Baby Pictures--Part 3 of 3 (David)

Isn't that about the saddest look you've ever seen? David was not an unhappy child, but at times he was, well, serious. This was actually a passport photo.

David was our quietest child. He hardly ever cried; he was what they call a "self-comforting" child which he accomplished by sucking his thumb and carrying a "tay."

He sucked this thumb all his preschool years, and then announced, at age four and a half, "when I turn five, I won't suck my thumb anymore." And he did exactly that.

David was also a very patient child, a trait fairly uncommon in kids. He would stick with something until he figured it out, long past the time other kids would have given up. I guess that is why the idea of being in college for 10+ years doesn't bother him.

Cash For Brains

This is not a very good photo, but if you squint you can see it is a new 14-volume Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Gary wrote an article for this encyclopedia about the Ethnologue." Today the big payment for his effort arrived--$88.03. We were about to celebrate, then remember that he coauthored this article, so, hmmmm, make that $44.01. No one goes into academics, or missions, for the money :-)

Gary is also getting ready to go to Germany soon. He's giving a paper at University of Bielefeld. He's has already bought a rail pass so he can go visit our two German daughers, Doro in Bremen before the conference and Sandra in Heilbronn after. He's planning another big trip to Australia later in the spring, but I'll post about that later.

While I'm talking about Gary, I should also show you what I bought him for Christmas/anniversary. This is actually his second Handi-Cassette. He wore the first one out. It is just a fancy cassette player that plays specially-made tapes for the blind, and allows the listener to crank up the speed to give new meaning to the phrase "speed reading." So with this gadget and the BookPort, he is just about set for things to listen to while standing in line or reclining in bed.

In other news, yet more problems with that marriage license. This morning I got a call from DHL asking me how did I want to pay. Well, I had already paid, thank you very much. Turns out the employee at Office Max, who ran the DHL kiosk, took the payment incorrectly. Several hours and phone calls later, as well as an sending them a scan of the receipt via email, they finally agreed to send my package.

Off to Africa

It cost only $95 to send the well-authenticated marriage license to its owners in Addis Ababa by overnight DHL. ("Overnight" in this case means three days.) The woman at their office had never heard of Addis Ababa. There was no cheaper option.

I made up for it by buying shampoo for $.99. Nothing but the best for my red hair.

Other chores for the day: buying vacuum cleaner bags, editing depressing poetry and paying some bills.

I feel down today, but I do have to acknowledge that someone kindly stopped to let me out into traffic and a mailman cheerfully said hello for no reason at all.

Baby Pictures--Part 2 of 3 (Rachel)

Rachel's first two and a half years were spent in the Solomon Islands. (My mind is flooded with things I could say about being pregnant and giving birth in a primitive country, but I won't, because I only tell that story to people who love me.) Even though Rachel weighed only 2690 grams, our village friends said, "She looks so healthy. She has fat papaya legs just like her mama!"

Shortly after her birth we moved to the provincial capital city and lived in a real house (with cupboards, electricity and plumbing, though no hot water). Rachel started wearing glasses at the age of one, little glasses tied on to her head with a ribbon. Though she didn't learn to walk until she was three, she had no trouble climbing. Rachel was a happy baby who hardly ever cried.



This one of my favorite photos of Rachel, because it shows her as an Early Childhood Educator (that's what they call teachers when you major in Education at college). Speaking of teachers, Rachel is still looking for a teaching job, so prayers for her are appreciated. She has had one good interview at a local Christian school, but there are no openings there at this time. She also has her second of two Texas Teacher Certification exams two weeks from today.

Even though she doesn't yet have a real job, Rachel has been keeping herself busy this past week, recently unveiling her Xanga blog and her website. I helped her put the website home page together, while she used Picasa to organize the photos. Stop by and sign one of her guestbooks if you're so inclined.

Car Repairs, Documents, Meetings

Our van has been leaking power steering fluid for quite some time. It got so bad we just had to deal with it this past week. That, and the brakes were making some kind of pulsing. And it needed an oil change too. Since we only have one car, our kind coworkers lent us their gigantic 20 year old pickup truck that gets 8 mpg. Luckily, I only had to make one trip to the grocery store before our van was repaired.

The van needed a new rack and pinion, what ever that is, and the front brake rotors turned, what ever they are. It cost less than buying a new van, and it is running well again, so I'm happy. We'd like to not have to buy a different car for at least another year or two.

Other very good news: my phone call to a certain unnamed country's embassy in Washington DC has resulting in the overnight document getting opened and returned to me one month later. Now I need to send it to Andrew along with over $400 worth of receipts for expenses it has cost me to get all the necessary stamps, signatures, stickers, impressions, certifications, authentications, verifications, translations and red tape.

My coworker and I kept busy at the office this week hosting a meeting of about 12 folks from around the world, folks from various agencies who translate or distribute the Bible. The poor guy from Sri Lanka they almost wouldn't let into the country. I put on a pathetic cereal and bagel breakfast this morning for those of the group staying in the dorm, but many didn't show up since they were still full from eating at Los Lupes last night. Providing snacks for coffee break afforded me the excuse to make some chocolate chip cookies, half of which are still in the freezer.

Baby Pictures -- Part 1 of 3 (Andrew)

A couple weeks ago Ma Hoyt gave me the idea that I would do my kids a favor by posting baby pictures of them on my blog. She is brilliant, I must say! It took me a while to gather up the courage, but here is the first post of three (that being all the kids I have), showcasing those beautiful children of mine.



Not that Andrew's baby face wasn't just adorable, but this photo is, well, uniquely Andrew. It wasn't taken when he was a baby, but presumably if it were, it would look the same. Isn't biology class fun??



When Andrew was 9 months old we went to live in a village on the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands where they spoke To'abaita. We were so lucky to have a baby then, because he helped us to fit in. And, as you'll notice in this photo, he had no trouble fitting in himself. Can you figure out which one is Andrew? The other two are named Ebe and Meifuna. Andrew was slow to learn to walk because our friends and neighbors would never let his feet touch the ground since they all wanted to carry him. I truly believe that all the love and overt attention that was lavished upon him from so many people in these early years is what gave him his great personality.

More Fraud, More Red Tape

I'm a little grumpy today. I'm a cosigner on Andrew's bank accounts. He has been getting hit repeatedly by fraudulent transactions. My job is to contact the bank to report them, then fill out paperwork and have it notarized, so he can get his money back. Today he decided he had to close the account which keeps being hit, but the problem with that is all the valid electronic charges made to that account have to be rerouted to a new account before the old one can be closed. It has been a real pain in the rear.

I'm also still working on getting Andrew and Laura's marriage license through the hoops. I called a certain country's embassy today and heard the good and bad news: the good news--they found the envelope (which had been delivered Jan4). The bad news--they hadn't opened it yet. I spoke with the man for a few minutes, and he told me to phone back tomorrow morning. So I will.

I'm also a little grumpy about our car. Tomorrow it goes in the shop to have the leaking power steering fixed, the brakes fixed, the oil changed. I hope the car is worth the expense. It is annoying to only have one car at times like this.

Communication

I'm in a pensive mood at the moment, feeling a little sad, drinking a cup of hot, black chai.

I want to talk about a situation, but it is possible some of the principals in my situation would read this blog (possible, but not likely), so forgive me if this post is written using in certain generalities.

I had an interesting encounter with a fellow believer last week that I feel was of God. The strong tug in my heart to respond to an email, the timing of an unexpected phone call from this person, etc., made me feel God was there. I sent a reply to my friend and today got another phone call from her. My friend was cordial enough, but definitely not in agreement with what I said. She is hurting because her child is marrying someone they don't approve of, but even more, she is hurting because there is broken fellowship between her and her child.

Were I in that situation, I would be hurting too. Her issue is important and I don't want to make light of it, but broken fellowship with a child would be very important.

As a parent we just love our kids so much, we pray for them so much, we want the best for them, we are happy when they are happy and we hurt when they hurt. But that whole sentence implies we actually know what is going on with our kids. And that implies communication. Communication is the responsibility of both parties.

Sometimes it is hard to be generous in spirit and to allow our kids (I'm actually talking about kids over 21 here) emotional freedom to be someone different from ourselves. For example, if they make choices we don't approve of, what are we to do? Should we just shut up and pretend all is well, pretend we are OK with something when we really aren't? Should we express our disapproval? If yes, how should we do so? Is there a time for expressing it, and then another time for not expressing it?

Sigh. I hurt for my friend, even though she probably thinks I'm taking her child's side in the matter. I do blame her for not being more open to her child choices, but I blame her child too, for not being more willing to talk--shutting down communication just hurts everybody.

Whoops! Wrong Guy

After church today someone saw a nice young man* get into our car with Rachel and mistook him for Rachel's boyfriend. I realized what she had done, so I started blah-blahing to correct her mistake. Later I had to smile to myself because I remember a couple summers ago this young man saying to Rachel, "No, I don't want to spend time with you, because then I might start to like you."

That thought got me to musing. Has anyone besides me noticed how long young people these days are putting off marriage?

I wrote a couple posts on this topic a few days ago when I had read one-too-many blogs written by twenty-something singles. Then I put them in them in the Drafts folder, where they will probably stay.

*Nice young men are my favorite kind

Still Job Hunting

I made Rachel stand still for this photo after she got home today from a job interview. She was happy that the interview went well and the principal of a local Christian school seemed interested in hiring her--except for the small matter that she didn't really have a position open :-( But it was a positive experience for Rachel, and there is a possibility that a content-mastery job could open up (that's like a tutor for kids who aren't keeping up with the rest of the class).

Yesterday Rachel got a funny phone call from a school where she had earlier phoned and left a message. Turns out what she thought was a preschool was really a school to teach handicapped adults how to be car mechanics! Not exactly up Rachel's alley, but she talked to the guy for 20 minutes anyway, discussing the possibility of an administrative job there.

In the meantime, she's just finished a typing job for an elderly couple in the neighborhood. Continue to pray that God will open up something suitable for Rachel, preferably within easy driving distance.

Book Port

Gary has bought himself a new toy, a Book Port. Not exactly a toy, really, since it is a way for the blind to read books. (Gary, you remember isn't really blind, he's just legally blind, from Stargardt's disease.) This device replaces a similar one that recently died and allows him to download non-copyrighted books from the internet for free and listen to them with text-to-speech software. He can also listen to a form of audio books for free since he has access to these copyrighted materials via websites for the blind. He is still figuring this machine out, but he has discovered he can download email or written reports into it and listen to them.

More News

We've already gotten word from someone that they can make up the $200/month loss in our support, at least for rest of 2006, thanks to the sale of some real estate. We thank God for the way he provides.

We continue to ask him to provide a job for Rachel. She called 10 places today, got three possible follow-ups.

I got my annual mammogram report back today, and unlike last year, this one was uneventful.

Rachel has decided to make a website for herself, mostly to post some of her photos. I'm helping her with the main page and links, but she's organizing and labeling all the photos. I suppose when it is ready, I'll post the link here.

Speaking of photos, Andrew told me about a trip they recently went on to distribute goats in a very rural area of Ethiopia. When I complained about not getting photos from him, he had to admit he has lost the power supply to recharge the battery. :(

I've started working on income tax preparation, always fun.

Catch Up on the Personal News

Not much exciting to blog about, so I'll see if I can think of a couple family things to mention.

David continues in medical school in Houston. He doesn't write often, or call, but when he does he either has 1)something funny to say, or 2) needs something. David, if you're reading this, don't forget you owe me $$ for car insurance. Love you, Mom

Andrew and Laura are doing pretty well in Ethiopia. Laura's mom visited them in January and bought them a satellite dish so now they have 15 new Arabic channels to watch soccer on. And a few English ones too. They are still wishing Laura could find a job, and we are all still waiting for paperwork from the Ethiopian embassy to be returned.

Rachel is still looking for a job, but she is doing some typing for an elderly family in our neighborhood. Not much money, but it gives her something to do. She really wants to buy a car, but has only $3000 and the car she really wants, a Toyota Echo, is about $5000. She can get a Corolla cheaper, but the Echo sits up higher, and she can see out of it better, something we feel is quite important in her case. So maybe the car purchase is on hold for a little bit until we can figure out what to do.

Speaking of money, we got a letter from a long term supporter saying they would have to end their support due to the husband having a stroke and now they need to pay for his round the clock care. We certainly don't begrudge them this; they have been faithfully giving to us for our whole missionary career. However, it means we need to find $200/month more support from another source (or maybe Rachel REALLY needs to get a job :-) Anyway, we expect the Lord to provide, as He always does.

Gary is doing well. He went to Albuquerque in January and plans a trip to Germany in February where he plans to visit both our exchange daughters on either side of attending a conference. Then Australia in March.

Movie Review

No, I'm no good at movie reviews, so I'll just say: I liked it. We went on a triple date of sorts to go watch the End of the Spear movie at a local theater. There were also lots of folks from my work and my church there.

I wore my Waorani necklace as did most of the men in the movie.

The following is a prepared blurb about a memorial service held Jan. 8, 2006.

...a 3 day memorial service was held on Palm Beach in Ecuador commemorating the death of the 5 missionaries. Some 200+ Waodani and visitors participated - among them people from: Wycliffe, MAF, HCJB and Christians in Many Lands. Brothers of Jim Elliott and Pete Flemming attended the service. Wycliffe members Don Johnson and Bub Borman also attended the celebration. (Don and Bub had been in Ecuador in 1956 and had joined the team that retrieved the bodies.) Jim Yost, former Wycliffe Anthropology Coordinator and member of the Waodani field team, was also there by invitation of the Waodani. There were 10 Waodani baptized at the event last weekend.

I hope the movie is shown outside of the Bible Belt and that you all get a chance to see it.

Guest Room Revisited

 
Last night Gary and I reassembled the old bunk bed and turned it into a storage loft for holding all of Andrew and Laura's stuff. Underneath the loft fits a double bed for visitors, and with this new compact arrangement, there is now even space in the room to turn around.

I know there are many hundreds of pounds of stuff on that loft, but Gary assures me it is plenty sturdy and safe.

Eventually, this room may become part of a rented apartment, as it was years ago years ago when the kids were little. But for now, we still have space for visitors.

I Like Your Necklace

 
Several months ago Gary and his boss were in Orlando on business and Mart Green gave them a ride to the airport. Besides a ride to the airport, Mart gave both men a necklace (which they wore over their dress shirts and made it through airport security with no problem). Gary told me at the time the necklace was from the Waorani tribe in Ecuador, but I didn't pay much attention.

With the opening of the End of the Spear movie this coming weekend, I was reminded of this necklace, so I wore it to work today. My plan was to ask my coworker, who did literacy work with the Waorani, if the necklace was for real. Turns out I didn't even have time to ask--she came up to me and said, "I like your necklace." She went on to tell me that the string was made from a palm frond, the seeds were from a different palm and were naturally that color, and the ornament was a tusk from a white-lipped peccary.

End of the Spear

At church today we skipped Sunday School and watched a 30 minute "how the movie was made" movie about The End of the Spear. It was filmed in Panama, with indians from the Northern Emberá language group. It was logistically impossible to film it in the
Waorani area, but there were Waoranis there to teach the actors how to act like Waorani and to get the makeup right.

The most interesting thing I heard this morning was when Steve Saint, son of one of the slain missionaries, first asked the Waorani for permission to make this movie, they said no. Then Steve was able to persuade them to change their minds after telling them about Columbine. “Oh, that's just like how we used to act, killing for no reason,” they said, and then gave permission. (This society was one of the most warlike societies known to anthropology, with a homicide rate exceeding 60 percent as a result of warfare and raiding.)

So far, I've only found one theater that will be showing it this coming weekend, but I hope to get some friends together and go.

Christmas Cards

Each Christmas season I tape all my Christmas cards on the wall around an open doorway. I took them down recently, and analyzed who sent these cards:

• local church friends - 4
• coworkers - 6
• financial supporters - 8
• relatives - 11
• faraway friends - 21

We also received 3 anniversary cards (30 years on Christmas Day), 3 cards from commercial interests, numerous Christmas letters, photos, and email letters. The loveliest were the handmade ones, but the ones with religious art were nice too. Two people loved us so much they sent two cards.

What makes a person count and analyze their Christmas cards?

Merry Belated Christmas

It was a bunch of work, but I mailed off 5 more Christmas packages this morning. These were the gifts that finally showed up inside the suitcase shown below. The smell of coffee in my office was getting to me, so I was in a rush to mail the bags off to their respective places--grandparents, friends, and parents of friends. Besides coffee, also included were baskets, shawls, and lovely silver Orthodox crosses.

The suitcase may have a permanent coffee smell, but that didn't seem to bother white kitty.

In other news, Rachel has applied for another job and has called a few more private schools and daycares to see if anyone is hiring. She is anxious to find some work, so pray that God will provide. We hope to soon help her figure out how much she owes Uncle Sam in income taxes, because after that she wants to see if she can afford to buy a used car.

We are still having very warm and very, very dry weather here. The grass has all died, I just hope the trees don't. Many places nearby have suffered wildfires.

13 Days Later

David's suitcase, full of Christmas presents, arrived at 10pm tonight, smelling like Starbucks. Like, what's the RUSH?? Notice the broken off ID tag, and original baggage tag missing.


But also notice the address and phone number sticker on the INSIDE. *takes bow*

Now we have to figure out who all these bags of coffee belong to, one of which broke open during the lonely trip to Dallas from Ethiopia with a long layover in London.

David, I Figured Them Out

David took these photos while in Ethiopia and told me I needed to figure out the names. I started with an online Ethiopia bird list, then cross checked with Google Images.

"We've Had a Hellish Week"

When the pastor starts his sermon with those words, you know it has been a bad week. His heart is broken for the sorrow and sin that he witnessed this past week, including a girl in the congregation (of course he named no names) chosing to have an abortion. This, in spite of him and his wife offering to adopt her child. This is especially hard because it was this church, many years ago, which started the local crisis pregnancy center (which is now supported by numerous churches in the community). He went on to say that he felt the blood of that unborn child was not just on the girl's hands, but on the hands of all of us who fail to reach out in compassion to those who are hurting.

Looking Again

Rachel had a sad experience yesterday. It turns out she wasn't able to do all the things her nanny boss wanted and needed, so she let her go. This was a disappointment to Rachel, not the least in that she had already grown quite attached to these three boys. So pray with us again that she will soon be able to find a different job.

Knockoffs

David found these on his trip to Addis Ababa.

Driving in Arlington

A couple posts ago there was a photo of Rachel by the Honda Pilot that she needs to learn to drive for the family she is now nanny for. I agreed to drive over there each day this week after I get off work and go practice with her. I'm happy to report that she has had two lessons and hasn't hit anything yet, and has only been beeped at twice. The goal is to help her become comfortable with this large car, and to memorize her way to the grocery store and back since she isn't so good with maps (but she does fine with the landmark-style of navigation).

Continue to pray for her strength and adjustment as she and the family get used to each other. There is no way she could really do everything the mother herself used to do, so they will all need to find a way to get the most important stuff done and leave the other stuff undone or ask someone else to help or something. In general, she seemed happier today than yesterday because she had gotten more sleep.

Last night she went to bed at 7pm she was so exhausted. But then at 8:30pm she was awakened because they decided to evacuate the house since a neighbor thought she smelled gas. That must have reminded Rachel of dorm life when someone pulled the fire alarm when everyone was asleep.

Speaking of being awaked in the middle of the night, this morning the phone rang at 5:20am. No, it wasn't Rachel. It was a guy from British Airways Heathrow airport in London asking if we were missing a suitcase. Yes, yes we are I told him, and correctly identified it. He said he would send it to DFW and they would deliver it. Good, I said and went back to bed. Then at 5:40 the phone rang again, again the guy from Heathrow. He needed a tracking number. I was getting a bit annoyed by then--didn't he know what time it was in America?--but then he said I was "brilliant" because I had put a sticker inside the suitcase with my name and phone number--the baggage tag and the ID tag were both missing from the outside.

It will still be days before we see this suitcase, since now David has to call them with a tracking number, etc. And he said he tried, but they are still on holiday. Hmm...

In other news, I spent time on the phone with the Embassy of Ethiopia, still trying to figure out how to get all the red tape taken care of so Laura can legally stay in the country. And I mailed David's backpack to him, since he left it here yesterday. And I mailed out tickets for Andrew's side job.

Good thing my nest is empty so I have time to take care of all these things, huh?

Driving in Ethiopia

Before David left to return to Houston today we made him give us a narrated slide show of the photos he took while in Ethiopia. I'm going to use a few of them on my blog over then next few days. Today we start with a series about driving in Ethiopia. Andrew has a nice ride. Of course, he has stories to tell about the red tape to import it.

It starts out like a ride in a normal city.

And they even give driving lessons at this driving school.



I think these are banana leaves.


A funeral procession.

Watch out for sheep and goats.

And cattle.

And camels.

Rachel Starts Her New Job Tomorrow

We've moved Rachel and a lot of her stuff to the home in Arlington where she will be nanny for six months. She will help to care for three preschoolers, help with meals, do laundry, and drive to the grocery store. The mom in this family has badly broken her leg and cannot put any weight on it for two months. She will be there to help Rachel, however. Rachel has a nice room and bathroom to herself upstairs, where the three boys also have a big play room. Her boyfriend set up her laptop so it is now working with wireless internet, so she is set to keep in touch by email and maybe IM. Not that she will have much time to communicate--she starts her day at 5am and ends it at 6:30 or 7pm, and the rest of the time she will probably be sleeping. She will get Saturday and Sunday off, and will come home then.



Please pray for her as she adjusts to this new job, particularly with the early hours and learning how to safely drive this big vehicle.

In other news, Gary wore his new outfit to church today, and thought his mom would like to see a photo.

News Flash

Rachel passed her test! Yay! (the first of two Texas teacher tests) Not by a lot, but a pass is a pass.

In other news, I got some Ethiopia photos out of my camera. I'll have to be posting a few of them as the days go by.
  

David is Home, Rachel is Working

Yay, David got home safely last night after a journey of more than 24 hours. But his luggage didn't. So he will have to try to sort that out today. Later today I hope to download all the photos he took while there with my camera, so soon I'll post a few of those.

Rachel's new job, which starts at 5am on Monday, is supposed to include driving a large SUV. She never was a confident driver in high school, then went off to college for five years and didn't drive hardly at all, so now she needs to relearn how to drive. We've begun practicing and there will be more of that today, in David's car and in our van too. I'll post more about her job after she's survived a couple days of it, but your prayers for her adjustment would be appreciated.

I am still working on getting my shiny new computer set up. I was happy to get a cheap yet legal copy of Microsoft Office in the mail the other day (there are some distinct advantages to being a "poor missionary") so now I have installed that.

Then Rachel introduced me to and helped me install a program to manage music on my computer, iTunes. I think iTunes was originally a Mac program, intended to work with those little iPod things. I'm now "ripping" the Christmas CDs--downloading them into this program--before I pack them away. The program makes a database of all your CDs and lets you sort them in multiple ways. It also lets you pick out a certain subset of songs you like and make them into a "playlist" for different types of music. You can make a playlist of songs for when you're happy, one for when you're sad, and--a perennial favorite--a set for when your heart is broken.

Shattered Dreams

 
I had hoped to get a new crockpot for Christmas, and my dream came true. But look what happened the first time I used it.

Please Pray for Rachel and David

I'm spending today getting reorganized--putting stuff away, getting groceries, doing laundry, etc. I didn't go to the office, but I don't think I'll be missed since large numbers of my colleagues are away between Christmas and New Years. (Many are busy with pious pillaging of prosperous patrons--formerly known as "deputation.")

Later today Rachel will be interviewing for a temporary nanny job. The husband and wife are both lawyers, but the wife quit working several years ago to raise three boys, now aged 1,3,5. The wife recently fell and seriously broke her leg, such that she cannot put any weight on it for 2.5 months--not easy to do when you have three preschoolers! So they are looking for live-in help, and they got Rachel's name via the church and office network of sympathetic women. This sounds like an ideal job for Rachel in many ways--she'll be great at the childcare aspect--but it will also require some driving for the family, and that will be more of a challenge. It will also require getting up EARLY--something she isn't so good at either :-)

Anyway, the interview will either be late this afternoon or tonight, depending on when the woman gets out of the hospital, and Gary and I will go with Rachel to meet this family. Pray that God will clearly guide as to the outcome, and, if she gets the job, that she will be able to quickly transition into it.

In other news, Gary and I started looking over the itinerary David left with us, printed directly from aa.com, and found something worrying. It said he was leaving Addis on Wednesday at 6am but we knew he really wasn't supposed to be leaving until Thursday am. So I called him in Ethiopia and tried to explain the problem. They said they had reconfirmed the flight, so they didn't know what the matter was. Then an hour later I got an email saying that when he logged onto his AA.com account and looked at the flight reservation, it looked just fine. But when you pushed the "Printable Version" button, the date changed--apparently a programming error. Let this be noted by any nerd, geek, or programmer who is reading this blog--do a good job or you may cause unnecessary maternal worrying!

The wayward golf clubs arrived in Addis safely, so that made Andrew happy. Pray for a safe trip home for David.

We're Back from our Christmas Trip

I'm pooped after a long day of driving, but just want to thank the Lord for a safe trip to south Texas and back for a short Christmas vacation with my mom. A special treat today was to stop in San Antonio and meet friends for lunch. This couple were the youth pastors in my childhood church, so we've known each other for a long time. They are missionaries to an Indian tribe in Venezuela, and have just been kicked out of the part of the country where they've worked many years. Sad tale there, but I don't like to talk about international politics, so I won't mention the country's president. :-(

There was a phone call on the answering machine for Rachel when we got home. I can't go into all the details now, but she has a job interview tomorrow evening, so please pray about that, if you see this blog in time.

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!

It's Friday

Well, another work week is coming to an end. We had a house guest Monday afternoon through Friday early morning, but she's an old friend who basically takes care of herself, so she was no trouble.

Rachel has started looking for a real job, but it doesn't seem like she's gotten very far. She applied for a teacher's aide job at one of the public schools, and filled in a general application on a teacher website. She's now starting to look at local private schools and preschools.



Gary had a work visitor here for two days, who is also a friend, and he will head out for home (Toronto) soon. Besides taking us out to eat at Ton's Mongolian BBQ last night, he brought us a couple nice gifts--now I just need to make waffles.

I just phoned David, he's on his way to Dallas from Houston, after taking exams this morning. He is only here a couple days before leaving for Ethiopia on Tuesday. It will be odd with two out of three kids away for Christmas; I guess this is just another sign of getting old.

We continue to have heating issues. A few blogs ago I told about getting a new gas tank. Apparently the pressure in the new one is different than the old one, and the new, expensive furnace is having trouble coping. A technician was here two hours yesterday afternoon, and now they're here again at the moment. It is cold here, but not life-threatening cold.

Our Sunday school class is having a Christmas party tonight. On Sunday morning the church choir, of which Gary and Rachel are members, will put on a special program. After that we have plans to go to Panera Bread for lunch, then have our "family Christmas" before David leaves. Seems way too early to be opening gifts, but it doesn't look like there will be too many to open anyway. As Gary says, "Those kids are getting too big for Christmas."

He sounds like a scrooge sometimes, but he will happily acknowledge that our anniversary is also Dec 25--30 years' worth.

You Read it Here First

Today the New York Times finally caught up with me. (Here's a link to the same article in a paper you don't have to register to read.)

Fondue Party

Last night we had a fun little dinner party featuring a blast from the past--anybody remember fondue? This was the oil type (as opposed to cheese or chocolate) where each person cooks their own pieces of marinated beef, then dips them in various sauces before eating. We also fondued red potatoes (partially precooked) and they were good too. Martha brought a salad and we also had the rest of the rolls I bought at the church bake sale.

The Christmas Jello for dessert was Rachel's idea, which isn't to say that she actually made it. But really, she couldn't, because she was busy taking her Texas teacher test yesterday. This dinner, and watching the Narnia movie afterwards, was to celebrate Rachel finishing this test. It will be a couple weeks before she finds out her results.

Baby, It's Cold Outside--Updated

I know I've spent time on this blog complaining about how hot it is here in Dallas. But today, my complaint is the opposite. Yesterday afternoon we started getting precipitation known as "winter mix" or "ice pellets." I had to take Gary to the airport, but made it there and back safely. By 5pm it was a bit worse, but Rachel went to her friend's house anyway. By 9pm she decided it was too bad to risk driving home, so she spent the night. When she arrived back this morning, she wished she had stayed longer.

As the evening went on, I started getting mad at the furnace. I kept turning the thermostat up, but it didn't seem to be getting much warmer. We had earlier had problems with the thermostat, so I assumed that was the problem. I cuddled up with extra blankets (where's Gary when I need him?) and went to sleep.

This morning, the house temperature was 59 though the thermostat was set at 69. As I snuggled by the space heater, it occurred to me that the propane tank might be empty. I got up, took a hot shower (draining all the hot water) and then put on layers of clothes while my skin was still warm. I went outside, and found this:

So I called the propane company--along with hundreds of other folks in the metroplex who are having heating issues--and they said "sometime" today they will come. Actually, they were already planning to change out the big tank for a smaller one, and were waiting for the level of propane to go down before switching it out. Well, it should be plenty light now, since it is empty.

So I'm trying to figure out ways to keep warm today. Along with a very large cup of hot tea, I started out by making a bowl of Ma Hoyt's Power Oatmeal, recipe cut and pasted below (minus her nice formatting):

MA's Power Oatmeal


* pour water in pan to boil, add salt, maple flavoring and cinnamon
* peel, and chop one half an apple, add to water
* Only use long cooking oats-they pack more punch
* Put in more oats than they say, so you don't end up with a wimpy thin mixture
* When desired doneness is achieved (I always undercook it, 'cause I like some "meat" to my oatmeal) transfer cooked product to bowl
* add brown sugar, walnuts, slivered almonds or pecans. I use walnuts since they are cheaper...
* add milk with fat content of your choice. I use 2%, because life's too short for skim or 1%.

UPDATE

Here it is only 3pm and they've already come and replaced the tank, refilled it, and relit the pilot lights. Yay!