2014

January

Nate turned 4 in January, and we pondered over how it was possible that 4

years had passed since that very eventful day when he came into the world.

My parents also made their second trip to Kenya in January. We took them
several new places, including Arabuko-Sokoke forest and Sabaki River.
And of course, we took some trips to the beach!

February

The highlight of February was Nate's half-term break.
We headed to Malindi for a long weekend. We spent our time in the pool,
on the beach, and at ice cream and pizza parlors, per Nate and Ben's request.

March

March is hot. While coping with the heat, we got ready for our trip to the US!

April

We went to Texas! It was a longer visit this time than the last time we went,
with break time worked in throughout the weeks we were there.
We started our trip with a real vacation - fun family time with no work on the side!

May

It seems (from the outside) that our time in the US should betotally relaxing -
after all, we aren't home cleaning our house, cooking for ourselves, keeping up
with the daily grind, and we're in the most comfortable place on earth (the US).
But, we are on the go all the time. We took a few days off here
and there, but it was still a tiring month of travel and visits.
Nate and Ben really, really love Texas.

 June

The end of our US trip. At one point I calculated the number
of miles we traveled, excluding trips within the towns we were staying in
at different times, just from one stop to another around the state.
I don't remember what it was anymore. Thousands. Texas is big,
and we didn't even make it to west Texas, the panhandle, the valley...
Nate got back to school almost as soon as we were home. He missed it so much!

July 

We got back in to the swing of life here.
The Maisha Kamili Transition Home became fully functional,
eventually housing 4 transitioners.

August

Kenya's school breaks are in April, August, and November-December.
While Nate was on break, we took a family trip to Nairobi to
renew his passport. We stayed an extra day or two to take
advantage of time in the Big City.

September

This was the beginning of the last school term in which
Ben would not be in school yet. We also celebrated him turning 3!

October

We started going to church in Malindi this year. It is quite a drive to make
(several times a week), but we feel it is a place we can
serve usefully. We are all making new friends, which is
something we really needed (especially me!).

 November

We celebrated Thanksgiving with great friends!
It was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had outside of the US.

December

With schools closed and many people on leave, December has
brought a lot of visits with friends!
We will spend Christmas with Rodgers' family, followed by a
Skype with my family during their Christmas celebration. 

It's hot, we haven't had running water for weeks,
Nate and Ben have spent way too much time with each other since schools
let out last month and they are getting on each other's (and my) nerves,
people disappoint us, we disappoint ourselves, but God is here.
He has brought us a long way this year, and he continues to
mold and shape us into the likeness of Jesus.
The year was good because God is. 

Santa is not that critical

Rodgers grew up without Santa Claus at all - he doesn't come to Kenya. I grew up with a fictional Santa, but we didn't believe in him - my parents' choice. Rodgers and I saw no reason to have our kids believe in Santa. We both feel Christmas is full without him. Not surprisingly, complete strangers have Very Important Opinions about this. And you know what? If you are on the other side, other complete strangers have Very Important Opinions about that. It's not unlike...well everything else that goes along with using social media as a parent. Sure some people will say these things to you in person, but with social media, you get read complete strangers' opinions about how you're ruining your children's lives from the comfort of your own sofa, at any hour of the day or night.

My sister posted this on Facebook yesterday, which I felt is one of the most well-thought-out pieces on why not to believe in Santa. The post itself is not judgmental, but there are always judgmental comments on posts like this. For what it's worth, I love that post and agree with all of her points, especially numbers 1 and 4 (and even more the first one since we live in a country where there is no Santa - I mean, can you imagine the American kids not only getting more Christmas gifts from their parents but also being the only kids in town visited by Santa?!).

(the whole bit in gifs here on imgur)

Later yesterday, Christianity Today posted this one, which is a bit more inflammatory (tactic to ensure more people will click on it). The title says that your kids should believe in Santa, whereas the previous one just said that their kids don't. While I agree with the conclusion on that post (that Jesus communicated truth using parables to appeal to the imagination through fiction, and other fiction can be used the same way), I don't agree that believing fiction is real is necessary.

There are a zillion other posts, from both sides. Some simply state the practice of the particular family, like the first post I linked to. Others tell you why you (and, more importantly, your kids) would be better off adopting their viewpoint. Regardless, the comments are predictable:

"HOW COULD YOU LIE TO YOUR KIDS?!"
"HOW COULD YOU DEPRIVE YOUR KIDS OF THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS?!"
"Your kid is going to ruin Christmas for all the other kids!"
"Your kids only behave because of that creepy elf? How sad."
"There's enough reality when you're an adult. Let the kids have some fun."
"Well, I grew up not believing in Santa, and I'm just fine."
"Well, I grew up believing in Santa, and I'm just fine."

Let's focus a little on the last two comments.

While there are people who feel deprived to not have experienced believing in Santa, and there are people who felt betrayed when they found out their parents had lied about Santa, for the most part, it just doesn't matter much. It's not that critical.

And if people comment to you in ALL CAPS that it is that critical, that what you're doing will Ruin Christmas or Deprive Your Kids, just imagine them like Little John because this is what they're fighting over.

Monthly Musings [a linkup]

Spending Thanksgiving as an American expat is weird. Christmas is different - it's hard being away from our family in the US, but at least the holiday is celebrated, and some familiar things like nativity scenes and Christmas carols help make me feel more homey. Thanksgiving is kind of like Independence Day. The day comes and goes like any other. No one is off work. No one is celebrating. I had a very hard time my first Thanksgiving outside of the US, during which our Thanksgiving dinner had to be postponed for about 7 weeks.

Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room of a ship in the Philippines, 2006

Since then, with help from Rodgers, I try to introduce the holiday to my non-American friends. It is a lot of work for me in the kitchen, but so much fun! We get to teach a tiny bit of American history and introduce our friends to some super yummy American foods. It helps that I make cornbread dressing and the staple food here is corn (as in maize). The dressing and turkey are always eaten up very quickly. Not so much the veggies, but that's ok with me - I can eat creamy green beans for days!

Our first Thanksgiving in Kenya, 2012

As Christians, it is important to us to have a day set aside to particularly focus on giving thanks to God for providing for us. Of course, we give thanks every day, every time we pray. But we have holidays to pay special attention. We celebrate Christmas to pay special attention to the coming of Christ. We celebrate Easter to pay special attention to Jesus' death and resurrection, even though we worship on Sundays every week for the same reason. In Deuteronomy, the Hebrews were commanded to celebrate God's provision for seven days! (The Feast of Tabernacles) We don't personally celebrate the Jewish feasts, but I believe Thanksgiving Day serves the same purpose to us as the Feast of Tabernacles.

Our second Thanksgiving in Kenya, 2013

We invite Christian friends to celebrate with us. We thank God for what he has done for us, for the ways he has worked in all of our lives, for the ways he has made his presence known in the world around us. We eat before the Lord our God, and we rejoice! (Deut 12:7)

This is a monthly linkup. Check it out for more musings about thankfulness:

Advent 2014

I love suspense movies and books. And TV shows. Suspense is fun. Alfred Hitchcock is quoted as saying, "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." In the same way, as a lover of Christmas, I enjoy the days leading up to Christmas so much. Not that Christmas is terrifying. There is fun in the anticipation. And Suspense's last name is Anticipation.

This anticipation, the expectant waiting, is what Advent is about. Thus, we have an Advent calendar. As we anticipate the arrival of Christmas Day, we do Advent readings as a family and focus on what Christmas is about, why it's all about Jesus, and who Jesus is anyway.

This year we are using the same short Scripture readings for each day, December 1 - 24, that we used last year. We start with some prophecies, move on to the gospels (particularly who John the Baptist said Jesus is and how Jesus describes himself), and conclude in Paul's letters. I print out the list, cut the days apart, and tuck each one into a pocket of our Advent calendar, with the tree ornament for that day. You can find my printable file below, if you want to follow along! Or if you prefer to follow digitally, follow Maisha Kamili on Twitter or Facebook. I will post each day's reading, as well as posts for the 4 Sundays of Advent on the Maisha Kamili blog.

The boys are very eager to get the new ornament out each day. They bring me the slip of paper and I read the designated Scripture as they place the ornament.

Click for the pdf.

In past years, I've done a daily blog post Advent guide. If you're looking for a different kind of Advent reading, flip through some of these:
Advent 2013 (Dec 1) || Advent 2012 (Dec 1) || Advent 2010 (Dec 1)

that day...

It's no big secret that I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day (click that link - it's pretty funny). It's been several years since I was alone on Valentine's Day, but still. I make my husband heart shaped egg-in-toast all the time. Why have a holiday for this? I have no idea. I find it silly and unnecessary.

Rodgers likes Valentine's Day. He's very sentimental like that. I think it disappoints him a little that I'm not more festive, so I make an effort for him. I'm ok with using the holiday as an excuse for a date because I love going on dates with Rodgers, but the date won't be on February 14. We always have to schedule for a more convenient time. Really it's a normal date, which we do when we can anyway.

My favorite Valentine's Day by far was 2011, which I don't think I blogged about because it was still a secret. We had not yet told anyone that I was pregnant with Ben. My first doctor appointment was the week before Valentine's Day (at 8 weeks pregnant). Rodgers was working the 3 pm - 11 pm shift then, and he worked every weekend. I was unemployed at the time. Thus, Nate was not in daycare. We used Rodgers' work schedule + Valentine's Day as an excuse for the babysitter. Rodgers could go with me to my first appointment, and we could have a lunch date.

They always do an ultrasound that first appointment, and I wanted Rodgers to be there to see the baby with me. Then we headed to CVS, with my treasured Zofran prescription. As we waited, we picked out Valentine's cards for each other, exchanged them, read  them, and put them back on the rack. We grabbed some snacks (which we did actually purchase, unlike the cards). I had Dove dark chocolate. After I took my meds, we went out to lunch together, where I was able to eat a full meal for the first time in two weeks. I didn't even feel like puking, thanks to the Zofran, and that was oh, so romantic.

Christmases

I promised that I would blog some Decembery stuff after we got back from TX. So...in a nutshell...

Christmas always starts with my birthday. For my 30th, I told Rodgers the only thing I wanted was to go swimming. My birthday is in December, just 6 days before Christmas. I've never had a pool party. Rather than just paying to use the pool at a beach resort, Rodgers took us all on an overnight adventure to Jumuia Beach Resort in Kanamai, with full board, meaning we didn't even have to find food for our meals. It was fab.

That Saturday, we finally spent Christmas with Rodgers' family. We were supposed to have Christmas 2009 here, but of course I was pregnant. Then we were here in the summer of 2010, so we knew we couldn't come back for Christmas that year. Again, we planned to come for Christmas 2011, but decided not to since we were going to be moving here in the first part of 2012. It was a long time coming. We decided that, since we'd be flying out on the 27th, it would be best to not go anywhere on Christmas Day. We invited Rodgers' siblings and their families to their mom's house for lunch on Saturday. We wanted to introduce the idea of a sort of potluck. Though it would only be 1 dish, cooked there, everyone should bring something. We weren't sure if everyone would cooperate because they are used to having all the food provided for them, but they did! And Nate and Ben had a blast playing with all of the cousins.

Christmas morning called for bacon and eggs. After breakfast, we read the Christmas story in Luke and put the baby Jesus ornament on our tree, hoping that eventually the boys will understand that Christmas is about Jesus. Then we opened gifts. The boys are still at an age that they share everything, so they were both as interested in each other's gifts as they were their own. My favorite part was watching them watch each other pull things out of their stockings.

2012 Christmas Letter

Normally I mail our photo Christmas card with a little letter about our year. This Christmas finds us in Kenya, thus we're doing our Christmas cards digitally, as part of my "this year in pictures" end-of-the-year blog post. So for those of you coming to the blog for the first time via our Christmas card email: Karibuni! Welcome!

January

Nate turned 2!! We were living at Camp Tejas, working on our first fundraising goal so that we could move to Kenya. God amazed us by meeting our fundraising goal around the end of the month.

February

We got ready to move to Kenya by traveling around the state, speaking in churches, and visiting family

March

We arrived in Kenya and began settling in to our new way of life. We were sent here by non-profit organization Maisha Kamili to start children's homes. The first phase of our work was to register Maisha Kamili in Kenya, look for land to buy, and set a fundraising goal for buying land

April

The boys got to meet lots of their Kenyan cousins and make friends in our neighborhood.

May

Rodgers' birthday! And look! My parents came to visit. We also went on a game drive (safari) in Tsavo. My first! I'm sure I've mentioned that it was awesome.

June

June started fun with my parents still visiting, but after they both left, Ben got sick, and we had trouble with our car and the electric company. Good news: Ben is a strong, healthy guy! He recovered and has not been sick since. We rented cars when we needed them, and we were able to stay in a hotel with a bathtub while our power was out.

July

In July, Nate decided he was done with daytime diapers (nighttime potty training took a couple more months)! Ben started eating real food. Pictured here having just "cleaned up" Nate's spilled snack. He also started climbing the stairs. Maisha Kamili began supporting orphans and children of widows who need help paying school fees.

August

Ben and Nate started really playing together. They love rough-housing with their dad. Below, they were pretending to be in a bobsled. Ben's goofy personality came out more and more. He loves playing jokes and making us laugh.

September

Ben turned 1!!

October

We went to Nyahururu to work on getting Maisha Kamili registered as a ministry in Kenya and also to see how one of our friends is running their children's home. We went to Lake Nakuru while we were up there, as well as crossing both the Rift Valley and the Equator and seeing Mt Kenya. Ben went from taking a few tentative steps to running around with Nate. Nate says that Ben is his best friend. Neither one can stand being away from the other for very long. Also, my uncle and cousin came to visit. I really didn't take many pics of them, but here they are looking at the Indian Ocean.

November

Our work continued, and these two boys just kept growing. The 7 MKKs we were taking care of at this point are pictured below, with their names in the photo caption. We had them all over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner.

(back row: Moses, Beatrice, Pamplin Mpate; middle row: Santa, Tiffany, John; front row: Joshua)

December

We've been planning to have a Christmas in Kenya since 2010. That one fell through because I was 38 weeks pregnant on Christmas Day. We rescheduled Christmas 2011 in Kenya because we were planning to move here this year. We will have Christmas dinner with Rodgers' family on the Saturday before Christmas, followed by Christmas with just the 4 of us at home, followed by 26 hours of flying and layovers (a longer trip if you count from the time we leave here for the airport until the time we arrive at my parents' place from the airport on the other side) to get us to Texas for a month of visits and reporting on Maisha Kamili. Our December and Christmasy adventures will be posted here on the blog, though considering how busy we will be the last week of December, posts may not be very prompt!

As I finished this post up, I enjoyed going back through our picture posts from previous years.