Less than a month

Just was realizing that we have less than a month until we leave for Tanzania! We leave on Aug 27th! Wow! I am so not ready!! I am looking forward to getting back to Arusha, and at the same time dreading all the good-byes to come.
Jonathan's unhappy about the good byes too!

Blue Owl

Blue Owl... last day in St. Louis

Bill, Jonathan, and I spent two nights at my parents' on the way down to Anna, Il to visit First Christian Church. This is going to be our last time in St. Louis this time back. We went out to eat at the Blue Owl resturant in Kimmswick, MO to do something special together. Bill and I had to order a rueben sandwhich of course, because the Blue Owl makes the world's best rueben (in my opinion), and we can't get anything like it in Arusha! We are leaving for Anna in a few hours, and continuing on our trip.
I'm missing the girls horribly....

Jolly Green Giant

Our new car, from Greg and Rondy.We are calling it the Jolly Green Giant. It is a nice, big car, and drives great! Thanks guys!

Good bye girls, for 10 days

I'll miss my girls...

Tomorrow, Jonathan and I will be meeting Bill in Lincoln, IL, thanks to my father-in-law giving us a ride down. Bill, Jonathan, and I will spend tomorrow night at my parents in St. Louis. Then, Saturday the three of us will continue to Anna, IL to spend the night there. Sunday we are presenting at First Christian Church of Anna, IL in the morning, and then Bill is preaching at Fairfield Christian Church in Fairfield, IL in the evening. That night, we will continue on to the Mississippi Valley Christian Service Camp where we will be staying until Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday night-Sunday we will be at Morton Christian Church in Morton, IL being the missionaries at their VBS. We decided that instead of taking all three kids on this long trip, to leave Katrina and Heather at Grandma and Grandpa DeLaughter's house. I will really miss my two girls, but just think it will be so hard on them. Jonathan has to be with mommy since he is still nursing... I couldn't leave him anyway at this age!

So, Katrina and Heather... I'll miss you!!

Good bye Henry Higgins

Tomorrow, Bill leaves to return the car we've been borrowing from Valley of Baca ministry in Kentucky. We've enjoyed the HHR, fondly named the Henry Higgins. It's taken good care of us, and taken us many miles. Thank you Thomas and Claire for allowing us to use the car. We'll sure miss it!

Bill will be flying from Kentucky to St. Louis, where he will pick up the "new" car that we were just given by some missionary friends and then he'll meet up with us again.

We have a very busy couple of weeks ahead, but I will try to keep the blog updated.

bumGenius diapers

We were given a gift certificate to Cotton Babies store, which sells many types of cloth diapers and other baby things. I was able to buy 19 bumGenius diapers (see picture). They are just like Pampers, with velcro, and elastic in the legs. Just instead of putting it in the trash, you put it in a bucket and put a load in to wash every day or two. It was a bit expensive up front, but we would spend that much in one month with disposable anyway! I actually got a great deal by buying used, because I don't care and neither does Jonathan. I had to try them out right away when we got home, and they fit perfectly, and are so soft!

It's probably not the best time to start cloth diapering, during a move, so I'll wait until we're a bit more settled to use them regularly, but I have to say that I am already a big fan! Anyone out there with babies, for the price of a month's worth of diapers, you can have re-useable, soft diapers that help the environment, and your *budget*!

They seem more comfortable, too, and Jonathan seems to like them so far. :-]

Give it a try!! www.cottonbabies.com

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! We have a wonderful country, and it was great to be here during our Independance Day this year. We praise God for our freedom here, and want to thank our military who make our country free.

Laughing Jonathan

Camping Trip

This Tuesday night, my dad and I took the three kids camping. Bill was visiting First Christian Church of Jackson, TN, and he had a wonderful time visiting there.
We arrived by lunch on Tuesday, and set up camp. We went over to the pool, but it was closed, Boohoo. The girls moped about that for awhile, but they were distracted by a nice long hike in the woods.
The girls spent the whole day playing on the playground. We roasted hotdogs and marshmellows for dinner, which the girls loved. I brought a pack and play for Jonathan to sleep in, which was great. I forgot sheets, but the girls had their sleeping bags, so I put the two girls in one sleeping bag, and I used the other one. My dad slept in the car. We returned home Wednesday morning.
It was such a fun trip, and I can't wait until our next camping trip, the next time we are here during the summer. We went 2 years ago, and it's becoming a tradition.
(Of course, the girls and I each got a tick, plus tons of mosquito bites... but it was worth it!)

I forgot my camera, so no pictures... GRRR...