The Week In Review

Well, technically, the week and a half in review because a few items happened last week. But The Week in Review just has a bit more of a ring to it, don't you think?

Belated Thanksgiving wishes to all. It was bittersweet. But I think I say that in a good way, actually, because it brought about a bit of reflection. Here is the little status snippet I posted on Face.book yesterday.

"I keep not posting because I vacillate between overwhelming gratitude for so many blessings and (small, sheepish voice) feeling very homesick for family and friends! Since the latter is a sort of blessing--great to have people I love and miss, right?--I guess I will be thankful even for the tinge of blues I feel at times today. Wishing much love and a happy day of gratitude and thankful reflection to all!"

Not only were the replies to my status report very sweet and encouraging, but the process of typing out that status report made me think of the reality that it's a blessing to have people you love and miss. It's a blessing to have so many happy memories of Thanksgiving over the years. The very presence of a wistful yearning to be in the U.S. in the midst of that Thanksgiving vibe, or able to pick up the phone and speak to loved ones and not have such huge time zone differences preclude a call (or significantly shift the tenor from excited connection to groggy disbelief) are reminders that I have many blessings for which to be thankful.

And, to be sure, I have a great deal to be thankful for right here in Kisumu. I have people right here in Kisumu I already love and enjoy so much! I have experiences here that I wouldn't trade. And, I sort of feel a kinship to the spirit of that first Thanksgiving when people came to a new place and started flourishing there. Mind you, my journey has not been nearly so rugged. Still, those first six weeks or so in our new home saw many ups and downs. I sometimes joke that they lasted for years and then the following months flew by in about a week's time. I am thankful that life is so full and happy here that time zips along in a good way. I am thankful for all the strange and new things that no longer feel strange and new. I am thankful for all that I have yet to discover. I am even optimistically thankful for the day when I will be amazed that I once would not drive around here. That "once" phase is where I live now, but I am thinking positive that I am going to get the courage and confidence to do a bit of pushing myself on that front.

I am not sure how well I am articulating. The bottom line is that I spent a lot of time yesterday being grateful to God for all the places where He has taken me in the past and thankful for where He has me now. I am thankful for so many amazing people I have gotten to encounter in all those places. I am thankful for technology that lets me connect with people near and far.

And, to be sure, along with giving thanks, I also spent part of yesterday eating turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. And so many other yummy and examples of classic American Thanksgiving fare. We joined a number of other expats and it was very nice indeed.

And, as so often occurs on this blog, I have a few anecdotes about the kidlets I want to remember.

Last week, just before bed, I had Micah and Tiras on my lap. Tiras was being fussy and Micah had been in rare form pushing my buttons that day. And I had not, alas, always been the picture of grace, wisdom, and patience in my response to that button pushing. But day's end had arrived, as it always does, and we were all three sitting on the green rocker together and I said a little bedtime prayer.

Micah and I had just been reading about Jonah and The Whale and the story talked about a second chance for Jonah and a second chance for Nineveh and after our own rocky day, I was inspired to thank God for giving second chances and helping us move forward and do better in the future and for loving us all the same. And that started a roll of thanking Him for various things, such as Daddy coming back home safely from the U.S. and Ghana, a great week at school, good friends, and how much Tiras and Micah love each other.

I was about to say Amen, but asked Micah if he wanted to thank God for something (as he does when we say dinner grace each night) and he emphatically whispered "yes!" and this is what he added: "God, I really think you are the best person in the whole world! Because you're God! And I really like this prayer we're saying to you!" It's hard to convey his earnest and sincere and effusive tone and it was just a really sweet moment. I think we both felt comforted and encouraged about the character and love and mercy of God! Nothing like a little praise to just make a grouchy and/or off day melt away! And nothing like seeing your kiddo caught up in his own love and enthusiasm for God. A very sweet moment indeed!

And, today, Micah's class performed "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" at Friday Assembly. They had made their own paper oars and were all rowing as they sang. They had on cute sailor hats and just looked generally happy and adorable. The other "Early Years" classes performed as well and if they could bottle up the cuteness and sweetness of all those little kids and the smiles of the older kids watching them along with the smiles of all the adults, well, my goodness, the world would just be all hearts and rainbows here on out! All three classes got a bit of stage fright and shyness, but the audience loved them and Micah felt just thrilled by the performance. I really did not see him moving his mouth to sing, but he was belting it out at home after school today and he remembered himself as singing. And I think it's nice that in his mind, he was happily singing and performing--it was clearly a positive experience.








As for Mr. Tiras. He makes me smile. Mind you, he has started his run of the "Terrible Twos" early and can sure throw a tantrum with the best of em. And I read a P.ublix parenting newsletter for this age range which mentions the emerging trend of hitting and Tiras is proving to be right on track with that as well. And he loves to hurl food and sippy cups to convey his displeasure at anything ranging from no longer being hungry but still sitting in his high chair to being given juice he has asked for, but in a sippy cup he has apparently not envisioned holding his beverage of choice this time around to not being understood as he emphatically speaks to us in words we don't yet interpret correctly. And those moments can feel long and my patience can feel short. And, yet, when I think of Tiras, I just smile. There is something about that lumbering walk and bruiser swagger and happy giggle that just grabs my heart. And, of course, the daily snuggles into my shoulder with that sweet little head pretty much melt my heart.

Though I earlier alluded to words he uses which we do not correctly interpret, there are some new words we are successfully identifying. He now tells us to "See, See!" and/or "Look!" at "burps" (birds). And yes, I am apparently an eight year old boy at heart because that makes me crack up every time. (Hee, hee, he said burps!) Must be genetic because whenever Tiras actually does burp, he looks at me and cracks up. It's like he KNOWS my secret sense of humor already. There were other words this week, but as I sit to type this I realize that "burp" has eclipsed them all for me. Oh well...

Big news for Tiras last week was that he had his first haircut. Micah had the very good idea of doing a brother haircut wherein he would go first so that Tiras could see how it all worked and be less afraid. Tiras watched with rapt attention and seemed quite happy and calm. When Micah was finished, Tiras seemed to sit in my lap with happy readiness. If you have spotted the operative word "seems", good on you. As soon as the smock went on, the tears flowed. The tears did not stop until the haircut was over and he and I were out of that chair. He did manage to give the hair stylist a smiley high five, so evidently there were no lingering hard feelings.

Will leave you with some closing shots of Tiras getting his first haircut. Deron and I will try and get a more chipper shot of him tomorrow as well as one where you can see the new look he is sporting. Will also leave you with wishes for a very happy weekend!

Added A Few Photos

I went back to a couple of June and September entries and added photos. I am just getting the hang of formatting options and have not yet figured out how to change up the order or the layout if it turns out less than stellar, as you will see.

Still, it's an exciting beginning!

Edited to add that I just keep adding photos as I see thematically and chronologically fit. I am REALLY having fun here! I may be inundating the internet with blog entries now that I have this fun new feature working for me!

"See, See!"

"See, See" is the refrain that echoes through our compound these days because that is what Tiras says several hundred times each day. He especially likes us to "see see" things in the sky.

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Sometimes he will say "See! See ant!" And sure enough, he will be pointing to an ant. While we have a range of sizes of ants in our compound and while they all seem to send an occasional representative or two on quests into our home, we are fortunate to have very genteel ants. None of those biting fire ants or safari ants for us so far. And I hope it will stay that way because those biters sting! Here's hoping that by typing that in the Blog I don't have to soon eat my words and fend off the biters!

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In general Tiras is talking up a storm! He loves to use new words and seems to be gaining them by the day. "Indow" (window) is a newly acquired word Tiras seems to particularly savor saying! He also has started saying "Micah" rather than just "Cah" and this has proven to be a source of great delight to Micah, who is intent upon teaching Tiras to now say Micah James.

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And Micah has his own special way of "see see"ing lately. If he really likes something he is viewing, he will announce "I'm going to take a picture of that." He will then make a clicking camera noise and capture the image in his mind forever with his brain camera. The other day he beckoned me, "Mama, come and see this grasshopper!" Out on our entryway was a beautiful green grasshopper. I was just thinking how great it was that Micah appreciates nature with so much enthusiasm when he busted the brain camera move. And it touches my heart every time!

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And, oh my goodness, I can barely concentrate on typing any more news and text until I say "See! See! I learned how to post an image!!!" And it seems fitting to give you the setting of our blog tales. Pictured above is our compound. Our home is the unit on the right of the duplex pictured above.

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To the right you can see the shadow of the one stand-alone home on the compound. Living there is a couple with grown children and they are great with the boys. Tiras makes several trips a day to their front steps. Cement steps he insists on climbing. And our neighbor always comes out to visit with us when one of these climbing sessions is underway. Even when it is early in the morning and she is having coffee and still in PJs. She's that kind of friend and neighbor. And she sure does take time to get to know my boys and what they are like and what they like. She has planted various veggies and recently went out of her way to share seeds with Micah so he could do the same. She also showed him the first squash to grow on the thriving squash vine she cultivated from a seed! She likes science and seems to anticipate well what will be magic to a science fan like Micah. She also came to the Friday morning assembly at Micah's school to see him presented with a certificate for being a student of the week for reading.

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Behind the photographer is the other duplex on the compound. This is the home of the other two CDC families. This is where I ate just about every night Deron was away in the U.S. and Ghana for a conference and meeting. This is where I watched my boys lavished with love and smiles. This is where I watched my boys giggle and laugh with their beloved buddy, Aria. This is where I was kept far too busy and happy to ever have much time to feel lonely while Deron was gone.

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And the couple residing in the other side of our duplex are very nice as well! They just arrived here fairly recently and both have had some travel, so we don't see them quite as much yet, but always encounter warm smiles. Plus, they have added two more doted upon dogs to the compound. What's not to love about an elderly pug named Pudgy and the frisky and ever-jumping beagel puppy named Harley?!

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This, right now, is home. And come Thursday, I will be giving thanks for the blessing of my friends and family far away and for all the ways technology helps soften the blow of that distance and I will also be giving thanks for this wonderful and warm community which has become like a family to us here in Kisumu. We are blessed indeed!

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Note: I could not get spaces between paragraphs and since it looked like an overwhelming blob to my eye, I tried several ways to get those spaces and settled on the asterisk approach. For those of you who "follow" the blog, I hope you don't get an alert for every time I edit or you probably have about 10 for this entry alone!

November Hello!

Note: On November 21, I added some images from our expat Halloween! Many thanks to Grandma for sending us costumes and Aunt Kimmy for sending us Halloween candy from home. Skittles and Tootsie Rolls do great in the mailing process!

It is NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) and the idea is to post every day of the month including weekends. Well, in honor of NaBloPoMo, I figure I will endeavor to at least post ONCE this month. Wry smile. Blah blah blah internet down and blah blah blah busy with kiddos and all the usual reasons for falling way behind.

I do miss blogging more regularly. I have had the distinct delight of finding out good friends have been reading my blog and it makes me feel so connected to you to know you are out there reading this from time to time! Plus, I like the idea of having a little record of our family's time here in Kenya and here in toddler/preschooler mode for the boys to read later (and for me and Deron when the details so crisp and pronounced now start to inevitably fade a bit).

It's been a happy time. Because I have let so much time go by between posts, we have yet another bullet format update.

• In October Micah started really making some breakthrough progress in his swim class. He was concerned about drowning for a while there, but finally trusted Teacher Mark enough to spread his wings and fly, or swim as the case may be. It's been a number of years since he took his first steps in our New York appartment, but I do believe my thrill at seeing that face in the water, arms reaching overhead, and legs kicking was as acute here and now as it was back then. I realize walking is such a huge developmental milestone, but there is something about seeing my baby boy SWIMMING all on his own that just seems so incredibly capable and independent and as if he is plunging into the outside world. It is thrilling to me!


• Tiras is like a little toddler version of an extreme sports athlete. It's not enough to climb tall cement steps, which has my heart in my throat more often than not, but I am learning to hover close and yet give him enough space to try out new skills. No, it is not simply enough to insist on making an obsession out of climbing up and down the most precarious spots on the compound; once he masters these steps he has to start swinging his arms as if to jump and, at a minimum, to make balancing more difficult. I haven't found new grey hairs yet, but we shall see what I am looking like when he rings in birthday number two!


• Tiras is talking more and more. I think I am going to have quite a chatterbox when we share more words from the same lexicon. For now, it is so fun to see his delight as he uses a new word and looks at my face for a reaction. He also makes me laugh with all his pretend phone calls. These can take place with my cell phone, a shoe, his hand, really just about anything. They start with a hearty "hello" and have a pretty animated middle content (though this is where the differing lexicon limits my ablity to fully appreciate all that is going on) and end with a "goodbye". One morning I heard him chattering away in his crib and came in to discover him in the middle of one of these phone conversations. He smiled brightly at me but kept talking to his hand/phone and I swear the smile looked as if he were trying to say "good morning--so great to see you mom--but I really have to take this call". It is rather hilarious.


• Micah received a certificate at one of his school's Friday assemblies recently. I thought he was going to be too shy to even stand up. Instead, he walked up to the head teacher and I swear he puffed out his little chest and just beamed at all his schoolmates, teachers, parents etc out in the audience as the head teacher explained that Micah was reading three letter words. He was thrilled and delighted and I got such a kick out of how much he enjoyed being the center of attention. Did not see that coming based on how shy he can be in group settings.


• While we do not have crisp weather, gold, crimson, and orange leaves, jaunty pumpkins, or other traditional signs of autumn here, we DO have an expat community which celebrated Halloween in style. There was trick or treating on a couple of the Embassy compounds here followed by a potluck dinner party at our compound. The kids were SUPPOSED to get to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown but the DVD did not work. This DVD was provided for the occasion by yours truly. Yes, I do have a teaching background in which I was trained to test every single audio visual before class time. No, I did not do this because I did not think our brand new boxed set of Charlie Brown holiday DVDs would contain any defective DVDs. Yes, I did assume and yes I do remember what happends when one assumes. Yes, the defective DVD did have to be the one DVD which we needed for a group of kids hopped up on sugar who had been successfully corraled into one place and were now impatiently waiting for this great movie they had been promised. Yes, I have learned my lesson! (I have also ordered a replacement and Micah watched it yesterday and had a giant grin on his face! How fun is it to see my kiddo watching what I watched as a kid?! I tried to explain how we did not have DVDs and so we could only see this cartoon when it came on television once a year. I explained how everybody would be home watching it at the same time and how it was really special. Micah seemed pleased to have the DVD option!)


• We have plans for a big expat Thanskgiving gathering next week! Looking forward to it. Still, I cannot actually believe it is already November. Time is truly flying by!


• My history books and Schoolhouse Rock DVDs have arrived and I am really excited about both. The latter brings back so many memories. The history series is really great. It's by Scholastic and is the If You Were There series. I love the format and it contains a lot of information. Micah loves the Schoolhouse Rock videos. "Interjections", "Interplanet Janet", and "The Shot Heard Round the World" seem to be his favorites right now. Which is a nice range of grammar, science, and social studies now that I type this out!

Here endeth today's writing. I may try and jump on the NaBloPoMo bandwagon late and do some daily posts. I think it might be fun later to have slices of life reported that consistently. Recognizing, of course, that some slices of life might be "could not post yesterday because internet was down every time I sat down to computer."

And to all a good night!