Joy waving

Folks-

Here's Joy doing her latest trick. Let us know if you can view the video.

All's well here. The boys are studying hard in school, and Joy is getting more and more independent/certain about what she wants/obstinate.

Mark

Happy 2010

Greetings, all-

We (I) have failed to update this blog for about six months, but I'm going to try and revitalize the updates. I'm one of the least patient with excuses, so I won't offer any. At the same time, we just got new Internet service at the house in Nairobi, so I hope to carve out some time on a more frequent basis to update you all. In the meantime, here's an effort to capture some of our events in the last six months, in two sentences or less, doing justice to none of them:

- First and foremost, though out of chronological sequence, is that the Kenyan courts approved Christopher's adoption the day after Thanksgiving. Nearly two years of waiting and many nights of lost sleep were paid back with the knowledge that we did this right, and Chris will set foot on American soil at some point in the near future with no fear that we ever cut corners to get him there (picture of the celebration is attached; the kids have grape juice).
- Chris had his birthday party in August to celebrate turning 5. Rather than accept presents, he had his guests bring baby formula for The Nest, where he spent his first three years; the pyramid of formula cans in our hallway was a sight to see.
- Annette, Mark Jr, and Joy took an R&R in July (Big Mark, Luke, and Chris remained in Nairobi since Chris couldn't travel), and got to spend some great time with the in-laws, out-laws, and several old (by length of acquaintance, not age) and dear friends. to include the Daut's and Kyser's. Annette came back with lots of great stories about Mark not being familiar with the U.S., asking at gas stations if they had to verify whether or not they actually had "petrol" for sale (never certain in Kenya).
- Luke and I (Annette, Little Mark and Joy remained in Nairobi with Chris) took an R&R in September, centering our trip around weddings in Story, Wyoming (my cousin Gillian) and Los Angeles (my cousin Shannon). We were grateful for celebratory occasions to gather everyone and got to see lots of family, and enjoyed some great time with Grandma and Grandpa Zimmer, traveling though several states between Wyoming and California (ask Annette sometime about my telling her that the $9.95 prime rib deal trumped the resistance to taking Luke to Hooter's in Vegas).
- Annette joined me in Washington for three nights (plus two sitting on airplanes) in October when I went back for work. It was the first time in two years for us to leave Kenya together, and we're grateful for many folks who kept eyes on the kids while we were both out of country.
- Grandma and Grandpa Zimmer came to Nairobi for most of November, and we all had a fantastic time Big Mark remains amazed at how grandchildren get away with things that would have been clearly forbidden when Mark and Thad were growing up.
- Little Mark turned 5 in November. He chose to have his friends the Marcineks go play mini-golf with him along with Grandpa Zimmer, followed by some pizza for lunch.
- Joy turned 1 on December 10, 2009. She had a great birthday party at play group -- her mom made a VERY pink cake -- and we had a family party over dinner that evening so Luke could be part of it since he was sick.
- Luke turned 3 on December 12, 2009 He chose to have his buddies from the Marcinek family over for some time in the mini pool and then lunch.
- Our dear friends the Marchants, currently serving at the embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, came to visit us for Christmas. Let me tell you, Christmas with seven kids is even more magical than Christmas with four.
- Luke decided on about January 10, 2010 that he's ready to be potty-trained. This comes after Annette ordered about $150 worth of diapers via the Internet on January 9, 2010.
- Annette spent a couple of nights in the hospital last week while the docs worked to diagnose some unknown ailment. Big Mark was reminded that tending four wonderful kids is far more taxing than any paid work.
- Joy remains adamant in her refusal to walk, but we figure it may have something to do with three big brothers who carry her anywhere she wants to go.
- The three boys started school again this Wednesday, after being delayed from Monday due to the school being flooded out by unusually long rains.
- Annette claims Joy has Big Mark wrapped firmly around her little finger. Joy just deleted half of this message after I had already written most of it, but she blew me a kiss with her big blue eyes and curly blonde locks, so I guess we'll let it slide this time.
- Chris has lost three teeth, and has figured out that this Tooth Fairy operation can be lucrative. Shouldn't be long before he and the other two stooges start trying to knock each others' teeth out on purpose.
- We got our next posting, and will be arriving in Taipei, Taiwan for four years starting in summer 2011. We'll leave here in summer 2010 and I'll have Mandarin Chinese language training in Arlington, VA for about 11 months between Nairobi and Taipei.

Happy New Year and our best for 2010,
Mark & co.