Twelve Years!

March Forth!  I mean, March 4th!  Either way, this day marks 12 years for us.  And we celebrated by a night away from our children, which hasn't happened in over two years.

Before we moved to Kenya we were faithful to celebrate our anniversary every year by going away for a night, even after we had kids.  Once we moved here, however, it wasn't so easy to find overnight childcare.  So we didn't really celebrate our 11th anniversary last year.  We didn't even go out for a meal because there's nowhere special to go in this part of rural Kenya.  I truly don't even remember our anniversary last year because it was so un-memorable.

But this year we made memories!  Some friends here at Tenwek offered to watch our boys overnight, which was the gift of the year for us!  They're also parents of three young kids, so we knew what a sacrifice it was for them but also what a gift for us since they're also deep in the "little kid" phase and understand picky eaters and potty accidents and little tykes who wake up overnight and so on.  So we arranged a night by ourselves in Maasai Mara, found a car that could handle the rough road out there, and away we went!

I need to brag on my husband a bit.  He hadn't driven a manual in almost seven years, but he completely commandeered this beast of a car down the road to the Mara while maneuvering the stick left-handed and driving on the left-side of the road.  Such confidence and competence is so sexy to me :)

We arrived at Ngerende, a place we'd never been but was recommended as a place to go whenever you don't have kids in tow.  It was amazing and we were able to really relax.  As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by a group of Maasai men who carried our bags and escorted us to the lodge.  We've never had such a welcome before and we felt like complete tourists, but it was fun :)

Just a taste of the welcome...

Our safari tent was open-air and probably the nicest place we've ever been.  We relished sitting on the deck and reading books with the hippos snorting in the river below and the monkeys jumping through the trees.  Even though we've had the privilege of going on safari a handful of times now, it never gets old.  It is one of the most magical experiences in the world!

We went for a game drive in the evening and saw a variety of birds right away - secretary bird, guinea fowl, plovers, and crowned cranes.  It was the most relaxing game drive we've ever been on because there weren't any kids arguing over who gets to sit on our laps or leaning too far out the windows or crying when we wouldn't let them stand and look out the top of the jeep anymore.  And our guide taught us so many interesting facts about the animals and the Maasai.  We had a great time.

hyena

hippo tracks

Koriata telling us about keratin moths that eat keratin on the horns of these skulls

the open savannah

lioness

so close to the animals

Can you see the crocodile?

We returned from the game drive to a fancy dinner before heading back to our safari tent to watch a movie and go to bed on time.  And what's more, we slept in as long as we wanted!  That never happens in real life, so we were especially thankful for good sleep.

And now we're back with the kiddos and working on financial reports that were due last week and ignoring emails that have already been ignored for too long by blogging instead and, well, such is life!

Truly, celebrating our anniversary this year was particularly special as we are preparing to leave Kenya after our first term on the mission field.  We're processing a lot of things and reflecting on the last two years, including how our marriage has been affected by this life of missions, and it hasn't always been very pretty if we're being honest.  But the Lord has been good and faithful to get us through some tough times and we're heading out of this term in a good and healthy place, and we give all the glory to God and thank Him for growing our marriage on the mission field.

Twelve Years!