Finding Faith in the Battle

Ok, so for those who are worried that I'm permanently damaging my children by not keeping sacred holiday traditions here in Africa...breath a sigh of relief. I made gingerbread cookies and we all decorated them. We have Christmas music playing (THANK YOU, Jen Rhoad--the CD you sent us years ago has the only holiday music we own!!!). And as of today, we have a very unique, African Christmas tree up and decorated. That's my favorite part of getting ready. Both Chad's and my parents gave us a special ornament every year, starting back in 1976 (stop doing the math right now!!!). There is so much history looking at all those special ornaments that have made it all around the world with us, from Africa, back to the States, and now out here again. Our house here has tile flooring, so I did loose my ornament from 1981 when Omara got ahold of it--but I suppose a little superglue on something 31 years old is fitting...some days I feel like I could use a little superglue...

  I am not trying to brag, but let's face it. We live in an awesome place! It would be a shame, really, to do anything less than revel in it. So we revel as often as we can, and we had a chance to share it with a friend who works in Nigeria. God truly blessed us on one of our best mornings ever in the game park. Enjoy!

While my brother and sister-in-law were here, we followed a brilliant co-workers' suggestion (THANKS, Annie!) and headed out the Crescent Island, in Lake Naivasha. It didn't originally have any animals on the island, until the filming of Out of Africa when they decided to cart the animals out to the island and then leave them there. Ok, so it's not the most natural of beginnings, but now it's gorgeous! And to hike around amidst the animals...amazing.

I had a very strange interaction with a Kenyan woman today while waiting for a doctors appointment with the 2 younger kids. It was in mall, and we were sparing the other patients by waiting (for an hours and a half) out in the hall. A woman in questionably-professional (read: skin-tight miniskirt and 5-inch heels) came out at "tea-break" and said Omara was so beautiful and clever. She asked if she could have Omara. Take her forever, she clarified. I laughed--what exactly do you say to that? She then moved on to how young I look to be mother of 2. When I told her of the other 2 kids at school, she was really shocked and asked my age, and then proceeded to say 35 wasn't possible. "But then," she reasoned, "it's because of the money." Excuse me?  "Because you're rich, that's why you look young." My first thought: I am NOT rich!!!! But then again, next to, I don't know, 80% of the country, I actually am rolling in the dough, a...

Friday was the end of term for Anya and Ethan at Rosslyn Academy. The kids all had the day off, and we parents had to go in for parent-teacher conferences (kids thought that was great...me, not so much!) But I was glad for the chance to hear from their teachers how they were adjusting. Compared to the old days of preschool where I used to get notes home telling me what they ate and when they pooped...fifth grade feedback is somewhat less. Anya's teacher says she's doing great--no surprises there! She has friends, she's sweet and thoughtful, she's doing great in every subject, and she got only 1 B. Spelling is terrible, but it always has been and she's about to hit the day when everything has to be typed anyway. Group projects are tough, but what can I say...she's my daughter! I've always wanted to just do it myself, too. Overall, way to go kid!!! Ethan's teacher says he's doing great--a bit of a surprise! One of the highest achievers in the class...

I watched the clock all morning long, just waiting until 1pm when I could pick him up. I was sure he had cried himself into an oblivion, probably passed out from the emotional overload! With fear and trembling, I went inside...and a happy, excited blond-headed little boy came running to me!!!! I had already decided it was definitely a PlanetYogurt kind of day, so on the way over to the mall, he told me all about school...there were lots of friends, and spaghetti but no juice, only water, and coloring and a playground. And he said he wants to go back tomorrow! Oh, me of little faith!!! Lesson for the day...I should have worried less, and bought more white uniform shirts!

I think of myself as an experienced mother. My first child has survived me for 11 years so far, and she seems to be doing well. I've done the first day of school a couple of times, and the new nanny even more times. And I'm not high on the "feeling" scale, so a few tears never bothered me a bit. But I have to admit, I've been a bit nervous this time around. First, Isaac has had a lot of change in his little life, and he's just settling in here in Kenya. Because of that, he's been showing more separation anxiety fears than usual. You know, wanting Anya to stay with him in Sunday School, freaking out if he looses sight of me on the playground. Plus, it's a Kenyan school. He'll be the only 'mzungu' or foreign student, and while I love that, I'm also nervous because of the cultural differences in handling kids. Well, today was Isaac's first day of pre-school. We toured the place on Friday, and he loved the look of the playground. He...