Stages of building

They concrete in the floors, then put in concrete pillars, then poor the ceilings, and then fill the walls in with the red clay brick.

Then they stucco the outside. Notice the yellow winch on the roof?

They use these electric winches to get the concrete from the ground level to whatever floor they are on.

Birthday party turned painful

Brad went to a friends birthday party the other day. They were running around playing a game when Brad tripped and his head met up with a rock wall. Three stitches later he is good to go. I think their motto here is
"Spare no gauze"

SNOW!!!!

This morning we were pleasantly surprised to see snow on the ground when we woke up. I never dreamed that I'd sometime walk in falling snow to find a taxi to take me to school. What a fun experience.....it was so neat to see all the orange and lemon trees with snow on them and to hear the excitement in the Moroccan children's voices as they walked to school. Although I think my taxi driver needed to know that when it snows that you should CLOSE the windows in the car!! I was nearly frozen!!!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow......

Brent was content to sit and watch the snow fall. He wore his flannel snowman Pj's all day in honor of the snow outside. No it wasn't much snow and no snowmen were made but we all enjoyed it any ways.

The children were SO excited to see snow this morning and declared "God DOES hear our prayers! We have prayed and prayed for snow and now God sent us some!!" They ran outside and tried to catch snowflakes with their mouths and since it was such a special day....they had a "snow day" and spent the morning making snowflakes and playing in the snow instead of doing school books.

Neighbor children........

Anyone for Lemonade or Orange Slushies??!!

A morning without coffee

Some of you have been trying to tell friends and family just how
much you need your coffee in the mornings and how
TERRIBLE
you feel when you don't get it. I think I have a picture that may
HELP THEM UNDERSTAND
the seriousness of your problem.
Just give them one look at the picture below and they will stock you up with
COFFEE FOR LIFE!! WOOOOO HOOOOO











so glad I could help out! :)

Buddies......

These 3 boys can have a great time together. It doesn't matter that C'Mohammed doesn't speak English or that Brad and Brent speak only a little Arabic. Running, climbing on monkey bars, digging in the dirt, and kicking ball can all be done without many words. We are so thankful that our boys have at least one Moroccan friend.....

The ultimate in Moroccan hospitality....TEA!!

We were able to have the privilege of sharing a meal with Amina and her family and as usual we finished the afternoon with tea. I love this sweet tea and the combination of warmth and the delicious fragrance that it gives on a cold day is so fulfilling! Amina's mother, Fatiha is pouring the tea from a "high point" so that the tea will be properly "aerated" and allow us to enjoy the smell. To have tea in Morocco is to have tasted a part of this country and culture. I am so glad that April was able to share this day with us.

Enjoying the delicious tea......

Ahhhhhh...... a cup of hot tea to warm you up and finish off a wonderful day at Amina's house!

Fatiha is preparing the food in her kitchen

I read this in my devotions this morning. It was one of those things that hit me right between the eyes. I don't need to comment! It speaks for itself

“Pride is like a spiritual cancer. Unaddressed, it spawns envy. Unchecked, it consumes our hearts and minds. Don't be deceived. If you think to highly of yourself, you run the dangerous risk of thinking too little of God and others. Jealous people accuse God and attack his chosen servants.
Instead of obsessing about others—his calling, her gifts, their advantages—focus on your own God-given resources and roles. What gifts, talents, and opportunities has God given you? Take inventory. Stop comparing yourself with others. Quit competing. Fight the urge to question God's wisdom.
Then, start serving with all the strength God gives you. Let him promote you, if and when he chooses. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up”(James 4:10)”
Brian

The King is Coming!!

His Majesty King Mohammed VI

Our city has been preparing for the arrival of the king. No one knew exactly when he was coming or which road he would take, so special care was put into preparing ALL the possible routes to look their best! Curbs were painted, roads swept and re-swept, billboards with pictures of the king were put up and some buildings were draped with red and green fabric(the colors of Morocco). Flags were everywhere and at some places you could count as many as 50 flags in one round-about! People talked about when they thought he would arrive and the possibility of catching a glimpse of him as he passed by.Excitement ran high!! The king is coming!!! One person told me that before the king comes the roads are closed and the streets are empty. Then as the king comes down the road there are horns blaring and the people run to the edge of the road, singing and "calling" to the king! As I thought on all that goes into preparing for the king I was reminded that we are waiting for the KING. And what are we doing to prepare for HIS arrival? Are we watching the road and listening for the sound of the trumpet? Are we living like the KING is coming?? Our KING is coming when we least expect HIM to and we need to be ready all the time. Are we living with an undercurrent of excitement and hearing whispers "Do you think he'll come today? The King is coming!!" Let us lift our hands and wave the banner "OUR KING IS COMING!"

It brought to mind a song written by Bill & Gloria Gaither called "The King is Coming". The first verse goes like this " The market place is empty, No more traffic in the streets, All the builders tools are silent, No more time to harvest wheat; Busy housewives cease their labors, In the courtroom no debate, Work on earth is all suspended as the King comes thro' the gate. chorus "O the King is coming, the King is coming! I just heard the trumpets sounding, And now His face I see; O the King is coming, the King is coming! Praise God, He's coming for me!"

King Mohammed VI did come to Fes yesterday because his wife wants to have their second child in her home city. A friend of mine was standing at her window and watched as the king got out of the car and greeted the people.She said the noise and excitement was awesome. O how I want to be ready and waiting when the King of Kings arrives! That's one crowd I want to be a part of...Join me as we prepare for HIS arrival!!

Open up and say, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh"

A dentist friend of ours that works in the mountains of Morocco with different tribes stopped in and checked all of our teeth. It was AWESOME!! No stinky office, no x-rays, no fillings I didn't need, no gross gunk in my mouth, and five minutes later I was done. Now that's my kind of dentist!!
Brian

Heating water

You men may find this more interesting then the women:) This is our hot water heater. It is fed by a 40lb propane tank. In the heater there is a little tank that the water runs through and becomes instantly heated. When I turn a water faucet onto the hot side the gas lights. When I turn the faucet off the flame stops. Instant hot water. It puts off quite a flame as you can imagine in order to make cold water hot as it passes quickly through. Notice the black mark on the ceiling? Let's just say that there is an art to keeping these heaters running without blowing the heater or yourself up!! I've put off some pretty impressive booms and balls of flame!
It makes life interesting :)
Brian

Sunday Church Service

I don't know about you but we shouldn't have any problem with staying awake in church this morning. It will probably be close to 50 degrees :)

HAVE A WARM WORSHIP!!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL REAL GOOD!!

FROM OUR HEARTS TO YOURS-
LOVE THE HOSLERS

What do you do to relax?

Some people hunt, some people read, bike, golf, ski. go to the cabin, walk, etc..... I on the other hand grind, make and drink, coffee, espresso, cappuccino and lattes. What I enjoy more is making it for others, so, if your in the neighborhood stop by and we'll sit, talk, and drink whatever blend of milk, coffee, and foam you like.
This big shipment of quality coffee was given as a gift to me by someone in the States and April Hoover( our Nanny in NYC) was kind enough to bring it with her today when she came to visit us for two weeks.
I imagine it will last me for quite a while, what do you think? I can't wait to try the different kinds!!!!!
By the way if you look close you will notice that most of the coffee beans are decaffeinated. I drink coffee for the flavour not for the caffeine.
Brian

A Visit to Casablanca

Brian and I needed to return the vehicle that we've borrowed for the last 7 weeks to Casablanca. We decided to spend a night and a day in Casa and take advantage of being in another new place. Maps are scarce and not of much use since road names are rarely posted. So as we set out to find the worlds 3rd largest Mosque in the very large city of Casa we wondered if we were nuts. Occasionally we'd get a glimpse of it above the buildings and we just kept heading that general direction and found it. It is called The Hassan ll Mosque and is named after the late King Hassan ll who personally put up 1/3 of the 800 million dollars needed for the project. It took 6 years with 10,000 craftsmen and 2,500 workers working night and day to complete this majestic building. The cedar wood, granite and marble were all resourses found here in Morocco.
There are only 2 Mosques bigger than this one and both are located in Saudi Arabia and neither are open to non-Muslims. I will attempt to give you a short photo tour of the mosque.

The Hassan ll Mosque..

This mosque has the highest religious minaret(tower) in the world at 210 meters high.

This prayer hall behind me can hold up to 20,000 men and the hallways and area outside, holding another 80,000 worshipers.

The Women's Prayer Area

The women have 2 hanging mezzanines which can hold up to 5000 women. Notice the wooden partitions with small holes for the women to see out but the men can not see the women at all while praying.

Hand work..

This special plaster has several ingredients with egg whites being one of them! It took 4 days for one square meter to be completed.

Chandelier....

The glass for this chandelier was brought in from Italy.There are around 20 of them and they are cleaned by being lowered electronically.

Cedar Ceiling

This ceiling parts in the center and slides open. It is made of cedar from the Middle Atlas Mountains here in Morocco and has gold on it.

Ablution Hall

An Ablution hall is where Muslims need to wash before going pray. They need to wash their feet, hands, arms, face and ears to be clean enough to kneel before Allah. This mosque has 41 of these fountains available for such use.

The Hammam

A hammam is a public bathhouse. This one has never been used and for the time it serves as a model to show tourists what they look like. Trust me, they are NOT all this beautiful!! That is water in the front and it gets to 5 feet deep in the center.

These massive doors are cedar wood covered by titanium, one of the 2 imported resources used. The largest doors weighed 35 tons.

The mosque is partially built on the water referring to a verse in the Koran "The throne of God was on the water".

Relaxing by watching the waves

We spent a good part of our day just watching the waves. We even found a great Moroccan restaurant that allowed us a view of the ocean while we ate delicious food!