Mail Time!

We got a package from the Alliance Women in Baltimore. It made us feel really special.
The kids were super excited to open it up and see what was inside. (OK, I was pretty excited, too.)

There were birthday cards for the boys and myself, and Valentines Day cards for all of us. The `cards were all personalized with something we would like. Isabelle's card had felt flowers that she could take off and use, and Caleb's had some animals to color. (Thanks, Megan!)
There were lots of stickers and candy, which we are slowly enjoying. (We have to make it last.)
The package took about 3 months to get to us, but it was in good condition and all of the candy was good. If you have letters or packages on the way, I will be sure to let you know when they arrive. Things have been slow because of problems with the planes here, but that makes things that do come greatly appreciated.

Princess Party

Isabelle decided to have a princess party. We worked together, but she planned most of the things she wanted to do.
She invited all of the other girls and their moms. (Plus Danielle, because she doesn't have any girls.)
The invitations told everyone to dress up in fancy clothes. As you can see people got into the spirit of the party.
We painted fingernails and toenails, did crafts, and had cookies and juice.
Now Caleb has decided he wants an animal party. We will have to come up with something...

Update

We did get resupplied with gas yesterday, and we are now back to cooking on a stove and having a refrigerator.

Our New "Stove"

When I said I wanted a new stove, this wasn't what I had in mind.
We have been out of gas since sometime toward the end of March. For the last 6-7 weeks we have been cooking on a kerosene burner.
It actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I will be glad to go back to using a stove. It's more work, and it's inconvenient because you can only cook one thing at a time.
I haven't been able to make bread during this time either, except for a couple of times in an outdoor wood oven.
The gas for our refrigerator lasted until last Monday. We have only had about a week without a refrigerator.
There is good news, too. The gas is here now, and this afternoon we should have things workign again.
Our real new stove came at the end of last week. Once the gas is here and hooked up, we will be using a 6 burner stove.
But we'll keep the kerosene burner just in case.

Animals

All over town there are sheep and goats. The look the same except that one has a tail pointing up and the other a tail pointing down. I can never remember which is which.
We have to be careful while riding bikes not to hit them. It can be a little tricky at times.
The cat is Dash's replacement. He was gone when we got back from Brazzaville, but the Harvey's had another batch of kittens. This one is named Coyote Jack, and he likes to climb on the burglar bars just like dash did.
Caleb says that he likes him better than Dash. He loves to be around the kids, and follows them around when they are outside.

A Typical Morning

I've begun to realize that there is no such thing as a typical morning here. My goal is to do school from 8:00-11:00 AM with a 30 minute recess at 9:00.
This morning started a little slow. Last night, we were at a friend's house for Bible Study, and got to bed a little late.
Mama Melanie (the lady who does our laundry) came about 8:00, and we started school about 15 minutes later. After that, many things seemed to happen this morning. Thank goodness Stephen (finally) had a day off!

- Our stove was out of butane, and there were no more tanks in the storage shed. I had to make a couple of phone calls to try to figure out if we could get one. (We couldn't.) Then when our cook and her assistant came, I got to explain it all in French (along with trying to figure out how many people would show up for lunch today- 9 adults and three children.)
- Coyote Jack (our cat) got locked in one of the sheds close to our house, and I had trouble opening the door. Stephen was able to get him out.
-Caleb discovered that he had a huge cockroach in his chair. I'm glad Stephen was here to handle that excitement.
- Two young women showed up looking for "Mama Ginny." I don't think they spoke French, but maybe they were shy. Mama Melanie speaks some French, so she helped me figure out what they wanted. After calling Ginny to come to our house, she realized (with Mama Melanie's help) that they were looking for jobs cleaning, but we had no openings. Ginny went back to praying with patients and I went back to school.
-Our water went off.
-On top of all of that, a NGO is using the chapel for some training. They seem to be taking more breaks than anything else, so they are milling about or sitting under trees all around. (Not that they are bothering us, but it is one more distraction.)


Finally, it was 10:00, and we decided to give up on math, and take a break for our "petite party." I bought Coke and Fanta Orange to celebrate Stephen's first day off in a couple of weeks. We shared it with the three ladies working, and had some time just to talk together.
And then, of course, recess. Maybe the rest of the day will be normal and boring. . . . .

Update

Isabelle picked out this cloth while we were at the market one day. Ciska (our cook) made the outfit for her. She only charged about $4. The wrap type skirt is what women wear here most of the time.

It has been awhile since I posted. We have been doing well lately, just busy. We enjoyed our trip to Brazzaville, but it was a little longer than we had planned due to airline issues. We returned Sunday, March 7, and Stephen went back to work that afternoon & evening.
He started call the next day, and has been on call all but three days since then. (Dr. Harvey had an unexpected but necessary trip to Brazzaville. He should return today, and Stephen will have a bit of a break.)
The rest of us are doing well, just busy catching up on things after being gone, plus the usual- I'll spare you the boring details.e to
It hasn't all been work. We've had some time to play, too. I hope to post some of our recent pictures this weekend. :)
I seem to have caught a cold, and my throat is too scratchy to do all of school today. I'm letting the kids watch a movie, while I try to catch up on a few other things. (like blogging.)