So now you know

A Great Week

 
 
 
 
Too many weeks have already gone by this year, stressful weeks, but this week has been different. Ryan has eaten dinner with us 3 times already.

Monday, Caleb went shopping with me and helped carry my grass woven baskets into the grocery store. (my effort at being green). We couldn't find him any sandals, he is huge these days. He helped me run all my errands at yaya, good time with my eldest.

Tuesday, started Bible Study again. We are doing Daniel with Beth Moore. After a 10 week break, it was time to dig in the word again. Also good to see ho evveyone was doing since the election. Many stories of God's faithfulness.

Wednesday, our Home Schooling Books arrived in 2 boxes. I ordered kindergarten and 2nd grade in July. It was shipped to NY and placed on a container in August. It was s uppose to arrive in November, but got to Mombasa (port city) in December or January. And than it sat there as 1000's of containers got jammed at the port after the election. People couldn't get to work and than truck drivers didn't want to drive for fear of illegal road blocks. Lots of looting and burning of trucks happening.

Levi and I went to the hangar to pick up the boxes and see Ryan. The boys helped unload the boxes from the van but mostly got caught up looking at all the wonderful books. Joyce (my house help) asked Caleb if she could go to school with him cause he had such interesting books. I spend the rest of the day until 10 pm sorting everything out so we can get started Thursday. Also got a massage, my arms feel numb and legs ache, feel much better now.

Thursday, I have a luncheon meeting at Java House for the hospitality committee. Purely business!

Friday, I am hosting Ladies Prayer Meeting in the morning. In the evening, Ryan and I are going to a movie with friends. National Treasure is just coming out.

How was your week?

Also got hooked up to skype and making phone calls for cheap!

Levi's Heart

 

Tonight, I (Dawn) took a turn reading the boys a Bible Story. Afterward, Levi asked me if he could pray to ask Jesus into his heart. "Well Sure!" I said. He prayed a long prayer about loving Jesus, come live in my heart, be with my friends, and I prompted him about being sorry for when he does the wrong things etc. In Jesus Name Amen. He gave me a Levi grin and started for his bed. I came back with the camera and took his Birthday picture, first day of his New Life. Angels are singing tonight!

Chloe's First Christmas (with us)

We had a wonderful Christmas, the kids enjoyed the season immensely. And our joy came from watching them.

Babu arrived Sunday night and finished off our Christmas celebration Monday morning. Oma and Babu came over Monday bearing gifts! I am the most excited about Chloe's. My sister Deb picked out exactly what I would have picked out for my daughter. Chloe unwrapped a beautiful life sized baby doll. The doll has yet to be named beyond dollie. I want to wait and see what Chloe will call her doll. The doll has silky black hair, a realistic baby face, and baby toes along with a soft body.

She also received a graco baby set of toys for her dollie. A swing, high chair, car seat, pack-n-play, diaper bag, and stroller. Toys she can play with for years. Seth has fun pushing the stroller around the house for Chloe.

After we took the Christmas tree down, we made room for the girl toys in the living room. I have pink girl toys in my living room. Along side the toy motorcycles, tractors, and cars.

Thanks to Deb!

Deb even found pretty barrettes with Chloe's name on them and put them in the dolls hair.

Christmas Jammies

Oma made it Christmas Eve, minus two bags of luggage. I will post her email later. We had a wonderful Christmas day, very relaxing. Than the day after Christmas, wallah, her bags showed up! And we had Christmas again.

A favorite church of ours, Cloverdale in Idaho, sends us a Christmas package every year. New jammies for each of the kids is always included. A yearly favorite.

Babu flies in December 29. We are counting the days!

Christmas Blessings

Four little gifts under our tree.
Merry Christmas!

Levi To The Rescue

Our Seth locked himself in the boys attic bedroom Wednesday and than fell asleep for his nap. Three hours later I realized I couldn't open the attic securty door. Being a security door, it's not meant to be opened when it's locked from the inside. If we are ever robbed, we use the attic as a safe room. It has a heavy metal door with solid sliding bolts on it. We have never used it as a safe room.

Titus put a ladder on top of the car port and broke a pane in the attic window to unlatch and open it. We chose Levi to crawl up and through the heavy security bars inside the window cause he's brave and little. By now Seth woke up and is crying cause he can't figure out what is going on. Levi's reassuring words calmed him as he hopped down into the attic. He raced down the stairs with Seth close behind and unlocked the door.

Later that night, Ryan zip tied the sliding bolts open from the inside. Seth can't break the zips but he has tried to slide the bolts today, stinker that he is. Ryan assured me he used thin zip ties that I could easily break with a burst of adrenaline if I was hearding the kids into that attic in a time of crisis.

Wanza's Baby Boy

Our dear Wanza had a baby boy on November 23. We have known Wanza since 2002 when she started working for us. Caleb couldn't say Miss. Wanza at the time so he called her Auntie. She has been a positive, loving influence in the lives of our children ever since.

Wanza has a daughter, Tulu who is 18 years old. She recently married last Christmas to a good man whom she knew for 15 years. Little Ian Williams Mulwa Mbuvi was born on Tulu's birthday weighing 8lbs 6 ounces. That is amazing cause if Wanza is 5 ft, I would be surprised. I took Caleb to see baby Ian when he was just 5 days old.

Chloe's Dedication

Over Thanksgiving we attended our annual AIM Spiritual Life conference. The speaker was great, as well as worship. We stayed in a dorm with 3 other family totally 11 children 6 and under. Twice we stayed up too late playing settlers. Our true characters present themselves during competitive games! And Chloe was dedicated. Pastor Dick chose the meaning 'Verdent' for Chloe, very appropriate.

Soccer Practise

Every Monday from 3:30-5:30, Caleb plays soccer. About 8 kids show up along with a Kenyan coach and practise. Caleb is heading a ball in the pic. Than they play a game. One game, Caleb was the goalie and got hit full on in the stomach. He always has stories to share around the dinner table.

We have a "ligi ndogo" club in town, which means little league only for soccer. Eric's mom (Carrie) sent Eric to play but all the Kenyan kids his age where much better and more confident in their skills. Soccer is huge here, like learning to ride a bike for our kids is in the states. So she hired one of the refs to teach the kids soccer at her house, her compound is around the corner from ours. We pay 50 ksh for a once a week practise (less than a $1.00). I am impressed with the coach. He knows how to teach, is very patient, and makes sure the kids are having fun.

Eric practised with him for a year I think and now at ligi ndogo, his other coach was impressed with his skills.

We like Caleb being with other kids, not just our neighbors, taking turns, and being on a team. He also didn't want to go this week cause he was having fun with Zach. But he did, I told him he needs to finish what he starts. Someday, that might make sense to him!

Sportin' tudes

I have been impatiently waiting for Chloe to be big enough to wear a striped hoodie sweater from her cousins Elle and Grace. She wore it today, too cute.

Caleb's Heart

Caleb asked Jesus into his heart tonight! Ryan read the kids a Bible story and than asked them for prayer requests. Caleb wanted to have his sins forgiven and ask Jesus to be in his heart. We had been telling him about how Jesus forgives us of our sins and he had picked up on the phrase 'born again'. And that is just what he said, I want to be born again. So Caleb led his own prayer, without any prompting while we all listened. When he opened his eyes, he had a huge smile on his face.

Sunrise Acres

Ryan and I took the kids to Eldama Ravine this weekend.

We stayed the longest ever, 5 nights, 4 full days. Sunrise Acres has 4 cabins of various sizes with fully equipped kitchens a four hour drive from Nairobi. It's up in the hills, very quiet, for missionaries to rest.

I planned and packed some of our favorite meals. The missionaries who run Sunrise Acres have many ministries including a small farm which supplies guests with milk, eggs, strawberries, and pickle relish which I stock up on once a year.

It's got a long bathtub that Ryan could give all 4 a bath at the same time. Chloe loves to splash as hard as she can. The nights are cold, and the walls are thin, so the kids enjoyed wearing sleepers.

Seth was very proud of his tigger sleeper.

Chloe's First Birthday!

When each of our boys where born, Ryan brought me flowers. I carried the tradition to Chloe's first Birthday. This will be our first vivid memory of October 1. She had pink birthday cake and enjoyed 3 books just for her!

From Blue to Pink!

Chloe's nursery is the first nursery we deliberately decorated. Our fourth baby was worth it. I took the boy's bumper pad and recovered it with Kenyan material called a Kikoy with bright pink, lime green, and turquoise. We painted the walls lime green and my girl friend Tiffany made Chloe a beautiful butterfly wall hanging.

Chloe means green, vibrant, blooming. We painted her room before we had picked her or her name out. God is Good!

Before:



After:

So Big

Our little girl is filling out, putting jammies on at night take Titi Diane at least 1/2 an hour and 100 kisses!

No Training Wheels by Ryan

Well, it finally happened!

Both Caleb & Levi are riding their bikes without training wheels! Levi was first, believe it or not. He has been cruising for a bit over a week now and can get started on his own. He has tried to encourage Caleb to join him and take his training wheels off, but Caleb is not easily persuaded and the competition of his younger brother doing something he can't doesn't seem to faze him either.

After dinner last night we went out to ride bikes with our head lamps on. Levi was off and running, Caleb is riding around on one Training wheel and every time he passed I asked him if he wanted me to remove it. "NO! Dad, leave me alone, I want it on!" The next time he rode by it was the same response. Finally I said, "I'll give you a dollar, if you take your training wheel off and ride to the gate. He hit the brakes and skidded to a stop. He says,"You'll give me a dollar, really?!" I said yes. Caleb says to me, "Where is your wrench Dad, go get the wrench to take the wheel off!" The training wheel came off and he got ready and said, "Are you going to help me and hold my seat?" I said, "NO. You can do it all by yourself, to the gate!"

To make it even worse Levi got on his bike and yelled at Caleb to do it like this and off he went pedaling to the gate. Caleb asked me one more time, "You're going to give me a dollar Dad, right?!" I say, "Yes, as soon as you get to the gate." I give him a shove from under the seat and off he went pedaling to the gate, Seth and I are left standing in the driveway just laughing in the darkness. Caleb made it to the gate, made a big turn and came right back to the house, pulled up on his bike grinning from ear to ear with his headlamp shining and made a perfect stop and said to me, "OK Dad, I did it let's go inside now and get my dollar!" Well, I said, "You need to show Mom how you can ride."Caleb said, "Well OK, but you'll have to give me another dollar for that!"He's a tricky one!

Dawn came out and Caleb and Levi showed us that they are both professional bike riders now and then we went in for the night. In the kitchenI got out my wallet and gave them each 100 shillings, and congratulated them on their BIG accomplishment, and then Seth put his hand out, so I gave him 50 shillings. Dawn says I've started something!! That's the big news at our house, Caleb almost 6 yrs. Levi almost 4 yrs and the training wheels are on the shelf until Seth & Chloe need them!!

They are growing up too fast!

Love Ryan

Mommy and Me

I have a picture of me with each of my baby boys. Each one is in a white frame in Chloe's room. I have one empty frame that needs to be filled. Chloe's frame. Until now. I am going to order this picture today to fill my Baby Girl frame and have four frames with me and each of my babies.

Baby Shower (for my GIRL!)

6 weeks of love have transformed her:
-She is living up to her name which means vibrant, blooming, a green shoot.
-She is sitting up with just a little bit of help.
-She knows all of her families faces and voices.
-She talks, plays, and tries to sit.
-She loves it when her brothers talk to her.
-She sings if her lips are tickled.
-She weighs over 10 lbs.
A friend toldme she looks like Seth. Maybe that's one reason we were attracted to her.
She has a similar high round forhead (a family feature of ours), nose like Seth, and big bright eyes.







Yesterday
some of my friends
threw me a baby shower.
Look at all this PINK!