Katrina's future home?

Hmmm... I didn't do very well putting these pictures on. Sorry.

A few weeks ago we had a day off and went to a waterfall about two hours from us. We drove through one lush green valley after another. They are impossible to capture on film, so you'll just have to believe me!

The waterfall itself is fed by over 40 springs which join together. Farther on down this stream joins with others to make the longest river in Morocco.

Picture 1: Girls in the wheat field - a special picture for Grandpa!

Picture 2: Katrina wants to live in this spot forever! She loved the sound of the flowing water and the gorgeous aqua of the water.

Picture 3: The waterfall is behind this massive rockface.

Picture 4: The little huts along the stream where we ate tajine (it rhymes!)

Picture 5: Our (cold but happy) family in front of the waterfall.

Picture 6: Getting to the waterfall - rather tricky, actually. Though Morocco doesn't worry much about tourist safety, they do have kind people who whisked both our girls right to the base of the falls. Katrina's just about to be lifted up in this picture though she would rather do it herself.

Seeing The King

For over a month now, the rumor has been that King Mohammad VI is coming to town, but it wasn't until last Saturday that we noticed beautiful brand-new Moroccan flags going up all over town. Along with these, a frenzy of cleaning began - street sweepers (and I don't mean machines) cleaned the streets each with approximately 5 twigs tied together as a broom, lawn mowers were sighted in the medians for the first time (they usually use weed cutters), flowers were planted although frosts still threaten, street lines were repainted though they were painted a month ago, and on and on and on. It's astounding, really, so see how much work is put into preparing for a king to come.

Once every blade of grass was cut, every flower watered and every flag hung, truckload after truckload of soldiers arrived and were placed on every street corner and all through town. We didn't know if we should feel safe or paranoid, but we did know this was a sure sign that the king was coming! Wednesday I went to the market to buy chicken and found there was almost none left in town - it had all been sent off to lunch for the soldiers.

And so it was that we joined the masses of people lined up to wait for the king to come Wednesday night. Traditional Berber bands played and flags and pictures of the king (in a suit) were handed out. Just about to give up after an hour, we saw in the distance a huge line of car headlights turning the curve into Ifrane. The chatter of the crowd suddenly ceased in an awed silence and then our cheers grew and grew until the noise swelled into a roar as the king passed by standing up through the roof of the car and waving. What an amazing experience!

Then off he rode to his palace in Ifrane and off we giddily went home. Katrina was convinced that he was not the king. "He's supposed to be wearing a suit, like in his picture!" she protested. He had been wearing a Moroccan jelaba and Fezzi hat so I tried to explain that he has more than one outfit!

As we were talking about all the flags put up in preparation for the visit, Kendra said, "When God comes back, there's going to be A LOT of flags!" I told her we don't know when he's coming back and then she said she figured God would let us know. I told her that our "flags" are the way we treat other people and the way we love God. She thought about this for a while and I don't know if she got it or not, but I'm pretty sure she's still convinced God is going to send us a memo! Several of us were commenting on how Biblical references to kings make so much more sense when you live in a kingdom. I guess I'd better make sure my "flags" are ready . . .

Pictured - Gwen (a teacher at an orphanage nearby), Misty (a professor), the girls and I right afterwards.

Birthday Princess!

For Katrina's birthday, we went to Meknes to see cousins and pick up my cousin and friend who were visiting. After eating out, Ron, Laurie & co. gave Katrina her present - a princess dress! She put it on and then we all had a carriage ride together around the medina - what fun!

Pictured - Our little seven-year-old princess right before stepping into her carriage

- Our carriage in front of the famous Bab Mansor gate

Yeah!!!

As every good Kansan knows, this is a time of celebration! Here is a picture of a cake my friend Barb made (she's obviously had cake decorating classes) celebrating the occasion. I don't know too much about all this, but I do know I have a very happy and very tired husband! I would have loved to watch the game with Gerald if it had been at a reasonable time (he came to bed at 4 AM), but alas, I guess I'm a fair-weather fan. And yes, he actually got to watch it on CBS via computer, though it was a bit jerky. My sister-in-law, Emily, and her kids went to bed when they saw KU was losing and awoke to the sound of fireworks not long after!

One Shining Moment

Those of you who are college basketball fans are already humming the song played at the championship game, but the rest of you probably figure I'm going to write about a wonderful event in my life that likely has nothing to do with basketball.

You are all correct.

For the last several weeks, Gerald has been wandering around the house with a far-away look in his eyes humming "One Shining Moment." He has worked on it at the piano so much that I think he could do a concert by now. The poor guy has no one here who can actually have a real conversation about his beloved Kansas University (KU) Jayhawks during this important basketball season. Surprising as it sounds KU does not plan its games based on its Moroccan fan base! The last several games which were scheduled at 8:00 in the States go from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM here. Gerald logs onto the computer a few hours early to get the radio station before the server is full and listens to the game sometimes accompanied with the CBS broadcast if he can get on. The broadcast comes in like a jerky, slow motion slide show so he often doesn't put up with it and just listens. As thrilled as we are that KU has made it all the way to the championship game, it does mean Gerald will be up until 3:00 AM again tonight. He should get some kind of "greatest fan" award! Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU!

The other "shining moment" that I wanted to write about has nothing to do with basketball and is an event that happened seven years ago yesterday - Katrina's birth! Our little 7lb 9 oz package is so big now - it's hard to believe! Pictures and more coming soon.