Fay Footprints

Family devotions evolves

2012-01-28T10:33:00.002-05:00

We have had a time of family devotions (we'll say maybe 5-6 times a week, on average) ever since Sam was about 2 years old. We have always sang/danced to a memory verse song, sung a hymn or other worship song, read a short Bible story, and then prayed together. Now that we have two children involved in the process (Kye is usually asleep by the time we've started... or he goes to sleep half-way through), we've begun to stretch out the Bible story, making it a point to ask more questions and answer their questions. We usually finish off the night with other stories that the kids' request.

Lately, we've been challenging them with longer stories (and fewer pictures) and it has been a big success. I think I can safely say it is a favorite part of the day for everyone in our family. We have been reading the "Capyboppy" by Bill Peet (actually, we've read in through twice now) as well as "Winnie the Pooh" (a chapter each night). They sit and play with some awesome silly putty that we have (to call it silly putty seems an injustice... it's electric blue and about the size of an adult's hand) while we read. Some nights, we skip the longer book and instead take turns telling stories. Kory is not terribly gifted at this, I am only slightly better... the children steal the show in this regard. Here is a short sampling of Sam's story from a few nights ago:

Thomas the train was in the boat. And then Buzz Lightyear was there. And then the fish came and ate him. And then the fish ate Thomas. But then the fish spit them all out. And they were happy.

Well travelled suit cases.

2012-01-14T15:59:00.002-05:00

In the middle of this week, we had a fun surprise. We were expecting some of our things to arrive that were a little delayed in following us from Cameroon. We left Cameroon so quickly that we ended up leaving most of what we owned in Cameroon. I think we came back with 5 bags but we had gone there with about 10 bags and also had 3 or 4 bags worth of things shipped in advance. What we said then, and what we still say, is that it is just stuff. BUT we were really thankful for the Webers (LBT missionaries in Cameroon) who were willing to sift through everything in the village, pick out things we really wanted (Christmas gifts sent to us- by sea- by family, Sam's kindergarten curriculum for homeschooling next year, and a few keepsake items like quilts made by my mom for the kids), and get it back to us. It is really nothing short of miraculous that it all got to us in our living room in Chicago (Think: a trip from Indy to Minnesota, then from Minnesota across the U.S. going east, then across the ocean, across a good portion of Cameroon, into a remote village, back from the village to the capital of Cameroon, on a plane with stops in Europe and Boston, and then by land from Boston to us. Whew!)

What we wish we would have known

2012-01-08T15:55:00.006-05:00

Just an FYI, Kory and I are writing a series on “what we wish we would have known” for the LBT blog. We are hoping it will be helpful for those who are considering serving overseas as well as our supporters, who may be curious to find out about ourselves/ministry overseas. You might recognize one of the blogs (out of five) which will be a re-post of “Lariam” (found on this blog), but the others should all be new. Look for them to appear each Wednesday. One has already been posted, so you can check it out here.

On his feet

2012-01-08T15:52:00.002-05:00

Kye is officially a toddler. As in, he toddles (we’ll say about 75% of the time… still falls and results to crawling some…). In the last week he has decided that walking is worth the risk. Although he didn’t have to learn on hard floors like Lucy, he does have two little people to contend with, both of whom run in random directions at random times in a small space. He has been able to walk across a room for a couple of weeks but this week he has been initiating the walking on his own, bending down to pick things up, etc. I love watching him light up at his new accomplishment, just grinning from ear to ear. I also love how he doesn’t give up in spite of the constant obstacles in his way (named Sam and Lucy).

He has also kept us busy this last month or so by climbing everything. We often look over to see him standing on a kiddy chair or climbing on top of boxes to get to a high shelf. If he notices we’re getting a little bored, he will promptly dump all contents of bookshelves or bins or boxes onto the floor (and occasionally picking them up).

He is not terribly verbal (as in real words… he makes lots of noises!) but he does say “ah duh” (all done), momma, go, bah (ball), moe (more), cah (car), and bye. I’m glad for his quietness…anyone who calls us on the phone can vouch for the fact that the decibel level in this house can get rather high.

And while we’re on the subject of Kye, two moments that made me smile this week with him:

-watching him discover one of my ponytail holders on the floor and then attempt to put it on the back of his own head
-telling him as we walk up the stairs that he’s going to get a bath and then watching as he waves his warms and claps and yells like crazy with excitement. Apparently he understands that word and he does love bath. He splashes more than the other two combined.

More on numbers

2012-01-08T15:52:00.001-05:00

“I slept 186.3 miles” –Sam on how he took a really long nap

Anamnesis

2012-01-02T17:37:00.002-05:00

Back in November, Kory attended a missionary personnel conference. While there, he learned a LOT about missionary care and also met quite a few new people, most of them with a decade or more of experience working with missionaries. One of the clinics he went to, was on “Strengthening the Soul of the Missionary Family.” The leader of the clinic, Diane Morris, co-wrote a booklet on the topic of “anamnesis” (which was just one of the many subjects discussed during the clinic). Unfortunately, they ran out but she promised to send one to him at the LBT office. When Kory came home with it at the beginning of December, I read through the short booklet in a sitting and immediately felt led to put into practice some of the ideas. It was something God had been nudging us toward for a little while, but we weren’t exactly sure where to start. The book had some simple yet wonderful ideas.

So what in the world is anamnesis? It’s Greek for “remembrance” and put quite simply, it’s the practice of remembering what God has been doing in your life. There are dozens of ideas brought forth in the booklet, but we’ve decided to start small with just a couple of them. One thing we’ve started doing is asking one another at dinner time “How did you see God at work today?” This is a great opener for some very uplifting conversation. It directs our attention upward and encourages us when we’ve had a rough day. We’ve only done this a few times so far, but we are now starting to look for Him throughout the day. This is something that I have done off and on at various times in my life, but to make a point of it, a regular practice, is something new.

On New Year’s day, we started what will hopefully be a new tradition. We made our own puzzle with key moments we REALLY saw God at work in 2011. On the other side of the puzzle, we wrote down prayer requests for 2012. It was a really good way to focus ourselves on Him, what He has done, and what He is going to do.

Another thing that we have JUST started (so I’ll let you know how it goes) is that we’ve placed a piece of poster board in our living room with some pens and post-it notes. Whenever we have a “God-sighting” as I’ll call it, we can write it down and put it on the board. When it’s filled up, we’ll take a picture of it and then start anew. Obviously, the kids are too little to help much with this, but our hope and prayer is that by hearing our excitement about what God is doing in our lives (and in the lives of those we know), they’ll begin to see Him at work and share in our excitement. We want our children to know that God is not just someone we read about, talk about, or talk to (without ever getting a response), but He is at work. He’s not just silent or watching us or judging us to see how we measure up. He cares about all the details of our lives. He answers prayer. We can see this as we read scripture but we can also see it, if we are attentive to it, right here and now.

Eventually, my hope is to do an “anamnesis scrapbook” where we would put mementos of events or pictures of our poster boards and whatever else triggers a memory of God’s work in our lives. That way, when seasons of difficulty and doubt come along, there is a book there waiting to be opened so that we can remember! We are so blessed to have another book, His Word, telling of God’s work in the world through Jesus Christ. Through the lens of His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, we can see Him at work today in the world around us and in our hearts.

PS- The booklet is NOT copy-writed so if anybody would like a copy, let me know! I could pretty easily scan it and send it (it’s less than 15 pages total).

Advent

2011-12-23T08:55:00.004-05:00

Thanks to good friends (practically family) of ours who sent an advent calendar and booklet of ideas for each day, as well as my sister-in-law who made an advent calendar for us since we left our Jesse tree in Cameroon (see a picture of what it looked like here... we'll make a replacement for next year), we have really had fun this year learning about the events just before/after Jesus’ birth.

Favorite advent activities:

-Playing “Zechariah” by setting a timer and requiring someone to be silent (while trying to get them to talk/laugh!) for a minute. When the timer went off, they could yell “Praise the Lord!” Lucy wasn’t so great at that game :)
-Visit a living nativity presentation
-Have a pillow fight after talking about how Jesus’ didn’t have a crib :)
-Singing silent night and eating dinner by candlelight
-Making a glowing angel using paper with a cut out of an angel and f lashlight and letting the kids dance around with it shining in the dark
-Watching Sam participate in his very first Christmas program at church. He volunteered to say a line which he said proudly into a microphone (memorized it). He was a least a head shorter than all the other kids who said line (I think most were 6 years and older).
-Having a treasure hunt with star clues leading to baby Jesus
-Lots of singing/dancing to Christmas music
-Visiting a nursing home and making Christmas cards with the residents (was challenging with the little ones, in some ways, but also really good)
-Eating candy canes and learning about their message
-Watching “the nativity story” and answering all sorts of questions about it
-Driving around at night to see Christmas lights

I would love to hear ideas of things you’ve done with your family!

Talking on the phone

2011-12-23T08:54:00.001-05:00

Lucy’s story for Aunt Kristen: “Went crash on stairs. Went potty. That happens. It’s not a good dea.” (Translation: She went upstairs to go to the restroom, THEN came downstairs and fell down four or five steps. That happens sometimes. It’s not a good idea to fall down the stairs.)

Sam, take his turn talking to Aunt Kristen: We ate pizza.
Kristen: What kind of pizza?
Sam: Daddy what kind was it?
Kory: Supreme.
Sam: It was cream pizza.

The wonder of a child

2011-12-10T10:02:00.002-05:00

Sam, running into our room early yesterday morning, yells: "Mom! Dad! Look at the window! It SNOWED!"
We smiled at his excitement, looked, and then had a discussion about how snow men are difficult to build when there's only an inch of snow on the ground (which will probably melt by lunchtime).
Enter Lucy, who we urge to look out the window to see a wonderful surprise.
She looks, then audibly gasps, mouth slightly open. She's speechless, which is saying something for Lucy.

The last few weeks, like I've mentioned, have been crazy. Some things just aren't blog-appropriate but we'll just say that there have been matters that are heavy on the heart, a few long nights, and lots of good discussion/prayer. Things are calming down now but I have been so thankful for Sam and Lucy and Kye, who are oblivious to it all and continue to be their goofy and sweet little selves, providing a needed "lightness" to all the serious stuff. I'm glad that my children can point out the wonder of a first snow to remind me of beautiful blessings in this sometimes difficult life.

How many people live in this house?

2011-12-10T09:52:00.002-05:00

It seems like Kory and I often have conversations that go like this:

First person says: "Where did this (random object in a random place) come from?" or
"How did that (piece of stale bread) get up there (on top of the bookshelf)?" or "Where did my (wallet, book, pen, snack) go?"

Second person gives a blank stare and a shrug, perhaps saying "No clue."

The answer to the questions of the first person is actually more along the lines of the following: if there is some unexplained phenomenon it’s usually the kids that are the explanation.

Two of our three kids, soon to be all three of them, are now EXTREMELY mobile and capable of finding and hiding (hoarding?) objects. For me, the resident neat freak of our household, this is aggravating, to say the least. Everything has a place and that is where it should go. Except that there are now four other people living with me who have various levels of concern whether or not things go where they should (Sam is on my team, here). And then even Sam, who does like to put things where they should go, has a different idea of where that place should be. Of course, we can't forget the noise and chaos and attention-span factors, which make it difficult to actually communicate to anyone else the aforementioned designated spots.

Oh, how I love our family! I wouldn't have it any other way, even if the disorganization and randomness does drive me crazy some times :)

Measuring

2011-12-10T09:51:00.001-05:00

Sam to Lucy: "We're going to leave (the house) in about 18.5 inches."

Happy birthday, Mr. Kye!!

2011-12-04T12:01:00.001-05:00

I’m not sure what has happened to the last couple of weeks but I do know that we have not been twiddling our thumbs! Between celebrating thanksgiving (twice!), Kye’s birthday, Kory being out of town for a conference, a surprise/impromptu visit from a good friend, time has been flying by. But I don’t want to forget to mention the birthday celebration because it was so much fun and he is such a precious little dude! Kye is a good blend, in both looks and in personality, of his siblings, but of course he adds his own “kye-isms” to things. A few of the reasons we just love Kye to pieces: his sweet hugs, his game of “hide in momma’s shoulder” with strangers and smiling in between, the way he walks around holding one of our hand’s with ease but refusing to take more than three steps alone at a time, watching him tackling his brother, the way he loves dancing/singing/goofing off with his sister…Kye is one cute kid. We are blessed. And the birthday festivities had us laughing out loud. He started off by staring very quizzically at the flaming cake thrust in front of him and his singing family members. When we set the mini cake (baked in a small round pyrex rather than a cupcake pan because the cupcake pan arrived a day too late) in front of him, there was no stopping him.

With a raking motion, he scraped the icing off, licked it, and then dug in with the whole hand. He was not shy. The whole cake got lifted up to his face a few times. He is the lucky third born. Sam got cream cheese icing on carrot cake (with perhaps a tablespoon of sugar in the whole thing), Lucy got white cake white icing, and Kye got chocolate icing on yellow cake. He was a happy camper and also happy about the much needed bath later (he splashes bigger than either of his siblings).

We love you Kye! Can’t believe it’s been a whole year already, and praying for many more!

Quotable

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

“Dear Jesus, Thank you for Mary who laid baby Jesus on the hay to protect him from our sins.” -Sam’s bed time prayer (Looks like we might have to have a little talk about theology!)

Lucy was supposed to be upstairs taking a bath and came down while I was doing my quiet time in the living room. She said: “Don’t freak out me ‘cause I’m peein’ over here, okay?” I think she was anticipating my reaction to her not being where she should be. Her potty chair is downstairs. And no, I did not “freak out” her. Nor did I “freak out” at all. Where do they get this stuff?!

(Contexr: we had talked a little bit about angels in reading the text about Mary and Gabriel the night before and we were getting the kids ready for the day)
Me: Does any body remember what the thing on top of angel’s heads is called?
Kids: (blank stares)
Me: Hay….
Lucy: Stacks!!!

School

2011-11-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Sam’s favorite time of the day, and definitely one of mine, is “school.” Lately, we’ve been reading excerpts from a “Thomas the tank engine” anthology (and learning all sorts of train vocabulary together!), practicing a bit of phonics using the book “The Reading Lesson,” tracing/copying letters, and practicing math throughout the day (you might be surprised to know that even a kid his age can do simple addition/subtraction if they have the objects right in front of them to touch and move!). We also do a few pages out of a book called “Building thinking skills” which teaches patterns and reasoning and that sort of thing. If he doesn’t seem interested in something, we drop it and come back to it later. This way, learning is enjoyable and exciting and not just something to “get through.” The best part is watching his excitement build and the light bulbs come on and hearing him tell his dad and sister what he’s learning.

Little model

2011-11-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago at church, Lucy walked in and held out her hand to the greeter. With her usual gusto she announced her name and age, accompanied by a huge smile. The next week, the lady she had greeted told us that she was just in love with Lucy’s sweet smile and outgoing personality and was hoping to photograph Lucy to use her in one of her Christmas/winter promo pieces. She is a photographer and has a studio in her home. We agreed, knowing that Lucy would absolutely have a blast playing dress up.

Lucy and I arrived, greeted by a couple of giant (and adorable) labradoodles. Lucy examined all the lights and the backdrops and the various props/costumes hanging around while we got her into the first outfit. She was a little angel with wings, a halo in some of the shots, and a long flow-y “princess” gown. She loved every minute of it. She was able to try on three more outfits (a Christmas dress we brought with us, a red satin tutu and white ruffly shirt/pants, and a longer tutu with the same shirt/pants) as well as pose with a (fake) reindeer and a Christmas tree.

Very funny moment during the shots with the reindeer: Lucy, examining the reindeer and holding it’s reigns, exclaimed “Look, Mommy! I found his rump!” That one needs some explanation. That same day, we had read the book “Little Blue Truck” (which I highly recommend and very much reminds me of Cameroon!). It has a line in it that says “And they all lined up from head to head and rump to rump.” So they had learned the word rump and she was very excited to use it :) Anyways, I’m not sure who had more fun, me or Lucy, but we were really thankful for the opportunity to play dress up!

Potty training

2011-11-19T08:59:00.000-05:00

Lucy is a different child than Sam and has had very different attitudes toward the potty. I think he would have been potty trained at 18 months if we hadn’t moved overseas and been living constantly in others’ and had a second child all around that time. He started using the potty one month after arriving in France (he was 28 months) and never looked back, with just a few accidents at night.

I have been waiting to show more interest in it so that I don’t have to babysit her about it because I really just don’t have time for that. I knew it would be much easier, especially with Lucy, if I just waited for her to say the word. She has used a little potty (“just like June” her cousin) here and there since July. But after church on Sunday a flip switched. Kory asked her if she’d like to try, and her response was an enthusiastic “yes!” Then we offered her the chance to wear her Minnie mouse undies if she wanted, which have had no appeal before now, but another enthusiastic nod followed. Then she just kept up with the nods of yes and we just kept letting her wear the undies. And so she has officially been in them since Sunday morning. She’s had a couple of accidents in the early morning just-before-waking up hours so we’re still figuring that one out, as well as one or two after nap time when she’d much rather immediately play than empty her bladder. And she’s still navigating going #2 on the potty, but if nothing else, we’ll have her 31-month-old self in pull ups for a little while until she can wrap her mind around that. I’m very proud of her and very happy that I’m basically down to changing one little person’s diapers.

This post might change your life

2011-11-19T08:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, probably not. But it really made me happy. Sam came downstairs, while Kory was helping the kids get ready for bed, to tell me something about a marker not being right and the whiteboard and something not moving. I went upstairs to discover that the word Sam was searching for was “permanent” and Lucy had taken a sharpee from downstairs, used it on her whiteboard upstairs, and we had beautiful black marker that wasn’t budging covering the surface. Kory told me to get a baby wipe which I did, although we both knew that really wasn’t going to work. So I did a google search (and sent up a prayer of thanks for google hehe) for how to get permanent marker off of white boards. The article came up with advice to color on top of the permanent marker with dry erase marker and then use a dry eraser to wipe it away. I actually almost discarded the advice entirely because really??? How is that supposed to work? But it was either try that or say good-bye to Mr. Whiteboard. So I tried it. And it worked. And my jaw dropped open. And the kids stopped listening to the Bible story to stare. So there you have it.

The rope

2011-11-11T09:15:00.004-05:00

Kory and I have been reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" as a part of our "life group" (small group) at church. Love the book so far. Here's an illustration he made about running the race, looking to heaven, etc.

Date with Jesus

2011-11-11T08:40:00.000-05:00

For the last few years, God has had a habit of waking me in the middle of the night (aside from the times I’m awoken by a certain sweet baby of mine). I used to fight it, tossing, turning, thinking, and so on. Now, if I’m not asleep in about 10 minutes, I do one of two things: pray or meditate on the Word (usually both). I figure that God must need to talk to me about something so I should do some listening. The thing about the middle of the night is that it is quiet. This is a rare thing in our household. I love the quietness, especially since it makes it easier to hear what He’s saying.

I have learned a lot during our middle of the night meetings, so much so that I actually look forward to them. And the funny thing is that I have never found myself to be tired as a result of the lost sleep. God is good.

Last night on our date, He turned my eyes to the Sermon on the Mount. He preached it just to his disciples. I knew this but the knowledge reached down to my heart and changed it… He asked me: “Why do you think I preached it just to them?” I believe that it was because they were about to face challenges in their ministries. It would be easy to let the fame of following Jesus go to their heads. On the completely opposite side of the coin, they would face persecution as a result of Who they were following. Although none of us in this century are one of the twelve, if you call yourself a follower of Christ, there is a lot to apply from this sermon of His…

One thing that really jumped out at me was how often we put our lamps under bowls and attempt to turn out the street lights (even though we’re up on a hill and of course everyone can see us). Or maybe we try to deny our lights, descending into the valley of sin, or just want it to stay within our own four walls (because we certainly wouldn’t want to offend or draw attention to ourselves). We are not called to ignore the darkness… light can’t help but transform everything around it. The brighter it is, the more shadows are dispelled. American Christians have a tendency to say of “religion” that it is “a personal issue.” But who do you know that keeps the most important, life-changing, exciting thing in their lives all to themselves? Die-hard sports fans will try to convince you until they’re blue in the face that their team is the best. They talk about their sport whenever they get a chance. They take pride in their team and they think you should know it. If sports fans can behave like that about their team, shouldn’t Christians be so overflowing with His love that they can’t bear to just keep it to themselves? It’s not about proving everyone else wrong or showing the world how good we are (what a joke!). It’s about lives at stake and Glory to be given.

One of those days

2011-11-07T08:39:00.001-05:00

Woke up to find mouse droppings in our kitchen cabinets, which meant I needed to throw out all of our flour (which was a lot since I bake our bread), wash all of our Tupperware (on top of the usual dishes- we do not have a dish washer), and clean the inside of a couple of cabinets.

Kory was late to work since he was busy cleaning up the actual mouse droppings. He was pretty stressed out by it all, left in a hurry, and forgot to take his laptop to work.

I decided to get away from the mouse noises I could hear (but couldn’t figure out where exactly they were coming from) and take the kids do grocery shopping at Meijer. We walked into the store at 8:40. Lucy refused to sit the cart. She couldn’t ride inside the large portion because we needed to buy a lot and she’s not strong enough to hold onto the end and ride for an entire trip…Kye is already on my back…and she’s not disciplined enough to just walk by my side for 45 min. She screamed. I took her to the side and gave her one swat on the behind. She still refused to get in the cart. So 20 min. later we left, Lucy still screaming. I had to wrestle her into her car seat. By the grace of God I did not lose my temper but I wanted to!

I wrestled her into the house (two year olds who are throwing tantrums are STRONG) and then tried to figure out what to have for snack, or dinner for that matter, since we had literally nothing out of which to make a meal. We also didn’t have the needed supplies to make brunch for our ladies group for the next day (which, by the way, we can’t actually go to because Kye has hand foot and mouth disease and is fussy/contagious). Felt sorry for Kory who had to find work to do without a computer all day because I didn’t want to attempt to drag Lucy into the car so that we could run it to him.

After Lucy calmed down (30 min. after getting home), they watched a movie while I did the piles of dishes. I wasn’t brave enough to attempt a return trip to Meijer on my own- we ended up eating dinner and doing grocery shopping at Costco after picking up Kory from work (and dropping off his laptop for tomorrow). When all was said and done, worse things could have happened (like injuries, more serious illnesses, car accidents, etc. etc.) but I have to say, I’m glad every day isn’t like today! God is good to allow us to see the good even in the frustrating/annoying moments and remind us that He is there. He loves us. And heaven will not have mouse poop or two year-olds throwing tantrums or fussy babies with weird rashes.

Library story time

2011-11-06T14:48:00.004-05:00

Last week we went to story time at the library called "wiggles and giggles." It's geared toward 2 and 3 year olds and includes stories with movement/song. We walked in and I could immediately see Lucy and Kye's excitement mounting as they saw all the kids (Sam's an introvert through and through like his parents). There were about 20 little ones with their parents. Normally we go to the story time geared toward older kids so when the librarian started singing a song, Lucy got even more excited and Kye starting bouncing to the beat. While things were getting set up, Kye made himself at home on the lap of the lady sitting next to me (I apologized.. she insisted that I leave him...he seemed very content!). Then the librarian announced that we were going to go around the room and say our names. At this point, Lucy steps out into the middle of the circle, completely out of turn, and announced to everyone: “I’m Wucy! I'm two!” This brings lots of laughter and I corral her back toward the edge of the circle. That girl has not an ounce of shyness in her. So we go around the room, telling names, and Lucy gets another chance to have the spotlight. This time she says her name as well as Kye's. Sam, somewhat like a high schooler finding himself surrounded by little junior highers, says his name in an "I'm bored and too good for this" type of voice. Oh, Sam.

We then proceed to sing songs, dance, and so on. The kids all loved it. The librarian finished by saying we would sing ring around the rosy. We did. And it was such a hit that she said we could do it one final time. Once again, Lucy steps out into the middle of the circle and proclaims, “I’m gonna do it all by myself this time!" More laughter this time. The librarian replied that she admired Lucy's spirit but ring around the rosy is the sort of game you need more than one person :)

You know your son's been to Africa when...

2011-10-27T12:38:00.002-04:00

Sam (two days ago)- Mom, when do we honk the horn? When there are goats in the road?

Goodnight

2011-10-27T12:38:00.001-04:00

If you were a fly on the wall in our house around 8pm, this is what you might see:

Kye, with a tummy full of milk, tosses and turns, cries for a minute or two, and finally gives into the battle in his crib and falls asleep.

In the room across the hall, Sam and Lucy sit reading a story they have each picked out, perhaps another story or two picked out by myself/Kory, and a Bible story. We recite our verse of the week together. We talk about prayer requests. Lucy and/or Sam get distracted by a toy…or each other… but then surprise us by asking questions when we didn’t think they were truly listening.

Then it’s time to pray… Lucy, followed by Sam, followed by me, with Daddy closing. Lately, Lucy has begun most prayers with “be our guest” (a phrase at the beginning of the common table prayer in the Lutheran church…we’ve stopped saying that one, lately, so that the kids hear/learn to pray for their food without just saying something from memory). This night, she prays that Jesus would help her not to fall down the stairs.
Sam is next and prays for LBT co-workers whose office burnt to the ground, gives thanks for chocolate chip cookies, and asks for good sleep. Kory and I finish things off and then it’s time to tuck them in.

Usually around this time Lucy gets rowdy again, waking Kye up, and so I leave to give him his paci back and pat his back a few times.

Coming back, I help Kory “tuck tuck tuck” them in, find bears and blankies, give last drinks of water and give them each a penny or dime for their piggy banks if they haven’t ran around like crazies while we were praying/reading.

Finally, we say the bedtime prayer and Lucy gives us both princess hugs and kisses. Sam gives us lightning mcqueen hugs and kisses (these were invented by the children. They are the normal hugs/kisses with abnormal names… I have no explanation beyond that!).
Kory and I sneak out of the room. Kye is snoring (in our room) again. As we head downstairs, and for the next 15 minutes, we hear Lucy singing a song made up by her, usually about the day’s events. Sam is quiet and quickly asleep, hardly moving from the position we left him in. Lucy will pile her blankets in all sorts of random positions and tuck in her bears or dolls six or seven different times.

The older two will make hardly a sound (unless they are sick or Sam gets up to pee) until morning. Kye will get up approximately three thousand times (okay more like 4. but it’s a lot) but he’s so darn cute and we know it’s only a season- we try all the tricks but try to be patient and remember that both of the others did the same at his age.

Goodnight, little ones. I thank God for another day spent with you!

Lariam

2011-10-22T09:51:00.003-04:00

I believe that all things happen for a reason and that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. So I know that while we’ve had some tough moments in the last 6 months, God has never left us and continues to use all that bad for good. He has enabled us to continue our involvement in a ministry we care deeply about. He has given us a place of our own, the blessing of being in a country where we can worship Him in our own language and without fear of persecution, and the support of friends, family, and strangers in various ways. He has also allowed us to be involved in helping our organization in the areas of missionary care, recruitment, and is even opening doors for Kory to use his linguistic background in the States. I want to say all of that before I tell you in more detail about a drug called Lariam because I want you to understand that while bad things happen, it is not helpful for me (or anyone, for that matter) to live in the place of “what if” and “if only” and “should have” and “could have.”

God has been teaching me a lot about how we are to live in the present, not denying the past, but looking toward the future. So this post is about looking to the future. I write mainly to those of you who feel God calling you to go overseas in the short-term or the long-term or know someone who feels that calling.

When you go to an area of the world that is affect by malaria, doctors recommend that you take a drug to prevent it or at least delay the symptoms called a prophylaxis. There have been several different drugs used for this purpose, some of which are no longer used because of resistances to the drugs that have developed, but in Cameroon (and in many malaria zones), there are three principle ones used today. They are doxycyline (an antibiotic), malarone, and lariam (aka mefloquine). Doxycycline is only approved for use in those aged 8+ and is known for causing stomach problems in some people. Malarone is rather pricy but usually the drug of choice for those needing prophylaxis for a few months or less because of having very few side effects. Lariam is the mostly widely available, cost effective, and the only drug approved for pregnant women and newborns. (Link to the cdc’s website for a more exhaustive list of the pros and cons for all of the options here.)

There are some Westerners who do not use prophylaxis but are very aggressive in treating symptoms as soon as they show up (Malaria is a deadly disease, after all). Most who choose not to use a prophylaxis do use herbs of various kinds and are diligent about mosquito nets and repellant. On the other hand, there are those who have been on one prophylaxis or another for 20+ years. Most people who work long-term overseas fall somewhere in between- they have used prophylaxis for a time and then chosen not to use it once they are more familiar with their specific location, how they personally exhibit symptoms (it varies from person to person), and so on.

Why in the world would someone not use prophylaxis, you might wonder? I alluded to it earlier: side effects and price. Malarone costs on average $3 per pill (lariam/doxy are just pennies when bought overseas) and you take it daily. Also, it does not guarantee that you won’t get malaria. Doxycline can cause nasty stomach cramps in some people and it is a daily pill. If you miss a dose, the effectiveness is greatly reduced. Also, you are taking an antibiotic long-term so that has its own issues (it destroys tooth enamel in young kids, which is one reason why they can’t take it).

Lariam is a lot more controversial than either of the two other drugs. Doctors like to prescribe it because it is effective and pretty much anyone can take it. However, those who work overseas could probably share several stories about people they know who have experience this or that as a result of taking it. It is interesting to note that the U.S. Military no longer recommends it (cdc's advise for military overseas, which would apply to all those serving long-term in an area) and that it is prohibited for pilots/truck drivers/heavy machine operators (because one of the side effects is hallucinations). Most missionaries I talked to said something along the lines of “I can’t believe that drug is still on the market.” I talked to at least 10 different missionaries and doctors who said that they believed about half (or more) of those who take Lariam experience some sort of side effects. The thing about the side effects with Lariam is that they are more often than not psychological. The most common is vivid, bizarre dreams but I know people who have experienced depression (including suicidal thoughts), anxiety, panic attacks, hallucinations, heart palpitations, night terrors, and angry outbursts while on the drug and then stopped having those symptoms once they stopped taking it. I experienced four of those symptoms. Six weeks after stopping Lariam, I was experiencing two of them. Now, four months later, I am only dealing with one of those side effects on a very mild scale and only from time to time.

I am not going to write out a list of the various horror stories I have heard, but I do want to share my concern about this drug. The thing about the side effects is that they are often severe and the drug can take months to get out of your system. So you are taking a rather large gamble when you take it. I know many people who take it with seemingly no problems. But those who do experience side effects often suffer for a month or more. On a personal level, we chose to go on Lariam because we didn’t realize how common or long-lasting or serious the side effects could be. None of us had a history of clinical depression or any other psychiatric problems, so the doctor prescribed it. Since I was nursing a young baby, I wanted him to have some protection, even having done a little bit of research and knowing on some level that it could go badly. Knowing what I know now, I would say that it is better to risk malaria (for which there is treatment) than deal with Lariam. More than anything, I would recommend to anyone planning to go to a malaria zone that they approach the issue with a lot of prayer and that they do their research.

I will never know to what extent Lariam affected my experience in Cameroon. I can’t separate it out from my experience because it was a part of it. I was unable to stay in country long enough after stopping the drug to see what would have happened- after six weeks being off the drug there is still at least 25% of it in your system. Like I said at the beginning, I do not regret any of it because the challenges enabled me to grow closer with the Lord and He, in His grace, is using those experiences to help other missionaries. But I also do not wish those experiences on anyone and if by sharing my experience I can help someone else avoid that, than I want to do that!

Not about Lucy

2011-10-22T09:25:00.001-04:00

I feel like Lucy hijacked this weeks posts by a landslide, so here is what the boys have been up to:

Sam is beginning to read which is so much fun. It seems like just yesterday he was a little tiny baby. Not any more! We’re going to take it really slow but he loves going through his book. Also, he is attending Sunday school for the first time (we’ve never been in one place long enough OR we’ve been in places without it) and that is going really well. He is meeting other kids. So far one of us has needed to be in the same room with him(it’s ages 3-4th grade) but next week he said he’d be okay by himself. He is also making friends at a Bible study (for women) and a book study (for whoever) through our church- the adults talk and the kids play. He is pretty independent these days which is great for me- he’s just an awesome little helper and I thank God for him daily.

Kye makes all sorts of goofy noises that can’t really be typed, as well as sings, and dances. He has recently learned how to talk on the phone and pull about 50 books from a bookshelf in less than 30 seconds (okay so those are rough estimates. But he’s fast). He is no longer shy about eating solids- he loves everything and anything except yogurt and gets very upset if you don’t share. Some of his favorite games are tackle Sam and hide from Lucy.

Bad word

2011-10-22T09:24:00.003-04:00

Mr. Apartment Repair guy came and fixed our front door (that had a large opening at the bottom letting air in). He was greeted by all of the kids, who watched him like a hawk. Soon Lucy, our little extrovert, was talking to him as he worked. At one point he had a long pause in his talking as he worked and then began with “But….” Followed by another pause. Lucy didn’t let him finish his thought, interrupting with: “You do not say ‘butt!’” That one had us all laughing under our breath :)

Broke

2011-10-22T09:24:00.001-04:00

A tragic thing happened in our house this week. Our two older kids both have bedtime items that go with them everywhere. Sam has a blanket. Lucy has a blanket and a bear (which is actually a bear/blanket thingy). Lucy’s bear has a bell in it so we can always hear her when she’s waking up. We hear the jingle, then the footsteps, then the sweet little girl voice telling us hello! Well, this week, Daddy stepped on bear. And broke the bell. It’s pretty amazing that this hadn’t before now- two and a half years is a long time to keep ringing considering how many places it’s been!

When Kory did it, he came into our room with the saddest look on his face and broke the news to me. We were both pretty distraught. Then Lucy walked in and it was time to break the news. We told her and she grabbed the bear, shook it, and said “It sound like money.” It does. It sounds like change clinking.

Then she looked up and Kory and said “Why you step on bear and broke him?” He explained that it was an accident. Then she took bear in her arms, rocked him, and said “shhh… it’s alright, bear.” And that was the end of that. No tears, no more questions, not anything. I think Kory and I were more upset than Lucy!

Things above

2011-10-22T09:23:00.002-04:00

We’ve been teaching the kids memory verses off and on for awhile. Somehow we managed to bypass John 3:16 so we decided that we should better do it! At the end of the week, we ask them to say it for us from memory and they usually get an m&m or just a lot of praise if they do it. When it was Lucy’s turn to repeat, she said (with a bit of help getting started) “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have a normal life!”

We quickly corrected her that heaven would be anything but “normal!” It will be incredible. And it got me thinking how often I say words like eternal life and going to heaven without really thinking about what I’m saying. I think it is a really good thing to ponder what heaven might be like, spending time in Revelation and Daniel, or reading what other Christians have imagined about heaven (love the images in C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” and the ends of “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and “The Last Battle”). At least for me, it reminds me that there is so much more than this. Our lives here are but a breath, a blink, and shadow…life with Him will last forever. We can’t really answer definitively what life in heaven will look like and be like (I don’t think there are words, really), but it’s pretty wonderful to try, don’t you think?! I’m pretty certain that if there were words, “normal” wouldn’t be one of them

Lost in translation

2011-10-22T09:23:00.001-04:00

Kory to Lucy: Tell mommy she can start an episode (of the Office- we have it on DVD)
L: (Comes downstairs where I’m working) Sewed up
Me: What?
L: Sam’s pants
M: Sew up Sam’s pants?
L: Yep

(I love how she didn’t know what “episode” was so she just made something up as she went along that seemed to make sense!)

Birthday

2011-10-10T15:39:00.001-04:00

Today I turned 27. To celebrate, here’s a list of random things about me that you probably didn’t know or really even care to know. I did this mostly because it was fun to think about and for my kids to read some day…

1. I have an odd habit of curling my toes under my feet when I sit down. In general, I wiggle my toes a lot.
2. Hidden talents: mental math, fast at typing, good ear for sounds
3. My left eyebrow has a few hairs on one side that go straight up rather than across, a trait I detested as a pre-teen but inherited from my father and have passed on to Sam (and maybe Kye… he doesn’t have eyebrows yet…)
4. Warning: this is going to make me sound really weird and I’m fairly certain no one will be able to relate. For as long as I can remember, “dry” sounds have literally given me goose bumps. What in the world am I talking about? Sounds such as pencils on paper (especially non-mechanical pencils on recycled paper …which is less smooth than printer paper), dry hands rubbing together, or paper rubbing against paper when you turn pages in a book). Thankfully, this has only affected my life in that 1)I needed to get special permission from high school and college math teachers to use a ball point pen and whiteout on my homework. Thankfully, math came easily to me so I didn’t use white out much and my teachers had no problems with it. 2)I occasionally make Kory put on lotion before we hold hands  3)I turn pages in a certain way when reading, or I just use the kindle! I actually get goose bumps just thinking about it… let’s move on.
5. I can catch a ball better than most people but I cannot throw to save my life
6. I love to paint (especially with oils and acrylic) but I am not terribly good at drawing
7. I’m a bit of a foodie. I love finding local restaurants, all the more if they serve organic or vegetarian or ethnic food. I can also be a bit of a chocolate and cheese snob due to our time in France. I love trying out new places but usually once I’ve eaten at a place and found something I like, I have a hard time not ordering it again. I like to take my time and enjoying eating and, thus, usually only go to restaurants sans kids.
8. I am not grossed out by blood or injuries or things of that nature, but I am grossed out by some textures in foods (such has slimy oysters, deboning a chicken, or eating meat with any sort of fat on it…I can deal with all of the above but if given the choice, I will not)
9. When I get some alone time I love to: read, write, and enjoy God’s creation (especially love going to state or national parks and going hiking/camping).
10. Maybe one day (when the kids are older), I’d love to: sing/play guitar in a praise band, travel, paint, take a photography class, go snorkeling or take scuba diving classes, take dance classes (which I used to do and loved when I was younger), write a book
11. I refuse to eat American Chinese food (authentic, yes, Americanized, no), mushrooms (in rare circumstances I can close my eyes and pretend they are not there but this is not preferred), and popcorn (I blame working at a movie theater for two years and coming home smelling like popcorn all the time)
12. Pet peeves: people looking over my shoulder while I’m working, people who don’t use their turn signals when driving, people who “peck” when they type
13. Place I’d definitely want to revisit: Tuscany
14. Favorite author of all time is C.S. Lewis (took a class on him in high school and I’ve read most of what he’s written)
15. I switched majors 3 times in college. I originally registered for the college of engineering and switched to math/secondary education even before freshman year began. Second semester I switched to social work. Sophomore year I switched to psychology (with minors in theology and math) and that’s the one that stuck 
16. In high school, my fastest mile time was 5:59. My fastest mile split time when running three miles: 5:55. So apparently if you tell me that I need to go three miles I could run the initial mile faster than if you just tell me to run a mile. That, my friends, goes to show 1)how much of running is mental 2)how I am NOT a sprinter
17. I have a special place in my heart for the sick and dying, the poor, those with special needs, new mothers, and missionaries. My favorite ministries I’ve been involved in were AIDs ministry in Swaziland, helping at handicamp as a counselor, talking/serving at soup kitchens, and volunteering in nursing homes. Another favorite ministry is hospitality- I love helping new-to-towners feel welcome (did this a lot in France especially) and just having people over to share a meal and talk.
18. I could not cook anything besides macaroni before getting married and now I can cook about anything from scratch as long as there’s a recipe. Only God could have enabled me to learn as much as I have!
19. I drink only milk and water with the occasional lemonade, apple cider, or hot chocolate thrown in.
20. I am almost obsessive-compulsive in my need to have things organized and put away, but I don’t really care if the dishes aren’t done and the bathrooms are dirty.
21. My eyes get lighter blue when I have a migraine (I have no idea why this is but others have pointed it out).
22. I have scoliosis that is as severe as it can be without needing surgery but it has caused no problems other than wearing a back brace at night for a couple of years in junior high.
23. Ever since leaving for Cameroon, I have worn skirts except for when I work out. I do this for no other reason than I think I look better in them. I am not sure if I will wear pants again or not… for now, me and skirts are friends.
24. I have never worn make up beyond lip gloss (oh and mascara maybe three times ever during 8th grade). I was in dance from the time I was 3 until the age 12 and for recitals we had to cake on the make up. I hated it. Any fascination I might have had with it was completely ruined. I am not anti-make up (just like I’m not anti-pants), I’m just anti-make up for me.
25. I shop like a man: I hunt. I pretty much avoid it unless absolutely necessary and even then I prefer to buy things online because I can just search for whatever I have in mind, get it, and be done. This is more difficult with clothes but is another reason I like skirts: there are fewer of them (long ones) and thus less work to find.
26. I love my family. I thank God daily for my husband and kids and really do not know what I’d do without them. Motherhood is by far the most difficult and the best job a girl can have. I try not to take it for granted.
27. God has been teaching me about how much he loves me, the importance of memorizing the Word, and about slowing down and taking time for the things that are truly important in life.

PS- If you are ever in the area, go to Silver Springs State Park. It is beautiful AND free.

Fall Weekends

2011-10-10T15:38:00.001-04:00

The last couple of weekends have been absolutely gorgeous around here and we’ve taken the opportunity just to enjoy God’s creation! A few weekends back was pumpkin picking with the Fay cousins (or maybe it was pumpkin dodging, depending how you look at it…the pumpkins were all the size of small cars but we did manage to find one that was only the size of Kory’s head). Last weekend was a fall festival (free bounce house and chili cook-off!) at church as well as a trip to a working cider mill for some AWESOME cider, local honey, and cinnamon apple spice donuts. This weekend we got to learn about popcorn and do some taste testing (took home a couple of free bags!) from some local popcorn shop owners. We also played in the leaves at approximately four different parks. One of those was a new one in Naperville right next to the riverwalk which, being from Indy, reminded me of walking by the canal downtown only the one in downtown Naperville is a lot more wooded and is longer. Instead of walking alongside building and apartments you walk alongside some buildings but you see other things like sculptures and gardens and a 100 meter tall bell tower (with six octaves!). The kids fell in love with the playground there so I’m sure we will be back- we only saw about 1/3 of path so there’s still more to explore. I love that about being in a new place- exploring!

Aspirations

2011-10-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

Lucy, in case you can’t gather from the blog (or haven’t met her) is our little extrovert. At least so far. Case in point: we went to a women’s Bible study and while all the other little kids played more or less by themselves but next to one another, she was going around to everyone, adults included, and shaking their hands while saying “Good morning. I’m the pastor.” I have no idea where she gets this stuff but it literally keeps us laughing all day long.

A few days later…

Me- What do you want to be when you grow up?
Lucy- Jesus
Me- You can’t be Jesus.
Lucy- A pastor.
Me- What about you, Sam?
Sam- A fireman… or a police man…or a motorcycle driver….or (face lights up) RACECAR DRIVER!

On another occasion Sam announced to us: “I don’t want to be a scientist when I grow up. I want to be a peacemaker” We memorized “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” a couple of months ago… funny he thinks it’s a career!

Settling in.

2011-10-01T08:55:00.001-04:00

So Kory’s first week at the office is in the books. He biked three of the five days. The first day he didn’t because he had things like a laptop and lots of books to take. In the middle of the week we had a doctor’s appointment for Kye and it was just going to be faster (allow more time actually at work) if Kory drove. Each of the days he biked, he came in and treated himself to a chocolate (courtesy of some coworkers who gave us a little housewarming gift!). Lucy and Sam have asked every day if they can have one (they’ve had two each). On the days the answer is “no” Kory has explained “I get one because I biked today.” Well, one day he came in and grabbed a chocolate and Lucy said in her I-mean-business voice “You did NOT bike today!” He was officially “caught” by our two year old. Gotta love it.

As for things that have actually happened AT the office, I’ll leave that for a future newsletter but we are both VERY excited about the opportunities and how the first week went.

On the home front, we (Kye and I) have survived 3 days of 100-101 degree temperatures with spikes to 103 on two nights. We thought maybe it was malaria (it is possible, although not terribly common, to get it even up to 6 months after leaving a malaria zone). Finally found out that he had an ear infection and the drum was on the verge of bursting! He is our first child to have an ear infection. He didn’t really even pull on his ear! Oh parenthood. There’s always something new to learn. The downside was the lack of sleep, watching a baby suffer, and missing the first week of a women’s Bible study (we weren’t sure if he had something contagious…). The upside was that Lucy used the potty more than usual (since we were home more) and we met a great pediatrician (who wants to be a medical missionary)! I also survived a morning/early afternoon with a migraine (this one was probably due to the weather which changed pretty drastically overnight). Said many prayers of thanks for movies and babies who take naps.

This week was my first-ever time to: work out at the ymca (yay!), go to story time at the library (all three kids had a blast watching the other kids and listening to a very enthusiastic/energetic librarian read about scarecrows), and do a long grocery trip, alone, with the three kids. Yay for routines and normalcy!

One week

2011-09-24T09:46:00.001-04:00

We have officially lived in this apartment for one week. We have met a few neighbors, including the ones who live next door with a two and a half year old and baby on the way. The kids are very excited about their new friend! We also made it to church last weekend (met lots of homeschoolers!) and I am hoping to try a Bible study next week. You could pray about that one- it is a women’s study where children are welcome to play in the next room (within sight but without adult supervision). If we come, we would double the number of kids there and I would have both the oldest and the youngest child. So I’m praying that the kids can play well and that I can focus some what on what is being discussed. If not, there is a night study as well as an interdenominational study with childcare that could both be options.

Besides meeting a few people, we have mostly been unpacking and collecting furniture/furnishings as needed. We are feeling more settled, now, and ready to meet more people, explore our surroundings, and settle into a schedule! Kory will start work on Monday!

A sampling of what we have learned this week:

Kye- Climbing stairs becomes easier and goes faster the more you climb them. And it’s not so bad falling down a few when they are carpeted.

Lucy- Styrofoam breaks up into teensie weensie pieces that get EVERYWHERE and then get vacuumed up by Mommy. That part is almost as fun because we can see them swirling around inside our new vacuum. Another important thing: you cannot (normally) go to the store in your pajamas, no matter how pretty they are. Along those same lines, a nightgown is not a dress and a nightshirt with a built in tutu is still a nightshirt. (Who makes these rules, anyway?!)

Sam- Couches have feet, but not toes. Except the ones in the book “Zoomer’s summer snowstorm. The story behind that one is that he asked if the “couch holders” went on bottom or on top of the couch and I told him that they want on bottom and they’re called feet. Sam then interject that couches have feet but not toes! Which I confirmed. And then he thought a bit longer and remembered a book he has where the couch does have toes. He ran, got the book, and showed me the picture of the couch with three little “toes” on each “foot” Did I ever mention that Sam has a VERY good memory, especially for visual stuff? Well, he does. Gets the memory from his dad, the visual learning from me.

All three kids: Giant boxes and vacuums are way better than toys.

Me- I will go insane without a desk. Random things scattered everywhere on the floor without a place on the wall or a bookshelf or in a closet make me crazy. But only when they’re my things. Go ahead and be messy at your own house- doesn’t bug me at all. Also, I did not miss having a couch when I wanted a place to sit (I prefer the floor unless it’s tile or hardwood without carpet) but I DID miss it for the occasional (VERY occasional this week) nap.

Kory- He will go insane without good lighting at night… not a fan of using the only desk lamp we owned in various rooms as needed (we now have a lamp and a desk and a couch, just in case you’re curious). He has a growing love of putting things together (yay, Ikea!).

The art of talking

2011-09-16T07:40:00.003-04:00

Sam talks...

-in the third person (especially when he's nervous)
-by first asking himself a question, aloud, and then answering it.

Lucy says...

-pigger (computer)
-yehwoh (yellow)
-I'm yucy/wucy. I'm two. (I'm Lucy. I'm two)

Kye makes...

-the noise called "glottal stop."

For those of you who aren't linguists, it's the little catch in your voice between syllables when you say 'uh-oh'. In english, make the same noise in front of words beginning with a vowel sound. Some languages have words beginning with vowels without making the same noise! In some cases, that noise can change the meaning completely of a word!

Big truth for a little guy

2011-09-11T21:40:00.003-04:00

This evening after dinner we went outside to run and kick a ball and just get some energy out. I caught a whiff of something foul so Kory, being the wonderful husband he is, went to check to see if Lucy had a dirty diaper (Kye was with me and smelled like burt bee's so I knew it wasn't him). Nada.

We kicked the ball for a few more minutes and then Kory looked down to see a dead possum. Source of yucky smell: found. Sam noticed and examined what we were pointing at but didn't say much. We went inside and did the normal bath, books, Bible story, and pray routine. After the Bible story, I needed to scoot out to be with Kye (who has been sleeping HORRIBLY this week...he's getting his top two teeth).

Meanwhile, Sam told Kory as he was getting tucked in, "I'll die some day, too. But then God will fix me and make me better."

Kory, having forgotten about the possum, had to do a little detective work to figure out why Sam was all of the sudden talking about dying. But it was wonderful opportunity to talk to our little man about the fact that yes, we do die, and yes, He does make us whole again! We've talked to Sam a little bit about being born and dying and going to heaven but the image of that possum seemed to help Sam connect the dots... that's a big realization for a four-year-old!

Miss personality and Mr. Imagination

2011-09-07T17:46:00.002-04:00

Moma: You have a pretty bracelet.
Lucy: No I don’t have a pretty bracelet. I have a bracelet.
Moma: Well, you have a bracelet that’s pretty.
Lucy: It is not pretty.
Mom: You’re just not getting the picture, Moma.
Lucy: Get the picture here, Moma!

--

Sam: Well, what am I? I’m a tiger. Well, do I like to eat humans? No, ‘cause humans have bones. What do I like to eat? I like to eat ketchup and then I crush up the bottle into little pieces. (growls and swipes his hand)

Sam on another occasion: What does this do (points to his bike handle)? It squirts juice. Well what does the juice do? It turns the clouds purple. And what does this over here do (pointing to the other handle)? This juice squirts out and helps the trees stay in place.

A place?

2011-09-04T19:07:00.003-04:00

This Thursday/Friday we went up to Chicago-land to find an apartment. After asking a lot of questions, spending lots of money on gas, taking tons of pictures, and basically turning our brains/muscles into mush, we think we found a place that will work for us!

It's a small two bedroom and a GREAT location (I'm most excited about all of the parks!). We're just waiting on paperwork... it looks like we may be moving up there in two weeks! But we are signing a 12 month lease. Which means that we will be in one place for an entire year. And that is more amazing than I can ever explain.

Growing up!

2011-09-04T18:48:00.005-04:00

Lucy is our musical, imaginative, creative child. Sam has his moments. Kye is too little to tell. But Lucy definitely has an artistic streak. I would like to share with you a sampling of her songs:

"Piiiiii-zaaaa.... I LOOOOOOOVE piii-zaaaa...."
"I want Maaaaa-maaaaaaa, and then I want Daaaaaaa-dyyyyyyyy, and then I want Maaaaa-maaaaa agaaaaaain."
"Daddyyyyyy and Maaaaaaama went to Chicaaaaaagoooooo."

Genius, I tell you!

Also, she might actually be showing an interest in potty training. Maybe. She has now told us that she needs to go potty at least 5 or 6 times. She still doesn't hold it as long as Sam did at this age (he was dry overnight from 17 months old onward and she still isn't...) but she is loving the attention. "I pee on potty, everybody cheer, and I get m&m?!" What's not to like?!

Kye is now exploring the world through his index finger, pointing at everything. Eating, and liking, lots more solid foods. Standing for a good 20 seconds at a time, pulling up on everything, and crawling at super speed. A few weeks ago he began saying "mama" just to me. Last week we noticed he occasionally began to say "up-bup-bup" when he wants up or is climbing up stairs. And today, on two occasions, he pointed and repeated "baby" while pointing at a picture of a friend's newborn! How is it that he is growing up so fast?!

Sam's favorite things lately are bike riding all around the neighborhood and playing phonics games (www.starfall.com) on the computer to practice his abc's. A month ago he had never touched a computer mouse to actually use it for accomplishing something and now he is clicking and dragging and scrolling with the best of them. Very cool.

Fun websites (especially if you're moving anytime soon)

2011-08-27T17:18:00.002-04:00

http://www.findyourspot.com/

This one is a quiz (a very thorough one) about your interests, preferences, etc. and provides a list of cities across the U.S. (small towns and big cities and everything in between) that best suit you!

http://www.walkscore.com/

At this site, you plug in your home address and it evaluates how "walkable" it is, meaning how easy it is to walk to places like coffee shops, grocery stores, parks, libraries, etc. When we lived in France, we really loved that we could live without a car and therefore save money, take better care of the earth, and get in better shape (we had no need for a work-out routine since we walked at least 30-45 minutes every day of the week). The problem is that many parts of the U.S. are just not set up in this way so living "car free" is a little more tricky. If you're looking to move, it's something worth thinking about! You can read about their criteria for "walkable" on the site.

To the park

2011-08-27T17:01:00.006-04:00

We have been trying to spend lots of time outside every day because we know that colder weather will be here before we know it! Today that meant a trip to our favorite nearby park, which we call "the castle." It's huge. Wooden. Looks like a castle. But none of that is the point of this post. I wanted to give you a peak at our precious kids' little personalities (the older two, any way- Kye mostly just road contentedly on my back in the Ergo).

We made a deal that Lucy would walk one way and Sam would walk on the way back so that they each got a turn in the stroller.

Lucy, our little free spirit, walked slowly. Stopped. Walked backward. Tried to jump up in the air and turn around to catch her shadow. No, not kidding on that one. She looked like a puppy chasing its' tail. She picked up a rock. Smelled a flower. Nearly tripped off of a curb because she was staring at a cloud and then said, "Phew. I made it!" It took us at least 20 minutes to get there.

When Sam walks, he's on a mission. He's getting some place and not really all that concerned about the trip. Where Lucy's strength is enjoying the moment, Sam's strength is focus. He talks a mile a minute while he walks, looking straight ahead, and announcing to us which way we need to go. He has a CRAZY good sense of a direction... at age two he could direct us from our neighborhood to my dad's office a few miles away...and he only visited there twice. The return trip, with Sam leading, took 7 minutes.

One of the things I love about being a mother is that I get to see God's incredible, beautiful, unique creation in the form of my children. What a blessing!

Of fish and mohawks and vowel sounds

2011-08-22T19:25:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, we went to our church's annual church picnic. It's outside, by a lake, and there's a huge potluck afterward. It was a big event for Sam, especially, because he caught his first fish! It brought back fond memories of when I was a little girl and went fishing every summer with my grandpa and uncle.

...

On an entirely different subject, there were a few moments today that Lucy just made me smile. She came inside after she cut her knee outside. We told her that we'd wash it off and put a band-aid on and she said "no, I don't want band aid I want t.l.c."

This evening, during bath, she had a major meltdown over not being able to have a mohawk like Sam because her hair is too long. So we told her that we could give her a "mohawk braid" (a French braid, for those of you who don't speak Lucy). She wore it proudly, sitting with her little mirror while Moma did the honors.

...

Kye said his first word today. Besides "yeah". It was Hezekiah. Okay, not really. But he did repeat his full name today, on three occasions, just after Kory. He omitted the consonants but who needs those? I'm pretty sure he's a genius.

Wake up call!

2011-08-19T07:46:00.002-04:00

Since we currently live at my parents' place, we occasionally like to play the game of "go wake up moma/papa!" with the kids (only when they're sleeping in and it's waaaay late... like 7:30 :)). Well, this morning, that sorta backfired...

Kory, Kye, and I were sleeping peacefully in our room when we heard a loud little girl voice shriek "Wake UP!!!!" I opened my eyes and her mouth was basically by my ear. Then I looked a little to my left, on the other side of the bed, and saw prankster #2, tapping Kory and telling him to get up. They were both smiling and extra cute and it was mostly just funny but part of me was thinking "It will be nice when they can ACTUALLY sleep in."

(PS- Pediatrician visit for Lucy's 2.5 year visit- didn't know there was such a thing until recently- and Kye's 9 month. Lucy is 32 pounds, probably the same or even slightly heavier than Sam, and 36". 80% for weight, 75% for height. Kye was 20.5 pounds and 27.5". 50% for weight, 25% for height. That puts Kye a good 2 pounds heavier than his brother was at 14 months. Kye was a champ during his shot and Lucy entertained the masses with her chatter.)

Luzz Bightyear

2011-08-06T20:09:00.004-04:00

Only a select few get to see Sam's goofy/loud side but I assure you, they are both there. Just a glimpse of them from this evening:

Sam comes running down the stairs yelling "Look at my UNDERWEAR!"
He's clad in his "luzz bightyear" underwear. Which are backward.

(Aside: This is one of the few phrases he says incorrectly and I LOVE it. For whatever reason he says "Buzz" correctly when it's by itself...)

"Look! Now I can see Buzz!!!" (Buzz's face now on his front side...)
"Don't worry. I like being uncomfortable" he finishes. And then off he goes.

Who needs t..v.?

2011-08-02T21:12:00.004-04:00

So I've been mentally gearing myself up for the beginning of this week because my parents planned on replacing two patio doors that hardly open with brand new fancy sliding ones. This meant ripping holes in the side of the house. Air conditioning doesn't like giant holes in the side of houses.

We spent most of yesterday morning out of the house. By the time naps were over, the construction guys were gone. Day 1 was over before we knew it.

Day 2 (the last day- yay for not-so-large projects!). I was prepared to take them out again for the morning so that we'd be out of the way and also avoid the heat. Well, the morning was perfect play-outside weather. So we did. And then the guys arrived earlier than expected. Thus began the all-day-long entertainment. Sam and Lucy had gotten out all 1300 riding toys my parents have at the house but all of them were abandoned as we sat and stared at the trucks and the tools and the wood. I said "let's put everything away and then we can go watch." I've never seen two kids pick up faster. To the back of the house we went (even Kye was curious) and that's about all I remember of today. We watched them from the outside. We watched them sitting inside in the living room. We watched them during lunch in the kitchen. Hopefully they didn't mind because there was nothing pulling my kids away from the loud noises and these new people and did I mention loud noises? I tried to read books, usually a big hit, but no one listened. So mostly I just watched my kids watch the construction guys all day. Seriously, who needs t.v.? This is real life!

Counseling

2011-07-29T15:09:00.008-04:00

One interesting/challenging thing about being a missionary is that much of our life is very public. We don't share everything to everyone but there are a lot of things that probably would go unshared if we didn't have hundreds of people praying for and giving money to our ministry. One of those things has been my counseling. How many people do you know who have shared with hundreds of people that they are about to go to counseling or are currently in it? Probably not too many. I am very thankful for the fact that I was a psychology major in college and thus not only KNOW but also preach (even before all this) that seeking help through counseling is nothing to be ashamed of. Thus, it made it a little easier to be so open with so many people. One benefit of being transparent with people is that they often feel they can be transparent with you. I have had a number of people approach me in person and via letter/email about their own struggles and that is certainly a blessing/encouragement.

Those of you who have personally experienced depression/anxiety/etc. know first-hand that there are a LOT of misconceptions about counseling and mental illness, especially in the Christian world. My hope is that I can teach you something that you might not have realized and hopefully better equip you to encourage fellow believers or non-believers in their struggles.

Misconception #1: Only people who are really off their rocker or suicidal or about to get a divorce go to counseling. Plenty of people go to counselors before problems get that bad. The smaller the problem, the less time it will take to work through it. My guess is that many would be surprised about the number of people you already know who have been or are still going to see a counselor. It's more common than you might think.

Misconception #2: Counselors have some sort of formula that they follow and can then predict when you will be healed (and done with counseling). Just as broken bones heal at different rates, so does the brain. Different people react to the same situation in different ways. The same person might even react to the same situation differently depending on other factors (their age, other things that have been going on, etc.). Something that a lot of people can relate to: the death of a close relative. Everyone knew the same person, but there will be about as many different reactions to their death as there are people. Each person's way of coming back to a place of peace and acceptance may take longer or shorter and involve very different steps. There is no formula. The brain and the heart are very complicated things :)

Misconception #3: Christians who need counseling are either weak in their faith or flat-out sinning. I could probably write a book on this one (and I'm sure someone has). A scenario for you. Bob is driving down the street and gets into a car wreck with another car whose driver, Charlie, has had too much to drink. Both receive minor injuries.

Obviously, Bob is innocent here. No one would say to him "you didn't do X or did do X when you shouldn't have so it's your fault and you got injured because of it." But what about Charlie? He shouldn't be drunk driving. So the accident is a result of his sin and therefore, perhaps, he "deserves" to get hurt. However, even in his case, is the doctor going to say "well, you shouldn't have been doing that in the first place so I think I'll treat Bob but I'll just give you a lecture about being a better Christian." Of course not! He would treat both men. Hopefully, it would be a wake-up call to Charlie and he would change his ways.

Back to Bob. Is the fact that he was innocent in this situation automatically lead to the conclusion that he has stronger faith? Perhaps he does. But it is also possible that he sins in other ways which have different repercussions. No one is perfect, not even one. It's possible that Charlie prays often and reads the Word and is applying it in other areas of his life but still has some things to learn in this area of weakness.

What am I trying to say with all of this Bob and Charlie business? Perhaps it is a result of sin that people need counseling. But perhaps the sin of others plays a role. Or perhaps it is the consequence of original sin- our world is a fallen one and therefore things like genetic disease exist (and yes, it is very possible to have genetic predispositions to psychological diseases and yes, in some of those cases, medication along with counseling is needed). Perhaps (and probably) it is a combination of all of these things that necessitate the need for counseling.

While it is important to understand the cause behind disease, whether it be physical or mental, we should never judge someone for seeking the treatment they need. Yes, our God is a powerful God and He can change hearts and minds. Yes, it is true that prayer and meditating on the Word and asking God to fill us with His spirit are essential for ALL Christians. But if you were diagnosed with lung cancer due to being a chain smoker your whole life and someone told you to go home, pray, ask for forgiveness (because you harmed the body that he created), change your sinful smoking habit, and wait for God to heal you, you'd think they were crazy! God has blessed us with doctors who have studied cancer and have medicine to treat it. You'd hopefully go home, pray for healing/forgiveness, change your habit, etc, but you would also go to the doctor and begin chemo! Counselors and psychiatrists are the doctors for the mind- they help sort through all the feelings and emotions- they are paid to listen and give advice (based on dealing with these sorts of issues frequently and the experience of many in their field). They ideally use scripture as the foundation. They are a resource for help to those who aren't sure where to go.

On a personal level, I can tell you that while friends and family have been a great encouragement and help in this whole process (yes, community with other believers has been ESSENTIAL), they only have so much time in their days. When I was really having a difficult time, I needed more than just a pat on the back and someone saying “it will be okay.” I needed someone to hear my story and patiently show me the way. I needed someone who was not afraid to talk about tough things because they talk about tough things often! I needed someone who was experienced with the steps that need to be taken toward healing. I was already reading the Word and memorizing it and praying constantly because I desperately needed all of those things, and yet I was still struggling. So counseling, for me, was a huge answer to prayer. I know that I could have been stronger in my faith before going to Cameroon but there is no doubt in my mind that 1)there were more things contributing to the situation than “weak faith” and 2)once I realized my own points of weaknesses, I was doing everything I could to strengthen them, but in the situation we found ourselves, I was still very overwhelmed even though I was praying, writing in a journal, memorizing, reading, seeking community, asking for prayer from others, asking for counsel from others, and so on.

The last thing that we need to do is to pile on the guilt and judgment. We need to show love and grace and not make assumptions when we have not walked in the others’ shoes. If they truly are weak in faith, we need to be building them up and not smashing them in the head with their own sin. They are probably more than aware of it.

A few resources (pointing you back to the Truth) for those who feel like they have believed lies which have now gotten them to a bad place emotionally. All books would be great resources for anxiety or depression (I have mentioned most of these before but in any case):
The Word
Telling Yourself the Truth
How to Fear god without Being Afraid of Him
The knowledge of the holy
Ragamuffin gospel

Misconception #4: Any counselor will do You need to find a counselor that you trust, first and foremost. You need to find one that has experience in dealing with the kinds of things you want to work on and is also familiar with working of people your age/background/etc. Ideally, you would find one that is recommended to you by someone else (whose opinion you respect and trust) that has experience working with the counselor. Also, I recommend that Christians go to a counselor who is not only a counselor who is Christian but uses the Bible and prayer as integral parts of the counseling process.

Misconception #5: Counseling will solve all your problems. In some cases, medication is also a necessary component. In all cases, there will only be healing when you are willing to put in the effort to be honest, apply the things you learn to your daily life, and in general just challenge yourself to grow. And more important than any of that, the Lord is our true Healer. Without Him, we will always walk around burdened and wounded. His Spirit is what we are reliant upon for lasting changing. Make no mistake: He is our Wonderful Counselor!

Over yonder

2011-07-29T15:02:00.003-04:00

Kory was about to step out the door this morning for a walk when Lucy spotted him.

Lucy: Where you going?
Kory: Over yonder
Lucy: I wanna go (to) yonder.
Kory: No you need to stay here
Sam: Me too! I want to go to yonder!
Lucy: I get shoes.
(at this point they are no longer listening to Kory's protests and since we're not going to be able to go on our normal family walk tonight, we decided to say yes to their request)
Kory: Alright let's go on a walk
Lucy: No! Don't want to go on walk. Go yonder.
Sam: I want to go on a walk to yonder!

Kory and I decided that a great compromise would be to take a 30 sec. drive over to a park and then do our walk. We walked up a large hill that overlooks a few neighborhoods. The path has lots of wildflowers and we also saw a dog, always a highlight. Once at the top, Kory said to the kids "Look over yonder!" And Sam said "but Dad, I thought yonder was a grocery store! Those are just a bunch of houses!" Oh such fun. Now I'm sure the kids will be requesting to go back to "yonder" because we had so much fun :)

Kye says hello

2011-07-25T17:14:00.002-04:00

This does not feature yelling but lots of talking and other fun noises :)

Theological discussions with Sam and Lucy

2011-07-25T16:49:00.003-04:00

Lucy: Is that Jesus?
Kory: No, that's the pastor.
Lucy: Is the pastor Jesus?
Kory: No. (Says something to explain what a pastor does)
Lucy: But the pastor is a princess?
Kory: No...
Lucy: Pastor not a princess? Okay, but Papa is.

...

Sam and I discussed the creation story today and talked about things that we make and things that God has made. By the end of it, he got the idea that we can make some things (like trucks) but we use things that God has already made (like metal). It continually amazes me how much little people can understand and teach us adults. I could never be a teacher for 30 people at the same time but I do love answering all of his questions.

We have a yeller, folks

2011-07-25T16:45:00.004-04:00

My nice sweet cuddly baby has turned into a talking, yelling, crawling machine (mostly army crawling but sometimes hands and knees thrown in). He also pulled to standing for the first time last week- in the bath tub, of all places. Apparently he thought that standing in slippery water would be a great idea! But back to the talking and yelling.

He does not cry. He yells. And then he laughs hysterically. Usually this begins at dinner but sometimes he likes to join in with one of the older ones while they're throwing a tantrums. Our house is a little louder, nowadays! When he's not yelling, laughing, or exploring, he talks calmly. His "words" consist of "yea, yea, yea, yea," and "dah dah dah dah"

He's still a cuddler, for now :) He loves to throw his arms around your neck in a hug whenever he's picked up. That's definitely one of my favorite Kye-isms!

Take care of that ... hamburger?

2011-07-18T18:54:00.003-04:00

Lucy: (taking bite of burger) Pooor burger. Did you get an ouchy? I kiss it! (Kisses the hamburger where she bit. She then patted the burger in the same place while saying...) There, there. Now you feel better.

Quotable

2011-07-17T06:55:00.002-04:00

Sam, last night, to my mother: "I'm going to cut this hair and this hair and this hair and then you'll be a boy."

Simple.

2011-07-16T13:00:00.002-04:00

As you probably noticed, the blog is less frequently updated than it had been before. It was an unintentional change but perhaps resulted from the changes that God has been urging us to make in our lives, recently...

For example, I check email and facebook once a day rather than 1500 times.

I watch t.v. or movies for maybe 2-3 hours a week.

We are trying to make time for people geographically close to us (and a few select family members/very close friends) so that the interactions we do have are more meaningful and we're not trying to be everything to everyone.

When I'm with the kids, I'm with the kids. I play with them, I ask them to help me with chores, I take them shopping or to the library, I eat with them. This has been a big change for us (I've always taken great pride in my ability to multi-task) but I thank God for it because it is doing wonders for everyone. I let them entertain themselves but I don't try to get anything done in the meantime... I just enjoy watching because I know that I'll blink and they'll all be in grade school.

We're getting rid of even more of our "stuff" (mostly papers we'll never look at and books we'll never read again and sentimental things that have sat in boxes gathering dust for 5+ years).

Why?

There's no email THAT urgent that can't wait 24 hours. And if it is that urgent, they will call. And if it is an urgent call, they will leave a message.

The T.V. and internet have the potential to become a major distraction for me and I'd rather spend the majority of my time doing other things like reading or journaling or praying or cooking or planning for home school or cleaning or spending time with my husband after the children are in bed.

Limiting the activities I do has helped me to focus on doing what I do well rather than doing a bunch of things half way.

Stuff is another major distraction to me. The more you have the more you have to clean and keep track of and organize. There is a tendency to become consumed with being a consumer... I believe Christ calls us to put relationships above things so having less things in my life enables me to focus more on people.

By the grace of God, these changes will be lasting and will hopefully have a positive impact on our family. The thing that got a lot of my ideas flowing was that of creating both personal and family purpose statements. You can look up ideas online...but the main reason it has helped so much is that it helps give focus to what is truly important, making it easier to eliminate the things that are "the good" but maybe not "the best."

Little boys

2011-07-16T12:40:00.003-04:00

I have one sister and no brothers. I was friends with mostly girls up until high school. I have one boy cousin and the rest (that we saw on a regular basis) are girls. All this to say that I have limited experience around little boys. Sam, age 4, is definitely not a toddler. And this means that he has lots of energy (Like, we tell him to do jumping jacks or run around the room or wrestle daddy before naps...and certainly no chocolate allowed after 4pm...that is disastrous for him. Trust me.). He's loud (although not as loud as Lucy :)). He's ornery and starting to be a little smart-alecky and make jokes and such.

Also with his new "little boy" status come the increased ability to help out: entertain Kye, put laundry in the dryer, help find Lucy's shoes, get dressed on his own, etc.

And my favorite of little boy traits: More formal homeschooling. That word, "formal," will mean different things to different people. For us, all it mean is that we are doing more than just playing and reading and helping around the house (all learning opportunities as well!).

He's learning to use a mouse on the computer, paint and color and cut and glue, play "memory", put together more complex puzzles, and so on. We have FINALLY settled into more of a routine and we get 30 min. of day together learning whatever it is that Sam and I want to learn together without the distractions of babies or toddlers. Of course, the rest of the day is full of playing both indoors and out, learning to share and to play alone, asking questions and getting answers, dancing and singing, creating and imagining. (But of course there is disobedience, selfishness, and a few tantrums thrown in there... this is real life!)

A princess and a worm

2011-07-03T19:31:00.002-04:00

Kory was in charge of keeping track of Lucy as we walked up to communion this morning.

My dad, dressed in a white robe (as is customary at our church), was helping serve the bread.

As Kory and Lucy approached the front, Lucy exclaimed "Look, Daddy! Papa's a princess!"

Sam says cute things, too, but man... Lucy's full of gems lately!

---

Kye is now moving forward in an army crawl/inch worm sort of way (while occasional sticking his behind up in the air, just for an extra dose of cuteness). He's not very fast but he only started this on Friday morning and already he's MUCH faster. Our world is about to get a bit crazier...

Lucy also says

2011-06-30T14:46:00.001-04:00

M: Lucy and Sam, stop and listen for a minute. Do you hear the birds?
L and S: (stopping, listening)
S: Yea!
L: No. Do you hear the lions?

Lucy says

2011-06-30T07:15:00.003-04:00

(rubbing her tummy)
My body's huuuuuungry.

--

Lucy: I want a book
Me: Which book?
L: A very big book
M: (grabbing the biggest book in the shelf) This one?
L: No. Not big enough. An even BIGGER one.

--

M: Do you want to go outside and play?
L: No. (imagine the most whiney voice you can from a two year old who got a 30 min. nap instead of 2 hours)
M: Read a book?
L: No.
M: Go for a walk?
L: Noooooo.
M: Sit and pout and whine?
L: (smiles) Yep.

Silly clothess

2011-06-23T10:21:00.003-04:00

Sam was watching Kory this morning while he was deciding what to wear to a wedding we're going to. His comment? "Sam doesn't have to wear silly clothes like Daddy." (He likes to talk in the third person, recently...)

Good medicines

2011-06-22T15:40:00.004-04:00

A few things I've learned in the last few months that are very good medicines:

A good laugh. We watch the office and also our own children for excellent sources of laughter... I'd be open to suggestions for movies/websites/books that are good for laughs though!

Community. SO thankful for friends and family who listen and write notes and so on. I don't think I realized how much I needed this until recently...

Humility. This means many things but one thing it has meant for us is asking for help when we need it (this relates to medicine #1: community). As one example, we realized upon arriving in the capital that we had a few more items than would be able to fit into our current bags but we were allowed a few more bags than we actually had...we thought about just giving away some more stuff but I suggested we just ask to see if someone might have a cardboard box... this meant asking for help YET again in a week where we felt like we were doing nothing but asking for help. Our friends did not have a cardboard box, but they did have an unclaimed (somewhat broken) piece of luggage that we could use! Suddenly we had more space than we needed! Another way humility has been healing is that lifts much of the burden we place on ourselves and gives it back to God- when we admit that we are not in control and sinful and weak, we let Him be what He is: the sovereign, powerful, perfect, loving Lord.

Forgiving and forgetting. This means forgiving others as well as forgiving yourself. This is not easy but God can help. He's the expert at it.

Memorizing the Word (and applying it). This helps us distinguish the truth from Satan's lies. It's even more powerful when spoken aloud. I've found it especially to helpful to memorize scripture concerning who God is and who we are in Christ.

Contentment. Pray for God to show you areas in your life where you are not content and ask Him to give you peace. Peace is much better than the alternative.

Music. Listening is good. Singing and dancing and playing instruments yourself is even better.

Purpose. When you have goals (as an individual or a couple or a family) it makes life much more simple (even better if they're written down somewhere as reminders and if you have someone keeping you accountable!). Which brings me to...

Simplicity. One thing we loved about life in Cameroon is that a lot of distractions were stripped away (which also made some things a lot harder!). Limiting belongings and activities means that you are able to enjoy the things that you have and do more fully and you are also not as overwhelmed (less activities/things are easier to manage). It helps with focus (as does having purpose- see above). Another thing about simplicity- especially in living conditions- is that it enables you to rely more on God and less on yourself. It sparks creativity. Both of those things are very good medicine! Simplicity is often something that we have to work hard to achieve here in America but it can be done, like all things, when He strengthens us (self-discipline is a key fruit of the spirit on this one!).

Hiatus

2011-06-22T14:53:00.002-04:00

Most of you know, by now, the reason for the hiatus of the blog. If you don't know, go here and click "contact" so that I can send you the letter we have sent out. I'm not going to address most things concerning my medical leave on here for the time being. If you'd like to send an email or talk on the phone or sit down for a cup of coffee (um, make that lemonade since I don't drink coffee and it's summer), I'd be happy to chat.

Maybe down the road I will share more on the blog... but for the moment, you'll just have to be content to read about the cute things our kids are doing and the books I'm reading (which are many and various!) and the things I'm cooking (gotta love summer!). I love writing too much to stop blogging altogether. Really, this is more for me and my children than anybody else... so, speaking of the kiddos:

In the last few weeks, there have been lots and lots of firsts! Kye has tried his first solid foods. Bananas were a disaster. Horrible faces, pushing the spoon away, etc. With rice, I decided a new technique might be necessary. Let him hold the spoon. He did. He loved it. He usually gets about 70% of the rice cereal from the spoon to his mouth! Also new in Kye's world is the ability to sit for more than 10-15 min. without falling over. He pretty much never falls over anymore. And he also is perfecting the yoga pose that Lucy was famous for.

Lucy went poo and pee on the potty for the first time once we were back in the U.S.! Also, she said goodbye to her first friend (besides Sam): the pacifier. She chewed a hole in the only one we had in our possession the day before we left Cameroon. It made for a few tears for two or three days but now she is paci-free. She's getting to be such a big girl...

Sam's big first is that he is starting to ride a bike! It has training wheels. And was a wonderful garage sale find. He went from slowly turning the pedals around and going in a small circle to riding up and down the court on his own... I'm just happy that he's wearing a helmet and that he grins ear to ear every time he gets on. No falls. Yet.

Good reads:
The Ragamuffin gospel (Have I mentioned that one yet? If I have, it's ok. It deserves a repeat)
At home in Mitford series (very light, perfect for summer)
How to fear God without being afraid of Him
Knowledge of the Holy

Another dinner invite!

2011-05-22T02:53:00.002-04:00

We were invited to dinner again last night, this time by the Director of translation and literacy for the Lutheran church (Daniel Touka). We have had dinner with him and his wife before (at the Webers') and have talked to him a few times before, but it was wonderful to be able to join them at their home. All five of us went. Martin Weber was also there, as well as three friends/family members (that line is pretty blurry here!) of Pastor Touka. The food was wonderful and the company was even better. The children did pretty well. I was not able to join in on much conversation because of being occupied with the kids, but Kory told me that they talked a lot about cultural differences since one of Pastor Touka's friends is a math professor in the U.S. Here are some things we learned last night:

-When leaving, you say "see you tomorrow" even if you won't really be seeing one another the next day
-In inviting people to eat, you don't say "you are welcome to have ____" or "help yourself to ____" Instead, you say "there is ___." And then it would be considered rude not to eat it.
-Children and women normally eat separately from the men
-Cameroonians (and Africans in general, I believe) are very unfamiliar with the concept of homosexuality and our needs for "personal space" (The professor mentioned an occasion where he stayed a night in a hotel and ended up having to share a king-sized bed with a co-worker but the co-worker would not sleep on the bed without putting something between them. He said that 10 Cameroonian men could have fit just fine on that bed :))

Some things that still aren't clear:

-Do we reach for food or wait for it to be passed? We have heard that you need to reach for it, but last night it seemed that that was maybe not the case...
-When it is appropriate to look others in the eye (for Cara)

Serenity Prayer

2011-05-22T02:43:00.003-04:00

I have always loved this prayer, but I do not believe that I've ever heard the entire thing until recently. I do believe this is going on a wall in our new home:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Mom-in-training

2011-05-20T15:51:00.003-04:00

I spent most of the day in bed with a migraine so, unfortunately, was unable to go to the Bishop's house. Kory, Lucy, and Sam went. From what I hear, the kids behaved for the most part and really enjoyed having pop for the first time (it was all there was to drink- I guess it's a good thing I didn't go- haven't drank that in 12 years :)) as well as playing with a kitten. Kory will have to fill you in on the details of the rest of it.

When they got home, I was still laying in bed and Lucy came up to me.

Lucy-"Momma not feelin well?"
Me- "No..."
(Lucy runs out of the room and comes back with her very precious bear that is her comfort item when sad/tired/etc)
Lucy- "Here go. Bear make you feel better."
(She runs back out and then in, this time with her paci)
Lucy- "Paci make feel better, too."
(And back out/in again, now holding her two blankets)
Lucy- "Here blankets. Feel better."
(Goes out one last time, announcing that she's shutting the door so I can sleep)

I have a very, very sweet little two year old girl. That little girl also came down with a fever pretty quickly tonight and went to bed without dinner. We're within walking distance of doctors/hospitals/clinics so if we need advice we can get it easily.

Introductions and shopping

2011-05-19T15:25:00.003-04:00

I do not have a whole lot of time (read: practically none) to get out and meet people, but yesterday our entire family took a walk down the road to the offices of the Lutheran church here. Kory wanted to introduce the kids and I to the president of the church. He was very kind and speaks both French and English very well (even spent some time in the U.S.). He invited us over to his house tomorrow to join in their celebration of Cameroon's national day, which celebrates the reunification of the French and English colonies in Cameroon. We are excited to (finally!) have our first Cameroonian meal in a Cameroonian home. We are hoping that our children do alright, as it begins (theoretically) at 1pm, which is smack dab in the middle of nap.

Also during that visit to the office, we ran into a future neighbor! He works at the dispensary/clinic just down the hill from our house in Galim. I didn't catch his name but we talked a bit and he seems very nice. Not sure if he's Nizaa or not but being so close to us, I'm sure we'll run into him again.

As for today, it started out a little on the rough side. Short version: I woke up feeling kind of out of sorts, Kory insisted that I cut his hair which I'd been procastinating on doing, I cut his hair, switched guards half way through and had the wrong setting, cut it down to 3mm, wanted to laugh but thought he'd be mad so I cried instead, finished cutting it to a much shorter length than originally planned, and somewhere in the middle of all that Kye, who I thought was sleeping on our bed, managed to fall off onto the concrete floor BUT God's angels were watching out for him because he managed to fall with his bottom on the ground, leaned up against the side of the bed, clinging to the sheet, and not on his back or head!

Thankfully, the day got progressively better to end with a few fun purchases and a package! Hooray! Kory bought a children's Bible in French identical to an English one we own, as well as the hymn book and order of worship for the church (all in French) so that we can follow along, since everyone else has it memorized and there are no bulletins. I bought three oil paintings for our house in Galim so that we can put something on our walls. And we got a package. Which pretty much made our week. Oh the ups and downs of life!

Keeping our eyes on the prize

2011-05-17T17:11:00.003-04:00

In C.S. Lewis’ “The Silver Chair” (4th book in the Chronicles of Narnia series), Aslan gives Jill Pole and Eustace a task. He tells Jill to remember four signs that he gives her so that she and Eustace can complete their task more easily. He makes her memorize them and repeat them until she really knows them.

"But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. And now, daughter of Eve, farewell" -Aslan to Jill

"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth." Deuteronomy 11:18-21

Some days, I feel like I must do the same as Jill: repeat scripture to myself so that it doesn’t get muddled and forgotten, or worse, become twisted into a lie. Memorize it. Write it down. Think about it. Sometimes my head is clear and other times… not so much. The last time I was in Africa was also the first time I was really aware of the spiritual battle that is taking place all around us. Prayer, meditating on the Word, looking back on what He has done to bring us to this point, and remembering why we are here are all key in helping us to persevere.

So when the power is out and the meat in the fridge is going bad, the water is out and dishes are piling up, and people keep knocking and asking for money, we remember that we are not here on vacation (ha!). We are here to serve the Lord and what few sacrifices we must make are nothing compared to the suffering Christ went through. A few things that remind us of His constant presence and desire to bless/refresh us in spite of some hard moments:

-We received gift of snickers and granola bars from strangers before leaving on yet another long journey (Remember the European chocolates last time we took a long trip? God knows I have a sweet tooth!)
-I found a book in the library, free for the taking…the exact book that I really wanted to buy for our kindle a few days before that but decided we couldn’t afford
-I found the second book of an author whose first book has been a real encouragement to me (both of these books that I found are fairly obscure, by the way…)
-In the middle of writing our prayer letter, I needed a dollar amount to figure out where we stand financially, so I prayed that we would get the email informing us of that information soon. I minimized what I was doing, opened up our email, and saw that the email I needed had arrived that very minute.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T03:50:00.005-04:00

For those of you who don't know my mother, you're missing out. Because I really do have the best mother around. As I've gotten older and become a mother myself, she's also become one of my closest friends. What a wonderful blessing to have a mother who loves the Lord and loves me and is good at showing it.

And to those of you who are mothers. For me, this particular stage of being 1)young 2)having three very young kids 3)moving all of us to this strange land called Cameroon has been a challenge, to say the least. I wanted to share a couple of books I've been reading out of that have been helpful. I haven't finished any of them but so far, highly recommended...the first two are geared toward stay-at-home moms and the last is for any woman, stay at home mom, working mom, or not a mom at all.

The mission of motherhood
The mother load: how to meet your own needs while caring for your family
Calm my anxious heart (not just for when you're anxious... about being content, in general)

Happy mother's day to me: 1)coffee cake and bananas for breakfast 2)two cards made by my kids (Kory asked them what they liked most about me and Lucy said "hugs and reading" and Sam said "cake" so those were written/drawn on their cards :)) 3)As I was walking to the shower, I thought to myself how I wished I had the words to the song "In Christ Alone" memorized so I could sing it and reflect. Love that song. as I opened the door to go into the bathroom, I heard the group of volunteers that is here. They were singing that very song. The bathroom is right next door to where they are so I could hear it during my shower :) 4)This one requires a bit of a story. Apparently, a bird flew into the gate to where we are staying and was knocked unconscious. The guard picked it up and noted that it was alive, just a little confused. He knocked on our door and Kory got to hold a beautiful blue bird with an orange/red beak that was very calm because of its incident. I took some pictures, Kory let one of the volunteers hold it, and then the bird was coming back to it's senses and they let it fly away. Not every day you get to hold a wild African bird! Here's a picture of the type of bird (picture of Kory holding it to be posted on the other site later). 5)Went to church this morning at the English church here. Kory was really blessed by the sermon and I got to spend some quality time with Kye, letting him sleep in my arms, which doesn't happen often any more. On the way home, we stopped at a boulangerie and got quiche/mini pizzas to eat for lunch which was a real treat since we rarely eat anything that we don't make ourselves AND we didn't really have anything easy to prepare for lunch so it would have been a bit of a wait.

Attention all fashion designers!

2011-05-06T10:05:00.002-04:00

I meant to post this awhile back... but better late than never, eh? Almost two weeks ago, I went with two friends (went to school in France with us) with the mission of getting Cameroonian dresses. With a few yards of pretty cloth bought at a market in hand, we walked into a small shop off the side of a busy road. Inside were posters of various styles of clothing, some cloth, a few dresses already made, and a friendly woman who had made something else for one of the girls. Joanna handed her a napkin with two different styles of dresses drawn on it. She asked a couple of questions about the drawing, measured the other two girls (I wasn't able to have anything made this time around because I didn't have any cloth), and told them she'd have the dresses ready in a week and a half. So for under $40 (I think that's about right...), you can have a tailor made dress in whatever fabric and style you wish. Now that is pretty awesome.

I went home and sketched my own dress and hopefully will get out one of these days to buy fabric/get measured and make it happen!

Four years already!

2011-05-02T16:54:00.003-04:00

Samuel Elias turned 4 today... he enjoyed his legos and scarfed down a made-from-scratch chocolate donut (his favorite... he was more excited about that than the cake I made on Saturday for his little party). In my mind, age 4 is officially "little kid." No more baby. No more toddler. But of course he will always be my baby, as many a mom has said... even when he's 29 he'll be my baby.

To Sam:

I'm sorry for all the mistakes I make because you're our first and we're learning as we go... and because I'm just human so mistakes happen. I'm sorry for being extra hard on you because, like it or not, you're a lot like me... In spite of the not-so-fun moments we have together, I hope that you know that I love you SO much. I pray for you daily and so does Daddy. I will never forget seeing you and holding you for the very first time on this day just four years ago. Today, on your birthday, I am thanking God for the time we've had with you, watching you grow, and praying for many more years to watch what God does in your life!

Encouraging verses

2011-04-29T02:52:00.005-04:00

This week has sort of been a rough one but something Kory and I both realized that is really helping: we cannot change our circumstances but we can change our attitudes. An attitude of joy can only come from the Lord so here are some verses that have helped me with that this week (all in ESV):

“The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-20

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:28-31

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” Romans 12:11

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" Hebrews 13:5-6

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Mini-miracles

2011-04-22T01:18:00.003-04:00

We arrived in the capital almost a week ago. Mini miracle #1: a complete stranger (a Norwegian doctor in Cameroon for just a week who saw us at church) came up to our door in the middle of a stressful morning of packing. She said that she prayed about who to give some Norwegian chocolate she had brought with her to Cameroon and we came to mind but she didn't know where we lived. The day before we left, she saw us playing outside. And an hour before we left, while I was occupying myself with three stir-crazy children and Kory was trying to pack up our truck, she brought it to our door.

Like I mentioned earlier, travel went smoothly. Upon arriving, we discovered that although we had planned on staying an entire month here, there was a mix-up in housing reservations and they only had housing for us for 5 days! With it taking 2 days to get down here in the first place, we weren't excited about that idea and just brought it to the Lord in prayer, trusting that He would make a way for us to stay if He wanted us here. The next day, we were informed that we could stay for 2 weeks but that the remaining 2 weeks were booked full (and had been for almost a year). So we began to resign ourselves to shortening our stay and tried to arrange housing up north. Calls made to book housing up there went unanswered all day on Tuesday. Then, Tuesday night, we got an email which informed us that everything would work out after all. We are able to stay for an entire month. Praise God for mini-miracle #2!

The main reason for coming was to reconnect with friends we met in France, get a better idea of the resources available to us here (such as a library for children, one for Bible translation resources, and another for general adult reading), buy some things for our house at the large missionary garage sale, and attend a spiritual retreat for missionaries. The retreat started on Wednesday and this morning is the last morning. Our children have spent the mornings in child care with three Cameroonian women and a few other missionary kids. It has gone pretty well with minimal tears. In the afternoons, I had planned on sitting out so that our kids wouldn't be in childcare ALL day but Martin offered to play with them one afternoon and Joan took them the other afternoon. So Kory, Kye, and I have been able to attend all the sessions. Philemon Nfor is the speaker- He's a Cameroonian pastor who has spent some time in Europe (Scotland, I think?). We've really been encouraged by his messages on pain and change and have also enjoyed time in prayer and worship with the other missionaries here. We've been really taking it easy on ourselves during this retreat time, getting extra time in the Word and in prayer even when there aren't formal sessions.

On the agenda for the rest of this Holy Week- watch Passion of the Christ (there's a Good Friday stations of the cross service but it's a little late for our kids...), a women's breakfast, baking for Easter festivities, a BBQ, an Easter service and breakfast, and lunch with friends. God is good.

Blessings as you celebrate the miracle of all miracles- that He conquered death in order that we may have life with Him!!! There are simply no words for how amazing that is!

Sights on the road

2011-04-18T09:15:00.005-04:00

First I should say that there are some good things about taking some of the roughest roads in the country right off the bat (our first two weeks here)- all the other roads don't seem so bad. Our two days on the road were much smoother this time around and mostly paved! Wow! Some of the things we saw...

-Groups of people walking along the side of the road holding palm branches (on Palm Sunday)
-Steam rising from the road after a hard rain
-A man carrying a full head board (for a bed) on a motor cycle
-A little boy bathing in the rain on the side of the road
-A group of kids bathing in a river next to the road (when it wasn't raining)
-A sign saying "welcome to (name of city)" that was torn in half and practically on the ground...
-People putting their clothes out to dry on their grass roofs
-Women pounding grain with a large "mortar and pestle"
-Men chopping grass with machetes
-Piles of fresh fruit on the tops of heads, motorcycles, and semis
-White gravel (very odd in a country with most red dirt roads or pavement)
-Signs for toll booth but no one collecting a toll
-No signs for a toll both but suddenly a person, dressed appropriately, stopping cars to collect a toll ($1)
-8-10 year old boys manning large bamboo sticks that block the road, sometimes to stop cars for a toll, sometimes to stop cars to check paperwork, sometimes for seemingly no reason at all
-Mountains
-Large boulders
-Lakes/swamps
-Lush green rain forests
-30" trees with leaves decorated in red dust tossed up by passing vehicles
-Road side shops selling anything from peanuts to baskets to cloth to tires
-Newborns tied to the backs of women on motorcycles
-A cow being butchered
-Live goats and cows which move out of the way of vehicles but sheep which don't

My bigger little man

2011-04-15T15:33:00.003-04:00

Sam will forever be my little man, even though he's almost 4 and has changed quite a bit since we first started calling him "little man" when he was just a couple of months old. Í have been extra proud of him lately because he really is opening up and adjusting, slowly but surely, to his new surroundings. He greets people in French and in Fulfulde, as well as randomly repeating phrases/words that he hears.

Also, he is such a good helper, especially when his daddy is gone. He has put Kye's pacifier back on countless occasions, as well as requesting to help with all chores, errands, and cooking. Sometimes I tell him to "just go play!" because he is, after all, a kid. And sometimes I take advantage of his willing spirit because I doubt it will last forever...

And on a funny note, tonight after I had used a screw driver to take apart Kye's rocker chair so that we could pack it up and travel:

Sam: Mommy, why did Daddy take apart that chair?
Me: He didn't. I did. I took it apart so that it can come with us in the truck.
Sam: Um... Mommy, why did Daddy do it?
Me: He didn't. I did.
Sam: But why did he do it?

Social roles are learned early, my friends. Women, apparently, are incapable of using tools. Except that this woman did, indeed, take apart a baby chair. Just so you know.

My not-at-all best friend (and a couple of good things too)

2011-04-15T15:18:00.002-04:00

What would that be? Driving in Cameroon. We will be on the road tomorrow and Sunday. And then we will stay put for another month. Did I mention I hate driving here? Oh, and by driving, I mean sitting in the car while my awesome husband does a great job of navigating the bumps and the people and the motorcycles and the animals. I don't like it... even for 5 minutes. It will probably be a very long weekend... prayers appreciated.

On a much more positive note, my husband is home. Very good to have all 5 of us together again. And another positive note, we received TWO packages and a letter (the one that was supposed to arrive before our very first package :)). Things have all come priority mail and arrived in about 3 weeks. That is pretty awesome. And one more positive note: Martin found a store here that is almost as cheap as things are in the capital (practically everything comes by train from there to here which makes things more expensive, in general, for us). Also, it has a wide variety of items, food and non-food, for sale. We like these kinds of stores because they save time AND money.

Furniture shopping

2011-04-11T14:04:00.002-04:00

I have never been furniture shopping in the traditional sense. We lived in an unfurnished house for the first year of our marriage and used furniture that I had in my dorm room the year before that... since then, we've lived in furnished places. The Norwegian Mission Society has two containers (they look the the backs of semis... large rectangular metal boxes) full of gently used furniture. They are selling it to us for about half the price that we would get it from a store and it is all in good condition. I got to look at it all a couple of weeks back to get an idea of what there was. It was hard to see because everything was packed on top of each other, partly disassembled, and the container gets very dark as you continue toward the back.

Today, Kory, Martin, and a bunch of strong men to help them, unloaded the containers so that we could see everything in broad daylight. Kye and I were there to give the final word and what we wanted. There were about 18 cribs (ok, maybe more like 6, but there were a lot!), some bed frames for twin sized beds, lots of tables, a sofa and chairs, a desk, lots of bookshelves, a child's swing that attaches to a tree, a high chair, a red wagon with mostly functioning wheels, and a very pretty cabinet/armoire. We passed on all of the cribs (we brought one with us) and many of the beds, but bought pretty much everything else that was in good condition. We are very excited to begin to make this house our home. We only need to buy our own bed and mattress new, as well as the kitchen oven/stove, and of course furnishings such as curtains. We already got our first house-warming gift from one of the workers on our house: a towel rack, bathroom light, some soap, and a mirror! We are truly blessed by these workers... probably more on that in our next prayer letter, though. Tomorrow, Kory and the boys will drive the large 50-ton moving truck to our village and begin setting things up.

On an entirely different note, I have decided that if we ever had a house fire, after saving our children and laptop and non-replaceable things like old photos, I would grab my cast iron skillets. Okay maybe not...but man, I have been missing out. We sent some in our shipment and ever since we unpacked them, I've been looking for things to cook in them. Tonight: corn bread. Cooking completely from scratch ALL the time is hard work, but the results are (usually) very yummy.

Another best friend and church #2

2011-04-10T14:35:00.003-04:00

I forgot to mention another "best friend" here in Cameroon- my sifters. They come in various sizes and are good for sifting flour and also sesame seeds. When we buy flour, it isn't packaged in tightly folded paper bags. Most often, it gets scooped from bins into small plastic trash bags at the market or at a road-side shop and we take it home. From there, if there's any room in the freezer, I try to stick it in there for at least 48 hours to kill any bugs (or the bug eggs). After that, I take it out and sift out the dead bugs (or live ones if there wasn't room in the freezer...). Then into plastic or glass containers/canisters it goes. We've also found rocks and leaves in our flour/sesame seeds so that gets sifted out, too. Another extra step in baking that is necessary here: cracking each egg, individually, into a bowl, before pouring it into a large bowl. This is in case the egg is rotten (we've had a couple. They smell awesome, let me tell you.) or has other um... issues. I'll spare you the details.

And to less stomach-turning topics, we have gone to another Lutheran church here, also within walking distance, than the giant, extravagant one we went to the first two Sundays. The main reason for the switch is that the other church was SO big that we could hardly even here what was being said (microphones would be necessary to make that happen and those didn't seem to work consistently...).

This one we will probably keep coming back to whenever we are in town (once a month or so)- it just seems like a really good fit. There is an 8:30 service in Fulfulde, which would be great once we can understand a tiny bit more, and there is a French service at 10. Both last about 2 hours and there are people packed into the small church, as well as standing/sitting outside. There is lots of singing, clapping, and even a little dancing (not shocking for an African church, a little out of the ordinary for a Lutheran African church though, at least from what we've seen so far!). The people have been very warm and welcoming.

One lady, sitting directly behind me, took Kye from me and danced with him during a hymn which he LOVED. Another lady took him from me as he started to cry during the prayers... she whisked him out of my arms to the back of the church. He seemed fine with it but after a few minutes I decided to follow, seeing as the main reason he began to cry in the first place was that he was hungry :) We have really been enjoying hearing the French liturgy/creeds/etc. and are hoping to buy a hymnal with the order of service so that we can memorize some of the hymns/creeds/Lord's prayer more easily (no bulletins or large projector screens, here!) We have been able to do a little of this thanks to a copy of the small catechism translated into French that we received from Kory's cousin! We've been very proud of our kids, but especially Lucy, as they both sat through the entire LONG service this morning. If any of you know Lucy, you will understand what an accomplishment that is!!! We rewarded them both with blondie brownies as a Sunday afternoon treat- Sam was an excellent helper in making them, as always.

Laughter and packages are both good medicine!

2011-04-07T14:40:00.003-04:00

Today started out a little rough for various reasons, most of them having to do with none of us getting enough sleep. But as the day progressed, things only got better.

Three little children keep us on our toes ALL of the time but today Lucy was literally on her toes most of the day, dancing :) I am so thankful for their little smiles. Favorite Lucy moment: getting to take a walk with her, hand in hand, around the compound. She was missing me today since I didn't spend the whole day with the kids- Kory took over so I could go ask Joan some questions.

Sam made my day by coming inside, laughing hysterically, because of all the fun he had sharing his frisbee with a small group of kids. I also overheard him repeating phrases in French AND Fulfulde.

And Kye. He came in early, with me, from our evening walk. He was sleeping so I put him down on the couch while I cooked dinner. I heard a peculiar noise come from his direction and then heard a little giggle. That was enough to make me laugh and I then walked over to change his dirty diaper. I only laughed harder when I realized that he hadn't even woken up!

And the big event of the day: our first package arrived! Thank you, mystery person (although I'm pretty sure I know who you are :)), for all of the Dove dark chocolate. We are VERY VERY excited that it arrived, intact, and didn't seem to have melted at all!!!

A visit and some other things

2011-04-06T14:46:00.003-04:00

Today we had three Nizaa women and a Nizaa Pastor over to our house just to be introduced, enjoy some peanuts and Coke (apparently this is the snack of choice), and be mutually encouraged. They wanted us to know that they are praying for us... there are VERY few Nizaa Christians and they know that there is a big job ahead but our God is a great and awesome God. It was very encouraging to have them come over. Side note about the visit: they talked to one another in Fulfulde as they came in and Kory and I were able to pick out a few words! Progress!

On the family front, the kids are really warming up to people here, including the pastor who visited today. They shared with him a French kids' song they learned on a Friday afternoon when we took them to play at the soccer field with some Norwegian and Cameroonian kids. There are two Norwegian college students here for a year who lead games once a week. We have been settling into more of a schedule which includes an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon outside exploring! This is definitely the highlight of their day. They like watching other kids who walk/play around the compound, as well as the many birds, and the best part: digging in the dirt with sticks.

And on the kitchen front, I made guava paste (actually, I've made it twice now), which is an awful name for a wonderful thing. It is very similar to apple butter in taste and consistency... yum. If you ever have a chance to try guava, do it. It's my new favorite fruit. Apparently you can buy guava paste in a can in speciality stores in the U.S.

Two years ago...

2011-03-31T14:46:00.003-04:00

...I met my little girl. Since then, our lives have not been the same. Otherwise known as "Lulu" or "sweet girl", Lucy has always been our social one, full of smiles and ready to have a conversation (even if it was just cute little coos at first). Now she is a very busy, very VERY talkative two year old (a lot of people actually thought it was her third birthday because she talks so well... it's a great thing that she mimics everything she hears since we're all trying to learn Fulfulde and Nizaa!).

She can be a little bossy and she's NOT fun to be around when she gets hungry or tired, but mostly she is "miss sunshine" as Martin has nicknamed her. Besides talking, her favorite activities are eating, singing, dancing, and making messes. She definitely keeps us on our toes but she also keeps us laughing/smiling right along with her. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and I can't wait to see what God will do through her in the future. Pictures of birthday festivities to come on our other website :)

Baking: Cameroon style

2011-03-28T09:17:00.004-04:00

I've always loved to bake. I still remember mixing and dropping out balls of chocolate chip cookie dough onto a tray with my babysitter at the age of 4 or 5. When Kory and I got married, I didn't know how to cook anything that wasn't out of a box or a can besides pancakes and eggs, but I could bake (and, fortunately for Kory, follow a recipe)! I baked cakes and cookies and pies and so on. I have added vegetables and casseroles and meats and various condiments to my reperatoire since being married (although it would be lovely to be able to live off of just baked goods...). And my baking skills have expanded to include healthier versions of many things.

When we arrived in Cameroon, the oven lighting scenario (throw in a match at a very particular angle and pray you don't burn off your hair from the gas igniting) was rather intimidating. I am now an expert match-lighter (yes, it is a skill). We've been doing most things stove top and I've baked a couple of things but only after Kory bravely lighted the oven. Today, I lit it myself. And I did not burn my hair off.

One of the things I baked today was a cake for Lucy's birthday. I'd like to thank Betty crocker for helping me make the best coffee cake I've ever made in my life on Kory's birthday. I'm hoping that she won't dissapoint on the rich yellow cake I made for Lucy's (she'll be 2 on Thursday!!!). I have a tried and true chocolate buttermilk frosting that I make from scratch, as well, so let's just pray it doesn't melt in this heat. It gets into the mid 90s during the day and falls to the 60s, if we're lucky, at night. But this is the hottest time of year and the rains are coming soon. I digress.

Another thing I cooked (not so much baked) was sorghum pancakes. We have been experimenting with this grain ever since we discovered that it is very very very cheap ($1 for a kilo) and also healthy (gluten free!). We originally thought that what we had was millet because they call it "red millet" but millet is white. And then we found out that it was sorghum. I looked at pictures online and discovered that yes, this is definitely sorghum. The flour can be used to make a cream of wheat type porridge that was a hit with everyone in our family... or it can be put into baked goods. You can use the whole grain, soaked overnight, and cook it like rice. It has almost a bulgur type texture. You can even pop it like popcorn (haven't tried it yet but I'm told this is the case).

The last of my baking adventures was actually my first (hehe... I'm feeling ornery today. I cooked it first but I'm telling you about it last :)). I made my own cream cheese by plopping a bunch of homemade plain yogurt into a boiled white pillow case, wrapping it up tight, and hanging it from a cupboard over a bowl to catch the drippings. The whey drips out and in the morning you get a pillow case of cream cheese! How's that for easy! I used the cream cheese to make a cheese cake for Kory's pre-birthday celebration. There have been lots of cakes in our house, lately, as you can see (and we still have one more spring to celebrate in about a month- Sam!

What's in a name

2011-03-23T09:08:00.002-04:00

Like most parents, we put a lot of thought into naming our children. For Kye, in particular, we prayed quite a bit over the boy's name (the girl name was easy) because we really loved the name Josiah (that's what Lucy would have been named if she would have been a boy) but really felt drawn toward the name Hezekiah largely because of the meaning and what God was teaching us during that pregnancy. His name means "the Lord is my strength" which really seemed appropriate for a VBAC because I knew that the birth was truly in the Lord's hands. We wanted to shorten it since it is four syllables, after all. We liked the sound of "Kye" and spelled "Chai" in Hebrew it means life.

We looked online to see if we could find the meaning in Fulfulde but couldn't find anything. I thought it sounded pretty African and I guess I was right. It means "love" in Yoruba, a language in Nigeria (bordering Cameroon). Unfortunately, we found out upon arrival that "kay" (pronounced the same as Kye) has a not so good meaning in Fulfulde (which is spoken in this area by many). It means "no way!" and is used in the market to turn down an offer. We can't use "kiah" either because that is a more vulgar form of "no way." So for the first few weeks here I just decided to ignore the problem. We introduced him as Hezekiah, which we love the sound of in English but sounds a little goofy (to us) in French, or we'd just introduce him as "the baby". We've called him Kye for 4 months which may not seem like a long time but to us, that's who he is and we didn't want to change it.

The issue got even more bleak when we asked our Fulfulde teacher how "Hezekiah" was translated (since they have the full Bible). There are no z's in Fulfulde so it would be Hejikiah- pronounced Hay-jee-kee-ah. So our teacher jokingly started calling him "hedgie" I can't help but laugh when he says it since he's the sweetest old man you'll ever meet, but I sort of wanted to cry thinking that our son's nickname might refer to a bush.

On Monday, God worked a little miracle to solve our problem. We are reading through the Gospel of John in Fulfulde and stumbled across the word for "a wonderful thing" or "a miracle": kaayefiwol. As soon as we ran across this word, our teacher exclaimed "Hey! Why didn't I think of this before! When you want to say "wow" in amazement, you say 'kaay!' and it refers to the word for miracle! So if you just say his name a little more slowly, you'll be calling him a little miracle." So somehow we went from no good solutions to a pretty awesome meaning AND a very easy way to say it, not much different at all from how we already do. God is good and Kye really is our little miracle... he's become an even easier baby since being here, especially when he sits in with us for Fulfulde lessons :)

To market to market...

2011-03-21T13:20:00.005-04:00

...not to buy a fat pig though (there are lots of Muslims here so pork isn't in high demand :)) I had a sort of list but it was mostly just a "go and see what there is" sort of trip. In bigger cities such as this (population is about 100,000), there are some very large open air markets as well as small shops here, there, and everywhere. They carry some items some days and other days they will be gone, perhaps for months, or perhaps never to appear again. So when you see something you're excited about, you should buy as much as you can. I haven't really been shopping yet (except for one supermarket type place in Yaounde) because it takes quite awhile, isn't kid friendly, and Kye eats every two hours. So I have an hour and a half window when shopping is possible and that isn't usually enough time. But today Martin promised that I would be back in time so Kory wouldn't have to deal with a screaming baby. He had me back 2 minutes before the promised time :)

So into Martin's Prado (sort of like a Land Rover) I went and down the bumpy dirt roads we drove. After a few minutes we hit the paved and pot-holed and motor cycle ridden roads. We drove to the first shop which was a boulangerie. The next two shops were small super markets. And the last shop was a butchery/small store. At each place we surveyed what was there, looked a bit at prices (no bargaining this time since we weren't at an open-air market), and brought items up to the counter to pay. At one store we didn't want to look around much but wanted to ask for something specific: flour. Do you have it? The owner went to look. Showed us some bags. We asked if there were bugs. She inspected. And nodded in the affirmative. So we left.

At the boulangerie, as we were checking out, we asked where we could find some cream cheese. We were sent to another store but they didn't have any either. They sent us to the second super market where, still, there was no cream cheese. Looks like I'll be making some out of yogurt (if you strain yogurt overnight you get cream cheese and whey... I'll let you know how it goes!). We did find some powdered sugar, which is rare, for icing Lucy's birthday cake. So that was exciting. And we bought some other random items (navy beans, oatmeal, cookies, palm oil, plantains, soy beans, and ground beef that wasn't so ground when we ordered it but the nice butcher man ground it right there for us). After Martin dropped me off, he took our millet and wheat berries (bought previously) to get ground into flour so now we can have whole grain bread!

So shopping is pretty exhausting but also kind of an adventure because it will never be the same thing twice... I'm learning, little by little, to cook things that we like. It's a slow process of figuring out what is affordable, healthy, and available most of the time. In case you are curious about foods (you can buy other things at the markets but that's for another post, maybe)...

Things that are seen just about everywhere:
Milk powder
Rice
Pasta
Tomato paste
Basil, curry, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper
Fruit juices (25-50% juice)
Fresh fruits and vegetables
Peanuts
Palm oil
Boullion cubes
Sweetened condensed milk
Packaged cookies
Sugar
Eggs
Bottled water
Cocoa drink
Tea
Coffee
Baguette and beignets (donuts)
Margarine
Nutella knock-offs

Staples common in this area of the country:
millet
soy beans
red beans
navy beans
sesame seed
honey
wheat berries
dried corn
manioc (a root vegetable that is ground like corn)

Foods that you can find in this area but are crazy expensive:
Raisins
Dried dates
Boxed cereal
Cheese
Canned veggies
Canned beans
Imported European chocolate
Oatmeal
Meat (beef, chicken, tuna)
Olive oil
Whole wheat baguette
Vanilla
Coke and sprite

Sabbath

2011-03-20T13:43:00.002-04:00

Today was truly a restful day. We had a leisurely breakfast, family devotions, and then walked to church. We were late so we missed most of the singing (were misinformed on the start time) but we heard the sermon, prayers, and two different choirs sang. Apparently it is fairly common to have several different groups of people gather together and call themselves a choir within a single church. We all enjoyed the blessing part of the service where everyone swayed and held hands, then switched to holding up their hands to the sky, then put their hands over their hearts, singing a song the whole time. Not what you would see at a Lutheran church in America :) There were a few hundred people at the service and it was held in a VERY huge, nice church (funded with outside money, mostly). Pictures to come. But it looked much like a church in the U.S. with lots of pews facing toward the front in a semi-circle and even a large balcony with still more pews. After the service was over (it was about an hour and a half long) we were dismissed by pews... I was surprised how formal it was. But everybody stood outside talking for a bit and then we walked home.

We ate lunch with Martin and Joan and as we headed back to our house, we met an SIL family who is on their way through here. They live in the far north and have three girls (10, 8, and 4). We all took naps and then met up with them again to just talk, get advice, swim at the pool, and have a barbeque. Yes, you heard that right. There is a fire pit at the edge of the pool built by the Norwegians (there is a Norwegian school/hospital here) and we had hamburgers on baguette with lots of fresh veggies plus some potatoes/carrots roasted in foil packets. It was wonderful to talk to another family with kids and just relax.

John

2011-03-19T17:26:00.001-04:00

(Sam has been referring to himself as “John” lately… no one knows why… it’s dangerous trying to understand the mind of a four year old)

Sam: (staring at his hands which are covered in chocolate pudding which, by the way, was made from milk straight from the cow, pasteurized by us, and then a chocolate milk drink mix in place of the sugar/cocoa… it worked!) John doesn’t like sticky hands. (30 second pause) I’m not John, I’m Sam.
Kory: (after he’s done laughing) Does Sam like sticky hands?
Sam: No.

Fulfulde and Free time

2011-03-17T14:42:00.006-04:00

A few interesting things we've learned about Fulfulde:

-there are no different words for he/she or him/her
-the word for newborn translates into "the little child that's still wet"
-the word for "no" (aa'a) sounds like the "uuuh-uh" noise we make at our kids when we make while shaking a finger at them
-Kory's name means "I hope" and Cara means "to snore" :)
-lamido means "king" or "leader" (many muslim villages, including Galim, have lamidos who are the like chief)
-you can omit "is" "am" etc... so instead of saying Sam is a young boy you would just say Sam young boy.
-it has a script similar to ours but it also uses the arabic script on occasion because the Fulani people are largely muslim
-The language is called Fulfulde, the people are called Fulbe or Fulani, and one person is called Pullo (to change "pullo" to the plural "fulbe" the "p" changes to "f" and the "lo" to "be"... there are lots and lots of changes like this for various combinations... not as simply as just adding an "s"!) We are "amerikaajo" (american)

In our free time today, Kory worked on opening our crates, supervised a 9 year old boy who washed our car to get money for school books, and found a present for Lucy's second birthday. I made yogurt, found cake recipes that are do-able here for Kory/Sam/Lucy's bdays, and took Sam and Lucy swimming at the pool here (!!!). It is the hottest time of year right now so the water was warm... but still cold enough that it was refreshing. The kids had fun taking rides on a blow up turtle and I got a little break to swim a few laps thanks to Martin.

Settling in?

2011-03-15T16:33:00.000-04:00

Road in a four seater airplane yesterday (or maybe a six seater??? I only saw four seats though, including seats for the pilot and “co-pilot”… not sure where the other two would have been…). When we got to the air strip, which was just a flat dirt area, I joked with Sam and told him we were at the airport. He looked at me like I had worms for hair. As soon as the plane arrived, children and adults came from all directions to look at the plane, bringing cameras if they had them to take their pictures next to it. Everyone was smiling and shaking our hands. Lucy walked right up to people and smiled while they touched her soft blonde hair. The pilot got busy loading our bags and weighing everything carefully to make sure we were okay for take-off and fuel. The kids and I took the two back seats (Kye on my lap, Lucy and Sam sharing a seat) and Joan sat next to the pilot.

Taking off was probably the coolest thing I’ve done since being here- very fast, sort of like a roller coaster… took less than a minute in total. Flying in that little plane was probably the closest I’ll ever come to feeling like a bird unless I go parasailing some day. The scenery was beautiful, two children slept and the third played with his little plane contentedly and looked out the window. The only sour note was landing because we suddenly went from cold to very hot which always makes me feel terrible (practically an instant headache… nauseous… etc.) But half an hour later to adjust and life was good. Very good to see Kory again. Very good to have a place of our own that we will actually be staying in for a whole month. We now get to cook for ourselves for most meals (interesting, to say the least, since we don’t know how or where to shop, nor do we really know what to cook. But we’ll figure it out or starve (and I don’t think Martin and Joan would let us starve so no worries there- they’re showing us the ropes a bit). We have sort of unpacked a little… more than we have been able to so far, anyways. And we get to venture into our crates that we have not seen since Lucy was 4 months old so that should be interesting (they were shipped by sea after we left for France and have been sitting in storage in Cameroon since August).

The kids’ behavior has sort of gone out the window, again, with yet another change. But all three are still sleeping well which is a major blessing. There have been many times where all three children are crying at the same time but a couple where they’re all laughing at the same time so that makes up for it somewhat. A moment that sort of describes how things are going lately: Kory got home from our first major shopping trip (with Martin). I was unloading things he had just bought, he was buying cookies from women standing outside our door, the kids were running around everywhere. After he came inside and I had things sort of put away, we scrambled to get food on the table because the kids were beyond hungry. Kory scrambled a little too much because as he was walking past Kye, he tripped and spilled a part of a pitcher of cold water on him. Kye screamed and wouldn’t calm down until about 5 minutes later. I couldn’t help but laugh at the chaos of the evening. We can’t seem to do much of anything right but at least we still laugh every once in awhile, water dries, and babies have very short memories.

Besides the shopping trip and unpacking, we also spent an hour and a half at the house of an 80 year old retired missionary who just can’t stop coming back to Africa. He’s spent over 50 years here, many of those years amongst the Fulani people (who speak Fulfulde). He’s taught several people that language, which is the market language that we need to learn, and we are blessed to be his students. We are thankful that there are not too many new sounds (just a couple of implosives, elongated vowels/consonants, and a pre-glottalized “y” to top off the list)… not so thankful that there are 19 noun classes (sorry for all the un-explained linguistics terms… send a message or google it if you’re a curious non-linguist) but we will learn bit by bit. We will spend time with him each day for the next three weeks until he goes back to the U.S. Kye joins us for our lessons while the older two play with Martin and Joan.

Encouragement

2011-03-12T14:44:00.003-05:00

Seeing as I need a lot of it these days, I'm becoming a bit of an expert, so I thought I'd share some things that have lifted my spirits a bit (in no particular order):

Prayer, prayer, and more prayer.
The Bible.
My utmost for his highest (very good devotional).
Daily light on the daily path (another good devotional).
The Ragamufin Gospel by Brennan Manning (a great book for people like me who tend to emphasize the judging part of God and not so much the loving part).
Dove dark chocolate.
Music- favorites are select songs from Glee and upbeat worship and praise music.
My husband.
My children (but only when they're not crying/whining/complaining/belly-aching).
Other believers.
God's beautiful creation.

8 days

2011-03-10T04:21:00.001-05:00

That’s how long we’ve been in Martin and Joan’s village. Our time here is coming to a close and it’s been less “productive” in the sense of learning things than we had hoped, but there have been a few good moments.

Within hours of our arrival, an adolescent lost control of a fire he created and it nearly burned down several huts right near this house (we are surrounded by dirt so there is no immediate danger to us as far as that goes) so Kory and Martin helped with buckets of water from the water tower. Disaster was avoided.

The kids have loved wandering around the house and watching the roosters, chickens, “kids” (baby goats in case you’re a city dweller… they really do sound like toddlers whining sometimes!), pigs, and the occasional cow herd. There are also lizards and bugs and birds, of course.

Kory and the kids have spent a lot of time outside just playing with sticks and taking walks and people watching. There is a soccer field just outside with a school so there is a lot of opportunity to observe other kids. Sam has made friends with Martin and Joan’s house helper (he talks in English and the man responds in Kwanja :) ). Lucy has made friends with about everyone. The kids here have loved watching their reflections in our shiny truck so we often see a large group of them gathered, staring at the truck, and dancing/jumping.

I have learned procedures for washing/sterilizing dishes, cooking various foods, and making yogurt. I have been sort of down and out with some sort of stomach bug and also pretty emotionally “spent” but I did get out of the house once to take a walk around the village and greet everyone we saw (very important). We all went to church on Sunday. Just out of curiosity, I took note of the three bells that are supposed to ring at 7, 8, and 9 to warn people about church starting at 9. They rang at 7:12, 8:14, and 9:16. Church started at about 9:30 and lasted until about 11:15. Lucy, in particular, loved the music- she imitated the man who was drumming and the women in the choir who held hands and raised them up and down. She asked for more music when it was time for the sermon and then we headed home to let her blow off some steam.

Kory and Sam went to the market with Martin and Joan where Sam’s hair was a big fascination :) He handled the poking and prodding pretty well, I hear.

We have had lots of visitors coming in and out, needing this or that. We received the gift of bananas from a Cameroonian missionary. He, his wife, and his two year old son, came for a visit to play with Sam/Lucy. The little boy was very excited about Sam’s trains and cars and our kids were excited about the motorcycle he road on to come here. The wife is from Yaounde and now lives in a village so she shared with me some of her struggle to adjust which was a true blessing. There are a lot of people praying for which I am very thankful.

The kids were all pretty needy at first, and are still having their moments, but it’s gotten better as they’ve learned their surroundings and been able to play outside. Praying that I continue to feel better (it’s been very up and down) because Kory and Martin will be gone for the next couple days, traveling by car, and the kids/Joan/and I will travel by plane to meet them up north. It will take us 1.5 hours what will take them 3 days.

Request for prayer (by Kory)

2011-03-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days, we have been going through a lot of adjustments as many of you know. Just a week and a half ago, we left family and friends in the US, made the trans-Atlantic hop and crossed from Europe to Cameroon. We have eaten new foods and been exposed to new germs. We have traveled by truck over some very difficult roads, even getting stuck in a ditch on one of these roads. We have been adjusting to life in a new place, new climate (happens to be the hottest time of year here), and new culture. New routines for the kids and us. New languages and old ones that seems new (the Cameroonian accent is quite different than the French we learned). That’s just to name a few of the transitions. On top of all of that, we are still learning to be a family of five on our own and learning what all of our roles will be together. With all of these accumulated, life has been stressful. We have not felt adequate in many situations and have even wondered if we are cut out for this work. We know that we cannot do this work on our own. This is blatantly obvious to us as we look at all of the things we need to learn and adjust to. We need the power of Christ being perfected in our weaknesses. We need his presence to go with us. We can only do it through Him.

We ask that in this time of seemingly endless transitions, you would keep us in prayer.
- For the physical, mental, and spiritual health of our family.
- For dealing with culture shock.
- For patience and God’s grace as we take daily steps toward learning how to live here.
- For renewed clarity in the call that God has given us.
- For safety and freedom from fear and anxiety in travel.
- For us to trust and rely completely on God for all that we need.

We share these prayer requests not to scare anyone, but to share the struggles we are having and the need we have for prayer support in this time.

This is real driving

2011-03-04T04:46:00.002-05:00

We left the capital on Tuesday afternoon after a busy morning and were blessed to have a Cameroonian drive our car out of the city (it is very busy, very chaotic, very intimidating). After that, Kory took the wheel and off we went. We were on paved roads for a little bit (maybe another couple of hours) and then we hit the dirt. We had another little bit of smoother dirt roads and then it was the not-so-smooth stuff (hard to imagine unless you're there!).

Highlight from the first day of driving: our pit stop in the woods, letting the kids run around and enjoying tuna salad mixed in a coffee cup. Lowlight: getting stopped by a drunk man pretending to be someone from the Cameroonian government and pulling us over to ask for money (but not our papers, like is usually the case... they also ask for money sometimes). Martin came to our rescue after a bit. We stopped overnight at a hotel, spent the next morning running errands, and then were on the road again. It was bumpy dirt roads the whole day. Highlight: Lucy and Sam laughing as we hit the bumps. Lowlight: getting stuck on a hole in the side of the road because a big truck took up the majority of the road. Again, Martin drove back to help us and get our truck out.

We stayed at a catholic mission (no electricity- we got to pretend that we were camping) and then had just a couple of hours drive to the village. We took the afternoon/evening to just look around. The kids are loving the pigs, goats, chickens, and cows everywhere. They also loved the kids who gathered at the windows to stare at our blonde-hair blue eyed kiddos. Lucy has been saying hello to everyone and even Sam hasn't been too shy (for Sam, anyway). We are all healthy and safe and enjoying learning things here and there about village life. After 16 hours on the road, it is very nice to be in one place for a few days (maybe a week?). I'll post again when I can... internet is slow here (but not as slow as I was used to the last time I visited the African continent so that's good!).

Snippets

2011-02-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

-Fresh homemade whole wheat bagels (12) and tortillas (20) were delivered straight to our door for just $10. Such a blessing in this place of transition where it’s hard to make our own things from scratch.
-Listened very hard to decipher the Cameroonian French accent.
-Coffee/tea fellowship with SIL missionaries.
-Asked Lucy where she slept (after seeing a picture of a man sleeping in a tree in one of her books) and she said “tent” (under the net).
-Lit the gas stove a few times today (with a match)… next need to conquer the oven (MUCH more intimidating, especially for some one who has never lit a match, period, before today… not sure how I managed that, really )
-Kory practiced driving our new truck just around the CTC.
-Our plans have changed at least 5 times since we’ve been here… “go with the flow” is our motto.
-Talked with a nurse about various things (we’re not sick but just learning what to do and when) and got some meds for our trip to the village.
-Funny Lucy moment: Kory whispered in her ear “act like a cat” because she and Sam were taking turns playing animal charades. She got down on all fours and said “cat cat cat cat!”

Second full day (sorry if this posts twice!)

2011-02-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

We slept in until 8:30 after a semi-late night with the kids. We went to church at an English speaking fellowship with mostly (all?) missionaries that even had nursery/Sunday school for the kids (and Lucy cried for just a few minutes but otherwise they had a great time). We then went to do some grocery shopping at a western-ish-feeling store (as in things were semi-organized and well stocked and clean). They also sell ice cream so the kids enjoyed that while we practically bought the place out of disposable diapers and a couple of other random items (powdered milk, canned veggies, yogurt for the next couple of days, etc). We’ll use the sposies while we’re on the road for the next month until we get to a location where we can actually wash/dry diapers more easily.

After our shopping trip was a visit to our friends Joanna/Nathan and kids. We know them from Dallas and France and they’ve been here for a few months already so it was awesome to reconnect and talk through some of the culture adjustment things with them. We also saw a few other friends from France, briefly, and then walked back to our house (Martin drove our car to church etc. because driving in Yaounde is pretty intimidating…sort of like playing a video game in that people/vehicles/animals come at you from all directions at unexpected times).

The day was mostly over by that point… just normal things like getting the kids ready for bed and baths (in small round wash basins, which they think are pretty neat!).

Sam’s “we’re in Cameroon” moment: he went to rinse Lucy’s toothbrush off for her but we had to take it away and do it ourselves because it needs to be done with filtered water (up high on a sink he can’t reach). I told him that some of the water was dirty so we only drink and wash our toothbrushes with this other water. He looked at me like I had four heads.

Lucy’s reaction has been very… Lucy  She is making friends (waving/smiling) at pretty much anyone who will notice her (which is a lot of people because, let’s face it, she’s adorable).

I had an almost-disaster (there will probably be lots of those) today as I went to the car with Kye and turned it on (to get the air conditioning going) and the whole vehicle jolted forward because it was still in gear. The boys were still inside the store so I was alone, holding a baby. I quick jerked the key back and the car stopped so nothing/no one was hurt but I think I should probably learn something about driving a stick shift soon!

Our tomorrow is looking pretty busy so I’m not sure I’ll have time to post anything… and next we’re going to a village… so you might not hear anything for a bit.

First day

2011-02-26T15:07:00.002-05:00

Very juicy pineapple.
Beautiful walk outside.
Mosquito nets = tents for the kids = much fun.
Three car seats fit across the bench seat but the middle one (for Kye) is giving us issues wanting to "fly" up... working on that again tomorrow.
At least 4 out of 5 of us are all sleeping at the right times (Kye is hard to tell since he sleeps so much in general... could be 5 out of 5).
God is good.

Our new best friends

2011-02-26T15:02:00.001-05:00

I think I might start a series of posts called “my new best friends” which will be things from life… in general these will be things that are truly and honestly b.f.’s but occasionally there might be a tidbit of sarcasm to the title, depending on my mood :). Explanation will follow, if necessary. A few from our first day:

Filtered water
Bleach (two caps full to a gallon-ish water for soaking fruits/vegetables and for rinsing dishes after we wash them kills all the yucky stuff that might be there)
Lids (for keeping ants out of everything OR smells in things such as the garbage or compost bins)
Electric generators
Fans (no AC)
Mosquito nets

We're not in Kansas anymore

2011-02-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

Nor are we in Indiana :) We are officially on African soil. Yesterday’s travels were as uneventful as travelling with three little ones for 27 hours can be. Lucy slept a total of about 8 hours and Sam slept about 6 hours. Kye slept a lot. And each adult slept about an hour. Your prayers were definitely felt, especially on our first flight when we met a very friendly flight attendant (he gave us three extra cans of apple juice and a huge bottle of water for free!) and a passenger who, upon finding out what we’re doing, told us he would pray for us. Our third and last flight was full of friendly flight attendants who Kye stared at very curiously (getting used to the darker skin) and Lucy/Sam talked to. We also heard some call/response singing from a group sitting behind us so that was pretty cool. When we finally arrived, we were absolutely exhausted but otherwise great. All of our bags arrived and the kids behaved SO well all day(s???).

The airport was loud and hot and chaotic but thanks to the SIL porter, Martin, and Peg (an LBT/Wycliffe associate) who came to help us, all went very smoothly. We got into the van and our kids just stared out the windows. It was dark but you could see people and shops all along the sides of the roads (and on the roads). It was about a 30 minute drive to CTC SIL. I should mention that Kory’s stomach was a bit off during the third flight and apparently mine caught up with that as soon as we got here. That, in combination with a migraine (from the contrast in temperatures/sleep deprivation), made the night rather blurry in my mind and I went straight to bed without dinner. The kids sort of all “melted” as we settled in but who can blame them after such a long day! Kory managed to get all three kids to bed (what an awesome husband I have) and we all slept VERY well. We’ve taken the morning to relax and unpack one of our bags (the rest will remain packed until we get up north). We’re excited to begin our first full day here!!!

We arrived safely in Cameroon!

2011-02-26T06:20:00.002-05:00

Just to let everyone know, we made it safely to Cameroon last night. It was a long trip but we could definitely see prayers being answered with lots of help from strangers along the way and with receiving all of our bags intact here. Please pray for a smooth transition into this climate, time zone, and culture (so far so good...the kids slept from 11 PM to 8 AM!). We hope to write more as we are able.

Malaria meds for munchkins

2011-02-22T18:23:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure how many of you will care to know this but I, for one, was curious. So if you are, here goes.

If you've ever been on a short-term trip to an area of the world that deals with malaria, you have probably had the pleasure of taking malaria prophylaxis. There are all sorts of different choices of pills but our family is on one that is taken once a week. It doesn't actually prevent you from getting malaria, it just suppresses the symptoms that you have so that it isn't so severe. You still have to treat it if/when you get it. And everyone age 3 months and older needs to take it! Four of the five of us started taking them two weeks ago (to build up our systems) but since Kye just turned 3 months old yesterday, yesterday was his first pill swallowing experience.

These pills are not available in liquid form, so we get to crush them for the kids (although we might be teaching Sam to swallow pretty soon... we heard 4 year olds can be taught to do that pretty easily). Not only do we crush it, but first we have to give them just 1/8 of a pill. It's practically crushed, already, by the time we slice it that much. And apparently, they are very bitter tasting and the only thing that will cover that is chocolate. So while we are still in the U.S., we decided to start off easy and hide it in a spoonful of chocolate pudding (but not a whole bowl full since we want to make sure they get the full dosage). As for Kye, he gets to suck off the powder from my finger and wash it down with the only thing he drinks (breast milk). He did give me a pretty funny look that said "what are you doing?!" but he didn't seem to mind the taste at all. And the older two were none-the-wiser about the contents of their special pudding :)

The process isn't bad at all, really, since it's only once a week. But there you go, just in case you wondered!

PS- Yes, they have also received a bazillion shots, including yellow fever, meningococcal (normally given at age 10 here in the U.S.), and typhoid. Well, actually, Lucy has only received the first of those and will get the other two after her second birthday. And Kye is too little for all of them but he is up to date on everything else, which is something we couldn't say about our other two kids at his age!

PPS- They also get to take fluoride pills every once in awhile because there is no fluoride in the water. And they take multi-vitamins, which they love (well, Kye doesn't love his but that's understandable), to replace all the vitamins/minerals that are depleted thanks to the malaria prophylaxis.

Lucy's prayer

2011-02-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

Just in the last week or so, Lucy has begun praying on her own (without just repeating what we tell her). Her first prayer was when Kye was sick with a cough/cold: "Jesus. Kye. Better. Amem."

Truly, if you've never heard a kid pray, you are missing out.

Toys

2011-02-19T06:10:00.003-05:00

Seeing this article on the best toys of all time (the winners: stick, box, string, cardboard tube, and dirt) reminded me about the simple ways children are most entertained. Who cares that we don't have room in our luggage for many conventional toys- they prefer the non-toy toys any way!

Our packing helpers

2011-02-19T06:04:00.000-05:00

Packed and trying to relax a bit...

2011-02-14T08:05:00.003-05:00

Some of you are going to think I'm crazy but yes, as of this past Thursday, we were completely packed (minus 5 items or so that we are currently using but have spaces reserved in luggage). The last couple of months have been very chaotic and crazy and our first couple of months in Cameroon will probably be pretty draining, so we really wanted to give ourselves a little break. We have things we are doing but we also have plenty of time to just relax and be available to our friends/family to say goodbye. I am hoping that we will arrive in Cameroon rested and not frazzled! When we arrive in Cameroon, we will not have much time before we're in the car for some long days (1 12-hour day, 1 8-hour day, 1 6-hour day, and 1 4-hour day, all in the first two weeks- and that's drive time, not including the "kid factor").

One of my favorite spare-time activities is reading. The current read is called "When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself" So far, I'm only about a third of the way through but it really puts some meat onto the complex topic of helping the poor. There are lots of questions at the end of each chapter and it is really giving Kory and I a lot to talk about. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to minister to the poor in their community.. whether you have friends who are homeless and you want to know how to help or you find yourself in an area where you see people standing on a street corner asking for money or you plan on taking a mission trip somewhere someday...I think my favorite thing about the book is that it is written in a very readable, down-to-earth sort of way but is also backed by facts and research. I'm pretty sure this is one I'll be reading more than just once!