Birthday Bash

Delaney celebrated for what seems like the 13th time for her 13th birthday.   Delaney chose spaghetti for her birthday dinner with the family and she enjoyed playing dress up with her cousins.   Hayes for some reason always chooses the princess dress.

A Teenager in St. Louis - Day 2

Our second day in St. Louis was spent at the City Museum.   This is one interesting place, not really a museum but more like a weird assembly of metal and junk made into a playground all enclosed in a huge warehouse.   The kids love it because it's extremely interactive.   It really is unlike anything I've ever seen before.   One room is full of skate ramps that kids just use as slides and one part is built like a huge cave with a ten story slide at the top.   After climbing all the way up with the kids, they wouldn't let me go down with Hayes on my lap, so I ended up just shoving Hayes down the slide with Delaney already at the bottom.(I wasn't about to carry Hayes back down the 10 floors of spiral staircases).   They even have a mini circus that's put on by kids.  All in all it was a memorable time celebrating Delaney's big 13.  
~Jeff

A Teenager in St. Louis - Day 1

We celebrated Delaney's 13th birthday under the arch.  Catherine thought it would be fun to take the kids to St. Louis for Laney's big day.   Her actual birthday was on Easter this year so we celebrated a little early.  We stayed right down the street from the Arch so we took a sunset walk in between swims in the hotel pool.    
There are pictures below of everyone except for the one's Delaney took of me because my wife said that I looked homeless (I thought it was my teenager who's supposed to be embarrassed by me.)  Thanks Cat.
~Jeff

 

Impact Zambia Orphans

The primary purpose of this blog is to keep our family current on our lives and to create an archive of the fabulous candid shots my talented photographer husband takes. But I'm gonna deviate here for a moment to share something dear to my heart. About a year and a half ago, my husband and I had the privilege of partnering with Lifesong for Orphans to help children who have been orphaned in Zambia. As in most African countries, the orphan crisis is great. One out of every five individuals is HIV+ and only ten percent of all children attend school regularly. This is where Lifesong steps in to provide two meals a day and a solid education for 253 (and counting) orphaned and vulnerable children. Lifesong is in need of more people to partner with them so that a new addition to their school can be built. If it's on your heart to care for the orphan, I'd encourage you to get involved! Lifesong is one of the best organizations I know. --Catherine
***Impact Zambia Update: 30 commitments...4 days to go. Needing 70 more Impacters!

Impact children like Bwalya Bwayla & have your gift MATCHED!!

As you saw in the video, Bwalya Bwalya became a double orphan because of HIV/Aids when he was only five years and now he, too, is HIV+.  Thankfully, Bwalya Bwalya lives with his grandparents and is able to attend the Lifesong Zambia School. Despite his uncertain past, he has a hopeful future because of the presence of Christ in his life and the opportunity to receive an education.

We have launched an Impact Zambia 100 campaign that will help build a high school for Bwalya Bwayla and other children in similar life situations.  We are nearly 1/3 of the way there and have only 4 days left.  

We are looking for 100 people to make a monthly commitment of $20 for one year to help complete this building project. MATCHING GIFT OPPORTUNITY!  (that's right-­‐-­‐gifts will be matched dollar-­‐ for-­‐dollar thanks to a generous donor!) Sixty-­‐seven cents a day from 100 people for a year can make this vision a reality for children like Bwalya Bwalya. 4 days left 70 people to go...Will you join us? To join Impact Zambia 100, email info@lifesongfororphans.org To learn more about Impact Zambia 100, click here.