Oatmeal for Breakfast

Hello!  We have arrived in South Africa and things are a whirlwind–we’ve already finished working with the kids at the leadership camp and today we spent some time with the little ones at iThemba Lethu. We’ve got lots of stories to tell you but just a few minutes, so for now, please peruse our friends’ [...]

For some families, the day after Thanksgiving is a day to get the best deals of the year by waiting in line outside stores in the pre-dawn hours, a day to begin the Christmas shopping season in earnest.  And for other families, the day after Thanksgiving is a day to lie around in a Post-Turkey [...]

One of the most unexpected parts of marriage (for me, at any rate) is that it insists, in no uncertain language, that it is Time to Grow Up. It’s so much easier to make immature decisions when you’re single: not because your wedding band dispenses a magic responsibility potion into your bloodstream (though I will [...]

I’d like you all to meet our South Africa missions team! (click photo to enlarge) Left to right: Lisa (of Living in My Integrity), Jonathan and Kelly (that’s us!), Natalie (of The Teabo Tribe), Tami, and Jodie (trip leader; Sun Breaks in the Rainy City).  Not pictured: Kinsey (Photographer Extraordinaire).  This photo was taken at [...]

We’re headed to Camp Casey for a weekend trip with some friends. I’m very excited, because we love spending time with our friends and also Camp Casey is beautiful. Here are a few photos of the place from the last time I was there: I love the big, open spaces and I’m a sucker for [...]

My first taste of Christmas this year was actually in October. October. There is a group of men that meets at our house every Tuesday.  One of them works for Walgreens, the popular drugstore.  He was a little stressed because the shipment of Christmas decor had arrived and needed to be put up.  I don’t [...]

I woke up in the wee hours of this morning to a very disturbing noise.  I will try to sound it out for you: barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa! (pause) barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa! It took me a few seconds to realize that the noise was what had woken me up, and I laid perfectly motionless while it continued.  Was it a [...]

Last night, I (Jonathan) met one of my personal heroes… John Hodgman.    (thanks to our friend Cassie for this photo!) You might recognize him as the PC in the now-ubiquitous “Hi, I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” commercials.  Apple, however, did not find him on the streets.  Hodgman was a former professional literary [...]

Kelly and I try to have a date night every week. It’s a tradition we carried over from our dating days (I know, we haven’t even been married a year so I probably haven’t yet earned the right to say “our dating days”). Last week, however, both of us were very very busy at work, [...]

We went to a Mariner’s game with our friends Jeffry and Melissa on Friday night and there was an announcement that they’d like people to send in photos of them at the game. Jonathan quickly took a photo of us and sent it via text message. Unforunately, he had gotten up from our seats when [...]