"Are we there yet???"

No, we aren't traveling - just with the craziness of Internet connections, it has taken me about 2 weeks to get through the registration and setting up process to actually post on our brand new blog site. Can you hear us cheering all the way from the other side of the Atlantic?

Seriously, however, we hope that this will help us keep you more up to date with the more mundane side of our lives - and you can check at your leisure instead of me sending you an email you might not really be interested in. Today, I'm staying home from church with Anna, Tori, Jonathan and Elsie Mae, 'cause they are all sickly - no fun! Seems like we've been struggling with health quite a bit lately. Mostly, it is just colds and stuff, but Anna has strep throat and malaria. I feel a bit funny missing church, however, as just yesterday afternoon, I challenged the ladies at church on the importance of being there... As a total aside, that was my first experience teaching in French, and having what I said translated into Zarma. Makes me appreciate what my husband is often asked to do - I was exhausted afterwards and my brain was spinning. But it was also exciting, as I do love to teach and I think the ladies appreciated what the Lord had me share with them.

The "big" four have two more days of vacation before heading back to school for their last 8 weeks. It has been so nice having them home, and we've recently made a big decision. Most of you know that our children attend a local private school, and except for the "after-schooling" I do at home, their education is in French. Next year, however, Brendan will make the switch to the local missionary school. It will mean more running around for us, but after several weeks of prayer, we really believe this is the best decision, for several reasons. Still, I'm a bit sad that the kids won't be continuing beyond primary school - having our children attend École Alliance has been a neat way to meet people outside the western expat community.

Yesterday, Rebekah and Nadia spent the afternoon with one of their friends from school. They went to the race track where they rode horses. They competed in some sort of a climbing/race course (Nadia won!), and came home with oranges, grapefruit and ostrich feathers that they picked up along the way. They said they had lots more fun than they would have had at the pool! This is a family we hope to get to know better. We are also looking forward to a visit by the dunes on the river with our pastor, his wife and their children next weekend - so we are praying that everyone is healthy by then.

Let us know what you think of our "blog." We will try (Internet and busy schedule permitting) to update this, with pictures, at least once a week, if not more! And please feel free to comment or email - we'd love to hear from you, too. ;-)