The Bunk Bed

A few weeks ago we made a bunk bed.  I bring it up again only because it was a great project for the kids to participate in.  It was a family project even and most importantly involving my father.  Unfortunately I never did capture him on film.  

We first had to purchase the wood which always presents a challenge.  There are several timber yards to choose from but none of them consistently have a great choice of wood.  When you do find decent wood it is always rough cut.  That means it isn't dimensional.  A 1"x4" might actually start that way but at various points along the length of the board it may change a half inch or more in any direction. Thankfully my dad has a planer which helps that a bit.

We first cut the pieces to length then we planed them.

After that they are still quite rough and full of potential slivers so we have to sand each and every board.  The kids loved helping at this point.

 This is the work table Rachel's dad build for me last time he was in Kenya.  It also doubles as a food prep/serving table if we have an outdoor meal.

Tekoa in action.  It is certainly a delight to teach your son how to use power tools, even if it is only a small circular sander.  Watch out for the dust!

 After the crucial sanding it was then time to put the four separate sides together.  Though the boards were mostly dimensional and mostly smooth they still weren't all straight.  Even still we did our best to nail them in place trying to hide as many flaws in the wood as possible.

 A bit of a novelty here.  My dad has a small air compressor and finish nailer to secure the wood until I was able to bolt it all together.

 The next step was the glossy stain.  Tekoa and Eliza both enjoyed painting this stuff on.  We had to make a temporary dust shield with plastic sheets because of the excessive amount of dust in the air due to the dry season we are in.  

And then of course came the finished product.  It won't win any awards for craftsmanship, but due to my children's untrained eyes they shower me with praise.  Doing it ourselves also saved us over a hundred dollars and provided us a dependable bed for years to come.

Back in Kenya

We are back in Kenya and through the acclimation process once again.  Jet lag lasted about a week, but thankfully that is long behind us now.  Though we love visiting the US it's always a joy to return to our home in Kenya.  The kids especially hate to leave any place they are loved and any familiar environment so the transition is always questionable.  This time was no different we had our ups and downs.  What was amazing was how excited Tekoa was to be back.  For the first couple of weeks he would constantly refer to things as the best and how excited he was to be home.  Every meal was the best, every day was the best, every friend was the best.  It makes a parent's heart glad when a child starts to appreciate the mission we are on together instead of regretting it.

Shortly after our arrival we had a delightful welcome home picnic with our Tumaini family.  It's a large group mostly of children and a few other people over five feet tall.  There is never a dull moment and the blessings continue to pile up as we share life with these wonderful children of God.

 Upon our return to Kenya we quickly had to adjust the length of our hair both for the climate as well as the culture.  Though we could get away with having long shaggy hair in Kenya we find it more culturally relevant with shorter hair.  I have even had colleagues request I cut my hair when it starts getting over an inch long because it's a little embarrassing for them.

Homeschool has also begun.  Rachel is training up our beautiful children in knowledge and wisdom.  Tekoa and Eliza work hard each day learning reading, writing, history, science and so much more.  But what makes homeschool so great is Rachel being able to taylor the learning to each child as well has bring a greater scope of our heavenly Father to the center of it all.

We had time to make a bunk bed.  This puts Tekoa and Eliza in the same bed which reduces the amount of floor space used up by separate beds, obviously.  It is also a new adventure for them as all the Children at Tumaini already sleep in bunk beds.  Now Tekoa and Eliza feel like they are keeping up with the times.  Mostly it gives us room to move our youngest, Emmanuel, into the room with Tekoa, Eliza and Samuel.

 We had an opportunity to check out a local swimming pool the other day.  Rachel and I both want our kids to learn how to swim and living in such a hot climate leaves us longing for refreshing water. The kids hadn't been in water deeper then a bathtub for quite a while, but after testing the waters a bit they had a great time.  Even Emmanuel got in on the action.

 Because the swimming pool isn't very economically friendly at this point we decided to have some of the Tumaini kids over for fun in the sun.  We took and old hose and made a poor man's sprinkler by jabbing holes in it.  I love kids.  They don't care what it's made of or how it works they just loved having the opportunity to run around in spraying water.  I am daily challenged by the view of simplicity children have for life.  I guess that's why Jesus said we should have faith like them and it was Martha who was corrected and not Mary who simply wanted to be at Jesus' feet.