Tarzan Boy

Q returned from his Rwanda trip about a month ago...It was very moving to hear all about his experience there...so, I wanted to share this on the blog too:

I recently returned from Rwanda, Africa. What a place! As I arrived my eyes were fixed on the beauty of the country- rolling hills as far as I could see, lush vegetation, and clear blue skies. There’s no question I have never been to a more stunning country. When I began to meet the people of Rwanda I was captivated by their fantastic spirit. However, my heart broke as I heard countless horrific stories from the 1994 genocide that killed nearly 1,000,000 people. In fact, I didn’t meet 1 person who wasn’t radically impacted by the genocide, many of them had lost all or most of their family members.
Despite the tremendous challenges of recent years, Rwanda has a bright future. HOPE’s work through Urwego Microfinance Bank is inspiring. As I traveled throughout the country nearly everyone knew of Urwego and the great work happening through the more than 34,000 microloan and savings clients. Rwanda has the chance to be the model of development in Africa. One woman who inspired this reflection is Marie Jeanne Urwinna.
Marie Jeanne is on the team leading HOPE’s newest outreach to some of the very poorest in Rwanda through savings led microfinance. I had the chance to hear Marie Jeanne’s story of how the genocide changed her life forever. Marie Jeanne watched as most of her family was brutally murdered. She lost her husband, 1 child, her parents, and all of her siblings. Marie Jeanne and her 2 sons miraculously survived the genocide that happened over 13 years ago, but the pain from the loss of family is still as real today as when it happened. As Marie Jeanne shared with me and the team from the U.S., there were no dry eyes, her story gripped all of our emotions. Only in my worst nightmare could I imagine such a story.
In spite of pain from the recent past, Marie Jeanne has a smile and look of determination that inspires confidence. She plays a key role in HOPE’s dream to reach more than 750,000 people with savings led microfinance in the next 3-5 years. Marie Jeanne’s resolve to see her country released from physical and spiritual poverty is infectious. My prayer is that the dreams she has for her sons and her country will be realized.
On behalf of Marie Jeanne, many thanks to you who are supporting this work that really is making a significant temporal and eternal impact in the lives of many poor people living in the most challenging places on earth.

With Gratitude,
Q

World's Best Daddy!

Happy Father's Day to the man I married...Our loving home, our beautiful family, our wonderful life together...so much to be thankful for...and at the heart of it all, there is YOU! Happy Father's Day, Q, I love you!
Well, as it turns out, Q's Father's Day will be just about as unspectacular as my Mother's Day was. I am leaving at 4 am on a last minute road trip to Wisconsin. We will be there Sunday through Wednesday and drive back on Thursday.
I was talking to my friend Jennifer (she is originally from Green Bay) at the pool a week ago and she told me that she and her kids would be driving to Wisconsin on Father's Day to visit her family there...a couple seconds later I found myself "hitching a ride". unfortunately, there will not be enough seat-belts to accommodate me AND my three kids AND her and her four kids, so Briar will be staying home with Daddy.
Eden and Truman and I are really looking forward to seeing Grampa and Gramma again, and Aunts and Uncles, cousins, and Great Grampa and Grammas too!
I think it will be a really fun time!
The car ride should be quite a good time too since Eden and Truman really get along well with Jennifer's kids Emily and Ian.
Have fun with Briar, Honey, we will miss you!
Love,
Me, Eden and Truman

School's Out! Scream and Shout!

SUMMER!!!
My favorite season! Sunshine and long days...Warm air...the smell of fresh cut grass...Flip flops...Goin' to the beach...Eating outside on the patio...Catching fireflies...Long walks after dinner...Family vacations....Ahhhhhhhhhhhh scream and shout! It's here!
I'm so glad school's out! I'm so excited about sleeping in later and taking the kids to the pool! Summer is just all about the fun and I love that! I love fun! Don't get me wrong...I still have to work...and the kids will come with me, but it just feels so much more care-free! To all of my readers, Have a great "my favorite season" I love you all!

City of Brotherly Love

Eden's last field trip of the school year was a walking tour of Philadelphia. I took off work so I could go along this time, and Q took off work to stay home with Briar.
It was such a fun day. The bus ride there was about an hour and a half. The first thing we saw was the Liberty Bell. Then, we crossed the street to Independence Hall and learned all about the Declaration of Independence and all the great men involved in writing it and signing it. My favorite part of the day was learning about the life of Ben Franklin He was, to say the very least...Inspiring and Brilliant! We saw a mini-movie of his life's story and by the end I was crying. I know, that's not sayin' much 'cause I always cry, but I seriously learned so much that I never knew about Ben Franklin. Philadelphia is just oozing with history. As many times as I've been to these places, I always learn so much every time I go. We are really fortunate to live so close. We were reminded how blessed we are as Americans to live in a free county, and everything our Founding Fathers went through to gain that freedom. At the Betsy Ross house, we ate lunch outside, and then bought some souvenirs at the gift shop there. Next, we went to Elfreth's Alley. It is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country. People still live in these beautiful old row homes, built in the early 1700's. Our last stop was the U.S. Mint. We saw the process of how they make the money. The main facility is in Philadelphia, but there are three other branches in the United States. Every piece of money has a symbol on it to indicate where it was made.
It was a great day, and so much fun to spend time with Eden.