Greetings, all-
My monthly updates are becoming less than monthly, but we’re thinking of everyone at home.
We asked and were approved for a third year here in Nairobi, so we’ll be here until fall of 2010. Anyone thinking about a safari has another year to play with.
We had a group of musicians over for a lunch in mid-April, combining work and play. The group is comprised of several Somalis who sing with the goal of promoting peace and reconciliation in Somalia. The group of us who work on Somalia at the Embassy had invited them for lunch, but they brought their keyboard and performed for us. Mark, Jr. and Chris are pictured here dancing with the group as they performed.
Annette has taught the boys to say, “Utter chaos!” when I ask them how their days went. Because our house wasn’t sufficiently chaotic, we added a three-month-old black lab puppy about a month ago. We had been thinking about a dog for quite a while, and the time seemed right. We allowed the boys to name him, so he’s Clifford, after one of their favorite stories (not to be confused with Clifford the Big Red Dog, for those of you not familiar with kids’ books). Little Mark had wanted “Big Crazy Monster” and “Little Big Puppy Dog”, but we arrived at Clifford. The pup is settling in well. Chris is getting along with him after some initial fear, having only known guard dogs before. Mark, Jr. is emulating the obedience trainer, and doing a great job of it. Luke and the pup seem to have a real special relationship. Luke flops on the dog each time they meet, and the pup tolerates it without a complaint, oftentimes squirming out and flopping back on top of Luke. The material we read before we got the dog said to (very carefully) monitor the kids while they interfere with the dog’s eating, to train the dog not to bite the kids. Luke pre-empted all that by diving right into the food and water bowls, as you’ll see here.
Annette had her birthday on May 24, and the kids got her a chauffeur hat., as you’ll see in the photo. We did breakfast in bed, which the boys think is a real treat. We made Annette’s favorite cake, and the boys spent more time plotting how to get more cake than they have on their schoolwork all year. We told Chris his birthday is the next one out of the five of us (it’s in August), so he asks daily when his ‘Happy Birthday” is.
We also had a playhouse built for the kids. Annette and I designed it, and a local carpenter did the work. They boys seem happy with it, and they’ve had friends over several times to show it off. You’ll see a photo here. The ‘big boys’ – Chris and Little Mark – picked the colors. In my continuing wisdom and to save a few bucks, we decided to paint it ourselves. Annette and I spent a few long days and nights outside, getting covered in paint and wondering why we didn’t pay the carpenter to paint it. There’s a ramp on one side for Luke and Clifford, though Clifford isn’t very interested in it, yet. Luke found out how well the slide works when he sat on it the other day while wearing a windsuit – he zipped down and shot right off the end with his legs straight up in the air. There’s a second floor on the big tower at the back of this photo; Chris spent several hours per day up there when we fist got Clifford, trying to avoid the pup. It seems to have turned out well, though.
The boys are doing well in school. We got their art portfolios at the end of the last term. Folks have been asking how Chris is fitting in here. We had a nice answer when we pulled out one of Christopher’s “Weekend Report” (the kids paint a picture every Monday to show what they did over the weekend) and Chris had said, as dictated to his teacher, “I stayed home and played with my brothers.” I had a day off last week, and the boys wanted to ride their “big boy bikes” to school. Annette took a photo when we got back. Luke tried to ride his push-tricycle out behind us. He’s ready to be a big boy.
The kids are all getting into music. Little Mark asked Annette to put on ‘The Bumblebees; the other day in the car. Annette said, “Bumblebees?” Mark said, “Yes. They sing “Help, I need somebody, help…” Paul and Ringo, apparently.
Finally, and since we don't have enough chaos around here, there another Zimmer on the way, due around Christmas. We're excited, and glad we bought the big SUV when we arrived here.
We hope everyone is well.
Mark
