Friday, June 3, 2022
May 2022
Monday, May 2, 2022
April 2022
Saturday, April 2, 2022
March 2022
March has been a mercifully slower month for us, with the exception of Josh having Shepherds Academy going on all month. April, May, and the first part of June before we leave for the US are NOT going to be anything close to what could be called slow, so we've enjoyed this time and used it to prepare some things for our visit to the US.
Here's just one example of how steep the trail was, and it was like this pretty much the entire way. You can read all about that hike in more detail on my post about it on our adventure blog, Adventurologists.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
February 2022
10 years. I can’t believe it. Last night after I tucked him in, I wept. Hard.Every parent feels that pang of sadness watching their babies grow up, wondering how it’s possible that the time has passed so quickly. But parenting special needs makes these milestones so much more complex. With each passing year, the chasm between him and his neurotypical peers widens. There is so much to grieve about what autism steals from him and us. On the eve of this big milestone, I was overwhelmed by all of the things he still can’t do, and how different this life is from the one I’d dreamed of for him.But in the midst of my weeping a still, soft voice spoke to my heart and reminded me that he deserves to be celebrated on his birthday. Please help me celebrate him, I prayed. And I turned to the source of our only true comfort in this world, God’s Word.I flipped instinctively to Lamentations 3, and prayed along as I slowly read the words:“My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, 'My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.' Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.”And then in the very next verse came what I knew I needed to hear, and I continued to pray the prophet’s words as my own: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”
Freddy is proving to be fairly patient with all of the kids' love (and it is A LOT of love).
Sunrise behind Ntonya mountain. Not our house. |
Saturday, February 5, 2022
January 2022
Why does January always feel so long? When we lived in America, I used to think it was because the weather was dreary and cold and we were stuck in the house most of the time. But even here, January feels long.
Friday, December 31, 2021
My Kids' Favorite Books of 2021
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter thinks that he is completely normal. That is, until his eleventh birthday, when he discovers that he is a wizard. For the whole year, Harry works to save both his friends and himself, find and keep safe a weapon, while trying to defeat the greatest, most evil Dark Wizard of all time. I've read the first 5 Harry Potter books this year, and I loved them all. They are funny and have a lot of action in them.
When two teenagers, Grace and Boone (otherwise known as “Jack”) meet and become best friends, they discover something that they didn’t know to be humanly possible. I love all of the Miller's Island Mysteries books because they're mysteries and they're adventurous.
13-year-old Penelope Gilbert was a legit normal girl, until she wasn’t, with the fact that she turned into a stapler one day during class, which resulted in the rest of the year being full of adventure, death, love, and discovery. I like that they're traveling a lot of places and there's a lot of action.
Firegirl by Tony Abbott
A story about a girl named Jessica who has been badly burned. She is bullied and made fun of by everyone, except one special person. It made me feel sad for her, but then happy for her that he wanted to be her friend. This book teaches people not to judge others by their outward appearances.
Just Believe by Tarina Marcinkowski
And Abraham, 5 years old, will be 6 in April, wanted to share a couple of his favorites as well. I have typed what he told me about each book:
Yeti Spaghetti by Samantha Hay
(We've read this one to him a million times.) I like it because there are yetis and they're trying to steal food, and then the yeti makes spaghetti for the food contest.Cock-a-Doodle Moo(This is a lift-the-flap educational book featuring lots of things from a farm, which he's had for a few years now.) I like that there's a lot of food in it that I want you to buy me.