bright eyes + blue eyes

Good Morning, Teacher!

This is what you’re bound to hear if you walk around in Mupudi [I decided to create a fake name for the place where we live. If you know me, I’ll gladly tell you where exactly I live. If you don’t know me, then I am fine with keeping it general…I’m sure you’re nice, but just in case…]

Anyway, back to Mupudi, the “town where I live”.

If you walk around Mupudi and you’re white, you stick out.  In a good way.  Most of the time. People notice you and generally want to know who you are and what you are doing. 

A few times a week we go for an afternoon walk, and we always pass by groups of children.  Usually, when the kids see us, they stop playing and look at us.  A brave child says, “Shikamo” in a quiet, sincere voice.  That’s the word to show respect to older/more important people.  We respond, “Marahaba”, meaning that we are pleased to accept the respect.  The rest of the children let loose a chorus of Shikamos. 

We continue with our walk, and then we hear a little voice behind us saying, “Good morning, teacher!”  That’s the cheeky, gutsy child, who is trying to live out his respect by greeting us in English.

“Good morning, teacher” or “Good morning, madam” -- That’s what kids in Mupudi associate with English greetings.  How cute is that?  At least we can guess pretty reliably the time of the school day when the English lesson takes place!  

Shelter in the Storm

We had a mega storm last night.  I want to tell you about it.

Our power was out, and after finishing two episodes of The Unit, it was late enough to allow ourselves to go to sleep.  As I was laying in bed, I kept seeing flickers outside the windows and thought it was our outside lights coming on.  (We have fluorescent light fixtures, and they flicker a few times when turned on.)  After about ten times of “the power trying to come back”, I realized that the flickering was actually lightening. It’s been miserably hot, so I assumed it was heat lightening.

I drifted off and woke up a bit later to gigantic, powerful thunderclaps.  The rain started slowly and then became an absolute torrent with unrelenting thunder and lightening.  It was the kind of storm that allows no space for sleep.  We got up for a while to look out the windows.  After getting back in bed, I laid there and listened to the storm and thought about all the people here who live under palm-thatched or grass roofs. 

Allegedly, palm thatching is pretty good at keeping the rain out, but I have no first-hand experience to support that idea.  I’m skeptical that it would keep things dry in a downpour.

The worst must be grass roofs.  The grass roofs are pretty much made by bundling dried grass and stacking the bundles on a roof frame made of sticks.  I’d say about 50% of my neighbors have grass roofs.  And we live in town. Villages are poorer, so there’s a greater proportion of grass roofs there.  A house with a grass roof gets completely soaked during a rain like we had last night. It’s many families’ ambition to save enough money to buy corrugated metal for a roof, but the metal sheets are relatively expensive, so it becomes an intergenerational family goal.  In the intervening years, people and their meager possessions get drenched in every storm.

I am left with a lot of complicated thoughts and feelings when I consider how many kind, generous, hardworking people have such inferior roofs over their heads.  I really don’t think that their homes give a real sense of providing shelter from the storm.

Spend a minute today to thank God for the shelter you have. And pray for wisdom about how to help those who have inadequate shelter.

Stille Nacht

We’ve had a lot of silent nights around here lately.  Not even a fan stirring [to our great dismay!] Something’s wrong with our town’s generator again, so we’re on extremely erratic, low-use energy consumption.  Today I made the freezer-fridge flip in my mind.  If our power supply is bad enough, then our freezer basically takes on the function of the fridge, and keeps a few essential things “cool enough”, which is never ideal in terms of food safety.  The fridge basically becomes an extra cabinet.

I’m tagging on to Abbie’s post about Christmas music.  I love Christmas music, too, but this year and last, I’ve not listened to much.  Celebrating Christmas season in the tropics is kind of strange. This year, I decided I needed to sort through my Christmas music and take out all of the songs referencing winter wonderlands, snowmen, or cozy fireplaces.  Believe me, sitting in front of a crackling fire would be pretty torturous in this heat.  So with my “winter songs removed” playlist, I can use music to help me reflect on Jesus' birth without the ridiculous weather juxtapositions.

I just got the Red Mountain Music Christmas CD, Silent Night, which is great in my current circumstance, because it’s religious songs only.

Another song that I’ve had on repeat is “Bist du bei mir”. I don’t think it’s exactly a Christmas song [and Wikipedia agrees], but I first encountered the song in a Christmas movie.  If you have never seen Joyeux Noël, you should watch it.  It’s not exactly lighthearted, but it’s a beautiful story.

Actually, now that I think about it, that’s something I miss: artsy / foreign films.  With our power problems, I watch plenty of DVDs, but they’re almost all mainstream blockbusters.  That’s nice enough, but I’ll have so many complex, subtitled films to catch up on some day!

twelve songs of christmas

We bought our Christmas tree today and will decorate it tomorrow. After we got the tree situated in the tree stand, Pumpkin ran off to draw a picture. She emerged shortely thereafter with this drawing, which she presented to her Daddy:

That's Hunter, down under the tree, with his hand turning one of the screws on the tree stand. The rest of us are holding the tree steady while he works.

It cracks me up because Hunter, in this drawing, is about a fourth of the size of the rest of us. (And can you tell that he's on his stomach, holding himself up with one hand while he uses the other hand to adjust the stand? That's exactly how he was positioned--I loved her attention to that detail.)

When we were bringing the tree in, I had made some comment about how thankful I was for our big, strong Daddy who could get the tree down off the top of the car & bring it in to set it up. I think that after hearing me say that, Pumpkin thought that a little thanks was in order. She really made me smile.

* * * *

I'm so, so happy to be in Christmas music mode at the moment. I enjoy Christmas music so much and force myself to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to begin listening.

Here are twelve of our favorite Christmas songs:

(Not necessarily our very, very favorites, but definitely ones that we listen to a lot.)

(Links direct you to iTunes)

(1) In The Bleak Midwinter, James Taylor: Fond memories of singing this with my family.

(2) Emmanuel, God With Us, Amy Grant: When my brother Joe was one year old, I was 16 yrs old. We started an annual tradition with this song. We would dance to this song together in the living room, and I would spin him around every time she sings "Emmanuel."

(3) The 12 Days of Christmas, Straight No Chaser: Discovered this song last Christmas and was amazed by their talent. And by their sense of humor.

(4) All I Want for Christmas is You, Mariah Carey: Fun to dance to. 

(5) Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming, Sufjan Stevens: Soft & slow...great for reflection. The incarnation is so shocking when I really stop to think about it. "Isaiah t'was foretold it."

(6) Sleigh Ride, Squirrel Nut Zippers: Peppy & fun. This might be my favorite version of Sleigh Ride ever. 

(7)  Baby It's Cold Outside, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors: We love their Christmas CD so much & this is one of our favorite tracks. They just released a video for this song--woo hoo! Love it, Drew & Ellie!

(8) For Unto Us a Child is Born, Handel's Messiah: A Christmas necessity. Gorgeous. (best part: "And His name shalle be call-ed" wait for it...."Wonderful! Counselor!....")

(9) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald: Old school. We have so much fun listening to this one. (best part: "Is it Herman? No! Is it Sherman? Is it Eddie? Is it Freddie? No, no, no no!) 

(10) Song For a Winter's Night, Sarah McLachlan: This entire CD is really beautiful, but this is my favorite song on it. The children and I first listened to this song on a snowy night when we were drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow fall. (great lyrics for a cozy moment like that.) I always remember that night fondly, thanks to this song.

(11) Silent Night, Johnny Cash: What a great voice. This rendition of Silent Night is so peaceful--it's like a lullaby.

(12) White is in the Winter Night, Enya: I love Enya & I am fascinated by her. (All of the vocals are sung by Enya and then layered together--isn't that interesting?) This song is so festive. Perfect background music for decorating the Christmas tree.

* * * *

I'd love for you to leave me a comment with the names of one or two of your favorite Christmas songs. (I'm serious--we love to add some fresh, new songs to our collection each year.)

If you're bashful, as some of you tens of readers are, feel free to leave an anonymous comment. Bashful people have great song recommendations too, right? 

 

moon over china

Just a quick picture post.

Will be back tomorrow with a "real" post.

Happy weekend!
 

africa in orlando

Ellie, as I mentioned to you, Disney's Animal Kingdom Park (one of the four Disney Parks) has an entire region called "Africa."

While we were in "Africa," we though of you & H so many times!

I was really intrigued by the way that section was designed. In the Magic Kingdom, all of the buildings, signage, rides, etc. are shiny & bright. Everything is polished and clean.

In Africa, the buildings had visible tangles of electricity wires at their corners (probably not actually functional--I'm sure they're just props)...the buildings were cracked and peeling...and the signs looked old, torn, and dusty.

Bravo, Disney people--I think you did a great job.

 

 

As I was walking along the pathway, I even saw a big junk pile hidden up in the trees to my right. It wasn't part of any ride or attraction--just part of the staging.

Also, there were all sorts of items strapped to the top of each vehicle used in the Africa attractions. This was the train that took us up to the "Affection Section." (which is the petting zoo area.)

(I should've stopped a Disney employee and told him that, to be more authentic, they should really wedge a bookshelf into our train car with us. And maybe a few live animals. And maybe strap a couch onto the top of the train car along with the other stuff.)

There were definitely still a few clues that we were really in Orlando, Florida rather than in an Eastern African country. (Ice cream, anyone? Will that be Visa or Mastercard?)

 

now that's a name you don't hear every day

Superboy is taking a gymnastics class at our county recreation center.

The session is 10 weeks long.

His class meets once a week.

In his class are about 8 other boys; they're all between 6 and 8 yrs old.

We don't know anyone else in the class. (i.e., Superboy isn't taking the class with a friend or anything.)

Superboy's coach is Russian & has a very thick accent.

Sometimes I can't understand what the coach is saying.

Superboy seems to be able to understand him just fine.

This week, after class, Superboy came over to where I was sitting and told me that he's becoming great friends with one of the other boys.

I asked what the boy's name was.

"Veal."

Did I hear that right?

"Can you say that again...? What is his name?"

"Veal."

Okay.

I asked for Superboy to point out his friend, which he did. We made our way over to them so I could say hi to the mom and meet Veal the Gymnast.

As the mom & I shook hands, she told me that "Will is really enjoying this class."

Will??

(Can you guess what had happened? Superboy only knows the names of the other little boys because the coach calls out the names of the boys during class.)

ha!
 

goodbye, kirsten...i always loved your saint lucia gown & wreath

1. Neti Pot to the Rescue (or at least a Neti Pot cousin): Superboy has had a strange on-again-off-again involuntary habit over the past few years. Every few months he starts clearing his throat 100 times a day (yes, that is a slight exaggeration.) Anyway, we've tried to figure out what's going on several different times. And then, just when we start to draw some conclusions, he stops doing it completely. He had a few other symptoms which made us wonder if he had mild asthma, but after visiting a specialist, that was ruled out. Most recently, we had allergy testing done, only to find out that he has no seasonal allergies. The allergist was very helpful, however. She strongly suspected that the problem is a simple post-nasal drip. (For the first time, I felt like we had really gotten to the heart of the issue. What she said made so much sense. Throat clearing during the day & coughing fits at night {when he is supine} suddenly made perfect sense, given what was going on in his little body. Duh. Now I actually I wonder why it took us this long to figure it out.) The bottom line is: He now has a prescription nasal spray (to use for the short term) and a nifty over the counter sinus rinse system (to use indefinitely.) We've seen great results already. I'm so thankful! (and so is he!) Pumpkin thinks the sinus rinse is the coolest thing ever. She wants to do it, too. I told her that when she gets a bit older she can get her own little kit.

2. Tres Yummy: I made this cake the other day and it is dee-lish-us: The Pioneer Woman's Tres Leches Cake.  Actually, I thought it tasted even better the next day. (I refrigerated it the whole time.) Next time, I'll make it a day before the event. Nannie, it made me think of this ice cream that you've served before (although there is no caramel in the cake.) Yum. If you've never browsed through PW's recipes, you should. Her photographs are beautiful. And she has such a funny way of sharing such basic instructions. If you have a favorite recipe of hers, please let me know. I'd love to have input about what to try next.

3. Breaking News in the American Girl World: Pumpkin does not have an American Girl doll yet, but I think when she's a little bit older, she'll really get a kick out of choosing one & starting a little collection. (We visited the American Girl bistro earlier this year, and Aunt CB treated her to an adorable mini Kit.) Anyway, we do get the catalog in the mail occasionally, and as I was leafing through it the other day, I noticed that Kirsten is about to be retired. (sad!!! Joanna, when I read that they would no longer be selling Kirsten, I immediately thought of you!...Ellie, they have already retired Samantha. Also sad!!) When I was a little girl, I had Molly, my sister had Samantha, and my dear friend Joanna had Kirsten (which was such a perfect choice for Joanna, given her family's Swedish heritage.) Those happened to be the first three dolls which were produced (and which were sold beginning in 1986. I was 10. Back then, 10 year olds {not just me} played with cute dolls--not hideous Bratz. Oops...Pardon me, I believe my opinions are showing.) So here's my question...why would they retire two of the original three dolls? Is that something that regularly happens in the doll collecting world? Is it a marketing thing to boost sales? I did notice that Kirsten is completely sold out. Hmmm. I wish they would just keep them all going, but what do I know? (sidenote: Aunt Ellie, you should know...Pumpkin's favorite thing to play with at Ging's house is Molly + Samantha + their accessories. I think her very, very favorite is the golden flatware and glass dishes that were part of Samantha's "Victorian Lemonade Set." {can be seen here...scroll down...Do you remember playing with those??})

4. The Bowheads vs. The Tigers: When I was in junior high, I was on a girls' softball team. The name of our team was the Bowheads. We wore big bows on our pony-tails. Ahhh, memories. {Sort of related to that....} I was in need of some new bows for Pumpkin a few weeks ago. I had stretched our bow inventory over a period of YEARS and, let me tell you, they were starting to look pretty pitiful. I browsed around on Etsy and found this item, which I decided to order. ($2.45 per bow...not bad!) Pumpkin happened to be with me when the little box came in the mail with her bows inside. The seller included little clear heart-shaped confetti and a few tootsie rolls along with the bows. You would've thought Pumpkin had found the last golden ticket in a Wonka bar. Now I know another way to truly delight my daughter. Mail her a box that has something in it along with tootsie rolls and heart-shaped confetti! (Brooklyn0326, you just earned yourself a little 5yr old girl who wants to be your customer for life.)

5. I Love to Hear Little People Singing: We went to Superboy's school Christmas pageant tonight. I love, love, loved it. There were a few songs that I absolutely adored. Here's a verse from one of my favorites. (see below) I don't remember ever hearing this one before. The tune is the same as "Morning Has Broken," which made me think of my mother (And, Mom, I also thought of that audio tape we have of you from years ago...The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains.) The author of these beautiful words is Margaret Clarkson. I looked her up, and now I want to read her book. (And her other books, too.) This hymn is going to be worked in to our family favorites:

God of the Ages

"God Of The Ages" Clarkson, E. Margaret © 1982 Christianity Today. Assigned to Hope Publishing Company CCLI License No. 2005306

(I)

God of the ages, History's Maker,

Planning our pathway, Holding us fast.

Shaping in mercy all that concerns us,

Father, we praise You, Lord of the past.

(IV)

Lord of past ages, Lord of this morning,

Lord of the future, Help us we pray.

Teach us to trust You, love and obey You,

Crown You each moment Lord of today.

 

disneyworld: veni, vidi, vici

We've just returned from the sunny land of mouse ears and princess castles. I'm hoping to make a little family scrapbook of our trip & I plan to do a little of my recollections here on the blog in future posts. Easy to print out & include in my book.

Hunter and I have considered taking this trip for the past few years. Honestly, we aren't really "disney people" (...and from my pre-trip research, I have discovered that those people do definitely exist...there are a whole slew of people who ARE fanatical about Disneyworld.) We didn't actually know very much about the parks until our pre-trip reading. However, despite our lukewarm enthusiasm, we decided a while back that we'd like to take our children at least once when they were in elementary school.

Much to my surprise (and Hunter feels the same way), Disneyworld really IS a pretty magical place. We were comparing notes as we traveled back home the other day. We agreed that on a scale of one to ten, this vacation was a 25. A smashing sucess. 

Now I'm back at home. I'm almost completely unpacked. Still two more loads of laundry to do. 

The children are about to be in bed for the night. I'm looking forward to sitting down with a hot cup of tea & reading about my sister's safari adventures. 

* * * * *

Pumpkin said the funniest thing the other day. Last week, she had a little infected cut on her arm. Since GPoppa (my daddy) was with us, I showed it to him to see his level of concern about it. (Ellie, Robert, Joe...any guesses? Mild concern? or "Drop Everything" concern? Would you be surprised if I told you that he asked me if I had ten pennies? ha ha--he didn't say that. Just kidding.)

Anyway, GPoppa said that it would be fine, but we should "put some alcohol on it."

A few days later, I was keeping tabs on the cut. I held her arm & stared at the cut. We were still on vacation and I didn't have access to my regular medicine cabinet. I was contemplating whether or not we should find a walgreens to get some neosporin or something. Or maybe it could just wait until we got home.

Pumpkin must've been thinking about what she'd heard her grandfather say....she looked up at me & said, in a very serious tone, "Mommy, please don't put any of that beer stuff on it." 
 

Tarangire

Our final stop on the safari was Tarangire National Park.  It was a low-key, entirely pleasant ending to our trip. 

To continue with our African  Roll Call, we saw:

                                    

The animal highlights were watching a leopard survey the marsh and seeing a mama cheetah with her babies.

 

 

 

I loved the elephants and the baobab trees at Tarangire.  Baobab trees have a lot of lore about them.  They’re very unique trees.  They have no leaves for nine months of the year.  We happened to be there when most of the trees were in bloom.  But we also have similar baobab trees in the south, so I know that the trees look very different with/without leaves.  The tree trunks are hollow, and during the dry season, elephants strip the bark off the trees to gnaw on the bark’s moisture.  Eventually, they can tear a hole in the tree, which looks pretty cool.

 

 

Lots of elephants were sprinkled throughout the park.  We also saw several large herds of elephants at a marsh in Tarangire. I bet there were more than a hundred. I was really fascinated by the elephants and think I might have missed my calling as an elephant researcher.

 

Without question the best part of Tarangire (and the whole six day safari) was the spending it with great people!  H and I had such a good time with my dad and are so happy that he was able to come!