Random, but Funny

So I just wanted to share a few things about life these days from my perspective... 

Rubber bands.  I use them for everything... to keep my hair up, my pants from coming down and as an ingenious way to keep my daughter and dog out of cupboards.  I felt rather proud of myself on that last one as it saved me a bundle of money child-proofing everything.  Which then got me thinking about why I was so proud to save money using basic household junk.  You see, my family was... well, um... we ate the Christmas cereal in July.  I can't remember having non-processed cheese in my home and my sister was convinced that there was no such thing as boneless chicken until junior high.  Needless to say, my mother became extremely good at providing for our little family by making do with what was laying around (Mom, a sincere "thank you" for working so hard to provide for us!).  I first realized that I possessed this same trait while I was at a soccer tournament in high school, my shorts ripped in half (the not-so-lady-like half) and the moms could only come up with a needle, dental floss and a few other random things.  So, dental floss and needle made my shorts stay up the rest of the day, and I was happy.  This talent has translated to being extremely creative in using furniture to barricade the dog out of certain locations, improvising mittens out of socks (if you do this, make sure there's not tread on the bottom- it just leads to no where good), and using rubber bands to hold up my pre-pregnancy pants that are getting too tight.  

All of this ingenuity came into full force when I was asked to inventory all the things that were cleaned out in a shed at the local Bible College, and in that inventory I put down that there was at least one "usable" bunk bed.  Todd and I both knew that if we didn't get to it quickly, some other scavenging missionary would, so we hauled it to our garage (we will have two children in less than 5 months, and I'm assuming two are going to be harder than one, so I'm planning ahead).  At that point, my husband cordially asked my definition of "usable" as he couldn't figure out how to reasonably put together the parts from five separate bunk bed sets into one aesthetically pleasing and safe bedroom set.  I replied that "usable" meant that the wood was in good condition, and with some work, would soon be a great option for our growing family.  You see, I priced the same type of thing and it would be...  ...well, it would be a lot of money!  So we started working on sanding down the wood, pulling off all the stickers (judging by the number of stickers I think every five year old Missionary Kid in the past twenty years must have used a portion of our future bunk bed set) and getting all the things we would need to complete this project.  Half way through the sanding, Todd looks at me and says, "Really, for the price, we should just get those new ones."  I rebelled against this thought because 1) the wood was good and 2) I didn't want to unnecessarily spend money when we didn't need to.  My poor husband on the other hand is wondering how his pregnant wife with puppy and toddler will find the time to sand and paint all this (the wood doesn't exactly match) in the next five months.  So, here's to projects that are larger than my belly will soon be, and saving $200 because it's just good stewardship (they can never argue with God!).  Pray that I finish in time and that Todd doesn't have to step in and take over for me!!!

Note:  No pregnant women will be injured in the making of this bunk bed.  All dangerous, toxic, or otherwise strenuous activities will be done by trained and certified staff (me).  - Todd

Em and Makenzie (another MK) watching Daddy use the planer- they loved watching all of the sawdust flying out!

Saturday Mornings

When I was a kid, I always loved being able to spend the night at my parents' best friends, the Hansons.  Their daughter was five months to the day younger than me, and people would always ask if we were twins- it felt great.  And the best part was, Mrs. Hanson would make pancakes or waffles with homemade syrup in the morning!  My family was always running to a 7:00 AM soccer game, or to a swim meet two hours away, so Saturday mornings for us were always bright and early.  But at the Hanson household, there was rarely anything to do but putter around in PJs until you felt like getting dressed to go play.  I could eat as many of those pancakes as I wanted, and if the syrup ran out, Mrs. Hanson would just make more- fantastic!

Here in SA, they don't really have maple syrup.  Maybe it's due to the fact that maple trees are pretty much non-existent, but for whatever reason, the syrup doesn't exist.  At first, this wasn't an issue because the missionary family that was here before us left Aunt Butterworths for our Saturday mornings.  However, once Auntie was all gone, I suddenly realized, with a bit of panic, that honey syrup wouldn't cut it with pancakes.  So, I got on the phone, had someone send me the necessary maple extract and emailed Mrs. Hanson for her recipe.  This morning, Todd and I enjoyed pancakes and syrup that made me feel 8 years old again (too much sugar for any 10 month old, let alone my constantly-moving one!).  It was such a wonderful reminder of all those wonderfully slow Saturday mornings at their house, and all the wonderfully slow Saturday mornings (albeit early!) that this family will have for at least a few years to come (sports will start at some point).  

A Week In The Life Of...

It's been almost a week since I last was able to tell any of you what has been going on in the Leslie household.  Todd left last Saturday for business and I was single parenting until Friday evening.  I'm not as good as Todd at prioritizing and keeping up with the house and the dog and Em and myself, so we spent yesterday trying to get caught up.  But I have time (and energy) now to let you know what's been happening here in SA, so sit back and enjoy the show.  

Murry (the nickname given affectionately to the new baba coming- from the book A Wrinkle in Time):  Despite some skepticism, I can feel this one doing the trapeze act across my lower belly, which bodes well for when he/she actually makes an appearance.  Murry's about the size of a large lemon and is working on opening and closing fists... and practicing for future marathons I think- must take after daddy on that one. 

Lani:  She is growing so fast that even the three year old boy across the street made the comment, "The doggy is all growed up!"  She still has a few issues with chewing on the barstools, but she's doing much better with life in general.  Todd is convinced that she hates the number 6 as she refuses to allow us to sleep until then, but I think she loves the number and only wants to share with us the experience of seeing the clock tick to 6:00 am.  Other favorite things to do:  get stuck in small, confined spaces, eat Em's only church shoes, and lick the floors after every meal (or at least after Em's meals).

Em:  We have hit two milestones in the last 48 hours.  Em got her second tooth (she has both of her lower middle teeth now) and she walked for the first time.  Neither Todd nor I saw the wonderful event, which was depressing, but we saw steps #4, 5, and 6... and somehow I think we'll be around for more of them than we'll miss, so it's okay I suppose.  The adults were all standing around talking in front of our driveway in the evening, and the half dozen girls in the community were all playing a few feet up from us in the grass.  Suddenly, the two 10 year-old girls came screaming incoherently and Todd and I went running, only to find out that Em had taken three steps before falling into the squishy grass.  So, she did it again one more time for mom and dad, and that was it.  So now, Em has three words in her vocabulary (Mama, Hi, and Uh-oh), she has teeth and she's walking... my baby is all grown up!  Her new favorite past times are:  trying to get outside, blowing spit bubbles (which also helps spit-polish the floors!) and trying to annoy the puppy.

Parents:  We're glad to be together again- not looking forward to the almost two-week separation coming up for the Africa Leadership Conference, but good for now.  We loved eating a Sunday lunch with the pastor and his family.  It's been such a long time since we've been able to do that, it felt wonderful.  We're settling into church activities and such.  Brittany has made a new friend to do play-dates with, so thanks for all the prayers since last April!  Todd is still working on work.  It seems his job is never done, but it's all incredibly fulfilling... at least that's what he's telling me!  Our new favorite hobbies are playing "Ticket to Ride" (a visiting missionary has it here) and sleeping- although that's more of a wishful hobby at the moment as opposed to an 'every day' hobby!  

Sunday Church

Before I get into telling you about my church service today, which wasn't all that different from all the other services we've been to, I have to introduce you to a few people.  One, is a lady who sits in the 3rd row back.  She looks about a 100, although I'm sure the hard life she's lived has made her age faster than her years.  I don't know her name, but let's call her Anne.  Another character is usually found in the back few rows.  He's a good looking gentleman in his middle years who has a loud tenor voice, let's call him Philip.  The last person I need for you to meet is the lead singer in a 12 person praise team.  He's in his late twenties, and despite his lack of height, he's a well-dressed, articulate man of whom there is nothing to complain about.  I'll call him Carl. 

So, church for us starts at 10 am.  I arrived and sat near the back in case I needed to run for the bushes (the toilets are way too far) or Em gets fussy.  My vantage point is wonderful as I'm on the aisle and can see most of what's going on.  None of the lights are on because there is no power this morning.  Not unusual for Joburg, so Carl tells us that despite the electrical set back, the singers are going to sing what they practiced, and if we didn't know the words to the songs, just sing.  So we sing the first song, which is lively enough.  Carl starts making little bunny hops here and there.  Then, the second song is one of those where the women sing the verse, and then the men repeat it.  The girls sang, and it was loud.  Then the men sang, and they were trying their hardest to outdo us women folk.  They succeeded by a long shot, which then led to a number of women 'rejoicing' in a way that most of us will never hear until we get to heaven.  It was fantastic, but then the chorus came, which was just "Hallelujah" repeated.  On the third hallelujah, the lights came on, the overhead started blinking and cheers went up like they just found out that South Africa made it to the World Cup final match.  I've never been in a church where so many people were cheering so loudly.  The band started playing, with way too much bass, so the congregation responded by singing more loudly.  By this point, Carl looks like Gwen Stephani jumping and dancing all over the stage and down the aisle.  At this point, Anne (who has the same spirit and spunk as Anne from "Anne of Green Gables"... just minus the red hair) joins in the dancing with Carl.  She waves her hanky up and down the aisles praising the Lord the whole way.  It's a scene that you can't help but be joyful and excited by.  Then the next song, which is more lively than the first two, and Carl is sweating through his dress shirt and suit jacket from all his jumping and waving and dancing.  Anne is still all over the aisle, with kids now following her lead.  Unless they were too old and feeble, or had a baby in their arms, every hand in the place was raised or clapping or both.  This went on until 11:15, the whole time, the energy in the place is just building and building.  Then, the pastor comes to pray.  Our pastor is a long-winded fellow who is very poetic and beautiful in his prayers.  He gets about three words into his prayer when I realize that Philip is praying his own prayer.  There's nothing much odd about that, especially since many people 'amen' and 'praise the Lord' during prayers.  Philip, however, had a different idea.  His prayer was loud and it was a synopsis of the entire Bible:  God gave his son, one son, born to a woman, died under Pilot... and so on.  The prayer ended, and Philip seemed to quiet for a bit, but didn't sit down as everyone else did. 

We had guests at church today.  They were called "Itemba" and they are a group with Youth For Christ from all over who sing and dance and do skits.  They have been here in South Africa for a few months, and then they are off to Germany for another 7 months.  We were their last stop.  They get up to some hip-hop music I know my roommate in college used to play, and suddenly, Philip is back praying/praising the Lord.  He's shouting and dancing all at once, and Anne starts swaying in her seat.  The group preforms a particularly hard move and half the congregation stands to 'rejoice' again and cheer them on.  This goes on, the same reactions, throughout the next 45 minutes of the group's skits and stories and dances.  

For this small-town, Nazarene who knew all about the "old" ways of no dancing, no movies, no face cards, and all the rest... this was so freeing!  I learned in Caravans all about the foundations of the church and how it was formed for and by prostitutes, drunks, gamblers and the likes.  I knew about their tent revivals that would last for hours and how there would be many women who would rejoice up and down the aisles waving their hankies and spontaneously praising the Lord... but knowing and experiencing are two totally different things!  Now, I'm not saying Eldorado's way is "the right way" or worship.  I'm not saying that the Nazarene way I grew up in is "the right way" either.  I am saying, however, that I wish those of you back in the States could taste, just for an hour or two, what it must have been like to be under the tent with Phineas F. Breese and all those hankies wavers who remembered how much their God loved them, and all the sacrifices He had made so that they could be under that tent.  There is a spirit of awareness here that I haven't experienced in a very long time.  Those people today, Anne and Carl and Philip- they didn't care what they looked like or how they sounded or how crazy they acted.  All they cared about was that their God knew they were thankful.  It was powerful and challenging and heart warming all at once.  Maybe for some of you, you experience this in your quiet times or on your way to work while belting out praise and worship songs.  For this tactile/visual learner with attention deficit disorder, this was just the encouragement I needed to focus more on God and what He thinks of me, rather than looking to those around me first.  

Prayer Answered

I know many of you read this blog and pray for this growing little missionary family.  

Thank you!

As an update, we wanted to share with you that this past week has seen many answers to those prayers.  We have joined a small group from our church which meets on our side of town.  They will be coming here to our house on Wednesday night as a matter of fact.  They are wonderful and we felt immediately like we were with friends.  There is also a gal in the study who is just about my age and her baby girl is two months younger than Em.  Two prayer requests that I have had since we found out we were coming was that we'd find a good small group and that I'd find at least one other mom to 'hang out' with.  She doesn't live too far away, and just as God sent a wonderful group of gal's to befriend me in Bourbonnais, I know that this is another blessing. 

When we left, the only sadness or regret that I really had was that I would not be able to decorate a nursery for Em.  In the 15 days we were in our house there in IL, I was so excited to paint and hang all these wonderful things for her room.  But, as soon as we knew we were leaving, it was hard to let that 'dream' go.  However, I was running an errand for the Region at a fabric store when Todd and I came across a wonderful fabric which gave me a great idea for the kids' room (because there will be more than just Em soon!).  It was an Eric Carle print from The Hungry Little Caterpillar.  Todd and I both have loved his art work for years (I even bought one of the books by him for Todd's 25th birthday).  We found out that we can paint and decorate, as long as we paint it back when we leave.  As there is no intention of leaving (who would want to repack all that stuff anyways?), we are really excited about that.  Again, another blessing and way that God is showing me that even the little things are important to him, even if it is a selfish desire to paint walls and have matching bedspreads.  

I know these things are a result of your prayers for my family.  Thank you so much for that.  We are feeling them, and seeing the result!

P.S.  Here are some random pictures to appease the Emmerson Fan's

The Fatal Flaw

When we were packing to come here, we made two mistakes.  The first was that we believed we should only bring 'essential' items and no frivolous ones (like Mac-n-Cheese).  The second, we listened to people who said we would be able to get everything here we would need.  Based on that information, I sold our "just married" cafeteria-styled white plates (and pots and pans) to a young man heading off to medical school.  When we got here, I realized that yes, they do sell plates, but unfortunately, I didn't like most of them.  Another missionary was kind enough to drive us around all day one Saturday looking for dishes, but we came up with nothing.  So, much to my dismay when a week or so later, at what would be like Sam's Club back home, I found plates and bowls that I loved!  I bought them and brought them home.  Then I had my first bowl of cereal in them, and realized the fatal flaw in my new beloved dishware:  the bowls were too wide and shallow to hold enough  milk and cereal for the eater to have milk with their cereal to the end.  Now, those of you who know me well know that I love cereal and lived off it when pregnant with Em.  So, now that I am pregnant with our second blessing, I was starting to get annoyed at having to make a second trip to the fridge every bowl.  That, mixed with the known fact that 'breakable' isn't always the best option with kids and a puppy, I sent up the smoke signal to my mom begging for plastic plates and bowls.  Just as I looked and looked for actual dishes here in South Africa, I looked and looked for plastic ones as well.  The problem here is that plastic dishes are generally only for summer time and outdoor eating, hence they are every shade of summer neon known to creation.  Not generally my taste.  So yesterday, after much anticipation (this crazy hunt of mine has been going on since January 7th!), I received a package from home brought back from Kansas City by a member of the General Board and there were my glorious new plates!  The first thing I did was wash one bowl and test it for cereal adept-ability, and it was perfect!  Now, I realize that many of you are dying laughing at this point thinking of how big of an issue this must have been to me and how my poor husband has had to put up with discussions of the 'finer points' of bowl depth to width proportions.  Let me assure you, he has always lived in this crazy world of mine, so he's perfectly accustomed to this type of on-going insanity, but that's okay because I have lovely dishes that I adore and a husband willing to put up with all the rest!