Archive for the ‘Random Happenings’ Category

Laugh So I Don’t Cry…

I had one helluva weekend.  If I outlined it all for you- it would seem too over-the-top crazy to be true…
So I’ll tell you about how I flooded my house.
And I’ll tell you that I’ve been  forcing myself to laugh so I won’t cry.
On Friday afternoon, I was busy with the kids and I realized [...]

Notes to Self

Confession- I keep a Moleskin journal in my take-everywhere bag and I fill it with notes to myself (is that weird?!).  Nonetheless, these are today’s contributions:
Chocolate brown bath towels are not a good choice when living somewhere with no screens.
When feeling less than pleasant towards “the husband” – play soul-filled love songs because they change [...]

Busted!

Here’s a conversation that happened a few days ago- that keeps replaying in my head and making me chuckle…
Abbie (5) to Silas (3): Wow- do you have new shoes?
Silas: Nope
Abbie to Me: Silas’ shoes look really new, but he says they’re not new.
Me to Abbie: They aren’t new, I just washed them.
Silas to everyone around: [...]

My Over-the-top Crazy Day

Yesterday was an over-the-top crazy day. A play by play won’t really do it justice, but here you go…
7:45am Leave the farm and take Silas to school
8:30 Work meeting in town
9:15 Call from my hubby saying that he was asked to come to the Department of Home Affairs right away
10:00 I run errands in town [...]

At the Border

If you’re on Facebook and I’m your friend- you might have seen that yesterday was a tense day for me.  Dave had been gone to Lesotho for a week, (with his friend and interpreter, Lucas) and I was more than ready to have him home.  When my phone rang about the time I was expecting [...]

Change is Coming…

Do you like change? I do.
I’ve always enjoyed re-arranging my furniture.
I love putting color on walls and if given the chance, I would change it more frequently than is really necessary.
I’m convinced that living space should be accessorized and that those accessories should be switched up- at least seasonally. I grew up in a house [...]

Crazy Busy

I’m in the midst of a crazy busy couple of months… so if you find yourself missing me here (or so I’d like to think)… did you know you can find me here?  I currently write or edit all of the posts for the Thrive Africa field blog… which is full of daily happenings here [...]

Creature (Dis)Comforts

Living on a farm in South Africa comes with some expected challenges… like much more “nature” than even my outdoor-inclined self can handle.  Over the last week, I’ve had quite a few creature-related-discomforts, that I can’t help but share…

with cold weather right around the corner all of the reptiles are “on the move” (according to [...]

Wednesday's Window

Shawna- this one is for you… Wednesday’s Windows are back!!  These pictures are from the past week- we went on a family hike at Royal Natal Park, and our sweet princess got a new high-chair.  Hope you enjoy

I've Got Connections

I Knew Him When

This is Mike.  Eight years ago… we used to hang out with him a few times a week, at a place in town called “the tables”. He was living on the streets- not because he was an orphan- but because he could meet his basic needs better on his own, through begging.
Fast forward to last [...]

Here Kitty, Kitty?

I am not a cat person. Actually, I’m allergic… but there’s ample evidence to suggest that I’m feline friendly..

I’ve owned a cat… I rescued her from an ice storm and got roped in to keeping her because of her kitteny cuteness. And, when we moved to S.A. the first time… my parents owned the cat [...]

Etc…etc.

Our lack of internet accessibility over the past week or so has left me out of touch in blogesphere… both in reading and writing… and, I’ve missed you!!  So … here’s my short list of catch-up items…

A week or so ago…I saw a cow hanging from some large ghastly hooks down by the workshop on [...]

Darkness Tries to Look Beautiful

South Africa is a spiritually charged country. I’m not sure why… maybe it’s because there aren’t as many distractions…but what I do know… is that you can’t hide from the unseen here… and you have to be sure-footed in your own heart… because sometimes… the darkness can try to look beautiful.
Dave had an interesting [...]

I'm Home

Tonight- for the first time in months I’ll be sleeping in my own room… in my “own” bed.  My belongings are no longer piled in rubbermaid tubs and suitcases.  I’m home, unpacked.  And it feels really, really fabulous.

Etc…etc.

There’s so much to catch up on…  this is the only way I can get updated in blogesphere!!

We took a road trip to Lesotho for a cultural festival that was perfect for my husband’s research. And, as we know all too well… when taking road trips with little ones… sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  [...]

Leadership Day

Alece was sleeping in my arms with her head against my chest as the singing started.  The effortless harmonies and the rhythmic clapping made my heart dance…there’s nothing like a large group of Africans singing together.  I looked down at my sleeping daughter and wondered if somewhere in her heart or her spirit…she was dancing [...]

Really?!

I’m sitting here… with my legs stretched out and my back against a head board.  It’s sometime after 10- I’ve still got jammies on and my hair is piled in an unruly knot on the top of my head.  I’m sweating, and a few moments ago I was shivering.  That’s not good.  My husband deserves [...]

10 Days, 5 States

I’ve been awol in cyberworld- because my real life has been CRAZY.  By the time my little Alece was 10 days old, she’d been in 5 states (IA, MO, IL, IN, OH) and travelled over 700 miles.  For ten hours and 600 of those miles, I was in the back seat of a Ford Expedition [...]

I Hate Em'

There are two things I can vehemently say that I hate… spiders (the kind large enough to “crunch” when I smash them) and snakes (of all sizes and colors). I just finished going round and round with one such spider… him wanting to live, me wanting to smash him… and the outcome is still [...]

Catching Up…

I don’t know why sometimes I seem to go on blogging hiatus.  It’s like things will happen in the course of my daily grind and I think “oh- this is so blogworthy!!” and then later, when the responsibilities of my day are behind me- I’ve lost all motivation to try and be creative or reflective [...]

The Great Thaw

It was a warm 40 degrees today. Normally, this isn’t a temperature I’d be really excited about- but after months of lingering in the negative digits and hovering around zero- it felt great. It is the first time in probably two months that we can actually see some of the cement on our [...]

Scatter-brained

I haven’t been able to maintain a cohesive line of thinking in order to put together a single-subject blog post. So instead of just being absent… I’m going to give you the bulleted list version of my life for the past week or so… which is a pretty accurate picture of how scatter-brained I’ve been [...]

The Groundhog Said So

It was earlier this week that the groundhog saw his shadow- pronouncing that winter would last for another 6 weeks. But I’ve never really seen winter like this… we are BURIED in snow and more just keeps coming. I’m terrible at trying to estimate how much snow is actually on the ground… it’s [...]

iPod Bliss

Time to look past at all the ugly going on right now… and share some bliss
Yesterday I happened to meet the FedEx man as he was walking up to my door. Hmmmm, I thought… is he in the right place?! Then he said he had a package for “Amy” and [...]

SOS

I sent out an SOS to my mom on Saturday- and she flew in yesterday afternoon. There are sometimes when you just need family’s help… and that time is now for us. Turns out… I didn’t have any strange bug bites… I have hives…. one annoying symptom in what has now become a very long [...]

Creepy Crawly

So, I’m not totally anti-bug or creepy crawly. I’m only anti when these creatures pop up where they aren’t supposed to be… like in my home. I’m very aware when I’m outside that I’m in their turf… so bug bites, etc… are all part of the outdoor package, and I actually love being [...]

I've Succumbed…

…to wearing a coat. It’s not that I’m anti-coat, it’s just that practically speaking- the few minutes of warmth a big winter coat provides is outweighed by much larger amount of time I spend trying to keep it out of my way once I’m inside. Classic case- me and Silas go to the mall to [...]

Wrap It Up

I’ve been absent again and feel like I need to “wrap up” the last several weeks before I just move on… so, I think a slide show and some bulleted points should ease my conscience and bring all of my blogging friends up to speed…
Holiday HighlightsTogetherness… having so many loved ones within arms reach and [...]

Life is Good

A belated Merry Christmas to all!! Just a quick post to say that life is good. I’m FINALLY feeling human again and have been enjoying family time in Ohio. I’ll post some photos sooner than later (probably once we get back to Iowa) and I’m sure I’ll be back to blogging now that I’m feeling [...]

A Beautiful Disaster

The Midwest got hammered by a fierce winter storm. We had a few days of snow, followed by freezing rain, followed by more freezing rain. By the end of it- over half of our community lost electricity and our city basically shut down. We lost power for a few hours- and they were a long, [...]

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving If you ask me- it’s a perfect holiday kind of day. The time is 1:44pm and I’m still in pajama pants! We did have a full morning- we woke up to a beautiful covering of snow (gotta love living in the Midwest!) so we all got bundled and went out [...]

Broken Rules

I broke the rules. Yesterday, I pulled out the original Amy Grant Christmas album- that ushers me back through years of memories of decorating my parent’s home for the holidays. Year after year, this record was inevitably our soundtrack. And, at some point during the festivities, I inevitably ended up doing a stage-worthy performance of [...]

Absent

The last few weeks I have been absent… on many levels. I think my absence in this space has been because I just have had nothing to offer… I’ve been pretty empty. Normally, I love to take basic ideas and chew on them until I get something deeper… I like to take the simple [...]

Selective Memory?

I’m beginning to wonder if I have selective memory about my first pregnancy- or if it is really just that much rougher this go around. I’ve raised my white flag of surrender and picked up my blow-horn and started yelling… H-E-L-P!!!!!!!!! So, tomorrow- Dave is driving me to the border of Indiana, where my [...]

Highlights

I know that I’ve been more absent than usual in blogesphere- but I’m alive. Honestly, I still feel like crud and that makes my day to day very challenging- but I’m making it. So, instead of talking about me… let me share the highlights of the week with you…
My little pumpkin @ our playgroup Halloween [...]

Road Trip Rundown

Our road trip to the greater Kansas City area certainly wasn’t dull!! Our first stop was in KS… and we got some good quality time with our friends Lucas & Sara, along with their kiddos Anna Beth and Ava. They are a picture-worthy bunch…You’d never know that the day before this photo- little Anna had [...]

Getting Road-Trip Ready

We’re leaving for a road trip to Kansas City later this afternoon. So, my morning has been filled with lots of details… lots of lists. I tend to be the one who gets our family ready for a road trip… I map out the directions, charge the cell phone, make the packing list, [...]

Backwards Day

Did you have backwards day in elementary school? I did. And I proudly wore my clothes backwards from head to socks (not shoes…ouch). Apparently, I wanted to relive those days… as it is now 10pm and I just realized that I’ve been wearing my lime green v-neck t-shirt backwards all day. You might think there [...]

As Good as it Got

On Saturday- I had grand plans of taking some great photos of Silas… one of which I hoped would turn out good enough to use as his 18 month snapshot to mail out to family and friends. It was a perfect fall day… overcast but still bright… I had a budding yellow mum and three [...]

Game Day

It’s 8:00am. Two houses down there is a beautiful two-story home that has been subdivided into apartments- and we’re less than a mile from campus. Right now, I’m very aware that it is game day. My windows are vibrating to the bass that is blaring from a vehicle audio system parked behind [...]

More to Know

I was out walking with Silas this morning- and above me, the steamy trail of four jetliners made a perfect asteric. I kept walking, but couldn’t help continuing to glance up. The message it gave was loud and clear… there’s more to know. Nothing like an * in the sky to say… [...]

Confession

This afternoon I took a trip to the grocery store that was every mother’s nightmare. I needed lots of groceries. Silas woke up from his nap in a cheery mood, so I figured he’d be game for the outing. I figured wrong. Three or four items into my list he was getting fidgety. [...]

Fall Preview

Today’s weather is drastically different than the beautiful weekend we just had- but I still love it- it’s a fall preview. It’s raining- in fact, Silas and I got DUMPED on leaving the grocery store about an hour ago- but the air is cool (around 60) and my windows are cracked open for [...]

Ahhh – Jeez

We’ve been anticipating Silas’ first intentional “words” for some time now; some days more patiently than others! Much to our surprise, yesterday… it (sort of) happened. My parents are in town visiting for a long weekend and my dad happened to say “ahh-jeez”. Just a moment or two later, Silas said “ahh-jeez” [...]

The Dash

This weekend is the year anniversary of when Remington died. In some ways, it is hard to believe it has been a year…and in other ways, my life has changed so much that the once familiar routine of caring for a dog is no longer part of my daily repertoire. I’ve been more reminiscent [...]

Squish, Squish… @#%*!!!

It’s nap time for Silas- and now that my chores are “done” (are they ever really done… so long as no one uses the toilet, or puts a dish in the sink, or puts clothes in the hamper, or needs to be fed…) it’s time for me to catch my breath, ya know… relax a [...]

Splat part III

Do you remember my previous splats? Well- thankfully, this time it isn’t about me! So, what are the odds… yesterday while we were walking outside with Silas…he got pooped on from above- right smack on the top of his head. And tonight… no joke… we were out walking and I noticed Dave had bird poo [...]

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend! Our friends, Sara and Lucas, came for a visit- along with their two precious daughters, Anna and Ava. This gave me a great opportunity to have some fun with photography! I wanted to share these favorites…

There's Something About Home

It’s amazing to me that the summer hiatus of travelling and being away from home is now behind me. All things considered- the time flew by. We made it back home on Sunday and have been “moving in” again ever since. During the long drive here- I was wondering how Silas would respond to [...]

Finally!!

My friend Alece does this wonderful “Happiness is…” series on her blog. Today I find myself repeating her words… Happiness is….Togetherness!
Dave’s Home!!!

Days, Not Weeks

David will be home in days…not weeks. He leaves South Africa on Thursday and arrives in Ohio on Friday afternoon. I can hardly contain myself… I feel like a 5-year-old anticipating Christmas… the jittery feeling I constantly have inside… my frequent looks at the clock and the calendar I’ve used as a countdown. I’m mentally [...]

Good Times…

My few days in KY were wonderful. Lots of rest, lots of movies, lots of laughs, and a girls night out. We did home spa treatments (facials and highlights for me!) and we got mani’s and pedi’s…which I’d never done before! They say a picture is worth a thousand words…so here’s my trip…

I came back [...]

On the Road Again…

I’m off- for another girls-weekend getaway! My parents are graciously keeping Silas for a few days so that I can drive to Kentucky to visit with my dear friend Emily. The things I love most about girls weekends… driving with my music loud and singing my heart out, staying up late, sleeping in [...]

July is Here!!!

I have to start w/ this… Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…Happy Birthday dear David…Happy Birthday to you!!! It’s my husband’s birthday today…and he’s frolicking on the Indian Ocean after the museum he was supposed to start working in “wasn’t ready for him” yet. Dave wrote that he sees this as a gift [...]

Flooded

The theme of the past week for me is flooded. In some ways this was good- in others it was bad…but there was beauty in all of it. I’ll start on a somewhat high note: I’ve spent the last 5 days being flooded with family… we had a family “reunion” (my dad’s side- just the [...]

A Red Head at Heart

She’s in her late 80’s, struggling with dementia and some other physical ailments- but she remains a red-head at heart. Meet Betty, my dad’s mother. When I was growing up, she was always the grandma with the cool edge- continuing to shop in all the trendy stores way past her prime and always, ALWAYS [...]

A Yin-Yang Pair

I spent this past weekend in KY- visiting my dear friend Emily. On the surface, we may seem like an odd pair… like I’m yin to her yang… but after years of shared experiences and tackling some difficult times together- we’ve forged an impenetrable alliance. We poked fun at our friendship this weekend… how [...]

One More Week

I’m a sentimental emotional type….things like goodbyes are very tough on me- even if they’re temporary. Today- I find myself very aware that one week from today is when Silas and I will make the long trek to Ohio to spend 7 weeks with family and friends while Dave is in South Africa. In [...]

A Toddler Tumble

OUCH!! The parenting lesson of the week for me… with mobility also comes more mishaps. Silas took his first real toddler tumble a few days ago… his face had an unpleasant encounter with the sidewalk in front of our house. I don’t know if it was more traumatic for Silas or for me and [...]

Another Akward Encounter

I was at the park yesterday with Silas. I was sitting in the grass and he was pushing his stroller around in my near proximity. A small dog approached us, and his owner- who had a kind of gypsy appearance… dangly earrings, lots of bracelets, broomstick skirt, tank top, and LONG hair. My guess [...]

An Akward Encounter

So- part of my morning routine is taking a walk with Silas. This morning, when we were nearing home- I saw a young mom outside in her driveway with her baby- who looked about Silas’ age. They live right on a main road by our house- so I pass them nearly every day. [...]

One Amazing Woman

I spent the last week in Ohio- visiting my family. One of the joys of making the long trip home is that my Grandma now lives only a few minutes from my parents…and I get to see her whenever I’m in town. One of my favorite things is to talk with her about [...]

Can't get no…Satisfaction!

In dramatic fashion, I want to vent about an ongoing saga that has already occupied way too much of my time, thoughts, and attention in recent weeks. Given that fact, what’s a few more minutes to make this shenanigan public- or at least to get some satisfaction by knowing I’ve made our story “public.”
So, [...]

Winter Storm

We were hit hard with the winter storm that blasted the Midwest last weekend. From Saturday through last night we were without phone service- but thankfully we never lost our electricity. Thousands upon thousands in our community still have no power- and we have another winter storm forcasted for today and tomorrow. This winter has [...]

My Darker Side…

It was decision time… my roots from three previous rounds of highlights were staring me in the face and giving me a not-so-suttle reminder that as I continue to age my hair continues to get darker and darker. I let my hair grow out a good couple of inches… it had been six months or [...]

Wait = Strength

The last few weeks have been difficult and draining, for more reasons than I will share in this space. I’ve been challenged in new ways to hold fast to the strength that can come when I allow Jesus to be my source of complete renewal. I feel like I’ve been living Isaiah 40:31- “they that [...]

SPLAT part II

It wasn’t too long ago that I had a blog-worthy day themed “Splat“… and regrettably, this is once again an appropriate heading for me… but this time it is a week’s title. Silas is still struggling to work through this nasty virus. It has moved, slowly but surely from his stomach (aka vomiting profusely) to [...]

Hang in, Hold on, Hug Tight

I have this canvas in my family room- it was a gift from Alece- and in the past 24 hours I’ve found myself looking at it and repeating it often. Silas woke up from his afternoon nap yesterday with explosive diarrhea. He was not himself the rest of the day and after his evening bottle, [...]

Fragile

Life is so fragile- I know this… but I so often seem to forget. Those “wake-up” moments impact my thought process for awhile but then slowly but surely I take for granted my daily grind… and I assume that I will grow old on this earth- watch my son grow up- form lots of future [...]

Adventurous or Crazy?

So- on a whim I decided to drive back to Ohio for a week with my family. I know- it’s only been three weeks since we were in for the holidays… but it’s kind of an impromptu family reunion. My aunt Ingrid and my cousin Jenna flew in from California and I couldn’t not see [...]

Rich

Rich isn’t a word that tends to come to mind when I think of my current life circumstances. With one full-time grad student and a full-time mom (SAHM)… our bank accounts certainly don’t measure up to the world’s standards of rich. But on Sunday, when I stepped back in to the world of poverty- my [...]

NY Highlights!!

Have you heard of the Naked Cowboy? Kind of a sudo-celebrity- he plays the guitar all over the world in nothing but his tighty-whiteys! Alece and I were walking in time square and stumbled upon him. In the surprise of the moment we decided I needed a photo to document this rare siting:). The [...]

And We're Off…

For the next 3 weeks we’ll be traveling. We’re heading to Ohio tomorrow to be with Dave’s family- then I’m going to KY to visit my friend Emily, then we’ll be with my family from Christmas to the 28th and then it’s off to NY for a Kitty Reunion until January 3rd (The litter includes [...]

Thanksgiving Highlights

The snake issue made me jump right over Thanksgiving- which was great. Here are a few photo highlights…

An Unwelcome Visitor

My recent down-time activity of writing on the computer has been thwarted by an unwelcome visitor in my home… a SNAKE!!! We got back from Thanksgiving and Dave was checking his email and saw a snake come up out of our sewage drain in the basement….YIKES! He put a glass bowl over the drain [...]

Surprise SUCCESS!

Have you ever planned a surprise party? Well~ my sister and I have been planning a surprise 60th birthday bash for both of our parents… and this past Saturday it was a total SUCCESS!!! We thought with almost 80 people invited, from all different networks of friendships- that somehow news of the party would [...]

Missing Remington

It has been just over a month since Remington died- and I still miss him every single day. He was such a wonderful part of our family. I found these pictures of him on the computer today and just wanted to share them… to remember him.

Friends?

I knew before moving that one of the most challenging aspects of being transplanted would be making new friends. In Kentucky, we had a rather small but intimate circle of those closest to us- and we could do everything from playing poker to praying together. They are treasured friendships and the time we spent living [...]

Dorothy's Words

Remmie, we’re not in Wilmore anymore!!!
Before moving here, I wouldn’t have considered Iowa to be city life- but I was wrong! I know I wrote earlier about how we are in close proximity to so much that both the town and the university have to offer. However, there are some negatives to this as well. [...]

Heaven?

You remember the line from Field of Dreams, “Is this heaven?” “No” Kevin Costner replies- “this is Iowa.” Strangely, and much to my surprise- I feel like the last few days I’ve been living in that same blissful stupor. I’m SHOCKED at what our new town has to offer. We’ve been taking great long walks [...]