On Structure, "Home Schooling" of Sorts, and And a Fun Link

I do really, really love me some structure. I think last year was a bit of a fog for me wherein I was just often a step or two behind and unable to feel like I was on top of just about anything. After a year of learning and a respite in the U.S., I am finding that I am much more efficient and comfortable here. I have lots of systems in place and systems make me such a happy, happy camper! (Systems can be as simple as figuring out "pick up sites" for objects that need to go up or downstairs; how to stay on top of menu planning, inventory of stuff like diapers, etc.,or a monthly day to deep clean and seriously organize the playroom. Basic, but EVERYTHING had to be figured out last year and now it all feels much more manageable and doable.)

As for home schooling, I am just referring to super cool materials I just ordered for Tiras. There are great resources for activities with toddlers. We have decided to keep him home one more year and I am really looking forward to having some structured activities with him! (Yep, there's that word again!) I even ordered a lesson plan book so that I can have each week's activities blocked out in advance so that all my good intentions don't simply remain intentions but actually turn into actions!

My Little Student To Be



As for the fun link, there is a missionary family that just moved here from North Carolina. They have four kids, two of which are pretty close in age to Micah and Tiras. They are keeping a blog and it has all sorts of fun and wonderful details about life here in Kisumu. Wish I had been so clever, but having missed that boat, am totally delighted someone else was and gave me the go ahead to link to their blog so you can check out everything from matatu names they've spied, to observations about the different foods here to typical moments they've entitled "Only in Kenya". It's definitely a slice of life here in Kisumu and really well done and fun to read. Enjoy!

http://www.theagapepages.blogspot.com

And, I just can't help but geek out over the fact that I am doing my first ever link insert. So very exciting! :-) Edited to add that my link did not seem to work so I just cut and paste their blog address. Hmph!

Weekend in Kericho

This past weekend we joined another family in our compound and drove up to Kericho. Kericho is the center of Kenya's tea industry and its rolling tea plantations made for a wonderful visual treat.

Our neighbor said that she grew up watching Indian movies where the male and female leads would sing love songs to each other in the rolling hills of tea plantations and I could well see how they make for a magical setting. They reminded me of wine country or hiking in the Swiss Alps and reminded Deron of driving through Germany--I think what they all have in common is a glorious pastoral vibe of blue skies and green rolling hills!

Another perk of our visit was that with its high altitude and daily rains, Kericho is significantly cooler than Kisumu. We even had a fire going in the evening and were snuggled in sweatshirts. It felt like autumn!

The kids had a ball together. Tiras has gotten so talkative and it's fun watching him hang out with "the big kids". It was an altogether wonderful weekend. Even the drive back was a pleasure as we made our way down the hills and back toward Kisumu.



Garden Entrance to our Lodging


Walking in the Tea Fields


Our Drive Back

Returning: Part 2

And after our trip to the U.S., we returned to Kisumu. And it felt like a happy return--Kenya really is home for us right now and I was struck by a few things. As different as it is from where I have lived all my life heretofore, it feels absolutely comfortable and like just where I am supposed to be. I was also struck by how far we have come since last summer. This time around we have our house up and running (albeit with plenty of surprise repairs and residents* with which to contend); we have friends and people we know; we have routines and a sense of how to function--Kisumu is now familiar.

And I was struck by the fact that we had not only survived travel with our young kids--it had gone fairly smoothly and that makes the whole world seem much more accessible. I think we are likely to do a lot more travel as the kids grow up than we might otherwise have thought to take on and I am excited about that.

And speaking of kids, we are at such a wonderful and fun stage with both of the kids. I was often reminded of the following exchange from Lost in Translation:

Bob: It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids.
Charlotte: It's scary.
Bob: The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born.
Charlotte: Nobody ever tells you that.
Bob: Your life, as you know it... is gone. Never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life.
Charlotte: That's nice.

Tiras is talking so much now and Micah has long been talking. I feel like the talking piece opens up a whole new realm of personality and I love it. I thought I loved the boys when they were babies, but with both boys, a whole new exponential level of adoring and enjoying them came into play when the talking started. I am so with Bill Murray's character--these are two of the most delightful people I will ever meet! Things can get tiring, hectic, chaotic, and even frustrating, but underneath it all, this motherhood gig really is sublime. Truly sublime.


There is still so, so, so much more to explore and discover here in Kenya and about my two boys! I am excited to see what the year ahead brings.

*By residents I mean critters ranging from the cute (geckos and tiny frogs) to the less appealing (such as the bats who decided they wanted penthouse privileges in our home and whose aromatic urine and guano made us all too aware of their presence)

Returning: Part 1

In the months that have elapsed since my "Spring Cleaning" post, we have flown back to the U.S. to have Micah checked out for medical issues (he's fine); returned home for a week and a half and then flown to Spain to join Deron's family for a cruise honoring his mom's 70th birthday (it was wonderful); returned to Kenya with Deron's mom to visit with her here, share Kisumu with her, and visit the Mara (a happy, happy time with so many memories); and then flown back to the U.S. with Deron's mom where we hit Baltimore, Walnut Creek, and Atlanta (a whirlwind packed with many special moments).

Returning to the U.S. (without the underlying tension of medical issues, as we had with Micah) was a happy whirlwind--time passed way too quickly in each spot, but held so many wonderful moments and so many familiar and nice to see again sights. We came nowhere close to doing all we had planned to do or seeing all the people we had hoped to see. We probably underestimated how quickly a tri-city tour would zip past. If we saw you, it was fabulous and cherished and we thank you! If we did not, it was largely due to how quickly time zipped in Baltimore and Walnut Creek--we had large contigents of family gather to see us in each place--and we sure hope to catch you in the next wave!

Even beyond the obvious interpersonal connections, there were lots of things to love about being back in the U.S. There are way too many to list them all, so in no particular order, here were some often-taken-for-granted-but-newly appreciated aspects to being back:

Deron and I both loved the freedom of movement. Roads are so good in the U.S. (not to mention signage, police regulating how people drive thus decreasing the truly crazy and obnoxiously aggressive behavior that might otherwise ensue, rest stops, and roadside assist services should something go awry) and we loved the feeling that should we wish, we could jump in the car at any time and to be able to go anywhere (heck, I just loved DRIVING again!).

I had a giant grin on my face every time I stepped in Target. Whole Foods and Publix as well. There are products and produce items I have missed. There are ingenious products I did not even know existed but discovered. (Hello Munchkin diaper discs--looks like the start of a beautiful friendship! These little guys totally work on the diaper pail as nothing else ever has! We may be on the tail end of life with diapers, but what a happy note on which to end our run thanks to these brilliant little game changers in the fight against yucky smell in Tiras's room.)

I cannot possibly overstate how much I enjoyed having clean, running tap water with which to brush my teeth and wash my dishes. So nice! (And, yes, I do fully appreciate how lucky I am to have running water at all and to have the distiller for my drinking water. I am not marching for ages to a water source and then painstakingly carrying my water back to my home. I still have it easy and I am grateful. Still, clean water so easily accessible as it was in the U.S. was something I relished.)

Speaking of doing dishes, garbage disposals. Ahhhh...

Chocolate cream pie at Chow in Lafayette. Had it three (yes, 3!) times while we were in Walnut Creek. Also had fish tacos at Chow the day we arrived in California and they were so delicious. I basically ate whatever I wanted in the U.S. since I knew it would be a year until I would have access to certain flavors and types of food again. I savored and fully appreciated all manner of food and beverage.

And on that very sweet note, I will end my written reflections on the U.S. visit. I can't do it full justice, so just suffice it to say that it was a fun and refreshing time.

Below are some pictures of the kids enjoying Atlanta's Fernbank Museum (run, don't walk to see their amazing new children's exhibit on the top floor--so well done and so much fun even for an adult to explore) and Destin Beach in Florida (a road trip our family took during the Atlanta portion of our trip).