The Bubba Turns 4

This was almost two weeks ago already, but Asa Bubba's birthday was a highly anticipated event.  Ever since Caleb's birthday back in May, Asa has been very aware that his birthday was next and routinely asked how much longer till his birthday?  Is it next week?  Is it tomorrow?  Is it in four days?  He's still developing his concept of time...

But his birthday did finally arrive and we enjoyed a wonderful celebration that spanned two days.  We were in Nairobi to pick up my cousin and friend from the airport, which added to the birthday fun.  Like any good birthday, the day began with opening a couple presents.  Asa loves rhinos these days and was rather happy to add this guy to his rhino collection.

And then we ventured to the Giraffe Center!  We celebrated Asa's 2nd birthday there also, but of course he couldn't remember that, so it felt like his first time feeding the giraffes and he was ecstatic.

Everyone received a small bag of pellets to feed the giraffes, and Asa promptly emptied his bag and mooched off everyone else to get more pellets and keep feeding the giraffes until I had to drag him away.  He was one happy birthday boy :)

Oh, and this happened :)

We eventually loaded up the car with seven people, lots of luggage and lots of supplies, and drove all the way back to Chogoria.  

The next day I made Asa's cake.  He made it clear several weeks in advance that he wanted a "rhino cake."  So I drew a picture to work from, then got to work with lots of frosting.  My cousin and friend were rockstars and entertained the kiddos so I had time and space to work in the kitchen.  (Thanks, Karen and Renee!)

Asa was pretty happy with the results, which of course made me pretty happy too :)

After the sugar rush of eating birthday cake, Asa was quite ready for more presents.  The high point was this final gift.  What superhero-loving boy wouldn't want Thor's hammer???

Mjölnir (the hammer) was a castoff from another missionary family whose boys are all grown and they were therefore purging some things.  We were very happy to take it off their hands!  Now all we need to do is find this boy a regal red cape to go with it :)

Asa is our liveliest little man, full of spunk and personality.  He is expressive and dramatic, loud and fun.  He is unafraid of anything.  He doesn't bat an eye at doing new things or going new places or meeting new people.  He has an adventurous spirit and tags along with his older brothers extremely well.  Asa loves to sing and has started making up his own songs, and his voice is beautiful.  He loves to be read to, loves to play games, loves to wrestle with his brothers, and loves to watch movies.  He still loves tractors but has added rhinos and hippos as new favorite things.  He still naps almost every day and needs his snuggle blanket a lot.  He is a total Mama's Boy, giving me kisses throughout the day and needing mama snuggles regularly.  He is an energetic little dude who leaves me exhausted at the end of the day, and I can't imagine life without him.

The most important and beautiful and precious thing about our Asa Bubba is that he loves the Lord.  He knows a lot about Jesus and often finds the shape of the cross wherever he may be, saying, "It's like Jesus on the cross!"  And our little boy knows how to pray.  He is comfortable with praying out loud and is always ready to pray whenever we ask him to.  During his birthday celebration, we learned that Asa's prayers have made an impact on our househelper and her family.  We always pray at chai time, and often Asa is the one who prays since he is ready and willing every time.  He gives thanks to God and he prays for people, and it's wonderful to listen to.  Our househelper has mentioned a couple times how impressed she is with Asa's prayers, and was particularly touched when he prayed for her daughter when she was sick.  Apparently she has told her daughter about Asa's prayers, and her daughter was so impressed that a 3-year old boy knew how to pray.  "We have 7-year old boys in school who don't even know how to pray," she said to her mom.  And when she heard that Asa's birthday was coming up, she made him a card and gave him this rhino toy because she wanted to bless the little boy who already knew how to pray.  You can imagine how blessed we were by such kindness and thoughtfulness and encouragement!

We are incredibly proud of our son and we pray that he will always live up to his namesake, King Asa of Judah, who did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord and had a heart fully committed to Him all the days of his life.

We love you, Asa!

Project Sandbox

Ever since Kai was about 18 months old, he's loved to dig in the dirt.  It is a passion, a creative outlet, and a calming and satisfying experience for him. 

When we first moved to Tenwek, our then 2-year old kept wandering off because he was in search of new places to dig.  I lost him several times, only to discover him around a corner somewhere in the compound, digging away.  We decided to build him a sandbox right behind our apartment, so at least he'd be contained and I could look out the window to see if he was still there.  It was wonderful.  Kai spent hours upon hours in that sandbox, oblivious to the world around him, happily digging and dumping dirt like it was his job.

And at almost 6 years old, he's still at it.  Kai has found many places to dig here at Chogoria and he's got a whole group of kids who join him at different times.  I'm pretty sure no one was digging around here until we showed up, and now it's a common sight.  Kai has inspired many!  They've spent time and energy building enormous dirt piles, digging for dinosaur bones, and starting an underground tunnel from one house to another. 

It was the latter, in fact, that put the need for a sandbox at the top of the project list.

One day recently I discovered that not only had Kai and Friends been digging rather close to a house across the yard from us, but they'd dug deep enough to expose some pipes underneath the house!  Clearly, that was not a good sign.  After commanding that the hole be completely filled in, and prohibiting any further digging around the house, I begged Eli to please build our son a sandbox where the digging could be contained.

So yesterday was the day.  And I bet you can guess who was the first volunteer to help build the sandbox...

Kai worked so hard!  He dug dirt, learned how to use a wheelbarrow, and hauled stones and sand.  Asa chipped in for awhile too, but Kai was a workhorse, never stopping except when the men also stopped.  He truly made this sandbox come into being.

We were able to use bricks, stones, and sand that had been discarded in the compound.  So this beauty was made at no cost!  It just took a few hours of manual labor and me making lots of pizza to feed everybody in the meantime.  That's the best kind of project :)

Finally, by late afternoon, the project was complete.  Kai literally giggled with glee, then got right to work.  Asa joined him, and even Caleb did for awhile.  We had three happy little boys on our hands.

I absolutely love this photo.  My sweet, dirt-loving boy, in his most happy place.  It just squeezes my heart!

A sandbox, as it turns out, is a very American thing.  Our African friends who walked by during the building of it were a bit confused.  Why would we build a specific place for our children to dig dirt?  What's the point? 

One of Eli's residents, who recently traveled to America and was taken aback at how clean the whole country was, said, "I know why.  After being in your place, I know there is nowhere for them to find dirt!"  We all laughed and enjoyed watching the boys play.  But it remains true that this is a strange thing.  Kids choosing to dig in the dirt for fun?  It's an anomaly here.  But it's such an important part of life in the Horn household, and I know the days are numbered for how long my little boy will want to keep playing in a sandbox.  I'm cherishing these days.  And that precious face :)