Here’s a bunch of pictures from Christmas Day!

Eileen and Vanquer:

Christmas balloons from Papa:

Thanks to Aunt Emily for the Christmas bandanas

And to Mama Kelci for the cool light-up toys! They were probably the favorite thing the kids got in their stockings

The girls were feeling well enough to enjoy their stockings and we waited till around noon to do it so they could perk up a bit, after a night of throwing up and high fevers. Thankfully the medicine was already working and they were doing much better. Molly, Eileen, Aravis and their cousin Vanquer all had a fun time digging into their stockings.

Salem didn’t know it but she got a cute stuffed animal hippo. (I have a tradition of giving the girls their “special stuffed animal” for their first Christmas." Aravis hugged the doll she got as soon as she saw it and started patting it on the back, it was very cute!

Some neighbor kids came over and we fed them breakfast and told them the Christmas story using the nativity scene to act it out.

Later in the day we had a large meal together, with another guest joining us, and then one of Orcxance’s friends (and coworker) brought his five children over in the evening and I led them in some entertaining games and then showed them the nativity scene and fed them snacks (leftovers from our big meal.)

Group kids picture:

The Christmas feast:

Papa Ali (Orcxance’s closest friend here) with the girls:

Our family photos:

And some individual Christmas pictures of my beautiful girls:

Merry Christmas!

I was talking with one of my sisters about how it’s difficult to make it “feel” like Christmas here… it just doesn’t seem quite right. The hot weather, the lack of a cozy fire, those are just some of the things that made Christmas in North Carolina feel right. But in the last day or two, I have actually been feeling like it’s Christmas, for real. Not just pretending. I even found Christmas colors in a pineapple plant nearby.

Despite the mosquitoes and heat and without the cozy fire, gifts, beautiful tree, or candy canes. We don't even get a Christmas Eve service, and for sure Orcxance won't be home all day. I don’t know how exactly and I know feelings are not that important, but it’s like a small blessing from the Lord that I would have the sense that it’s Christmas and it actually seems right. I’ve spent seven Christmases in Africa, and this one is our last for a while. It definitely hasn't come with any trappings, and the girls suddenly got sick yesterday afternoon, so "the night before Christmas" involved lots of crying, high fevers and throwing up. But even so it's special somehow and complete. I feel thankful but also so ready to have this be a last. At least for a while.

All I have to give Orcxance this year is some beef jerky which he already saw so it’s not a surprise. Because of our upcoming trip and everything we are trying to get done, we’ve kind of skipped over the gift part, at least to each other. The girls assured me not to worry, my stocking won’t be empty because they lovingly cut up some scraps of paper to put inside.

It actually reminds me a little of Who-ville. You know, how they didn’t have anything extra once the Grinch stole everything, but they had each other and the joy of Christmas was really in their hearts and came out in a community song; all holding hands and making a joyful noise to the Lord. I guess I feel a little bit like that this year.

The kids have some things in their stockings, they know “what Christmas is all about,” I have diapers drying in the sun and I am joyful.

Merry Christmas!

Saying Goodbye

My family is about to make one of the biggest transitions of our lives so far, and none of us can fully grasp it. We are so thankful and happy to be going but goodbyes are always hard. In these last days leading up to our trip, I can see the confusion and stress showing on their little faces and coming out in their words and actions. I am doing my best to help them enjoy where we are but also look forward to where we are going. “We love Congo but America is going to be so fun too!” I’m trying to help them get ready and make the transition as easy as possible. I’ve read books about bilingual kids and missionary kids and third culture kids and I sure hope I’m doing this right.

I’ve let them choose (as much as possible) which books, toys and stuffed animals they want to bring and which ones they are okay with leaving behind. But they don’t even know what that means. Today Molly said, “I’ll leave the nativity scene behind so I don’t lose it.” What 4-year-old can fathom two years from now? I hear that its helpful to have the kids be involved with the packing and allow them to make some small decisions themselves. It helps them “feel a sense of control,” they say. Who is in control anyway? And I can’t pack everything.

I’m nervous and excited and a little worried about all of us. And what about my husband? Is he going to be okay? Will he like it? Will he just be so overwhelmed? How will this change our family? I hope it’s for the better. I hope that our marriage will be strengthened and our family made closer and that we will learn to trust God more. I hope we can have a rest from some of the hardest things about living in this country. I am floundering without community and the spiritual warfare is wearing us down. I am tired of robberies and water shortages and heat. I tell myself that it will be so nice to have a rest. But I know I will miss it too.

My girls have pieces of both worlds, and in some ways they live in both worlds in their daily life. They speak two languages and are each half of one culture and half of another…the older they get the more complicated this will become. But for now they are little and don’t totally understand what’s going on or how to process. They say their friends “will cry for them.” They say they don’t actually “want to go.” They think our family includes their cousin and why wouldn’t he be going to? And so many other things. In the midst of all this Molly is absolutely desperate for cold and snow. She thinks that’s what America means even when I explain. They want to see family but they think all the family can come to them.

I am so thankful my girls are not alone in this. They have the Lord going before them, they love Jesus and they can hold each other’s hands and stick together like they always do.

Countdown to Christmas and Moving

We are celebrating the coming of Christ amidst the chaos of moving across the world. Trying to make the Christmas season special for my kids (and nephew) even while trying to make tons of decisions and pack our things into suitcases and storage bins. Here are some photos from the last few weeks: