fire chief in the house

I may have mentioned a few times that Kyalo likes to be outside.

No?

Well, you're in luck, because here I am to do it again!

Being outside is obviously a great thing...fresh air, expending energy, exploring, etc etc.  There's one problem.  Kyalo doesn't understand that a rainy day means spending the day at home in your sweats with a good book.  We had a day of rain last week and he was still clamoring at the door to go out. So, out we went. I finally had to drag him in when it basically became a down pour, and he looked like this:

Since he was soaked and basically covered in mud, into the bath he went.  And I was quickly searching for rain gear online (read: boots, jacket, pants), since a little rain isn't going to slow him down.   Winter is not too far away. . .but I think I'm mostly ready for that.

Then this weekend my parents were in town and stopped by a cute consignment shop in cute Montclair, where my mom scooped up this cute rain coat for $8.00

No, it wasn't raining this particular day, but we had to try it out.  Obviously!

 the chief and his assistant checking the neighborhood. . .

 . . .and the hydrant!

 

I feel safer knowing there's a fire chief right near by.  

And now we're ready for Halloween, too!

Win-win all around.

a grand weekend

I like it when our weekends include things that stray from the norm, and this weekend was full of them.  First, my parents came to visit. Yay.  They hadn't been here in a while, and I think the last times we were exploring NYC or jetting down to Baltimore.  Now that we're getting a little more settled here I wanted them to see our life and this area.  So the visit included trying out new restaurants, a trip to a local farmer's market, a lot of shopping {more on a good find in another post}, helping Dexter get a bike {Merry Christmas, dear}, and just generally enjoying each other and the spectacular weather.  After church on Sunday we walked to a little bagel shop for lunch.  I needed to get a few photos of them to prove they were here!

 {Kyalo found a stick! and we could not get him to put it down.  Dexter had to wrestle it from him when leaving}

 finally, some pictures with me in them!

{ready for church}

The park where we took the pictures was very pretty, but a little more shadowy than I would have liked.  Oh well, the memories aren't shadowy!  And just like that, off they headed to Massachusetts.  Instead of heading home ourselves, we hopped in the car and headed west a couple of hours through rolling country and farmland of Pennsylvania to see this girl:

Since the last time we saw Jenny was February in Kenya, we weren't going to let a little two hour drive get in the way of a chance to see her.  It was a short, but sweet visit.  I love reconnecting with friends, especially ones I knew in Kenya.  And seriously, the drive was pretty spectacular.  I don't know if you can really tell from the pictures, but the area was SO BEAUTIFUL.  Dexter's ready to hang up dentistry and go into farming.  I'll keep you posted on that.

 The lighting in PA was so awesome; I wish we had gotten a lot more pictures.  These will do, though.

{shadows}

I will live in hope for more impromptu, unexpected visits from friends to brighten our weekends!

books worth reading

I like to read, and one of the big perks of being back in the US is being within walking distance of the library.  No longer do I have to pick my books ahead of time and schlep them with me across continents.  No longer do I have to wonder what to do with them when I'm done reading them.  The library is a brilliant thing!  Because Kyalo & I go to the library more or less weekly, I've been able to pick books up for myself.  Those, in addition to books I had on hand or borrowed from others, have made for some {mostly} happy reading hours.  I thought I'd share the best I've read in the last few months.

Here's what I'm currently reading:

{Amazon Link}

A friend of mine whose family owns a farm in Maine recommended this New York City journalist-turned-New York State-farmer book to me, because I'm always asking her questions about the farm.  She thinks I have it in my blood.  I like the idea of scattering grain for chickens in the morning and collecting eggs in the evening. I do NOT like the idea of every 12 hour, do-or-die milking of a cow; I'm not sure I'm cut out for the work involved.  This book is a wonderful and inspiring read. And maybe someday, I'll get those chickens!

{Amazon}

I'd heard about this book for a while, and when Covenant had it for his required summer reading for high school, it put it back on my radar.  I'm not too far along, but am awed by this true story.

And now for the Do-I-really-have-to-feed-and-clothe-my-child category:

I'd seen The Historian for years on shelves in airport bookstores, and always wanted to read it.  When I saw it sitting -- unread, apparently -- on a shelf at my mom's I snatched it up.  Somehow I missed the fact that it is, essentially, a story about vampires and Dracula in particular.  There were a couple of freaky moments, but it was SO GOOD. I could hardly put it down, and the house may or may not have gone unswept while I read it.  Once I saw that Elizabeth Kostova had another book, I knew I needed (needed!) to get it.  I'm often wary about second books, but The Swan Thieves did not disappoint.  Go pick up either, you will not regret it!

And lastly, another book that I'm reading. . .and have been for a while.

 

{Amazon}

 

This book is kind of a companion (or little sister?) book to Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Du Wunn's Half the Sky {another worthwhile read, by the way}.  This book focuses on the women of the Christian church, how we've been overlooked, underused, and have so much potential to be true partners with men to change the world. . . especially for the women {and children} of the world who have no voice.  I am not doing this book justice AT ALL.  Seriously, this is a pale and weak synopsis of this powerful and enlightening book.  I think every Christian woman should read it!  I'm actually hoping to suggest it as the next book the book club I have not yet joined will read.  I'm also hoping that isn't too presumptuous on my part! :)

 

There have been a few disappointments along the way, but ultimately, books and I are becoming nicely reacquainted.   So here's my question.  What are books that you recommend? A favorite fiction?  Spiritual?  Parenting? Marriage? A favorite author? I'm always looking for another good read.  Also, if you have toddlers, what books are you reading with them?  Kyalo's books are seriously lacking and I need to start changing that.

Here's hoping I get a lot of suggestions!

settling in

September marks six months since we've been in the US which is hard to believe!  I have a lot of thoughts floating around in my head about the transition, and I thought I'd get them down to paper - or blog, if you will.  The thoughts are changing regularly, and had I written this post even a few weeks ago, I think the outlook would have been vastly different; things are beginning to come together for us, and it is making a world of difference.

The first months here were marked by an over all feeling of loneliness and being overwhelmed by everything.  That's when Dexter was in school all the time, so I never saw him, either.   The shelves at the grocery stores packed to overflowing and I couldn't decide what to get.  Yogurt had more ingredients than I knew what to do with (I got lemon yogurt once that had NO lemon in it. what?), there were so many choices I often left in despair.  I'm getting the hang of that now, though from time to time I think it is all a little ridiculous.  My days were long, slow, and lonely.  Kyalo and I spent a lot of time wandering the neighborhoods just to fill up the day.

But we started going to the local library's story hour, and made a friend - she has a 10 month old daughter and happens to live around the corner from us.  So the two of us go on walks to a local park now, and let the kids play as we chat.  Each day that relationship gets a little easier and more comfortable. 

Just last week we decided on a church that will be our church home for the time we're in New Jersey.  I hadn't realized just how difficult it would be to find a church - and what a difference it is making in our life.  It is the most warm and welcoming church I think I've ever been to.  Dexter's already joined the men's Bible study, I'll be doing the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) program there once a month (hello four hours of child care!), we're joining a small group, and, I hope to do a women's book club.  We're really jumping right in!  But after living an hour away from a church for so long it is nice to be able to actually participate in things and get involved.  I hope we'll make some great friendships there.

I miss Kenya. Every day.  This weekend there was a baby shower for Evelyn (who, yes, is having their first baby in October), and I cried a little when I realized I couldn't be there, helping with it, or just being a part of it.  I'm sad when I hear about the Mulandis all getting together, I'm sad when I hear about the changes and developments that we're missing.

But you know, I missed out on a lot in America for the seven years I was gone.  I guess it is my time now to enjoy what I can here in America.  Like being close to my family.  Fall.  Winter. (? can I really enjoy this? I will enjoy watching Dexter & Kyalo experience snow for the first time!) Holidays.  Being able to call people who are basically in my time zone.  Safety and security.  And so on.

And so, it is good.  The days are gorgeous right now...we're in that in between time: not quite summer any more, not yet fall.  I love it!  We continue to see God's hand in our lives.  These two years will be hard, of course, for a number of reasons, but God is bringing us friends, community, and continued affirmation that this is the right thing for us at this time.

twins, again!

On the last day of vacation we were able to take a detour on the way home through Connecticut and see a friend of ours from Kenya.  Lily and her husband, Jonathan, actually live in Texas where she's a medical resident, but he was graduating from a school in Newark and so they camped out at a friend's house in CT.  We wanted to have more time with Lily (Jonathan was gone for pre-graduation stuff), but it was ridiculously hard to get out of the house in a timely manner. There were lots of people to visit with, a leisurely breakfast, the chaos of packing up the car, and drawn out goodbyes.  It is a wonder we ever traveled to Kenya!

I hadn't seen Lily since our wedding, and so was meeting their youngest son, Zaki (14 months) for the first time, and seeing Wema since he was a wee baby.  He's a very very active four year old now, so much so that I could never get a picture of him.  I thought Kyalo was non stop energy.  HA.  Or perhaps, that's my future. 

Anyway, before they came east, I saw a picture of Zaki in the same green Kenya shirt that Kyalo wears.  Remember when he and Bo wore them in May (back when Evelyn was visiting & Matt & Erica still lived in Long Island.  Eons ago!).  Here's a shot to remind you:

awww

And here are Kyalo & Zaki, in August:

 holding hands! so sweet

 all smiles

August 22, 2012

But it is never easy to keep two one-year-olds in one place for long, and so we have a lot of pictures like this:

Now, how awesome would it be if we could somehow get a triplet picture! Hilarious.

The children of the family Lily was staying with had a drum set, and Kyalo got pretty into it.

here, he's asking if he can have his own set

No.

It was a fairly quick visit, but wonderful to catch up again. Perhaps we'll get out to Texas some day for a proper visit.  I've never been to Texas!

17 months

Another month has come and gone...and it was another busy one with a lot of travel and activity.  I'm glad to get back into the swing of things here at home, though I'm not a fan of Dexter's long days away from home.  I'm working on finding things for us to do to fill our days. . .Story Hour at the local library, MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) once a month at a nearby church, and, I hope, an activity class at a local gym once a week, and lots of walks to the park.  That should fill things up nicely.  Do you have things you do with your kids?

Our happy guy is now 17 months.  This month he. . .

. . .got two more teeth! I think two more might be coming in.  We have a grand total of four. 

. . .seems to be transitioning from two naps a day to one long afternoon nap. I thought I was sad about this, but a 2 or 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon I can live with.

. . .spent a lot of time outside, and a lot of that time eating dirt!

 {happy}

 {studying}

 {thinking}

 {sportin' new shoes}

 {digging in the dirt. all.the.time}

 {eating said dirt}

I love these next two pictures so much.  We give him frozen berries every afternoon because he loves them, he can work on his pincher grip, and it gives me FIVE MINUTES PEACE! Oh, and they're healthy.

 perplexed?

small vampire

I took him to the doctor today, the first time since he was 11 months and we were still in Kenya!  It took me an HOUR to find the office which was less than 3 miles away (perhaps I shouldn't admit this?), and then we waited almost three to see the doc!  He's measured in at 30 1/2 inches, and weighs 22 pounds.  This is pretty low for each -10th and 20th percentiles, I think.  Because he's so short the doc has recommended he see an endocrinologist.  This makes me a little sad, but I'm sure it will be okay.  Still, should you think of it, say a prayer that it is nothing serious. Perhaps he's just slow to get started growing?  Also, since he speaks NO discernible words yet, she wants him to have early intervention to help with speech.  Someone would come to our house, which is awesome, but part of me wants to wait a couple more months just to see if he'll take off. Perhaps the mix of English & Swahili is slowing him down?

And I leave you with this sweet picture.  Kyalo LOVES the phone.  He turns everything into a phone (his spoon, his toys, a stick). I often find him sitting on the floor "talking" on the phone...lots of noises and laughter, it is so sweet.  This picture is extra special because he's actually talking to Grandma & Grandpa on Sunday afternoon here.  I am a little worried, though, that he's only 17 months and we're already having to tell him, "get off the phone!"

he's got it all figured out

and yes, he's wearing overalls without a shirt.

visit with Olatundes

A couple of months ago my friend Shiny, in the UAE, mentioned that the chaplain of Oasis would be moving to the US for seminary this summer.  Turns out, he would be moving to Gordon-Conwell, a seminary that is FOUR MILES from my parents' house.  And, it turns out, he and his family would be arriving in the beginning of August while Dexter and I were still vacationing.

Naturally, a visit was a must.

Since the family had only been in the US about a week, and had no car, Dexter and I loaded them up in my dad's van and our trusty Civic to give them a tour of the area. The North Shore of Boston is truly beautiful, especially along the coast.  We always like a chance to show it off a bit.  Plus, there's lots of history, too.  We made a couple of stops along the way. . .at Gordon, at a beach in Manchester, and a park in Gloucester. 

 Olatundes

Isaac (holding Kyalo), Adeola, Covenant, Peace & Praise

Isaac & Adeola

Handsome couple!

The beautiful Gloucester Harbor

I'd say that they moved to a pretty great place, but very different from the UAE and their home country of Nigeria.  Covenant is a senior now at the high school I went to! 

After the tour they came back to Essex for burgers and corn on the cob - perfect summer fare!  It was wonderful to see them, hear a little bit about Oasis, and to get them connected to my family.  My mom's already taken them shopping.  Since Isaac is in a program that could be up to six years, I know we'll see them many more times.