In the Beginning...

Our entire trip to New Zealand will probably take about 10 posts so I hope you enjoy it, even if you just look at the pics. We left Thursday the 5th at 9pm from LAX. It was really special to have Danny and Amy and Noah drop us off. They were there to see us all leave. It meant a lot to the whole team. Andrew was a stud and slept for 10 hours on the plane and then enjoyed his new Thomas laptop that we got him for a surprise gift. (Getting kids a special gift for long travel is highly reccomended.) He was a delight to travel with! We didn't have any problems with TSA or customs either. Phew! I got my nunchukas past them.

We arrived in Auckland at 5:30am their time. They are 19 hours ahead of us so we pretty much skipped Good Friday... Sounds like a lot of American churches today, doesn't it? Who cares that Jesus had to die? He rose again!... By the way, I care. :)

Our host families and pastors took us sight-seeing for a good portion of the day. It helped keep us awake and it was gorgeous! Andrew LOVED NZ because we spent so much time outdoors. He loves frolicking through the meadows... much like his mother.

Our team. Isn't this a cute photo spot?

Family photo. Already framed.

Alice and I clicking our heals in the beautiful country.
There is water everywhere in Auckland! I don't know if you've ever looked at a map of NZ, but seriously, Auckland is full of water. It's so pretty... everywhere!
Same place.
This is Mimi- Auntie Mimi. She was pretty much Andrew's nanny in NZ. She is a complete crack up! She can make young and old laugh so hard! Andrew loves her so much! It was such a blessing to have her traveling with us and staying with us at our host family's house.
A little hike we went on.
Speaking of our housemates... This is our "family" shot. We lived together for the trip at Elder and Mrs. Gao's house. I'll tell you more about the family soon, but let me just tell you that they are a wonderful, giving, loving family who took care of us each day.


Mimi gave Andrew lamb ears for Easter. Baaaaaaaaa! There are 60 million sheep that already live in NZ. Why not 1 more?

Check this out. Andrew fell asleep while eating lunch on Sunday... literally. Can you see the piece of cereal still in his mouth? We were eating and turned to give him another bite, and this is what we found!

Andrew slept in some of the strangest places and postitions on this trip. I'm thinking of dedicating an entire post just to sleeping habits in NZ. For all of you parents who are thinking, "I'm glad Andrew can do that. My son/daughter has to sleep in the crib or else they won't be able to sleep at all", Andrew was like that too. When push comes to shove, though, it's amazing what kids can do. He was happy and healthy too!
This is our other housemate... Wendy... Dr. Wendy. That's right, folks. The sheep above is a doctor. We were really blessed to be staying with Wendy too. She's an incredible woman who speaks 5 different languages and that's just the begininning. She translated for us constantly. She was not only incredibly helpful, but also an excellent friend to have on the trip.
Sunday was our first really busy day. Saturday night, I just about fell asleep in my dinner plate sue to jet lag, but Sunday was crazy. We went to 2 different church services and ate meals with both of them. I got to share my testimony at the second church and our pastor's wife translated for me. It was a blessing to see these churches in NZ, especially how diverse their ages are. We were shocked to find out that none of the 5 churches we visited have English ministries yet so Gabe and I were a little in the dark about what was going on a good portion of the time, but it was still great to be there.

Sunday evening, the 3 of us went for a walk down the street from the church we were eating dinner at to go to the beach... and guess what we found? A Starbucks! It was actually the only one we saw in NZ too. Anyway, we enjoyed our delectible beverage while walking on the beach.


Andrew loving life.

Yup. We were there.
Monday morning, we got up early and went for a walk around our host family's home. NZ is the first country to see the sun rise in the morning. So... we saw it first!!!
Pretty, huh?
So, here are my new running shoes' first picture. They were very excited to be in NZ. These were the first miles I put on them. I have to admit that training stunk the first week there. Before we arrived I thought to myself, "Wow. I get to train in NZ. This is going to be amazing!" Then I got there, walked outside in the morning and thought, "What was I thinking? I have no idea where I am! If I turn two corners, I'm not going to be able to get back!" In fact, the first day, I didn't even think to memorize the address of the house I was staying at. Luckily, I made it back.
Monday was Pastor Wu's ordination. He's a wonderful pastor at one of the churches in NZ and actually received his seminary training in CA while attending our church so although we didn't know him, many from our group did. During the ceremony, Andrew met Ruth, one of the other NZ pastor's daughters. You'll be seeing more of this sweet girl. Here, she is teaching Andrew math.
This was our crew in the cry room. Andrew was the only one who we thought could possibly cry, but he drew a crowd.

They bought us ice cream cones one day and I thought it was great. Look how smart they are. A two-scooper comes side by side so that the ice cream doesn't fall off. Brilliant, huh? And tasty too! Mmmmmmmmmm... I think I better go see what's in our freezer. I'll write more soon.

Ni shur New Zealand-ryen?

Hey everyone! New Zealand is AWESOME!!! I'll save all of the details for another time, but here is a taste of what we've been seeing. Pretty amazing, huh? So far, we've visited 2 churches (3 more tomorrow), gone to the 4-day youth retreat, and gone to one of the pastor's ordinations. It's been a busy, wonderful time. Our team is doing great and everything is going smoothly.

Praise reports:

* We got here safely without any problems! (including me being calm on the plane!!!)

* Andrew has been healthy and happy and flexible the whole time! He is such a stud!

* Several kids gave their lives to the Lord at the retreat and several more dedicated themselves to fulltime ministry.

* Lots more... We'll tell you later!

Prayer requests:

* Continued health for Andrew and the rest of the team.

*Safety for us all as we part ways tomorrow.

*Continued effectiveness in ministry.

We hope to update again soon! Love to all!

The Barber Fam

How much would it cost...

...to have these guys greet us at the airport in Auckland???

New Zealand

Andrew is ready for our big trip... Although we probably won't pack him away in a suitcase... Well, we'll see if he's been misbehaving or not. Anyway, the "big trip" is our mission's trip to New Zealand. Gabe, Andrew, and I along with 15 others from our church will be going down to NZ for 15 days to encourage the 5 churches of our denomination in Auckland and to lead a youth retreat for them in Rotorua. After the first 11 days, the three of us will go visit the Cliffords (friends from SLO) who planted a Calvary Chapel in Rotorua for the remaining 4 days. Needless to say, we are VERY excited and can't wait to be there. I'm especially excited about a 2-part workshop that Gabe and I are co-teaching at the retreat on dating. Whoo-whoo!

We're hoping to communicate our NZ story with all of you during our trip via this blog. We should also be able to check our email, if you'd like to contact us.
I thought I would leave the rest of this post for updates on how things have been going apart from NZ. This is Andrew loving his new toy.... I mean our new mopping bucket. :) Clothed now.
Andrew just learned how to feed himself with a fork and spoon. He's actually quite good at it, but a little messy. He's much happier doing it on his own. He can eat whatever is on his plate in whichever order and as fast as he wants. He's a happy man with his new-found skill.

He also loves this tunnel. This is the way he hugs his stuffed animals, by the way.
Here are Andrew and I running in Newport Beach. (I must confess, though. This is actually a picture after our official run.) A side note: I just ran 20 miles last Saturday and found out what runners are talking about when they "hit the wall". Oops. Not enough input energy while I was running. I'm going to start trying out all of those power gels, etc. That was an experience I'd rather not have again.
Andrew walked all the way back to our car, holding his lunch box, by himself after our Newport run. It was quite cute. He waved at everyone else on the boardwalk too.

"I Get a Runner's High, Which is Why Now I Swim"

Angela, The Office (deleted scene from "Drug Testing")

About two weeks ago, I had a friend tell me that if she were going to run a long-distance race, she'd run a half-marathon, not a full one because a full marathon is just crazy. I brushed off her comment and responded with, "C'mon. If you're going to run 13 miles, why not just keep going?"

That was the day before my 13-mile run. Dude. 13 miles is far. I just found out last week that 15 miles is even further. I have a feeling that 17 miles tomorrow is going to be even longer. You've gotta' be a little off your rocker to run this far. Lucky for me, my rocker was never quite right anyway. I agree with my friend that running this far is a little nutty, but it is AWESOME!

I seriously do get a "runner's high" after several miles. It's sweet! I just feel like I could run forever and never get tired. It's such an amazing feeling! I'm on a "everyone-should-run-a-marathon" kick right now. Sure, I haven't run one yet, but the training is great. I'm in shape physically and I'm really challenging myself mentally. It's been surprising for me how much mental strength I've lost over the past 10 years. Honestly, my head is usually the body part that gets tired first. I'm working really hard on it though and hopefully I'll overcome this weakness before June because I've heard that 26 miles is even further than 17!

Please Leave Your Dynamite at Home

While viewing TSA's website about what you can and cannot bring on a flight, I learned some interesting facts that I thought would be nice to share...

Things you may not bring:
1. Dynamite
2. Hand Grenades
3. Tear Gas
4. More than 3 oz. of pudding (carry on)

Things you may bring:
1. Firearms
2. Cattle Prods
3. Nunchakus
4. Spear Gun
5. Swords
6. Sabers

Flosh Static Bea

Josh, Flo, and family stayed at our house last weekend for a big trip to... Disneyland!!! To see how their trip went, click here. It was so fun watching Sera and Andrew play together. Sera would run over to Andrew and say, "C'mon! Let's go play!" Most times, I don't think she really knew what she wanted to play, but Andrew would run after her, chasing her down the hallway and they would go play together. We had never really seen this side of Andrew before since most kids he plays with are his own age and not very interactive yet. It was such a blessing that I told Gabe we should have another kid right away, but we should have a 3-year-old for Andrew to play with. :)

Amelie is such a little sweetie. Although, I must say, she liked Gabe more than me. This is the only look she gave me, but Gabe got smiles and all sorts of other cute faces. Not a good start to a mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship!
It's never too early for a lesson in static electricity. While folding the laundry, I realized that I must have forgotten the fabric softener... oops...Check out his hair! His face makes it look like he's getting shocked or at least frazzled by the static electricity.
Another great shot. This just goes to prove that frizzy hair is good for something!

Last week, we got to go up to Nevada City and stay with Gabe's parents. Although the trip was for his Grandma Bea's memorial service, we had a wonderful time with family, celebrating her life.
As soon as we got there, my bro-in-law, Jesse, and Andrew and I went on a hike. All of these shots are from right behind their house. It's so beautiful!!!

Andrew seemed to really enjoy the scenery and the dog that came with us. It was a well-deserved time out of the car seat!

What's up bro?
I don't know where Alice was when this picture was taken, but the three girls on the right are Ynez, Nora, and Simone. Those four girls entertain me to no end every time I see them. Tami (another cousin) got the world's longest hug from Andrew. They hadn't spent any time together and suddenly Andrew walked over to her, she bent down, and Andrew wrapped his arms around her shoulders for literally about a minute and a half! Then he wouldn't even go back to me. He only wanted Tami! It was so cute!

The Elephant

Ha ha ha! (This is SO my sense of humor!) By the way, teacher, this is when you get to dish out creativity points! How do you think I made it through college? :)

Did I beat her?! Gabe and Allie just sent this to me and I forwarded it to my sis, Sara. She replied and said she might put it on her blog... So, did I beat her to it?

Good Sir Knight

Doesn't little Sir Andrew look like he's ready to go out and conquer the world?... Or maybe he looks a little more ready for a nap. It's hard to say.

The Barber home (yet again) has been under attack by the stomach flu! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

This time, only Andrew and I got it, though. It's a really weird bug. It's not that bad (compared to the Nov./Dec. variety), but it's lasted for three days so far. Ugh! Not to worry my dearest Flo and sister Sara (both of whom we'll be seeing in a few days), we will be healthy with a cleaned house by then! (Please pray!)

This, of course, means I didn't get to run my 13 miles on Saturday. :( I was SO pumped for my run too! I was going to run to the home of the Shultzi and back. It's a big bummer, but hopefully I'll get my strength back soon.

Children For Sale in Orange County

I just wanted to give all of you a lesson in grammar. Please don't accidentally sell your kids on Craig's List. Click here if you're interested in purchasing a child.

Disneyland, Shredding, and More!

Another gift that Gabe surprised me with on my birthday was passes to Disneyland!!! Whoo-hoo! It's so much fun (and a totally different experience) going with a little one. We have a lot of fun with him there, but Gabe and I still love the "big kid" rides so we let each other go on the fun ones while the other one of us watches the little man. On my birthday, I got to go on my favorite ride which I don't know the name of. It's the crazy water ride at CA Adventure. The ironic thing (as you can see in the photo) is that the raft I was put on was all Chinese people and myself... I felt right at home! I wished I could speak Mandarin because I'm almost sure that was the language they were speaking. Either way, I had a blast! Man, I love that ride!!!
We also went last Monday and you can see Gabe towards the back of CA Screamin' here. Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
This is another one Gabe wanted to ride where they shoot you up REALLY fast and then you kind-of bungee back down... They have plastic shields in front of each seat. I think it's to catch the barf so it doesn't land on everyone below.
So here's my little paper shredder helper. Sure it may have been a little messy, but I got a lot of shredding done!

And he helped clean up! He really did! He can understand me now and sometimes does what I ask him to do. He carried this trash to the kitchen and then carried two bags outside to the big trash cans! Go Andrew!!!

Here's Andrew in his pj's and hiking boots. He insisted that I put the boots on him last night... I guess he had some exterminating to do.
A boy in his daddy's hat.

Marathon Training

It's time for a marathon training update. It's been a while now since I told you about how running is going. I am LOVING it!!! I'm in shape finally so I can enjoy the workouts more and really challenge myself. I'm on week #4 (of 17) in my training. Here's the schedule:

M: jog 40 minutes (11:00 minute pace)

T: cross train 30 minutes

W: 12 x 400m repeats (1:55-2:00 pace)

R: jog 40 minutes (11:00 minute pace)

F: cross train 30 minutes

Sa: 13 miles (9:45 pace)

Su: REST!!!

Ironically, my favorite days are W's and Sa's. I love the challenge that these runs give me. The other days are cool too (esp. R since Gabe and Andrew join me), but I look at them as filler days for the rest of the week. :)

Gabe gave me the pink watch for my birthday and I have enjoyed it so much. It helps me keep my pace just right and it looks cute too! :)

Cute Kid

Andrew is just starting to understand pictures now and loves them. He especially likes Gabe in pictures. He'll carry around a picture (this one is his fav) and say, "daddy? daddy?" while walking all around the house.

Like father, like son. (This is the sports section... Front page Lakers.)What?!
If that's not a mischevious look, I don't know what is.

What a cute kid.

Nonnie and Poppy Visit

Andrew got to see 2 sets of grandparents within one week!... Come to think of it, maybe that's why he's been so fussy since Gabe's parents left. He got used to being spoiled! :)
We had a great visit even in the rain. We all went for a walk on my favorite trails and we played numerous games of Apples to Apples. (Even Gabe and his dad enjoyed it!) Also, Gabe and I got to go on TWO dates in one day! I guess we were spoiled too!
How cute is this little guy with his Nonnie?