Nonnie Arrives

Last Sunday Chad and his mom finally arrived! I took pictures of Graham spotting his Nonnie for the first time in 9 months and giving her a big hug. He then proceeded to give her a guided tour of our yard and house. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Silouette Portrait

My friends Jill, Joy, and I went in together to buy a silhouette portrait. It's an electronic cutting tool, kind of like a cricut. I have been playing around with it this past week, and having way too much fun! All the silhouette online designs have been 50% off this week, which has made it extra fun.

I made some stuff for Graham's birthday:

And some stuff just for fun:

A princess crown that Molly has almost destroyed.

I can't wait to stock up on fun paper and vinyl (wall decals!) when I am stateside this summer.

When Daddy's Away

Well, so far we've survived! Our two weeks without husband and father are almost over. It's been tough, I think that the first three days were honestly the hardest. And now on Sunday Chad will be home and he is bringing his mom. We are SO EXCITED to have our first family member visit! Here's a bit of we've been up to:

Rainy season is finally here! The seasons literally changed overnight. One day it was oppressively hot and dry (as it had been the last several weeks) and the next day we woke up to a cloudy sky and thunder. The cool weather and rain have really been a relief. However, rainy days don't make great pool days. So this past Tuesday instead of having a pool day as planned, we had all our friends over to watch a movie and eat popcorn.

We are getting ready for a "Thomas the Train" themed 4th birthday party. We are going to do his party a tad early so that his Nonnie can be there.

We have continued to work on preschool.

Molly has been everywhere and into everything! She is obsessed with walking. Here she is sucking on a mango pit and getting into a tub of margarine (big mess!)

When it was still hot, we tried to beat the heat in any way we could! I found this inflatable pool in one of our grocery stores.

I hosted "game night" one night. We had crepes in honor of Britain's National Pancake Day (pancakes are crepes there). We have several British friends here in Mbale. We had so much fun!

I don't think I could have gotten through this time without my wonderful friends. My friend Jill let me use her van the whole time, so that I was never stranded without a car. My friend Natalie came and stayed with us for 5 days (after that two stateside LIU workers have been staying with us). God has provided in every way. But I sure am looking forward to having a little help with the kids!

Random Thoughts

• Do you want to know what the African dry season is like? It's dusty! The leaves on the trees and bushes are brown...with dust. And it's hot. We have been suffering this past week, praying the rain returns soon.
• There is a small church right behind our compound. Their worship on Sundays is LONG and to our American ears....awful. Their synthesizer and song leaders are at full volume and rarely on key for hours. But each Sunday I smile to remember that God hears the devotion in their hearts the same as ours, and is pleased.
• When I know we're about to have a lot of company, like tonight, I have to focus for a few days on making as much filtered water as I can, or else we have to buy some. I'm learning to think ahead.
• My 15 month old is wearing size 2T and can climb on almost any surface in our house. How did she get so big?!
• Chad is leaving tomorrow for the states. He'll be gone almost two weeks. I've never had the kids on my own so long. I'm just trusting in the Lord to carry me through it.
• When he returns he is bringing my mother-in-law. We are beyond excited to have our very first family visitor!
• More and more, Graham is interested in big kid activities like play games, playing football or soccer, art, reading, etc. Sometimes I feel like I will literally burst with pride. He is almost 4 years old!!
• I feel like I'm still learning to roll with the punches when it comes to power and water outages. We've had several of those lately. It just makes everything a little bit more complicated.
• I like to go to "game night" here in Mbale on Tuesday nights, when I can. I love to play games. This past week I laughed until I cried more than once. There are some really fun people here. 
• God really is trustworthy!