The Parson's Daughter Turns 19

July 10, 2009...the memory of a day 19 years ago that wasn't nearly so pleasant during the first part.  Around 5:08 pm, the Parson's Daughter entered the world, however, and the sun came out from behind the clouds.

Nineteen years later.  Kruger Park, South Africa.  The Parson, The Parson's Daughter, The Good Wife, The Parson's Son, Senior Pastor and Pastoress, RD Missionary and Missionary Wife.  Priceless Memories.  The Good Wife is grateful to God for some things she has been allowed to experience.

It just took too long to unwrap the gift...the Final Pic is below...an ostrich egg painted with the Big Five...all of which we saw before 2 pm that day....Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Lion, Leopard...and we saw much more than that!  Unforgettable....thanks to all who helped make it such a fun time.

African Adventure

On July 7, 2009, all human members of The Parson's House boarded a Very Long Flight from AEX to Johannesburg, South Africa.  We were going for the first All African Leadership Conference, but found ourselves sidetracked into the Bush for the first 3 days of our trip.            The Parson's Daughter spent her 19th birthday huddled in the Freezing Cold in an open-air jeep bouncing along the remote trails of Kruger Park.  Freezing Cold was not in our initial perception of Africa in July.  But we soon found out that South Africa in July means Winter.  And Winter in South Africa is beyond comprehension.  Especially in an open-air jeep.  The first hours of

 the first morning are shrouded in a blur of icy memories, but about mid-day the weather warmed up, along with our eyesight and camera-clicking fingers.  

We found some amazing sights along the trail.  

This is a memory which all agreed will not be soon forgotten nor equaled....

The Summer No-Cooking Revolution!

Well.

On May 27, 2009, the Good Wife cooked her last meal in the kitchen, washed the dishes, put the dirty dishcloth in the laundry pile, walked out and said, "That's that."  And, as is the custom with her meek, mild-mannered way, the Summer No-Cooking Revolution was birthed.

After agonizing over menus, toiling in the kitchen for hours upon end, creating exotic delicacies upon which her family was to dine (only to have them not show up at all or show up when all was congealed), and getting red, chapped hands due to constant hot dishwater, the Good Wife quietly whispered, "I shall cook no more for the summer."

In the early days, her Family laughed.  The Parson chuckled quietly as he walked into the kitchen to check the stove.  It was cold.

The Parson's Son immediately realized this could be serious, but was quite excited because he thought that a daily McDonald's visit could be in his future.  

The Parson's Daughter just said that she herself would cook so there would be no problem. Then she promptly packed her suitcase and left for camp for three weeks.

However, as the days and weeks wore on with relentless commitment and dedication to the Revolution on the part of the Good Wife, soberness began to creep onto the countenances of the Family.

Grumbling, complaining, and comparison to other wives has swirled in the air of the Parson's House.  

Then, as of today, the Parson's Son has resorted to begging.  

The Good Wife is now in contemplative meditation regarding whether or not the purpose of the Revolution has been accomplished or if she should stick to her guns.

We're out of potato chips....

It's All A Matter of Perspective

Mosquitoes in Paradise

Sad, sad. 

The beginning of this week brought air hanging heavy with strife and contention at The Parson's House.  

The Parson had his nose a bit out of joint and the Parson's Daughter was somewhat disgruntled, both of which caused the Good Wife to feel vocally unsettled and the Parson's Son to have mild heartbreak.  To add to the simmering cauldron, the Schnauzer with Attitude took to yelping loudly and angrily upon being assigned to her cage, the cause of which was her desire to sleep in the bed of the Good Wife (a Great Sin which would bring a tsunami of strife and will not be tolerated).

The result was periods of silence with bursts of very firm, random phrases of intention and purpose from all inhabitants.

This season has passed and all are grateful.  Peace and order is now restored with large servings of love and goodwill all around.

Next?

Celebration 24

Today has been a day of joy and wonder.  The Parson and the Good Wife celebrated 24 years of marital bliss and perfection on this very day!

We went away for a few days to sit by Old Man River and ponder our Past, Present, and Future.  Of course, what is there to ponder when the past has been sheer perfection, the present is absolute joy, and the future holds endless possibilities and the tools to obtain them?!  Being the Good Wife that I am, I felt compelled to point out that there just might be a few Mosquitos in Paradise, but that a little Off would take care of that just fine.  Being the deep man that he is, the Parson got the point almost immediately.  

We both had to wonder if the tornadic activity that came roaring right up the river to our very window on Sunday morning was some sort of subliminal message of some sort from another world.  I took my computer (there wasn't a staff handy) and held it out and commanded "Peace, Be Still!" because I am just a bit tired of all the tornadic activity that has been a part of my life for the past several years.  A little goes a long way in Paradise, and we've had enough, thank you very much but no thank you take it back, please.

As we dodged fallen trees and downed power lines in our idyllic little getaway place, we went back in time to our rehearsal night...the memories of coming out to get in the car and leave and being blocked in by fire trucks that had been called to the house...the firemen lecturing us on what a crime it is to call in a false alarm and we had no clue what was even going on...we found out later...our buddy, RC....

Lots of action through the years, but 24 seems to be a very good number.  We are very happy with it.  

All of which prompted the Good Son to say in a worried manner when we arrived home this afternoon, "There's something that's just WRONG about going away on an anniversary and saying you spent your time planning and getting stuff done and using words like successful and productive...there's something just WRONG about that!"  

We thought that if he was so worried about that part, we wouldn't even mention to him that we spent today walking through the very, very old cemetery outside of town looking for the oldest grave.  I won!  Born: 1773 - Died: 1820...

He would NEVER have understood how that fit in!

The main thought of all this that has arrested me is that 24 + 24 = 48.  Wow.

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