God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, he named him ... Daddy

~~Author Unknown.~~ 
 

My daddy was an incredible man, an ever shining example of Christs love. If I have ever meet anyone with a servants heart it was my Daddy. 

He was a living example of the saying, preach the gospel always and when necessary use words.  If you knew my dad, you know that he
usually only spoke when he had something of value to say, unlike me!  He had a heart of gold and I was so blessed to be able to watch 

my Dad love God and lean on HIM!  

I never went too long without a bear hug from my Daddy and a whisper that he loved me.  As a little girl and as a women I have always had 
confidence that I am the sparkle in my Daddy's eye!  My Mom and Dad were always my biggest fans, never giving up on me and could see potential 

in me before I could ever see it in myself.  

I can only imagine the love our Heavenly Father feels for each of us!  I pray that each of you will 
put your trust in Jesus, and know that you are the sparkle in HIS eye!  He thinks you are amazing!  He thinks you are incredible, and he will

never give up on you! 

I want to encourage you to love your friends and family.  Don't leave things unsaid or undone.  Daddy's make sure you grab your kids and whisper to 
them how incredible they are and how you love them like crazy.  Life is precious and we never know when it may be too late.


And I'm going to keep that celebration going because I know how it's going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous
response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my

course. I don't expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more
accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm

his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.  Philippians  1:19-21  The Message

Natalie Kilbourne

Jenna has been begging for her chance to go to school every since she walked Madie into class a few weeks ago. She is pumped for class.
Jenna is in Kingsway's 4 year old program. She was there last year and this is also the school that Madie wend to Kindergarten at. We love it. It's a christian program with amazing teachers.
Jenna is in Miss Holly's class and has 14 friends in her class. I switched her to morning since I can get more done in the mornings.
We had the teacher meet and greet which she was super excited for. She got to bring in her supplies and get her desk all ready for school. Jenna is just as studious as Madie and prides herself on never getting her card flipped. She is also the class police lady. If someone get their card flipped she lets me know who and exactly what the offense is. She is kinda my OCD mini me. (that I do know where she gets it)
I picked her up after her first day and with much excitement asked her how her day was...she looked at me and with exhaustion in her voice said, It was the WORST day of my life. I literally had to hold back from busting out laughing. I wish I had it on tape because tone of her voice was priceless. I asked her what in the world could have happen to make it the worst day and she told me...the teacher made me hurry and finish my craft, so I had to color the rest of my picture all blue. Here's the OCD Jenna again. She is very meticulous about things and having to be rushed on her creative arts is over the boundaries. I belly laughed at her explanation.
She has been doing amazing and loves being a big girl just like Madie at school.

The point is...if this is the worst day in her whole life, we clearly have accomplished something!

About a week and a half into school we pulled Madie out of school for a field trip to Washington D.C. What kid gets to do this stuff. I picked her up on Monday 10 minutes early and we caught a 4:30 flight to MEM then a flight to D.C. Kory picked us up in the airport and off we were to the hotel. Kory had a 48 hr. layover there. Since that never happens we thought we should take advantage of it.
On Tuesday we got up early and took the hotel shuttle back to the airport so we could catch the train! What fun. I LOVE the big city commuting! We headed straight for the mall and the Smithsonian. We went to the Museum of Natural History first. This was amazing. The most beautiful display of every thinkable animal. We also hit it on a very great day since the butterfly place was FREE! This was the highlight of the girls day. It was a lot like the Butterfly Palace in Branson. Super Fun!
We then headed to the Air and Space Museum, which I am sure you can guess was Korys favorite! There were some great planes there and I actually learned some new things about the history of flying. The History museum was next. How fascinating. We saw the first American flag ever made. It is huge and very protected. It kinda made me sentimental when I think about all out country went through and still goes through in the name of freedom.
We also saw some of the first ladies inauguration dresses. I loved this part, and Kory made it clear he wasn't into it! It was like a fashion lesson through time. Loved it.
We had a perfect day for walking so we headed to the Washington Monument and trotted our way to the White House. I always thought the White House was in wide open space, but it is smack dab in the city with buildings and people all around. The camera angles make it seem as though it is in the country. I felt duped. It was a sight non the less.
If you ask the girls what their favorite part of D.C. was they will tell you the White House squirrel. There was a little cute squirrel that would sneak outside the gates of the White House and eat Fritos out of the girls hands. It was adorable. I think the squirrel is incredibly smart.
We headed back to the hotel and caught the 7 am flight back to MEM then onto Springfield. Madie was back in school for lunch on Wednesday! What a great mini trip!

The point is...If I was a Squirrel I would totally live at the White House!

Madie is my baby and is clearly not big enough to be in the 3rd grade. When did that happen? She is more than excited for the new year. She loves school, not sure where she go that!
She has an amazing teacher this year Mrs. Pope. She is a great young teacher with 6 years experience. I love it when God blesses you with exactly what you need. She was my first pick teacher,however Madie was not originally assigned to her, but 3 days before school started I got a call that she had been switched!
Madie qualified to be tested for Rogersville's gifted program. She was given a series of 4 tested and qualified for the Cats Program with flying colors, again must be from her daddy's genes!
The great news is that all the Cats kids were transferred into Mrs. Popes room so they could have special work through out the week. How exciting. Every Wednesday,Madie and 4 other 3rd graders are pulled out of class for the entire day for special classes. They will play creative games and work on more advanced classroom activities. They will go deeper into subjects then Mrs. Pope can go with the whole class. She has been loving it and feels super special to get out of class every Wednesday!

The point is...and yes, Jenna was there every step of the way leading her into her first day cheering her on. She even cried all the way home to leave Madie at school. Poor Bubs.

OK. I've decided to give myself permission to draw the line in the sand and blog going forward. I have had pending guilt and shame about not blogging every second of our lives since my last blog 8 months ago. So, I am taking a deep breath and pretending like the last 7 months of our lives can be appreciated in bullet points...

*Jenna's 4th birthday--Still trying to get over the fact that my baby is big!
*Great R&R girls trip with Shawna to Tulsa
*Got home from R&R weekend to a bearded dragon lizard for Madie named Banjo (UGH!)
*Flannerys here for the weekend. Lots of giggle fun!
*Took the girls fishing and caught some great memories!
*Flannerys here for 2 weeks! Party TIME!
*Amazing 3 day float trip with the Jones and Flannery crew. Highlight of the summer!
*Table Rock lake with Towers crew for 3 days! Lots of great laughs, sun, and boating!
*Flannerys here for the weekend.
*Hilton Head, SC with the Clarks. The most relaxing vaca EVER!
*2nd-4th grade with Madie, Out of this World. Tons of mud, mud, and mud!
*Jenna at the Flannery's for camp Flannery while we were at camp!
*Madie and Jenna at Nanny's for 2 weeks. (tried not to enjoy myself too much!)
*Madie went to camp with Nanny's church, same camp Kory and I meet at. Ahhhh.
*Sold stinky cricket eating Banjo on craigslist in 2 hours for double what we paid!
*Quality time with Jenna while Madie was away. Priceless.
*Flannerys here for the weekend.
*We squeezed every drop out of this summer!

We had an amazing summer, so jam packed with fun I could hardly catch my breath. Kory said something to me that made me cherish this summer more than ever. He said--We only have 18 summers with the girls, then their gone. Wow, what a huge statement. We have 10 more summers with Madie and 14 more with Jenna. I think I would rather count days and months, counting summers sounds like they will be gone tomorrow.

The point is...I am excited to be back sharing the Kilbourne's adventures and stories!

I feel like the last month our little barnhouse has been bursting with guests, travel, laughter, parties and fun. If we don't have a house full of people I'm not sure what to do...here's the guest list:

13th- We hosted Life Group with our peps the Brownes and Clarks. Kids in the basement with Miss Chealea and the adults upstairs. I am still cleaning glitter up from the "project" they did in the basement! A great time was had by all. The subject in question was about the verse that says...out of the heart the mouth speaks. So when your brain thinks something ugly and your filter rejects it popping out of your mouth--Is it a random thought or is it a deeper heart issue that you need to fix? It provided great conversation. It totally made me do a heart check to think about the ugly things I filter. Rather than adjusting my filter to be polite or politically correct..its a heart check. UGH!

16th- Mom Buehler go here! Its Iowas spring break so she came down to party with us. It is always a blessing to have her here and the weather was so great we all had fun playing outside. Jenna and I got our hairs cut thanks to Nanny's help with Jenna. Mom and I even got a girls day in Branson to shop and have lunch together! WOW. I love having my mama here!

16th- I lead a Jr High lifegroup on Monday nights called Pier419. It is super fun and one of the highlights of my week. We are discussing the LoveBug. Getting bit by it, what to do, and the boundaries that are played out in the bible. The ole' how far is too far question was the hot topic last week. Yikes. Let me tell you...these students are amazing! They are really thinking long term and making great choices to save themselves for marriage and thinking way past their Jr High years. We have AMAZING students and I am super blessed to be a part of their lives!

17th- The Hills, from Iowa, but now they live in Oklahoma City, were here in town for the home school basketball tournament. (Kory grew up with Johnathon and they were neighbors when we lived in Iowa) We invited them over for a little pizza and fun. The Hills have an amazing family. They have 6 kids, and brought a friend with them so 7! The kids tore it up on the four-wheelers and Kory even got the tractor out for some tractor rides! HAHA They loved it. The boys gave Bella and Summer some much needed attention and wrestling. They loved it. We had so much fun catching up and are always blessed by their encouragement when we get together.

20th- Mom left about 2pm. BOO HOO. I love having Mom here.

*start rapid cleaning cycle to catch up on all the tings I let go since Mom was here and its way more fun to be playing than doing laundry and cleaning. Clean and change sheets, dust, vacuum, catch up on a weeks worth of laundry, clean bathroom all in Tasmanian devil style!

20th- Our friends the Towers arrive for the weekend at 6:00. Crazy fun. The Towers have 4 boys with the youngest only 8 weeks. We had so much fun. The 4-wheelers were on overtime, we hit Petland, the mall, the Palace to see Bolt, church, and lots of fun here at the barnhouse. We even taught them how to play Texas Holem'. It was super fun!

22nd- Towers pull out about 1:45 to head back to Iowa

22nd- 1:46 I lay down to take a quick snooze before I start the recovery of the towels, house and laundry.

22nd- 5:15 I wake up after a glorious nap!!

22nd- We finish the night with leftovers and a great family walk. The weather was beautiful last night!

The point is...I love that everyone just piles into the barnhouse. We have been blessed with amazing friends and family! If you want to get on the schedule for a barnhouse sleepover let me know! HAHA

Can you believe I went a whole 18 days without a post? Some of you may be thankful that you did not have to read another boring Kilbourne story for the past few weeks. Sorry times up, I'm back!

Let's see what have we been up too?

Getting back from London/Africa proved to be an adjustment. It was difficult to get back into the swing of things again. The jet leg didn't hit me until about the 4th day home. Strange? I felt more exhausted lying around the house than I felt on our 2 1/2 week adventure. The girls seemed not to notice much of the time change, once again proving that kids are amazingly resilient.

We started to lead a Jr. high life group called Pier419 every Monday night. Matthew 4:19 says...go and make fisher of men, so I can imagine Jesus calling out to the men on the pier hence Pier419. Our last lifegroup The Edge has gotten too big so we pulled 12 kids into our new group. I am amazed at the hearts of Jr. highers. If you think that Jr. high kids are up to no good and intentionally driving their parents crazy, you should come to our group and meet some amazing students. I personally have been so blessed the last year that we have been working with the students. They challenge me to dream big and do great things for God. They have the ability to look past shortcomings and imagine beyond what most adults can envision. They totally stretch me, and it's clearly helping me to keep my youthful glow...? (right?)

Kory is gone right now on a boys golf trip in Myrtle Beach. Tough. Poor Guy. This is his second year on the boys trip. His great friend Dan C. has organized this for several years. Kory had some serious man fun last year. I honestly don't ask too many questions about the man fun because it usually involves burping, poker and all fried foods. UGH. An exciting addition to the group this year was Tim and his dad Mike. (Tim is Kory's cousin and mike is Kory's uncle) I did warn the boys that when they get back us ladies are getting a girls trip on the calendar and they would be on parenting duty. My perfect girl trip would be to a weekend cooking school with a splash of shopping and a pj party every night! Who's with me?

I really have nothing to complain about this weekend either though. I got the chance to go to a conference in Houston, TX. The Brawners graciously took the ladies from Friday until Sunday night so I could go. I am SO thankful for people who love my kids and love me enough to bless me by giving me the weekend off. What a HUGE blessing. If you want to read about the weekend with the Brawner and see pictures head over to her blog. The weather was beautiful so they got lots of playtime outside, they had a picnic in the playhouse, and all the girls can talk about are the powder donut movie nights they had. Thanks so much Brawners!

My conference was great. I gained great system training and meet lots of encouraging people. You know how I am slightly obsessed with greeting cards. I know you have gotten several from my stash. Last week on a flight, Kory caught up with an flight attendant friend and she told him a little bit about a greeting card business she does. I checked it out and it's super cool. You go online, choose from over 13,000 greeting cards, add your personal note, you can even add photos to be printed inside the card. Then you fill in the address of the recipient and Waa Laa your cards on the way. They print your custom card put a real stamp on it and send it for you. The best part is it is cheaper than going to the store and buying a card, not to mention your time factor. Rather than the $3-$4 you normally spend on the card it is just $.93 plus $.42 postage. $1.35 for the card in the mail. AMAZING. It is already saving me time and money. No more driving to the store, searching for cards, stamps, and then forgetting a card in my purse for a week. The quality is outstanding and the card selection is every bit as good as any Wal-mart card isle. I am super pumped. Its a natural fit for me to have a little card business, especially since real estate is so slow.

Besides for personal use, lots of businesses are taking advantage of the program. Most small business live and die on their referral and word of mouth advertising so being able to send a thank you card to a client at the click of a mouse is great for business. The system also allows you to download any database of addresses. You can create a custom Christmas card and with a click send it to all 100 people on your list and never have to sit and address them all again. Oh, Thank you.

Anything you can create on Photoshop or a variety of other programs can be downloaded onto a card. So a business could have their logo, coupons, photos, ect. as part of their postcard/greeting card. When you download photos you can add text boxes, thought bubbles or boarders.

I am going to use the photo program to create personal photo invites for Jenna's birthday.

Can you tell I'm excited? Here's the best part...you can try it out for free on me. Log on to

http://www.sendoutcards.com/68109

Under my photo is a button that says click send a free card, click it and I will personally pay for you to send 2 cards and I'll even pay for your postage. I know. I'm that kind of girl! Upload photos onto your cards to see how easy it is!

The point is...This really is no strings attached free cards. I promise! I challenge you to send an unexpected card to someone with a picture of yourself/family and just see what their response is. I guarantee you get a phone call from the recipient! Let me know what they said. I would love to hear.

And since you all love me enough to give me a referral tell a friend about it and let them go onto my site and send a free card! Have fun making someones day!

Madie's mind has been working hard at figuring out College life and entering the work force. Here are some conversations we have recently had.

Madie: How much does it cost to get a job at Petland?

Me: It doesn't cost anything. You just go in and interview and if they like you they give you a job and start paying you.

Madie: (overwhelmed with joy) You mean they pay YOU! I thought you had to pay someone to work at their store! WOW. Whats an interview?

Me: You have to go and talk to the manager of the store and they ask you all sorts of questions to see if you would be right for the job. Like...How many hours do would you work a day?

Madie: 12

Me: Great. Do you know anything about Lizards?

Madie: Yes, I am not afraid to pick them up.


Me: Can you help people with puppies if they want to get one out?

Madie: Oh, yes! That would be my favorite job. I'm really good with puppies.

Me: What if they poop of pee and you have to clean it up.

Madie: I guess I will just plug my nose and try not to touch it!

Me: You're hired!


She also came home from school and told me that she has decided that her and Kate (a buddy from school) will be going to the same college and be room mates. Which means, she will move out of the house and live at school. Althouth very concerned with college homework, she is thinking it is not a good thing to live at your school. Maybe teachers will come by your room and drop off homework? Maybe she'll live at home! (yipee) And with much persuasion she has convinced Kate to work at Petland too.

Madie: I finally convinced Kate to work at Petland with me, but she does not like snakes, spiders, and lizards. I am going to have to teach her about them so she can get an interview.

Me: That is really kind of you to look after Kate.

Madie: There is one big problem though...(sigh and pause) I have not exactly told her about the poop cleaning thing. I am not sure how to discuss it with her. It's going to be tough.

The point is...I hate cleaning up poop too.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR HUSBAND?

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Anything on DVR since we are anti-commercials.

2. Your out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch.

3. What is one food he doesn't like?
Cooked Broccoli which is one of my favorites strangely.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What type of drink does he order?
Shirley Temple on the rocks!

5. Where did he go to high school?
JohnstonHigh School

6. What shoe size does he wear?
10 sometimes 10.5

8. What is his favorite type of Sandwich?
Charleys and anything with a massive amount of meat.

9. What would this person eat everyday if he could?
Meat and taders

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Corn Pops or Captain Crunch

11. What would he never wear?
a pink shirt

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Depends on who has the best outfits at the game...oh wait thats my criteria.

13. Who did he vote for President?
I'm sure he wrote me in on the ballot, and if he didn't it was McCain!

14. Who is his best friend?
Me, of course! With Tim, Dan and J a close second!

15.What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
There is nothing....I am PERFECT!

16. What is his heritage?
Farmer Boy.......is that a heritage?

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Angel food cake just like his Grammie use to make. I'm still trying to perfect her icing recipe which I do not have the recipe for. Its tough.

18. Did he plays sports in high school?
Baseball and wrestling

19. What could he spend hours doing?
Anything on a BOAT! You could probably pull all his toes off and as long as it was on a boat he would consider it a great day!

20. What is one unique talent he has?
He makes incredible pancakes on the weekends!

The point is...I think I will keep him around for at least another 80 years! He is an amazing husband and daddy. He's more than I ever could have dreamed of!

Tom had a great idea to take us to the southern most tip of Africa. Siplings had not been there either so it was quite the adventure. We drove and drove. If I've ever feet like I was in the middle of no where it was driving to Cape Agulhas. There are cows in Africa hanging out in big fields just like home. There were little town specked along the route that were filled with charming town squares and colorful houses. All the ladies in the car were less than excited about the length of the 2 hr car ride to get there. It was quite comical to watch Tom and Kory with the African map try to keep us on track. Never lost, Right?


Cape Agulhas is also the point at which the Indian ocean meets the Atlantic ocean. I am not sure how in the world you could pin point the place that two oceans meet and mingle, but apparently its here.
The girls got a change to play on the beach too. They had been waiting our entire trip to do this, but due to the wind making sand storms that sting your legs we had avoided the beach. Finally the wind calmed down and they were in heaven running with their toes squishing in the sand collecting all the shells they could carry.


The point is...I am so thankful for a husband that challenges me to stretch beyond my comfort zone and take on crazy adventures like this. We have made great family memories and I can't wait for our next adventure. (after I recover!)

I guess the fun didn't officially begin until we were on the catamaran boat ride! Kory is very good at sniffing out boats. He did a great job bargaining to get us on the 2 hr champagne sunset cruise for just $16 US dollars a person and the girls got to go for free. I couldn't resist either. It may have been one of my favorite things. (Don't tell Kory!)
The girls wanted to ride upfront and jump on the mesh area suspended over the water. Madie has a huge dose of her daddy's wild at heart adventure side. Riding over the ocean with the wind in your face was a great time. We would hit cold patches of wind that would give you the goose bumps and then the warm breeze would snuggle you again. It was a great family moment hanging off the front of the boat living on the edge of life!
A major source of income for the South Africans is grape vineyards. They are beautiful and stretch as far as the eye can see. They were having fires burning down the mountains towards several of the vineyards. We got to see helicopters carrying loads of water to dump on the fires. The girls got to play at a couple parks and visit some African ducks while we toured the vineyards!

The point is...I am so thankful that we brought the kids. Traveling with them is a lot more difficult than just the two of us, but the family bonding was worth it. Being able to experience Africa though the eyes of little girls was amazing!

Tom and Cindy's house is nestled on the mountain side with a beautiful view of the Indian ocean. However there is a down side. Mountain air streams that mix with ocean breezes make a wind storm precisely over their house. It seem as though the entire house is going to be blown over. I could hardly sleep the first few night waiting for the windows to be blown in. Talk about creaky creepy noises. Everything rattles, shakes and squeaks all night long. It was not helpful, since I was already on the edge of catching a flight home.
Tom assured us the winds are not always like this, to which we replied that really weird weather seems to follow us on our travels. (Paris heat wave,Whistler mountain collapse, London snow, just to name the recent few) It was raining one night and Kory was asking Tom about the lightening patterns there. Seriously, I think Kory missed his calling to be a weather man. Tom said he's never seen the lightening touch the ground like it does back home, it always ripples horizontal through the clouds. South Africa had a huge vertical lighting show that night. Quite impressive. If we come visit you...pray for the weather! We lost power one night too, luckily it was only about 10 minutes!

We set out for a day of sightseeing starting with the Cape of Good Hope which is a beautiful look out point. It was like climbing a mountain with wind so strong that I needed to keep a hold of the ladies so they wouldn't be blown away. Look at our hair in these pictures, crazy windy.
As we were driving from the Cape a family of wild baboons entertained us for a while. How fun wild baboons. Kory had just rolled up his window and the baby jumped up and hung on his window for a few seconds. The girls were cheering and screaming. It was great. The baby baboon jumped off our car and ran up the hood of the car behind us and sat on the drivers side mirror. I totally felt like I was in Africa.


Another super fun attraction was going to see the penguins. I thought they only loved cold weather, but there are some hot weather loving penguins out there. My kind of birds. They were almost tame and would let you get really close. There was a paid portion where you could even get in a swim with them. We passed. As we were leaving one was walking through the parking lot seeming to be headed somewhere intentionally. Very endearing guy!
We ended our day with a visit to the Salty Sea Dog restaurant for some fish and chips. I totally thought of the Clarks and their love for the Salty Dog. Maybe they're cousins?

The point is...I loved the days we got to tour and see how beautiful Africa is. Wow. God is a really talented builder, artist and creator.

What is life really like for people who genuinely struggle for their day to day needs? Can you imagine your children growing up with no running water, no toilet and in many cases not even electricity?
In a touristy waterfront shopping village we visited there were children begging for money and food. Regardless if it was a scam set up by their parents or if there was a genuine need--I can never imagine asking my 3 year old precious baby girl to go and beg for money and food. There was a little girl maybe 4 years old that followed us down the street for a block or so just staring at the girls and kept saying, please Ma'am help me. I could hardly look at her, it broke my heart. She was dirty, barefoot and walking the streets begging for money. Can you even imagine for one second that we would ask our kids to do this--for even one second. NEVER.
I complain that my barnhouse is no where near the fancy house want. I complain about laundry duty to which I have machine that does most of the work for me. I whimper that I have nothing to wear- when my closet is bursting with great cloths. I grumble at cleaning up after little people, when the DVD in the van goes on the fritz, and when anything in my day does not go exactly as I have so carefully planned.
Jenna was having a great time and didn't seem to notice the differences, but Madie was fully aware Africa was different. I watched her eyes as she stared out the car window into the townships. Hearing her questions and seeing her genuine concern for the kids begging for money was remarkable. I huge part of me wanted to cover her eye so she didn't have the heart sick feeling of realizing that kids live this way. It was a remarkable experience to have with Madie. She is getting the sense that the world is SO much bigger than our backyard and there is so much we can do with the resources that God has in trusted us with.

Here are some pictures of the housing projects there called townships. The pictures aren't very good since they are all taken while driving. When you look at these remember that entire families sometimes 8-12 people live in one little shack.
While the girls and I were at the college for a girls event, Kory went into the townships. He wanted to buy groceries and pass them out all week and he finally got his chance. It was after dark--I was not about to go in the dark. I'm not sure I even wanted to go in the light if I am completely honest. Kory has a wild at heart spirit that forces him to do wild and crazy things with wild abandon. Did you get the hint that I think he is a wild kind of guy. Don't dare him. He will water ski naked in February on a frozen Iowa lake.
So my wild man Kory and Tom made a stop by the house so Kory could drop off his wallet, watch and any valuables he had in case they were mugged. You really are not advised to go in at night. He also told me after the fact that he did put his license in his shoe, just in case he needed to be identified. Wow, that's comforting.
Kory said it was such an incredible experience. Kory bought enough groceries to make up 7 bags with each bag having bread, milk, eggs and non perishables. He also got Oreos and candy to pass out to the littles. He drove around looking for women with kids. He said that everyone they come in contact with was so thankful and grateful. One women told them she had just left a prayer service and it was such an answer to prayer to have food. She kept saying, Praise Jesus, Oh thank you Jesus! He thought it was so cool that everyone excepted the gift unassuming any motive and with joy. Here in the states if he would try to offer groceries to a women on the street she would think he was a weirdo trying to drug her and call 911.

The point is...I am so thankful that our family had this slap in the face reminder of how incredibly blessed we are! Oh, and I am so thankful that God wired Kory to be a wild at heart kind of guy. He is wild enough for the both of us, I assure you!

I finally found it. My new favorite grocery store in the world...Fruit and Veg City. Wow, I thought the produce at Sams Club was fresh and reasonably price. Fruit and Veg city blows it out of the water. A beautiful market with everything imaginable from a fresh milk tank to sushi,ice-cream bar,fresh fish,fancy cheese counter,and loads of produce. Not what I expected at the Fruit and Veg.
As if this beautiful market could get any better...it does. South African money is called rand. The trade for $1 American is 9.98 rand as of today. I checked before we left and it was actually trading at 10.30 so it had dropped a bit, but still the dollar is very strong here. So lets say for the sake of easy math $1 = 10 rand. The prices at the market were unbelievable. I know you grocery girls would've been as excited as I was. Crazy deals.

*A huge watermelon (you know I dig the biggest one out) 19.99 rand Get out- $1.99 It would have cost $7 or $8 back home.
*Block 72 oz of cheddar cheese- 29.86 rand = $2.98.
*The longest english cucumber you've ever seen 3.30 rand = $.33
*Bananas here are super sweet so I got 8 thick big ones 7.56 rand = $.75
*Big loafs of homemade ciabatta bread and wheat bread 5.99 rand = $.59
*All the clementines I could shove into a plastic grocery bag 31.54 rand = $3.15
*grapes 4 lbs of them 14.99 rand = $1.49
*Lamb is there speciality here, like Texas is with steak, so we got lamb to try since I've never had lamb. A big 4 pack of thick chops 31.90 rand = $3.19

How great. I love the prices here. We went out to a beach side restaurant and we ordered fish and chips. It was 40.00 rand = $4.00. A local gourmet ice cream shop even in a tourist district was 3.90 rand = $.39.

The point is...I say we do the food storage thing and ship a ton of groceries and supplies back home!

Well, despite the record breaking snow, we made it out of London! The journey over to South Africa wasn't to bad. It was a quick almost 12 hour flight when you factor in 2 meals, unlimited on demand movies and tv, and some uncomfortable napping! The girls did great. This flight was booked so we all had to share a row of 4 seats. After Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Madagascar 2 I tucked the girls in to get some rest. We tried to lay them side by side on the 2 seats in the middle and dangle their legs over our laps, but they were both too restless for that. I pushed pasted my germ-a-phobia thoughts and put Madie on the floor on a blanket. This worked perfect to stretch out and lay flat! Kory and I were another story. There's only so much "rest" you can have sitting straight up. I took an Ibuprofen for my neck over breakfast.

We arrived to Tom's tan smiling face waiting for us. How lovely to be in South Africa and have a friend pick you up from the airport. Leaving the airport you get the strong feeling we're not in Missouri anymore Toto.

We drove by areas that are called Townships. Some of them have power, none of them have toilets or water. They have community areas with out-houses and running water. They live in make shift houses all piled next to one another. The houses are made of pieces of metal, plastic, tarps, wood, and scraps all thrown together to make a box. You can see gaps and holes in the building material making them seem unsteady. In the states it would be similar to a homemade hillbilly playhouse.

Tom educated us all about Townships and the people. Its all separated by 3 main types of people here. Black, Colored, and Afrikaans. (I googled the spelling!) Black are descendants of tribal African heritage and the true Africans with the black as night skin. Colored is used to describe black/white people that are not from tribal heritage and have a much lighter black skin color. Afrikaans are the white people born and raised here that speak that also speak Afrikaans language. Most people here speak English as the unifying language. It's taught in schools and spoken everywhere we've been, but the native language here is Afrikaans. Which sounds like Russian, if you ask me.

I had a false idea that we would be landing on a grass strip, visiting mud huts with women stretching their earlobes , and that Kory would have to kill our evening meal. Well, this is a town with a grocery store, mall, KFC and a McDonalds. All the normal conveniences of home.

Here's the transparency part-- I have always been afraid of people and places that I do not recognize. Kory usually dismisses my fears as silly and unwarranted, but non the less I am afraid. In Springfield, I walk out of Wal-mart at night and I carry my keys just right so if I had to use them to stab an attackers eye out I would be prepared. (Don't mess with me!) I lock all the barnhouse doors and windows and sometimes check them twice. I keep my van locked in the driveway, as though that will save me. I hold my kids hands in crowded areas and insist they stay within arms reach at all times. I never let them wonder around to the next toy isle even in the safety of Springfield. I'm a slightly paranoid, scared girl on high alert for danger thinking someone may be waiting around the next corner to get me.

However-I've grown stronger and more confident in the last 10 years. I think growing up sheltered by the warm ever present wing of my Daddy makes me feel like something is now missing as an adult. You can imagine my adjustment period early on in our marriage when Kory began flying 3-5 nights a week. I've grown up a ton.

There is something about being here in Africa, especially with the girls that scares me to death. I could hardly sleep last night. I stayed awake running all the scenarios of the what ifs in my head. We are in a safe neighborhood with a security system and the Siplings that have lived here with no trouble, so whats my problem? I think it has have to do with all the stories Tom used to describe the people and the gravity of their need for Jesus. I guess if I watched the news in Springfield, which I NEVER do, I would realize that there are rapist, kidnappers, killers, and gang members right on our town too. So why does it bother me so much here? Maybe its the fact that we stick out like a big white thumb here! You can pray that I can get over myself and am able to soak in all the great things that God has for our family to experience here in South Africa serving the Siplings. It's NOT about me!

Ok, back to lighter stories. We went to Pneumatix school last night and attended a Plunge service. It was amazing. The music started with bongos and them I realized they were playing all songs that we knew from home! It's amazing to be 9,000 miles from home and be singing and worshiping to the same music with Africans! Crazy!

The cliffs and the Indian Ocean views are incredible. We also went to a MALL today. You'll laugh, but the mall made me feel so much better and like home wasn't so far away.

The point is...I think I may need to stop my the mall every day! There was even a food court. Although I had to explain what a cheese pizza was to the Afrikaans/English speaking women.

Me: Hi, Can I get a small cheese pizza please.

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: What topping would you like?

Me: cheese

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: and topping?

Me: cheese, just cheese and pizza sauce

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: We can't do that.

Me: You can charge me for a regular pizza and then just don't put on the meat if you need too.

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: You want meat? What topping?

We've been staying up super late chatting it up with the Jones. They're great fun, but this mornings wake up call came early!
We got ready and loaded the Tube for the AutoMat, a swanky pancake house that's become a tradition for the Jones. It fully lived up to my expectations. The girls and I had waffles with strawberries and some homemade whip cream with vanilla bean in it. Yummy, we asked for extra whip cream!


We got to see the changing of the Guard at Buckinghams Palace on our way to church too. It was crowded, we had to pier though a fence and past the guys wielding machine guns, but totally worth it. They have a Guard marching band that plays all the Queens favorite songs live. Very stoic in there huge fuzzy hats. Madie wanted to know if the Queen would be outside watching the band, I wish sweet girl!
We walked the wicked cold walk to Hillsong London for Sunday church. It was great. Literally, it was James River verbatim. They started with praise and worship, the Pastor came up and read prayer requests and praise reports, we had corporate prayer for needs, worship concluded with the Pastor giving verbal announcements and called the hosts forward for the offering and then the video announcements played. They even passed around chicken buckets for offering. Crazy huh. There was a special speaker, Sy Rogers. He has an incredible testimony. He's an ex-gay transvestite that completely changed his life around and has now been married for 20 years. (to a women!) He really played up his mannerisms and voice for effect in several parts of his message. He now travels all over the world speaking about the unspoken subject of sexual sins. It's a great ministry. I admire anyone who can use their garbage mistakes to help encourage and lead the way for others. Although, I'm glad Madie was in the kids department. She would've had way too many questions and been educated on several things that she doesn't need to know. I can only imagine what she would've thought when he was showing pictures of him dressed like a women. WOW.
We found a little pizzeria and ate a yummy pizza and sandwich lunch. You know the ladies have a super small diet of things they love! We went to Covenant Gardens which is an indoor/outdoor market full of local vendors. It had started to snow at this point and walking was getting painful so we headed back to the flat.
It's Superbowl Sunday although no one seems to know over here. We had a great junk food dinner of Chinese, pizza, chips, and more chocolate cupcakes. I'm gonna to have to really work that off in a couple weeks at the YMCA.
The girls have really bonded with Jill and David. The ladies were both harassing David so bad. They were giving him wet willys, fish hooks, crawling all over him and pulling on his hairy legs. He was laughing so hard he had a hard time warding them off. The girls loved it! Jenna sat on Jill's lap for quite a while. She would kiss her and snuggle. Precious!

The point is...We've heard it never snows in London, so why is it a blizzard outside with inches of accumulating snow? We may not get out to South Africa tomorrow. Beach here we come!

I talked them into it--we went out about 9pm last night to give the girls a double decker late night tour of the city. It was amazing. The lights, night life and views made for a great ride!
We scored front row seats on the top of the bus. An extra fun and terrifying ride. It's kinda like being in the back of the bus where the bumps seem bigger and the swerving more violent. Combine that feeling with curvy roads, a wild driver and less than sober pedestrians running all over and we had a ride equivalent to Fire in the Hole! Madie and Jenna were screaming at people to watch out. Super Fun!
To top the night off there was even a McDonalds near the last bus stop which provided well deserved ice cream cones to the best little girls in the world!

The point is...McDonalds ice cream cones are only .54 cents here. Bring it on!

It was a cold windy day here in London, but we're not about to let that stop us! Jill and David, the muffin man, made us a great homemade breakfast and then we bundled up and headed out.
First we went on a 3 hr (not really) (but it was far) trek to one of David's friends house to feed their cat. Long story. Anyways after David tenderly stroked the cat and tucked in back in, we were really on our way.
The highlight of the girl's day was riding on the London double decker bus ON THE TOP! They were giddy, and quite frankly it was fun. You get a birds eye view of the city. Super fun. It's interesting to watch the girls try to balance as the bus roars off. Well, Madie balances. I've learned that Jenna hits the floor like a pancake if you don't have a hold of her. Opps!
We then braved it on the tube to Greenwich, England to visit where time and the clock was basically invented. The planetarium and museum there is really interesting.
Here's a short history lesson:

Greenwich, England defines both time and place for the whole world. All time is measured relative to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and all places have a latitude (their distance North or South of the Equator) and a longitude (their distance East or West of the Greenwich Meridian)

So whether you are flying an aircraft, sailing a ship or just planning to meet up using your GPS remember that is measured from Greenwich, England:

Longitude 0° 0' 0"

Latitude 51° 28' 38"N (North of the Equator)

We got to stand right on the dividing line of the Greenwich Median. We were in the western hemisphere with one leg and the eastern hemisphere with the other. Quite amazing. The boys even tried their luck scaling a huge steel slanted thing. Jill and I tried to pretend we didn't know them.

Jill and David had tickets to the theater tonight. (and not the Palace dollar theater) She put on chili in the crock pot this morning for us and now we're just chilling at the flat. The girls have done amazing with the time change. It really has not effected us, Thank the Lord.

The point is...I think we are going to head out on a double decker bus adventure across the city and back tonight. Cheap fun, and it is heated!

What a LONG day. I am witting this after being up since Thursday at 5:10. Its now Friday at 9:05 London time and I've sleep maybe a combination of 3 hours in uncomfortable airline chairs. So, I can't guarantee the materials listed below, and thank heavens for spell check! I want to get a few memories down since my memory may erase after a great nights sleep.
We left on Thursday at 6:40 am flight to MSP. We got to hang out with our favorite Grammy Sherry for the afternoon and had lunch with her. We love Grammy Sherry, she always makes us feel extra loved and special.
We made it back to the airport in plenty of time to catch the 5:10 pm flight to London LHR. Thankfully the flight was wide open and we were able to grab 2 rows each with 4 seats. Kory and Madie took row 20 and Jenna and I took row 21. It was great since the girls could lay down flat to sleep. Jenna passed out before dinner service and besides waking up disoriented a few times she slept until we arrived. Madie ate dinner on the flight and then slept the rest of the 8 hr flight. Angels. Kory and I tried to settle in but we figure we only slept a few hours each. It's tough to sleep with kids kicking you and the flight attendants roaming the isles with water seemingly every 3 minutes! Shesh!
Oh, we did have one traumatic experience. Jenna got sick a few minutes before we landed. It was quite an episode. Jenna doesn't have the typical response of alerting you before she gets sick. She's just sick. Lucky for us we had a spare outfit handy! Always travel with a spare, learned that the hard way several times when the girls were babies.
We arrived in London and had our first adventure of riding on the Tube, London's subway system. NiggghtMaaaare.
Imagine crowded train stations with budging people in a hurry with super fast train stops that yield no mercy if you are about to get on or trying to get off and then for extra fun add in:
2 tired little ladies
4 super heavy stuffed rolling carry-on bags
2 laptop bags
2 build-a-bears
1 stroller
2 kids backpacks
89 flights of stairs (a whole different story with bags, kids and crowds) (I'm too tired to go there!)
and too many confusing train routes including colors and platforms to mention.
I am very patient with the kids usually. I was a wreck. I was convinced that several of my fears would come true in the blink of an eye.
1. We could lose a child somewhere in London?
2. We could lose a bag, bear, computer.
3. Someone would not make it on the train and we wouldn't realize until they are frantically waving from the outside of the train as the train barrels into the darkness of the tunnel.
I'm sure everyone on the train thought I was the meanest mother on the planet. Yelling at my kids to hurry up, or move over and I even caught myself grabbing the hood on their coats to direct them on or off the train. Seriously...stress to the max.
But the sun came up at Old Street Station and the beautiful Jill Brawner-Jones meet us at Starbucks and escorted us to her and David's flat for breakfast. How lovely! Jill had our suite all made up for us. She even bought the girls some special Paddington Bears, writing books, markers and lots of fun snacks. Wow. The royal treatment for sure. The Queens have arrived in England.
We got cleaned up, took a few minute breather and then took off into the city. Let me tell you the trains with a local guide, 3 adults, 2 kids and nothing but coats are super fun! The girls love the thrill of riding the trains everywhere. Their questions about people not owning cars are priceless. The big city way of life is a complete culture shock to the girls. How fun to be able to show them that the world is way bigger than Springfield.
We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, a collection of churches including the one Princess Di was married in and Jill lead us in a great history walk. We even hit the TK Max. Apparently their version of TJ Max. I drooled over some of the fashions.
Speaking of fashions...people are super cool over here. The people watching is amazing. I wish I had a bazillion dollars to grab all these English fashions.
Jill made an amazing state side version of chicken with beans and potatoes. Totally felt like home! Thanks Jill and David for being great hosts and letting us come stay! We are so thankful for you!
The Jones and our London trip will totally make the Christmas card!


The point is...This sign at the local park was the highlight of the girl's day!

Oh My Word. It was a crazy kind of fun over here today. We have had ice and snow since Monday afternoon and school has now been closed since Tuesday. Its Wednesday night and they've already called off school for Thursday. Usually not such a huge deal but we are leaving in the morning for London, so Madie will miss 2 weeks and the 3 snow days. Yikes!
The ladies have been begging to play in the snow and today presented the best chance. The sun was out shiny and the snow had stopped falling making it seem slightly warmer for playing--of course the ladies could care less about warmth and temperatures...it's snow!
Apparently this is an Iowa thing...or a Kory thing actually because I grew up in Iowa and we never did this. Kory hooked up the big boat inner tube to the tractor and pulled them all over our acreage. Crazy fun screams were heard by all the neighbors I'm sure. He was driving crazy to get them to whip from side to side. He even took off into the gated community behind us and took advantage of their hills. I can only imagine what the fancy people in the gated community thought when Kory came plowing down their road on a tractor driving irrationally pulling girls in a boat tube? Oh mercy!
One thing that added to the ladies joy was the fact that they had 2 dogs chasing them trying to get into the tube. Bella (St. Bernard) was the best. She would time her moves just right and then lunge into the tube trampling all over the girls, who in turn roared with laughter. Seriously who thought it would be this much fun?
Just when I thought the party couldn't get better Meg and Daniel showed up to join in the fun. Dan is out of town so Heather was looking for some snow fun and found the right place. They had a blast. We finished the night off with Papa Johns and American Idol. A perfect going away party if you ask me.

The point is...Heather and I got to chat and catch up in the warmth of the barnhouse, while Kory froze his biscuits off outside. However from the look on his face, he was having just as much fun as the kids were if not more. Thank heavens for Daddy!!

Oh the Brawners, some of our favorite people! We have made it a tradition lately to have the Brawners over for Sunday lunch. It's great. We eat, they stay and chat, the kids play all day, the boys play a lame-o 80's game called leverage Yuet!...pretty great.
Miss Ali is great with snacks, stories and projects and came with a plan. She read the book The Three Little Piggys to Jackson, Madie and Jenna. Poor Mollie B had to take a snooze and missed out on all the fun. After she read the book the kids got to build each of the piggy's houses. Pretzels for the house of sticks, graham crackers of bricks and triscits for the straw! They even recreated the pigs with marshmallows, tooth pic legs, and a curly noodle tail! It was super fun.

The point is...Bro lost his shirt sometime during the story, Jenna ate more frosting than ever made it on her houses, and Madie sat all afternoon perfecting her art. They all giggled and lots of memories were made! Thanks Miss Ali!

Kory's youth pastor from back in Iowa moved to South Africa with his family about 3 years ago. Cape Town to be exact. He has been inviting us to come visit for a couple of years now..and for some reason we all the sudden decided to go. Most people need to plan for something like this for years because of travel expense, tickets, passports and all the other craziness that is South Africa, but that wouldn't be much fun. I've only known for about a week that we're for sure going. My mom doesn't even know about London yet!

The other day when I posted on Facebook about our trip to Africa some good friends of our who are in London for several months on business invited us to visit them too. Of course me being the great adventurer thinks it's a great idea!
Do you remember our friends the Brawners? It's Jason's sister Jill and her husband David. They have a great flat, so there is plenty of room for us she said. They are amazing. Every year around the holidays we get to hang out when they're in town from LA. Brawners are more like family then friends. I think I got voted onto the family sometime at one of Jason's last Birthday parties. Its a hard invitation to score. Oh, and just in case Kory was out of town flying, Jason's dad Jim was my back up labor coach and hospital driver with Madie. Everyone needs a back up plan.
Jill is super spunky and will be an amazing tour guide! They also go to the Hillsong London church and we will be there for it on Sunday. I am excited to see Hillsong. Chances are it is a lot like JRA! or at least the music will be ;)

Kory just bought the tickets last night

We leave this next Thursday the 29th. We fly direct from Minneapolis to London a 10 hour flight. I'm bringing Benedryl!

We leave London on Monday the 2nd. London to Cape Town, South Africa on British Airways a 12 hour flight. I'm bringing lots of Benedryl!

We are in South Africa! Our departure date will probably be the Wed. the 11th. Not for sure due to flight loads. We will fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg to JFK New York on South African Airways. This one is super crazy. From Cape Town to Johannesburg its a 2 hr flight, then we have a 6 and a half hour layover in Johannesburg then the flight to JFK is 14.5 hours, then JFK to Memphis, Memphis to Springfield. Oh dear Jesus please help ME! I may need to see the "local Dr." is South Africa for some special medicine for the way home!

We are incredibly blessed. Our tickets for all 4 of us from Springfield, London, Cape Town and home is only $1200. Crazy huh. I feel like I earn the savings having to deal with Kory out of town all the time! The other amazing blessing is we will have no hotel expenses. We are staying with Jill and David in London and with the Siplings in South Africa. What a huge blessing! We are so thankful!!

That's the skinny of the travel plans! Be praying for us! Safety, health and that I can keep it together! I need lots of prayer!

The point is...The Benedryl is for me!

As I am changing into my gym clothes-

Madie: Mommy, your tummy is really turning gushy.

Me: Does it look worse? Is it bigger?

Madie: Nope, its the same as it's always been.

Me: Ahh, haaaa what? What does that mean?

Madie: I like it that way because I can make it do this...

She proceeds to grab every ounce of love I have and squish it into a donut lump and give me a big sloppy zerby. After a split second decision to laugh rather than cry, I grabbed her and wrestled her nose off!

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Me: Oh, man. KITTY

Jenna: (running down the hall) What's the matter?

Me: Be careful don't step in the cat barf. I'll get it.

Jenna: (with snap your finger sas) Man, you are on it Mama!

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The point is...Really? Has the last 2 years of working my tail off in the gym only produced a squishy donut worthy of a zerby? WOW