Family Fun (x2) -- with lots of pics!

In October my mom, Laura and I went to Missouri to visit my grandparents and aunt. Here are some of the pictures from that trip:

Laura with her Nana, Great Aunt Mary, Great Grandma Virginia, and Great Grandpa Bob

Laura walking toward Nana in Mommy's house slippers (a common shoe choice)

Great Grandpa Bob and Laura absolutely cracking up about something!

Yummy, spaghetti...can we have this every night?

While in Missouri, my college roommate and her husband came up to visit and to meet Laura. We had a great time visiting -- and Laura warmed right up to them!

For Thanksgiving we went to visit Shawn's mom in Missouri. Shawn's sisters and their families were also there -- meaning lots of cousins for Laura to play with. We had a really nice time and were able to visit some really fun places. Enjoy the pictures...

The kids playing the piano -- an activity that provided hours of fun!

A hair-raising experience at The Magic House (the St. Louis children's museum)

Playing in the sand with Dad

Having a grand time with the water toys

An unsuccessful attempt at a family picture -- but I thought it was cute anyway!
Most of the grandkids with MeMa

Shawn, his sisters, and his mom

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!