Snowing in Texas!

This is what it looked like on the way to school this morning. We had a two hour late start!

Ruidoso Thanksgiving

Ruidoso cabin from the back. There is a new deck in the back. I got Ty laughing for this picture!


These pics are of the upstairs room. There is a small bathroom right by the stairs and a little kitchen area up there now too. It is really nice! There are two bedroooms upstairs too.

NAME: Nancy
I like gift cards to: Bed,Bth&Beyond, Sears, etc...
Books I'd like to have include: mysteries, autobios, etc...
Music or Movies I'd like are: don't know
Things for my home I'd like are: kitchen items
I can always use: kitchen items
I'd love to have: motorhome
Whatever you do, please DON'T get me a(n): cosmetics with fragrance

NAME: Pawpaw
I like gift cards to: Lowe's Home Depot, Walmart,Sears
If I got new clothes, I'd like:don't need any
and my size is:large
Books I'd like to have include:westerns, present day political
Music or Movies I'd like are:don't know
I can always use: socks
I'd love to have: a new airplane
Whatever you do, please DON'T get me a(n): spinach/brussel sprouts

It's snowing right now

Name: Sean

I like gift cards to: amazon.com, walmart, best buy

If i got clothes i would like: cold weather attire

I can always use: crew length socks

I'd love to have: a snow plow attachment for the front of my car

T, R, K, and B

Name: T

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I like gift cards to: Target, Home Depot, Amazon

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If I got clothes I would like: dress shirts (not solids) -17 1/2 34/35, dress socks

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Things I'd like for my home: a sawsall, a mortise attachment for my drill press

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I'd love to have: an orange cover for my IPhone 3Gs

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I can always use: white undershirts - large

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Name: R

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I like gift cards to: Target or Amazon

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If I got clothes I would like: Cropped sweater to wear with dresses/skirts (either black, gray, or cream), something fashionable? I usually go for more traditional stuff but it would fun to mix it up.

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My size is: Medium or Large

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I'd love to have: a cute earring/necklace set, fun hair accessories, a cute brown belt for jeans (large), the diaper bag from our Babies R Us registry

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Things I'd like for my home are: any Shabby Chic decorations, Pyrex clear colored spatulas from Target (any of the three sizes), an apple corer/slicer, a broom

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I can always use: Bath and Body Works Wallflower refills - my favorite scent is apple...I like most of their scents just not anything with vanilla or cinnamon in it.
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Name: K
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Books: She loves any kind of book (used ones are great)
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Toys: Playdough and playdough utensils, stickers, 25 piece puzzles, washable markers or washable crayons
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Clothes: 3T, pants need an adjustable waistband - she has no hips! :) Tennis shoes - size 8
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Name: Baby Girl
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We are registered at Babies R Us. Any long sleeved clothes would be great in any size (we have tons of short sleeved from Kariya, but not a lot of warm stuff, which we pretty much use year round).

Mike and Laurie

Name: Mike

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I like gift cards to: Amazon, Walmart

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If I got new clothes I would like: t-shirts, large

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Books I'd like are: Lloyd Alexander books: Kestral, The Beggar Queen

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PS3 Video Games I would like are: Ratchet and Clank - A Crack in Time, Fallout 3

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Music or Movies I like are: Blue Ray -Top Gun, Alien, Aliens, Predator, Wolverine, Indian Jones Trilogy; Regular DVDs - Looney Toones Golden Collection, Rocky and Bullwinkle Season 2 and 3, A Question of Origins, America's Godly Heritage, and God of Wonders

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Tools I'd like are: A tripod work light for the shop

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I would enjoy: A wireless keyboard and mouse set

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I'd love to have: A Grizzly console table saw

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I can always use: Black tube socks, flannel shirts - XL

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Name: Laurie

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I like gift cards to: JoAnns, Buggy Barn, Amazon, Home Depot or Lowe's

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If I got new clothes I'd like: Scarf/hat/gloves set (plaid, black or navy) a size S or M cute shirt, but if it is long sleeves the arms need to be very long or it is uncomfortable

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Books I'd like to have include: Any of the Dave Ramsey children's books, Mary Ann Hoberman's - I know and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Bill Peet's - Merle the High Flying Squirrel

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CD Sets I'd like include: Adventures in Odysee - Volume 47 Into the Light, Volume 48 Moment of Truth, Volume 49 The Sky's the Limit, Volume 50 The Best Small Town

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Movies I'd like are: The Secrets of Johnathan Sperry, The Simple Life of Noah Dearborne

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I can always use: scrapbook adhesive squares

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I'd love to have: a sprinkler system

NAME: Karen

I would like gift cards to: JC Penney, Christopher and Banks or Target for clothes. Amazon for books, music, movies and everything else.

If I got new clothes, I'd like: a fashion makeover. I don't even know where to start.

Books I'd like to have include: The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk to People about Jesus by Lee Stroebel and Mark Mittleberg. Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God by Max Lucado.

Music or Movies I'd like are: The new Decyfer Down CD- Crash

Things for my home I'd like are: Kitchen spatulas. Tyler fed the cat one of my spatulas and I don't know what happened to the other one...Anyway, you never realize how much you rely on spatulas until you don't have any.
I've been wanting one of those curling iron blow dryer things like Laurie had at Paisano for my hair.

I can always use: bubble bath, gift card to Sonic, new tires according to the mechanic :(

I'd love to have: a foot massage or a pedicure :)

Whatever you do, please DON'T get me: I have to agree with Ty and go with no canned salmon please!

NAME: Ty

I would like gift cards to: Hastings or Barnes and Noble Bookstores

If I got new clothes, I'd like: XXL

Books I'd like to have include: books on learning German

Music or Movies I'd like are: a German movie with English subtitles

Things for my home I'd like are: a cd program for learning the German language

I can always use: money

I'd love to have: Pimsleur or Berlitz cd set for learning German

Whatever you do, please DON'T get me: canned salmon

These are a few of my safari pics

See the crocodile patiently waiting for a meal?

You can see wildebeast and zebra in the background above. These lions were full and happy.



These wildebeast below got spooked and ran. They were trying to get the courage to cross the river in their annual migration.

Our Masai host at the safari camp.

Christmas Drawing 2009

Hey everybody! Hope you are all doing well! We drew names the other night so we could go ahead and get them up here.

Giver - Receiver

$35 limit

Ken - Tyson

Jody - Mama

Katherine - Karen

Eve - Rachel

Karen - Pawpaw

Sean - Nancy

Tyler - Ken

Mike - Katherine

Laurie - Tyler

Tyson - Sean

Rachel - Jody

Pawpaw - Laurie

Nancy - Mike

Mama - Eve

NAME:

I like gift cards to:

If I got new clothes, I'd like:

and my size is:

Books I'd like to have include:

Music or Movies I'd like are:

Things for my home I'd like are:

I can always use:

I'd love to have:

Whatever you do, please DON'T get me a(n):

P.S. A small gift for Kariya is optional.

Happy shopping!

August 2009

The precious children at the Mattaw Children's Village in Kitale, Kenya just after receiving their new shirts and shoes.

plantains and rice for lunch



All the kids got new shirts and shoes and then we prayed for each one. Their shirts say, "I am a blessing not a burden"
Praying

Blowing bubbles

This is Erik carrying the wash water out to clean the outdoor toilet

I'll post more pics later. I just wanted to get something on here to get started so you could see Africa and the wonderful kids there!

Karen's Graduation Ceremony 12-13-08

We're walking up to the stage here. You can see my friends holding the sign behind me :)

The "hooding"- They place the Masters hood on you. It's not really a hood so I don't know why they call it that. It's really a collar :) I'm being collared!

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!