Through the Seasons

Lately we’ve had a few challenges with the house.

First we have termites.  They are everywhere and they are icky.  At first I noticed a few termite mounds.  When we drive to Kenya we see these massive termite mounds on the side of the road (google it to get an idea).  When I say they’re big I mean other animals (such as the mongoose) live in them!  Well the ones in the house aren’t that big but they’re miniature form of the same thing.  Yuck.  But twice now we’ve noticed actual termites eating away at door frames.  Sooo…  We spray them, clean up the mess, and hope they don’t come back.  They will of course but I guess we just try to keep them from eating our home out from under us (while being grateful the whole thing isn’t made of wood).

The other day I noticed water pouring down the shower wall from where the faucet is attached.  We lost a lot of water due to this leak and the floor tiles are still wet a week later!  Jonathan went to fix it and discovered that the plumbing fixtures are made of a dirt mixture then painted silver to make them look like metal.  So when the DIRT gets WET…it crumbles and squishes and…well…doesn’t do the job it was intended to do…because dirt wasn’t intended for plumbing.

Recently Jonathan turned one of the lights off and the switch sunk into the wall.  Not sure what that’s all about but there you go.

The worst thing we’re dealing with the moment though is a nightly visitor.  Every evening this mouse comes into the house via the crack under the back door.  It happened 3 nights in a row so now we have to – um – get rid of it.  Ugh.  I’m none too happy about this scenario.  Once when I was little my mom told me there was a mouse under the sink and I excitedly exclaimed, “Mickey?”  No.  Not Mickey.  I now have a whole different perspective!

But there you go.  Be thankful for your quality materials and those pesky building codes.  :)

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Last week was busy in one way.  This week will be busy in another.

Today we are going to see our friends off who are leaving for a year-long furlough.

Tomorrow we are having 4 guests for dinner.  There is a seminar in town although I can’t remember about what.  The four out-of-towners are being invited for dinner at various people’s houses throughout the week and we took Monday.  I’m keeping it simple with spaghetti and salad.

Wednesday’s playdate is at my house.  It’s always fun to have the kids playing together.  I hope to bake something for that.  I’m thinking gingerbread.

Friday is our 5th wedding anniversary!  We haven’t decided exactly what we’re going to do yet.

Saturday is a party to welcome back 3 people who just returned from trips to the UK and to celebrate the birthday of a colleague.

And somewhere in there I need to go get my Tanzanian driver’s license since the one from the States is taking so long.

I guess next Sunday we rest!

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We have some friends here in Mbeya who are with a different mission.  They were planning to leave for a one-year furlough in December but they just found out that a family member has cancer so they’re leaving early.  Early as in Monday.  Yikes.  That’s a lot to do in a short amount of time!

So this week I’m spending my mornings there watching their kids so they can get their house packed up.  It’s not hard really.  I’m already watching Asher so adding a couple more kids isn’t that big of a deal. 

Mama Ima has been sick though so all the housework and cooking has to be squeezed into the afternoons. 

This has made for quite busy days.  But this is such a temporary situation that I don’t mind at all.  I just keep thinking that I’m very grateful for my parents being in such good health.  I’m grateful for my own health too of course but it’s just that when I hear of people’s family members getting as sick as finding out they have stage 3 cancer and that these people are much younger than my parents it hits me what a gift our family is enjoying!

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See this chart for a simple explanation of the proposal of federal funding for abortion and why the Hyde Amendment is important.

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A few things have come to mind randomly lately that I miss from home although not in a way that makes me grumble about my current circumstances.  Here we go.

1.  Brushing my teeth in the bathroom (because it’s convenient to do all the ‘getting ready for the day’ stuff in one room).

2.  Brushing my teeth with hot water.  (Instead I use filter water in the kitchen.)

3.  Hot water on demand.

4.  Water in abundant supply.

5.  Reliable electricity.

6.  Reliable internet.

7.  Nice, comfortable roads.

So I guess it all comes down to comfort and convenience.  These aren’t major things because we do have roads, bathrooms, hot water, electricity, and water.  That I’m very happy about!  Maybe this is a sign that I’m settling in here.  I don’t know. 

Do I miss restaurants?  Not really.  Do I miss canned/boxed food?  Not really.  I like that I’ve had to learn to cook using mostly unprocessed foods.  (I am still amazed when I start with tomatoes and end up with spaghetti sauce.)

Overall I think I still miss my friends and family the most and I’d give up all the above conveniences for a little one-on-one time with them. 

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What I do want to do is confess how I am parenting Asher.

What I do not want to do is start a “discussion” on what is “right” and what is “wrong”.  I realize there are as many different parenting techniques as there are parents…or babies actually.

Asher has always hated his crib and pack-n-play.  He has always hated sleeping alone.  I have always been unwilling to let him cry and scream by himself until he falls asleep.  I don’t have the heart.  It breaks.  And so does Jonathan’s.  So we don’t go that route.

And at 18 months old Asher is still happily in bed with us.  And we’re happy with it this way too.  He still breastfeeds so this makes it much, much easier and convenient in that regard.  (No having to get up, get out of the mosquito net, go to his crib, get him out of his mosquito net, nurse him, get him back down in his crib, and come back to bed.  Major sleep interruption!!)

But let me go back to the beginning for a moment.  I always planned to put him in a crib.  I thought that’s what everyone does.  I didn’t know there was another way.  Of course I had lots of ideas of what I’d do with my child before he actually arrived.  I learned quickly that he will let me know what he does and does not like.  ::blush::  So in learning who Asher is and his uniqueness I changed my tactics.

I came across this article today on Dr. Jay Gordon’s website.  The main things I get out of it are that different babies require different things and children can still develop healthy sleep patterns in the family bed.  I have to admit it made me let out a sigh of relief.

Here it is for you:

Q. “I read that Dr. Ferber now supports the family bed for some families.  Is this true?”

A. Yes, twenty years after the publication of his “sleep” book, Richard Ferber has back-pedaled and proclaimed that children can still develop healthy sleep patterns in the family bed. His approach to forcing children to sleep alone has long been rejected by real sleep experts like James McKenna, William Sears and, I’m proud to say, me.

Dr. Harkness sums up a more reasonable and scientifically sound attitude:

“It is clear that children of differing temperaments need different things at night, just as they do during the day,” said Sara Harkness, the director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Health and Human Development at the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Harkness, who has conducted cross-cultural research on infant sleep habits in several countries, said no studies have borne out the connection originally drawn by Dr. Ferber and others between teaching babies to sleep alone and their ability to develop autonomy.
“It’s an American myth,” Dr. Harkness said. “It’s fine to think about training children to be independent, but there has been this misguided effort to extend it to an area where it’s really not developmentally appropriate.”

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I learned this APTAT thing from John Piper who can be found at www.desiringgod.org.  I’ve copied this directly from his site then I’ll give you a practical example of it working.

“A” -

I acknowledge that apart from Christ I can do nothing of eternal value (John 15:5). I acknowledge with Paul in Romans 7:18, “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” I acknowledge that the old “I” which loved to deny this fact was crucified with Christ.

“P” -

I pray. I pray with Paul in 1 Thessalonians 3:12 that Christ would make me abound in love. I pray that grace might reign in my life through righteousness (Romans 5:21). I pray that God would produce in me the obedience he demands (Hebrews 13:21; 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

“T” -

I trust. This is the key because Galatians 3:5 says, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” In other words, the ongoing work of the Spirit to enable us to love as we ought happens only as we trust the promises of God (Galatians 5:6). So by faith I lay hold on a promise like Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” I trust that as I act, it will not be I but the power of Christ in me and me only clinging to him in faith.

“A” -

I act in obedience to God’s Word. But, O, what a world of difference now between such an act and what Paul calls works of law. The acknowledgment that I am helpless, the prayer for divine enablement, the trust that Christ himself is my help and strength—these transform the act so that it is a fruit of the Spirit, not a work of the flesh.

“T” -

Finally, when the deed is done and the day is over, I thank God for whatever good may have come of my life (Colossians 1:3-5). I thank him for conquering, at least in some measure, my selfishness and pride. I give him the glory (1 Peter 4:11).

This morning I was feeling very impatient in general.  Nothing happened to put me in a bad mood.  I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  I went into the bedroom by myself long enough to Acknowledge my frailty and neediness, Pray for help, Trust in His promises, then I left the room to act on it.  Later I realized my sense of impatience was muffled.  I felt emotional but not as irritable.  That’s when I Thanked Him for answering my prayer and helping me to avoid the various temptations I faced.

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…but it feels like Spring!

The last two nights we have slept without the heater on in our bedroom.  This morning I didn’t need to put on a sweatshirt.  I walked outside at 9am and it was…warm!  By the middle of the day it was hot!  Well, 80 degrees hot but to me it felt very hot because of the stark difference to how it’s been since about May.  It doesn’t seem to gradually go from one ”season” to another.  Just all the sudden it wasn’t cold anymore.

And of course in my mind it’s supposed to be cooling down so now my body thinks it’s spring and I’m going to be a little confused for a while.  I guess eventually I’ll get used to everything being reversed.

No matter what the calendar says I’m thankful for open windows and doors with a warm breeze blowing through.  Ahhh…

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I’ve started a new experiment. 

This week every night when I make dinner I serve half and freeze the other.  My idea is to then have those leftovers next week.  I’m excited because I already have 3 dinners ready (except the “sides”). 

And I figure I can sort of “re-invent” the meals and not serve them quite the same way as this week.  Hopefully that will keep it from being boring. 

Oh oh oh!  And guess what else that makes easier for next week.  Menu planning and grocery shopping!

And hopefully we’ll save money too. 

I’m just trying it though.  We’ll see if there are disadvantages to this that I haven’t yet thought of.

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The thing with short hair is that now it has grown out a bit and looks crazy.  It’s been almost 2 months!!!  So now the decision is… who cuts it?  Jonathan or an Asian man in town that a few others have gone to?  That’s a toughie.  I just don’t think I’m going to be able to maintain short hair to the level I’d like.  My cute little ‘do that I liked so much had a very short shelf life.  We’re going to have to call it quits for good it seems.  Ah well.  Until I figure out how to handle this I’ll keep tucking it behind my ears and pulling it back in a headband.  Sigh.

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