A Little Scare

This morning while I was sitting here with Dinah and John eating their breakfast, I was wondering what I was going to put on the blog today. I did a kid update last week, and I haven't taken many pics this week since our second memory card is now full. Well, I went to the kitchen to put away the dishes and by the time I got to the bottom of the drainer, I had my post. This little guy was sitting in the bottom of the drainer. I wasn't expecting to see him, so I let out a little scream. Of course, Dinah and John wanted to know what it was. They had to get out of their seats and come see. John smiled like a little boy getting a piece of candy. It was so cute to see his face. The last time we had a lizard in the house, I made Nathan get it out. John has this little bug house to collect bugs in and so Nathan got it and put the lizard in it for the kids to watch. So...guess what they wanted me to do?! :) I said nope, no way. The little guy is still in the kitchen. Hopefully, he'll find his way out soon.

**Update: Salomi got here and came to my rescue. She got the little guy and helped him get outside. :)

Great Smiles

Prayer and Praise

Prayer~

We're still awaiting the birth of Chris and Emma's baby. She's due in one week.

Nathan is still not back to 100% from his tummy problems. He's been checked and he doesn't have an amoeba or parasite so that's good. We're waiting for the results of another test.

Praise~

We've had rain several days this week. Praise the Lord!

We've been given confirmation that we can come home the end of the year for our 2 month home assignment. We're looking for airline tickets now. Yay!

Stanley and Sylvia have a healthy baby girl!

We got everything taken care of at the Embassy! It feels so good to have all that done.

This is a short work week for Nathan. Friday is a Kenyan holiday. We always love the extra days on the weekend!

Sunday Sweets

This has been a rough week for Nathan. He's been battling something with his stomach, but he did pull through yesterday and was so sweet.

~It started raining while we were getting ready for church and really pouring when we were getting everyone's shoes and jackets on. He got all the kids in the car and buckled in (a job we normally share) and opened and shut the gate (normally my job) so I wouldn't get wet.

~He let me have an afternoon nap and even dealt with a crying Ruth while he was trying to take an online quiz.

~He appeased me and we took the kids over to a shopping center so they could play although it was really crowded. We ordered smoothies, let the kids ride a few rides and then walked through Nakumatt without an agenda. We found a mini-muffin pan and a round pizza pan. How fun!

I love you, Honey!

What has your Sweetie done for you this week?

Hannah's Here!

We just received word this evening that Sylvia delivered their little girl this afternoon around 2pm. We're not exactly sure the of the whole story because it's kind of hard to understand them on the phone. We know she did go for a check yesterday and apparently the doctor thought she needed to go ahead and deliver. She had a c-section this afternoon at 2. I was able to talk to Sylvia for a few minutes and she sounded very tired but happy. The baby weighed 6 lbs. and her name is Hannah. We're SO excited for them! I think it's even more exciting when you've been waiting for so long for a child and have been through so much heartache and the Lord blesses you with a child. I know it's been the desire of both of their hearts to have a child and it's really special to see the Lord fulfill that desire. Congrats to Pastor and Sylvia!

And the Winners Are...

Thanks to those of you who posted sweet comments on our blog. I think we'll have a few more rules for next time. BUT for those of you who did comment, Kim is the winner of the chocolates and Leslie is the winner of the coffee! We were planning to send your prizes back with some friends who left this week, but we weren't able to get together. So, the next time someone leaves (we're thinking May), we'll get it ready to be mailed to you. Congrats to the winners!

Always, Never, and Hardly Ever

I was thinking the other day that I should do an "always, never, and hardly ever" blog on things that apply to our other senses. So here we go with the sounds of Nairobi...

Always~

cats fighting
British sounding ambulances
English and Swahili spoken interchangeably
matatus honking
sweeping
birds chirping
the effects of the wind
Muslim call to prayer
dogs barking
music
children playing

Never~

silence


Hardly Ever~

police sirens


This is what I came up this morning. I'll have to get Nathan's input when he gets home and see if we can think of anything else.

We Got it Done!

Nathan, Ruth, and I made another trip to the US Embassy this morning. We arrived a little later this time and had to wait about 40 minutes. BUT...we had everything we needed! Hooray! We were able to apply for her US Passport, US Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and her Social Security Number. We can pick up her passport and US Consular Report in 13 business days. However, the SSN, which is what we really need, will take 10-12 WEEKS!! Guess we'll be filing for another extension on our taxes. Thanks to all who prayed for everything to go well!




Ruth was trying to get the flag that was on the other side of the glass. The Kenyan lady that was helping us saw her and thought she needed one so she went in search of one and came back with one for Ruth. Ruth was waving it all around and making all kinds of noises. :) She made them laugh.

What They're Up To

Ruth Amelia Mueni~

Wow...I can't believe she's almost 7 months already. She's really growing and doing so much now.


-She's making all kinds of noises and laughes and laughes at Dinah and John.
-She's rolling over all the time. Both ways. I'll put her in bed one way and go to get her up and find her in a totally different position.
-She'll get to jumping in her exersaucer, and it's so funny to watch. She really likes to do it when Dinah and John are jumping, too.
-She loves to be outside while Dinah and John are playing out there. I put her out there in her exersaucer and they will all play.
-She still doesn't have any teeth.
-She's not really into eating either. I've tried several things and she just makes a horrible face.
-She does like apples in the little thing that she can suck on.
-She's such a sweet little girl and hardly ever cries unless it's time to eat or sleep or sometimes when a Kenyan wants to hold her.

Dinah Bell~

I was going to say wow...I can't believe she's 3 already, but that's what I said about Ruth, too. Where does the time go?? I was thinking the other day that I never would have thought when she was born that we would be raising her in Africa. I think that would probably have been the farthest idea in my mind, but here we are. And she's doing great!

-She's going great cleaning up her dishes after she eats and just last night she helped Nathan clean off the entire table.
-She can recognize her name. She looked at one of her birthday cards and told Nathan that was her name. He looked at me and was shocked. :)
-We are working on learning numbers. She is finally interested in learning them.
-She's a great eater. She and John both love fruit. I think they would it all day if I would let them. Right now she's really enjoying oranges.
-She loves to color, play with playdoh, and play with her dolls. She's also really enjoying playing legos. She will build this great big tower with all the blocks and it's not just a straight up and down one.
-She's really got the hang of riding her tricycle. I caught her going backwards the other day.
-She LOVES to play outside. I let them play out in the rain last night before it really started raining. She really liked it. She also likes to play with bubbles, chalk, and the newest is a squirt gun. :)
-She has no idea what the tv is. She called it "the movie thing" a couple of months ago. :)

John Culver~

He's such a sweet little man. He's always up for a hug or kiss. He has picked up on talking and will say just about any word you ask him to. I can't imagine life without our sweet little boy.

-He still LOVES books.
-He loves holding Ruth. At least once a day, he will ask to hold her. It's so precious.
-He's going to be a wonderful daddy. He likes to play with Dinah's babies and push her stroller around. :)
-His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. He's picking up new words every day. It's so fun to hear him talking. He's saying...no, yes, cat, paka (swahili for cat), socks, sink, cake, hat, mama, daddy, sis/sissy, milk, cereal, eat, pole (swahili for sorry), Papa, Mimi, Nana, Poppy, NayNay, Beth, shoes, and I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of all them right now.
-He really likes to help in the kitchen. Whether it's washing dishes, stirring something, or just watching he loves to be in there.
-He's a really good eater, as well. Sometimes he surprises us by how much he can eat.
-He loves the bubbles, chalk, squirt guns, sticks, and dirt, too. He's right there with Dinah whenever she's outside.

The Big Day

Monday was such a big day for Dinah. Angie and I took the kids over to Amani Ya Juu for them to play on the playground and have lunch. It's one of Dinah's favorite places to go. They had a blast playing on the playground, reading books inside, and sitting at the little table to have lunch. I didn't realize the memory card in the camera was almost full so I didn't get very many pics. When we got home, it was time for naps, so John went down first then Dinah about 15 minutes later after John was asleep. When they woke up, we made cupcakes and they played with playdoh while I started working on dinner.

After Dinah's favorite meal of veggie dogs, veggie burgers, french fries, coleslaw, and baked beans, she opened her birthday cards. Thanks everyone! Several of them had Koolaid in them which she loves! Then on to the presents.

Daddy read all of them to her.

She got a baboon book from Mimi and Papa. She's telling me it's a baboon book in the picture. :)

New red Crocs from Nana and Poppy. Of course they went on right away. :)

A present from Auntie Beth.

Some cards to lace strings through. She's not quite figured it out yet though.

John had to try on her shoes, too. :)

New clothes from Auntie Beth. She gets almost excited about new clothes as she does the toys.

We found a play shopping cart at Nakumatt. It's not the best quality, but she really likes it and hopefully it will last for a little while.

Gotta have the shoes on so she can go shopping.

We had cupcakes since all the birthday cake was eaten up. :) She didn't mind though.

They decorated them with animal sprinkles.

A happy Birthday Girl! :)

And her brother.

What a big girl you are, Dinah Belle! It's hard to believe you're already 3 years old. You are becoming such a little lady. We love you!

Prayer and Praise

Prayer~

Nathan is exhausted. He's great about getting up with the kids in the morning. They've woken up several times at 5:30 the past week and so now he's waking up at 5:30 even when they're not up. Work is draining him, too. Please pray for some extra rest for him.

We're heading back to the Embassy this Thursday. Please pray everything gets taken care of this time.

Sylvia and our neighbor across the street, Emma, are both due within the next 3 weeks. Please pray for a safe delivery and healthy babies. We're excited to find out what they have and see a newborn Kenyan baby. :)

My dad's surgery on his hands went well. He's still at home recovering because all three places where they had to cut have opened to a degree. Please pray for the healing.

Praise~

We've had rain the past several days. It's been so great! Yesterday morning I felt so guilty praying for the rain to stop so I could take the kids to Amani Ya Juu to play on their playground.

Yesterday was a beautiful day for Dinah. The rain did stop and we were able to go play and then it rained again in the afternoon. What a beautiful day the Lord made!

Our van is great! I was able to take the kids to church on Sunday while Nathan was at work (along with Angie and Micah to help me). :) Thanks guys! And then yesterday I was able to take them to Amani Ya Juu (along with Angie again). It's great being able to drive although it's still a little scary.

Sunday Sweets

Sunday evening after Nathan came home from a hard day's work, he cleaned up and took us out to dinner. He's so sweet to take us out when I don't feel like cooking.

Nathan is so good to get up with the kids when they wake up. But now he's exhausted and won't wake me up when he hears them and I don't. He's such a wonderful daddy and husband!

No matter how tired he is when he gets home, he always takes the kids so I can get dinner ready.


What has your Sweetie done for you lately?

It's A Party!

Saturday afternoon we had Dinah's 3rd birthday party. We invited 3 other missionary families from our estate...the Hurds, Killorens, and Neuenschwanders. We also invited the Kenyan family that lives across the street from us and Pastor and Sylvia. We had a great time celebrating Dinah's birthday, having some snacks, and fellowshipping together. Here are some pics from the day.


The birthday girl with her flower cake.

We had birthday cake, carrots with dip, salsa, guacomole, and tortilla chips.

When we started singing to Dinah, she turned around in her seat. It was hilarious! :)

She sat way back in her chair and blew really hard to blow out the candles.

Enjoying their cake and ice cream. They were so mesmerized by what was going on I had to start feeding them to get them to eat.

Nate and Liam Killoren enjoying their cake and ice cream.

Workin' on that sugar high. :)

Grace and Isaiah Hurd.

Pastor, Micah and Angie Neuenschwander, and Olivia Hurd.

Angie, Nathan, Ginna Killoren, and Sylvia with Ruth and Grace in the floor.

Nate pulling a full wagon.

Time for presents!

She got such cute things. This one was a little woven purse with gummy bears inside.

A black bear Webkinz. Of course, all she knows is that it's a bear.

New pink shoes. Very similar to Crocs, just with a back and velcro closure.

New colorful hair ribbons.

Us with the Mutangelis. I think it's the first picture we have of all of us together.

Tryin' out the new hair ribbons Daddy style.

Easter Egg Hunt

Last Monday Gwen had an Easter Egg Hunt for lots of the missionary kids. It was a fun time of decorating some eggs, hunting eggs, and decorating and eating cupcakes. Dinah and John had a great time as you can see. They loved the candy in the eggs and getting to decorate their own cupcake.