Gelati Goodness

Service with a smile...only at Rita's!

Update #2

First email

________________________________________________________________________

Hey
I am here in Nairobi .We awoke at 3 am their time so that was funny Slept under a mosquito net
Chuck and I took different roles and he got up and I stayed in bed and dosed .It is now 10 am and he can not think. We are heading out to buy medications for the area we will visit .Tried to call the Carrs but only got voice mail .We met a lady,on the plane , who knew Julie and Micheal Vrmeer from Lexington.We also see a van from World harvest ,Bundibugio ,Uganda but no people . It has been a good trip and I see many faces(in my mind) of those who gave encouragement in different ways -and good thoughts and advice . Last night we got in at the airport and we got on the road afterward.I thought of making a T shirt that read "I survived riding through Nairobi " OH MY. It is beautiful here in this compound in the midst a full city that has a lot of exhaust and the smell of someone burning their trash .
thanks for the prayers and love ,shelly

Airport Departure

Anna and Kait went to the airport on Tuesday to bid a final farewell to our world travelers. Green was the color of the day in this picture.
Calling Ben & leaving a joint goodbye message.
Is she ready???
Mom's carry on pack was busting at the seams. Hey Ma, where's the kitchen sink? They had matching L.L. Bean backpacks. Dad had his from medical school and Mom took Anna's from 2nd grade.
Ready or not....
It was pretty evident that Dad has a bit more traveling experience. Mom will get the hang of everything very soon.
One last wave goodbye and they were off!!

Update #1

Texts from Mom and Dad from last night, early morning (3 AM) and today. You might need some decoding skills for these.

__________________________________________________________________

Text 1 In philly 8 & leaving soon o zpper on my backpk broke

Text 2 In amsdam luv dad

Text 3 In nairobi 8 pm

Text 4 In nairobi 8pm nice but

_________________________________________________________________

Nice but? We don't know what kind of tourist attractions they see...

LOLL

You might think that LOLL stands for Laugh Out Loud LOUD, but it stands for Locks of Love Ladies. This post is for the other LOLL that we know, Elise and Christina! 3 cheers for making wigs!

Sudan Send Off

Last week we had a Sudan Send Off for our little missionaries. Dad bought us shirts from the Elephant Orphanage (click here). Which is really sad if you think about a lot of little baby Dumbos hanging around without a Momma. Dad gave us all a shirt so we all showed up sporting our new t's and surprised him! Here are the matching kiddos. OK, before you hate on the self-timer feature, it has produced many fab pictures over the years and we will still rave about it. This time it didn't quite work out, but next time...yes, next time it will work for sure.
Dad showing Wes where they would be in Africa.
Waiting for dinner.. chicken enchiladas with a side of fermented salsa. Can salsa ferment? Yes. Can it bubble if it's fermented? Yes. Will you die if you eat fermented salsa? No. (Just ask Kent).

Giving

As this blog post is typed, Mom and Dad are on their way to Africa. A lady from our church created this container, walked around to each Sunday school class for a couple of weeks and took up an offering for their trip. Their giving was abundant and very encouraging! You gotta remember that we have 1 adult class, 3 kid classes and 1 youth class :) Please begin to pray for them as they make their way to Sudan. More details and pictures coming soon!

Memo

Note to self: get to the strawberries quicker next time.

Finale

There's a big finale today... the LOST finale (None of us are really "LOST"-ers...maybe Wes at one time. One theory is that you have to be semi-smart to follow the 12 plot lines and flashbacks to even get half of the show)

There was another big finale today. Big Poppa Pop preached his last sermon for quite a while. Now that Andy is at the church, Dad will take it easy on Sundays. It'll be different since he preached at that pulpit for almost 3 years! He's got something else to think about in the next couple days, but that's for another post.

Flashback Friday

This Friday is in honor of Gertrude. She turns 80 on Tuesday and we're going to spend time with her this weekend. In this picture we have Jack, Shelly, Wesley, Gertie. We love you Gertie!!

Male Model

Woahhhhh. Who let the Abercrombie model sneak up to the FROG and take a nap in his bathing suit?

Dead Dog

A certain dog's chain may or may not have gotten a little too close to a certain doctor's one year old-still-smells-like-a-new-car- Toyota Camry
and it may or may not have left a rather large scratch.

Motivation

If you don't get a summer job quick enough, you get stuck being the pool keeper.

Full Shoes

As a church, we've waited 3-4 years (You lose track, ya know) for a full time pastor. A man by the name of Chuck Parker stepped in to preach during that time. He was so-so. Last night, the shoes were filled. Somewhere in the group of large, southern, dressed up men (minus Tony. Yo Tony, represent! He's in the plaid shirt and jeans. Can't miss him) is the new teaching elder for the church. He'll probably go by Pastor Andy.
They extended the right hand of fellowship to Pastor Andy. Then we enjoyed good things like pigs in a blanket and carrot cake. Welcome Andy and family!

Pizza Pizza

Anna deemed a dinner meal as Pizza Night to go retro-style like when we were young. The only difference now is that we (actually he) is weight conscious so we've switched to whole wheat dough... not as tasty, but maybe we'll live to be 107 years old. Dad was the dough boy. He won't let us poke his belly button though...we've tried. A little sauce, some toppings, a lotta lovin' and a little interpretive dancing.
Just one of the pizzas. BEFORE:
AFTER:
We were ready to chow down!

Just Me & My Mom

Raise your hand if you love Mercer Mayer's books. The Little Critter Books to be exact. They were part of our childhood. The critter is quirky looking, but cute. A spider and grasshopper can be found on every page (if you look closely). The title of this post is borrowed from his book Just Me and My Mom.

What kind of Mom would pass on the genes of being friendly to everyone and the ability talk to a brick wall? (Wes)
What kind of Mom would sit through years...and years...and years of baseball? (Ben)
What kind of Mom would let you do her make up for the Fall Festival? (Kait & Anna)

Flashback Friday

The studly football team running an intense play. Probably the flea flicker.

Eye Spy

When you find 2 large, creepy spiders on the bottom of your father-in-law's pool, you should scoop them up. You know your father-in-law well enough to know that he likes a clean pool. You also know that he hates spiders. When you scoop them up, be sure to keep them fully intact. Next you should make sure the father-in-law is really occupied (like sitting at the dining room table with a magazine article). Then you should go into his bathroom and place the 2 large spiders in 2 good spots. Finally, you wait for a reaction. You should do all of this only if you are his son-in-law.

Welcome Home

A BIG welcome home to Anna. She has completed her freshman year of college!For the first time in her life, this sign is true for her! It works out better this way...she tends to turn that room into a spa room on a regular basis. The pampering can take hours.

9 Men & a Trailer

Saturday was Moving Day for the teenytiny Suits Family (which consists of husband, wife and beta fish) Both families and church friends were willing to help- such troopers!Ben and Wes were the first ones on the scene at 8AM sharp
Here are all of the macho men that were able to come out and support the cause. Thanks guys!