A lot going on

Well...things have been very busy here lately.

First, we are about 2 weeks from the due date. We are so excited for our new baby girl to come. It seems like it has been such a long pregnancy. Yesterday, we had an ultrasound and the baby is head down and hopefully ready to come at any time. Kiah and Jacob are excited, although I am sure they don't know what to expect. Since we don't have a car, we will depend on the cab to get us to the hospital. I am sure there will be lots to share after birth, since things tend to be a little different here.

Secondly, Jon is finishing up his first year of his Ph.D. The past several weeks have been very busy for him. He has been working on his first year assessment. This past Wednesday he went before his committee and got some great suggestions for his project. He has a few loose ends to tie up and he will be able to take some time off when the baby comes.

Thirdly, we have been working on the plans for next year. It is the great unknown for us. We have several options on the table. Do we go back to the states for a few months? Do we go straight to Uganda from here for Jon's research? We are waiting on the results of Jon's hard work in finding scholarships. Already we have been blessed with four, but we need a lot more in the next month to fund the next year for us. God has been so faithful with us in the past, I am sure that He will provide again.

Lastly, we have taken a leap of faith and purchased a primary school in Uganda with our friend Livingstone. This has been a dream of ours for quite a while. We have had a passion for education in very rural areas. We visited the school in January of 2008 while in Uganda, since Livingstone's children attend the school. The school is in the village of Mukura in Eastern Uganda. You probably won't find it on a map, the closest town is Kumi. It has about 300 students enrolled. We look forward to the possibilites of the school and look forward to using it as a ministry to the children and familes that attend. We will keep you posted!!!

Here are a few pictures of the school from our last trip.

Jacob

Jon's cousin sent the kids some swimming items. The kids loved them, in fact, wore them around the house and in the bath for several days. Jacob was so excited to wear his floaties in the shower.

Family Travels

This week Jon's mom, dad and brother have been here. On Monday, we boarded the train to Edinburgh, Scotland for 2 days. We also went punting on the River Cam and made a trip to London. Here are just a few of the pictures taken this week. Click on the first picture and you should be able to make the slide show bigger. The slideshow moves rather fast, but you can hit the pause button and go through it manually so you can read the captions.

Cambridge Entertainment

The tightrope violin man.

Kiah learns to ride her bike

In Cambridge, bikes are essential. Everybody has one, it is the main transportation of the city. I read somewhere that about 30,000 people ride their bikes to work everyday in Cambridge. You will find the young and the old on a bike. It always encourages me to see someone in the 70's riding their bike to the store. Kids learn to ride bikes very young here since the start school at age 4. So Kiah was a little on the old side around here still riding her bike with training wheels. So on Saturday, we decided it was the day to take them off. She caught on so quickly. After a few spills she was off and riding. She says, "The hardest part is to get going by myself. Sometimes Daddy gives me a little push."

Happy Easter

Kid Thoughts

I love listening to a 5 year olds' ideas. Kiah's world is so innocent and fun. Recently, a friend in our complex was moving back to Singapore. While I was explaining this to Kiah she asked, "What do people do in Singapore, do they sing?" A few days earlier I had made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy. I asked her if she wanted gravy on her potatoes, she said "No." She went on to say, "The only gravy I like is pancake gravy." I asked her what pancake gravy was, and she said "Syrup."

Jacob on the other hand is such a simple little guy. The other night before bed he looked out the window and saw the moon. He said, "I am going to get a rope so I can catch the moon."

I love their creativity together. This morning, they were locking a mean old crocodile in the cabinet with very cheap tape. One of the their other favorite games recently has been "water park." They get on their swimsuits and pretend their beds are water slides. They even measure each other to see if they are tall enough to ride.