Monday, November 29, 2010
We are Back!
No, Justin did not talk us into trolling back from Africa by boat (although the idea did cross his mind). We actually made it back last week according to schedule. Sorry for taking soooo long to update the blog and let you know that we made it back safely and are all doing wonderful. Thank you for the prayers and we look forward to seeing all of you at some point!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Race is On
The crazies are laying low today, so Justin agreed to take me on a date! The babysitter comes any minute (another mom friend who has also put her baby to bed by now). The question is, will Justin beat her?
He went out with the team leader here today to deliver two new fishing boats to a nearby, poverty-stricken fishing village. The men are going to rotate turns taking the good boats and engines out farther and faster to improve their catch, and therefore livelihood.
It's too bad his ministry is such a downer for him around here. Poor guy has to fish even when he's working. 7 days to YOU!
He went out with the team leader here today to deliver two new fishing boats to a nearby, poverty-stricken fishing village. The men are going to rotate turns taking the good boats and engines out farther and faster to improve their catch, and therefore livelihood.
It's too bad his ministry is such a downer for him around here. Poor guy has to fish even when he's working. 7 days to YOU!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Ok, ok, enough fising already...except
Except this was a family fishing trip! After I fried my brain on Kiswahili lessons this week, Justin asked if we wanted to go WITH him on a fising/dolphin watching trip.
After anguishing over the idea of 5 hours in a boat with 3 children, I agreed, knowing I'd be sorry if I stayed home.
Turns out I was right! We hooked this monster wahoo within 5 mintues of putting our lines in the water. We went on to hook maybe 9 fish and land...not 9. But it was exciting anyways.
I even got to fight what felt like a marlin, straining all my un-fished muscles, hearing the drag peel out without me gaining an inch! Then Justin switched the lever over (thus tightening the drag) and I soon landed a small bonita.
Braelyn was a handful, but at least she was so out in the wild blue yonder instead of cooped up in the house with me all alone all afternoon.
After anguishing over the idea of 5 hours in a boat with 3 children, I agreed, knowing I'd be sorry if I stayed home.
Turns out I was right! We hooked this monster wahoo within 5 mintues of putting our lines in the water. We went on to hook maybe 9 fish and land...not 9. But it was exciting anyways.
I even got to fight what felt like a marlin, straining all my un-fished muscles, hearing the drag peel out without me gaining an inch! Then Justin switched the lever over (thus tightening the drag) and I soon landed a small bonita.
Braelyn was a handful, but at least she was so out in the wild blue yonder instead of cooped up in the house with me all alone all afternoon.Really...who could ask for more?
The girls did amazing. They were happy to sit and feel the waves lift us up and over,
watch the sun sparkle on the surface, feel the spray of the sea mist their faces 
and revel in some daddy time. When it got to be too much,
The rock of the boat lulled them into peaceful sleep.
It was an amazing day after all.
watch the sun sparkle on the surface, feel the spray of the sea mist their faces 
and revel in some daddy time. When it got to be too much,
The rock of the boat lulled them into peaceful sleep.
It was an amazing day after all.Monday, October 11, 2010
Fishing
On Saturday, Justin got to go fishing with two friends of his down on the southern tip of the island. It is a beautiful small fishing village and they go out with a local fisherman in a small boat in the search for tuna, marlin, sailfish, dorado, wahoo, etc. They also get to enjoy beautiful sunrises coming up out of the Indian Ocean.
They usually start off going after wahoo early in the morning and then switching over to tuna when they see the birds show up. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the splash of a tuna after it jumped and to the right another tuna is coming out of the water starting its jump. Justin says that these tuna are about 50-60 pounds each and are in groups in the hundreds. They spend most of the day just chasing around the birds and schools of tuna until they have caught their fill.
On this trip, they were driving towards a school of tuna when two humpback whales started jumping out of the water just in front of them. By the time Justin remembered he had his underwater camera, they had stopped jumping but they followed them in the boat getting close enough to take some pictures when they would come up for a breath. Justin wanted to jump in and swim with them but his local friends thought he was insane and that the whales would swallow him whole
There are also tons of dolphins around this area. Justin's friends were fine with him swimming with the dolphins so he jumped in and got to play and touch a few of them. The local wildlife here is pretty amazing.
It was another fun day on the water for Justin and his friends. We are thankful for the food and the fun that is enjoyed from the waters here. We are thankful for the friendships that have been formed and for the time spend with friends.
They usually start off going after wahoo early in the morning and then switching over to tuna when they see the birds show up. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the splash of a tuna after it jumped and to the right another tuna is coming out of the water starting its jump. Justin says that these tuna are about 50-60 pounds each and are in groups in the hundreds. They spend most of the day just chasing around the birds and schools of tuna until they have caught their fill.
On this trip, they were driving towards a school of tuna when two humpback whales started jumping out of the water just in front of them. By the time Justin remembered he had his underwater camera, they had stopped jumping but they followed them in the boat getting close enough to take some pictures when they would come up for a breath. Justin wanted to jump in and swim with them but his local friends thought he was insane and that the whales would swallow him whole
There are also tons of dolphins around this area. Justin's friends were fine with him swimming with the dolphins so he jumped in and got to play and touch a few of them. The local wildlife here is pretty amazing.
It was another fun day on the water for Justin and his friends. We are thankful for the food and the fun that is enjoyed from the waters here. We are thankful for the friendships that have been formed and for the time spend with friends.
Trees
The girls love all the different and cool tress that we have here. There are beautiful trees that are great for climbing and then there are trees that are not so inviting...
Sometimes I wonder what in the world these trees are trying to prevent from climbing them. Whatever it is, they are doing a good job at keeping us away from attempting to climb them. These thorns are a good inch to inch and a half long and cover the tree all the way to the top and out on the branches
There are trees that have roots taller than most trees around. The girls can hide, climb and play all around the tree's roots without ever getting close to the actual tree itself that starts some 20 feet up in the air above them.
Then there are Baobab trees. When I think of Africa, this is the tree I see in my mind. They are HUGE trees with short limbs. If you look at the picture closely, there are three adults and a child at the bottom left of the tree. The picture does not do the size of this tree justice. It is guessed to be over 600 years old and serves as a landmark for fishermen at sea.
However the favorite tree of our little girls is this one. It is a mangrove tree that has been cut up but is still strongly rooted in the sand right at the waters edge. At low tide the girls climb it and jump in the sand. At high tide they can climb it and dive off into the water. This poor tree has been climbed countless times already by our girls and is sure to be scaled many more before they leave.
Sometimes I wonder what in the world these trees are trying to prevent from climbing them. Whatever it is, they are doing a good job at keeping us away from attempting to climb them. These thorns are a good inch to inch and a half long and cover the tree all the way to the top and out on the branches
There are trees that have roots taller than most trees around. The girls can hide, climb and play all around the tree's roots without ever getting close to the actual tree itself that starts some 20 feet up in the air above them.
Then there are Baobab trees. When I think of Africa, this is the tree I see in my mind. They are HUGE trees with short limbs. If you look at the picture closely, there are three adults and a child at the bottom left of the tree. The picture does not do the size of this tree justice. It is guessed to be over 600 years old and serves as a landmark for fishermen at sea.
However the favorite tree of our little girls is this one. It is a mangrove tree that has been cut up but is still strongly rooted in the sand right at the waters edge. At low tide the girls climb it and jump in the sand. At high tide they can climb it and dive off into the water. This poor tree has been climbed countless times already by our girls and is sure to be scaled many more before they leave.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thinks she's ONE!
This week Braelyn has decided to show us she can not only grow hair earlier than her sisters, but she can do other things too.
She's been thinking about walking for a few weeks, but last night she stood up maybe 15 feet away from me and took 4 halting, wiggling steps toward me!
Then she pointed up in a nearby tree at her absolute favorite thing in all the world (crows, much to Justin's delight) and said, "day-day". The word for bird here is NDEGE, and we have spent hours walking around chasing crows and pointing and squealing and saying, "n-deg-ay". So she's added that to her occasional "dada" and "mamamamama" (usually screamed at the top of her lungs when she's not happy).
At 10 1/2 months, she is a true delight and we rejoice that she is a part of our family. I sure wish she'd sleep better, but I'll take what I get. I can't wait for you all to get to enjoy my girls with me...in person! Miss you, thanks for keeping us in your prayers.
She's been thinking about walking for a few weeks, but last night she stood up maybe 15 feet away from me and took 4 halting, wiggling steps toward me! 
Then she pointed up in a nearby tree at her absolute favorite thing in all the world (crows, much to Justin's delight) and said, "day-day". The word for bird here is NDEGE, and we have spent hours walking around chasing crows and pointing and squealing and saying, "n-deg-ay". So she's added that to her occasional "dada" and "mamamamama" (usually screamed at the top of her lungs when she's not happy).
At 10 1/2 months, she is a true delight and we rejoice that she is a part of our family. I sure wish she'd sleep better, but I'll take what I get. I can't wait for you all to get to enjoy my girls with me...in person! Miss you, thanks for keeping us in your prayers.
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