They made it!

Here is a link to my uncle's blog....they are having a good time and I can only imagine the stories they have to tell.

http://www.worldlinegroup5.com/travels.html

Part of an email from Dan...he made it safely!

Blurry screen, old french keyboard...bear with me. I landed ok and everything about my flights went well. I even made friends with a french man on my way to Bamako and he helped me get through immigration. Boy, I wish I knew french, this would be much easier. Johnny picked me up at airport and we stayed a night at a hostel/mission which was HOT. i couldn't really sleep but was able to get 2 hrs or so. Then this morning we got up early and took a bus to mopti which is on the river. we've arranged a boat for tomorrow around 2 and it should be an interesting ride. The boat is pretty rough and it's going to be a long 3 days/2 nights on the river. Were having a good time and the food has been pretty good but its a really poor country and there aren't many nice things. The hotel we're at now is nice though and we've met some really fun and interesting people. I have to get some sleep now since I haven't slept hardly at all since i saw you. the people are very nice and we're safe but just not knowing a lick of french makes it difficult.

And he's off!

MB and I dropped Dan off at the airport Sunday night after a big meal at Longhorn. We figured that may be his last decent meal for a while if you don't count the goat accompanied with the rice and beans. :-) Here is a picture of him heading into the airport. I haven't heard from him yet but he landed in Africa last night around 10pm Africa time. I believe they are four hours ahead of us. If we are lucky, Dan is going to make a guest appearance on the blog and post some info about his travels. Keep your fingers crossed!! After we left him at the airport, we drove down to Moultrie to stay with my family for a while. Here is a brief itinerary of Dan's trip.

Tuesday morning (today) - get up early- about five thirty - to catch a bus to Mopti. That is a 10 hour bus ride.

Tuesday night, arrive at hotel - will sleep on roof top - nice and cool. Hotel provides mattress, sheet, pillow, and mosquito net. Nice bathroom facilities.

Wednesday - day off - prepare for boat trip.

Thursday - get on boat mid morning. Trip lasts two nights and three days.

Friday arrive Timbuktu, stay two nights.

Take a CAT CAT - 4X4 - back to Mopti Tuesday to start two day one night trip to Dogon Country. Then return to Bamako (capital of Mali where he will fly back to US).

All smiles.

Not much luggage for the two week trip.

Really, Timbuktu is an actual place???

We have been asked that question several times when telling folks that Dan is headed to Timbuktu. He is traveling with my uncle and they are in for an adventure! My uncle has been there for almost two weeks and is keeping a blog called "Onward to TIMBUKTU" and you can follow their trip from the link on my blog buddy list. I, for one, am shocked that they have internet in the places that they are travelling but am glad that we can stay in touch. They are going to find out first hand why we use the phrase from here to Timbuktu. They will be traveling on a "pinasse", which is a river boat, for three days with sacks of rice and make multiple stops to small villages along the way. They will be doing this all while sleeping on the floor of the glorified canoe.

I am very thankful that my uncle is taking Dan along on this journey because Timbuktu and the desert is a place that I have no desire to visit. My idea of a vacation and Dan's idea of a vacation are very different. For instance, if you have to pack a small backpack filled with a mosquito net, malaria pills, one change of clothes and Imodium, you can better believe that I am not interested in going. That being said, this is a dream trip for Dan and I am so excited that he has this opportunity. When my uncle mentioned this trip to him, he was very uncertain about going because he didn't want to leave me and Mary Beth and he was in between jobs at the time. I insisted that he go because this is one of those once in a lifetime experiences and I didn't want him to miss out. You see, one of Dan's greatest passions in life is to travel the world. He gave up a lot of his travel dreams when he married me and although he would never say that he had to give anything up for me, I know he would still be traveling the world if he was a single man. He feels alive when he is experiencing other cultures and it is good for his soul to see how other parts of the world live. I am excited that he will have two weeks away from his everyday wonderful life to see the world through the eyes of others. I pray that they will have safe travels and that God will be even more real in their lives when they return. I will miss Dan very much but am thrilled for this experience. What's good for his heart is good for mine. Have a blast, experience all that you can and we can't wait to see you in two weeks!

This is what we think the river boat is going to look like....nice!

We will post actual pictures when he returns.

Timbuktu is in the country of Mali in Northwest Africa, who knew?

Mirror mirror on the wall...

If she has my "magnolia" skin she will definitely be the fairest of them all!

MB sits in her bumbo seat on the bathroom counter while I take a shower and she loves her friend in the mirror. I can see her from the shower and she grins at herself for most of the time, it's hilarious!

What a year

On Dan's 30th birthday last year we took a pregnancy test for the second time that confirmed we were pregnant! We took the first one a week before his birthday last year and we were so shocked and stunned that we didn't believe the results (or I should say Dan didn't believe the results) so we decided to take the test again. Everything happened so fast that it took a little while to wrap our minds around it and it's probably true to say that we are still trying to wrap our minds around the idea that we are parents. One year ago, we had no idea how much we would love this little girl. She is the one that we prayed for and we thank God everyday for her life and all of the joy that she brings. I love watching Dan with her, he is such a proud daddy. He always tells her how special she is and how God is going to use her to do some amazing things, it makes my heart smile. MB and I are blessed to have Dan in our life and I'm so glad we are his girls. Happy Birthday Dan, thanks for taking such good care of us! Here are a few recent pictures.

My two favorite people. The leopard print is courtesy of Tiffany. :-)

Bundled up to walk with me. She loves that she can face out now and yes, that is a burp cloth shielding her from the carrier. You can never be too careful with the spit up queen!

Going to get a pumpkin, thanks for the bib mimi.

Posing with the pumpkins. Of course my batteries died when I took the first picture so all of the smiles were gone by the time I was able to reload the batteries. Oh well...

Welcome to the world Lucy!

We have been so excited about the birth of Baby Doyal and couldn't wait for the baby to arrive. They didn't find out the sex of the baby during the pregnancy and we were thrilled that they had a sweet baby GIRL!!!! Lucy Eliza was born at 2:20am on Saturday morning (on her due date) and she weighed 7 lbs 11 ounces and is 22 inches long! She is absolutely beautiful!!! We were at the hospital for the birth and it was very special to get to share in that moment with our good friends and their families. Here are a few photos:

Soooo cute and snuggly!

These two have so much in common already, their love for sleep. Mary Beth seems so big compared to little Lucy.

Hello friend, we are going to have so much fun together.

Napping on the hospital floor waiting on Lucy to arrive.

How can this be comfortable?

The proud families waiting on the good news.