Getting ready for Christmas

I must say that it really is hard to get into the Christmas spirit here. It's hot, sunny, tropical...beautiful, but not Christmas. Even thought the shopping areas here have put up Santa Clauses that play music (last year it was The Yellow Rose of Texas) and there are lights and trees everywhere...it somehow makes it a little silly. We did get our tree up and have wrapped a few gifts to put under it. We're listening to Christmas music and trying to watch lots of movies, too. It's fun. We're really looking forward to our trip to Egypt to see family and to be in "cold" weather.

Thanksgiving in Watamu

Jess and I trying to stay afloat and not EAT our too-big life vests!!!


Exploring for hermit crabs and sea slugs at low tide.


Daniel and Jamie took the girls out to what we called Crab Rock at low tide. Although slightly freaked out, the girls were in awe.

Enjoying some pool time together!

We had a GREAT time on our trip to Watamu, Kenya...the coast! We went with Pam and Gary and Jamie and Jessica Dunning. I have to admit, there was some apprehension about "the ocean" on the girls' part. Abby was nervous about a HUGE body of water you couldn't see the end of. Kaylee was actually pretty excited, but did continuously ask about "swimming with fish". I was a little nervous myself taking this trip with the 3 girls and other adults. All that worry was for naught! Abby LOVED the ocean (after a true screaming and hysterics fit walking through the 3 feet of seaweed to get to the clear water) and had a great time making a sand castle. Kaylee enjoyed the ocean, the fish, and the sand but, in the end, decided she liked the pool better because "it is cleaner". Sydney is a true water baby! Unfortunately, she is fearless in the water so we had to have someone keeping a constant hand or eye on her. She loves the ocean (drank half of it) and had a blast walking off the ledge of the pool into the deeper water. Daniel and I enjoyed the snorkeling (after an hour and a half on VERY rough water looking for dolphins we never did find) and the girls even got in to "snorkel" too. I was so proud of them for getting in and trying! Syd slept on the snorkel boat, so that was also wonderful. We got tons of lounging time on the beach, which was also by the pool! Jamie and Jessica, Pam and Gary all helped us out entertaining the kids and keeping an eye on them, so Daniel and I got to kayak together and enjoy our own lounging and down time. It was wonderful...we WILL go back!
The girls and I getting a glimpse of the Masai warrior show while Daniel went to get our afternoon ice cream and crepe snack!

Sand 'n Sun....what the beach is all about!

Kaylee having fun getting wet sand from the surf.

Daniel enjoyed showing the girls how to make amazing sand towers. And Pam'ma brought flags for the turrets!!!

On the snorkel boat...No, I did not mess up with the picture...the water was SO rough it was hard to keep the camera steady!

Pam'ma and Grandpa taking care of Syd. What can we say? She LOVES her grandparents!

Too Precious

I took these pictures before church a couple weeks ago. I just think they're all SO incredibly cute. I can see little peeks at each girl's VERY individual personality in each picture. As crazy as my mind is during this stage of life...I love my girls.

"Fake an Injury Day" with my class during Spirit Week. 16 kids here, one absent, and Ruth, my co-teacher. Lots of fun, great participation, and WE WON the pizza party!

Okay, so this is Halloween for me and Daniel. Great, isn't it? We went to a murder mystery dinner. It was a 50's high school reunion. Dan was the "bad boy" and I was the boring intellectual nerd. In the middle is Sherene Horton (whose husband didn't run to get in the picture before our defective timer on the camera went off). Next is Jess and Jamie, our next door neighbors. Far left is Matt Elmore (other nerd in the story) whose wife, Kelly (the slutty cheerleader) also did not make it before our timer took the pic. Lots of fun.

October

Happy Halloween! from our two princesses and our pumpkin.

Abby performed in Kindergarten chapel last month on the topic of kindness. Her part in the skit was being mean to the kid who was different. Then she and Gabe recited their line "Kindness is giving your dog food and water every day". She did great and had a lot of fun.

Lots of friends at Sydney's 1st birthday party! Ann with Madelyn, Jess holding Syd, and Wendy! Very important people in our lives.

Dan and me with a happy, one-year-old Sydney.

Yum, yum, yum! Mickey Mouse cake with "brown" icing. Well, I tried.

First day of school with our great friend and best babysitter, Becca.

Kaylee has a letter or the day at Eaglets and they often make a craft. "N" is for "nest". She is always VERY proud of her work.

Gabe and Abby on the elementary playground on the first day of school. They are so excited!

Don't really have a lot to say, but am going to post pictures. We've been through 1st day of school for me and Abby, Eaglets and staying with Pam'ma for Kaylee, and half-time with Mama Margaret and half-time with Pam'ma for Sydney. Syd is walking all over the place. She LOVES to play in the buckets of water in the bathroom (we're in water conservation mode), including the bucket of water commonly called the toilet! Things are getting busy, but we are all happy and so blessed.

SuperBowl

We had a fun time this past Saturday bowling at Village Market with Pam and Gary. The girls got to bowl for the first time a few weeks ago with my dad while he was here. They LOVED it, especially Kaylee. We had gutter guards when we went with dad and they helped ALL of us. =) Kaylee would trot up to the line and spread her feet and be ready to send that ball down the lane. It was super cute. This Saturday with Pam'ma and Grandpa was a little different. There were quite a few people there and the lane we were in did not have gutter guards. So, we had fun, but...our scores were a lot lower. =) I got a few pictures of the girls and of the crazy contraption that the place gave us in lieu of gutter guards!

End of Year Bash

So this post is a little late...but it's me, what do you expect? =) I was collecting pics from friends of our end of the school year event. The staff was treated to a very nice night out at the Muthaiga Country club for dinner and speeches and farewell performances. It was a fun time to dress up and hang out with friends. So, here are some pictures of our friends here.

This was our table for the evening. Left to right: Daniel and me, Paul Bedsole, Jeremy and Ann Greenwich, Tricia and Ed Berngen, Matt and Kelly Elmore, Jessica and Jamie Dunning (our neighbors).

Here are the girls. It's always fun to have an excuse to dress up, huh? Me, Ann, Tricia, Jess, Kelly.

Preacher Dan..or Teacher Dan

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I went to our first Kenyan church (slum Kenyan church...not mega church). Our househelp, Eunice, invited us and our neighbors, Jamie and Jessica, to come to her church. Her husband is the pastor and she wanted the four of us to come visit the church. Of course, that meant that Jamie and Daniel were expected to teach and preach. We still haven't understood the difference between teaching and preaching except that teaching comes first, preaching comes second. =) So, technically, Daniel "teached" and Jamie preached.

It was really an interesting experience, and enjoyable in an odd way. We left campus at about 9:15 and started our walk to the slum that is a 2 minute drive from campus. About 35 minutes later (up and down some serious hills) we met Margaret (Eunice's daughter and Jamie and Jessica's househelp) at the entrance to the slum. She walked us through the muddy, rocky, UNEVEN one lane road through the kiosks and people and children and dogs to a small wood and metal room PACKED with benches and people. I could not believe how many people were crammed into that room. Now, they had already started church (we were to come after the praise and worship). So we walked in and SQUEEZED onto a bench with about 4 other people. It was an amazing time of worship for the people. They had a keyboard and sound system going and everybody was very ready to hear the teaching and preaching from the white people. Both Jamie and Daniel did a great job and it was so encouraging to see God at work in their messages. They had not planned together, but Daniel's message of new life/new heart tied right into Jamie's message of new life. Very cool. Anyway...after church we sat in the church office and visited with a few different people, drank Coke and ate some cookies.

Eunice has invited the four of us back in July sometime and wants Jessica and me to "speak to the women". If you know me, you know I don't' "speak" to anybody!!! Jessica pretty much feels the same. So, if you think of it, please pray for Daniel and Jamie as they prepare more teaching and preaching, and for me and Jessica as we figure out a way to get out of it...I mean, as we figure out what God would have us do and say. =)

Daniel "teaching" the Word with his

translator at his side.

Us squeezed onto our bench with the kids that wanted to come see the white people. We had 5 kids clambering in and out of our laps the whole service.

Me, Eunice (our househelp), her daughter Abigail, Margaret (Eunice's oldest daughter and Jamie and Jessica's househelp), Jessica. The brown curtain in the background is the door to the church office and the church is to Jessica's left and back.

Daniel and Jamie at the entrance to the church. The area we are in is called Runda. This church is in a transition time...having difficulties with the government over land and money. Please pray for them as they try to buy a plot and build a bigger, more easily accessible, church.

Getting Bigger Every Day!

These kids never cease to amaze me! Each day I see something in at least one of my sweet girls that shows how much they grow each moment!!!

Abby has lost her second tooth now. We can see her big teeth growing in now. She asks every day if they're bigger? will they feel different than my baby teeth? Is it going to hurt to have big teeth? what will they look like? Her brain is working overtime with all her changes right now. She's had friends leave for the summer, some not coming back. She's thinking about getting ready for school. Today she was asking what nap time in Kindergarten would be like. She thinks about her back pack we got int eh states, her new lunch box...what we're going to put IN her lunch box. So big, so smart, so sweet...so overloaded! Kaylee is getting easier to understand...little by little. She's trying really hard to pronounce certain words the right way. She LOVES to talk, though, and MUST be heard. Therefor...she yells a lot. =) I am so excited to see how she grows and develops next year while Abby is at school. Kaylee talks all the time about being in Eaglets with Pamma next year and getting to go to Monkeynastix. She's always saying, "When I was 4...." and then finishing with something that Abby has gotten to do. (meaning WHEN I'm 4...) Kaylee is so brave and adventurous. She likes to try new food and clamber and climb...okay, not so brave int eh pool, though. She is ready to know it all and do it all. Kaylee is my sweet cuddler, though, and we enjoy snuggling in the mornings.

Sydney is 10 1/2 months old! It's really gone by so fast with her. She is almost weaned, loving milk, eating almost anything you give her. She's lost some of her fat rolls with all the walking around she's been doing. She cruises around the furniture and loves it. We are borrowing a walker from some friends for the summer and Sydney was super excited to discover she can reach shelves ad pull things off when she's in her walker. =) Her third tooth finally came in and I think she's working on her fourth this weekend. She loves turning pages in books and playing ball. Much to daddy's delight, she really enjoys kicking a ball, too. Here she is making her "football face". It comes along with heavy sniffing through the nose. I am thoroughly enjoying my last couple months home with my almost 1 year old!

It's been tons of fun having Daniel home with us this summer. He loves playing with the girls and they love having Daddy coach them and teach them and play with them. it's such a relief for me to have him here at the house during this transition summer and he has been so supportive. Over all, it's a great time for our family...we're loving it...and each other.

Paradise Lost

I have been struggling with fighting boredom this summer. Although I have a million projects in my mind that need to be dealt with, I can't seem to find a starting point for any of them...or maybe it's that I can't see the ending point of any of them. Anyway, yesterday was a nice break from my inner turmoil. Our friends, Scott and Lara, invited us to join them for a picnic and fun day at Paradise Lost. The group consisted of our family, Scott and Lara, Wendy, the Greenwich family, and two friends of friends visiting Kenya for the first time, Keith and Laura. We piled into our cars with our picnic gear, sunscreen, diaper bags, etc., and got on the road at about 10:30. This place is only about 15 minutes away!!! I love finding places so close to home. I guess I wouldn't say it's Paradise, but it is a really nice place to have a day out with the family. There is a small lake, little boats to go out on, tons of picnic tables (and you can camp there and build fires). I think the girls' favorite part (probably the Greenwich boys' too) was the cave! There was a waterfall (that didn't have much water flow) and the kids could climb on the rocks and scamper everywhere. Then we went behind the waterfall in to the cave. Scott let the kids explore all the cave holes with his phone flashlight. They LOVED it. Our picnic lunch was great. we all sat under a nice shade tree close to the water...and then became the main attraction. There were about 5 or 6 Kenyan schools there with kids on a field trip. All the kids started circling us and saying hi and watching us eat. Madeline was definitely their favorite "thing" to look at. So, we were entertained watching them watch us for a while. Kaylee wanted to ride a horse, so we did that after lunch and then fed the ostrich (which was hilarious because none of us trusted that thing enough to hold the food in our hand very firmly)! There was a camel to ride, but the line for the camel ride was a mile long. We'll have to do that next time. It was a great outing and nice to find something different and so close to home that doesn't break the bank and we can enjoy as a family.

The Tooth Fairy

Well, as I told many of you, Abby lost her first tooth yesterday. It's been loose for a couple weeks and she finally pulled it out yesterday during nap time. She was so proud of herself, but also traumatized...she cried when she showed it to me. My sensitive big girl.