AUGUST ARCHIVE

POSTED: August 28, 2007
Abby loves to hang out with the kids in our neighborhood. This is one of her little buddies that she likes to play with.
You greet people here with a kiss on the cheek. Andy’s going to have to watch out because Abby’s getting pretty good at kissing little boys.
Abby loves to ride her friends bikes
Here’s Abby with one of her best buddies !!
Koleta’s spends one day a week visiting with the women in our goat project. We gave them seeds to plant a garden a few months back. Their gardens seem to be doing pretty well. Some of the women even have excess veggies that they are selling. We were excited to hear that. It’s GREAT NEWS to our ears!!
Cabbage and Carrots
A typical visit with one of the ladies is about two hours long. You sit and talk for a while, drink coffee or tea, eat a small snack and then talk some more.
It takes about an hour to make the coffee. It’s made from scratch. They roast the raw coffee beans, pound them into powder and then boil them over an open fire in a coffee pot like this one. They usually serve their coffee with salt in it instead of sugar.
They also roast peas as a snack for you to eat. They are delicious !!
After the coffee or tea is ready, they sit in front of you and serve you your drink.
The animals are often kept inside their huts. Today the goats joined us for our meal.
Well, we can’t end today’s blog without a few more Abby pictures. Enjoy !!
POSTED: August 24, 2007
One of the main modes of transport in our town is horse cart. Abby loves to ride around town this way. Koleta & Abby are on their way to have lunch with some friends.
Here we are at a local restaurant eating lunch with our friends
After we got back home, Abby wanted to help Zebiba and Mommy make a cake
Then Abby wanted to color in her new coloring book
She didn’t like it when Mommy tried to color with her
We think Abby’s going to turn into a girly girl. She already wants to play with Mommy’s blush
Posing for the camera
POSTED: August 22, 2007
Abby’s first real hair dew . . . pig tails !!
Abby loves to ride on her Daddy’s back. This time she wanted Molly to ride with them. Even though you can’t tell from this picture, she absolutely loved it !
POSTED: August 19, 2007
We’ve been trying to teach Abby how to eat with a spoon this week. She still prefers eating with her hands, but she’s doing a good job trying to eat with a soon.
Abby loves to talk on the phone !!
Most Westerners don’t really enjoy the National food here. Abby eats it like a pro !!
Abby’s learning how to climb. Before I took this picture she was actually standing on the top story of her doll house.
Abby’s favorite toy right now is her coffee set. Here she is giving her dolls a drink of coffee.
Just playing in the living room
Eating lunch in Mommy’s shoes
Our latest family picture
POSTED: August 12, 2007
We made it back to Africa safe & sound and we are finally unpacked and settled into life back at home. Andy made us a spaghetti and meatball dinner tonight. It was DELICIOUS !! Today is a big milestone for us. Two years ago today we arrived in the Horn of Africa.
Abby’s enjoying playing with her dog Molly. They were both really excited to see each other when we got home.
Andy & Abby built a tent in the living room this morning. They played for a while & then they watched a Barney video in their new play house.
Abby having fun riding in the car.
Abby’s really started playing with her toys more. It’s fun to watch her pretend. Since we’ve been back from the UAE Abby’s really enjoyed playing with her dolls. Here she is pushing her doll around the house while making a car noise.
Here are some random pictures . . . We went shopping while we were in the Capital. We were surprised to see REAL tomatoes. The tomato on the right is the size of tomato’s that we usually get. The tomato on the left is what we found in the Capital !! It’s funny how little things (like the size of a tomato) can make you really happy when you live overseas.
This is the entrance to an Orthodox Church in the Capital City. Lots of people have showed up to worship today.
We thought this was a hilarious name for a hotel. It doesn’t sound like a relaxing place to lay your head down at night. Their slogan should be, “Patrons check in, but they never check out.”
POSTED: August 7, 2007
One last post before we leave the land of high speed internet. We should head back to Africa on Thursday. We’re really looking forward to heading home.
Abby sure had enjoying playing at the guesthouse we’ve been staying at. Here she is swinging on the porch swing.
She’s also enjoyed playing with Daddy’s shoes
And she’s had fun playing with her blanket. Here she is hiding from Mommy & Daddy
We enjoyed a WONDERFUL dinner at Chili’s tonight. It’s so much fun to have Western Food right at our fingertips. One of the things we miss the most in Africa is familiar Western Restaurants.
Abby loved coloring on the menu at Chili’s
Koleta loved the spinach artichoke dip !! It was delicious !!
POSTED: August 5, 2007
Well, we are still in the UAE & we’re really enjoying the last of our time here. We should be able to leave in the next couple of days. We’re enjoying the land of high speed internet, American restaurants & shopping malls. Our budget isn’t enjoying it as much as we are, but we’re happy we’re here for a few more days.
Brad and Kim Johnson introduced us to Krispy Kreme back in 1999 and we’ve been enjoying it ever since. Brad was a Krispy Kreme Ambassador and he and Kim took Koleta to the Grand Opening of Krispy Kreme in Ft. Worth, TX !! Well, their legacy lives on and we’ve now introduced our daughter to Krispy Kreme. This was her 3^rd visit to Krispy Kreme. She LOVES donuts !!
She’s also learned that if she hangs out with the workers she gets FREE donuts. She’s a ham !!
We went to a mall yesterday & stopped at Starbucks. It is probably one of the most beautiful Starbucks we’ve ever seen. Andy decided to enjoy the atmosphere with a frappucino.
We stopped at McDonald’s and let Abby try an Ice Cream. She ate the ENTIRE thing !!
POSTED: August 2, 2007
We’ve spent the past two weeks in the UAE attending a conference & renewing our visas. We’ve had a GREAT time !! We’ve shopped till we dropped, eaten at all kinds of different Western Restaurants & we learned lots of new things at our conference. It’s been so much fun. We’ll head back home in the next few days, but we sure have enjoyed a time of rest and relaxation outside of our Country !! Here are some of the things we’ve been up to since we’ve been here . . .
We thought this was a hilarious sign inside the bathroom on our flight here. Do you like to smoke IN the toilet ???
The first morning we were here we rushed off to the mall. Low & Behold they had a Krispy Kreme !! We just had to try out a donut !! It was delicious. Here’s Abby’s first taste of Krispy Kreme.
For lunch, Abby enjoyed her very first Happy Meal. McDonald’s . . . Mmmmmm !!!
The next day Abby visited her Pediatrician. After getting a few immunizations she was VERY tired. She slept through her second lunch at McDonald’s.
The hotel we stayed at was right on the Ocean. Abby swam in the ocean for the first time. She had a blast !!
She really liked the waves !
Abby wasn’t sure about the Coral her Daddy wanted her to play with.
After a fun swim in the Persian Gulf Abby decided to take a walk along the beach.
Doesn’t this look tasty?? Somebody left this drink on our table in the food court & it ended up being right next to Koleta’s drink. She picked it up (thinking it was her drink) & took a HUGE swig. She was SHOCKED when the taste of it hit her mouth & almost threw up when she saw what was in the cup. Cigarette Limeaid anyone ??