A year of travel ...

As a writer I have the blessing of being able to travel around the world to tell stories about what God is doing. This year I was able to go to India and Zambia. Anytime I go overseas, I'm always overwhelmed with interesting stories and wonderful people. In the early spring, I traveled along the eastern coast of India to write about how the country is doing since it was hit by the tsunami in 2004. Last week, I returned from writing about the AIDS pandemic in Zambia and how lives are being impacted by the ministry out there. Here are some pics from these trips. The last two were taken by a photographer I call "Joneseebaba"... one of the tremendous shooters I get to work with on the field. Enjoy.

One of the odd things about India is the random cows you will pass along the road. Because cows are believed by Hindus to be their ancestors, they pretty much go wherever they want and eat just about whatever they run into along the way.

The people of Zambia are amazing and usually very photogenic. The look on this little girl's face -- one of wonder and suspicion -- is priceless.

Ok, I have a confession to make. I just about knocked this woman over .... on accident. Our team was in a dump in Lusaka, interviewing some of the street kids when this woman with a tremendous load was walking by. I couldn't help but wonder how much it weighed. So I decided to put my hand under the sack and press up. When the woman started yelling "Oh, Oh, Oh," I quickly decided that wasn't such a good idea. Fortunately, she recovered nicely... and I didn't get beat up. Oh the joys of travel and curiosity. By the way ... the woman mentioned she would sell the goods she carried for about $1.

Halloween and Shopping Carts

We have had a very exciting week -- first Laura got a stomach bug, then I got a stomach bug, then my mom got a stomach bug, then we had Halloween (party and trick-or-treating), and then Shawn got a stomach bug! Fortunately, we have all survived and here are the pictures to prove it!

Laura all ready to go out trick-or-treating.

She didn't really like pumpkin carving too much:)

Walking up to our second house (we only went to three -- I figured that was enough since she wasn't really going to eat the candy anyway!)

The three of us all dressed up for the Halloween Party (the bug, the bee, and the bug-catcher!)

Laura also got a little fun money in the mail this week and we bought her a new shopping cart. She has had more fun playing with that this week than any toy she has received in quite a while! (She found the hat Shawn wore the night before at the party and decided it was a necessary accessory for her shopping trip:)

A little bit of this and that ...

Laura and I went to Missouri earlier this month to visit family, but unfortunately we don't have any pictures from that trip yet. So for now, I'll just post some pics of our recent fun times.

Several weeks ago, our Sunday School class had an outdoor get-together with a candy hunt and lots of playing around for the kids. Here are a few of our favorites from that evening:

We have been spending a lot of our Sunday afternoons watching football (Go Steelers!!) and we snapped this pic of Laura chillin' one day...we thought it was too cute:)

One of my friends and I have started a babysitting swap, where I watch her daughter (Cora) on Mondays and she watches Laura on Thursdays while we each work. It is working out very well and Laura just loves Cora! She gives her lots of kisses and hugs. We are still working on sharing the toys, especially since Laura's new favorite word is "MINE!!"

We have gotten out several of Laura's old toys for Cora to play with and Laura has claimed these toys as "MINE", too. If she can't fit in them (as proven by the picture below) she uses them for her baby dolls. Fortunately, Cora is too little to mind right now, but as they get older they will get very good at sharing -- hopefully!

Fatherly thoughts: A weekend without my girls

I was recently able to "live the dream" ... a long weekend with the house all to myself.

Stephanie, her mother and Laura headed off to visit relatives out of town. I wasn't able to make the trip, so I had the weekend all planned out ... football, food, and well, not much else.

I had the guys over for one evening of playing RISK (a war game that most women ... at least the ones that I know ... just don’t get) and spent the rest of the time hanging out watching my teams mix it up on the gridiron.

It was fun and relaxing … except for the neighbor dog (a stupid Boxer with a bad attitude and an even worse owner who won’t keep him pinned up). On that Saturday the dog tried to attack me while I was minding my own business in my yard. Let’s just say he learned a valuable lesson that day – don’t mess with a man and his weed eater ... especially while it's running. Don't worry animal lovers, the dog survived ... unfortunately.

Anyway, other than that, it was a good weekend. I was able to sleep late, eat just about any combination of food I could find in the fridge ... and overall move at a leisurely pace. I even had a chance to hang out one afternoon with Steph's father, grill up some hotdogs … and watch more football, of course.

But it didn't take long for me to miss the two most important women in my life.

I was more than ready to pick them up at the airport. Of course, Laura looked like she had gotten a little taller, and was looking more and more like a little girl than a toddler. I also missed Stephanie and all of the special things she does every day to take care of Laura and I.

It was good to be reminded that I’m one lucky guy ... and especially thankful my wife likes football.