A Very Special Day at the Beach

We headed to one of my favorite areas on the North Coast for an Impact Africa staff and family celebration and debriefing time. Weather cooperated and the beach was stunning!
One morning in particular will stand out in the Franzenfam book of memories. Skyler was baptized by her Dad in the Indian Ocean!

Our "South African" family was all there in support which made it extra special!

We prayed for her and then "Pastor Dad" proceeded with familiar words that became ultra personal that morning....

"I baptize you in the Name of the Father,




The Son,



And the Holy Spirit!"

Afterward "Grandpa Joe" (Betsy's Dad) trumpeted "Amazing Grace"

And Sky was embraced by our precious teammates....




That morning I woke with a specific scripture rolling around in my heart and mind. This scripture has become a dear one to me over the years which made it even more special to share with my girl.

Psalm 27:4 "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

I'm convinced I share this "prayer" with most parents....that our children would dwell in the house of the Lord ALL the days of their life and amidst the ugliness that the world can throw at our kids that they would lift their eyes and keep their gaze focused on HIS beauty!!

We love our girl and are proud of her; she has a beautiful heart for the Lord!

It was a very special day at the beach!!

The Bug Party

Tori wanted a cheetah themed birthday party this year, so being the good mom that I am I threw her a "bug" party...hee! Actually, it is difficult to find cute party stuff this side of the ocean so when I stumbled on the adorable lady bug (they would say "lady bird" here) party stuff in one of our local stores my persuasion skills took over.

The "bug table"....complete with yummy treats such as ants on a log, caterpillar corn, bug cups, ladybird balls, a bucket of bugs and worm juice.


This cute larvae wouldn't be complaining about bugs in his food....

Completing our edible bug treats was the birthday "dirt" cake....


The birthday girl (quite pleased by the way with her party theme and cake of choice)


The party activities....

Team Butterfly



Vs. Team Flower


Team challenges:

The Cocoon Wrap (not to be confused with the Mummy Wrap :) )


A worm eating contest


The bug on a fly swatter relay


The inch worm race

Which for the little ones turned into "bug pile" with Uncle Rich


The whole lot of bugs, including the little larvae joined in a round of "Buzz, Buzz, Sting"...


And Tori's favorite...The Fear Factor Challenge, where to win one must find 3 worms and a bug in the pie of jello using only one's mouth.

Only a few took the challenge






The winner???....the birthday bug and she was pretty buzzed!


And what would a bug party be without bug masks? Each would decorate their own...

Aren't they cute?


I intended to get a photo of the guests buzzing around the garden wearing their masks however the masks were laden with pom poms and too heavy to wear. Typical girls...the more poof and pizzazz the prettier. :)

From cheetah to bug, I'd say this beautiful butterfly was happy with the metamorphosis.

Knysna...finally!

My attempt in showing you our "detour" was to then give you a glimpse at our destination. I definitely veered off the path taking an blog detour seeing that a month has spanned since our trip. In an attempt to finish this I will take you to our spectacular trip destination, Knysna...

We were their visiting our dear friends Steve and Dee and their fabulous 4 kiddos. No pics of the fam (my brain was def. on vacation) but here is a pic with my beautiful friend, Dee.

And Sky with their precious boy twin, Caleb....

Their beautiful home of Knysna...

4 of the Franzenfam on top the West Head of Knysna...

And here is the 5th cutie, proudly holding an owl...


Me and my guy on our spectacular hike of Knysna's West Head....


It definitely was a glimpse of heaven on earth. So there you have it, Knysna....FINALLY!

The Detour

Over the kid's school break, we were invited by some dear friends for a visit at their new home...14 hours away on the coast. It was a no brainer! We jumped in the car and headed for Knysna but would take a short detour on the way. An beach detour.......

After a looooong drive we woke to this sea view....


It happened to be Rich's b-day so we left him a little message....


The beach was expansive



and we had it all to ourselves

We went for long walks




Explored




Got along


And despite the frigid water and coastal wind, played in the waves



Best of all we spent time with those we love the most....each other!!


(Yes, my 12 yr old is nearly as tall as me.)

Sometimes detours lead you right to where you need to be!

Minutia Matters

Often I am asked what a typical day for me in South Africa looks like. Although days can look very different a common denominator comes in being a mom. Much of everyday is spent doing "mom" things. Now that all 3 kids are in school, I am able to engage in more aspects of the ministry but even at that most of it is limited to the morning hours.

Please don't take this as complaints...I LOVE being a MOM; I have the best kids in the world (really I do!...hee) and I'm incredibly grateful that I am able to be so involved with my 3. Just trying to add a framework to my "typical" day.

Today for instance looked very different from my point of view than from Rich's.

Rich and our awesome IA crew, plus 2 guests are in Loskop, South Africa....about 5 hours east of Joburg. Rich is introducing the team to some of our ministry contacts and open-doors there. They are engaging in ministry and instilling hope in some of SA's next gen!

I'm back at the home front hangin' with my Franzenfam peeps...engaging in "ministry" and instilling hope in 3 of SA's (or America's) next gen!

I sent Rich a text this morning asking how things were going and his response came in the form of these pics...




The pics brought tears to my eyes....esp. the one of the kids in wheelchairs, raising their hands in prayer. The thought that came to me was, I so love our "job"!

I thought it would be fun to text back pics giving an indication of how things were going in the Franzenfam world.

This mom spent the morning at Blake's school athletics day....








Took Tori to swimming lessons after school....

and attempted to help Sky with Math (emphasis on "attempted")

more homework, dinner, and soccer practice would follow before my crew would retire for the evening.

One day, Two different perspectives, both REALLY GREAT!!

Bottom line.. I don't know how "typical" my days are and they don't always feel very significant yet I'm experiencing a deepening love for my family and this country! And somehow that seems to matter!

A note of encouragement to all my fellow moms out there...relish in the fact that no matter how mundane your typical day may feel you ARE doing meaningful work! Embrace it, enjoy it and know that God notices your service!!! Your Minutia Matters!