I just want to get groceries...

Gabby's new favorite thing to do...stand on this stool and cook with me.










Our friend Bryce made the kids' newspaper hats...the things we do for fun around here!













The stud after he finished his first half marathon...yep right here in Africa. Don't let him be shy...he got 35th out of 300...










Gabby's new do...bangs :) Cut by her "language tutor". Kolby doesn't care for the camera much these days so it's hard to get a good pic of him!

Now the real reason for my post...

I gotta learn to check my calendar more often! This morning I got the kids out of the house early for a 30 minute walk, Gabby had room time while Kolby & I did a little preschool, I threw on some nicer looking clothes and brushed my hair, grabbed our stuff and jumped in the truck. I was trying to get to the grocery store and home before lunch. What was I thinking? The whole time I am driving there are red and white flags and pics of the Pres. all over the place. That should have been my first clue...actually my second. My first clue should have been the backed up traffic that I saw this morning while we were walking! Anyways, we arrived at the store I normally shop at to find NO PARKING (which actually isn't surprising since there really isn't much parking, but usually I can find somewhere to park)! I even drove around a couple times but it was too stressful with all the traffic and people and cars...that is when I remembered...uh, today is a holiday (don't ask me what holiday b/c I have no clue, all I know is it is nuts here during holidays and nearly IMPOSSIBLE to do anything fast or normal). Long story short, I tried another store (which is further away) and thought I could grab lunch in their "food court" and maybe the park would be open so the kids could play. Well, that didn't happen either b/c the traffic was at a stand still. Now, normally this would really send me over the edge...but today I felt this strong urge to just turn around and go home. The kids were doing so good just riding in the car (now for an hour) and listening to their music. When I pulled up outside our house my friend was coming around the corner. Today she didn't have any of her daughters with her so it made it easier to get my 2 kids in the house while chatting with her. I made us some coffee and we sat and talked for about 30 minutes. Another miracle, K & G just played and were having a good ol time (despite the fact that it was lunch time...this is a hard cultural hurdle to overcome! My friend and I's schedules with our children are SO DIFFERENT! It makes it really hard to get together). It gave us time to connect and catch up the best we can in our limited languages (well, she is way better in English than I am in Arabic). She told me that for some reason if she doesn't see me once a week she just has to come over and say hello b/c she "can't stand not seeing" me. When she left she practically skipped down the steps to the gate. It was so cute...how happy she gets when she gets out of her house with no kids and sits down to chat for such a short time! All this to say that after living here for almost a year (weird! it will be a year Dec. 27!) I am:
1) learning to hear the soft voice of the Lord again in the midst of what feels like maddness sometimes (I really felt like He told me to give up my own schedule today and turn around at that moment and go home),
2) becoming more and more at peace with not getting my own agenda done everyday, and
3) praying that the Lord would use me to bring joy to others...and that my friend would be drawn to me b/c of Him IN me.

Just now I've been interrupted by Kolby running into the room yelling, "Mommy, there is a bug in my room!"

This morning Kolby and I were reading, "What Do People Do All Day?" At the beginning of the book it asks, "What does your Daddy do?" Kolby's response: "Go to work." "What does your Mommy do?" Kolby's response: "Fix my toys."

During lunch today Gabby decided to build a tower made of cheese on the top of her sippy cup and then ever so gracefully shove it all in her mouth WHILE she attempted to take a drink.

Well, that's the Grogg update for today. :) By the way, I just learned that this week is a holiday celebrating the day the President was elected...yep, I said WEEK...they get a whole week off for this!