Wednesday, January 31, 2007

'Not so Wordless' Wednesday

I thought I would steal Michelle’s ‘Wordless Wednesday’ due to the following amazing photo but prior to posting I realized I babbled on about it making it not so wordless (sorry I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut---shocker I know).

Colt's fans this is posted especially for you………………



And for my blog friends that are solely in it for the food and are shopaholics (um that would be Michelle again) this one’s for you………



Enough said!

Monday, January 29, 2007

Beware of Baboons


Typically when we host teams from the USA or wherever, we always end their stay with a nice safari experience. In early Jan we had a small team from Texas and it was no different. Their last two days would be spent enjoying a splendid overnight safari.

Rich asked one of our South African friends, Ross to join them as there was extra room in the guy’s chalet. Ross did join and it proved to be quite an experience.

After enjoying an early morning game drive the guys returned to their chalet to find quite a sight. The room was in shambles…food half eaten and strewn all over, curtains ripped down, and garbage everywhere. In addition piles of poop accompanied the disaster. Someone left a window open and baboons took this as an invitation to invade the place.

Ross quickly ran upstairs to his room to assess the damage and Rich said he knew it was bad when they heard, “No, No…ah come on….you have got to be kidding me!”
Ross came down the stairs with this precious sight……………


….a thoughtful gift from one of the baboons presented nicely on his pressed and folded shirt.

So when you see the ‘baboon warning’ signs you’d be wise to adhere. I am sure ‘baboon’ pestilence is a growing concern for you in the good ole USA.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Back to the Land of Oz


..........not much of a story with this one, well there is but its purpose today is to bring my blog back to a G-rating. So what is your favorite G-movie and when last did you see it?

Friday, January 26, 2007

African Delectables

Periodically I like to give a look into my ‘African’ world. Today, I thought I would give you a peek at our supermarkets. I detest grocery shopping because it is impossible to get everything on your shopping list at one store. Most often it is a 3 store deal before checking everything off. That is why the following photos in a very disturbing way bring me joy while shopping. These photos are not from a forever forward circulating the globe they were actually taken at a local supermarket. Warning if you have a weak stomach do not proceed any further..........



Hard to read but the label says "FAT"...yes this is a kilo of fat found in the fresh meat section. Ironically it was placed next to the lean meats.



And umm this one is self-explanatory….hey, at least it is fresh.

So if you ever have a chance to come for dinner I’ll be sure to give you a side of fat with your meal and fresh ass cake for dessert. Ah, only in Africa!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Look-alikes

I know this has been blogged on but all my adult life I've been told I look like someone. The more famous names that have come up over the years have been Linda Hamilton, Kim Bassinger and Candice Bergman. In fact Mitchell called me "Murph" (Murphy Brown) for years. With this I was curious to see what the diagnostics would say. I tried a few different pictures and by golly all 3 of those women came up at one time or another. I chose the following as it was the only one that showed my "male" look alike being Bon Jovi. How cool is that?! See I was destined to sing on stage...now for the voice.




And much to Rich's chagrin here is his...he grunted when I showed him his results. I take it men don't get into these type of things. :-)



So who do you look like??

Monday, January 22, 2007

Da Bears


Upon awaking this morning I saw a glorious statement slathered across my computer screen, “Bears Maul Saints to earn Super Bowl trip”…..much better than yesterday morning’s “I’m in it to win” statement from Hillary Clinton which made me gag!

Being from the windy city and growing up with 2 older brothers I was (am) a Bears, Bulls and White Sox fan! Yep, fellow Chicagoans I said the White Sox NOT the Cubs but this post is about da Bears I’ll save da Sox for another post!

I felt it pridefully appropriate to take a stroll down memory lane….to Super bowl XX, where da Bears won da ring (and some serious cash)! What a great team, with “the refrigerator” Perry, Jim McMahon (Mr. Cocky) the colorful Mike Ditka and my personal favorite, #34…the late great Walter Payton!

Jan 26, 1986 also marked the first and only Sunday night as a kid that my brothers and I were allowed to stay home from church (bona fide PK’s). We would sing the Super bowl Shuffle instead of choir songs that night! I still know the words….to the Super bowl Shuffle that is!

To my dear friends in Indiana….do you think we can get tickets on the street for $10 a piece day of game? Jason, get working on that paper airplane as it will be the only highlight the Colts will see! Next headlines will read; “Bears MAUL the Colts to win the Super bowl!”

So who are you rooting for to take Super bowl XLl....or do you watch purely for commercial entertainment?

Friday, January 19, 2007

One Week Down...


…..42 more to go, of school that is! Skyler and Blake just completed their first full week of school. Sky started grade 2 and Blake is in grade 00 ('double not'…zero is pronounced ‘not’ here) or the equivalent to Pre K-4. Blake’s transition meant moving to Skyler’s school and going everyday which he was quite excited about.
So essentially I am back to being “transport mom”. Amazing that my kids are only 7 and 4 with limited extracurricular activities yet I seem to spend much of my day in the car.

Back to school, as in entry into a new year, was always exciting for me as a kid. I loved buying and organizing all the brand new school supplies for the first day of school. As an adult I don’t find as much joy in it as I did as a kid. Perhaps because here you don’t just buy the basic markers, paper, pencils, etc you buy everything from the basics to writing tablets, textbooks and storage containers. Can you say ‘chaching’? And of course it is British-English so an interpreter must accompany you to the store.
Students must also label everything. Again not just the surname on the entire package of markers as that would be too easy! Every single marker, pencil, crayon, etc is labeled individually. Can you say ‘ridiculous’? Fortunately my husband’s brilliance saved me a few hours work. He printed Skyler’s name real small on mailing labels so I just cut and stuck. It still was a pain in the behind!

One of the most interesting things that came up with regard to school supplies happened last year. Skyler came home from school and said, “Mommy, you need to buy me rubbers for school!” Yea- I had the same reaction. Well actually I am curious to hear your reaction! What would be your response if you’re 7 year old asked you this?

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Per Your Request

It was requested I post pictures of the elated recipients of the beanie babies. I must make a correction as when I posted about it I mentioned we were given 100 beanie babies when in actuality it was 100 pounds of beanie babies….yea there was a boat load! Here are a few of the happy faces!


Since we are on the subject I thought I would share about another fun endeavor we did end of last year…..

This past December we had a big Christmas Celebration in one of the poverty stricken areas near us. We targeted the children with an emphasis to tangibly show them the love of Christ. Kids adorned in ratty clothes spent the day jumping on inflatable jumping castles, eating sweets, playing games, and watching puppet shows. They left with smiling, painted faces, upset stomachs (from too much sugar), prizes, their very own Christmas present and for most the Lord in their hearts. We’ve posted some of the pictures in the photo gallery of our ­website if you would like to take a gander!

Our ministry does a few different things with and for the people of Africa. Where humanitarian aid isn’t a primary focus we try to incorporate it in different ministry ventures. And although it is a mere drop in the bucket to what is needed here it is definitely one of the highlights for me…..the joy it brings is just awesome!

Enjoy!!!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Friends Forever

A few months ago I blogged about a special new friend, Gogo Joanna that I met along my ministry travels. We met in July of last year and I had the awesome privilege of telling her about Jesus. I tried to visit her often bringing her sweets and biscuits (cookies) by request.

I met precious baby Noah via cyberspace just 1 month later, August of 2006. He captured my heart and his parents love and faith is nothing less than inspiring!

Both new friends from different walks of life….one old and grey the other just beginning life……one born into a God-fearing family full of faith the other learning children’s bible stories only in her 80’s. Born oceans a part with generations between them yet both have one thing in common;the most important thing in my opinion……they are with their Lord afresh and anew right now.

I did not know either of them very well yet I fell in love with them like they were my own flesh and blood. Both went Home last week. I can’t help but wonder if they’ve met? I envision baby Noah cuddled up on Gogo (grandma) Joanna’s lap both full of laughter and eating biscuits!

Although it was only a short time that I knew these two, my life has been enriched by both. Gogo Joanna and baby Noah I will see you in heaven one day soon and for that I am truly grateful!

Friday, January 12, 2007

A Tribute....

to a special little boy that has touched so many lives in a short time. Noah Steven your life on earth may end today but we rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life!

For those of you that may not know the story of this precious boy and his amazing family I encourage you to read his daily blog…every single entry! It is a story of love, faith, trust, selflessness, hope, and life! It will move you, inspire you, encourage you, and change you. I know it has done so for me and my family.

Since learning of his condition, baby Noah has become a part of our family’s daily prayers. Today my daughter’s prayer went something like this…..

“Lord, would you please give baby Noah a big hug for me and tell him I am so happy he is all better now…..oh and tell him I can’t wait to see him when I get to heaven!”

We have not had the privilege of meeting this sweet boy but he has touched our lives and is in our hearts forever!

Until we meet in heaven dear boy……….

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Feliz Navidad....again?

As excited I was for the Christmas holidays I was just as ready for the decorations to be packed away nicely in the garage and a new year to begin. I enjoy the freshness a new year brings. Another 365 days filled with new adventures, new opportunities and new memories to be made. The ironic part is that our January is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Not with decorations and definitely no snow but being an ocean away things take longer to arrive. For example, I visited our PO Box the other day and it was jammed full of Christmas cards and letters. Now I must admit I don’t care when in the year these show up I sure enjoy seeing the fun photos and reading the letters. (Thanks to all my blog friends that sent one our way).

We also had a team arrive from the USA this week to join us in our mission endeavors. Along with the team came a myriad of belated Christmas presents. A friend of ours also sent us 100 beanie babies to use in our ministry activities. When my kids spotted the 2 suitcases full of these furry little friends they definitely thought Christmas was here once again and that Santa had been real generous. As the ooo’s and ahh’s spewed from their mouths while rummaging through the animals, I reminded them that these were for the boys and girls that don’t have toys. Inevitably they each ended up with one to call their own.

I will continue to enjoy the cards that arrive while partaking of the yummy treats sent our way that cannot be purchased here. And all my Alias questions will finally be answered along with Michael Vaughns true identity revealed in the final season we just received!

So why the picture of slippers? Well for one I couldn’t find the photo of me and Jennifer Gardner and two, I couldn’t find ‘summer’ Christmas PJ’s for the kids this year but I did find these fun slippers. Aren’t they cute? I just love slippers…I would wear them all day long if I could! (See Karen, I clearly haven’t had a pedicure in a long time either!)

Friday, January 05, 2007

The Last Dance

A new school year starts next week ending my kids 6 week long summer break. I must admit I thought we would all be at each other’s throats by now but the time passed quickly and it has been a lot of fun.

In light of this we decided to get one more ‘fun in the sun’ day in with the kids before the daily rigmarole starts.

We joined some friends and took a day trip to the spectacular Valley of the Waves at Sun City…aka- huge water park and simulated beach. Definitely a 1st world experience which intensifies the dichotomy here as we passed numerous squatter camps on the way (very poor areas with people living in tin shacks).

We returned home tired and sunburned…the marks of a great fun-filled day at ‘the beach’! I am now ready to get down to business….which is good timing as a small team arrives today. Which also means my Starbucks Christmas blend (my favorite coffee blend) is on its way….I will definitely be ready for business with a cup of freshly brewed SB in hand!

Here’s to a productive, coffee filled, New Year!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Happy New Year

Our New Year's Eve- "I think I can make it til midnight!", "I think I can"...yawn....."I think I can"......heavy eyes......



.....well here's to trying!

We pray your 2007 is a slice of heaven!