Yesterday was my little sister's wedding. It was the day I've been praying for and dreaming about for years. I am so so thankful that Audrey and her new husband David get to experience the joy of being married. Everything about this week leading up to the wedding was perfect. We've enjoyed getting to know the Milburn family and helping Audrey get ready for her wedding. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and meaningful with no mistakes and the reception following was a fun joyful occasion.
Dad walked Audrey down the aisle.

Isaac, Evan and Joshua were the ringbearers. As you can see they were all very shy but they did a great job and looked so adorable in their outfits. They sure had the whole crowd charmed.

Eli and I both later commented that we felt like we had renewed our wedding vows as we witnessed David and Audrey say their vows to each other. 8 years of marriage and it just keeps getting better!

Mr. and Mrs. Milburn share their first dance.

Cutting the cake

Now the couple is off on their honeymoon. We're going to stick around Laguna Beach and enjoy the ocean for a few more days and go to Disneyland on Monday. Then on Tuesday we're off to Seattle for the rest of the month.

Thanksgiving feasts at the boys' school

Today Joshua and I had a wonderful time at Ben Lippen school celebrating Thanksgiving in Isaac and Evan's classrooms. First we ate lunch with Evan and his classmates and their parents, then we moved to Isaac's class and had more to eat! In this picture, Evan and his class are singing a song called "I'm a Little Turkey".

At noon we moved to Isaac's class where we found all the kids dressed in their Native American attire. Isaac's name: Brave Blue Eyes

They recited a poem and sang a song for us.

Isaac made fun turkey cookies for Joshua and me.

Isaac's friends know he only has a few days left with them, so many of them wanted their picture taken with him.

This is Benjamin, one of Isaac's best friends in his class. The neat thing is that Isaac and Benjamin used to crawl around on the floor together. We went to seminary with Benjamin's parents and are good friends, so it's so special that our boys were classmates this year.

Isaac's first try at American Football

Isaac joined the elementary football team this semester and is really improving. Today I stayed to watch the practice and I was so proud as I watched him give it his all, even in tackling.

He sure is growing up!

Our house - the kid magnet

We moved into our new house about three weeks ago and one of the best parts so far is having other kids living nearby. Isaac, Evan, and Joshua are thrilled to have so many new friends in the neighborhood.

Making our own scarecrow

The boys have admired other scarecrows around the neighborhood as people get into the fall season. So today we decided to try to make one of our own. It was a great project with lots of laughs as you will see in our finished product:

South Carolina State Fair

Today we took the boys to their first fair. It was a blast! We left after almost 8 hours of non stop fun - rides, goodies to eat, a piggy race, dog show, animals and petting zoo, etc. Maybe it's good we only get to do this every four years.

Isaac's favorite was the smoked turkey leg.

This was taken from the top of the ferris wheel.

Petting the donkeys

Josh was a little nervous to get close to the cows. They were larger than he's used to seeing!

Even Eli and I got in on some of the rides!

Eli's Mission on a Motorcycle

Yesterday, October 5th, Eli zipped up his full body all-weather suit and put on his helmet to begin his trek to Arkansas by motorcycle. "Why Arkansas?" you might ask. 3 reasons: to visit friends along the way, attend a wedding of another MK from Africa, and pick up his brother Caleb who just returned from 2 years in Uganda with the Peace Corps. Eli and Caleb will drive on one motorcycle all the way back to Columbia with all Caleb's stuff in a backpacker's pack and 2 saddle bags. :) This should be an exciting adventure.

Eli's been calling me several times a day to let me know he's safe and having a good drive. Last night he spent the night in Memphis and he should have arrived in Siloam Springs, Arkansas tonight.

He will be updating facebook along the way but I'll make sure he writes a report on our blog when he returns.

In other fun news, we close on our new house in only 9 days. We can't wait!

September in the Fader household

Enjoying good ol' McDonalds every now and then

The month of September has been full of joys and special gifts from the Lord. Isaac and Evan continue to LOVE school at Ben Lippen. Isaac got to go on a rodeo field trip last week and started his first football practice. So there have been a lot of firsts for him. Evan continues to wow us with his mechanical mind. Today Eli bought a 300 piece puzzle for Evan to tackle. That should keep him busy for a while. Joshua, our two year old, is newly potty trained which is exciting for us since we haven't had a child out of diapers for very long.

Eli has been working hard on a class about Islamic Theology. The other big project that's taken a lot of his time lately is purchasing our first home. Yes, you read this right. We just bought a house here in Columbia, SC. Usually when people first hear this, their next question is: "Aren't you going back to Africa?" Yes, we are still on target to return to Sudan in March 2011. However, Eli and I have always hoped to have a home base for our family to return to everytime we come back from the mission field. The Lord really provided at this time in our lives and blessed us with an incredible home in a great location. We're so thrilled. Closing day is October 15th and we'll move in soon after that.

Thank you for staying connected with our family. We can't fully express how much we're enjoying this season of rest and refreshment in the United States. In the same breath, I will say that we're already getting very eager to return to where God has called us: SUDAN. Sometimes the five months we have left seems like too long, but we will make the most of where we are. God can use each of us anywhere, right?!

Camping!!!

This weekend we went to Davidson River, NC with a large group from our home church here in Columbia. It was a blast except that it rained more than half the time we were there! Thankfully this tent kept us pretty dry (just got a few damp sleeping bags).

The boys helped Eli start the fire. Isaac especially loved helping finding kindling and fanning the flames.

Eli made some very tasty hotdogs and hamburgers!

Josh and Mommy roasted a marshmallow together.

Our friend Heike brought her 3 week old baby Samuel for his first camping trip!

Meal time with friends. Since we were with a group from church, people milled around visiting others in their campsites.

Since returning to the States Joshua has discovered that girls are so much fun to play with but especially the ones who dote over him. Joshua had plenty of "ladies in waiting" while we waded in the freezing river.

All the kids brought their bikes so there was constant traffic on the loop around the campsites. Josh wanted to join in so he pushed his stroller.

Isaac on his wheels, and let me mention that he kept riding his bike even through the rain.

Evan

Pray for Sudan

Though we're here in the States for 6 months more, our hearts are still very much with our dear friends and colleagues in Sudan. Eli and I keep up with the news in Sudan and we're still in touch with our team and friends there. I'd like to share a website with you that gives great headlines of news in Sudan every day: www.sudantribune.com
As the referendum approaches (January 9, 2011) please pray for peace in Sudan and pray that God's name will be preached from one end of Sudan to the other.

What's up in the Fader household?

Life has been a bit different the past few weeks. With Isaac and Evan in school from 8-3 every day, it's been a big change to have only one little guy at home. Josh plays happily by himself but also enjoys running errands with me and going over to visit friends in our free time. Isaac and Evan LOVE school and can hardly wait to tell me all about their day when I pick them up from school in the afternoons!
Eli plans to take two classes during the fall. One is a class on Islam Theology that he has started reading for. He's also been more faithful in playing rugby with the men's club downtown two nights a week.
With a busier schedule, our Saturdays have become a special time to relax as a family. Below are a few pictures from last Saturday.

Father and son On Saturday we drove to Lake Monticello, about a half hour away, to ride bikes, swim, and have a nice picnic. It was perfect weather and the boys were thrilled to discover that there was also a BIKE show going on that afternoon. Bikes meaning, motorbikes of all kinds, including bikes with four wheels and other fancy cars.

Eli and I are thrilled to have several wonderful babysitters. Taking the motorcycle on our dates makes it all so much more fun. This last weekend, we double dated and our friends rode their motorcycle too!

First Week of School

Evan's all ready for preschool!

Isaac starts Kindergarten this week

Josh wanted his backpack on too but when we got to the school Josh made it clear that he was staying with me!

The boys did so well their first day of school. When I picked them up at 3, they were both full of stories. Neither of them had any trouble staying all day, or separating from me when I dropped them off. It made it a lot easier for me!

This is Isaac's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Taylor. She is so much fun and we're thrilled Isaac gets to learn from her this fall!

Isaac proudly showed me where he signs in every morning. He has a little bird with his name on it and puts it in his nest to show he's there that day.

Benjamin is in Isaac's class which is so neat because they used to play together when they were babies and here they are in school together!

Here is Evan at his desk. When he first arrives in the morning, they have playdough to play with until all the kids get there and class is officially ready to start at 8:20 (I usually drop them off around 8.)

A little update

Since we got back from our trip last week, we've spent our time getting the boys ready for school and squeezing in as much as we could before school started this week. So tomorrow Isaac and Evan go to their first day of school. I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle it. Will I be thrilled to come home to a quiet house or sad and teary because my babies are growing up? I'm still not sure...we'll have to wait and see.
Tomorrow the boys only go for one hour and Eli and I will accompany them. Their teachers ask a parent to come that first day. The boys will get their desks, bring their school supplies, and get a feel of the classroom before their first full day on Tuesday. So we have a sweet friend coming to stay home with Joshua and Eli will go with one boy and I'll go with the other. There will be plenty of pictures tomorrow - don't worry!
One funny side note: this morning we woke up to find that we had NO WATER in the house! For some reason everyone on our street has no water. We're not sure what to do. In Sudan we know where to go for water - the nearby well or river - no problem. But here, I have no clue. And we emptied our pool this weekend to clean it so we don't even have that to draw from! HELP!
OK, don't forget to check in tomorrow for school updates for Isaac and Evan!

We're home!

After 12 days on the road, we are safely home in South Carolina. Thank you for all your prayers as God protected us on all 1,704 miles of driving through Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, and all the way home!
We had a very fun trip and the Lord so encouraged us as we reconnected with friends and supporters and got to see how He's been working in our friends' lives. We're praising the Lord for thriving churches in each of those states.
Read through the next few posts to see highlights of our trip...