The girls have been eagerly learning how to do new things around the house this summer. They each can now take their laundry bins of clean clothes to their rooms and put them away. They've also been "helping" Krista in the kitchen. Kira and Brynn are learning how to wash dishes and fill up ice cube trays, both of which need to be done often around here. As often as Krista will let them, they each take turns helping Krista cook and bake. Even Silas likes to get in on the action when there's food involved. Krista's sister, Aunt Boo (as our kids call her), made sure my ladies are always well dressed for their work in the kitchen. Here they are sporting their beautiful matching aprons from Aunt Boo.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tricks of the Trade
The girls have been eagerly learning how to do new things around the house this summer. They each can now take their laundry bins of clean clothes to their rooms and put them away. They've also been "helping" Krista in the kitchen. Kira and Brynn are learning how to wash dishes and fill up ice cube trays, both of which need to be done often around here. As often as Krista will let them, they each take turns helping Krista cook and bake. Even Silas likes to get in on the action when there's food involved. Krista's sister, Aunt Boo (as our kids call her), made sure my ladies are always well dressed for their work in the kitchen. Here they are sporting their beautiful matching aprons from Aunt Boo.
First Day of School
Kira (1st grade) and Brynn (kindergarten) started school at Sahel Academy on August 12. They've been looking forward to this day for a long time. So far the excitement hasn't worn off. They come home each day happy as can be from their time at school.
A few days before school started, we had a "going to school" party. Kira and Brynn each got school supplies and lunch bags. 
They also each got their own alarm clocks so they can wake up on their own at 6:15 am each weekday. School starts for them at 7:25 am.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Party Niger style!
Last week we had the privilege of taking part in a party celebrating the engagement of one of our SIM Niger missionaries. After losing his wife to cancer, Chris recently met and fell in love with another lovely lady, who had lost her husband. Between them they have 5 delightful children. We are all so happy for them, and the Niamey area missionaries showed it! About 80 people showed up for the party. Most of us were really hoping to meet Nancy, as she was just on a short visit to Niger before the wedding!
As if to welcome Nancy and her sons to the joys of Nigerien weather, we started the evening here outside near the river at an outdoor restaurant. See the beautiful tables and the nice view?
About the time the food was ready to be served, in came a dust storm! Though typical of this time of year, we sure didn't plan on one that night! Ten minutes after the previous photo, below is another looking in the same direction, towards the river. Like all those flecks of dust? We all grabbed plates and food, and over 80 of us crowded into a little room. Unfortunately the power was out inside, so it was quite a dark little room! We could only laugh at how much this showed Niger's weather to Nancy- unpredictable and dusty. Thankfully they don't usually last long, and we were able to spread out again, though the tables never did get set. =) It was still a lot of fun, and we all enjoyed the time together, celebrating Chris and Nancy's joy at God bringing them together!
Tea Parties
One of the many things we love about our new house is our big front porch. This picture shows about half of it, with the other part being out past the SIMAIR van to the right. There is plenty of room for the kids to ride their bikes, and play. It's a nice shaded spot to sit and enjoy the rain, or watch the kids play. Another fun thing we did was set up a table and have a little tea party.
Sweet Brynnie always loves "girly" things.
Silas was enjoying drinking out of a big boy cup like his sisters!
Laney's favorite part was the cookies that went along with the tea. That and the sugar she was able to stir into her tea. =)
Even Daddy got in on the tea party, taking a break from the work you can see evidence of in the background.
Kira was around, but missed being in any of the tea party pictures. We'll show you her smiling face soon. It looks different every time we show it on here, as front teeth keep disappearing one by one.
"Settlers of Niger"
For all those gamers out there...there's a new expansion to the game "Settlers of Catan!" It's entitled "Settlers of Niger." Unfortunately it doesn't last very long because all the tiles but one are desert. The only thing produced is sweat. But hey, it's still a lot of fun, and we like playing it!
OK, so maybe that game wouldn't be a great deal of fun. But we don't need the game, we ARE the Settlers of Niger. And despite the heat and sand, we do have fun being here! We've been back over a month now, and things are starting to feel settled in our new house. As I type Kevin is just finishing up varnishing our new closet that he's been working on in recent days. After enjoying a few cooler days due to some rain, we are back to hot and humid. Thankfully the power outages of the last few days seem to have stopped. The kids don't seem to mind either way. Mom and Dad are more willing to drop everything and go to the pool when the power has been out for several hours and the temperatures are in the 100's! Silas has learned a couple of new phrases. If he walks into a room and the lights aren't on he says "uh-oh, power out!"
He is very delighted to be back in Niger! All the things a boy could want surround him- lizards, dirt, and most importantly, his dog!
Silas has really been enjoying having Oreo here at the house. He loves to help feed her, and plays with her whenever he can sneak out the door. And for those wondering, I realize he is not clothed. It's hot. He's two. And do you see him sitting in the dirt? Diapers and underwear wash SO much better than other clothes. So when we go out he gets clothed. Otherwise, he's more comfortable this way. =) 
While we are on the subject of Silas, he has had some other excitement. Notice anything unusual in this picture? Silas had some sort of allergic reaction, and ended up with these giant ears. They were followed by an itchy day of hives. Though we still don't know what caused it, he's feeling back to normal now.
So those are the recent adventures of the "Settlers of Niger." Come on over and play with us soon!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Home again!
We're home in Niger! Thanks for all of you who prayed for us. The trip went well, and we are happy to be settling back in. It's been great seeing our missionary friends, as well as renewing retlationships with our Nigerien friends. And I have to mention the joy of seeing Ian and Beka and kids! Having family here to welcome us is an extra blessing.The kids have enjoyed times with their cousins and friends, and we have started to acclimate to the heat. Our bedroom starts out at 98 degrees most evenings, and our air conditioner brings it down to about 84 by morning. It feels great! The power outages have been minimal since our arrival, for which we are greatly thankful!
Our first week was spent digging out things we needed to survive life here. Other missionaries typically host you for meals for four days, plus our SIMAir family had given us food in the house for breakfast and lunches. So we had a while before needing to cook at all. By then I had located most of my kitchen stuff from the sea of boxes in the storage room and laundry room.
We're in a different house than we were before, so there are a few extra things to do in the settling in process than we would have had in the old house. But I in particular am LOVING the new house! The layout of the living space is just so much easier, and the kitchen is huge compared to the other house. Plus the kitchen has a ceiling fan, and a window near the stove that I can place a fan in to draw out the heat. You have no idea what a wonderful thing that is unless you cooked in my tiny old 105 degree kitchen with no fan!! I'm greatly rejoicing. It's a mission owned house instead of a rental like last time, so it's much better off to begin with than our old house. But, being Africa, things just don't work the way they are supposed to, and often the work was not done right the first time. Case in point- we had been here 20 minutes, and it was about 3 AM. The new air conditioners that were installed (wired by an electrician) were turned on in the kids rooms. Within 5 minutes they overloaded the system, and plunged the entire house into darkness. (save one bathroom light in the new part of the house that's on a new breaker) One kid was on the potty in one bathroom, while I was with the others in another room. Kevin was outside, and all four kids started screaming. Not knowing how to find a flashlight, or a candle, or even a match I had to drag the three kids into the bathroom. Once I felt in the dark and located them, that is. Somehow almost the entire house was on ONE breaker, which was not able to handle the load. All the kids were shuffled into one bedroom for the night so only one air conditioner was on at a time. So the electrician who was hired (and paid!) to do it the first time was called back to fix it. In the meantime he had some other repairs to do. They added a bedroom and bathroom to the house while we were gone. One of the brand new outlets that was installed was wired backwards. And the attic space was a mess of twisted wires, not in proper boxes, or connected properly. Unless you consider 220V wires twisted together and taped with electrical tape proper... I don't! And I don't even know about electrical stuff like that. Thankfully Kevin does, and is able to go around checking that things are all as they should be.
Have I mentioned the blessing of a husband who knows how to fix things? I'm always thankful for his "Mr. Fix-it" ability, but never more so than when we are settling into a new house. Especially one in Africa! (OK, or the bush of Alaska!) He has opportunity to show his skills throughout the days as he goes around making the house nicer and more livable for our family.
The days are full, as just cooking and keeping up with the family is full time. Add to that trying to find places for everything, sorting four years worth of clothes for four kids into storage boxes, finding somewhat matching clothes in their current sizes for them to wear, trying to keep the kids somewhat clean when all they want to do is play in the dirt, and waiting patiently for Kevin to have time from his constant fixing of things to make closets for the two rooms that don't yet have them. And of course we have to fit in occasional trips to the pool. =) It's full, but fun.
I have many praises!
-We have been here over a week, and I have not yet seen a cockroach. Let me tell you, I am thrilled about that!!! I don't mind the geckos and other critters we do have in the house. But the cockroaches just make my skin crawl. Every day I can go without seeing one is a reason to rejoice.
-The power has been regular, other than short outages, usually less than an hour.
-Our new internet is SOO much faster than what we had before.
-Our house is perfect for us, and it's nice being just the next street over from Ian and Beka.
-My kitchen makes life so much easier! I can actually be there without feeling like it's a form of torture. =)
-The kids are all healthy! Elayna is over her pneumonia, and everyone has managed to pass by any new bugs...so far.
Well, that's my epistle for the day. I'll try to add pictures soon, but for now it's time to go make some supper.
Our first week was spent digging out things we needed to survive life here. Other missionaries typically host you for meals for four days, plus our SIMAir family had given us food in the house for breakfast and lunches. So we had a while before needing to cook at all. By then I had located most of my kitchen stuff from the sea of boxes in the storage room and laundry room.
We're in a different house than we were before, so there are a few extra things to do in the settling in process than we would have had in the old house. But I in particular am LOVING the new house! The layout of the living space is just so much easier, and the kitchen is huge compared to the other house. Plus the kitchen has a ceiling fan, and a window near the stove that I can place a fan in to draw out the heat. You have no idea what a wonderful thing that is unless you cooked in my tiny old 105 degree kitchen with no fan!! I'm greatly rejoicing. It's a mission owned house instead of a rental like last time, so it's much better off to begin with than our old house. But, being Africa, things just don't work the way they are supposed to, and often the work was not done right the first time. Case in point- we had been here 20 minutes, and it was about 3 AM. The new air conditioners that were installed (wired by an electrician) were turned on in the kids rooms. Within 5 minutes they overloaded the system, and plunged the entire house into darkness. (save one bathroom light in the new part of the house that's on a new breaker) One kid was on the potty in one bathroom, while I was with the others in another room. Kevin was outside, and all four kids started screaming. Not knowing how to find a flashlight, or a candle, or even a match I had to drag the three kids into the bathroom. Once I felt in the dark and located them, that is. Somehow almost the entire house was on ONE breaker, which was not able to handle the load. All the kids were shuffled into one bedroom for the night so only one air conditioner was on at a time. So the electrician who was hired (and paid!) to do it the first time was called back to fix it. In the meantime he had some other repairs to do. They added a bedroom and bathroom to the house while we were gone. One of the brand new outlets that was installed was wired backwards. And the attic space was a mess of twisted wires, not in proper boxes, or connected properly. Unless you consider 220V wires twisted together and taped with electrical tape proper... I don't! And I don't even know about electrical stuff like that. Thankfully Kevin does, and is able to go around checking that things are all as they should be.
Have I mentioned the blessing of a husband who knows how to fix things? I'm always thankful for his "Mr. Fix-it" ability, but never more so than when we are settling into a new house. Especially one in Africa! (OK, or the bush of Alaska!) He has opportunity to show his skills throughout the days as he goes around making the house nicer and more livable for our family.
The days are full, as just cooking and keeping up with the family is full time. Add to that trying to find places for everything, sorting four years worth of clothes for four kids into storage boxes, finding somewhat matching clothes in their current sizes for them to wear, trying to keep the kids somewhat clean when all they want to do is play in the dirt, and waiting patiently for Kevin to have time from his constant fixing of things to make closets for the two rooms that don't yet have them. And of course we have to fit in occasional trips to the pool. =) It's full, but fun.
I have many praises!
-We have been here over a week, and I have not yet seen a cockroach. Let me tell you, I am thrilled about that!!! I don't mind the geckos and other critters we do have in the house. But the cockroaches just make my skin crawl. Every day I can go without seeing one is a reason to rejoice.
-The power has been regular, other than short outages, usually less than an hour.
-Our new internet is SOO much faster than what we had before.
-Our house is perfect for us, and it's nice being just the next street over from Ian and Beka.
-My kitchen makes life so much easier! I can actually be there without feeling like it's a form of torture. =)
-The kids are all healthy! Elayna is over her pneumonia, and everyone has managed to pass by any new bugs...so far.
Well, that's my epistle for the day. I'll try to add pictures soon, but for now it's time to go make some supper.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Back to Niger!
Life is running along at a frantic pace this week! We are in the midst of final packing and preparing to return to Niger in three days. In spite of the busyness of the week, we are thoroughly looking forward to getting home to Niger. We have loved our time here, especially seeing and connecting with so many of you! But it's time to get back. What a blessing it is to feel that way about the place God has called us to! Life may not always be easy there, but knowing it's where we are supposed to be gives us contentment despite the heat, dust and even the cockroaches.
If you don't hear from us for awhile, assume we are just too hot to write. =) That or perhaps we don't have internet hooked up yet.
Please pray for us as we make our final preparations, the journey back, and through the whole settling in process. We'll be living in a new house, and we're thrilled about that. But it will mean a lot more work getting settled in, especially for Kevin. One big thing we are looking forward to is continuing relationships we built in our last term. We are headed back armed with materials of several types in a few local languages that we hope to use to share the Gospel with some of our dear friends. Looking at their pictures this week had me in tears, thinking of the fact that they don't yet know the Lord. Pray with us and for us as we jump back into our African life.
Hopefully next time you hear from us, it will be from the other side of the ocean!
If you don't hear from us for awhile, assume we are just too hot to write. =) That or perhaps we don't have internet hooked up yet.
Please pray for us as we make our final preparations, the journey back, and through the whole settling in process. We'll be living in a new house, and we're thrilled about that. But it will mean a lot more work getting settled in, especially for Kevin. One big thing we are looking forward to is continuing relationships we built in our last term. We are headed back armed with materials of several types in a few local languages that we hope to use to share the Gospel with some of our dear friends. Looking at their pictures this week had me in tears, thinking of the fact that they don't yet know the Lord. Pray with us and for us as we jump back into our African life.
Hopefully next time you hear from us, it will be from the other side of the ocean!
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