the Smith family

We had the delight and honor of having Tyler and Evie Smith at our house for a few days last week while their parents, Mike and Amy, were at a conference in Zimbabwe at the falls. Mike and Amy are teammates and live in another town in the Western Province called Kaoma. It was such a blessing to have Tyler and Evie with us...Madylanne loved every minute and so did the rest of us! The next few blog entries give you a glimpse of the fun we had while they were here. We love our missionary kid cousins!

floating on the Zambezi

Here are Mark, Evie, Madylanne, Tyler, Given and Dominik, all enjoying a turn on the boat...Madylanne's first boat ride was made all the more exciting by having Evie there to experience it with her. They even got to see some hippos on their jaunt!

getting in the river

This is what is takes to get the boat in the water! This is the Zambezi River right behind our house. The progression begins with the boat being aired up (the last picture). Then you can see it being carried down the side of the steep bank.

having fun with Evie

Here are Madylanne and Evie, with Tyler in the background. We had fun in the kitchen making goodies. :)

I'm a Little Pepper

Here is Matthew, munching on some fruit with his fruit thingy, sporting his I'm a Little Pepper shirt from his Kansas cousins (yeah Dr. Pepper!!! someday we'll get to drink some again! ha) and looking handsome in his brand new booster seat, thanks to Nana and the Fedeles...thank you guys for sending it our way! Matthew is so blessed!

my mk cousin Levi

I thought this was a cute shot of Madylanne and her missionary kid cousin Levi, walking hand in hand at Vic Falls when we were there for the marathon. Levi is just a few months older than Madylanne and whenever we have opportunity to be around the Lowes Madylanne and Levi (and his sisters Zoe and Hadassah too for that matter) really enjoy one another's company.

making baby food

So here's the set up for making baby food when there isn't any to buy at the grocery store...buy whatever fresh veggies are available or grow them in our garden, then steam them, then puree them with the hand blender, then freeze them in ice cube trays, then put them in ziploc bags for storage in the freezer, then microwave 1-2 cubes for 20 seconds for a serving of veggies! So far Matthew likes everything he has tried- pumpkin, butternut squash, zucchini, carrots...but NOT green beans! ha!