28 March 2019

Ruth Michael, first grade has been an interesting year for you. You did your first term at Light Academy, and you did really well. You even got an award for excellence in reading. It was a struggle for you, and many mornings we left you at school in tears, but you made it through. My heart was so very sad to see you that way! We decided not to send you back to school in the spring and hired Quinter to come and teach you at home. She is wonderful, and you love each other. She is patient and kind with you. We struggle to motivate you, because you would always rather play or tell stories, but I try to help by finding science experiments for you to do online, or some kind of craft. You are much happier than you used to be... like you are back to your old, happy self. You LOVE your friends at the apartment. When we told you we were leaving, you put your head down in between your knees and sobbed. AJ observed you and then copied you exactly. It broke my heart. You draw pictures of you, Dina, Naomi, Abby-Jones, Nora, JJ, Cooper, and Graham, and you label it "my best friends." Young and old, you love them all. You LOVE to hold Graham. You and Dina play so well together. Sometimes you have disagreements, but the next day you are right back to being best friends.

You call sewage "sea wedge," which is a word we have to use a lot because we can always smell it. Yesterday someone had brought over a lawn mower to mow the grass, which has never happened before. You were really puzzled by the sound, but you loved the smell. I think it was the first time you had ever smelled freshly cut grass.

You told me once that you knew the "f" word. I asked you what it was and you said, "fart."

You made some funny observations when we were in the States this last time. When you saw all the dishes in the dishwasher at Aunt Cindy's house you asked why Aunt Cindy put all the dishes in the oven! For Christmas, Mimimo and Beepops set up a treasure hunt for all the grandkids. Your part was to sing the Kenyan National Anthem in Swahili, which you did perfectly. Then you each got $30 (wow!) to spend at target. You picked out some Woodzeez and a little Barbie girl. Afterwards I asked you if you felt good about what you got. You said that you did, but you didn't get exactly what you wanted. When I asked you what that was you paused for a moment and then said, "well, everything in the store!" I know the feeling!!! You lamented that AJ got to have a birthday party in the States. It really hit you this year that birthdays in America look a lot different than birthdays in Kenya. This year, you will get one, too!

Quinter is teaching you the pledge of allegiance, which you will need to know next year in an American school. All of our hearts are grieving a little bit at the thought of the transition that lies ahead, but you are gonna do awesome. Last night we prayed for you to find a really good friend in America. I can't wait to meet her!

28 March 2019

Iddy, you are almost done with Light Academy, and you have been working so hard on your studies. Sometimes I help you with math in the evenings. Lately you have been working with our neighbor, Brian, who loves math. You are really good at anything involving something you can actually see, like geometry or spacial reasoning. On school nights we read together. Right now we are reading Michelle Obama's book, "Becoming." We are listening to it on audio. It's fun to hear it read in her own voice. Both her and Barak Obama are great examples of not letting your past dictate your future. They are people that live by hope, with a desire to change the world for the better, and a belief that each person can make a difference. I see these values so much in you, too.

We have really read quite a few books together now:

2 books from the Chronicles of Nick series
Dorothy Must Die
5 books from the Chronicles of Narnia series
(then I finally caught on to the fact that fantasy is not your thing)
Bruchko (we both loved this one)
Born a Crime (our favorite)
The Giver
Of Mice and Men
Impossible Odds

You still wash the dishes for us so faithfully every night, but you really want someone to be in there with you. Sometimes I dry the dishes while you wash so that you don't have to do it alone. You like to turn on your music while you wash. You also always ask if I need help when I am cooking dinner.

You took a trip to Kisumu in February to see your mom and brothers and Israel. I think it was a good trip for you, but it is also hard for you to navigate the needs of your family and how much they rely on you. I know that when you get older and have a job you will find the right way to help them. You are especially concerned for your little brother, Gift, and want to make sure that he is taken care of.

You and Papa are so incredibly close. When he is down, you know it immediately, and you have a hard time being happy if he isn't. You play basketball together in the evenings, and often stay up late talking at night. You like to be with him, and you absorb a lot of the things that he says. I think that he has shaped you in so many ways, but mostly just in the way that you observe him serving and loving others.