Doing Better

Eli seems to be doing much better.  He is way less fussy and is on his way to being his normal self again.  He still has a cough, but I think it is going away.  Thank you so much for praying!

Baby Dedication

This past Sunday, we were back in church after being gone the last three Sundays. It's always nice to be back with our church family.  We almost weren't able to go due to Eli being sick, but Eli calmed down enough for us to go and ended up taking a long nap in his stroller while we were there.

Pastor Zac is back so George didn't have to teach this week.  He was able to do a baby dedication which was special.  Little baby Faith's life was dedicated to the Lord.  George reminded her mom that she must intentionally teach Faith to love God.  It doesn't just happen through osmosis.  We have to set a good example and make sure we teach kids about the Lord and how to follow Him.

After the service, people stayed behind to sign up to volunteer for theup coming youth camp.  Since it will be at our church, it's a good time for the congregation to come together and support the youth.

We'll be resuming our evening classes in two weeks, once the camp is done.  It's nice to be back. 

Family Visit

When George came back from Kenya, he brought his sister, Suzy, and her two and half year old daughter, Adehli (Adi), with him.  His other sister, Caro, was here already, so it made for a full house.  They stayed for a week and we had a great time with them.  We didn’t do anything terribly exciting.  We just walked to town and hung out in the house.  That alone, was enough fun. 

Eli loved having Adi here.  They played well together.  They are far enough apart that there weren’t any huge fights or wars.  The biggest problem was Eli pinching Adi or pulling her hair.  Again, it wasn’t out of aggression, but just out of curiosity.  Adi put up with it well.  She would just say “he’s pinchin!”  and we would come to help her out.   It was fun to see them run off together.  We knew when they were quiet they were up to trouble.  Usually we would bust them sneaking into a bedroom or bathroom.  

(Adi is so beautiful.)

I loved having them here.  It’s so nice to be around family.  I liked going to bed and hearing George, Caro and Suzy staying up to talk (in Luo) and laugh. Suzy is married to an American and we relate well to each other.  She also is funny and we laugh a lot together.  It was hard to see them go, but it was a joy to have them with us.   

Prayers for Eli

Poor Eli has been sick a lot this month.  While traveling in Kenya, he came down with a cold and then an eye infection.  We thought he was all better, but a few days ago, he began to be fussy.  Now he is taking medicine for what we think is an ear infection.  Unfortunately, now he is developing a cough as well.  Eli is normally very happy and easy going.  This sickness has brought on extreme fussiness and long periods of crying where nothing soothes him.  He also has had a loss of appetite. 

Simple illnesses can be scary here.  We can't just take him to a doctor to get checked out.  Hopefully he will begin to improve soon.  We would be so thankful if you could remember him in your prayers.  We'll keep you posted on how he is doing.

Thank you.

12 Months

This is a little late, but here is what Eli has been up to this past month.

One of my favorite new tricks of his is dancing.  I don’t know where he learned it, but it’s so cute.  When we sing “dancing… dancing…. dancing…” he turns around in circles.  I love it!

He has learned to climb stairs.  He loves to climb and will go up and down over and over.  The problem is he wants to walk down.  He hasn’t learned to go down on his stomach or bottom.  It’s quite scary!

Reading is one of his favorite things to do.  We do it before each nap and bedtime.  I line up several books and ask him which one he wants to read.  Then he’ll reach out and grab one.

I continue to be amazed at how much he comprehends.  He is great at following directions. 

Eli is obsessed with opening and closing things, taking lids on and of bottles, putting things together and pretty much anything mechanical.  He’ll work on one thing for a while and then will get frustrated if he can’t figure it out.

One bad habit Eli has is pulling hair, pinching and grabbing faces.  He doesn’t do it out of anger or aggression, just curiosity I think.  It has been challenging to get him to stop.

He has recently learned to point and he loves to do it.  I love seeing his chubby little finger pointing something out.  My favorite is when we ask him, “where is the moon?” and he points to the sky.

Eli loves to play with other kids.  He thinks he is capable of much more than he is.  He is very adventurous and isn’t afraid of anything.  At his birthday party, he had no fear of the jumpy house or slide.  George would take him to the top of the slide and let him dangle, and then would release him.  He slowly slid down and laid completely still, arms still up, until someone came and got him.  It was so funny.

Currently he is 25 pounds.  He has been that for a while now.  I think he is now growing more up than out.  He can fit into a few 12 month and 24 month clothes, but mostly wears 18 months. 

Eli babbles a lot, but still isn’t saying any words.  He says mama, but still not relating it to me.  Experts say kids in bilingual households often start speaking later.  I think that will be the case with Eli.

Fun month!

(Turn my back for one minute and see what happens!)

(He kept begging for the lime despite this happening every time!)

Camp Prep

Now that we are home, our focus is on the upcoming youth camp.  We have 8 days left before we have 50 kids coming for the weekend.  George will be going out tomorrow to begin getting the supplies.  That includes the food (including 100 pound bags of rice and beans!) and beams and tarps for the tent where we will hold the sessions (the girls will sleep in the church building while the boys sleep in another building).  We also have to finalize the schedule and decide who is teaching when and on what topic. 

Pray for us!!!!

Random Camp Photos

(The emergency exit at our hotel.  That sounds like fun!!!)

(While in Kakamega, we got to visit with George's other set of parents, Charles and Emily.  They also live in Kakamega and are who walked me down the isle at our wedding.)

(At the second church, Eli enjoyed playing in all the chairs.)

(He was quite the attraction among the local kids.)

(I finally met another Stacie in Kenya.  Her name was even spelled that same as mine!)

(The pastors of the churches arranged for us to have lunch each day.)

Happy Birthday Eli

Today is Eli's 1st Birthday!  The past year has gone by so quickly and we are so thankful for the blessing he is.  I will do a 12 month update soon.  For now, here are a few photos from his party today.  We just had a simple celebration at Nakumatt (Our local grocery store).  Two of George's sisters are here along with his two year old niece (more on that in another blog).  In addition to us, we invited our neighbor Mama Kelton, our taxi driver/friend, Eddie, Charles, a friend of George's (the one who we met with on the bus to Moshi), and a Haley, a friend of mine, and her son, Skyler, and husband, Reagan.  We had lunch and cake at a coffee shop next to Nakumatt.  It was simple, but fun.

Nakumatt sets up a bouncy house on the weekends.  They were kind enough to set it up for us for free for Eli's celebration.  They all know Eli and were happy to see him celebrate one year.  He had a blast in there!

The owner of the coffee shop was so nice.  He set up special tables for  us, gave us free drinks and gave Eli a Tanzania shirt.

We got a cake for the group.

And a special one just for Eli.

He even was given a few gifts - a couple t-shirts and cars.



Happy Birthday Eli!

Journey Home

George’s sister, Caro, came back with us to Tanzania.  Since George had to stay in Kenya for a few more days and I had to hurry back to Moshi because our house sitter had to go home, we thought it would be nice for Caro to travel with me and Eli.  We had wanted her to come and visit for a while, but thought this timing would be perfect.  George escorted us to Nairobi and I am so glad he did.  The bus company we used changed locations in Nairobi to a busier, scarier part of town.  George got us a taxi and took us to the hotel.  He made sure we had dinner (Good, American style PIZZA!  One of the great things about being in Nairobi is having treats we can’t get in Moshi.) and then got right back on another bus back to Kisumu, arriving at 4:00am.  Poor guy. 

Before leaving, George arranged for us to get bus tickets on the shuttle to Moshi the next morning.  Just before we left, I ran back into the hotel to grab something I left behind.  When I came back to the bus, I was surprised to see someone I knew from Moshi!  He recognized Eli (who was with Caro) when he got on the bus.  His name is Charles.  He is Kenyan and an insurance agent.  We met him at his “extended office,” a coffee shop next to the grocery store, and have talked to him several times since.   He was extremely kind to us.  He paid for our bus tickets to Arusha and then drove us from Arusha  (where he had left his car) to Moshi.  He looked out for us on the journey and escorted us through the border.  It was a blessing to have him there.   Situations like that I know are arranged by God.  There are SO many shuttles and buses to Moshi and for us to be on the same one was not a coincidence. George is such a good protector so I always feel safe traveling with him.  I never have to worry about anything.  Being without him though, I would have to be in charge and look out for Eli and Caro (who had never been to Nairobi or Tanzania before) on my own.  It was a relief to travel with someone else we know.  I’m sure it put George more at ease too. 

Thank you Lord!