Who's running this blog anyway?

Since I seem to have taken responsibility of the blog, despite the pre-blog agreement, here is yet another catch-up installment of life from our household.For the last ISU home game we tailgated with the usual crew at the bus and got giant turkey legs for the pre-game. Turkey legs at a tailgate, yes, life can get that good.

Some enjoy their turkey legs more than others....
Kate helping the guys celebrate an ISU touchdown.
Can you find Bret? He's in there....somewhere...
I ran my first Living History Farms Race this weekend. Over...through the creek and through the woods. Need some team ideas for next year?
Team JORT? Pretty sure those costumes are already set to go.
Team Magnum PI?
Team...nevermind, bad idea.

Kate got lasik surgery this past week, things went incredibly well and now she's no longer blind as a bat and can actually give me a credible answer in the morning when I ask, "Honey, how does this look?" My fashion sense just jumped 10 fold. The procedure may have varied slightly from above.


On a more serious note, they showed the following video in church today and it is worth taking the few minutes to watch it. It's been out for a few years and you've likely seen it before but check it out:


It has again reminded and challenged us reflect on the true spirit of Christmas. Whether it be in gift giving this holiday season or in our everyday lives, let this be an encouragement to think big (bigger than ourselves) about how we can change the world with our decisions. Let's think beyond the bulk of X-mas consumerism and focus on the heart of the Christmas season by reaching out, to someone in your own house or someone around the world, and make a difference through an act of love.

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Blog Catch Up......Paris....Yum....

So after we departed Nigeria we took a slight detour and had a 3 day layover in Paris. It was a great time to relax and catch our breath from the last 10 days (see previous blog entry). There are plenty of post card pictures taken and wonderful sites were seen but probably the most exciting part of the trip (aside from spending 3 days with the love of my life) was the ridiculously good food. And because I again find myself writing in our blog that I swore I wouldn't do (This is Brian) I will focus on what I feel is most important. Enjoy!

So Kate nearly faints in excitement when you mention chocolate croissants and I foam at the mouth at the mention of European coffee so you can imagine we were quite the site at this cafe.
This meal was on the corner of an unsuspecting street with one of our EMI teammates. I can't begin to explain how some of this tasted because my mind drifting off into a blissful state with each bite.
This was at a restaurant we ate at our first night with some of the EMI team. This restaurant had been around for over 150 years. The service was tremendous and entertaining as many waiters in Paris have made their whole careers our of serving and have learned the art of working a table full of Americans. I had the fish soup.
Kate developed quite the taste for crepes a la Nutella as have any tourist that ever visits Paris because they made them EVERYWHERE. This is one of countless crepe makers we visited.
For our last meal in Paris we hit the streets in search of a local restaurant that didn't look like it was full of tourists. We found a cool little bar on the corner and it was perfect. On the right is a HUGE bowl of muscles for me (please ignore the fries, I didn't order them, they came with the meal) and on the right was an AMAZING white fish in a white sauce with a few prawns.
We leave our food tour and shift to the "things Brian thought were cool" tour. This is how they tow a car in Paris. Yes, that is a Maserati. Yes, it is being lifted in the air by that truck. Yes, its owners soon yelled out the window and ran out in their bathrobe trying to get their car back. No, the tow truck driver did not care and promptly drove off with their car.
Welcome to the mayhem that is the Louve. This is the crowd that was all trying to get at the Mona Lisa but more interestingly is what is behind the crowd. The painting is "The Wedding at Cana" which is awesome because of the detail and because it is huge (22' x 32')! The Louve is full of cool stuff but my personal favorites are the super-sized paintings.
Kate still enjoying the Louve, Brian dreaming of expresso.
There is amazing architecture all over the city (and Kate insisted we see all of it) but I can't say there aren't a few unusual choices of decor. This man obviously did not want to be a part of the buildings decoration though his position may have had something to do with that.
Of course I must include the token Paris picture of me and my sweetie. Spending 3 days with a gorgeous woman in the "City of Light" does make it on the "Things Brian finds cool" list.
With that, I leave you to your thoughts and encourage you to cook like the French and then invite me over for a sampling. I'd love to share more but that will just have to wait. Cheers!

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We're Back!

After 2 crazy weeks abroad, we are back home, safe and sound. We had 10 wild and amazing days in Nigeria and 3 recovery days in Paris. There is no way that we could begin to explain the trip with words so here are some highlights via pictures. You'll have to call us or come see us for the full story. Enjoy!

After a short flight to Atlanta, a 8 hour layover and a 11 hour flight to Lagos, Nigeria we were welcomed with a note on the baggage trolley that said our bag didn't make it on the flight. We wouldn't see it again for 5 days. We spent the night in Lagos before flying to Calabar.
This was the view flying it...its a jungle out there.
Breakfast the first morning was some fried monitor lizard. This was actually quite unusual for even them. Tasted great (not exactly like chicken).
This was home sweet home for the week. The guest house we were supposed to stay in fell through last minute to they built this house in 2 days for us. And yes, in case you don't believe your eyes, it is a 2x4 shell covered in a plastic tarp with a tin roof. It had, no joke, built in wiring for our work station and 4 separate "rooms". Pretty impressive really. Notice the private shower on the right.
One of our dinners, cassava and soup. The soup was great but the cassava had its way with me (Brian) for the next two days.
Kate, Ben and local architect Godwin conducting a design review.
Brian and Rob (right) visits with Todd who was one of two clients that EMI was there to serve. We had a 3 hour meeting to review what the vision was for the site while I tried not to passed out from being sick and the crazy heat and humidity. Turns out plastic walls don't breath real well...
Rob and I conducting a very scientific evaporation experiment. In case the note to not touch the water didn't work, the local way of telling people to keep their hands off is to put a palm branch in the ground as shown.
We had to go pay homage to the village chief of where the site was located. It was quite the to do and drew a crowd of about 100 people. Notice the elephant heads on his chair. The video of the meeting is priceless (ie. come visit us to see it).
Kate and her token picture with all the kids.
The team hard at work.
A picture of the site. It's what you could call a "green" site.
It's a jungle out there. A unique challenge for the survey team when they need guys with machetes clearing the path. The vision is to turn this thick jungle into a training center where they teach people to farm fish and plants.
Mode of transportation to and from the site. Victor (the driver) runs a taxi service when he's not working on the farm. His record for people on his motorcycle is 6 and he made it sound like 7 would be no big deal! That is a 125 cc motorcycle!
Alas, all good things must come to an end. This is Kate and I with the family that hosted us along with some of their extended family. This post doesn't begin to scratch the surface of what all went on but we do hope that its enough of a taste that you'll call or come see us to hear more. God is doing some amazing things through these people and we're excited to report more as the project progresses.
I leave you with this darling picture of my wife eating escargot in Paris where we spent 3 days recovering from our "vacation". The snails were actually quite delicious despite what Kate's face may tell you. There are many more pictures and stories about Paris but that is for another day. Until then, Au revoir!

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