Four Years Old!

This boy turned four years old last week!

Kai had been asking for months (basically since Caleb's birthday back in May) if it was his birthday soon.  He was VERY excited when the day finally arrived last Tuesday.  He woke me up in the morning and said, "Mom, I'm four years old and I get to go to preschool!  And what's the color of the week?"  I had to smile :)  He was holding his tye-die shirt in his hand, and when I told him the color of the week was green he exploded with excitement: "There's green on this shirt!!!"  And he ran off delighted to have picked out a shirt that matched the color of the week for preschool :)

That afternoon he opened his present from us and got right to work.  Our 4-year old continues his obsession with all things digging and dirt and construction, so combining that passion with play-dough has proven to be quite a hit.  This brick-making machine (which I shockingly found in Nairobi) was the perfect present.  It entertained all of the boys all afternoon.

A couple days after his birthday we had a small party with all the preschool and Kindergarten boys.  We had originally planned a "dig in the dirt" party in our sandbox, but there's been a lot of rain lately and we decided against sending everyone home covered in mud.  Instead, we busted out a bag of Duplos that Grandma and Grandpa Horn gave to Kai, which offered wonderful entertainment.

And then it was time for cake!  I had thought far ahead and planned to make dirt cake, which requires vanilla and chocolate pudding packets (which cannot be found in Kenya) and so I arranged to have them brought over when some visitors came.  I even had gummy worms sent over the ocean!  But, after seeing Asa's tractor cake last month, Kai was adamant about having a cake "just like Asa's" but with a dump truck and a digger instead.  I tried several times to convince him that having a dirt cake would be so much fun, but he would not budge.  He was tantalized by Asa's cake, and so I resolved to make one "just like Asa's" and so make our birthday boy happy.  I spent awhile on this cake.  Thankfully Kai was very happy with it.  (And thanks to my sister for finding those perfect dump truck candles and sending them over!)  We still have the ingredients for a dirt cake - maybe that will be a Christmas treat for us this year :)

I can scarcely believe that four years have gone by already since this boy came into the world.  He did not come very willingly - only after three days of induction did he make his debut!  But he has brightened our world and kept us on our toes and increased the joy and number of adventures in our life.  Kai is truly an adventurous spirit, happy to try new things and willing to take risks.  He is never more focused, or more happy, than when he's digging in the dirt.  He knows construction machines like the back of his hand and has made a habit of pointing out whenever a book mis-labels a construction machine picture: "Mom, that's NOT a digger!  It's a backhoe because it has a shovel in the front and a bucket in the back.  And this is NOT a digger either!  It's a front loader.  See the big bucket in front???"  His favorite show is Mighty Machines.  Kai also loves all things Paw Patrol and has recently discovered how much he loves the animal kingdom (because of hearing big brother Caleb go on and on about animals 24/7).  Kai and Caleb regularly have "bug battles" in the living room and debate which is cooler: striped-tailed centipede, giant rainforest crab, desert trapdoor spider, or perhaps the vinegarroon?  He thinks the bathroom is a playroom and drives us nuts with his daily shenanigans in there.  Kai loves to read, loves to do puzzles, and loves to help out in the kitchen.  He loves to climb trees and build forts and disappear in the compound in search of a new dirt pile.  He loves learning about Jesus and reminds us that no one can save us but Him!  His favorite Bible story is David vs Goliath, and he prefers to play the djembe when we worship during Home Church.  Kai has a tender heart and thinks about things that surprise us.  When we ask what he's thankful for at bedtime, every night without fail he says (along with Caleb), "I'm thankful for you, Mom, and I'm gonna be thankful for you forever."  And I cherish those words every time he says them because I know he means them and because I know he won't say that every night for the rest of his life, but the words are true and a reflection of this boy's heart.  Kai makes this world a better place and we are beyond proud to call him our son!

We love you, Kai!

Catching Up

For the past few weeks we've been catching our breath, which has been much needed.  For four months prior to this we were going going going and rarely taking care of each other let alone ourselves.  And now God has graciously given us some time to catch up and say hi to each other and spend time together and take a breath.  It's been very good.

Here are several snapshots from the past few weeks.


Home Church

Whenever Eli is on-call for the weekend, I avoid taking the kids to church by myself (read: I avoid the chaos of managing at least two kids fighting over who gets to sit on my lap and the inevitable chasing of Asa up and down the aisles), and choose instead to do Home Church.  We pull out several instruments (many of which are makeshift instruments using toys) plus our djembe and guitar.  I bought the djembe at Maasai Market in Nairobi, and we eventually decided to spend money on a guitar since we left Eli's guitar in America and realized we really wanted one available.  So we make a joyful noise unto the Lord during Home Church, or at least a noise :)  And one time recently we decided to stay home for Home Church even though Eli wasn't on-call.  It was great!

Picking Carrots

We harvested carrots in our garden!  We had a TON of them, and there's no better way to dig up carrots than to send in two dirt-loving boys to do the job.  It was a highlight of the week :)

Eli's Birthday

Eli turned 35!  It was a quiet celebration since he was sick and on-call for OB (which means he was gone most of the day - Kenyan women have babies like it's their job and keep the docs quite busy!).  But the boys made him birthday cards and he had a couple presents to open, including a new fantasy book I ordered and had his cousins bring over when they came to visit (thank you Ben and Ryan!!!) and a new Minnesota shirt from Eli's parents.  Even at 35 it's nice to have a couple presents :)

Bubba in the Kitchen

Asa has discovered how much he loves to help in the kitchen.  This Bubba loves to stir, loves to taste, and loves to make a mess!  He especially loves to make cookies, but who wouldn't?  Sometimes I have to be super sneaky when I'm cooking because if Asa realizes something's happening in the kitchen he wants to be involved, and I must confess that sometimes I prefer to accomplish my task without his "help" :)

 Asa Bubba

Speaking of Bubba, this kid is embracing toddlerhood head-on and voices his many opinions forcefully.  He was such a babbler as a baby and we always anticipated that he'd have a lot to say whenever he had words to use, and that is proving true!  His language is developing at a rapid rate and this little man has lots to say.  And although he can be a little punk sometimes, he's mostly still his adorable self, giggling and squealing and flashing those dimples :)  I tried to get a cute picture of him the other day, but he was most uncooperative.  The second picture below cracks me up!  But check out that dimpled smile with the chameleon :)

Outside Fun

Several other MKs have scooters and ripstiks and are regularly riding along the sidewalk in front of our house.  One day we borrowed a couple of the small scooters for Caleb and Kai to try.  Caleb was a bit nervous but eventually gained some confidence and wanted to do it by himself.  Kai was all about it from the start but hasn't figured out how to ride by himself yet.  Scooters can be tricky!  But it was a fun time and felt like such a normal American experience.

And every once in awhile we have a picnic lunch right outside our house.  When you live/work/school at home and the weather is virtually perfect every day, there's no reason not to!  Usually we'll have sandwiches and such, but this particular day we didn't have bread and I couldn't pull together anything else easily, so we had a lunch of popcorn, apples, and cheese.  Lunch accomplished.  Cooking from scratch all the time can be exhausting and sometimes it's just necessary to have meals like this!

Daddy's Home!

These are good days.  Eli's been home more often and the fun always increases when he's around.  We have a firm "don't beat up Mom" rule in our house, but the boys are welcome to wrestle with Daddy and roughhouse to their heart's content!  Dads are so important for that, and the boys have been enjoying his willingness to indulge their wild hearts :)

So we are thankful for times of rest and recovery.  There's a reason God ordained the Sabbath, and why Jesus went off by Himself to rest and to pray.  Even though we're still working and teaching and parenting, these days feel like a rest compared to the past several months, and we are grateful.