The Fey Family

It is January 31 today. Tomorrow starts a new month! We moved in on Saturday the 9 th , which means we have lived here for 3 weeks and 1day! In many ways, it is crazy to think about how much we have gotten done and how this place is feeling like home after such a short amount of time. In other ways, it feels like there is still a mountain of things that we have left to do, which is true in some ways, but we have a kitchen sink! That is awesome. And a washing machine! Also awesome! We have two outlets in our house. Yes, there are 12 left to go, but 2 outlets is awesome! We are so thankful that Darin’s mom is here with us right now. She is a worker, man! Seriously, even with a toothache, she just won’t stop. Our whole yard is weeded, the old rickety garden fence is down, 10 windows have window coverings of a length I like thanks to her. 2 chairs have clean seat covers, MADE by her. She even managed to make a gingerbread house with the kids, plays card games most every day, and made ...

We have been in our new place for a week and a half. So far we are settling in well. We actually have most things in place, although the electricity still needs some work, we don’t have hot water or a shower, and one toilet wants to run and leak and even my super hubby can’t yet figure out why… other than that, all is well. Moving and trying to set up house in South Africa has been a bit of a challenge, but it has been such a wonderful way for us to be made aware of how big our support system is here in this country. We have been blessed by so many friends in so many ways. A water filter from the Kirby family, a bed, washing machine and TV cabinet from the Oosthuizen crew, Warren/Jones clan picking up 2 sofas and storing them for us a for week, futon from the de Smidts, meals, chocolate, prayers, the open offer to do laundry til our own washer is up and running and much more from scores of other local friends. We are beyond blessed. Living “in town” has been interesting. We ar...

It is Monday. Just before 3. It is hot, but not the +110 degree weather we had last week. We have had three nights in a row of rain. The world looks different when it is green and the dust is being held to the ground by an earth soaking rain instead of being free to fly around into every corner and crevice. It is Monday. We have slept at our new house for 2 nights. The first night I hardly slept at all, which really took its toll on me as I hadn’t been sleeping the best over the past several days prior to our move. Our bed was still at the other house, which made sleeping that much more difficult. I started the night with Jori in her queen bed (sidenote: Jori has a bigger room and bigger bed than Tyson, but Jori also will be giving up her room and bed for all visitors.) I thought there would be plenty of room for both of us, but I was wrong. Sleeping with Jori is like sleeping with a tornado. She doesn’t just toss and turn; she spins. She also snores a bit and is a blanket hog. I ...

We are in the midst of a very hectic season. Our life consists of “Let’s make a quick run to…, We have to get back in time for…, When can we fit in…, Will we be ready for…, Did you remember that…, and so on and so on. The “…”s have to do with the house we are moving to, Darin’s mom arriving, kids going back to school, Miss O’s adoptive family arriving, our work with Take Action, Darin’s work with filters, checking in on Amo, appointments for Tyson and so much more. We are tired. I almost hate even saying anything negative as we are so excited and thankful and blessed to finally have a house, but getting a house that is far from move in ready comes with a price, and that price is exhaustion! In the midst of the house busy-ness, the rest of our lives are going on as well. There are phone calls and emails that must be returned, decisions that have to be made, meals to be cooked, children to love and pay attention to, school shopping to take care of, 2 little Miss’ that need some hugs...

We have a house!! Yay!!! God is so good and He is always on time. On Saturday, Darin and I went to look at a house in one of the settlement areas near us. This house ended up not having indoor plumbing, which made it a no for our family. We left feeling really disappointed and stressed and tired and confused. We decided to drive around a bit and see if anything caught our eye. Nothing did, so we decided to head for home. On the way, we passed a building that we drive past daily. We weren’t even sure if this was just an open building or a house, but we decided to stop and ask. Long story short, it was a house, it has been vacant for 2 years and soon it will be filled with Feys! The house sits between the Catholic Church and the housing complex of the nuns/sisters. The priests used to stay in the house and it is full of books, filing cabinets and lots of loose papers. There is also a lovely statue of Jesus greeting all who enter. The house needs work…quite a bit of work. The electri...

We are three days from Christmas 2015. A time of waiting and anticipating Emmanuel, God with us! Jesus;  He comes to us as a tiny baby, but His whole being runs through the Bible as a thread, tying the whole creation, fall, redemption story together. Jesus, the Word, who was present from the beginning and who is the light and brings life to all! Jesus, the man of sorrows, the one who would be rejected, despised, tortured, and then pierced for our transgressions. Jesus, the babe in a manger who is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Jesus, who was and is and is to come, the thread of life, goodness and grace, the thread that we can hold on to and trust that He will not break! This past year we have often felt like we were “hanging by a thread”, and in our darkest moments we have had several times when our eyes have been pulled away from who that thread is. We have felt doubt and despair, worry and fear. To...

It is December 4. The kids are finally finished with exams, hooray! They still have school for three days next week; not sure what they do on Monday, Tuesday is their Fun Day and Wednesday is the Honor’s Program. Then School’s Out for Summer!!! The kids will be off until the 13 th of January and Grandma Karen arrives on the 12 th . Whoop Whoop! We are still, yes still, looking for a house. We wanted to go see one today, but the owners weren’t home. There is one other one that we are waiting and praying on, but this whole situation has really been testing our faith. There are days where I just don’t get it. It’s like, “Ok, God, we said we’d be out of here months ago! Why are things not moving along???” and then I start to feel stressed and icky, so I try to just let go, but then I feel like I am in denial.  There is a fine line there between denial and letting go, at least for me! So we are waiting, praying, and trusting and KNOWING that God has a plan and that His timing is ne...