Forts

Our boys love to build forts, inside and outside.  It's become a daily activity and it drives me nuts because of the mess it makes and the stress level it creates (namely for Asa, who doesn't understand if a certain couch cushion needs to go anywhere else than he deems fit, and who goes into hysterics if/when cushions inevitably fall off the couch), yet they love this activity and beg to make forts all the time.

Eli is much more patient with the process, and much more diligent than I am to make really cool forts.  I will put all the couch cushions in place and throw a couple blankets on top, but Eli will pull the chair over too and add more blankets and create separate spaces for each boy within the fort and throw in a skylight just for fun.  So, obviously, they particularly love when Daddy is home for lunch or before bedtime to offer his fort-building prowess!

At the very least, these boys love to throw the couch cushions around because, apparently, couch cushions that stay in place are not using their full potential!

So I've resigned myself to the constant fort-building that happens around here, even though it drives me nuts.  It drives me nuts because you can probably imagine who has to pick up every fort and put everything back where it belongs :)  Even Caleb isn't quite able to pick up all the cushions and lift them back into place, and obviously Kai and Asa are of little help.  So it falls to me.  Every time.  And I am practicing patience :)

As opposed to the inside forts, I love it when they build forts outside.  They usually work together and haul branches and sticks and leaves from all over the compound, and they're quite creative.  For a long time they made attempts to build a treehouse like the one on Swiss Family Robinson, but now they mostly build regular forts.  This was their most recent creation, and I was quite proud because they did it completely by themselves and were able to crawl inside:

In truth, I hope the fort-building phase lasts a long time.  It's such an iconic little-kid thing to do.  And they are usually so proud of themselves.  Furthermore, in the midst of building this particular fort, Caleb declared to me, "Mom, look!  We're working together as a team!"  In other words, life skills were happening.  And I was beaming :)

(Kai escaped from the fort before I could snap a photo of him too.)

A Typical Day at the Horn House

The days are long but the years go quickly.  Isn't that what they say?  Well it's certainly true here.  I am utterly exhausted at the end of every day with these three little joys, but I'm also acutely aware of how quickly time is flying and how quickly these boys are growing.  Asa often refuses to sit in his highchair, opting instead to sit on the counter or at the table like the big boys.  Kai has long been able to use the potty and get himself dressed all by himself.  And Caleb can go outside and play without supervision and I never have to worry about him.  How did these boys become capable of all this???  One day at a time, that's how.  One loooooong day at a time :)

Here's what one of those days looks like (specifically, yesterday):

Asa refused to sit in his highchair for breakfast, and also refused to eat anything but goldfish crackers.  I didn't have the strength to fight him, so goldfish crackers it was!

Every morning begins this way: breakfast at the table while watching something, so Mama can attempt to sit by herself for a few minutes in peace.  Awhile ago Caleb invented the word "watchy" to mean he wants to watch something, and he often says in the morning "I'm feeling a little hungry and a little watchy."

Once everyone is dressed and ready for the day, I debate between hunkering down before Asa's morning nap (yes, he still naps twice a day, God bless that boy!) or taking on the task of getting everyone outside.  Yesterday, the beautiful weather won out and we ventured outside.  Asa went straight to the sandbox and instantly was a dirty mess!

Caleb and Kai chose to sit on the stairs with a buddy and read The Gruffalo, a current favorite.  Caleb practically has the book memorized and I was impressed at his rendition of the book despite not being able to actually read it.

Kai absolutely loves to help me in the kitchen, regardless of the task.  Yesterday involved rolling out pizza dough.  He takes the job very seriously and focuses.  He loves to dump flour on the counter and onto the rolling pin, toss the dough around till it's covered in flour, then pat it down and begin to roll it out.  He's actually quite good at it.

After lunch Caleb was eager to get back outside and play.  This loquat tree next to our house is his current favorite climbing tree.  He always asks, "Can you see me, Mom?  Can you see me?"  The answer is supposed to be "No, I can't see you!  You're too camouflaged!"  When he's not wearing a bright red jacket he can actually blend in a little :)

Yes, the days are indeed long, but I am very intentional these days to relish the moments when I can, because I know they are fleeting.  It won't be forever that they'll dig in the sandbox or throw flour everywhere or camouflage themselves in a tree.  These are precious days, even though they're long.

Recent Visitors

This month has given us some visitors that have encouraged us immensely.  We were blessed with good conversation, easy laughter, and trips down memory lane.

First, our friend Seth stopped by for a quick weekend at Tenwek.  He is a good friend from med school that we hadn't seen since then, and he'd planned a trip through Africa after finishing his residency/fellowship (he's an ENT) and started his travels by coming here to Kenya and visiting with us.  It was so great to see him again!  It was fun to introduce him to our kids and show him our life here.  We made good food, walked to the waterfall, played games with the kids, and just talked about life.  Seth also served as a consultant for some patients while he was here, and helped with a procedure before heading out.  It's invaluable to have other specialists come through Tenwek and offer their expertise!

One afternoon we fiddled around with cameras because Seth wanted to practice using his newly acquired camera before continuing on his journey through Africa.  So we practiced in the yard with a chameleon as our subject.  I was able to capture this photo of it catching a fly, which I'm rather proud of considering how fast a chameleon's tongue darts out!

Our weekend with Seth went far too quickly, but we were so thankful for the chance to see him again, especially on this side of the ocean!  Then, last week we had the privilege of hosting a few women from our church in Duluth.  Casey, Anna, and Ann came all this way to visit and encourage us, and also to coordinate a VBS for the MKs.  Plus, Ann took photos/videos for some missionary families.  It was an immense blessing to have them here, to give them a picture of what our life is like, to answer their questions, and to hear what's going on back in Duluth.  And it was rather exciting to receive an entire suitcase full of American goodies that we can't get here!  The church decided to spoil us big time, and we are now stocked up with things like granola bars, pepperoni, teddy grahams, and chocolate chips!

The VBS was such a gift to our MK community.  We split the kids into two groups, and for three days they enjoyed age-appropriate biblical teaching, games, crafts, songs, and snacks.  The ladies planned the entire thing and brought all the material over, and our kids were nurtured and loved on and built up spiritually.  It's something that we miss greatly while being over here.  Although our church at Tenwek has a kids program on Sunday mornings, it's not quite the same as church at home, and we miss being able to offer the kind of spiritual nurturing that our churches at home can give on a weekly basis.  So having these ladies come and engage our kids in that way was such a blessing and encouragement!

And it wasn't just us that they were visiting.  Our friends from residency, the Olsens, arrived at Tenwek last month and were able to welcome the crew from Duluth as well!  We took turns hosting the ladies for meals, and the last night we had the chance to all be together and it was wonderful.  Casey, Anna, and Ann laid their hands on us and prayed over us, which was the greatest encouragement of all.  Devoted time to prayer is a powerful thing and they offered that to us before leaving, and we are so grateful! 

So now our visitors are gone, and we are getting back into a normal routine, but we are so thankful for the blessing of having these people cross an ocean to see us and experience life first-hand at a mission hospital in Kenya.  We loved the chance to put our life on display, with all of its joys and struggles, and to share it with our friends.

Quiet Afternoon

It was a wonderfully quiet day in our compound, with lots of people gone and almost everyone else resting indoors.  Eli was home and we chose to head outside for a picnic lunch in the yard followed by some hammock time.  It was such a lovely, restful afternoon, and we all needed it.

I sat on a blanket watching my boys and started reading Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, which is the current book for our newly formed Book Club here at Tenwek.  Someone highly recommended this book, and even though I'm only four chapters in I am already hooked and feel the need to recommend it to other people too.  I am anxious for the discussion at this week's Book Club.  

There are few things better than starting a good book while playful boys run around the yard.  It didn't hurt that a small bowl of M&Ms was beside me (thanks to my in-laws who brought them to Kenya last month!).  The only thing that dampened the afternoon was a run-in with some pincher ants and needing to pants our son who was screaming from the biting ants in his pants.  But besides that, we enjoyed a beautifully quiet and restful afternoon :)

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa Horn

This past month we had the amazing privilege of welcoming Eli's parents to our home in Kenya!  It was a much anticipated visit and we had a great time.  The boys were elated to see Grandma and Grandpa again and were granted lots of extra attention for two weeks.  Eli took the entire time off from working at the hospital, which offered a nice break for him.  We spent the time showing his parents our life here at Tenwek, going on safari, and visiting the Snake Park in Nairobi.  Here's a slew of photos from our time together:

eating home-cooked meals

driving to Maasai Mara and finding plenty of cattle in the road

one of our first animal sightings: a group of giraffes

Bubba on safari, and sporting a nice bump on his head 

after falling down our cement stairs that morning

mama and baby

why hello there!

we saw lots of hyenas

on the open savannah

breathtaking views

me and my hubby on safari on my birthday :)

secretary bird, which we learned about on Wild Kratts

lions resting in the bushes

We were so close to them!

We were lucky enough to see two cheetahs, a rarity!

sibling cheetahs

male ostrich by its lonesome

We had to drive aways to find elephants but we found 'em!

Again, we were so close to the animals!

a herd of females

cape buffalo with oxpeckers on its back

Maasai men with their cattle

We saw this mama lion carrying her cub.  It was surreal!

back at Tenwek, enjoying chai with our househelpers

our table at the Fine Arts Festival
(which showcases art and crafts 

made by the MKs during the school year)

On our way to Nairobi we stayed overnight in Nakuru 

at a place with stunning views overlooking a crater.

Our boys loved the Snake Park in Nairobi, 

especially the snake pit.

yes, that's a snake slithering through the tree

snakes, snakes everywhere

Grandma and Grandpa and the boys

We had a wonderful time with Eli's parents!  It was great to show them our life here, for Eli to show them around the hospital, to give them a peek into the MK homeschool coop, and to share the adventure of safari with them.  We made great memories, and now it will be less than a year until we see them again.  We are blessed beyond measure to have such loving and supportive parents on this missions journey, and to have them come all this way was an encouragement and a joy we thank God for!