Jo'burg Visit

Ben and a couple of other MKs at the zoo

Ben and the polar bear

Ben and I at the Bird Garden

Ben petting a lion for the first time.  Directly after this, he tried to kiss the lion on the nose.

Feeding the Giraffe

Ben loved feeding this goofy ostrich too.  Every time he gave it food, he howled with laughter. 

These guys were a few feet from our car as we drove through the lion park.

This is from our first game drive.  We came around the corner a few minutes into the visit and found 7 giraffes.

These two little African kiddos watched these African animals wander around us like they were looking at squirrels or cows.  Just another day in the life of an MK!

Do you see the lion?  On our game drive we saw 3 of the African Big 5.  These lions would have been easy to miss, but some cars were stopped watching them.

I suppose nursing a rhino could be a painful experience.  I'm glad not to be a rhino mommy.

Ben and I are finally home.  Oddly enough, Ben's doctor visits all came out fine.  He's a healthy little 3 year old.  I finally got some answers from the doctor too about the trouble I've been having with my neck and shoulder.  Seems I managed to do some ligament damage from my inability to keep two feet firmly planted on the ground that was irritated or worsened by my little fender bender.  The doc gave me some drugs and some kind of torture treatment (AKA home traction) and told me not to play any more contact sports or drive on bumpy roads.  So, I suppose I'll be retiring from playing football and wrestling, but the bumpy road thing will be a little harder.  God is good and I know He'll either lay on His healing hands or sustain me to do what He's called in His strength.

We had to wait 8 days after we were medically cleared to catch a flight home.  I was pretty frustrated by the delay as we were both ready to come home and my work was piling up on me while we were away.  Some good friends took care of us from the time we arrived until we left and they showed us some of the neat places around South Africa.  We visited a lion park, a bird garden, the zoo, and even stayed the night in a game park.  It was fun stuff that we may never have the chance to do again.  I am grateful for time spent with dear friends. 

Ben had a hard time being apart from family, but we are all super glad to be back.  I'll have to put my nose to the grind stone to catch up on my 2 1/2 missed weeks, but I really love being here, so I'll be glad to do it.

My friend Deron took all of those great game park pictures and the pictures from the lion park, so that you could see a little of our trip. 

Thanks for remembering us in prayer.  It means a lot to us.

With love,
Heather