Maya and her cousin Olivia each had their own chair at the lake
We took the family to Zorbaz which is the place to be at the lake. They have the BEST macho nachos!
Olivia is such a cutie - here she is riding Maya's bike
Grandma Julie took both girls for a walk at the campground. Grandma loves to spend time with her girls.
Dave tried the rope swing at the lake yesterday. Here is a clip of how "not" to do it. I do give him credit for trying as I was to chicken. Check it out.
Here is how to actually do it...my brother Jon shows everyone how its done. Sorry Jon, but the girls after you really showed us how it was done. They were only 15 or so and skinny mini so of course they did awesome.
Who like books? Maya does! She will sit down and look at several books at a time. Maya also loves to sit down in our laps and have us read her books. Tonight she sat with daddy and they read several books together. Did I mention Maya likes to have the same books read to her over and over again???
It feels good to be home. We journeyed to Duluth, MN for a few days. We hadn't been there in awhile so it was fun to see the old sites again. Dave and I used to live there about 8 years ago. It is amazing how time flies. Maya had a great time and was such a good sport. We traveled quite a bit as we stayed north of Duluth. Here are a few pictures from our trip.
Maya got a new baby the day before we left. She loves feeding and burping it.
Okay we splurged. We only bought two things (besides food) and they were both for Maya. Here she is pushing her new stroller around Canal Park. Maya managed to put smiles on many faces as people stopped to watch her.
We spent one morning at Gooseberry Falls.
We neglected to bring a swimmers diaper with us to Gooseberry Falls. Maya loves to play in the water so we let her. Oh well (smile).
Maya got to taste her first Malt Shop malt. This place is along Lake Superior and has the best malts you will ever taste. They are to die for!
I realize this isn't the best picture of the 3 of us but we took it ourselves (I know hard to believe). We took it right before we left for home.
We found some cool kid T's that are in Amharic (Ethiopia's national language). Click here to view them. They are adorable and come in all kid sizes. The best part is that $5 of your purchase (through July) will go to AHOPE for a food fund.
To read about AHOPE click here. For cool AHOPE T's click here.
Happy Shopping!
Maya's class got some makeovers today at daycare. Her teachers put several ponytails in her hair. Cute.
Quite a statement, what does it trigger in your mind when you read the phrase, "Wrecked for the Ordinary?" There is a online magazine, of the same name in which a recent article by Sara Shelton highlighted observations of her time in Africa where she realized that it doesn't take a lot of 'stuff' to be content. I want to expand on this topic by detailing my own experience of being 'wrecked' and the impact that it continues to have on me today.
Before reading further on my experience, I would recommend that you read Sara's experience of visiting the largest slum in Nairobi. Much of her experience in Kenya was similar to mine in Ethiopia. While only there a week, I am changed as a person - and to be honest, I continue to change even more so the longer I have been away. It wasn't just the poverty that affected me, sure it played a large role, but more importantly it was the experience I had among the people who were living in this poverty. I have always used the phrase, "It isn't the cards that were dealt to you, but how you play the cards that define you as a person" when dealing with a problem in my life. I always figured you couldn't change the situation at hand, you could only go forward and deal it with and how you dealt with most often defined whether I was happy or not.
In Ethiopia, the people are happy - much happier as a community than we are here in the states. Sure, I have a beautiful house, cars, boat etc, but I felt jealous of the people I met while in Ethiopia. They were happy with who they were, with the few belongings they owned. This realization 'wrecked' me in Ethiopia and continues to this day. How can I ensure that I raise my Ethiopian daughter to have the same love and self acceptance that I saw in her birth country? How can I myself become more content with what I have in my life? How can I give back to those that have less than I? Should I continue to strive for climbing the corporate ladder, or shift my passions and direct them more to what I feel is a calling to serve? Should I just donate money to causes (charity) or look to become part of a long-term solution (justice) that seems to feel right to me? These are all questions that I have with me each day since my trip to Ethiopia. In many ways they are gaining strength, directing me to become more active in driving awareness of these issues and looking for others with similar goals to create a larger impact.
Have you been "wrecked" - would love to hear your comments and thoughts on how it has impacted your life.
David
