Pearce Postings

No pretenses

2009-02-04T11:13:00.000-05:00

I’ve become resigned to the fact that when we have guests over something will go wrong, either in the preparations, the children’s behavior, something breaking, the children getting sick, etc. So considering that we open our home quite a bit, that’s an interesting conclusion. Over the course of time, I’ve become wise to this Murphy’s Law/ spiritual warfare element so have begun cooking dinner the morning of having dinner guests. I work on cleaning the house days in advance (which with small children is something of an exercise in futility, but ... I try.).

Last night was no exception to this little rule, this law of nature in the spiritual discipline of hospitality. We opened our home (and consequently life) to a young dating couple. I had no intentions to impress, but knew that if I didn’t plan well in advance I’d be caught out with the inevitable disaster. Grace had had a bit of a sick tummy, so we’d had to clean that up before the day even really began, but she seemed to be fine the rest of the day. I prepared the stuffed manicotti in the morning, baked a scrumptious chocolate cake that I destroyed by trying to tip out to cool before it was actually cool enough to tip out. Lesson #1: When life gives you a destroyed cake, make trifle. We had a fairly uneventful rest of the day, accomplished school an the housecleaning, etc. Dinner was delicious and the trifle was a hit. A smashing hit. So delicious that one of the children twice chased their dish off the edge of the table scraping it clean, the first to no consequence, the second ending with a shattered dessert dish. Mentally, I thought, “Well, there’s our incident for the evening. All pretenses of our family, ‘The PASTOR’S family’, being anything other than pathetically human are hopefully shattered along with that dish. Okay, now we can get on to building a real relationship with this special couple!” The evening and conversation clipped along after we laughed with them about something always happening. Then along about 8:45 a very sleepy toddler with a rather queasy tummy produced her dinner, lots of it, all over the floor. Lesson #2: Never ever, ever entertain the idea of putting carpets down. Italian food and chocolate cake clean up off wood floors much nicer than off a carpet.

The conclusion of the evening? Our new friends know us very well now and washed our dishes while we washed floor and child. Also, I can praise the Lord for the wonderful ways that He gives no opportunity for pride, no need for embarrassment, when we are focused on glorifying Him and not ourselves in His service to others. We pray as a family, “Lord, please make us a blessing to others.” I can only hope (and I know!) that our evening must have been one way that God planned to use us show His grace. He certainly lavishes it on us. At least the kitchen didn’t catch fire!

Vacation Photos

2008-11-30T23:19:00.003-05:00

I have just uploaded three galleries of photos from our vacation to Florida. Enjoy!

Labor Day Photos

2008-09-08T15:22:00.002-04:00

Last Monday (Labor Day) we had a picnic and went on a bit of a hike. We had a great time and thought you might like to see some photos. The photos of Grace were taken a few days later.

Henry Riding a Bicycle For the First Time

2008-08-28T17:39:00.004-04:00

Here is some video of Henry and Adelaide riding bikes in the backyard. Just this week we bought Adelaide a bigger bike from the neighbor and so Henry was upgraded from his trike. He had been trying to figure out how to ride Adelaide's bike for a few weeks but with some dedicated time on his own bicycle (with some help from dad) he was riding it in no time.

I am playing around with some video options. Just type in the password and you will be able to watch the video.

The password is: henry

Henry's First Ride from Rodney Pearce on Vimeo.

Henry Riding a Bicycle For the First Time Part 2 from Rodney Pearce on Vimeo.

Not to be outdone, Adelaide also wanted me to video her as she rode around on her new big bike.

Adelaide Riding Her New Big Bike from Rodney Pearce on Vimeo.

Latest Photos

2008-08-26T07:12:00.003-04:00

I have just uploaded some photos from the past couple of months. There are some photos of Henry and Adelaide on the front porch. Adelaide is wearing her prairie dress that Erin made for her.
Then there are some photos from a missionary aviation day that we attended last weekend. The yellow plane is a replica of the plane that Nate Saint flew. Steven saint was flying this one and performed a buck drop demonstration, showing how his dad was able to give and receive gifts from the unreached tribal groups.
Then there are some photos from the helicopter ride that Adelaide, Henry and I went on.

From their mouths...

2008-07-22T13:58:00.001-04:00

Adelaide-
“I can’t believe how many miracles God does for me! Sometimes I just don’t even recognize them, but as I grow older I’m beginning to recognize them as miracles.”

Henry-
As he was waking one morning: “Daddy, last night I had a story in my head and pictures behind my eyes!”

2008-07-16T21:40:00.001-04:00

Tea drinking is said to be one of the more refined activities in life. While engaging in this refinement one day, I came across two quotes the Good Earth Tea company thought worth pondering. I have to agree.
“Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word.” -Charles DeGaulle (1890-1970)
“When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I’m beginning to believe it.” -Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)

Photos from the Last 6 Months

2008-07-10T22:59:00.002-04:00

I have finally compiled some photos from the last 6 months. Sorry for taking so long on this. I have put up the same set of photos in two different formats. So take a look and see what you like. I might try to put up a survey in another post and see which you prefer.

Civic Duties

2008-04-03T13:19:00.001-04:00

Last week I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I was excused of my civic duty — jury duty. I didn’t relish the idea of all the hassle, the inconvenience, the drama of jury duty. At one point, I even questioned my own appreciation for my country’s freedoms and privileges. But no, were it not such a huge imposition on my young family, I might have been willing. I’m sure that my day will come again, and I’ll be accountable for serving without an excuse.

Today, Rodney took the next step in assuming his civic duty — citizenship. He had his 10 minute citizenship interview with the official in Philadelphia and he will officially become an American June 2, the day before he became an Australian citizen 33 years ago (his birthday).

Now, as I look at my children and the clock, I realize that I have another civic duty, put my children down for a rest before they become uncivilized!

From the mouths of our babes

2008-01-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

Last night I brought out one of the last childhood toys that I brought from Mama’s house — our Speak and Spell. Adelaide was naturally intrigued with it and is managing to play some of the beginner spelling games fairly well. Henry, not to be excluded, insisted on working the buttons in his own games. He was working it at and it sounded something like this:
    Speak & Spell: “Spell the word four, as in four wolves.”
    Henry: R-G-W-E-S-Y
    S&S: “That is not correct. The correct spelling of four is F-O-U-R.”
    And so the game went for some time, until Henry looked at me with a bit of consternation and said:
    “Mum, this doesn’t work! I can’t spell!!!”

Adelaide has been know in recent days to say, “Mum, can’t Grace come play with us in the basement (the children’s un-official playroom)?! It’s more fun with her playing with us!”

Burrito Baby

2007-12-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

How often is it that you have held a burrito only to have it spill out in every direction, leaving an empty tortilla and all the good filling in an unappetizing heap on your plate? Call it first-timers luck, call it skill, but you see here our little "chica" deftly handling her first fajita. Grace ate the entire fajita intact and in form and even saved room for "serrt".

Christmas Greetings e-card

2007-12-24T10:12:00.000-05:00

Click through to view our online Christmas Card.

Just some thinking

2007-12-19T16:07:00.000-05:00

Rodney’s been doing web statistics recently and it’s come to our attention that people DO actually check this for news of the Pearce family. So with that information, I’ll seek to be a more diligent to post frequently and keep all you updated on our life here.

We’ve not been doing school for a week now, trying to get the little things ready for Christmas. Adelaide’s brain definitely needs the stimulus, so I think that we’ll at least do as I did last week and work on a little reading and math. She doesn’t think so, but it really is for her sake! It’s time to make gingerbread men, and a Christmas cake is on request, so now that I’ve finished up the last of the Christmas cards and have only to wrap presents and clean the house, I think that we’re ready to tackle the list of goodies that we want. Adelaide wants sugar cookie candy canes, but said, “We’ll just have to do something to substitute for the red icing since we can’t have red coloring!” I think we can manage red sprinkles.

This time of year is always a little harder than other times to be so far from family. Especially as the children grow, we long for our family to be able to enjoy them; but knowing that the Lord knows all things and has planned for all our best is a huge comfort. We are SOOOOO thankful to the Lord for Skype and phone calls... What blessings these are indeed! I think about early colonists (to Oz or America) or even immigrants 100 years ago, who moved and said goodbye to their families... forever. What should I be fussing about when I can talk to my sister every day for free and call our parents almost anytime that it’s convenient? Nothing.

More musings and news will come later, but I wanted to surprise you all with an entry!

Applying Truth

2007-10-01T21:52:00.001-04:00

This evening as we were sitting around the dinner table, Henry was cajoling a bit, saying “Do you suppose that we could have an ice cream cone after tea? Do you think that it’s a possibility?” Adelaide, always quick to correlate life’s experiences to Scripture and biblical principles said, “Oh, I know that word! ‘God supposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.’” .

Family Photos

2007-08-14T15:43:00.000-04:00

Finally I have uploaded some of the photos from the second half of our trip as well as some more recent photos. We are presently having internet access troubles so if you have sent an email recently don't worry, we will get back to you, . . sometime.

click here to be directed to the photo album

Melting pot... I stand corrected

2007-07-23T14:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a faithful reader, I stand corrected. It is the melting pot, not smelting... a bit different definitions.

Webster’s says:
Smelting: to melt or fuse, as ore, for the purpose of separating the pure metal from extraneous substances; to scorify.

America... the smelting pot of the world.

2007-07-20T23:14:00.000-04:00

Ever heard this said of the United States? I remember from my high school history books. Well, Rodney’s about to be smelted in. Just today we sent off the paper work to apply for his citizenship to the “U-nited States!” Incidentally, he almost forgot to sign his application and had to go back to the P.O. and ask the post mistress for the envelope back so he could sign it!

Thinking of this reminds me of when we arrived back into L.A. from Brisbane. To start off with, LAX Immigration is just now receiving a face lift it has needed for what I venture must be a couple of decades. Travel weary passengers toddle off the planes, snake around in what becomes yards and yards of queues, grip their entry cards and passports with clammy hands and a tiny bit of trepidation as they settle into a blind stare at the unfriendly immigration agents. Add to this the strikingly abnormal sound of foreign accents calling out, “U.S. Passport... lines 16 and 17!” They are all too officious. They aroused both curiosity and submission, these folk with accents thick from a homeland far from our shores. Rodney and I looked at each other, ready to play one of our favourite games... Guess the Accent. One was definitely Middle Eastern. A couple might have been Asian, and a few were Spanish. None of our first encounters were with native American speakers. We chuckled. Only in America do you deplane and encounter so much culture before you even enter the country (technically)! By God’s grace, we’ll add an Australian-speaking American to the pot in a few months time!

We're not in Oz anymore...

2007-07-12T16:15:00.000-04:00

For all you who are following our blog, just thought that I’d let you know that we’re home, safe and sound. We did have a couple of minor incidents, like misplacing my passport in the airport In Brisbane and having to run back to customs in search of it before we could board the plane (while Rodney was left with three kids to rifle through the bags again). It was enough to make us blanch, but by God’s grace it wasn’t a catastrophe. -- Note: when in the airport, never, never, never set your passport on a lounge chair... it might slip off and go missing.-- The flights were really excellent and though it’s never really a joy to fly internationally with small children, the Lord really blessed.

We’re home now and still not completely on North American time, but getting there. Our dear pastor offered before we arrived home to organize an all night welcome home party for us... you know to help with the jet lag. Ha Ha. Wednesday we were ready for it, though, as Adelaide didn’t go to sleep until 1:00 am, Henry not until 2 am, and Grace sometime after that.

Generally, we’re glad to be home, looking forward to Henry’s 3rd birthday on the 9th (Monday) and sweatin’ in the summer humidity of PA.

Keep checking in with us, I’ll try to do more posting now that I’m more familiar with it. Seems to be the easiest way to mass communicate

And the winner is...

2007-07-06T22:17:00.000-04:00

The winner of our sign guessing game is Sue Grim with the most correct answers! Congratulations, Sue!

The official answers are as follows:
1. Southern Moreton Bay Scenic Drive route markers
        The animal on the signs is a dugong. Go to www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/conservation/natural_values/dugongs for more
         info on the animal in particular.
2. Give Way (yield) at the roundabout. It is our opinion that Americans could use more of these ingenious traffic directors that are used in
        place of stop signs and even traffic lights in some areas.
3. 60 km speed limit ahead. On open roads, 100 kmph is the average.
4. No dogs allowed, such as in a park or in downtown area, etc.

Thanks, everyone, for playing!

Photo Album

2007-06-18T19:41:00.000-04:00

I have just uploaded a photo album of some of the photos from our time away so far. Thanks also to those of you who have posted comments and sent email. It sure motivates us in the posting.

Keeping Step with Grandad

2007-06-18T03:42:00.000-04:00

A walk on the pier was never so delightful for a child as when grandad strolls out with you. Notice the little man matching the steps of his grandfather.

Grandad and Nana

2007-06-18T03:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we took photos of the family while we still looked presentable after church. Here are the kids with Nana and Grandad.

Today we had quite a day out. We first went to go see some remote controlled sailing yachts, then had a bit of drive to see some old family homes, had a very nice lunch of fish n chips and then stopped for a afternoon look at Wellington Point. There is a sand bar you can walk right out on and walk to the island at the end of the point so I hope to go back in a couple of days to do that. This photo is taken into the bay, just next to the sand bar. It was quite a lovely and relaxing site... pelicans skimming over the water, gulls wading in the shallows.

Guess The Sign

2007-06-18T02:36:00.000-04:00

We decided that a fun way for you to share in our experience here in Australia is for us to play a little game. We've snapped a few photos of signs that are common here, but less common in the US. Post your guesses and we'll let you know who has the most correct answers.

1.
2.
3.
4.

McKiwi Burger

2007-06-18T02:30:00.000-04:00

While we were in N.Z. and up in Rotorua we went into the local McDonald's where I was able to buy a "kiwi-burger." Real Beef, fried egg, tomato, lettuce, onion, beetroot. Mmmmmm! Not bad for the Mac!

Bleecchhh!!!

2007-06-13T06:56:00.000-04:00

There is purposefully NO photo with this post. Last night Adelaide started to whine about midnight and then within a couple of hours presented her dinner... all night long. She seems to be on the mend now, and we're praying that the yuckiness won't be shared. NO ONE wants what she had.