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!

Asa Turns 3!

Our baby is 3 years years old!  How did this happen???

Asa is a beautiful, energetic, loud, precious little stinker!  He keeps us on our toes and we love him more than we can say.  We celebrated this weekend with my parents and my sister's family by going to an apple orchard and hanging out at my parents house.  It was a perfect, low-key celebration.

Our tractor-loving boy was a huge fan of this playground equipment at the orchard.  Then we took a short ride to out to the trees which were so loaded with apples that we only had to pick from a few trees to got enough apples to fill our bags.  Now we just have to find a way to use all those apples...

The Bubba still takes naps and was pretty tuckered out after all the excitement at the orchard, so he had a few hours of rest before coming outside for his first horseback ride!  I'm not sure how we haven't gotten the kids out for a ride yet, but alas it didn't happen till now.  At any rate, my dad saddled up Breaker and my niece rode along with our kiddos.  Asa was so tiny on such a big horse, but he wasn't afraid.  Asa is our most adventurous child, unafraid of anything.

Before we could eat cake, the kids discovered the balloons, so a balloon battle ensued.  Obviously.

I wanted to make a tractor cake for Asa, but I knew I wouldn't have time to decorate a whole cake, so my best friend tipped me off to this tractor cupcake cake idea.  The pictures I found online were so lovely and I thought, "That's easy!  I can totally do that!"  Well, the frosting I made was thinner than I thought, so it ran all over the sides of the cupcakes.  And the edible number 3 went flying when I opened the box and shattered all over the floor.  But thankfully a 3-year old boy doesn't care.  Asa saw this and shouted, "Tractor birthday!"  He was rather pleased :)

Asa has spent more of his life in Kenya than in America.  He is daring and fun and oh so full of life!  He is adventurous and unafraid, curious, strong, opinionated, and playful.  He loves to be around people and loves to try new things.  He needs his snuggle blanket whenever he's tired or sad or just because he decided he needs it - we never go anywhere without it!  His dimples melt our hearts and sometimes charm us enough to get him out of trouble.  He's sneaky and he knows it.  He loves tractors more than anything, but construction machines are a close second.  He loves any excuse to growl or shout, and thinks running around in a superhero cape or battling a lightsaber duel are the spice of life!  His favorite food is pepperoni and thinks that dessert is an acceptable meal option.  He loves to make goofy faces and loves to test the boundaries.  He loves to follow his brothers around and keeps up with them shockingly well.  He's far too good at climbing and creating mischief and we simply don't know what we'd do without him.  We still call him Bubba because he's just so Bubba-ish.  And we pray continually that he would do what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord and that his heart will be committed to Him all the days of his life.

We love you, Asa Everett Horn!

First Day of School!

The first day of school called for donuts.  I won't tell you who the trip to the donut shop was really for, but suffice it to say everyone was a fan.  We didn't tell the boys until they woke up, and I can attest that the best sound in the morning is squealing happy boys upon hearing good news :)

Then it was back to the house to start school!  I have labored long and hard this summer to figure out curriculum for this school year.  (That is, for this year and beyond, since I have to take at least the next two years of books with us back to Kenya.)  After countless hours searching online and attending homeschool fairs and talking to people who know what they're doing (unlike me), I finally sorted it all out and today we STARTED SCHOOL!  I feel accomplished because we actually started on the day I randomly chose to begin.  First Grade and Kindergarten are officially underway!

Also, let me just say that homeschooling with a toddler in the room is not easy.  Enough said.

This is our current classroom.  It's in the basement and it's perfect.  We've already been using it for a couple months since we were so far behind in finishing last year's school year that we didn't finish till the end of July.  So the classroom already feels familiar.  We like to sit on the couch or the deck outside for reading time.  And we use the carpet space for songs and games.  And the little table is the perfect size for my little students.  But my favorite part is the old white board my parents dug up (which we used for Pictionary back in the day) and I have fallen in love.  It is SO handy and I'm not sure how we'll get by without one in Kenya!

So the school year has begun.  There will certainly be days when the classroom will be in our car, or in a hotel room, or nowhere at all since we'll be skipping plenty of school days due to our travels this year.  But that's the beauty of homeschooling: the flexibility!  And we know that all of our adventures this year will be more than an education than most kids could hope to have.  

So here's to our First Grader and Kindergartner this year, learning A TON during Home Assignment!

Weekend in Cedar Springs

Earlier this month we had the joy of spending a weekend in Cedar Springs - the small town where my dad grew up and where much of our family still lives.  There was much to celebrate!  A new baby,  my cousin's one-year anniversary, my nephew's birthday, my aunt and uncle's 40th anniversary, and the fact that all 13 great-grandchildren were in the same place at the same time (which is no small feat given that some come from Oklahoma, Maryland, and Kenya!).  It was a wonderful family-filled weekend.

Despite the other exciting events, the new baby was the highlight.  Because, duh.  New babies are one of life's greatest joys!  They smell new and perfect, their toes are tiny and perfect, their crossed-eyed look while they try to focus on your face is funny and perfect...everything about them is perfect.  Especially if they're amenable to being passed around, and this baby was.  Perfect!  She belongs to my cousin, and her name is Kate (love it!) and this is my sister Kate holding her.  The two Kates.

And like every family gathering, there are copious amounts of food, as there should be.  We ate, and then we ate some more, and then we ate still more.

And here are the great-grandkids.  One is missing from this photo, but everyone is looking at the camera and smiling which was a small miracle.  (You'll notice below that NOT all the children are looking and smiling in a subsequent photo, namely my children...)  Don't they look so lovely and innocent here???

This is Kai with his cousin Melanie.  They were born about one month apart but it's hard to tell they're so close in age because he's so much taller than her!  Even though she's slouching in this picture, Melanie really is a dainty 'lil thing (but smart as whip, that one!).

And here are some cousins riding around on the stick horses that my grandma made and which we used to ride around at her house when we were kids.  Ah, nostalgia!

Back to the baby.  I'm telling you, she was passed around all day and the total highlight of the weekend.  Here she is with her Great-Grandma Clark!

Overnight we stayed at a campground, and it was the first time our boys have really been camping.  They've been asking us for months to take them camping, and we promised them we could when we were back in America.  So we dug out the tent, and my husband (who's the best man around) slept in the tent with all three of our boys while I abandoned him and slept in my parents' camper.  They had a blast and are already asking when we can go camping again :)

And then we celebrated my nephew's birthday.  Presents and s'mores.  Life doesn't get much better than that!

I also snagged a few headshots of our boys because I didn't have anything current.  They make my heart squeeze.

Then more celebrating with my aunt and uncle who've been married 40 years now!  My cousin planned a lunch gathering at the Cedar Springs Brewing Company (where my uncle is a part owner), and we got to look through their old wedding photos and enjoy time with everyone again.

This time all the great-grandkids were present so we attempted another photo, but the Horn boys were not feeling it.  Asa was exhausted and had simply reached his limit for the morning, Kai was in a fowl mood for no good reason, as was Caleb.  Speaking of him, can anyone find him in the picture?  He is there, somewhere...  I'm also there, trying to hold up a screaming Asa.  Sigh... the things you do to capture memories!

Asa really was exhausted.  This is what he did after the photo.  All on his own he curled up on a chair with his snuggle blanket to conk out.  Eli helped him out by creating more of a bed than one chair could offer.  Poor kid.  An event-filled weekend like this is a lot to ask of a toddler!

Lastly, we headed over to Grandma's house.  This is the place I think of when I remember Clark holidays: sledding down the hill behind the house and seeing who could make it all the way to the woods, finding Easter baskets hidden around the house, the kids Christmas tree piled high with presents, and always Grandma's chocolate chip cookies at the ready.  And this barn too, where we used to climb up into the hayloft and play while bats hung above us, or ride the stick horses across the yard and back to the house for more cookies.  Well, the barn has seen better days and needs to be torn down, so everyone was invited over to have a last look and take whatever they wanted from what was left inside.  I was glad to show my kids my grandma and grandpa''s house, and the barn too, even though they may never remember it.  At least I can say they've been there.

Here is our family with Grandma Clark.  It was a perfect summer night.

And my nephew, who asked for a photo shoot.  I love a kid who loves the camera :)

It was a wonderful weekend and we felt so blessed to see my dad's whole family.  The only person not there was my cousin who's serving in the military and out of the country right now.  But his bride was even there, who we'd never met because they were married last summer while we were still in Kenya.  So nearly everyone was there and it was a special time.  And we've already got plans to go back for Red Flannel Day in the fall!  (Yes, that's a thing and it's a ton of fun!)