Very Random News of the Week

I have a lot of little things I've been wanting to write about, but haven't taken the time to sit down and flesh them out. So here is the short version.

Animal Stuff:

On Sunday we saw a male impala and a jackal in a face-off. I think it was one of the oddest animal sightings we've had. The jackal ran off when it noticed us watching, and soon after the impala limped off. We're guessing the impala was already injured and the jackal was looking for a nice big dinner.

On Monday we saw an albino jackal at the watering hole. We've seen albino jackals before, but it's been several months since our last sighting.

On Tuesday we saw 4 giraffes, including 2 babies. We also saw 5 Red Hartebeests at the watering hole. We've only seen one lone Hartebeest in the past, so it was fun to see more of them together.

We have squirrels living in our roof. They are kind of creepy, but also endearing. I can't help but picture Theodore and Eleanor from The Chipmunks living in the thatch, and that makes the odd chattering and chewing noises alright in my book.

School Stuff:

I hate packing lunches. I didn't like it in Michigan and I don't like it here in South Africa. I am glad Darin is here in the morning to help out with this task.

White school shirts for young children are a very bad idea. Very bad. To remove the dirt and ring-around-the-collar, I first use stain stick, then throw the shirts in a basin of boiling hot water (3 kettles full). Next I use a bar of soap and a scrub brush to scrub out all non-white marks on each shirt. Finally I rinse the shirts and toss them in the washing machine. When the wash cycle is done, the shirts are taken out to hang dry. This process will be repeated every 3 days as Tyson and Jori each have 3 school shirts. Fun times.

This week Tyson started PE, Gardening and Tswana. So far he has loved each of these special classes. Jori also has PE, and she thinks she will get to garden and maybe she'll learn Tswana as well. She is not sure though.

Kid stuff:

Here are some interesting "facts" and ideas Jori has recently shared with one or both of us:

"If your toes get cut off, you know what you'd have? A bloody stream of toes."

"Did you know that God is in your heart? He really is. You know when it beats? He makes that happen."

Mom: "You're learning really interesting facts at school." Jori: "I'm not learning them at school, I'm teaching them to myself."

Jori: "Do you know why goldfish are called goldfish?" Mom: "Because they are gold." Jori "No, it's because when they talk to other fish they say 'gold, gold', you know, like 'gulp, gulp'." Mom: "Where did you learn that interesting fact?" Jori: "From myself."

"God knows what we mean when we say the wrong words. If I said "Thank you God for mom's blurp" He knows I mean "Thank you God for mom's purse". "

Tyson came out of bed the other night to share a song that he's learning at school. "The love of Jesus is so wonderful" is what he was singing; "Da lav of Jeesus ees so wonderful", is what we heard, making him sound like a real African boy : )

Thanking God for these kids and the joy they bring to our lives!