The Fey Family

…Young and sweet only Thirty-three…or rather Thirty-Four. Anyways, over the past few weeks I have indeed been the baking queen. Here’s what we’ve been enjoying: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins: 1 ½ cups white sugar ½ cup shortening (I did use Crisco this time, because I happened to have some, but I usually use butter/baking margarine) 2 eggs 3 bananas ½ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp baking soda IN 2/3 cup sour milk (just under ¼ cup vinegar, plus enough milk to total 2/3 cup) 3 cups flour Chocolate chips Cream shortening and sugar. Add beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Add sour milk and soda. Mix in flour, salt and vanilla.  Toss in chocolate chips. Bake at 325 in muffin tin or bread pan. Time varies according to your oven : ) Mom’s Favorite Apple Bread (from Gram Willie): 4 cups apple, peeled and diced small 2 cups sugar ** 2 sticks butter 3 cups flour 2 tsps each baking soda and cinnamon 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla **mix apples and 2 cups s...

Here are some recent “facts” that Jori has shared with us: Did you know that if you dip a banana in wine it won’t be banana color anymore? It will be wine color. Me: What’s wine? Jori: You know, it’s like blood, but it’s bad for you. Some people drink it. Did you know that when baby elephants go “aroo, aroo” they aren’t crying for their moms? They are just talking. Did you know that teddy bears love honey? Here are some other little Jori tidbits: We recently picked up some food for a program that was taking place in the community. Jori’s response to our giving; “I’m happy we’re helping them out, buuuuut that just wastes our money!” We explained that helping others isn’t a waste and that we were able to help because we didn’t get as many groceries for ourselves. Her response; “you want us to die?” The past couple nights, we’ve been praying as a family before bedtime. Last night when Darin tucked Jori in, she told him that she wanted to pray for him. So she aske...

About a month ago, Jonna promised that I would fill everyone in on a new opportunity that was presented to me.  Sorry for the delay, but here you go. Early in June, I got an email from Lou, a colleague of mine from Michigan who used to be a missionary with the CRC in South Africa and other parts of Africa for many years.  He has been somewhat involved with our gas station venture as well; I had gone to him for advice on the investment because of his background here in SA.  For the last two years, Lou has been working as the international marketing director for Sawyer Products, a Florida based company.  Sawyer manufactures water filtration products that were designed for taking into underdeveloped areas where safe, clean water isn’t available.  Lou had been all over Africa and had contacts in many countries, so he was a great choice for this role since the product is also heavily tied to missions.  Lou was looking for some help in SA to get th...

We had snow here today. Yes, snow! It was cold. How cold, I'm not sure, but cold enough to turn the tips of my fingers white when I was frantically pulling my laundry off of the line. We also lost power for about three hours, which made it seem even colder. Darin was walking around the house in a stocking cap and I dug out my long johns. The kids said they saw the snow from their classroom window and all the other kids were going wild. I'm guessing this was the first snow most of the kids had ever seen. Did I mention that the "snow" was just little flurries, so lightly falling that you almost missed seeing it come down? Still, having snow in this part of South Africa is pretty amazing.  The kids are loving school. Tyson has been on green 2 days in a row, which means he hasn't had to move his peg!! Jori knows the names of all the kids in her class and she loves to share little details about each child with us, especially if it involves pegs being moved. Every mor...

A huge thank you to everyone who has been praying for our family this week, especially our dear Tyson. On Monday, Darin and I met with Tyson's teacher and that meeting has given us a lot of peace about many things we were feeling confused and frustrated about. We know there are still going to be times when we may not understand why things are done a certain way or times when we disagree with how things are handled, but we will continue to take things one day at a time and I will try to not jump right into the deep pool of bitterness that I often find myself in, and will instead try to walk with my dear husband who remains calm until he has heard both sides of the story : )  The third week of school has been much better than the first two. Tyson was still saying his stomach hurt on Monday morning, but after we met with his teacher and were able to explain a few things to Tyson, he has not complained of an upset stomach again! Tyson's teacher made a plan to have the kids in his...