

We then moved on to a rousing game of 'Do you love your neighbor?' (which, thankfully, didn't end in any broken bones, although we were close on occasion....)

.....and then we finished up with spoons :)  We started out with three teams:

#1

#2

#3

Each team then played until there was only one person remaining.

(Mommy Marife got a little competitive ;D)

Finally it came down to the champions of each team....

Sam....

Lorena....

and Arnold.

annnnd Lorena was our grand spoons champion!! :D

In case you couldn't tell, we had an awesome time ;D

(Yori and I had fun with reflections :P)

Oh these moments....these are the times that make us realize that in the laughter, the fellowship, the joy that fills our days is where we truly find ourselves.  Life is so, so beautiful, and it begs to be really, truly, wholly LIVED!!!  It is such a joy to live for Jesus, and when we surrender to Him, he overwhelms each moment with grace!!

Love you all, 

Bex <3