He's BAAAACK!

John made it home in record speed (thanks to our friend Ruth that met him at the airport and had all his luggage already collected for him as he went to collect it!!) By 8:30 pm he was enjoying some yummy fajitas that Robin made:

Today, John woke Aden up with his new remote control car going crazy in his room! Thanks Grandma Campbell!

The boys enjoyed some nice gifts from daddy, the grandparents, and some aunties!

 

But their favorite present of all was having this guy back to play rough with:

24 Hour Delay

John left yesterday from Phoenix. While in Dulles he got an email that said his flight from Brussels to Freetown was delayed 24 hours. Poopy. 

This doesn't always happen, but as John told me this news... I was sad that I wouldn't get to see him the next day but I also had such a peace wash over me that could have only come from God. My heart is quiet and at peace. 

John's sad face at not getting home to us today

Right now he is in Brussels at a hotel with free meal vouchers. He did make it out to enjoy a hamburger and a beer in walking distance from the hotel. Plus he gets a good night's rest to break up his long plane flights.

John in Brussels

Did I mention John got to fly first class from Phoenix to Dulles? Our travel agent booked the flight through Brussels instead of United Airlines. With United every additional luggage past the first two free ones is usually $200. John had been planning to bring 3-4 extra luggage with project materials. But because Brussels charges $650 for additional luggage, John would have had to pay over $2K which would have been out of our price range. My mom thought of a loop hole. If he upgraded to first class ($179) his first two pieces of luggage would be alloted 70 pounds each instead of the usual 50 pounds. And then he would get the usual $200 price for additional luggage. Basically it ended up being like a free upgrade since he paid $179 for an additional 40 pounds of luggage.

Now to keep myself busy for another 24 hours...

Here's my excited face to see John

T-ball Time

Aden had a blast on his birthday. He got a nerf bow and arrow set, paw patrol figurine and puzzle, Leonardo TMNT, a Theo movie, race cars, and a bunch of sand and water toys.

Bow and arrow from Grandma and Grandpa Hunt

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and race cars from the Simmses and Sosas 

One gift I was really touched by was from a sweet 9 year old. The Courtney kids like to play baseball in the yard. Aden always liked the idea of baseball but is a little too young to be able to participate. A couple months ago I mentioned it would be nice if we had a t-stand so Aden could participate a little more. Owen must have got to thinking because on Saturday, Aden got to open this:

It's made from PVC pipe and the black part I think is from an old tractor part. They cleaned and painted out black. How sweet and thoughtful is that? It came with a nice soft bat and ball :)

Later we played and Aden wanted he and I to try to hit it at the same time. My competitive nature kicked in and I hit it first and got a home run! (Nobody else was in the field because Owen was taking pictures LOL) I've included the ones where I'm making a funny face so you're welcome :)

Rounding the bases!

At home plate! 

We are so blessed to have Owen as our neighbor. God knew just what Aden would need for a friend. They build sand castles together, play bad piggie together, and rough house all the time. We love you Owen!

In other news, John is on his way to the airport right now and WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! We can't wait to have our daddy and hubby back :) 

Happy 4th Birthday Aden!

Four years ago, my sweet little baby boy Aden made his entrance. Now, he will not let me call him my baby and insists he's a big boy.

Just looking at these pictures makes me want to cry! 

You are bright, joyful, energetic, and you are so full of zeal for life and for people. My prayer is that you grow in all of these traits and God grows you in areas of compassion for others, patience, obedience, and a love for God and others that moves you to action. 

Just some day to day things I want to remember about this age:

1. You could still take or leave food. If there is something fun to be doing or playing with, food can wait.

2. Favorite foods: donuts, French toast, Grandpa's Mickey Mouse pancakes, fruit snacks, peanut butter and honey sandwiches (new!), grilled cheese sandwiches, mac n cheese, cookies, chocolate milk, dessert of any kind (except ice cream! What?) I see a common thread in many of these foods! Who did he get this sweet tooth from? Yikes! That being said... You are not picky... You like chicken, fish, and will eat almost everything, particularly if we feed it to you. 

3. As of a couple days ago, you dropped your afternoon nap but are going to bed earlier. We are still doing rest time in your room (mostly so mommy can get a nap or do some chores).

4. You LOVE the Courtney family and ask to go over there all the time.  You LOVE hanging out with Owen, Auntie Robin, Anabelle and your best buddy Gight (Dwight). I can easily see why, they love you so well!

5. You can read! I actually gave you a break from teaching you how to read but you can already sound a lot of words out. I recently read a book called Better Late Than Early that basically insisted there is no rush in teaching kids to read and that it potentially can dampen their desire to read later on if forced. That being said... I think you will be an early reader, I just decided to revisit reading maybe in another six months and just let you be a kid for a little while longer.

6. You LOVE your daddy. You want to be as tall and strong as your daddy. Anytime you're around him, you say "want to play a rough game?" Which involves all sorts of dangerous tom foolery and jumping on beds in which I have to leave the room. 

7. Other things you love: running in the rain, playing in the sand box, trains, learning about dinosaurs, backyardigans,  looking at pictures in books, running back and forth down the hallway with Archer, all your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

8. You make me laugh in the things you're starting to say:

-"What am I? Chopped liver?"

-"Archer, you've made a terrible mess!"

-When I suggest something you don't want to do "hey! I've got a good idea" and then give a different option.

- When Archer tries to take a toy or food away from you, you cry out some weird hybrid of the word "pancake" over and over again. I think it's your attempt at showing your displeasure about the situation but you'll often start laughing when we point out that you're, in fact, saying "pancake".

Here are a couple more pictures of you that I think exemplify your fun-loving personality:

You are such a joy and I'm so thankful that God gave me you... A precious gift, inheritance, and reward from the Lord. We have a fun day planned to celebrate you today and I can't wait for you to see some fun little gifts your family has sent you! We love you Aden Justus!

Piñata Fail

Aden's 4th birthday is coming up in three days. John is gone to the states so amidst our sadness of not having him around, I decided to try and make Aden's birthday really fun!

So yesterday Robin and all the kids and I set out to make a piñata by doing our own paper maché around a balloon. 

Problem one: the balloons we have have been kept at a constant level of warmth (75-95 degrees year round) and humidity for probably a couple of years. Most of the elasticity of my and John's lounging shorts don't last that long in this weather. On balloon #4, we finally made it to the stage of putting the first layer of paper maché on the balloon. The first three balloons popped soon after being blown up or in my face. We precariously hung up our paper maché outside to dry.

I was actually really impressed that it didn't bust within the first few hours. It even made it over night despite a slight loss of air.  Which brings us to:

Problem #2: The humidity during rainy season is 70-100%. Apparently, paper maché doesn't dry in that kind of humidity.  Under the weight of all that wetness, our sweet piñata fell to its demise. I propped it up on a water bottle in hopes that it can be revived but I have my doubts.

Plan B: making a piñata out of a cereal box. We're fancy like that :)

Mom Fails

1. Archer pooped in the bathtub AGAIN!!! I'm going to be excited when this phase ends for him. To be honest it's probably happened more times than I have fingers or toes, but who is counting?

2. Exhibit A

This standing on high heights happens 5-10 times a day. Most often it is on the kitchen table. He's dangerous.

Exhibit B

Exhibit C 

I can't believe he is able to climb up on our fridge. There is the solar battery on the side but Aden just learned to do this since we got back and he was 3.5 at that point.

3. I'm ashamed to admit this one, but Archer spilled my hot coffee on himself yesterday morning.  He was fine (it only got his arm and I promptly rushed him to the kitchen sink to run it under cold water) but it hurts my heart that I left it in his reach :(

We're ready for you to come home John! Over half way there! I hope you're bringing me lots of cheese! Luggage space... Smuggage space 

The Liberty of Obedience

Book Review:

My friend Shanna lent me this book by the recently late Elisabeth Elliott.  Her husband Jim Elliott was a missionary to the Auca Indians in South America. Not too long after they were married, Jim and four other missionaries were killed by a group of Auca's that had been misinformed of their intentions. The Aucas had a reputation for killing any white man (because they thought they were cannibals lol!) and for killing a lot In general. In an act of forgiveness, Elisabeth spent a year with the Aucas along with her then three year old daughter.  After Jim's death, eventually the message of Christ became known amongst the Auca's. They call God the Man Maker and have become a transformed people group. Their lives are no longer marked by fear, anger, and revenge.

The book is about the misconceptions we have about sin. Our American Christianity tends to be very black and white about sin. When we look at another culture through the lens of our said or unsaid rules, we see very much of what they do as sin. Elisabeth examines the activity of the Aucas (the name meaning Savages) and find them very un-savage like. So is it sinful that they don't wear clothes? If they "came as they are" to an American church they would probably be arrested or at the very least kicked out for their sinful behavior.  But can they still be followers of Christ in their nakedness? Absolutely. Therefore, is it sin to be naked? I would say no.

I really enjoyed this book, particularly because I live in another culture very different from my own. It has really challenged me not to look to the Bible for exact rules on how to manage every single situation, but to look to the person and example of Christ. Being able to discern the Spirit of the Law instead of just read the and memorize the letter of the Law is the mark of a mature believer. I definitely have a ways to go! 

Day 2

Oopsies!! Parenting fail... (Everything was off!)

Day One

Day One of John being gone.... Archer decides to have a lovely diarrhea episode in the bathtub.  And our bathtub is a big plastic tub... So no drain plug... I'm sorry I made you imagine what I had to go through.

And I told John this while he was at the airport in Washington, DC. This is the picture he sent me.

Something seems unfair about this... I'm literally drooling looking at that hamburger right now. 

(To be fair, John actually sent me a picture of that first before he heard about my evening. But still...)

How a Toddler Packs a Suitcase

Today John has already left us for two weeks to the states. To be honest, I'm not looking forward to spending 14 days as a single parent. I did 4 days last week while John was deepening a well in Ronurie and it was harder than I thought! We spent three weeks apart in March but I had the ease of first world comforts and two grandparents that were very helpful!

Right now I'm meditating on the verse (and accompanying song) Psalm 118:24 

This is the day 

This is the day 

That the Lord has made 

That the Lord has made

Let us rejoice

Let us rejoice

And be glad in it 

And be glad in it

And this is what Aden packed in his suitcase because he really wanted to go with Daddy.

Includes: preschool workbook, five paw patrol figurines (for his cousins Ada and Henry to play with), adult toothbrush, two bubble wands, a magic cup, a non functioning lantern, and a dirty sock.

Aden also wrote John a little note that I'll post once John finds it hidden in his suitcase.  (And John here's a hint to its locale if you read this: You'll definitely find it by Sunday if not earlier) 

Sandbox

I've been trying to have my boys play outside a lot because they enjoy it, it's good for them, and if I don't, they have as much energy as a two Tasmanian devils on a caffeine high. You can imagine what the inside of my house looks like! These pics are from yesterday:

"Please can I have real ice cream???"

Rainy, Snakey Day

So John found this little guy a few feet from my washing machine this morning. It was hiding under one of the big granite rocks that our well drilling machine pulls out.

John almost touched him because he was packing up some stuff to take back with him to the states on his upcoming trip. And he was just right there under the rock core. Banjugu and John spent some time this morning trying to decipher the species.

The good news is a striped house snake and is non-venomous. 

Aden LOVES to play in the rain. Him and Owen run around and around our houses to their heart's content and then go inside and drink hot chocolate in the 80 degree weather. Today Owen was in town with his family so Aden had to suffer with just me. Then he realized I was taking pictures and became quite the ham. 

Here are the results: (And you're welcome that he's clothed. Actually I wouldn't post pictures of him naked online but I'm just saying he resisted  wearing any and all clothes!)

Our 4th of July

We had a really fun 4th of July yesterday. It started with me getting over my fear of frying and making some real donuts! They were very yummy :) I sent some over to the Courtneys and Chad enjoyed them so much he gave Owen a dollar to eat the last quarter of his. However, they were nearly inedible by the next day.  Our pups sure enjoyed them this morning!

I must have been really craving sweets because my second task of the day was making some cupcakes. I was going to use a mix but once I opened the white cake mix box it was a shade of light brown and filled with weevils. I think it may have been in my pantry pre-Ebola.

So instead I used a recipe I found online which was only so so, but once covered in sugary buttercream, it was delicious!

We left some unfrosted because our Sierra Leone friends that came over to celebrate with us don't like sweets too much. Anabelle helped me test out my cupcake frosting tips I got for Mother's Day.

Aden, Dwight, and Archer all decked out in their red, white, and blue.

Chad grilled up some of his famous chicken and we ate (perhaps even over ate!) chicken burritos with rice and beans and Dwight's yummy salsa. We were joined by Pastor Abdul, Adama, John Barry, and our mechanic who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. 

The afternoon festivities included glow-in the-dark balloons and balloon animals (made by Dwight). It's no wonder my children flock to the Courtney's house whenever possible! 

Aden very happy with his giraffe (1 of at least three I saw Dwight make)

One of all the kids: