Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Paris, Day One

After a 10 hour flight from Zambia to London, a quick 2 hour layover, and a 35 minute flight from London to Paris, we are here!! We had a little bit of a rocky start walking through the airport from 10pm to 11:30pm trying to find the hotel shuttle buses, but we finally made it to our hotel! We woke up ready to start our Paris adventures!

What I have looked forward to the most about this trip is getting to tell my kids YES. I feel sometimes like I am very hard on them and of course, as parents, we are constantly telling our kids NO. But we did a lot of research on Paris to find cheap things to do that kids will love, so we are focusing this trip on our 3 kids, and telling them YES. They don't know anything we are doing, so it is so fun to show up somewhere and see their eyes widen and hear them ask, "Can we do that?" And to get to respond with, "Yes - I think we should!" is an awesome feeling. :)
The boys ready to go!

Cambree was very concerned about what she would wear because she knows from her Barbie Wii game that "Paris is the fashion capital of the world!" (She told me she wants to go to Mumbai next!!! We have our hands full with this girl!!)

After another rocky couple of hours buying our subway tickets and getting where we needed to be, these golden arches had never looked so beautiful!

Then we were off to the Eiffel Tower!

This is the bottom of the Eiffel Tower that they all touched!

Of course we had to do the Eiffel Tower Carousel!

Then we took a Seine River cruise! The kids were not so impressed with an hour on a slow-moving boat looking at buildings, but we liked it! Here is Blu in front of Notre Dame!

This bridge was gorgeous!

Cason almost fell asleep :)

We rewarded the kids with some ice cream & popcorn :)

Then we headed to the Tuileries Garden. We knew it was a fun place for kids based on internet reviews, but we weren't expecting a full carnival!! When we came up out of the subway and the kids saw it, their faces were priceless! Cambree & Cason loved the big slide!

Caedmon chose the bumper cars with Daddy! He was very focused!

Cason also did the bumper cars and his reactions were priceless! Every time they got hit he made a shocked face like, "I can't believe they just rammed us!!" and then burst into the biggest smile!!


My FAVORITE picture of the day! Caedmon & Cambree begged me to take them on the log ride. As it started, they both started panicking. Caedmon said, "Mama I changed my mind. No Mama I really don't want to do this. Mama I AM SERIOUS. I don't feel good! I AM SERIOUS MAMA!!" This picture says it all at the end of the ride! At the end of the day they both said this was the favorite thing they did!!

Of all the things I didn't expect to see in Paris...

We finished off the day with some classic carnival food - a nutella crepe!

And paninis and hot dogs!

Cason didn't quite make it back to the hotel :)

And we thought the day was over but it is now past 1am and Blu is off to find an E.R. with Caedmon. He has something on his toe that is very infected - spider bite...thorn from Zambia...it started a few days ago and has gotten progressively worse and really took a turn for the worse tonight. We are praying he can get some stronger pain meds and some antibiotics to help fight the infection - he's miserable! We'll keep you updated!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Lusaka!

Yay for an uneventful trip to Lusaka! The bus made it in 6 hours with NO vehicle problems!! We had a fun day in Lusaka - pedicure, souvenir shopping, and dinner with our sweet Michelle! Tomorrow morning at 4:45am, the adventure begins... :)

The kids enjoyed some time at Mike's Kitchen where a clown showed up and painted their faces!

Cambree has missed Auntie Michelle!

Michelle and her boyfriend Raymond joined us for dinner. Michelle shared the exciting news that she was accepted into Cavendish University in Lusaka! She has saved enough money for most of her first year of classes, and we will be seeking out sponsors to help her with the rest. She is looking into a Bachelor of Social Work degree - we are SO proud of her! :)

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Last Day at New Day (for awhile!)

Today was our last day (for awhile) at New Day! It was a great day...a relaxing morning, 176 kids at Kids Club, a gorgeous sunset, and some great goodbyes to my favorite 16 little Zambians :)

The Three Musketeers"

Acky (my favorite girl from the nearby villages) holding a sweet baby

Blu gets some love from Christina & Purity

Cute boys at Kids Club

Caedmon and his absolute best friends - Cynthia & Misheck :)

Cambree gives baby Darbi a lift

Me, Precious, & Kefi :)

My boy is DIRTY!

Fun Frisbee time at Kids Club

Gertrude & Glory - the silliest girls ever :)

There was an intense game of rugby going!

Caedmon (who has malaria) wasn't able to play soccer but played in the dirt with Joseph instead!

Time to eat!

Mama Martha, me, & Kelitah

Sweet Precious & Cason

Sisi :)

An intense soccer game for the boys!

The boys in line for hand washing before supper

So tomorrow we are headed on the bus to Lusaka (with our family of 5, Wes & Laurie, Laurie's brother's family of 4, Abby, Hildah & Laurie, & Purity!) Please pray for us to have a drama-free trip on the bus with NO breakdowns!! On Monday we fly to London, and then Monday night on to Paris for 3 days. Next Friday, the 16th, we will land at DFW. During the next 4 1/2 months, this blog will be much more about our family and our time in the USA rather than our New Day family in Zambia. We'll keep you updated as best we can on the kids and happenings at New Day!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Fun Friday Pics!

Today was a fun Friday, and it's not over yet! Laurie is cooking supper (if you know Laurie at all, you know that's AWESOME!!), and we're having a s'mores cookout over the campfire tonight!

This is Godfrey. This is Godfrey's favorite "I am a Princess" shirt. :)

We have a new housemother!! Here is Mama Martha (with Hildah). She is a 48 year old widow who we met through a Baptist pastor in Livingstone. She spent the past 8 years in Egypt working with the Namibian Embassy. We are excited to have her at New Day!

Trouble :)

We had a staff meeting, and then everyone surprised us with a going away party!

Looks yummy!!

It was also a going away party for Purity, Elizabeth's niece, who will be moving back to Gwembe to live with her parents.

Cambree gets some love from Precious

Glory gives me a big hug!

No New Day party is complete without some water..

We were SOAKED!

Caedmon and Blu straddle-walk home in their wet clothes :)

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Normal Day?!

Lately I have wondered if our family can just have a NORMAL trip somewhere!! Yesterday was our last weekly shopping trip to Choma for awhile, and what a day it was! Traffic was insane, Caedmon has malaria, and there was tons to do! But we survived and were on our way home when....

My THIRD blowout in Zambia!

Our kids claimed to be dying of thirst - here are their "broken down again?!" faces...

And the cows came by to check us out...

30 minutes later (jack problems...) we were back on our way!

Seriously praying for NO vehicle problems for our entire 4 1/2 months in the USA!!! :)

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Bad blogger!

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger lately! Last week I stayed busy because I was Teacher Carolyn's sub for the week. Teaching in the mornings, along with hosting a one-day team, teaching 2 ladies Bible studies, trip to Choma, etc. left me little time for anything else! And I have been bad about picture-taking too!

It has been busy around New Day, though, as usual! Today we got the computer lab completely finished - ceiling is up and painted, last coat of paint is on the walls, and the countertops are in! Electricity is up and running, and Mulenga put on the doorknob today! Can't wait to see our computers in there! The guest house is about ready for a slab to be poured, and work is well underway on the foundation of the Cook's house!

The kids are out of school, but Laurie has a week of great activities planned for them that is keeping them busy! From Science class with Teacher Mike (Laurie's brother), to Mission Moments class, library time, Math Fun, and soccer camp with Laurie's nephews - the kids are having a blast!

On the agriculture front, Martha the cow is pregnant! Also, two of our female goats had twins this past week! Debbie will be back on August 12th and we are ready for her return!

We leave New Day just 5 days from today, and we are very excited about our trip to the USA! Here is what we are looking forward to the most:

Blu: Chick Fil-A

Darbi: calling her mom 4 times a day

Caedmon: swimming!
Cambree: playing with Andie Lyn (her cousin) & swimming

Cason: the boat ride (Paris!)

I'll try to take some random pictures these next few days to do a blog before we leave!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Happy Birthday Mama Lala! (and Mike!)

We had a fun afternoon celebrating Mama Lala's birthday! Today is also her brother Mike's birthday, who is visiting with his family from England! We love you Mama Lala!
She requested a carrot cake!

Presents - a pedicure and manicure, earrings, body wash, notepad, and crazy socks!

A little blurry, but I love this pic of Cason with his Mama Lala!

Mike got a chocolate cake!

Last year Laurie came decked out in a raincoat - this year she was the Grim Reaper!

I don't think it worked.... ;)

Thankfully the sun came out just in time for this!!