Amire stole my thunder

I just killed a rogue wasp in the house that was flying around like a bat out of hell, and what does Marvelly say after I heroically kill,

"good job Amira, good job trying to catch that bee."

Whoa whoa whoa, what did you say?! Excuse me?

Lets get something straight here....#1, that was no bee, mkay? It was like, the mother of all flying stinging insects. And #2, the cat was not the one swinging the broom around like a lunatic while dodging left and right as I got kamikaze'd by a gigantic wasp.

Man, what's a mom gotta do to earn some credit around here, huh?!

Darn cat stole my thunder. =)

Venez avec moi.

Come with me....

A boy carrying heavy sacks down a road made muddy by recent rainfall.

A kid walking along the hot dirt road with no shoes pushing his water cart home. 

A side street bustling with people going to and fro. 

Scenes from Burkina.

Pink, anyone?

Uuuhhh, I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking when I threw this hot pink foot pillow into the washer with all the kids clothing.....

That's like, a classic rookie mistake right there!

A lot of the clothes came out lookin'....well, a little on the pink side.

Whoopies. 

My bad.

Close to the last rain fall....

It is raining here tonight.

I know I write about the rain here a lot. I can't help it, I'm obsessed with rain. And the rainy season here is just about over. Which means that it will be a good 8 months or more before the rains return to Burkina again.

But I will not be here to see them for another season.

This will be my last rainy season in West Africa.

With us set to leave Burkina in June after the school year ends, it is in all likely hood that I will depart before the next rainy season kicks off.

So tonight, with that in mind, I grabbed my camera and rushed to the patio to take some video of our night time downpour so that when I leave here I can play it back and remember. So that we can remember the gusto in which the rains came.

I have enjoyed three rainy seasons in Burkina Faso. And I am just sitting here right now, at my desk next to the open window listening to the rain, feeling exceedingly grateful for every minute of it.

This is a night in which I don't want this adventure to end. Despite the difficulties....our time here has been absolutely amazing. More than I ever could have dreamed.

I am thankful.

Thankful for it all.

You know you spend too much time with little people...

....when talking to your husband you say,

"You can never have too much hair, take it from someone who has loosed a lot of it."

"You mean, lost a lot of it."

Yes. That is exactly what I meant.

Must have more conversations with big people! I'm starting to talk like my kids!

(I do love their cute little talking ways. I just don't want to revert back to it. =) )

Things we do for fun

Wrapping ourselves up in bubble wrap and hitting each other with a Nerf axe....

...and "walking races" where you can't move your arms.

I think it's safe to say we've reached new levels of creativity for family time. (Or we're just a bunch of weirdos. But either way, we sure do have fun together. =)

Venez avec moi.

Come with me.....

Scenes from Burkina. 

Labbo.

 Smile. =) 

Happy Friday.

A good day

Today was a good day.

A nice, good day.

It's interesting because, the thing about today is that nothing extraordinary happened...on the surface.

Just, lots and lots of little things. Small moments. Deep satisfying breaths. Enjoying life even when it's hard. Peace in it all. Seeing His hand and feeling His presence at work from beginning to end. It was....

A really really encouraging discussion with a close friend this morning.
Seeing God mend and bridge distanced hearts between us.
Speaking with Sydaleigh at bedtime about God's endless love for her and his never ending supply of forgiveness and grace.
Watching peace flood across her face.
Sitting with Marvelly at the table listening to her read a book all on her own with enthusiasm and confidence.
Rocking Steven to sleep in my arms at nap time
Listening to him try to say his ABC's.
Taking new friends grocery shopping around town this afternoon.
Speaking French to people on the street and in the market.
Dancing in the kitchen while I cooked.
Getting on my knees in prayer this morning before the day began.
Kicking up my feet and lounging in my bed during nap time finishing Captain America 2 before our rental period expired.
Cooking a special new recipe for dinner that took two and a half hours of "in front of the stove cooking" for it to amount to nothing more than a bland version of spanish rice.
Enjoying my cooking time even if it was a failure. =)
Listening to Steven pray at bedtime.
Cuddling with Marvelly in the chair when I'd come out of the kitchen for cool air.
Eating Nutella and Petit Beurre Biscuits for the first time in two years and feeling nostalgic for our first weeks in Burkina when that was my go to comfort food.

I was just nice.

Nice ordinary days can be some of the most special sometimes.

Three weeks into the school year

The school year is still going strong.

We have just finished our third week of school. And while it is still early on, the girls are still enthusiastic about the year and enjoying their time at school each day.

Sydaleigh and Marvelly both really like their teachers and are enjoying their classes. 

Sydaleigh even said last week at dinner that one of her favorite subjects is....math!

What?! Math?! Yeah girl!! Love seeing her have a good attitude about math right now and embracing numbers. She has such an artist mentality, she loves writing and drawing more than anything, so it's exciting to see her embrace a subject that does not come naturally and is a bit of a challenge for her. 

Marvelly is learning a lot! Last night I overheard her singing French songs to herself in her bed. Little stinker! She acts like she doesn't know any french, but it's because she doesn't feel like talking in anything but english most of the time. But it's there! I heard it. As is also a wealth of other information that she rarely feels like sharing..but she's storing it up! 

We also just had our first bout of back to school sickness. Me and Sydaleigh were sick with a most unpleasant stomach bug last week. It was bad, with terrible terrible stomach pain and other unpleasantries. Such is life here. It comes with the territory of living in Burkina...getting painfully sick with illnesses besides your run of the mill cold or annual flu. But we are recovered and feeling good and hoping that this year we won't be dogged down with as many sicknesses as we've had in the past. 

Steven has been working on learning the alphabet and his colors these three weeks. We have been sorting and making color patterns with his blocks and practicing his writing. We've also been reading a lot and he's finally starting to enjoy sitting down and listening to a story until completion. 

We're adjusting to the new schedules. I still hate that the girls are gone for over 8 hours every day (I miss my ladies!) and they come home exhausted, but we have a great easy going time in the mornings and our evenings are pretty relaxed so they're able to come home and rest. After their homework that is. Homework is done as soon as they step foot in the door, no exceptions. Yes, they are tired and just spent all day at school, but I find that it is easier for my girls to be cooperative and focus on their homework immediately upon returning home while they are still in "school mode" so that we can get it out of the way and they can enjoy the rest of their afternoon and evening without having to go back and think about homework again later on. Plus, I think it's instilling in them good work ethic and discipline to do their work before play so that they can enjoy their play time that much more!

The biggest challenge right now for me is being home all day alone with Steven. Reality-it's way harder taking care of one child than three kids! Having just one child at home is way more taxing on my energy and time than when the house is full of all the kids. One child demands my constant attention and it's up to me to entertain him for eight hours straight every day which is not easy sometimes. Especially here where I have such limited resources and means of entertainment and activities. But, we're settling into a routine, the two of us. And it's allowing for more bonding time between us. And even though it's challenging and I am emotionally and physically spent each day, I am determined to make this a really productive and valuable time for us.

Also, in the mornings due to the later start time, I'm able to get up early before everyone else so I can have my quiet time with the Lord, praying and reading his Word and get ready for the day before the house wakes up. And it's been so good for my heart each day to wake up quietly and have some time to myself and with the Lord. I need it!

So, I'd say we're off to a good start!

80's night!

I went to a clothing market a couple weeks ago with all the ladies for a fun girl's afternoon. As we walked up and down the dirt aisles the vendors had displayed all over their stalls these absolutely hideously fantastic articles of clothing straight from the 80's.

It was like, a gold mine for long lost 80's attire!

Apparently Burkina has not gotten the memo that 80's fashion is no longer in style because they were showing off these clothes like they were the hottest finds!

So naturally, we felt compelled to buy these clothes and have a party to show off all our treasures and laugh mercilessly at each other. It was the only right thing to do. Because, there is really nothing else to do with 80's fashion, it can not be taken seriously. It is by far the worst decade for fashion in my opinion...it was just.so.bad!

Case in point!

Gaaah!!! Every time I look at this picture I laugh. Denim on denim. Baseball knee high socks. Jean shorts. Sweat bands. Pastel purple tapered running pants. Wife beaters. Socks with slip on sandals. Hairy arm pits in Fred's face?! What?!

Isaak was rocking his sweat pants, gold bling and boom box like no bodies business! And really, what were the 80's without a hair bow, crimper and neon clothes?! (Fred, your pose is killin' me!)

Fashion motto of the 80's....anything goes! You could wear whatever you wanted and the tackier the better. Bright make-up, leg warmers with high heels, lace everything, patterned leggings, shoulder pads and puffy sleeves...it's all represented here! 

We had such a fun time. We blasted 80's music...long live MC Hammer, Madonna, Blondie, and David Bowie! We took an 80's quiz and I still can't believe I couldn't remember all the names of the New Kids on the Block. Shame! And there was also limob'ing! (Some did better than others...Ben looked like he was a zombie and Fred looks as though he has just broken his ankles and is goin' down! Nathanja's hair is still defying gravity and going strong though!)

Megan was the champ! Whoop!

These men, so special! Such good sports and they really embraced their inner 80's child!

It was definitely a successful attempt to resurrect the 80's in Burkina! SO SO much fun. I love having friends who don't take themselves too seriously and can cut loose and be silly! 

To a great party with great friends and terrible clothes and hair!