Another first day of school

Tomorrow is another first day of school for students at Al Raja.  Every new school year has it's own element of excitement, however, it is particularly exciting for our family as Joshua Perkins, will be the one greeting all those eager to learn faces in his new role as principal.

Al Raja (Arabic for The Hope School) was formed on the porch of a young mother who came alongside her husband  more than 100 years ago, to serve the community of Bahrain. At the time Samuel and Amy Zwemer were primarily working on establishing a hospital and church, however, in my mindseye I can imagine Amy's young school (which most likely started as an extention of homeschooling her own children) grow as her pupils eagerly embraced her lessons and love for them.  The Zwemer family sacrificed much, not only because they lived in Bahrain before planes, skype, and air conditioning, but the graves of their two daughters are located less than a mile from the hospital, school, and church they established.  Their estblishments are still standing, and their love and self sacrifice for a people not their own, is still inspiring.  

Al Raja has rich roots.  I'm so proud to have worked there, and I'm excited that Josh will be able to continue the legacy of faithful service that has marked the work of so many  of Al Raja's principals before him.

America!

Many of you know that we've successfully made it back to the States.  We are currently at my parents house in Aledo, IL, a small town about three hours west of Chicago.  Since being here, we have enjoyed: 

• A frog jumping contest
• walking to get ice cream
• meeting our sister-in-law, Jenn, in person for the first time!
• bike riding, with the kids in a bike trailer
• getting lost on my bike at 10pm at night on dark country roads, while deer with large antlers stalk me from the treeline
• reading books leisurely
• walking with the kids to parks 
• sitting on the porch in the morning before breakfast
• thunderstorms 
• playing with the kids in the kiddie pool outside
• showing Eva all the plants and flowers
• Watching Gabe eat the flowers given to him by Eva
• playing with my parents dog, Toby.  Actually Eva has enjoyed this the most and she has declared, twice now, that Toby is her best friend. 
• family pictures taken by my brother, David.  

There's probably more, and I'll post them later.  With pictures!

Happy Father's Day!

For Father’s day, I (Alison) thought I would list 10 of the things our family loves about Josh Perkins.  

10.  He often will help with dishes and sweep floors without being asked.  He works hard at his job, but he also works hard at serving us at home.

9.  He reads books.  He is one of the most avid readers I’ve known, and that has translated to regularly and consistently reading books to Gabe and Eva (which they both love).  Eva loves nothing better than to snuggle up with a good book, and Daddy is one of her favorite snuggle partners. Gabe has also been getting a lot more interested in books – especially if Josh is involved.  Josh has also been known to read a Harriet Beecher Stowe novel, simply because she’s one of my favorite authors and I like to talk about it with him.  We all love that he involves us in one of his favorite hobbies.

8.  Most afternoons after work, he can be found lying on the floor.  Eva will almost always try to ride him like a horse, and Gabe will put his slobbery face on his and pull his hair.  Needless to say, Eva and Gabe LOVE this time, and it usually gives me a little break from them which I love.

7.  He makes coffee and pancakes on Saturday mornings.  Okay, maybe I appreciate the former more than the rest of the family, but Gabe and Eva definitely enjoy their break from oatmeal when Daddy makes breakfast.  Eva has particularly enjoyed “helping” Daddy recently. 

6. He thinks of fun ‘outdoorsy’ things to do.  It’s always Josh’s idea to go to the beach.  He’s also usually the one to suggest going to the park, or going to a pool or on a walk.  We’re always grateful for his creative ideas to get us outside and moving.

5.  He offers to carry heavy things.  Like children.  Granted baby-lifting is my primary source of exercise, (I consider putting away toys as my cardio workout…which is why I only feel the need do it 1 – 2 times a week) I still appreciate when Josh offers to take a kid (or two) when we’re out and about.  And I know they always prefer him.

4. He is ambitious about godly things.  He always has a vision for the future that I’m excited to be a part of and work towards with him.  While he is ambitious at his job, since I’ve known him, his primary ambitions have always centered on ways and methods for serving God in a hurt and dying world. 

3. He shoulders responsibility like a man. I have never known Josh to shirk from any responsibility – rather he always takes it up ungrudgingly whenever he sees it.  He does this at home with sorting out our finances, insurance, car maintenance, and a whole host of other things that I have nothing to do with but Josh regularly takes care of.  He does this at work as the math coordinator and has already started doing it with anticipating the new responsibilities of being a principal next year.  He has also consistently done this at church.  This year he has served as an elder, has preached several times, is regularly scheduled to be the service leader, as well as running powerpoint, helps with the church website, and most recently has added working in the children’s church with the 2&1/2 – 3 yr olds class which Eva is in. He doesn’t volunteer for these for any other reason than it needs to be done, and his sincere love for the church.  I’m sure that watching his own godly father perform the same unselfish service in the church while growing up has played a huge part in Josh’s heart to take on many of these needed responsibilities.  I can’t think of anyone else I would rather point my own son to and say “follow him as he follows Christ” than Josh.      

2. He arranges date nights.  This past year has been wonderful, but at times highly stressful with the demands of young children.  During those times when my next plan of action was to fed-ex one or two of my children to my mother-in-law, Josh has often suggested and arranged that we do the next best thing – get a sitter and escape for a few hours.  Everyone in the family ends up much happier for this. 

1.  He is a very attractive man.    

Happy Father's Day Josh!

Alison Graduates!

At the beginning of May, Alison turned in her last assignments for her last classes in her masters program. She has toiled for the year and a half - reading books, writing papers and solving problems. All of that while caring for two kids at home, supporting me in my work, and being involved in various church activities. The fruit of the labor is an MA in Curriculum and Instruction, and a wealth of ideas for education development.  You can see some labor bearing fruit here and here.

Alison Perkins, MA Teaching and Curriculum

To celebrate, I arranged a surprise party for Alison.  It was the complete package - a graduation gown, marching to "pomp and circumstance" and Alison giving the key note address.  Since Alison was unaware of the prestigious responsibility, I took the pains to write a commencement speech for her.  She was eloquent, if I do say so myself.  If you have a minute, send Alison an email or FB message of congratulations.

Giving the commencement address.

The question is, of course, "What will she do now?"  The possibilities are endless.  There are naps to be taken, recipes to be explored and books to be acquainted with.  I also have ideas to have her help me at school.  Well, she already has helped me, but now she'll have a bit more time and energy to contribute to my own development as a teacher. Below is the copy of her well-written and eloquent speech:

Alison's Graduation Speech
"We are never more than we were, than before we started the journey" - cheesy and meaningless inspirational quote #426

This month marks a month of many exciting milestones.  My son Gabriel, is celebrating his first birthday, I finished my masters degree, and most important, I am still not pregnant.  As exciting as that last point is, the reason we are gathered here today is to mark the milestone of having finished my masters (and partially to celebrate Gabe's birthday).

The question everyone asks now is "What are you going to do?" I have a lot of dreams and ambitions.  I expect those dreams to come during my afternoon naps which I now have time to take.  I also expect to do most of Josh's lesson planning for him, since I'm so skilled and masterful at planning lessons.  Lastly, I am going to work on getting everyone to call me "Master Alison".

Of course, I would like to thank those here who made that possible.  First, Gabriel, who took 30 minute naps during the afternoon.  Those short times forced me to become a better quicker writer.  Second, Eva, who occasionally shared "her" ipad with me so that I could read my articles.  Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank my strong, handsome, winsome, cool husband from whom I gained all my inspiration.  He even wrote a bunch of papers for me and basically did everything.

I would like to close by saying how thankful I am for everyone here.  Each of you has played a part in my life in some way, and I am grateful that you are here to celebrate with me.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

On Thursday, May 10, Gabe passed the milestone of his first birthday.  Those harried days when he was a month earlier than expected and mad rush to organize our lives before he arrived seem so long ago and yesterday at the same time.  He's gone from a frail newborn...

From Gabriel

...to a chunker that will someday be a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers. 

From Easter 2012

In true Perkins tradition (and tradition and tradition), we made our trek to Dairy Queen to give Gabe his first taste of ice cream.  

But true to the climate he has grown up in, he seems to have difficulty handling anything that is less than 75 degrees.  

We didn't get him any presents - but some friends saved the day.  Even though Gabe was a little unsure of his role with the crinkly box, Eva knew exactly what to do and was more than willing to lend her services.