We have BABOONS on our front steps in Kenya, but what REALLY makes an impression on Ben and Kate are, I kid you not, squirrels. Whenever they see a squirrel, they yell as loudly as you might if you saw a baboon. If we see EIGHT squirrels, the volume doesn’t diminish, which can make for interesting car rides.

The other part that makes driving memorable with the twins is that we can eat a meal at McDonalds, but as we leave, they will spot the golden arches and loudly sigh `McDonalds.’ If we pass EIGHT McDonalds, they will deeply sigh over each one. There may be an interesting correlation somewhere, but I don’t know what it might be.

Matthew ran cross country and loved it, and has started driver’s ed. JT loves Wake Forest and we got to visit him this past weekend. It was a real blessing, and it did a lot for us parents. I asked Katie what her favorite part of the weekend was, and she said `When JT holded me.’ Nancy is taking three classes in French, so I am able to say that I go out with a hot co-ed.

I been traveling almost every weekend since we have been back speaking at different churches, and while it has been a blessing to meet and see people, it has been full of sowing and not lots of tangible reaping.  Coupled with our beloved pastor giving his notice and an implosion at work, it has led to lots of anxiety on my part.

That has turned into a blessing. It has brought me back to this: Jesus is my provider, and I can’t make anything happen. I worked harder than I ever have trying to make things happen, and exhausting myself in the process, but ultimately, it all comes from Him. It doesn’t mean I make peace with hungry kids, but in the end, it is only He that makes the seed grow.

We won’t make Disney this time, but we did get to take the twins to the state fair of Texas. Eating a deep fried latte and washing it down with a deep friend Snickers was as gross and wonderful as you might imagine. The twins loved the rides, until they went on a roller coaster that was too fast for Katie. It went around three times, and to see her face knowing there was nothing you could do was probably an apt analogy for a lot of parenthood.

We have had some amazing stuff happen lately. I was named a recipient of the 2007 Yale Counseling Award for high school counselors. The best counselor I know tells me only three people receive this a year, so it is a great honor, although I am so aware of my failings in college counseling that it is hard to believe. Some rude friends from Kansas were quick to make it a punch line to several unkind jokes.

We just got word that we are finalists in the CNN Heroes awards. CNN gets nominations every year for people who do good work, and they have narrowed it down to 18 people. Because we have made that cut, we will be awarded $10,000 to build another computer center.  If we make one more cut, we get to go to New York and get filmed to explain the programs. We are struggling for the monies for the feeding program, so your prayers would be appreciated: more exposure might help bring in more monies. We also realize how far we are from being heroes, and many more people deserve this than us, but we are grateful nonetheless.

We leave on December 27^th to return to Kenya. The clock is ticking so fast. Why didn’t that ever happen during math class?

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