Last Schoonbee Visit

We visited with the Schoonbees the last weekend in March. It was the week before they were to return to South Africa. We barely went out of the house because they had a lot of rain, but it was fun. Johan, Darryl and Jim managed to sneak off for a little fishing. And Terese and I did sneak off for a bit of last minute Easter shopping. We also had a fantastic lunch at PFChangs. And we didn't have to cut up anyone's meal. I hope the Schoonbees are settled and having fun back in the bush.

Snow!! In the ATL??

Can you believe we had snow in ATL this year. It was a Sunday morning and afternoon. He had a blast. We went over to our friends, the Rivers, house and all the neighborhood kids went to throwing snowballs, sledding, and acting crazy. Ryan was especially into throwing snowballs.

Birthdays

Ryan and Chase's birthdays are 2 weeks apart. We had a couple of friends over for each guy's Birthday. They each had their favorite foods for dinner. Ryan had burritos and Chase had pizza. Ryan requested an Auburn cake, yuck. And Chase had a train cake. It was unseasonably warm on Chase's Birthday so we decided to take the party outside and have a picnic. March 10th is pretty early for 75 degrees but we loved it. We were so thankful for the good times with good friends. Oh yeah, Ryan was 4 and Chase was 2.

Here are a few pics from each get together.

Winters Catchup

Say, yes the Martins are alive and well and have had great winter and even better spring. In lue of my promised weekly posts which have been non-existent throughout this winter, I am going to begin a series of posts to get everyone caught up with where we are.

First of all....our Valentines visitors.

We were fortunate to have the Schoonbees come and visit us for Valentines Day weekend. It was Janie's first road trip and she handled it like a champ. I have to show off some pictures of that sweet baby girl and her brother. They are precious. And all the kids had fun being together. Johan and Darryl even managed to escape the chaos of the 4-kids-under-4 and make a trip to Savannah to pick up yet more taxidermy. They went to get our kudu and gemsbok from our first trip to Africa in 2001. The taxidermist is Paul who does the taxidermy for the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in DC. Check it out...

Janie and Neels

mischievious...

our super romantic Valentines Day dinner...

the crew.

What a fun time!!! Come back Schoonbees, come back!

Traveling Blues

It is an understatement to say that Darryl has been on the road a lot lately. He has had so many business trips and one other trip lately. Funny how it all comes at one time. Admist the craziness that comes with a traveling husband, it is neat to see how God provides in small ways to help out. We are really blessed this week to have Darryl's mother staying with us and helping me with the kids. Halelujah! When she said she was on her way I felt like doing a happy dance and I think I actually did. The kids love spending time with Nonna and so do I. In addition to this great help, some dear friends of ours have offered to babysit this Friday, so Darryl and I are going to have a REAL date. Cool. No diaper bag, no kid-friendly menu, no wiping hands and mouths, no climbing on the table next to us. Can someone remind me what to do again? It almost makes me think that him traveling is a great thing. Nah. I miss you babe.

Borrowed Prayers

I read this today and I just had to share it. I am often reminded of the wonderful promise God provides in the verse that Pastor Glenn writes here. This passage comes from our church's weekly bulletin and I deleted some. Pastor Glenn writes....

"On January 15, 2009, US Airways flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. A few minutes into the flight a flock of birds disabled the plane's engines. Captain Chesley Sullenberger managed to set the plane down safely in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers survived. The media dubbed the event, “the miracle on the Hudson.” In an interview Katie Couric asked the pilot, "Did you, at any point, pray?" Sullenberger replied, "I would imagine somebody in the back was taking care of that for me while I was flying the airplane!"

I wondered about the power of borrowed prayer. I am a believer in the power of prayer,
although I am not one to pray for God to reorder the universe to accommodate my personal agenda. I am more prone to pray for God to reorder me that I might live faithfully in the universe. Still, I have prayed many a prayer for myself and others, including those on the plane.

The Christian faith is a team effort with God being the first person on the team. You
didn't have to take time to pray. Your teammates were doing it for you, starting with the head coach. Your job was to run with the ball, and you ran the play of your life that day! I can't imagine that God isn't proud.

We all have a role to play. Sometimes that role is to fly the plane. Sometimes the role is to care for the victims. Sometimes the role is to charge the doors. When I feel separated from an event and powerless in so many ways, I pray. I pray to soothe my soul, and I pray to support the souls of those in peril. The rationalists would say my words are empty. I say that my prayers give voice to my faith, and in times of trial and disaster we need all the faith we can get. And sometimes, “When we don't know how to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in sighs too deep for words.”

So team, I’ll loan you my prayers when you need them, and I’ll borrow yours when I need them. And when neither of us has words to pray, we’ll borrow the sighs of the Spirit. Together we’ll face triumph and disaster in the fellowship of faith. "

Borrower and lender of prayers,
Wordgirl

I phone…

I am iphoning and loving it. I am totally addicted. Believe it or not, the function I use the most is the weather. Call me crazy, but I like knowing what the weather is going to be like everyday, throughout the day. I even have it programmed to show me the weather in my families' towns, (Powell, Tn, Piedmont, Al, and South Africa). Is that ludicrous or what? Granted, the weather is not all that different in TN, AL and GA, but I have to notice. I use to think (well, still think) my parents are crazy for watching the weather channel 24/7, but I am beginning to change my tune. The other feature I like is the entertaining music and games I can download to keep the kids occupied. We were at the doctor's office the other day and "Peanut Butter, Jelly Time" was a nice alternative to Chase running circles around the waiting room. You got to hear that song and see that banana do that dance. It is quite hilarious.