Easter Weekend In Eldoret

I'm sure many people spent Easter Weekend with friends and family. Though we live in a country far from most of our friends and family we are blessed to have some family very near. We had a great time with Ma and Pa Leister in Eldoret. Oh and a few kids also. Tekoa loves to go crazy with the others. We have been home a few hours and he is already missing them all. We spent almost four full days away from Kisumu and the daily grind which was a wonderful vacation for Rachel and I. We hope everyone had as much fun and encouragement as we did over the last four days.

Of course for the kids one of the highlights was the hunt. In this case there were no eggs, but small plastic bouncy balls. They tracked them down in the grass, trees and shrubs. The picture shows my mom teaching about the gift of new life that Jesus gave us in His death and resurrection.

This is the new play room the kids absolutely love. Tekoa though a new comer to the play room jumped right in. This of course was after the ball search and now they were expressing the abundance of life they all seem to have

Gabe and Tekoa are quite a pair. Of course it's always a highlight for Tekoa when he is in Eldoret to spend time with Gabe. Keeping them out of trouble or harms way can be a challenge at times. It's fun watching them grow up together.

Eliza even got in on the bouncy ball action. She was hanging with the less volatile ones of course not wanting to get her dress dirty or mess up her hair. Isn't she just adorable.

Well I didn't get a good picture of Easter Dinner. Of course I was too busy eating the delicious ham and what not. Not a common finding in Kenya. We also had a strawberry-rubarb pie for desert among other things. Compliments to Mom and my wife for the fantastic food. It was a great meal that we ate in the big play room with 4 adults, 2 teens and 23 kids under the age of 5. Food fight was an option but nobody wanted to be responsible for cleaning up the mess.

33 Years Old

Yes my birthday was yesterday. Another year down and a hopeful year ahead. It's strange getting older in a place where birthdays don't really mean anything. Most people don't really know how old they are and usually don't celebrate birthdays especially when they are older. For me it was a delightful day with the sun shinning once again. I skipped school for the day but of course studied a bit in the morning. Rachel maid crepes with fresh mangoes and homemade whip cream for breakfast (Mouth watering).

Then we opened some presents. Tekoa had picked me out an orange tie that he demanded I should have to wear to school. (sorry the picture isn't very good) Funny he thought orange was the only color for me. Some things never change.

Being home with the family and resting were the most exciting parts, which didn't last for long because I had those studies to do which were interrupted; first by a couple guys wanting some money, which turned into a long discussion about who Jesus really was. Then the gas for the cooker went out which required a quick trip to town with my Personal Assistant Tekoa. We were then able to make lunch and put the kids down for naps. Later we went for ice cream cones (a perk of living in the 3rd largest city in Kenya)

As the day went on Tekoa and I started the work on his new bed (new meaning newly recycled). He is getting too big for the crib we originally bought when he was born. He keeps rolling into the sides at night waking himself up, thus waking us up. Not fun. So to save money and sleep we dismantled something outside and attempted to fit it together as a bed. Unfortunately the wood is a bit wonky (british for not quite straight). Tekoa loved the work though. Hopefully we'll finish it in a couple of days.

Another blessing for a father's birthday was the first actually crawling activity of our dear Eliza. She has been army crawling for some time but finally got on those hands and knees and took a few steps if you can call them that. She is a shy girl around other people but has so much personality that overflows when it's just the family. So if you ever meet her don't be offended if it takes a while to become friends.

This was dinner. There are certain meals that aren't usually on the menu for us. Though we eat like Americans mostly we are still limited due to cost of American food or availability. Anyway it was a special occasion so we had Lasagna with olives. Very tasty. There is something about baking in a charcoal oven and its natural flavor. You should try it some time, it's well worth the effort. Or just visit and we can do it for you.

Of course a special occasion wouldn't be complete with out a fresh mango/apple pie. My wife has a gift I am proud to say.

All in all it was a beautiful birthday. I got so many greetings from friends and family of which I am grateful. It's always nice to be remembered, well almost always.

As the world turns

It's obviously not the big events that define our existence on this earth but the everyday joys and struggles. This blog is more for the day to day then anything else so anyone reading could understand us a little better. If that is possible.

Tekoa is getting to the age that he would rather play with someone else's toy then his own. It so happens our neighbor Ricki feels the same way and here they are enjoying the grass on the other side of the fence.

Our little girl has four teeth now. Here she is proudly showing off her two top teeth. We received a package which had this baby doll in it. As you can see Eliza loves to chew on it.

Eliza loves to play with Tekoa's toys, but she doesn't get the chance very often because her big brother kindly will take his toy away and replace it with one of her toys. As you can see she is very happy to be playing with not just one but two of her brothers cars.

Tekoa is quick to call people his friends, and as he would say these are all my friends. They were writing with chalk on our sidewalk, but quickly got into a picture pose when I pulled out the camera.

This is actually Tekoa at Sunday school. They do not have a nursery at our church, so he joins in with kids that are a bit older then him. He makes it through the songs, and sometimes some of the lesson. But because he is only two and he is not able to stay still we always leave a bit early so we do not distract the other children.

The Eliza Memoirs

This is the beautiful Eliza Imani. She is now 7 and 1/2 months old and seems to be growing a little bit of hair if you look close. Unlike Tekoa she loves time on her tummy. Her main mode of transportation is currently the roll maneuver which she has mastered to get anywhere in the living room she desires.

Amazing as it may seem there are two crazy Americans who are willing to have babies in Kenya. This is Eliza with her friend Joelle who are less then a month apart. God is so good to bring people into our lives that are struggling through some of the same challenges so we can encourage one another.

How can two kids from the same parents be so different? Tekoa did and still will eat almost anything. Eliza on the other hand battles with every bite of semi-solid food. Here she displays her disgust after receiving a spoonful of mashed avocado. But the important thing is she is getting her two upper teeth to match the bottom ones.

Yet another difference is that Eliza is extremely attached to her mother. This delightful image is of the two lovely ladies on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Tekoa would allow complete strangers to pick him up, but Eliza has a difficult time smiling at our house help who is around three days a week. I guess she is just not interested in what other people think at this point in time.

TEKOA TIME

What does a two year old American boy do in urban Kenya all day. Well unfortunately because we lack a yard and at that a safe playing environment outside he spends a lot of time inside

That is why Rachel got creative and converted our dirty and cluttered area under the stairs into a cool little reading corner for the boy. A piece of dangling fabric, make shift shelf and a sweet mini carpet is all that was needed. Tekoa loves to sit down and talk through all of his books because he isn't quite able to read through them yet.

On special days the family has time to get out and visit some place with an open area for Tekoa to run. If we let him he would run all day with no real purpose other then to be active.

Of course he also loves to bake with his mother. He puts on his little chef apparel and takes over the mixing and beating and mess making for mom. This is him whipping up some home made hamburger buns for dinner. Usually Wednesday is baking day. It's a loved day by all since it is responsible for glorious treats like cakes and pies and cookies and homemade bread to name a few.

Tekoa does have some friends in the neighborhood of course. This is one of our neighbor boys named Sugar. He's a pretty sweet kid most of the time. He is 5 years old but he doesn't pick on Tekoa too much. Here they are playing in the water at the back of the house because it is shaded. Even the Kenyans don't play in the sun too much during mid day.

One of the other joys in his life is worship (not pictured). He loves to turn the music up and just dance and sing until he's drenched with sweat. All in all Tekoa has a pretty good life. Eat, play and sleep with a few other minor details.

Friday Night Fun

Here is our little girl again. I was trying to get a picture of her first two teeth. I will let you try and find them.

Tekoa can be a bit rough with Eliza at times, but generally he is a very protective big brother. He makes sure she always has toys to play with, and always lets us know when she is crying. Eliza adores her big brother most of the time the exception's being when he takes a toy away that he claims is his and when he try's to wrestle with her like he would his dad.

Here is our friday night dinner. Looks yummy doesn't it? Fresh Tilapia taken from Lake Victoria the same morning. Tekoa helped Josh prepare it by making sure it didn't jump out of the hot pan. It was our first time preparing it this way with out the assistance of a restaurant.

Tekoa was pretty excited about the whole thing. It was more traditional Kenyan food then we normally eat, which he actually likes a lot. Whole fried fish (the fish), ugali (the flavorless white stuff), and sikumawiki (the green stuff - means push the week). All in all it was a delicious meal.

Growing Kids

Tekoa and Eliza love taking their baths together these days. Josh and I have to be careful not to get drenched while they are having their splashing competitions. It is so much fun watching how they are already becoming good friends. What a joy it is to watch them grow into the children God has created them to be.

I have started Eliza on solid foods, but all we have had success in so far is baby cereal. I tried butternut squash today, and her response was gagging and cringing. So we had to go back to good old cereal again. Tomorrow we might try carrots, and hopefully that is a bit more successful.

Like any boy, Tekoa loves the outdoors. Tekoa loves his horse, but so do all the neighborhood kids. If Tekoa gets off even if it is just for a short time one of the neighborhood kids quickly gets on only for Tekoa to return and claim it back. Sharing is a quality we are working on now, and I am sure we will continue for many years to come.