The Allen Ladies Memoirs

Let it snow...

2012-01-15T17:37:00.001-08:00

Go Dawgs!

2012-01-13T12:40:00.001-08:00

Priceless

2012-01-07T19:58:00.001-08:00

Them saying it.

2012-01-04T13:56:00.001-08:00

My daughter Jo was playing behind me in my office with some dolls. I heard her exchanging conversation between the two of them saying something like, “You are stupid. No, you are stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” I turned around and said, “Jo-Jo, you don’t say stupid.” She said, “I wasn’t saying stupid. Them saying stupid.”

Steve and Stephanie Allen

www.hopenations.com

Merry Christmas from the Allen Family

2011-12-22T19:44:00.001-08:00

sigh

2011-12-12T22:18:00.001-08:00

Oh, how I missed you, parks and water...

The sweetest things in life

2011-11-20T22:54:00.001-08:00

Hanging with Jo

2011-11-19T10:48:00.001-08:00

Ya'll should be jealous that I get to hang out with Jojo! The world has yet
to meet such a fearless, tender, sensitive, sweet, hilarious little lady...
Watch out world!!!

Before and... AFTER!

2011-11-12T10:24:00.001-08:00

last day of braces!!!

2011-11-11T00:37:00.001-08:00

Bathtime fun

2011-11-07T00:06:00.003-08:00

Just because she is cute

2011-11-07T00:06:00.001-08:00

asleep

2011-11-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

A recovering sick Jojo + 99 degrees heat + too much activity = this picture

sisters?

2011-11-01T00:19:00.001-07:00

Kam's first babysitting job

2011-10-25T01:25:00.001-07:00

1-2-3-4-5

2011-10-24T00:54:00.001-07:00

Our children, in escalating ages...

Harvesting some fun

2011-10-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

We spend the afternoon with some new friends from church at their house
quite a ways outside of Lusaka. They had an amazing garden going, and I just
thought you would like to see what they sent us home with:)

Horseback riding pics

2011-10-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

Another horseback riding adventure today! These pictures pretty much show
the adventure personality of Jo-Jo! She is everywhere and into everything...

Fun with our friends

2011-10-04T21:30:00.001-07:00

We had a fun time last night with our good friends, the Williamson Family!

Haircuts!

2011-10-03T12:00:00.001-07:00

Four of the five girls got haircuts today!

I got pictures of three of them!

A princess Julia party

2011-10-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Julia had a princess party, complete with all her princess friends and
servants, who were Kamryn's friends... A good time!

Happy 8th Birthday, Julia!!!

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful little princess turned 8 today!!! Just thought you would want
to know!

Dad and Jo

2011-09-22T11:19:00.005-07:00

Kamryn leading worship

2011-09-22T11:19:00.003-07:00

Thought you would like to see a picture of Kamryn leading worship during our
morning family worship...

How much does a tooth cost in Zambia?

2011-09-22T11:19:00.001-07:00

250,000 kwacha

Jo and her brothers

2011-09-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

We have some friends here in Zambia who we always joke with about how their
children and our children look like brother/sister. Here is some proof.

Hot Season has arrived...

2011-09-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ride 'em cowgirl!

2011-09-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Got some pictures of horseback riding today... After class, Jo and Rho got
to ride, too. All the way back the stables:) But, I was too busy trying to
make sure Jo stayed on the horse to get a Rho pic...

More Brady birthday pics...

2011-08-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get some current pics of my 10 year old on the blog!

Happy 10th Birthday Brady

2011-08-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our dear Brady... She is a sweet, sensitive, impulsive,
spontaneous, passionate, puzzling, beautiful little lady. She is the life
of the party, the center of every conversation, the bold, courageous, deep
thinker, and a friend making machine. She has spent 5 years as a PK and 5
years as a MKThank you Lord for our daughter Bradyn!!! This is the verse
that we read for her this morning...

Psalm 20:4-7 - 4May he grant your heart's desires and make all your plans
succeed. 5May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a
victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.
6Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from
his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power. 7Some nations boast of
their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.

A belayed birthday party

2011-08-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

We had to delay Jo's birthday party and even then we totally picked the
wrong busy day. But, regardless, it was a fun party. So thankful for our
busy, fun, cute three year old!!!

Happy Birthday JoJo

2011-08-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Is this not...

2011-08-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

The favorite part of every dad coming home to see his daughter running out
to say hi and give Daddy a hug:)

Fun in the Sun

2011-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jo Faces

2011-08-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Joing

2011-08-06T08:01:00.001-07:00

Blue Moon, Blue Moon.

2011-08-05T10:01:00.001-07:00

I took Julia for her special day to Blue Moon, our favorite ice cream place. A couple of days later, for Kamryn's special day, Stephanie and I took her there as well. Good place, good place!

My future acrobats

2011-08-04T10:00:00.003-07:00

Take two swings, put them close together, add a little creativity, and you
have future acrobats doing their thing.

Time for lunch

2011-08-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mirriam, Rho and Jo had lunch in their "house" last week. Had to get a
picture!

Family...

2011-08-03T01:20:00.000-07:00

Without hair combing, clothes ironing, or professional picturing. Just the
ladies, together, for a rare, spontaneous, Iphone picture moment.

Jammy Buddies...

2011-08-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

Disobedience

2011-08-02T04:17:00.001-07:00

Jojo and Mirriam had a pet frog named Tutu that they kept in a box outside. Bradyn was concerned about Tutu's well-being, being trapped in a box in the hot sun, so she went to try to rescue Tutu.
Johanna was just telling me about the story.....

Jojo: "We don't have a skink anymore, and we don't have a frog."
Mom: "Oh no, did something happen to Tutu"?
Jojo: "Yes, Bradyn let her go, and we was saying "No Bradyn, no Bradyn", but she's not disobey us."
Mom: "Who was saying that to Bradyn"?
Jojo: "Jojo, Mirriam, and Rhoda was saying that but Bradyn not disobey us."

Jumpin' Rope

2011-08-01T10:00:00.001-07:00

Thought these pictures were cute of Ro and Jo jumping rope.

Sweeping the grass

2011-08-01T06:51:00.001-07:00

A gonna make your day smile

2011-07-26T06:31:00.001-07:00

Was I right?

...and the braids came out!

2011-07-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

My Three Cupcakes

2011-07-21T01:53:00.001-07:00

If only they loved each other this much all the time...:)

The Day Mom and I Changed, Part III of III

2011-07-20T22:51:00.001-07:00

Enjoy this third and last part of the movie from Kamryn's birthday!

JoJo and her trees

2011-07-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

I was taking some pictures of JoJo climbing a tree and then a couple of us,
together, at the top of the tree... She is fearless and that isn't always a
good thing.

Jo and Rho mojo

2011-07-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Rho!

2011-07-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a bunch of pictures of Rhoda's 6th birthday. It was a fun two days full of presents, visiting her former orphanage, family time and a fun party. Her birthday will always coincide with her "gotcha" day. Two years on July 4 we gotcha'd her and then her birthday is July 5. Anyways a great day! Stephanie made her a life book which is, honestly, priceless... You'll will have to see it someday. Until then, you will just have to believe me...

The Day Mom and I Changed, Part II

2011-07-03T05:26:00.000-07:00

Here is part II of Kamryn's movie... Enjoy!

Jo and her (neighbors) cat

2011-07-02T13:22:00.001-07:00

This cat must have used up most of his 9 lives because he is just so patient
with my cat-lovin' daughter.

Kamryn's (Screenwriting and Acting Debut) Birthday

2011-07-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

Kamryn celebrated her 12th birthday on Saturday. We decided to go a different route for her birthday. Instead of watching a movie like most parties, we decided to make a movie. It was a lot more work but A LOT MORE fun! The movie was filmed in about 3-4 hours and edited in about the same. But what memories! We thought we would share the videos with you... They will be in three segments and so below is segment 1. Kamryn and I (her dad) prayed and thought and argued and pondered and then decided on the plot but Kamryn was the one who wrote the script. It was a lot of fun to watch her and her friends here in Zambia go all out in their acting. It was really amazing to see it all come together.

Here is part 1 of 3

Jo-Jo Sayables

2011-06-27T11:09:00.001-07:00

I feel bad for Jo-Jo because all her younger sisters got some sweet press on the Allen Ladies blog for the cute things they said growing up. Jo-Jo has gotten a little lost in the shuffle. But, wow, cute things are coming right and left. I am determined to get some of them online.

Today:

Jo said to Mom, “Rhoda hits me. She needs a time-out”

Jo also said to Mom, “Rhoda isn’t obeying me.”

And yesterday, Jo caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and said, in third/first person, “Jo-Jo, I see you!”

Yeah, pretty cute.

Steve Allen

ACTION Zambia

www.aliveinafrica.com

Happy 12th...

2011-06-25T12:07:00.001-07:00

A great day was had for this young lady, making movies, eating cake and
opening presents. The only downside: she didn't get her braces off:( One
more month...

Rho

2011-06-21T11:50:00.001-07:00

Thought you would appreciate seeing Rho in her new do and holding some cute
little chicks that a friend of ours is raising...

Date night with my baby

2011-06-21T11:47:00.001-07:00

Kam and I had a date night last night and Kamryn had her first coffee
(decaf) of course. A vanilla latte. We spent the evening planning her
birthday party and sipping beverages. Delightful in the highest!

Super Kamryn at 3

2011-06-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

I just found this on the hard drive storage and it sure brought back some
memories for my almost 12 year old...

They were running

2011-06-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

Steph and Bradyn went for a run today. Brady kept up pretty good and hopes
to make this a bi-weekly tradition with mom. We'll keep you updated!

My baby is going to be 12

2011-06-17T04:21:00.000-07:00

In little over a week, my firstborn will be 12 and on her birthday, her big
gift, she is (hopefully) getting her braces off...

Dad and Jo

2011-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's just the way she smiles.

Having fun

2011-06-15T11:39:00.001-07:00

Jo

2011-06-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

A three teeth week

2011-06-14T08:27:00.001-07:00

The pictures speak for themselves... Three teeth in one week!

Great picture

2011-06-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

I love this picture for the amazing, sprawling tree as well as the five
girls busy at play...

not sorry

2011-06-12T04:31:00.001-07:00

It's what you do when you lose all the game pegs... "Sorry" with little
people:) They weren't sorry for losing the game pieces because they had more fun with
animating the game with their little people.

Rho's special day

2011-06-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

Every month on the day of their birthday (i.e. Rhoda's birthday is July 5
and every 5th of every month is her special day) every girl gets a special
treat and a one-on-one with mom or dad. Today was dad's turn, and Rhoda was
gracious enough to let the house destroyer join her so Mom could get ready.
So, Rho, Jo and Dad went to Manda Hill for some pre-church Sunday donuts.
It was a sweet time and I thought the pictures could document it...

Jo-Jo after meeting her chocolate covered spoon

2011-05-25T10:47:00.001-07:00

a DADDY day

2011-05-24T10:03:00.001-07:00

Took the girls to a safari lodge and Sandy's last Saturday for a little
daddy/daughter adventure. The only animal we saw a little cute monkey
watching us just above our car...

Love our monkey

2011-05-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T00:15:00.001-07:00

It's just 2 out of 5 but thought you might like a sweet picture of three of
my beauties... We love "mommy!" Happy Mother's Day!

The kids and the "fair"

2011-05-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

We went to a fair this morning at a local school. It was, well, a school
carnival type fair with cotton candy (candy floss) and little homemade
games. But the kids enjoyed it (especially riding the horses) and with very
little in the way of things to do in Lusaka on the weekends, the kids had
fun.

Jo-Jo in pictures

2011-04-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Trying to get 1 good picture of Jo-Jo takes 6. (Actually, I think all 6 are
cute:) Thankfully, we are in the digital age.

13 and counting...

2011-04-04T04:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to Stephanie and I today... We celebrate 13 full, amazing,
adventurous, growing, fun, crazy years of marriage. Who would have thought
13 years ago when we said, "I Do!" that we would be living in Africa and
have five kids! Not us, that's for sure... There is a little wall sign
thingie that on our wall which says "All because two people fell in love."
This little sign makes me laugh when the kids are fighting and chaos is
breaking out and smile when hugs and kisses abound. I guess that is what a
marriage journey is all about. Praise God for His grace which is
sufficient and kind and powerful to lead us through all that life has
brought us so far.

Easter Dresses

2011-03-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

A fun morning

2011-03-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

The girls got a chance to ride a pony at a local restaurant where we spent
the morning relaxing...

Priceless

2011-03-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

It was pretty funny watching Jo-Jo and Rho-Rho pushing their carts in Spar.
I had to continually pick up the carnage from Jo's errant cart pushing and
put back all that she wanted to buy... Despite some frustrated and impatient
people trying to maneuver her drunk driving techniques, it was actually
pretty enjoyable.

Family Video 1

2011-03-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

Every May I put together a "Mother's Day Video" of our family of the year taking the hours of footage and putting it together into a fun video... Since we have unlimited internet this month, I thought I would show some of the clips along the way!

Valentines at the Allen's

2011-03-05T07:00:00.001-08:00

When you have five girls, you better remember Valentine's Day! Well, I did
this year, and got a little creative with some heart shaped pancakes,
Valentine's gifts that I bought in the states before I left and a personal
note to each daughter. I probably feel like most parents who don't do
enough special things for their kid most of the time. So, it was fun to
surprise and make them feel special.

Friends

2011-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

So fun with friends...

Jo swinging

2011-03-02T08:49:00.001-08:00

Jo is getting big. She loves now being able to swing like the big girls!

Jo + Phone editing = cute

2011-03-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

My girls love using my little editing tool on my cool LG phone. Thought
you might enjoy this latest creation from Julia, I think!

Swimming lessons

2011-02-27T07:55:00.001-08:00

I had a chance to watch Rhoda and Julia's swimming lessons at the nearby
school's after school activities. Good times!

Valentine Daze

2011-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

Thought you would appreciate a picture of me and four of my five ladies at
Kilimanjaro's restaurant to celebrate Valentine's Day weekend...

The ALLEN family

2011-01-14T03:56:00.001-08:00

Just thought I would post a picture of the ALLEN family with all the
Allens in it... The Allen name will be living only through Kyle
Allen, the son of my brother Doug... The rest of the grandchildren are
girls:) We had great time in California for my parents 50th
anniversary...

Johanna Jae

2011-01-13T17:09:00.001-08:00

Stephanie's Top 40

2011-01-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

Steph’s Top 40 Reasons she LOVES Steve
40. He always says such loving and kind words to me and about me.
39. He is sensitive to my femininity….moods, emotions, etc.
38. He speaks words of wisdom.
37. He is so helpful.
36. He is disciplined.
35. He is a good friend.
34. He cares about people.
33. He likes to do the same things I like to do.
32. He is willing to change…..even in his old age.
31. He is patient with me.
30. He tells me I’m beautiful.
29. He makes breakfast.
28. He likes to do things I don’t like to do……like write.
27. He is silly.
26. He is humble.
25. He enjoys relationships.
24. He is so steady.
23. He is generous.
22. He is content.
21. He smells good.
20. He is so quick to apologize.
19. He isn’t afraid to do hard things.
18. He is creative and fun.
17. He has taken his role as priest, prophet, and provider for our family very seriously.
16. He has big dreams.
15. He is full of integrity.
14. He practices what he preaches….the walk matches the talk.
13. He is someone I can be proud of.
12. He pushes me to be more like Christ by pushing himself.
11. He respects me and honors me.
10. He completes me.
9. He hears God’s voice.
8. He is understanding.
7. He is always learning.
6. He is so in love with his daughters.
5. He is committed to his family.
4. He is healthy in body, mind, and spirit.
3. He loves to make memories and preserve memories….(family videos)
2. He’s gonna get huge, but is HOT anyway.
1. He is my BEST FRIEND!!

Brady ear piercing, part II

2011-01-02T23:59:00.001-08:00

Had to show my Brady's pics of getting her ear pierced again. She let
hole grow back covered. Anyway, a much less dramatic and traumatic
event this time. She was the perfect model for a what hopefully Julia
and Rhoda will be doing sometime in the forseeable future.

History happened

2010-12-25T21:52:00.001-08:00

I just had to include this picture of Stephanie's grandpa, after 67
years of playing cribbage, finally got his first 29 hand. To those who
don't play cribbage or understand the significance, sorry, but to
those who do, it was an amazing feat to witness and on Christmas, as
well!!!

A first time for everything

2010-11-23T21:59:00.001-08:00

One fun thing about having an adopted daughter is their is always a first
time for almost everything. I was so thankful to get home in time for the
Rhoda's first foray into the snow. And she handled it like a champ... It
was a busy hour of both videoing and photographing my family as they dove
into the snow, literally. Thought I would share a picture of my
videoing... I am putting together a sweet video of my kids in this suprise
pre-thanksgiving snow in next couple days, so stay tuned!

Our time at the beach

2010-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

A trip to the pumpkin farm

2010-10-23T15:17:00.001-07:00

Great to be back home and visiting the pumpkin farm!

7 years of beauty

2010-10-23T15:10:00.001-07:00

Thought I would include Julia's birthday present from her grandparents
and a really cute picture from our trip to England.

Sesame Street:Song: I Love My Hair

2010-10-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

My mother in law saw this and showed it to me... Perfect for Rhoda to watch in the midst of a family of blond ladies... Maybe you know someone who would like to see it to.

More cuteness

2010-10-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Just having some easy, quick, painless fun with Picasa... Unfortunately, I
don't have any of the other girls with Jo...:(

A decade of beauty

2010-10-01T03:57:00.000-07:00

One more picture of the oldest and youngest Allens...

Fun with google picasa

2010-09-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

I love when our girls play together... Here is one such snapshot...

JoJoJoJo

2010-09-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

Jo Jo. Wow. What a character. She is an incredible young girl... My wife is
probably going to kill me when she sees this picture of herself on the blog,
but I just wanted you to get the perspective of me, sitting with some
friends of ours, and watching Jo-Jo in the background playing with a little
girl who was sitting nearby... I think this was the first time I have ever
really seen her play with a stranger on her own accord... So cute. Wish I
had it on video.

Happy Birthday, Julia!

2010-09-28T02:53:00.001-07:00

Our BABY for five years who is now the middle child turned 7 today... Every
day this miracle child who could/should have died before and at birth, is
alive and joy to our lives... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUJU!!!

The Allen Ladies Memoirs

Let it snow...

Go Dawgs!

Priceless

Them saying it.

Merry Christmas from the Allen Family

*sigh*

The sweetest things in life

Hanging with Jo

Before and... AFTER!

last day of braces!!!

Bathtime fun

Just because she is cute

asleep

sisters?

Kam's first babysitting job

1-2-3-4-5

Harvesting some fun

Horseback riding pics

Fun with our friends

Haircuts!

A princess Julia party

Happy 8th Birthday, Julia!!!

Dad and Jo

Kamryn leading worship

How much does a tooth cost in Zambia?

Jo and her brothers

Hot Season has arrived...

Ride 'em cowgirl!

More Brady birthday pics...

Happy 10th Birthday Brady

A belayed birthday party

Happy Birthday JoJo

Is this not...

Fun in the Sun

Jo Faces

Joing

Blue Moon, Blue Moon.

My future acrobats

Time for lunch

Family...

Jammy Buddies...

Disobedience

Jumpin' Rope

Sweeping the grass

A gonna make your day smile

...and the braids came out!

My Three Cupcakes

The Day Mom and I Changed, Part III of III

JoJo and her trees

Jo and Rho mojo

Happy Birthday Rho!

The Day Mom and I Changed, Part II

Jo and her (neighbors) cat

Kamryn's (Screenwriting and Acting Debut) Birthday

Jo-Jo Sayables

Happy 12th...

Rho

Date night with my baby

Super Kamryn at 3

They were running

My baby is going to be 12

Dad and Jo

Having fun

Jo

A three teeth week

Great picture

not sorry

Rho's special day

Jo-Jo after meeting her chocolate covered spoon

a DADDY day

Love our monkey

Happy Mother's Day

The kids and the "fair"

Jo-Jo in pictures

13 and counting...

Easter Dresses

A fun morning

Priceless

Family Video 1

sigh