21 November 2017

Iddy, you are doing so well with our time in the States. You have become so good at conversing with people. You meet new people almost daily and you cary yourself so well, carrying on a great conversation and making a great impression on people. You are kind, loving, and caring. You love your family. The other day we were in the car and you said, "I just love my family so much. I feel totally comfortable when I am with you guys." I couldn't agree more. You are learning more and more about American culture. You went to an Auburn football game and watched a Falcon's game on TV. You are good at sports and can pick up and play anything you want to. You went to the fall retreat with CVC youth group and I think you had a good time, although I know it really pushed you. You were so nervous to go and apprehensive about it, but you pushed yourself anyway and I am so incredibly proud of you. The other day you told me that Pitch Perfect 3 was coming out and you wanted to go and see it with me. That made me feel so good. You and I went to see the new Thor movie together and had a great time. I love getting to spend some time together just the two of us. You are always quick to help.. doing dishes... folding laundry... anything. You are good about eating anything that people prepare for us and you are really sweet about it. You stayed with Cody and Olivia for a couple of days while Papa and I spent some time with some of our friends. You went to Athens with Cody to go to some of his meetings with him. I think you enjoyed spending that time with Cody. Tomorrow we head to Alabama to be with my family for your first Thanksgiving in the United States. I really hope it's a good one for you.

I love you so much and I just hope that I am doing a good job of communicating to you that you truly matter to me, your opinion matters, your life matters, your words and thoughts and emotions matter and they are worth expressing and worth hearing by others. Never doubt your impact on the world and never doubt that you have a voice that can and should be heard loud and clear.

15 November 2017

Sweet, precious Ruth Michael. I feel like I can see straight through you into your heart. Maybe because you are so much like me. You are careful and sensitive, loving and kind, deliberate and precise. I have been homeschooling you now for about a month. It has been pretty tough, but we are in a better groove. I found a system that I like and you seem to be responding well. I have to push you  a little, but not too much. I remember when I was in school, if there was something I couldn’t understand I would panic and shut down. I think you may be the same way, so I’m trying to do a lot of review and make sure I give you lots of positive reinforcement. Of course, you are only a young five-year-old, so your attention span doesn’t go on forever... and I forget that somethimes. You know your sounds very well and you are learning letter names. We are really working on numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. You are very good at blending sounds together and deciphering the word. I think they worked a lot with you on that at Light Academy. You love to do crafts so today we made a turkey and on each feather we wrote something you were thankful for.

You love to take a bath, put on fresh clothes, and go out for dinner. You are Kenyan through and through. You don’t like having to wear lots of clothes in winter because you are not used to winter. You are constantly taking off your shoes and socks because you say that your feet are hot. We went shopping for shoes and you seemed to think the shoe on display was the only size available. You aren’t used to how things are done here. Yesterday we were talking about the news and how there are so many sad stories in the news. You said, “In the country where I was born there are lots of dangerous things.” You even said that there are a lot of people fighting with each other there. You were playing houses with baby dolls with Mimimo yesterday and there was one mama and her baby that didn’t have a house. You said “this mama and baby need a house” and you made sure you found them one.

You are an excellent big sister and love to take care of AJ. She adores you. You adore Iddy and, after me and Papa, he is your sense of security. He wrestles with you and you love it. You also love to do crafts and to play with toys. You are very good on your power wing scooter. You will listen to anyone read books to you for ages. You always want to choose your own clothes and you have an adorable sense of style. You love your family, Joyce and Neha, and Jen and Anyango. You are JUST the little girl I wanted!

21 November 2017- Today we were talking about a boy we know named Yann. You said, "Yann isn't a name, it's a thing, like a ball of 'yan'." I thought that was a really cute evidence of your Kenyan accent. Also today you asked about all the stuff in Nakumat. "I know they buy stuff from other people, and those people buy it from other people, but where does the stuff actually come from?" You call Starbucks "Java" and you call Publix "Nakumat."

14 November 2017

My darling Abby Jones, you are so much fun. I can’t believe you are almost three. You love to laugh and have fun. Tonight me, Mimimo, Bepops, and Ruth Michael were playing Bible story charades. You watched although you weren’t quite sure what we were doing. After a little while you looked at me with a big smile on your face and said, “what are we doing?” As if you didn’t really care one way or the other because you knew it was fun but you were just curious. It tickled me so I laughed and you LOVE to make me laugh, so of course you kept asking me the question again hoping I would keep laughing. I laughed every time because it was such a fun game for you.

You still love to hold my hand, mostly my pinky. You have hated being in the car seat since we arrived in the States. You always want me to reach my hand back to you so you can hold it while we drive. If you ask me something and I say “no” you say, “no, I mean LATA” (later). When we were walking from church to Baumhauer’s in Tuscaloosa we passed a fire hydrant and you asked what it was. You don’t see many of these in Kenya. Two times now you have noticed the fluorescent lit-up EXIT signs in a building and asked me what it says. Last time it was in church so I tried to whisper “exit” to you. You said, “eggs and toast??!!” We were at a shoe store and you asked why none of the shoes matched (they only put out one of each pair for display:). Your sleeves must always “pull down” and your pants legs must always “pull down” and they cannot be pulled up too high at the waist, either. The tongue on your shoe must be pulled out properly. You hate wearing jammies, but I make you now because it is so cold. You don’t like any type of pants other than leggings and say they are “distabing” (disturbing) you. You love to eat “cholocolate” (chocolate). You mix up potatoes and tomatoes. You say you don’t like potatoes but it is actually tomatoes that you don’t like. You love for me to cuddle you at nap time and at night. When I leave you to sleep at night you always yell “check on us!!!” You love to do school with me and “Kikal.”

Overall, I think you are an amazing kid. You are two, almost three, and we are dragging you all over this country, sleeping in different beds, eating different foods, meeting different people, and taking lots of long car rides. You behave really well and mostly get along with others, but you also stand up for yourself when something is happening that you don’t feel good about... not always in the best way. When we were at James and Caroline Crownover’s house I think you head-butted their daughter, Lilly, in the nose... I don’t know exactly why... but she really cried so it must have been forceful. Sometimes I see a little fire come out of your eyes when you are upset or I am punishing you, but you are always quick to say, “sorry, mama” and then you want to love on me and make sure we are okay.

You love your family. You say and do everything that Kikal does. We went to Tuscaloosa while Iddy went on the fall retreat, and you said, “where is Iddy? Why did we leave him?” You hate for me and Papa to leave you but you are okay if you have Kikal and Iddy. You like to say “I’m not a baby, I’m a big gal” and when I ask if you are a baby you say, “No, I’m Abby Jones!”

21 November 2017- I was wearing a pair of cowboy boots and you said, "I wish I had shoes like you that make noise when I wear them." (My boots click when I walk:)

Song from school:

Pop pop pop
Pop the balloon
Pop it loud everyone to hear
How many do you have?
2, 2, 2
That's the number of my "yaz"

You miss Malindi so much and ask to go back there all the time. You love to go to Flat Rock Park at Mimimo and Bepops' house and you call it "Flat Wok Kauk."

12 September 2017

Iddy, your birthday was last month and you turned 15. There is so much to say about you, where do I start? We had a great time on your birthday. We gave you a new pair of Nike shoes, and I think you liked them a lot. We got up the morning of the 3rd and had breakfast together... baked oatmeal and smoothies. Then we loaded up and went to Mombasa. Fabish and Ismael were with us. In the car on the way there you opened cards from Mimi and Pop-pop and Cindy and Roger and got a total of $70. Cindy and Roger's card played "Can't Touch This" and, thanks to your sisters, we listened to that the whole way to Mombasa! I think Mimimo had given you a baseball cap for your birthday earlier. When we arrived we went to Java for lunch... your favorite. We all enjoyed lunch and got milkshakes for dessert. Then, you and Fabish and Ismael and Papa went to play paintball. After paintball you and your friends went to see "War of the Planet of the Apes." We stayed in Mombasa a few more days after that, but I think you had a good time, although you never felt good about going off with your friends and leaving me and Papa behind.

A while ago you told me that when you were little you used to believe that babies came from the market. I thought that was so cute!

You make me proud in so many ways and you are a deep thinker. One day we were talking about a conversation you had with a friend at school who said he didn't believe in God. He said that digestion of food starts in the fingers and that that truth is written in the Quran. You told him that there are things written in Holy Books that aren't true, but that doesn't mean there is no God. The more I thought about what you said the more I found it so deeply profound. What you said so simply and in such a matter-of-fact way and at such a young age has taken me years to grasp. I think that you still aren't sure exactly what to think about God, but I realize that, neither am I. What I also love about you is that you really think about things, your mind is searching, and you aren't afraid to believe differently than those around you. You have no idea how rare and precious and wonderful that is.

I sometimes find it hard to connect with you because I can't keep up with you in sports anymore. You are growing so strong and coordinated. You and Papa like playing basketball and volleyball and ping-pong together. But you and I still find ways to spend time together. Last Friday night we went to Osteria for supper, just the two of us. I loved it so much! We had great conversation and talked about all sorts of things. You are doing well in school and planning ways to keep up your school work when we are in the States for three months. I read one of your English papers last weekend and I was so impressed... your writing has improved so much. You work very hard in school and it shows.

Last weekend you invited Lucas's son, James, over to spend time with you and Ismael. You are always thinking of others and going out of your way to make someone else feel special or included. I love that about you, so very much. There is so much to be proud of... I could go on and on. I love you so very much!

5 September 2017

You turned 5 on August 23. I can't believe it. I missed your birthday because I had to fly home for Grandma's funeral, so we celebrated early, on the 22nd. You didn't seem to notice the difference. When I wished you a happy birthday over the phone on the 23rd you said, "But my birthday was yesterday!" You are 42in/172cm tall. You are beautiful and perfect. You woke up early and I gave you your birthday puzzle which you immediately did. You are so good at puzzles. We had given you a bike for your birthday a few days earlier, so that was your big present. We took you to Bar Bar with the family for breakfast, and we bought you some roses. I made you a cake (Christmas cake, but, again, you didn't seem to mind). We had Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First decorations. We played pin the band-aids on the ouchy from Doc McStuffins. You didn't want to get started until Nora got there. Jim and Phyllis came and Nora and her family. We sang "Happy Birthday" and you cut your own cake. You got a new set of colored pencils from Jim and Phyllis and a pink stuffed puppy and stickers and a Cinderella coloring book from the Straders. You had a card from Mimi and a card and necklace from Cindy and a stroller from Mimimo. We all had fun eating cake together, drinking tea, and celebrating you. You had also had a party at school earlier, before the term ended because you wanted to share cake with all your classmates. You wanted soccer ball cup cakes, so I did my best! You also insisted on wearing your princess Fiona dress to school that day.

You say "peejamies" for pajamas. You call Amani "oomani." You love Oscar so much but can't seem to stop calling him "Alex." You used to say "chapa wewe" when you got frustrated with someone. It was cute at first but then we had to put a stop to it. At a church service the minister was talking about the Kenyan and American flag, and you asked Jen, "which flag is mine?... what's the difference?" You think about things very thoroughly and you want to know and understand. You and AJ had balloons and she popped hers, and you immediately gave her yours. You are just now starting to kick the afternoon nap, but you still need it sometimes. Every night before bed we have to do "books and songs and lay." As I'm leaving the room when you are sleeping you always say, "can you bring us some water and check on us?" When you were at Mimimo's house and we were trying to put you to bed the sun was still out because the summer days in America are longer than in Kenya. You said, "but Mimimo, it's not dark!" in your perfect little Kenyan accent!

You are in the Rhino class at school. This is your last year of kindergarten. You are the youngest in your class but you do very well and love your friends. You are a joy.

5 September 2017

Abby Jones, here are some of the adorable things you say:

"hostipal" (hospital)
"bajreen" (Jabreen)
"parking water" (water park)
"njo" (come in Kiswahili)
"You're my special mommy!"
"Let's play two nose two nose" (a game where we put different body parts together such as nose to nose, cheek to cheek, etc.)
"diarrhea" (diary)

I was away from you for 10 days for Grandma's funeral. When I came back, after a day or two you said, "You were gone for a really long time, I missed you so much!" You love to sing "In the jungle" at bed time and you always request it so me, Iddy, and Papa sing it, complete with the part that goes "ah-wheeeeeeeee ah-whee ah-whee a-mumaway." You love that so much. You also love Twinkle, Twinkle and "Bottle of Ketchup."

You are officially in school and I wasn't here for your first day! Papa got you a haircut and had you looking so cute. Your hair was cut really short but it still looks adorable. Those little curls just kill me. Papa said you were hesitant the first day of school but didn't cry. The next week, when I took you for the first time you were hesitant again but still didn't cry. You did some school last term. Just a few days a week with teacher Lorina. You loved her. Now you have teacher Helen. You love her, too. There are just 3 other girls in your class. A Turkish girl, a Kenyan girl, an Italian girl, and you. You go every day until 12. Sometimes when you are feeling shy or cheeky you put your tongue in your lip in front of your teeth. Or you shrug your shoulder on one side. You still love to hold my pinky. And you still love for me to hold you. It was so hard for me to be away from you for so long. I feel like you need extra snuggles from me now. Sometimes you ask me "are you leaving?" as if you are afraid I will go again. Last night Sofi and Sultana watched you and Ruth Michael. They said you kept passing gas in the bed and saying "it wasn't me!" You make me laugh all the time. You look at me with a big smile on your face and make the squeal sound that I make right before I laugh. It gets me every time.

21 July 2017

Iddy, the other day you started telling us some of your memories from when you were young. I think we were all talking about some of the stupid/dangerous things we had done. You said that you used to hop on the back of trucks to ride along and try to hid from the driver. Once they spotted you they would speed up and you had to jump off before they got going too fast! You also said that one time your friend had some cows and he thought it would be fun to put you on the back of one of the bulls. The bull started bucking to get you off and you managed to slide off the back without getting hurt too much.

You have been so sweet, kind, loving, compassionate, and thoughtful lately. You have always been all these things but lately it has been to an even greater extent. Aunt Amanda and Daisy came to visit and you and Daisy got along great and seemed to have so much fun together. You both started looking up card tricks on You Tube and trying to learn them and practice on one of us. Mimimo stayed two weeks longer after Amanda, Daisy, and Bepops left. You and her got to go out just the two of you and went to Osteria and shopping for souvenirs. She said you were so sweet and asked her questions about all the grandkids and kept the conversation going the whole time. You told her all about the cars you are interested in. You love cars! You like to look up cars on my phone so now I get alerts when there is a new sports car released. You also love music and listen to your music while you do the dishes. You have started tennis lessons again and you are a natural. We haven't been reading together as much because school is out and you are staying up later. You like to cook and often help me in the kitchen. You seem so aware of other people's feelings and do not put too much stock in material things. Your phone was stolen two days ago when our house was broken into and you haven't acted down about it at all. You inspire me!

21 July 2017

Ruth-Michael. You finished your "jellyfish" class and next year will be Kindergarten!  I can't believe it.  Here they call it KG3. Mrs Ineke will give you a new animal name for your class. You love school and are so good at it. You are one of the youngest in your class. Your best friend is Joyce, who also has an August birthday so you are very close in age. You name all your dolls "Lilla." You are methodical and detailed in everything you do. June 30, you cut your hair at school and lied to me about it! I noticed your hair was cut in your ponytail and you said you didn't know what happened. Later, I asked your teacher and she told me you had cut it. We talked about lying and I know you will do better. You had no sweets or TV for two days. The sweets thing was hard to stick to because every time I turned around someone was giving you one. Let's hope you learned your lesson anyway!

You are a giver always. You gave Joyce one of your Princess costumes and another child in your class some of your markers because he didn't have any. You are always wanting to give things to others. Sometimes I stop you because I see the worth in holding onto a few things that are special to us but I try to let you give as much as possible. I love that spirit inside you.

You like to have a plan and know the plan. I made you a calendar for the holidays and a list of things we can do and you consult that list every day, marking off the days on the calendar. I am the same way, so I partly do it for myself. When you speak to Kenyans you have a STRONG Kenyan accent. You love to sing and you can be read to for hours and hours. You have such a long attention span.

21 July 2017

Abby Jones, you are so much fun. You love to laugh and make others laugh. You look at me and make a funny face and we laugh and laugh together. You want to be like Kikal and follow her everywhere, doing what she does, and telling stories like she does. You try to talk over her. You love to wear skirts and dresses. You are happy, joyful, full of life. You are not afraid and you love to jump from VERY high places and it scares your mama! You stick your head out the window when we are driving like a dog would and just take it all in, wind and all. You love to run away from the waves as they come crashing into the shore. You always want to hold my hand and sit in my lap and for me to carry you. When I'm done eating dinner you always climb into my lap. You LOVE to play hide and seek. You always talk about Kikal doing things but it is everything that you do (holding her ear while she drinks milk, puckering up when she drinks soda, etc). I asked you if you brushed teeth "in the back?" You responded by singing "in the back yawd." You always hold my pinky but call it my inky. You love to sing "Baby Beluga" and "Down by the Bay." When we say "moose kissing a goose" I laugh and laugh and you love that so much. You love to play "hands up" (heads up). One time there was a picture of a tennis racket and you said, "the thing you use to kill mosquitoes!" When we pass by the hospital you say, "why are the people there?" and I say, "because they are sick," and you say "but what did they do? Did they botted (vomited) or pee-pee or poo-poo?"

"ooz" = use

"wenime" = M&M

first haircut May 31

"I just botted" (vomited)

"That's isgusting!" (disgusting)

"bread with hotel" (Nutella)

"I love this hand! Thank you, God, for Mama's hand!"

"noona" = noodles

"put your nose on my nose"

June 12, You started going to school 3 mornings per week. You love your teacher and you are so happy there.