Christmas in Summer?

I saw this ad for our local grocery store and thought it was funny. Christmas in Summer?

Water Day #2

The time has come for cold showers in the morning and WATER FIGHTS! We have had one already this year but this time we broke out the water balloons, the few we have and had a great time. It felt so great!

My Garden

I have planted my first garden and I am so proud of it! Not only am I growing my own vegetables but it has been a great opportunity to spend some time with two of the neighbor kids. Our next door neighbor, Olivia, has been a big help with the weeding. We are weeding every couple of days but it has been a good time to get to know her a little bit one on one. Isak is one of the neighbor boys from down the street and he comes over to help dig and move the rocks we find. It is a lot of fun but a lot more work than I had every thought. I really enjoy getting my hands in the dirt and looking back and seeing a weed free row of freshly turned dirt. And when I see my little plants making their way through the ground it is great!

Last Goodbye...

Sadly, this is when we said our last goodbye to Heather and Jackie. What a blessing and a lot of fun it was to have them here!

Abby

I have said it once and I will say it again and again. My neice Abby is so beautiful!

Am I Really In Africa?

A friend of ours here in town, a Peace Corp volunteer Skye, went for a visit back in the US. We sent her a list and some money to send us a package back with some things we have been wanting. What was in the package? My picks were refried beans, taco seasoning, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios. Linda's choice was Hamburger Helper, canned ravoli, Rice A Roni and Chicken Noodle soup. It is kind of funny the things we miss. Even though we sent ourselves the package, it was still exciting to recieve it. We also added wheat thins, cream of mushroom soup, tapioca pudding, ritz crackers, toothpaste, mac and cheese and coffee creamer!

Our Fearless Leaders!

This is Mick and Suzanne Reineer. Mick is the Branch Executive Officer of Namibia. The short version of that is he is our boss here. Mick and Suzanne are amazing leaders of the missionries here and are a huge blessing to us all. They constantly open their house to all of us as we come to the city for visits, vacations or for help. They have opened their family up to everyone. Mick and Suzanne have six kids. Their oldest, Hannah, went back to the US this year for college. Their oldest son is Steven. Then they have two boys the same age, Adam and Peter. Adam was adopted from Kenya when he was an infant. Next comes Grace who was also adopted from Kenya. The last is Christy who is four. Mick and Suzanne are in the process of adopting Christy from Namibia. She actually used to live in the town I live in now. Mick loves to tease me but thankfully my own dad gave me enough practice that I can give as good as I get, usually better! :-) I do appreciate all that Mick and Suzanne do not just for me but for all of the missionaries here in Namibia.

Family

This is the first picture I have seen of my whole family since I left the states nearly ten months ago. It is kind of crazy to see them all together without me! From left to right, Shawn (my brother in law), my dad, Paul, holding my neice Abby (Angie and Shawn's daughter), my mom, Pam, holding Josiah (Jason and Kisha's son), Kisha, Jason and Chris. Angela is sitting in front.

I miss my family a lot after seeing this picture. I am so happy here in Namibia but it is hard to look at this picture and see all my family together without me. They are such a blessing to me! I am so lucky to have a family that loves and supports me. Thanks guys!

Peace Corp

This is Beth, a peach corp volunteer. There are only four Americans in our town total. Linda and me of course and then Beth and another Peace Corp volunteer Skye. Beth comes over about once a week to hang out, eath dinner, wash her clothes in our machine and hang out. She has given me a lot of great tips for cooking. It is nice to have her around to hang out with. She will be moving to Uganda in February for another term for Peace Corp so hopefully I will be able to visit her before I head back home.

Linda's Love

Here is a picture of Linda in her most normal state, with Ellie. Ellie is Linda's dog and is more like her child. There isn't one without the other! ;-)

Last night with the girls...

Jackie and Heather are leaving! The time has come for Jackie and Heather to end their adventure in Namibia and head back to the wilds of Canada! What a blessing they have both been. I have really enjoyed having them here and all the fun and laughter and encouragement they brought. I will never forget BW, CW, QMFM or RG! We did what any normal girls on their last night together, we had a little photo shoot in the backyard! Our last night was a lot of fun and we stayed up late, laughing, joking and watching cheesy movies. Thanks for all the fun Jackie and Heather!

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Mexican Night!

We have seriously been craving mexican food lately, tacos in particular. We can get all the filling stuff; meat, tomatoes, onions, cheese and lettuce. But unfortunately they do not sell taco seasoning, refried beans, corn bread mix or tortillas. We recieved some refried beans and taco seasoning in a package and that only left cornbread, tortillas and guacamole. So I did the only logical thing, I made them from scratch. I am so proud of myself! I made cornbread and guacamole and flour tortillas from scratch and it was so easy. I also found a recipe for taco seasoning so I can use that instead of the seasoning. We also had a random dinner guest. Jackie, Heather and Linda where there and so was Hans (another missionary) and Phillip, our taxi driver. We had a good time and it was so tasy!

(first picture) - Phillip and Linda enjoying dinner.

(second picture) - Hans, Heather and Jackie enjoying dinner. Jackie has the best taco eating face.

(third pictuer) - Our dinner spread...