The Oaf Has Landed

I just got a phone call from the secure part of the airport in Addis Ababa. Andrew talked the guard into letting him go in and rescue his little brother. David had arrived, but after 30 minutes had not come out of the secure area and all the other passengers had left (the plane arrived at 4am). Turns out he was waiting for the golf bag to show up, which it did not. After further research, it apparently decided to stay in London for a few days. They hope it arrives on the next British Airways flight. The other suitcase with Christmas gifts and my special present to Laura--my 30 year old cast iron skillet--got there safely.

So we thank God he got there safely.

In other news about Andrew, he discovered fraudulent activity on his bank account, so I got to call and sort all that out (I'm a cosigner on the account). And I'm still trying to get their marriage license translated, authorized, certified, verified, authenticated, stamped, sealed, signed, and delivered. Red tape is a favorite item in many countries. If we can manage to do this, Laura might be able to get a job in Ethiopia and stay there legally.

In other news, we are getting ready to make our annual trek to south Texas for Christmas in the Rio Grande Valley. I also think I should post a photo of the wreath I made earlier this Christmas season out of cedar/juniper trees I cut from the woods behind my house. I couldn't quite bring myself to buying one for $25 made out of real pine.

 

The Oaf is Off

 
We are about ready to leave for the airport with David. We went to aa.com to check to see if the flight was on time and they said it wasn't operating. Hmmm.... So a bit of further investigation shows that they changed the flight number and time, but didn't bother to tell him. (Or maybe he failed to notice when they did tell him.) Anyway, I've lent him my digital camera for this trip, so I won't be able to post photos as easily for the next 10 days, unless I borrow Rachel's camera. I hope he brings it safely back with some nice photos of his trip.

Pray for his safety and a good time of communication with all the people he will be seeing. He is due back here Dec. 29. 

Early Christmas

I know it is a week early, but we had our family Christmas yesterday afternoon. That is because baby David is flying to Ethiopia tomorrow to spend Christmas with Andrew and Laura. I have lots to do tonight to finish getting the luggage ready for David to take tomorrow, so I can't spend a long time blogging tonight. But I did want to show off a couple of my presents. Above, are my massaging slippers. Press the button and they vibrate. Cool. Even cooler, I GOT A NEW COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is going to take me a couple weeks to get it organized and my data copied over from my old computer. So far I just have a few programs running, including Firefox.

Thank you to Rachel for organizing this gift, and for all those who contributed toward it. I love it!