Links update

So if you look at the links to the right side you will notice a change. One now links to Alana's blog Thai Tales and the other to our flicker account with the family pics. So click them and check out all of the family's goings.

Strange Fruit

So here is Kaiya holding a plate of rambutans a strange looking fruit with a jelly type meat surrounding a big seed. The taste is hard to describe but I get a hint of a cantaloupe flavor though my wife does not think so. I often think when I see a fruit such as this who was the first person to think they could eat it, it looks kind of scary, bright red with little hairy spikes jetting out all over, but they are tasty.

We have arrived

So our Thai adventure has begun. Here we are on a water taxi, it's quite a neat experience riding on one and seeing the sights from the canal. We were on our way to the Adventist hospital to get our typhoid shots and to check out the rash that I had developed as I was leaving California and had taken over all of my body, (which turns out is the worst case of poison oak I've ever had). So far were adjusting well to the time difference the kids are doing great and Kaiya is eating tons of bananas. The food has been marvelous and the people a great too I am looking forward to sharing more as time goes on and I can find time to update.

New Adventure

So today we board a plane and embark on a new adventure to Thailand! Hope to be posting more often here with pics and stories from another land. Stay tuned for more.

He has arrived

Yesterday March 29, at 12:25 pm Jonah Hunt Montes arrived coming in at 8 pounds even and 19 3/4 inches long. We are all in love with the little guy especially Kaiya who keeps asking about her baby. Alana was a champ delivering the little guy the all natural way impressing the nurses who don't see that much anymore. They should be home tonight and the family will be complete, MoM, DaD, Girl, Boy and Dog. Click on the link on the right side bar on this site to see both Kaiya's and Jonah's newest pics. God bless.

Favorites of o8 Fatherhood

So being a father does change you, in to many ways to mention and in ways you don't even know till way later. I have enjoyed being a father immensely and as Kaiya gets older and is able to interact more and communicate more it becomes more fun. We have started to have father child dates recently or as she puts it ice cream date, and those moments have been awesome and will continue to cherish these moments cause man she is growing fast. I have enjoyed her at every stage and thank God for the blessing she has been to our lives. I just hope and pray that I can be the father God wants me to be and that I can live up to the great responsibility of raising her and the other little one on the way. It is tiring stressful and challenging to have little ones but man is it the coolest thing ever. Enjoy the blogger exclusive pic of daddy and Kaiya being really cool for the camera.

Favorites of o8 the Election

So one of my favorite events of 08 was the presidential election. It was historic, surprising, and very interesting. I was glad to see that for the most part it was a year in which the winner did not use fear or the lowest common denominator. I found myself more than any other election glued to the news shows during important events of the election. Is that cause I'm getting older? I hope not, I think cause of the intrigue of it all. I won't go into all the ins and outs of it, cause by now we've heard it all, but it is one of my favorites of the 08 year.

Best of 08, finally!

So it's been a while since I've blogged and the best of 08 is way late , but better late than never. My first best of goes to Jon Foreman's entry into the solo world. He released four ep's named after the four seasons. An acoustic set of songs that are just plain beautiful and a little experimental. Along with the beautiful music goes wonderful lyrics that speak to the spiritual struggles of Jon which really touch at the heart of the human experience. If you have a chance you must listen to these four ep's which are now available on one album.

Phins Do It!!!!!!!!

So can you believe it, cause I still can't believe that after a 1-15 record last year the Dolphins have bounced back to end the season with a 11-5 record and a division title. Not only did they make the playoffs the knocked out the Pats and the Jets what a glorious day. What a story for Chad Pennington who was dropped by the Jets after the they acquired Brett Farve who was to put them over the top and the last game comes to Chad leading the Phins to the playoffs and Farve throwing 3 picks, and all this happened in New York to boot. Do you think the Jet fans are loving that decision cause I know I am. Chad should be considered for MVP cause he was key for us. Now we move on, can we continue this miracle season, I don't know, but I sure am having lots of fun finding out.

Merry Christmas

So we had a nice Christmas this year as usual. We went to Nashville to visit the in laws or as Kaiya puts it Grandpa and Mutti. We had a splendid time there basically relaxing, eating good food and enjoying the company of family. We had Christmas a few days early cause Alana's sister was leaving the Monday before Christmas and we were traveling back to Cali on Christmas day (cost). Got to see Chris a good friend of mine become a new dad, he had twin daughters in Chattanooga so we visited him they are tiny beautiful angels. Congrats Chris. Though we had Christmas early and we traveled on the actual day is was still a nice Christmas day I woke up without the thoughts of gifts on my mind went down to have breakfast and as I did the radio was playing Joy to the World, which I enjoyed listening to as I reflected on the first Christmas as the celebration in heaven was on cause of that little baby being born. As I sat there, ate and reflected I felt joy for that day long ago and had a good breakfast with God.

My christmas haul

So here is a pic of my Christmas haul, a brand new Epiphone Les Paul standard electric guitar, nice huh. Also received the ds game space invaders extreme some cool football and mickey mouse pez, Prince Caspian DVD and the Wall-e DVD. Some good stuff huh, just for those who might be curious. I still hope to get one late Christmas present though, a Dolphins win this Sunday to get into the playoffs, GO PHINS.

Thanx

So I hope all had a good thanksgiving even though times may be tough for some. I can't help but just count my blessings, but I look at what is going on in the world these past few days and hope that we haven't forgotten that not all have a lot to be thankful for. I see what's happening in India and the terror of what they are going through; I think of a student here at my school who lost her brother in a car accident right before thanksgiving break and I wonder what should we be thankful for really? That I am ok, I haven't lost my job or no terror attacks threaten me or that my family is safe? Now all that is great for me, but I hope I never lose sight of the big picture that there are many around me suffering even if I am not. Today I heard a story of a Walmart attendant getting trampled by the rush of shoppers who couldn't wait to get their new tv, and were so blind by their wants that they took a mans life? I was out shopping today too and had to laugh at the attitude of people who were so mad cause of their place in line or that fact that it was so crowded or something, how quickly we turn from thanks for our blessing to why can't I have more. Is a blessing really a blessing if it comes at the expense of others? Don't get me wrong I too do the same things and I know this is a bit of a rant but I just want to focus myself on the real matters in life and not just my own life. I am truly thankful for the blessings God has given me and I just hope that if some day I am not as blessed as I am today that I will still be as thankful for the gifts God has given. May God bless us all.

Hope in 08

So tonight we have seen history in this country. Today is a new day in America, whether you liked Barak Obama or not you must realize the history that has been made. For the first time I can tell my half Latino daughter and unborn son that they can truly be president of the USA, thanks to the boundaries broken today. We have a new president that represents more than just a change in party or fiscal policies but now represents hope for any American and their dreams. May God bless not only America but us all.

Jonah's a coming

So my wife is expecting again and today we discovered we will be having a boy. We decided a long time ago it would be named Jonah after the pet name my family sometimes call me. Here is a pic to the young lad at 19 weeks old. Look at links on the side to see coming pics of the boy. I thought for sure I was destined to have just girls but no, a boy is on the way and I think its cool to have one of each.

A Green Black Car

So we have joined the family of Prius owners. We just bought it a couple of days ago and it's pretty cool knowing your car is

green and you are saving green at the pump all at the same time. This last trip into town we averaged 49 MPG, wow that's cool. It takes getting used to driving because the engine is not always powering the car giving it a interesting feel when it kicks in and out. It has keyless entry and push button start, all you got to do is have the key in your pocket and the door will unlock for you then you just press the brake push the button and off you go. The car also has a sweet navigation system that gives you tons of info on your car. So that's whats new this week, hope my next post comes sooner than 2 months.

Journey to Kalkutta

After saying goodbye to the kids at the school, which was very sad, we took our last few days to visit Kalkutta (once Calcutta) to visit the Mother House where Mother Teresa lived and work for much of her life. It was an inspiration place to visit and see. I learned a lot about her visiting there and seeing her quotes and the way she dedicated her life to the Lord was inspiring. She gave so much of herself and I so little, her life along with the whole trip showed me I have a long ways to go to be the man God wants me to be. It was a great end to a great trip.

New Clothes

Sorry its been a while since my last post, but here we go again. Here is a pic of the kids getting some clothes we brought them, they got to pick what they wanted and the smiles on their faces when receiving these clothes were amazing. Most of the kids only had one or two sets of clothes so this was great for them. As soon as they got the clothes they tried them on took the picture and then they immediately got into their old clothes which at first I thought was odd, till Sabbath came around. On Sabbath morning for church all the kids showed up in their new clothes, it was to them the best stuff even though some of their new clothes were not really that great to us, but to them it was. Seeing them receive this clothes really opened my eyes to the things I have, and a real touching moment.

The building projects

So here are pics of the three building projects we did in India; a church in a village about 40 minutes away, a wall around the faculty housing at the school and a playground for the school. The work was hard and the days were hot. The students did a great job staying focused and working hard and we were able to get a lot accomplished. In the end we finished the church and the playground, and the wall will be finished by the Ultimate Workout this summer.

Blessings?

So the locals thought that we were blessed and brought blessings with us. The first couple of days we were there it rained and the locals all thought that it was because of us and that good things were following us. In many of the villages and churches the locals would want us to bless them by putting our hands on their head and praying for them. It was a humbling experience to have them come up to you and ask for a blessing when it was them who were blessing you by their interactions with them. Here is one of our group after a church service blessing on of the church goers.

Montes Hair

So here is a video I did for the staff talent show at Rio.

Sabbath visitations.

So sabbath afternoon after church we got into different groups and went to different villages to do visitations. During the visitations we gave little presentations on the Bible and on health followed by a walk through the village were we saw peoples homes and prayed for them. Here is a pic of the village I visited. Sorry bout the delay on the posts I will try to be better.

Village Church

So on Sabbath after we had the church service with the kids we went to a local village to join them for their church. It was a nice service which included them singing hymns with about 7 stanzas and them telling one of our group to preach with five minutes notice not to mention a special music on the spot. It taught me always to be ready so the next sabbath I was with a talk and wouldn't you know it again they asked and it was me this time. The next post will be about the sabbath visitations.

Singing smurfs

So here you see the little kids sitting down for the church service sabbath morning. They all filed in do nicely and sat down in an orderly way so well behaved. You should of heard them singing, it was awesome so loud and joyful, they sounded like a bunch of tone deaf smurfs singing at the top of their lungs. To here them sing was a joy and a privilege.

Holy Cow

So in India the main religion is Hindu and they love their bovine, so everywhere you go you see them hanging out enjoying the best parking spaces. Love your cattle well go to India and treat em like kings.

We Were Stars

So after getting settled in at the school we went into one of the local towns to do a little shopping for some local cloths. As soon as we got out of the vehicles we were surrounded by the locals who would gather around us in droves and just stare at us. It is obvious that they don't see many white people. From store to store we would draw big crowds of Indians staring and following us, and occasionally on of them would try and communicate with one of us, but mainly just stare. It made you feel a little like a star with all these people following you except instead of them wanting to take your picture they wanted you to take theirs.