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.

Tractor Ride

The day finally arrived: the day of the tractor ride for Asa's birthday!  It was a much anticipated event in our house, and our boys were stoked.  We arranged for the driver, some hay bales, and all the MKs who wanted a ride.  It was loads of fun, and a way to remind ourselves that it's autumn in the States.  Hayrides are such a quintessential fall activity, so although it usually feels like spring year-round around here, we were able to bring a bit of fall into the day with this tractor ride.

But before the ride could commence, I had to bake a cake.  Oh, and the boys needed to have a balloon battle.  Because birthday celebrations are always better when they've begun with a balloon battle :)

A short-term visitor recently gave me a box of food coloring - something I never considered bringing with us from the States.  I was so excited to see the bright colors because it meant I could get creative with the cake!  I am not a cake decorator in the slightest, but Asa could tell there were two tractors on it, which is all I cared about.

And then it was time for the ride!  Asa took a brief 30-minute nap beforehand (because he was starting to melt and nobody wants a cranky birthday boy at a birthday party), so he was refreshed and ready to go!  He was super excited to see the tractor pulled up right next to our building and his Daddy getting the hay spread out for everyone.  On a sidenote, this is the tractor/trailer that picks up all the trash around Tenwek everyday.  After his daily rounds today, the driver cleaned out the whole trailer just for us, which was critical lest we all come away with a special smell afterwards :)

This boy just melts my heart!  He was in heaven.

And here's the whole crew that joined us for the ride.  We are so blessed to live in this community of missionaries!

Bubba sat on my lap the entire time and took the whole thing in.  We live in such a beautiful part of Kenya and it was truly a scenic ride.

And naturally there were cows in the road.  There are so many cows in the roads in this country!

We went around Tenwek and then out to the main road before looping back to the hospital.  It was about a half-hour ride.

We also passed through the town of Silibwet on the way back to Tenwek.  We were quite the sight!  Many people were waving and smiling (if not laughing and pulling out their phones to take pictures of all the white kids going for a tractor ride!).

And back home to Tenwek...

This man drives the tractor around Tenwek every single day and we see him drive behind our house every day to pick up the trash in our end of the compound.  We have a routine of running outside to see the tractor and to wave to the driver as he heads out again.  He is faithful to wave and smile to our kids every single time.  And I have never known his name until today!  But apparently there are few people who know his real name because everyone just calls him "Babu" which is the Swahili word for "Grandpa" and that seems quite fitting to me.  So we will call him Babu too!

Oh, sweet tractor-lovin' boy!

And then it was time to eat the cake!  Asa was not happy with everyone singing Happy Birthday because it delayed getting to the cake.  While everyone sang he cried and shouted, "Cake!  Cake!"  He had three pieces before we had to take it away and force him to stop :)

I'm sooooo thankful it worked to have a tractor ride for Asa's birthday!  When we moved here we had no idea how we might get to celebrate our boys' birthdays.  We've been flexible and content with whatever is possible, but this was something particularly special.  Who knew that tractors were a common thing here in Kenya, and that right here at Tenwek we have a guy who's part of the community and drives a tractor every day and could make this birthday party possible?  We feel so blessed.  How spoiled we are to have a tractor ride on the mission field!

Happy Birthday, Asa!

Two Years Old!

This boy turned two years old last weekend!  We were in Nairobi to pick up Eli's cousins who happened to fly into Kenya on Asa's birthday.  We were so excited to have family join us for some birthday fun!

We started the day with chocolate muffins, which this boy loved, especially while watching Peppa Pig (one of his current favorite shows).

And then it was time for a card and a present, because birthdays are always better when they start with a present.  We had a tractor theme for this tractor-loving boy :)

And then we were off to the Giraffe Center!  We wanted to find something fun to do since we were in Nairobi for the weekend, and this turned out to be the perfect place for our birthday boy.  He LOVED it!  He giggled and squealed and shook with joy each time a giraffe ate a pellet from his hand.  It was so much fun to watch him!

Asa was pretty worn out afterwards - so much excitement and being out in the sun can really tucker out a little boy!  We ate at a nearby mall afterwards and he barely made it through lunch, then was asleep within minutes of getting back in the car.  Birthday boys still need good naps!  

On a sidenote, I love this picture below.  Doesn't Caleb look like such a punky teenageer?  He was actually just too nervous to get close to the giraffes and refused to stand by the rest of the family for this photo, but he looks so smug!  Kai enjoyed feeding the giraffes just as much as Asa.  They are our adventurous two and are proving to be very much alike in many ways.

Once we were back at the guesthouse with the birthday boy well-napped, well-fed, and well-bathed (because giraffe slime is for real!), then it was time for a couple more presents, also tractor-themed.  New jammies!  New bedtime book!  And joy all-around :)

Our Asa Bubba is such a joy.  He is energetic and adventurous, curious and daring.  He fully believes he can do anything his brothers can, and therefore finds a lot of trouble for himself :)  He loves to dig in the dirt and climb trees and run around with sticks.  He loves to play with tractors and trucks and construction machines.  He loves to eat pepperoni, which we have to ration, and therefore cries when he can't have any.  He is comfortable with anyone and has become very good at greeting people in Swahili.  Asa loves to play with his brothers, especially if they're chasing each other around the house or building forts on the couch.  He likes to run away when it's time to change his diaper and he loves to be naked.  He can't sleep without his snuggle blanket and often needs it throughout the day for comfort.  Asa is a complete Mama's boy - no one else will do if Mama is around.  And he's definitely discovered his will and has daily toddler tantrums with piercing screams that make our ears ring!  But in between the tantrums is our precious little boy who's discovering more about the world every day and who makes this life better for all of us.  His giggles are contagious, his dimpled smile still makes my heart stop, and his sing-song voice is the most beautiful sound in the world.  We continue to pray that our Bubba will do what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord and have a heart fully committed to Him.  We cannot thank God enough for our son!

We love you, Asa!