A Birthday at the Farm

We are finishing up a 12-day trip to Minnesota and back, and somewhere in the middle of it all we celebrated Kai's 5th birthday.  We had the privilege of being at the Horn family farm for the occasion, joined by Grandma and Grandpa Horn and the Horn cousins, and the Lord offered us a perfect fall day to get outside. 

I can scarcely believe this moose baby is now 5 years old!

We were coming from Duluth that day, so my mother-in-law helped a ton by getting the birthday stuff ready so all we had to do was show up.  Kai was adamant about having a construction machine party.  Of course.  I have never met a boy who loves digging in the dirt more than this kid!  He also was adamant about having a cake with a dump truck and digger on it.  That was not gonna be possible because of our travels, and it took a lot of convincing to assure him that cupcakes were totally cool but eventually he was on board.  It required getting edible construction machine toppers for the cupcakes, but that was a small sacrifice to make.  It's been really important to me that our boys have special birthdays this year, and Kai's birthday at the farm was perfect.

So we had pepperoni pizza for lunch followed by chocolate cupcakes with edible construction machine toppers.  And everyone was happy.

When Caleb turned 5 in Kenya, we gave him his first piggy bank.  He got 25 shillings every Sunday and put 10 shillings into the offering at church.  Since being in America he's continued getting an allowance and has been learning about American money, and Kai has been watching his brother put money into his piggy bank this whole time and has been so anxious to turn 5 and get a piggy bank for himself.  Well, his birthday finally arrived and he was ecstatic not only about getting a piggy bank, but about discovering that we'd found a dump truck piggy bank!  Can a dirt-loving boy be any more blessed?

After presents, the afternoon was filled with tractor rides and go-kart rides.  It was the most perfect fall day we could have hoped for.  Sometime in the middle of it all Kai summed up the whole day when he whispered in my ear, "Mama, I love this birthday!"

We were so thankful for such a wonderful celebration in the middle of this busy time of traveling and speaking.  

Kai is an adventurous kid, active and curious.  He loves to know how things work and spends time exploring everything from car doors to the dishwasher.  He can focus for a long time on things like puzzles and Legos, but he also can get a mean case of the wiggles.  He loves to snuggle with Mama and particularly enjoys "Special Mama/Kai Time" going to the store or donut shop or anywhere in between.  He's smart as a whip which is why we've put him in Kindergarten already - he's already done two years of preschool and a year of Kindergarten school work because he keeps up with big brother so well and has an academic mind.  He asks lots of questions and loves learning.  Kai will cry at the drop of a hat, but has a gentle spirit at the same time.  Last weekend, while attending the kids' class at a church where he knew no one, the teacher asked if anyone knew what it means to be baptized and our Kai guy raised his hand and said, "It's when God gives you a new heart" which shows not only that he is unafraid to speak up in a room full of strangers but also that he understands a lot about God at his young age, which makes us grateful and proud and humbled.  We love this boy more than we can say, and continually pray that he will live in God's strength as his name suggests.

Happy Birthday, Hezekiah!

We love you with a fierce love!

Oh, How I Love This Man

The reasons are many, and anyone who knows him also knows that he's easy to like and love, but right now there's a particular reason why I love this man so much.  Eli, who is introspective and introverted (which is hard to believe because of his amazing ability to extrovert), has been doing a lot of heart-sharing during this Home Assignment.  He's been willing to share stories from being a doctor in Kenya that are hard to share, and which cost him something to share, and I absolutely love his honesty and vulnerability.  I love that he's willing to relate to people on a deep level, and that he's willing to talk late into the night even though he's exhausted, that he knows these stories are important and meaningful and worth being shared. 

Oh, how I love this man.

By the way, a couple weeks ago we celebrated Eli's birthday as he entered into his "deep 30s" as he calls it.  We were able to mark the occasion with scotcheroos.  It was good to pause in the midst of a crazy month of traveling and visiting and speaking to explicitly celebrate this man we love so much.

Eli is kind and patient, humble and servant-hearted.  He is fierce in his love and he forgives easily.  He is the best listener I know, he cares deeply about people, and he has a way of drawing people in.  He is intelligent and reflective, and he excels at articulating complicated thoughts.  And as he's shown many times this year, he is honest and vulnerable and knows how to read a room and offer just what is needed in the moment.

Basically, he's the most amazing man I know, and I am beyond proud to call him my husband.

Oh, how I love this man!

Getaway to Lexington

That's Lexington, Michigan.  I never knew the town existed until recently, but we were completely charmed by the lakeside town on our recent two-night getaway!  Much thanks to my parents for watching the boys so we could take a break.

The reason for this getaway was two-fold, the first and foremost being that we needed a break.  Period.  But the second reason is that I won second place in a photo contest earlier this year which rewarded me with a cash prize!  The contest was coordinated by MedSend, the organization that is paying Eli's medical school loans so we can serve in Kenya.  They were looking for material they could use for marketing purposes and had the brilliant idea to run a photo/video contest to get said material.  Well, I entered a handful of photos, one of which won second place and came with a cash prize with the intent that we use it on ourselves for rest/relaxation/rejuvenation.  MedSend clearly knows what missionaries need!

We finally took advantage of this amazing gift and spent a couple days in Lexington, MI, which is a tiny town on Lake Huron.  We ate out, walked along the pier, ate out again, watched movies, took naps, played games, ate out again...  You get the picture.  It was bliss!

We'll definitely be going back someday, especially since it's only an hour away from us!  Summer time would be idyllic - playing at the park and the beach, getting ice cream at the creamery, watching the boats coming in and out...  It's such a perfect little lakeside town.  Whenever we're back in America again, we'll find an excuse to head to Lexington!

And here is the photo that won this getaway for us:

Thank you, MedSend, for making this happen and for knowing what we need.  You are incredible advocates for the medical missionary community!