The Williams in Africa

February at RVA

2012-02-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody,

We’ve been in our new home, in a new location, doing a new ministry at a new school for about six weeks.

New School for my kids
Rift Valley Academy (RVA)is suiting us just fine. My kids love the freedom of living inside a big fence with 450 other kids. RVA has 70 houses for the staff families to live in; it’s a big place. Each kid is adjusting to new friends and teachers. They love the after-school activities. Often at dinner time, we can’t eat because someone is missing. But it gets dark at 6:45 so they come home eventually, tired, happy and hungry.

New Ministry for me
I’m working full time as a school nurse at Student Health. So far, a bad head cold and a stomach bug have gone through the dorms and the families. To keep such illnesses from spreading, Student Health has guidelines for the dorms. Each dorm has dorm parents, kind of like an RD in college. If a kid has a fever over 100 degrees or other various symptoms, they can’t stay in the dorm. Student Health has room for 20 kids to sleep when they are sick. Often kids will come in for a few hours to get cold medicine and a nap, like missing a day of school in the States. Other times kids get sick in the middle of the night and need to come over to Student Health for the rest of the night. The nurses each have nights and weekends to be on-call for after hour illnesses.

That’s a brief explanation, but what I want you to know is that I like my new job. It’s challenging and very different than being a nurse in the states. I am getting to know kids as they come in to see a nurse. The staff are excellent and a great resource as I learn this new position. I don’t mind going into work and I like coming home.

New Location
RVA is an hour outside of Nairobi. It’s high elevation of 7500 feet. And the school is built on the escarpment of the Rift Valley. We have an amazing view of the valley from our perch. The air is fresh and it’s quiet. Those are the biggest differences for me. I don’t need a fan on at night to block out noises because it’s so quiet. Living in a capital city for seven years was very noisy and not fresh. Right now everything is green and blooming, very pretty.

New Home
Some paint color and new curtains make a huge difference in making a house feel like home. Bringing all of our furniture from Nairobi also helped. While we lived in Zeeland, the kids missed their African quilts on their beds, fresh home-made tortillas, and carrot sticks that taste like a carrot should taste. I missed fresh smoothies made from mango, pineapple, banana, and strawberries. This is living. We have a nice home that is big enough for us and has a private covered back porch. Last week I came down with a stomach bug and slept the whole afternoon on my outside couch. We have a love-bird cage that needs love-birds, a fish tank in need of fish, and a yard in need of a puppy. It’s going to be a good year.

Thanks for staying with us on this journey. My financial support of one time gifts was good the month of December. THANK YOU! I continue to hope that God will bring more supporters who commit to give monthly. But I don’t think I worry about money near as much as I used to. I am accountable for my finances, but since my loss of Ryan, money isn’t what matters.

Please pray for us and praise the Lord for all He has done,

Dawn and 4 amazing kids

Levi at water sports day

Seth hit the target and dunked another student

Chloe playing musical buckets

Caleb with shaving cream, I think.

A view of the valley and Mt Longonot. Can you see how steep it is?

We fly to Kenya on December 20!

2011-12-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are well! We are almost ready for our big move back to Kenya. My weeks are full. This is what’s next.

Full-time Job
My full time job for the last 11 years has been at home. Since I’ve applied for a RN position at RVA, I’ve wondered if I’ll have the energy for each day. The answer is yes, but not until that day. Today, God grants me what I need for this day only. I start my full time job as a school nurse in Student Health on December 30 with Staff Inservices. The next week, the boarding students arrive. Student Health has several full-time nurses and a couple of part-time nurses. I will buddy up with a nurse each day for my orientation. And I’m ready. That’s an amazing miracle for me not just to say but to feel. I’m ready to work full time.

My mom is coming with me for 6 weeks to help with our transition. We are moving into a new house, starting a new school, and a new job. The kids and I need my mom to be at home keeping things peaceful. That’s her job and she is good at it. I learned from the best. She will help us get into a new routine of getting to school and work in the mornings. And in the evenings, figuring out each kids homework. And I need to figure out how to get dinner on the table and kids in bed without me melting down.

RVA and staffing
RVA is a large boarding school primarily for missionary kids. None of the missionary staff at the school including teachers, administrators, dorm parents, nurses, etc receive a salary from RVA. This allows the school to keep costs down and tuition affordable for missionaries who send their kids to the school. I will not be receiving a salary from RVA. I will continue to be a faith based missionary which means I need to raise my own support. God is responsible for meeting my needs. I can let you know what those needs are.

My Needs as a Missionary.
If God is prompting you to pray, that is most important. That is why I sleep at night instead of worry about what I have to do yet.
If God is prompting you to encourage, write me, please. Any encouragement you have to give, will be received.
If God is prompting you to help, I am much more open to receiving help with the kids and with packing then I was even a month ago.
If God is prompting you to give, at the end of the letter are instructions about how to give. Support can be one-time, any number times a year, or monthly. Just do what God wants you to do. He has a way of multiplying our gifts. My support is not at 100%. I am short about $1700 a month. I am planning to be at RVA for 2-3 years before our next visit to the states. And I will need financial support the entire time.

Giving Financially
The easiest way to give is online. I support missionaries by having my monthly giving deducted automatically from my checking account. I’ve also given one time gifts online by using my credit card. Sending a check to the AIM office with a note designating it for the support of Dawn Williams, will also work.

For those who want to send checks, please send your support to the address you see below. Just a reminder - any checks sent for our support are to be made out to Africa Inland Mission. Please do not include my name on the memo line, but include a note that your support is for Dawn Williams. AIM will send you a receipt.

Africa Inland Mission
PO Box 3611
Peachtree City, Georgia 30269-7611

Automatic withdrawals from checking or to a credit card are an easy way to ensure consistent giving. Look at the AIM site: www.aimint.net and follow the directions under Giving for both Online Giving and Automatic Deductions.

If you need to contact the AIM office by phone, the numbers are: (800) 254-0010 or (845) 735-4014.

Or you can email me with your questions, and I can try and give more detailed help.

Lately this song is on my mind:
Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

I see mountains of work and worry ahead of me each day. And then I remember. My God can move these mountains. Mountains of worry that my support won’t be 100%. Mountains of clothes that won’t fit in the luggage. Mountains of people to say good-bye too. My God will handle the mountains. And it will all get done before I board my airplane to Kenya. It Will Get Done!

May God bless you and keep you, as He keeps me,
Dawn

We'll be in Kenya by Christmas for a new ministry!

2011-10-25T17:34:00.001-07:00

October 25, 2011

Dear Friends,

Good News!

We are going back to Kenya! We are moving to Rift Valley Academy (RVA). Since Ryan died, it’s my desire to be a school nurse at this AIM boarding school for missionary kids. All of my furniture, appliances, personal possessions, and van are in storage, waiting to be moved. RVA is an hour away from our previous home in Nairobi.

In September, I interviewed for nursing positions in MI. But I didn’t have peace about our living in Zeeland permanently. Before I could accept a job offer in the states, a nursing position opened up at RVA.

A Student Health Nurse is needed by January of 2012. That is only two months away! I informed RVA of our readiness, of my continued desire for this ministry, and of my children’s ongoing questions of “When are we going back?”

I was accepted for this position and RVA would like me to be moved in and ready to work by December 30. Now I understand why God gave me a strong inclination to be ready, without knowing what I am ready for. I have a lot to do.

Our needs!

The kids need to finish this semester well. They are old enough to feel the conflict of missing both worlds. That is being at home in Kenya and in Michigan.

I need to have our paperwork in order, pack, and let everyone know of our plans.

We need God to provide. We are at 50% of our support target. Right now, we can get to Kenya and stay for about a year. After that I will be stressed about money. Once I have 100% of my support, I can fully concentrate on taking care of sick kids. We would like to be there for 2-3 years before our next visit to the States.

My house in Zeeland needs to be a blessing to other missionaries. When I bought this house, God put it on my heart to share it. Many missionaries visit West Michigan and need a short term place to live. God will work it out. It’s his plan. It’s his house.

I am ending with important information about AIM’s new location and how to give.

What’s up with AIM?

The AIM US office has relocated from Pearl River, New York to Peach Tree City, Georgia.

For those who have been supporting us financially, please send your checks to the new address. Just a reminder - any checks sent for our support are to be made out to Africa Inland Mission. Please do not include my name on the memo line, but include a note that your support is for Dawn Williams. AIM will send you a receipt. The direct withdrawal will remain the same.

For new supporters who would like to send support by check, you can send a one-time gift, several gifts a year, or commit to monthly support.

Automatic withdrawals from checking or to a credit card are an easy way to ensure consistent giving. Look at the AIM site: www.aimint.net and follow the directions under Giving for both Online Giving and Automatic Deductions.

Africa Inland Mission
PO Box 3611
Peachtree City, Georgia 30269-7611

If you need to contact the AIM US Office by phone, please take note of the following contact information: (800) 254-0010 or (845) 735-4014.

God’s Promise

Psalm 16:4-5 are God’s words for me in this season of waiting and receiving.
.
“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

My portion is being a single mom.
My cup is my four amazing kids.
My lot is always secure in the safety the Lord affords, especially in the storm.
My boundary lines are God’s continuous protection, keeping our hearts safe.
My pleasant places are the homes God gives me wherever I go.
My delightful inheritance is God, exceeding my dreams, giving me my heart’s desire, months before I could have asked or imagined.

Praise the Lord.

With His love,

Dawn Williams
44 Winterhalder Dr
Zeeland MI 49464
(616) 990-8181

On Facebook you can find me at Dawn Nienhuis Williams.
My email address is the same at: ryan-dawn.williams@aimint.net
Cause I loved being Mrs. Ryan Williams.

Williams Prayer Letter

2011-08-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

August 2011

Dear Friends,

Another year has passed. In some ways, so much has happened in the 2 years since we lost Ryan. And in other ways, the memories are very fresh. Thank you for standing with us, always.

What’s up with the Williams?

Our desire is to move to Rift Valley Academy (RVA). I would be a School Nurse at this boarding school. We would have our own house on campus, and my kids would walk to classes with the boarders. RVA is an hour’s drive from where we lived in Nairobi, Kenya. This past spring, I found out that RVA has enough nurses for the coming school year. With this information I decided to remain in Zeeland, MI for another year. Attending Zeeland Christian School two years in a row will be good for my kids and me. God knew we were not ready for a transition quite yet.

This fall RVA will make staffing decisions and I find out if I have the position I described for the school year of 2012-2013. We hope so. All of us miss our home in Kenya. The school administration and I have been in touch. They have a clear picture of us as a family and I am trusting God to open and close doors according to His will.

In the meantime, we will go off of support on October 1. We will continue to receive benefits including health insurance through AIM. I am applying for nursing positions in West Michigan to support my family this coming year. Depending on God’s will, we will go back on support next summer. If I find out that we are returning to Kenya, I will need to raise additional funds to be 100% supported.

When I go off of support, gifts received on my behalf will continue to be receipted. They will be deposited into my account and when we go back on support, this will cover support shortages, traveling expenses, and reimbursements related to my ministry. Whether financial supporters decide to continue sending in gifts or suspend support during this time, I hope all will be a part of my support team if we return to Kenya.

Please be patient during this time that God is asking me to wait. No one wants to know what our future holds more than me. That I have hope for the future is a sign of the healing that has taken place. As soon as I know about RVA, I will send out another prayer letter with the details.

What’s up with AIM?

The US office of AIM is relocating from Pearl River, New York to Peach Tree City, Georgia.
For those of you who have been supporting us financially, please send your support checks to the new address.

AIM US Office's mailing address as of 1 August is:

Africa Inland Mission
PO Box 3611
Peachtree City, Georgia 30269-7611

Just a reminder - any checks sent for our support are to be made out to Africa Inland Mission. Please do not include my name on the memo line, but include a note that your gift is for Dawn Williams. AIM will send you a receipt.

If you need to contact the AIM US Office by phone, you can continue to use these numbers: (800) 254-0010 or (845) 735-4014 - both will work in Peachtree City.

On Facebook you can find me at Dawn Nienhuis Williams.
Or find AIM US at www.facebook.com/africainlandmission
My email remains ryan-dawn.williams@aimint.net

Many blessings and heartfelt thanks for your loving care, prayers and support.

With His love,

Dawn Williams
44 Winterhalder Dr
Zeeland MI 49464
(616) 990-8181

Prayer Letter: Our Last Year

2010-11-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

November 5, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
I haven’t written a prayer letter in over a year although I’ve sent out many email updates. Thanks for being patient with me. I hope this gives you a glimpse into our first year without Ryan.
August 1, 2009 was a Saturday and Levi needed new jeans. We got a babysitter for Chloe and Seth so that we could take Caleb and Levi to the used clothes market. The market is one of the boy’s favorite places because we never know what we would find. Ryan knew that Frank had a short flight using one of the airplanes that Ryan maintains. After several phone calls trying to trouble shoot a problem, Ryan decided to go into the hangar and help Frank out. They ended up switching airplanes. It was to be a 30 minute flight around Nairobi and Ryan probably volunteered to wait until Frank returned and help him put the airplane away so both could get home to their families for the rest of the weekend. Knowing Frank, he probably asked Ryan to hop on board and see Nairobi from the air. That’s what Tiffany (Frank’s wife) and I think happened knowing our husbands the way we do.
Tiffany and I are neighbors, we both have 4 kids. She has 3 girls and then an adopted Kenyan son. I have 3 boys and an adopted Kenyan daughter. The similarities continue. We are the best of friends, closer now than ever.
During the flight, the airplane lost power and flipped as it landed. Frank was killed instantly, Ryan was seriously hurt, and the 2 passengers escaped with minor injuries. I was able to get to the hospital a half an hour before Ryan was put on a respirator. What a blessing it became that I could talk to him, even though he was in shock and the ER was chaotic. He made sure his wedding ring was not lost; we shared how much we loved each other and the kids. That was the last time he could talk to me. Within a couple of days, he was transferred to a South African Burn Unit. He died on August 7. My good friend Chris was with him when he went to heaven. She talked to him and sang to him and released him for me. Ryan would not have wanted me to leave the kids and be with him in South Africa until I could take the kids with me. I did fly down the day he died and said goodbye to his earthly body. Another blessing.
The next week we had memorial services for Frank and Ryan. Then we traveled to the states for 10 weeks to be with more friends and family as we grieved. We remembered Ryan in services in Michigan and Florida. In November we went home to Kenya. It was such a comfort to live there for 8 more months. Tiffany did the same and our lives continued to run parallel to each other. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone but to travel this road with such a good friend is a relief. We can comfort each other like no one else can.
The holidays were tough but our missionary family surrounded us and loved us through it. I realized that I couldn’t continue to home school my kids. In January Caleb and Levi started at a missionary school which was a hard transition. We really liked home schooling.
Ryan and I had completed the Kenyan adoption process and Chloe is legally ours. But we needed to do the US citizen application through the Department of Home Land Security. When Ryan died, I became the primary applicant and had to start over with some major paperwork including our home study. This was deeply painful for me to do on my own. But it was approved May 7, 2010.
I spent all my time and energy on helping the kids with school, adoption paperwork, counseling for us all and putting our paperwork in order with me as a single mom. I was angry and I used my anger to energize me to get it done. The kids watched me put our personal possessions in storage and pack our suitcases to travel to the states for a year. Our year of Home Assignment (furlough) began in June 2010. We’ve earned a year because our term was over 4 years long.
Over the summer we stayed with my parents who took over meeting my kid’s needs so I could buy a house. It’s a nice house on a cul-da-sac in Zeeland MI. My kids had an amazing summer with lots of good memories with my parents. I worked hard to get our house furnished and we moved in on August 1. Two missionary families from Kenya came and spent the day with us and celebrated Caleb’s 9th birthday and Ryan’s 1st birthday in heaven.
At the end of the summer all my kids started school at Zeeland Christian School. Caleb is a second grader, Levi is in first grade, Seth is in Young Fives, and Chloe attends preschool. I feel like we are all trying so hard to make this work. And we are trying to grieve well. But we are deeply sad. To have 5 people grieving at the same time but each on our own journey makes our home life bumpy. We are all fragile and we melt down easily. It’s so good to let it out. We talk about Ryan as much as we want.
In October we all realized how homesick we are for Kenya. It makes sense since it’s been 5 months since we left. We miss our old house, friends, pets, and all that brings us familiarity with Ryan. And being homesick is something that most missionaries experience when they are on HA.
Taking care of my kids continues to be a full time job. My responsibilities as a missionary with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) are to visit churches and friends that support us. I prepared to visit churches and couldn’t do it. Something within me was deeply resistant. It’s Ryan. We enjoyed doing this together and its one more thing that I don’t want to do alone. But I’ve started and will continue to contact churches and friends. This letter is the next step of sharing what we did this last term.
Ryan and I served for over 7 years with AIM AIR, the aviation branch of AIM. Ryan accomplished his work as an aircraft mechanic with excellence and I am so proud of him. I loved being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling our kids. I’d do it all over again if I had the chance.
That is our past and present. God continues to guide us. We will finish our HA in May 2011. AIM is encouraging me to take my time deciding about our future. One possibility that Ryan would have liked is to stay with AIM and work at Rift Valley Academy (RVA). This is a missionary boarding school an hour from where we currently live in Nairobi. The school has a Student Health Center which is in need of nurses that have their Kenyan Nursing Registration. I did the work of getting this registration when I first moved to Kenya as a single missionary and kept it current (like I do with my nursing license in the USA). We would move our personal belongings and a lot of our old memories to our new house on the school campus. I would walk to work and my kids would walk to class. It’s flexible and I would have the support of our house-help, Wanza, who wants to move with us. Wanza has been taking care of our family for 8 years and is more like an Aunt to my kids. She would bring some consistency to our lives.
A second option is to extend our stay in the states for a second year. This would give my kids two full years in the same school, same house, and being close to my family. After too many transitions, we need consistency and stability. AIM would change my status from being on Home Assignment to a Leave of Absence. I wouldn’t be receiving monthly support in this status, instead funds received through AIM would accrue until we went back to Kenya. Seth and Chloe will still be attending school only half days as a kindergartner and Young Fiver. I don’t know how I could work part time or full time and accommodate their schedule.
Really, it’s up to God to figure out. He took my husband to heaven and I am relying on him as never before to take care of me as a widow. And take care of my children who are fatherless. I don’t know what God is going to do. He might have a third option that he will not show me until it is time. Let’s hope so. Because I am tired of trying to figure it out. I can’t. It’s impossible.
Every day I feel like my life is impossible. I think, how am I going to do this? And yet the sun goes down only to rise again. Our ashes will be turned into something beautiful and our joy will come in the morning.
I’m not going to write out prayer praises and request. You are intuitive enough to read this and find what God wants you to pray for us. We will continue to need monthly financial support as long as we are with AIM. If our status with AIM changes, I will let you know. After Ryan’s death hundreds of people poured their love and concern on us by giving to a memorial fund that is through AIM. Thank you. This year, the last thing I want to worry about is money. And God is providing. We are about $500 under supported each month. If you would like to give, please contact me or AIM.

May God bless you and keep you, as he keeps me,
Dawn Williams

Africa Inland Mission
PO Box 178
Pearl River NY 10965
Phone # 1 (800) 254-0010

Dawn Williams
44 Winterhalder Dr.
Zeeland MI 49464
(616) 990-8181

Our Saturday

2010-08-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Summer Update

2010-07-27T04:33:00.001-07:00

It’s been too long since I wrote. I’m going to back track to May.

My brother, Dean, flew to Nairobi the end of May to help me finish packing and give me the moral support I needed to persevere with Chloe’s paperwork. Chloe’s visa was granted and we flew from Kenya to Michigan the beginning of June. The kids and I are staying with my parents in Holland MI for the summer.

My parents and sisters made sure my kids are having a great summer. The kids haven’t quite worn out the grass driving circles around the house in go-carts. They are busy camping, swimming, fishing, and relaxing. Since my family took over child care, I’ve been free to house hunt.

I am buying a ranch house a block from the kids school in Zeeland MI. After Ryan died, I received Life Insurance money and the kids receive Social Security Survivor Benefits each month. I used the life insurance as my down payment and the survivor benefits will cover my monthly house payment. The house is a good investment for our future and it’s a buyer’s market. We plan to live in it for a year while we are in the states. When we return to Kenya, I want to make my house available for other missionaries to stay in.

I want to share this with you, to explain that I am keeping my AIM monthly salary for our living expenses separate from my investments into our new home (life insurance and SS). We still need our supporters prayers and gifts.

Having our own home is bitter sweet. It is a sweet, extravagant blessing to have our own home in the states. My folks and my sisters all live about 10 minutes away. The kids can walk to school every day. And I have guest space for my in-laws to stay with us when they visit. But it’s bitter to be moving into a home with no memories of Ryan walking around barefoot. I miss him moving all these heavy boxes for me. And I deeply miss bickering and bantering with him when we get in each other’s way as we unpack and decide where everything should go. He was the best at relieving the stress in my life and making me laugh.

We will be moving in August 1 (the day of the accident and Frank’s death). Ryan’s parents are driving from NC to help us move. They will be with us for Caleb’s birthday and the first anniversary of Ryan’s death on August 7.

Caleb and Levi start school on August 31. They’ve been tutored over the summer at the school. Unexpectedly taking the fall semester off from school last year was best for us, but the boys are still catching up. Seth and Chloe start young 5’s and preschool September 13. Seth is ready but Chloe has separation anxiety to deal with. All the kids are attending Zeeland Christian School only a block away from our house.

I’ve had lots of doctors appointments over the summer. My Grave’s Disease (hyperthyroidism) is being well managed with medication. I am scheduled to have my pesky gall bladder removed on August 10. I have other diagnosis that I’ve decided not to share. So physically, I just don’t feel good. But I am taking care of myself. The kids are doing great, all had physicals and are growing like crazy.

Spiritually, we are attending a church that is good for us. We sit with my sister and the kids can go to children’s church. I found a ladies Bible Study to join in the fall.

Emotionally, we are all tired. And it shows. All the transitions of moving from Kenya to my folks house to our own house went well. But the kids have meltdowns etc. Moving into our own home and starting a new school will give us the routine that we need. And some rest, I hope.

Financially, we continue to need monthly support through AIM. We will be in the states for 12 months as our planned Home Assignment (furlough). In October I will be available to travel and talk about where God is taking us next. And sharing our need to raise additional support.

God is meeting our needs each day. I look ahead and wonder how I will ever get through it. But we do, day by day.

Letter from Oma: Dawn's health

2010-01-27T03:16:00.000-08:00

Hello to all of you from Kenya,

My mom is writing this and I chose to blog it.

Since before Christmas Dawn has not been feeling physically well, she contributed a lot of it to the stress of grieving, but two weeks ago she started getting some testing done and found out she has gall stones and over active thyroid. This was found out after many blood test, ultra sound and C Scans. This Friday she is going to have a final test to find out how bad her gall bladder is inflamed.
Her symptoms for the gall bladder are aches all over and feeling yucky in general. The symptoms of the thyroid problems are being very warm all the time, headaches, and not sleeping well at night. The most effective way to control gall bladder problems is to go on a fat free diet. Being on a fat free diet is not a cure rather a way to control, most people who follow the fat free diet eventually have their gall bladder removed. She has been advised by Doctors and Nurses in Kenya to have it removed.

So, the current plan that is being set in motion is to have her gall bladder removed in South Africa. South Africa has a state of the art hospital and highly skilled Doctors. Dawn was very impressed with Ryan’s care in the South Africa hospital. Dawn is a high risk surgical candidate because of her burst appendix and all the infections and two major surgeries she had 5 years ago. All her symptoms are on the right side of her body where lots of adhesions would have formed after her surgery. She is hopeful the surgeons in S. Africa can do the simple procedure for removal of G.B. but if it is too hard to get to then she would have a incision and have a longer period of recovery.

I (Darlene) arrived on Jan. 15 and planned on staying until February 28, with these health problems that need to be addressed I think I will stay here until March 25. Hopefully Dawn will have surgery the first week of March and be able to fly home soon after. Please keep her in your prayers.

I will stay with the kids in Nairobi, keeping the kids in school and the house hold running. They need continuity which I can bring. Dawn will be free to go to South Africa for surgery and recovery. AIM has missionaries there that lend support. She is considering who can travel with her and be her advocate.

On a happy note, Caleb and Levi are attending West Nairobi Chr. School. Levi is in kindergarten and Caleb in second grade. They are enjoying the school environment and doing well. Seth and Chloe are going to preschool four mornings a week and learning lots of new things. We love to hear all the stories the kids have when they come home from school.

Dawn plans on returning to the US in June and will spend one year on home assignment before future years in Kenya. She plans on returning to Kenya and is looking at different ministries in the Nairobi area. This is their home and this is where they want to be.
Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would be interested.

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns. Darlene, Dawn, and children

First day of School

2010-01-11T21:52:00.001-08:00

January 12 is the first day of school for Caleb in 2nd grade and Levi in kindergarten.

Eager beavers

New Back Packs full of new school supplies

Christmas at the Coast

2010-01-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

We went to the coast for a week over Christmas and stayed at a 3 bedroom villa. We went with Dale and Chris Hamilton, John and Heather Miller, Josh Hamilton, and Wanza. It was nice to be apart of a larger a family. And to have the adults out number the kids at the pool and in the ocean.

John, Heather, and Josh

Levi in the pool

John and Seth

Caleb and Levi in the surf

Stockings

Wanza

Opening Presents

Super soakers for the pool

Out for Ice Cream on Christmas Day

Wanza and Chris

Christmas Dinner at the poolside

Christmas in Nairobi

2010-01-11T21:28:00.001-08:00

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Stockings

Setting up the Wii and then testing it

Ladies blessing Tiffany and I

Making Christmas Cookies with the Kellers

Christmas breakfast, Levi slept in.

Opening dinner with the Gibsons

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody,
It’s been ages since I’ve written. The more time that passes, the more I get behind in sharing news. Until I just decided to skip everything that has happened since I last wrote October 6.

We returned home (to Kenya) on November 17/18. Takes about 36 hours of traveling, waiting in airports to get back here. The last few days, the kids were asking me to move up our tickets to they could get home sooner. We were home sick in a very good way.

My sister Debra traveled with us and spent 2 weeks with us. Her husband and 2 little girls, Grace is almost 6 and Greta is almost 1, managed without her. She hasn’t been to Africa since my family visited me in Tanzania when she was 18. I think she found Nairobi much easier than the village I lived in then. We worked hard to get my bags unpacked, and ourselves settled before she left. We even had time to do some shopping and site seeing. She fed giraffes, pet baby elephants, and went on a game drive. We showed her the hangar, Java House and our church. We even made it out to Rift Valley Academy and attended our missions Spiritual Life Conference.

The Lord (and insightful friends) helped me realize that I will not be able to Home School in our immediate future. Caleb and Levi have been enrolled into West Nairobi School (WNS) starting in January. WNS is a Christian School that teaches according to the US school systems. Caleb is in 2nd grade and Levi is in Kindergarten. They were able to visit their classrooms before the school closed for Christmas break and loved it.

Seth and Chloe are on a waiting list to start pre-school in January at Logos. Logos is a Kenyan Christian School where many of my friends have sent their pre-schoolers and spoke highly of. I am confident they will both be accepted. They will be attending 3 mornings a week.

God has brought our Christmas plans together better than I had hoped. I was anxious about this first big holiday without daddy. And the closer we get to Christmas, the more we are expressing our homesickness for daddy. The Sunday before Christmas we are enjoying a turkey and ham dinner with all the fixings and good friends. On December 22 we fly to the coast for a week at the beach. Wanza, our beloved house-help, sent her husband and son to families house with out her. She will be coming with us on our vacation for the first time. I need to ask her if she has ever flown before. We will be staying at a 3 bedroom cottage with other friends, the Hamilton’s. The kids are getting pretty excited.

But going to the beach is something we always did with daddy. And the kids only remember our staying at Amani Acres. Caleb is mourning that we won’t be staying there this time. So I am anticipating that we will be having some ups and downs.

I am exhausted. After not feeling well for 2 ½ weeks, I finally went to the Doctor and was diagnosed with a kidney infection. I should be finished with my course of antibiotics when we leave for the beach. It was a relief to find out there was a reason for how I felt. I am hoping I have some more energy when we get back.

I’ve found that since we started having sit down dinners as a family, things have smoothed out. Our evening routine is finding it’s new normal without daddy. The more routines we can re-establish, the better for our family. When we first began this journey of grief, we were more volatile and each only seeing our own selves. With each of the 5 of us grieving our own individual ways, life was chaotic. But we are starting to be more perceptive of each other’s grief. And helping each other grieve with more compassion. We still each experience melt downs or just the need to cry but we are not where were 4 months ago. We can’t stay where we are, we need to keep walking. This is different than ‘moving on’. There is no moving on that I can see. This will always be a part of our lives, this missing Ryan. We deeply hurt, all the more because of how much we loved him and he loved us. I find that I yearn for him much more than I miss him. I can pretend that he is at work or running errands. Chloe pretends that he is taking a nap or sleeping in. But eventually the pretending catches up with us, and we fall apart and freshly feel our loss again.

I’ve learned so much about grief. I have great books on grief that maybe someday I will have the stamina and concentration to read. But God has taught me so much more about grief through first hand experience than I could have ever learned any other way. I wonder if the God of the Universe became exhausted during his separation from his son while Christ was on the cross. Not exhaustion in a human sense, but that soul wrenching tiredness that comes from separation from a much loved one. My doctrine may not make sense, but I know how I feel and I know what God is teaching me.

For our immediate future, we are on compassionate leave until August 1 2010. Most missionaries who take a compassionate leave, take the leave in their home country. We did take 10 weeks to visit the states and see many of you. But for the rest of our leave, we needed to come home. During this time, we will continue to heal and walk through this shadowy place.

I need to have an addendum added to Chloe’s current home study. The addendum needs to reflect that our home has lost its husband and daddy. Our Kenyan adoption was competed on June 19. For which I continue to say Hallelujah! But we were still working to complete the paperwork and gather documents for Chloe to become a US citizen. The social worker here in Kenya knows that the US Embassy has a deadline on our paperwork of March 2010. God took Ryan before we could get this done. God also knows of the steps we need to take to get this all done.

We plan to have all the paperwork in order by June of 2010 and return to the USA for a much needed 12 month Home Assignment (HA) in our home country. AIM has it set up that if missionaries finish a 2 year term then they can remain on support for a 4 month HA in their home country. A 3 year term means an 8 month HA. Our term will be 4 years and 3 months by the time we reach the USA. No wonder we are tired.

During this time of compassionate leave, I can look into ministry opportunities that will allow us to stay with AIM in Africa. Mostly we are seeking God’s will for what he has next for us. I am not expected to start any ministry until we have finished our HA and return to Kenya in June of 2011. I have my Kenyan Nursing License which is a big plus. I’ve inquired about being a school nurse at Rift Valley Acedemy (RVA) which is an hour outside of Nairobi. I’ve shared with the administration at RVA that I am interested in moving to the RVA campus in July of 2011. The kids will all be school age by then and able to attend school. We would have our own house on campus. The kids can walk to class and I can walk to work.

Over the years of our marriage, Ryan and I talked about what the other should do if something happened to one of us. We wanted our family to remain with AIM in Africa. Both of us were missionaries with AIM before we met. And until God moves us to a new place, we wanted to stay. The months just previous to the accident, we dreamt of moving to RVA when the kids were all school age. Ryan would be involved with maintenance of vehicles or building and grounds. And I would be a school nurse.

Knowing these dreams and each others wishes, it’s easy for me to see us at RVA. At this time RVA knows of our desire but it is too far into the future for them to fore see the staffing needs of Student health. They also can’t know if they will have housing. But so much can change in a year and a half. I have permission to share this opportunity with you so that you can pray for us.

God has brought to mind several other ministry possibilities for us in Nairobi that I have not had time to look into yet. And I might look outside of Kenya as well. My priority is to make sure my kids school needs are being met since Home Schooling will be impossible if I am in full time ministry. Along with that, I am protective of the family time we have in the mornings and the evenings. I want to work hard at the job I will be in, but have energy when I return home to be emotionally present with my kids around the supper table and bedtime.

God knew our families needs and desires when he took Ryan home. He can meet all our needs in his good time.

Our Calender as I see it now.

December 22-29 we are at the beach on a family vacation

January 12, Caleb and Levi begin school at WNS.

March 1, we need to have Chloe’s Home Study completed and turned into the US Embassy

The week before Easter is spring break and we have invited some of Ryan’s family to come for a visit.

Dawn’s to do list:
Write a prayer letter soon.
Gather a list of documents for our Social worker and be available for her to interview us as she writes the addendum
Look into future ministry opportunities
Get a new suspension, tires, and muffler for our van
Get away for a few days on my own for a spiritual retreat.
Be emotionally, not just physically available at Breakfast time, dinner time, and bedtime.
Have some special times with Seth and Chloe while the older boys are at school.

Prayer Points

Please pray for stamina for all the kids when they start attending school. And for wisdom for me in how to encourage them to stay the course when they get sick of it after a few weeks.

Thank the Lord for an opportunity to spend Christmas with good friends at the beach.

Please pray for our social worker and myself as we work together to get this addendum written in a timely manner.

Thank the Lord that Caleb and Levi were accepted into WNS.

Pray for the time, energy, and inclination to look into other ministries. I feel like I don’t have the mental capacity to process all of this.

Thank the Lord for our friends.

One has taken on Wednesday nights. She comes over after dinner and helps with baths and bedtime. Then we either chat or watch a movie together.

Another friend is taking the kids to their house for dinner on Monday nights, giving me alone time in my house.

Still another family saves us seats on Sunday mornings and sits with us, allowing me to absorb more of the service.

Many wives have willingly lent their husbands to do odd jobs around the house that Ryan used to take care of.

Please pray for our circle of friends, that they will have their own circle of people supporting them so that their own needs are met.

Merry Christmas,

Dawn, Caleb, Levi, Seth, And Chloe

Head's Up

2009-12-18T22:42:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

I am working on an email update that I will also post on my blog. For those of you on Face Book, I update my status almost every day. It's an easier way to stay connected than trying to blog. So look me up and send me a friend requst.

To find me, look for

Dawn Nienhuis Williams

My maiden name surely narrows down the search!

Merry Christmas

Dawn

Trick or Treating

2009-10-31T16:32:00.001-07:00

We are having a great weekend in Wausau with Dean, Sarah, Sam, Elle, and Jack. We went trick or treating this afternoon, it was slightly snowing. Caleb and Levi played in a light layer of snow this morning and were sad when it melted. Levi couldn't believe that all he had to do was ring a door bell of a house and people filled his bucket with candy. Chloe won't stop asking me "please, can I have a piece of candy". Only she says it so fast it sounds like one word.

First half of October

2009-10-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody,
I have not added new email addresses to my list in a while. So if you are forwarding my updates to folks who don’t receive them, please continue to do so.

I am working through Psalm 23. When I have time, I like to journal and reading David’s words to our God, fills my soul. If you have poems, commentaries, or quotes about Psalm 23, please send them to me. And there is a recent contemporary Christian artist who sings the Psalm to a tune I have stuck in my head. If you know of it, please tell me.

Last week, this week, and next week.

October 1 was Chloe’s 3rd Birthday, we celebrated numerous times. And we flew from NC to NY. Pearl River NY is the location of AIM’s US Sending Office. We spent a long weekend being spoiled by AIMers in the office. They have hospitality suites right at their location that we stayed in.

October 2, My kids were completely occupied, entertained, and cared for by terrific ladies. I spent the morning visiting offices, completing paperwork related to this huge change in our lives. I have to close our checking account and open a new one. I completed the forms for receiving Ryan’s life insurance. I turned in receipts for reimbursement from Ryan’s Memorial Fund. I debriefed with someone from Member Care. I talked with logistics about buying a generator to keep our house lit in Kenya which is struggling with power outages several days a week. I went out for lunch with Ruth and then walked through IKEA.

October 3, My children were whisked away first thing in the morning and I slept in til 11 am. Then at 2 pm I was whisked away to a spa, and pampered myself. I was so relaxed at the end of the day. After putting the kids to bed, I went to a friend’s house for a visit.

October 4, the kids went to a park to play. I went to Nyack State Park and walked around for 1 ½ hours. This is where Ryan proposed to me 9 years ago. It was nice to visit it again. Then we flew to MI to stay at my parents.

October 5, the kids played outside almost the whole day on Babu’s (my dad) go-carts, garden tractor, and little jeep. My mom did laundry the whole day. And I walked through almost every aisle of Meijer. I love grocery stores. They are so relaxing to me. That night Diane (my sister) and I went shoe shopping.

October 6, I am meeting with 3 pastors to finalize the memorial service for Saturday. It’s at my parents church here in Holland. And I’m getting a haircut.

October 7-9, More of the same will probably be happening.

October 10 is our final memorial service for Ryan. I am ready to be finished but I’m glad we did it 3 times in 3 different locations.

Dean and Sarah (brother and his wife) will be here for the weekend with their 3 kids. And Dale and Celeste will be flying in for the weekend. Twill be a full house!

How am I?

How many of you skipped the calendar and started reading here? I don’t blame you.

I grieved and mourned a lot the month of August in Kenya. Since we have been in the states, I would say I am only coping. It’s been stressful. As many missionaries have written me and pointed out, just visiting the states in incredibly stressful. But to do it without my spouse, compounds all of it. We had a good month in September but we traveled A LOT!

And October in MI is just as busy. I know that friends and family in the states are stuck in their grief until they see me and the kids without Ryan. That is why we made this trip, to make it real for people and to bring some closure. But it has also stunted my grief process. In a way I’ve had to pause in my walk through this valley and let people catch up. That’s been hard. After this final memorial service, I plan to start walking again, slowly. Sunday will be a day of rest with my family (Ryan’s parents included). And on Monday I get to fall apart. I’ve been counting the days until Tiffany and I go on our retreat. Often I think, if I can just hold it together until then.

Monday October 12 I start an in depth retreat for 5 nights and 6 days. Monday I drive to GR, and have counseling. Then I pick Tiffany up from the airport and we drive an hour to our secluded luxury cottage. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we continue to receive counseling and solitude. I really miss Tiffany and can’t wait to see her. I need this safe place to let down my guard and grieve. I need to be away from my kids for a week and not have parenting responsibilities. My mom and dad are taking care of my kids. Tiffany’s mom and dad are taking care of her 4 kids.

On Saturday I want to show Tiffany around where I grew up and then bring her back to the airport. I hope I am ready to take on my mantel of responsibilities by then.

Thanks for praying,

I am trying to compile a list of those who gave to us personally, outside of the memorial fund.

If you gave something to me, could you remind me, through email.

Thanks Dawn

Our Week in Florida

2009-09-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

We are in Florida this week. Last weekend, we stayed with Tiffany and her kids. She is the wife of the pilot, Frank, who was killed. We attended a memorial service for Frank on Saturday. It hit me harder than I anticipated. I think I was over confident that I can handle it. I sobbed during the video tribute, thinking of all that Tiffany and I had lost. It was good to feel safe enough to cry.

On Monday the kids and I drove to the Orlando area and are staying with our friends, Rich and Sue Williamson, and their 3 kids. They have a pool! Oh joy for my kids. It is hot and humid here and they were sick of sitting in the car. After a good swim yesterday, they slept good last night.

Tuesday afternoon (today) I am meeting with Pastor Jim Wadley from our church to go over the plans for Ryan’s memorial service. The service will be this Saturday at First Baptist Church of Oviedo. This is the church that Ryan and I became members of when we lived here our first year of marriage. That was a good year and being back in the area brings back lots of good memories. I attended seminary while Ryan worked at a hangar in Sanford gaining experience as an airplane mechanic. Caleb was born here. This is our sending church.

Wednesday my 2 sisters fly in from MI. Diane and Debra are coming specifically to help with the kids. Debra left her husband and 2 kids behind. Diane got off from work just for me.

Thursday we go to Disney! Magic Kingdom here we come. I figure that Diane, Debra and I can handle 4 kids and have a good time. The tickets are a gift from friends as well as the hotel we will be staying at from Wednesday to Sunday.

Friday, we recover from Disney and play by the pool. My parents and my brother Dean are flying in from MI. We are looking forward to having our immediate family together plus my 4 kids. Dean’s wife Sarah stayed in WI with their 3 kids.

Ryan’s parents, his 2 sisters and their families will be staying in FL for the weekend with Ryan’s grandma.

Saturday at 11 am we have Ryan’s Memorial Service at First Baptist followed by a luncheon. If your coming, please stay for lunch. I heard we will be eating well. And this gives me a chance to say hi to people.

Sunday all of my family flies back to MI. Monday, I drive with my in laws back to NC.

So that is my week at a glance.

How are we?

Tired. We haven’t even been in the States a full 3 weeks yet and we are busy traveling all over the place. It would be overwhelming for us under normal conditions (Ryan still here). But on top of our grief, it is often too much. Ryan and I were a great team. I packed up the suitcases in an organized fashion. And he packed the van, knowing what needed to be easily available for me. He was always willing to pull out a bag or get something out of the cooler for me. Always for me in a way that made me feel special, at least most of the time. We did have our bickering moments too!

Now it’s all on me. On Monday, it took me almost 3 hours to fold the clean laundry, pack the suitcases, and load the van.

And when Ryan and I went on road trips, I read the map and gave him directions. He trusted me with this. He drove and I handled the kids needs as we drove.

Now I am driving, following directions from MapQuest and a tomtom, pumping gas at the service stations, keeping the kids happy meals straight, disciplining in the car, etc. Caleb has been good at getting the DVD player going for the kids in the back seat, and handing out snacks and juice cups. But by the time we get to our destination, unload the car, play in the pool, eat, bedtime, I am exhausted.

I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I am tired. The kids are tired. We are all dealing with underlying anger that breaks out in melt downs and short tempers. It’s not pretty, and it’s not normal. I keep hoping and praying it is only for a season and then we will establish a new normal.

I am asking more of all the kids. Seth (4) and Chloe (almost 3) need to be more patient and wait for mommy to finish what she is doing before she can get their snack or juice cup. Caleb (8) and Levi (6) are learning to roll their suitcases and help me unload the car. I’m trying not to add responsibilities that they are capable of all at once, just slowly, but they don’t have the energy to be more helpful as they did before.

Realizing that all of this is normal for grieving families is not all that comforting to me. I know how good we were as a family before the accident. And I want it back. I don’t like to see my kids melting down over little things that they would have shrugged off 2 months ago. When it happens in the grocery story, I want to tell people around me that they just lost their father and that my kids don’t usually act like this. I know I could tell people our news, but even that is tiring.

Something else I am struggling with is that I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring on Valentine’s Day this year. Ryan was going to replace it. But if he can’t pick out a new diamond for me, then I don’t want one. But I miss wearing my wedding ring. I want to take it a jeweler in MI and see if we can take the prongs out and make it into some kind of wedding band. I am wearing Ryan’s wedding band on my necklace. It’s hanging next to my pendant that has all my kids birthstones set in it. I wear it every day. But I want people to be able to look down at my left hand and see a wedding band. My husband didn’t leave me with 4 kids, he died. And that is a big comfort that I want strangers to realize. I still feel married. But I am a single mom.

Well that felt good to write, I realize these emails turn out very personal but people’s response is positive. So if I am able, I will let you see into my heart about certain things.

Travel plans for Sept.-Nov. in the USA

2009-08-23T10:36:00.001-07:00

Hi Everybody,

Ryan’s service here in Kenya was on August 15. It was good.

We are planning our trip to the states and I can share some of those dates.

We fly from Nairobi to North Carolina on September 2 and 3. Ryan’s parents live in Garner, NC. This is our first trip without Ryan. Our kids are Caleb age 8, Levi age 6, Seth age 4, and Chloe is almost 3. I hope and pray the three airplane rides and two layovers go smoothly.

My in-laws are lending me their van and we are driving to FL on September 18 to attend Frank Toews Memorial Service in Leesburg on the 19th. My sisters, Diane and Debra, are flying in on Wednesday the 23rd . Friends of ours, the Williamsons, have opened up their home to us. On the 24th we are going to Disney! Diane, Debra, 4 kids, and myself. A dear friend who I have yet to meet is giving me 5 tickets. My parents and In-laws arrive on the 25th and Ryan’s Florida Memorial Service will be on Saturday the 26th.

First Baptist Church of Oviedo
45 W Broadway
Oviedo FL 32765

I’ll let you know the time when it’s decided.

First Baptist is Ryan and I’s home church. I am looking forward to worshipping with them on the 27th. We will drive back to NC on the 28th.

October 1 is Chloe’s 3rd birthday, we will probably fly from NC to NY and spend a few days at AIM’s office in Pearl River. On October 4 we will probably fly to MI to be with my family. On Saturday, October 10 we will have another Memorial Service in Holland. I am still deciding on the venue and time. October 14 would have been Ryan and I’s 9th anniversary.

Sometime in the middle of October, Tiffany (Frank’s wife who also died in the crash and one of my best friends) are being whisked away. Just the two of us (and none of our 8 kids) are going on a retreat. Our counseling center here in Nairobi is planning a special retreat for us. We asked them to plan it for us while we are in the states. So far they have 3 options for us to consider, in MI and PA. Tiffany and I want to grieve well and are open to receiving all the help we can get to do this. I am looking forward to it already, for a safe place to laugh and grieve with my friend.

On October 28, me and the kids are off on another road trip to Wausau WI to spend a long weekend with my brother and sister-in-law and their 3 kids. We drive back to MI on November 2. Sometime that week, we will fly back to NC and spend those last days seeing Ryan’s family before we fly to our home in Nairobi on November 17 and 18.

After all these flights and road trips, I hope I will have started adjusting to traveling with 4 small kids and no husband. I am not looking forward to it, and hope I have the freedom to cry and be mad when I need to. But I also hope we can have A LOT of fun.

I shared a lot of details. I hope you print this up and post it on your refrigerator or place it in your Bible and pray for us on each day, knowing what we are doing on those days. When I have the domestic flights, I’ll clarify those dates for you.

Thanks

Dawn and the 4 kiddos.

Ps. We are returning to Kenya, I will share more about that in the future. But I am certain that God wants us here and he will supply a ministry for me. I have some good possibilities already to consider.

Pss. I share a lot of daily information on Face book. Please find me as your friend and keep up more regularly with what those crazy, adventurous Williams are up to next.

Breakfast in the game park

2009-08-16T10:20:00.001-07:00

On May 2, we took the kids and my parents to the Nairobi game park for a late breakfast.

Ryan and the boys looking for hippos or anything else intersting.

We found a great place to make a picnic breakfast without any baboons to disturb us. It was up on a ridge, so the kids looked for animals with the binnoculars.

Ryan set up his ancient Coleman camp stove and we fried bacon and eggs.

Oma looking out at the view with Seth and Chloe.

One of many Tributes

2009-08-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is written in the program for Ryan's service. Wish you could have been there.

Ryan loved to work on airplanes...

but in reality, anything that moved or made noise, he was into it. He was often doing something with a piki –his, yours, anybody who needed a hand doing something, he was there giving his time and his ability with no questions asked. You could find him tinkering at his toolbox with a toy helicopter for his boys, trying to make it fly again. Or one time, he was making a little kitchen for Chloe out of some odds and ends he had picked up around town. There was even a time he was trying to get this ancient looking juicer going again for Dawn. He hauled it down to the Industrial Area and back again a couple times, trying to get it working again. Now, his toolbox sits silently in the corner of the hangar, a vacant reminder of a man gifted in many ways, a man who will be greatly missed.

He was a great mentor to many people who worked alongside of him in the hangar. He took the time to teach a young mechanic how to do a specific task, and then helped along the way when questions arose. He loved to do sheetmetal; there was no project that he would do that came out with bad results. He cared about the work that he did and took pride in keeping those airplanes flying safely. It was not a matter of working just to do work, but doing work that would honor the Lord. His heart burned for not only for the work of aircraft maintenance, but for the work that AIM AIR took part in throughout Kenya and East Africa. He served his Lord well so that others could also serve through medical missions, church planting, famine relief, Bible translation, and a host of other ministries.

His ministries were not only limited to AIM AIR, however. He was fully involved in his local church and took seriously the call to be God’s witness throughout the remotest parts of the earth. He tirelessly gave his time and his abilities to help with famine relief throughout the Ukambani region. At least one Saturday a month for the past several months, he spent all day driving his van full of people all over that region, helping to distribute food to people who just don’t have anything due to the famine in Kenya. Most people complain about being stuck in traffic in Nairobi for an hour; he never complained about being hot and sweaty and stinky in a van for twelve hours out in the middle of nowhere.

Most importantly, though, he loved his Lord and he loved his family. While he loved working on airplanes, his heart was always longing to be at home with his wife Dawn and his four children – Caleb, Levi, Seth, and Chloe. You knew he loved his family; it was most evident to us in the hangar around the kids’ birthdays. They would show up with him and spend “a day with Dad at work.” He would let them turn wrenches with him and go for an engine run on one of the 206s. They would ride on the dispatch bicycles down the ramp to look at all the other airplanes. They would go and get Kenyan food, because his boys love it so much, even if he wasn’t really in the mood for it that day. Meeting Dawn was perhaps the best thing to happen to him; they met here in Kenya, both doing the Lord’s work. She has been a helpmeet and a strong support for him; even after he joined Frank in glory, so many have marveled at the inner strength she has displayed. Whether it was fixing her juicer or taking her to a movie where they were the only ones in the theater, he loved his wife and cared for her with utmost attention.

This is the testimony of Ryan Williams, that he loved his Lord without reservation. He followed God’s leading and when the time came, he gave his all for the sake of the Gospel. God called his friend Frank Toews home immediately; Ryan, He chose to wait a little bit before calling him home. We don't know why, but He has a reason. We can just imagine that when Ryan entered His Savior's arms, he heard that big laugh of Frank in the background. So now Ryan has joined that great cloud of witnesses that Scripture talks about. We look forward to the day when we shall see our beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend again, but for now, we must continue on in our journey. God has called each one of us for a special purpose. As Ryan stepped out into glory, we must step up into his place and continue to carry the Gospel to those who still have not heard. Human minds cannot conceive what lies ahead...but God knows. With that knowledge, we must rest in the loving arms of the Savior, arms that also hold our beloved Ryan with Him in glory.

Written by Nathan Roberts

Life between Ryan's death and his memorial service

2009-08-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
A nice article was placed in the paper of Holland MI, where I grew up. I’ve sent the link.

I went to Frank’s memorial service on Tuesday. His life glorified God and the service honored the man Frank was.

Now I am in the middle of planning Ryan’s service for Saturday. My pastor is working on the service. I’ve asked several people to share memories of Ryan. Our media team is putting together a video to be shown at the service, and countless other details are being attended too.

The kids are doing well enough. I think they are in shock and disbelief, grieving appropriately. Chloe and Seth can tell me that daddy died, but don’t really understand. Caleb and Levi understand much more.

I’m tired. Last week was consumed with supporting Tiffany as she grieved for Frank, visiting Ryan in the hospital and being his advocate, and trying to keep my kids needs met. This week is grieving, accepting help from both my parents and Ryan’s parents who are all here, and being loved by my missionary family. I would say I am in denial. I know it’s true, but I can’t believe it deep down inside. I’m not looking for him, but have been too surrounded by people to feel lonely yet.

In South Africa, I was able to spend as much time as I needed with the body that Ryan left behind. I truly was able to say good-bye and grieve then. His memorial service will be videoed, I think this will be important for the kids to see again as they get older. To hear what others said about their dad. Right now I’m not nervous about Saturday. I don’t care if I stay strong or if I break down and weep. Both are ok with me.

Next week I will return to the job of getting Chloe’s paperwork finished. That kind of went on hold when I flew to SA on Friday, I didn’t get there in time to see him alive but am so glad I got to see him one last time. The coffin is sealed now, so that was my last time. And this week, I needed to take a week off from adoption. I don’t see any problems ahead with our traveling to the USA in the next few weeks. I hope to have two more memorial services, one in Florida and one in Michigan. I will keep you posted.

Then in October or November me and the kids plan to return to Kenya to finish this term. Our Home Assignment is still planned for March 2010. We will be spending one year in the states, as Ryan and I had originally planned. Then I feel I will be able to make better decisions about what my ministry might look like when we come back to Kenya. Ryan and I talked a lot about what we each would do if we lost each other. And we both wanted to remain on the field because we both felt called to missions. AIM is very supportive and willing to work with me on that.

Thanks for all your prayers, believe me, I feel them.

Dawn

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/lifestyle_religion/x1528790702/Holland-mom-widowed-after-missionary-plane-crashes-in-Africa

A friends perspective of Ryan

2009-08-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

My girl friend (college roommate) wrote this. I edited a few things but otherwise it is from her perspective, and I like it very much.

From Lisa Van Zoest:

I am at Dan's office today (on Aug. 8), with a need just to absorb and to process what has happened. I invite you today to remember Ryan and Dawn's life and their impact on our own with me. I have a pile of toilet paper next to me on the desk, as I know that this will not be easy. But, the mental health professional in me knows that it is necessary.

We do not currently have internet working at our house, so it has been difficult to keep up to date with what has been happening with Ryan since we arrived in Nicaragua. So, the last we were able to check was yesterday morning. At that time we picked up the message from Dawn saying that Ryan was "unstable" which was "very concerning". This morning, as I was waking up, Ryan was on my mind as he has been all week as I wake up. But, this morning was different. It felt to me that something was very wrong and I began praying with passion that God would save his life. After a few minutes of pleading with God, the thought occurred to me that if Ryan were to live, he would need to endure and work through a great deal of physical, emotional, and mental pain here on this earth. With that thought, I was able to surrender and ended my prayer with "not my will Father, but yours be done."

From there, I got up and asked Dan if he would check face book for me. He left the house to find an internet connection and when he came back, he said, "he passed away". These are just words a person is never ready to hear no matter how much you expect that it is a possibility. The kids were asking me questions shortly after I received this news, and I would look at them blankly and could not focus on what they were saying. I thought about Dawn and how she has four pairs of eyes looking up at her, asking questions that are so much more profound than, "Mom, could you cut my bagel?"

I've been reviewing in my mind throughout today the ways in which God used both Ryan and Dawn to influence our lives in regard to living lives of surrender to whatever God calls us to do – regardless of the cost. Dawn's call to missions came when she was just a little girl – I think she was 5 – and throughout her life, she was surrendered to this call. She went to Calvin College and graduated with a nursing degree and then worked for a few years in Grand Rapids before heading to Tanzania, Africa to be a single missionary nurse. I remember rooming with her at Calvin College and noticing that she was very faithful about her time with the Lord. I did not have a regular time with God at that time, and it impressed me that she was so committed to that time. I even remember one time she had gotten in bed and then realized that she had not had her time with God. She got out of bed and got her Bible – it did not seem to be a duty, but a genuine desire to spend time with the One that she loved and who loved her.

Whenever Dawn would come back from Africa, the roommates who lived in Grand Rapids (there were six of us who roomed together at Calvin, but we were not all in the GR area after graduation) would get together and listen to Dawns stories of adventure. When we were all in our late 20's, I remember getting together with Dawn and the roommates at a restaurant. All of us, but Dawn, were married by this time and I remember Dawn expressing her desire to be married as well. She asked if we would pray for God to give her a husband. I remember thinking, "I will pray, but this seems quite impossible." All I saw were the barriers: 1) Dawn desired to be married to someone who had a passion for full-time missions which narrowed the pool of options in the US. 2) Dawn lived in a remote village with few other single male missionaries to choose from. Little did I know that "nothing is impossible with God".

Ryan traveled to Africa with a short term team and was given the assignment to (I'm a little fuzzy on the actual thing he was fixing) but I think it was a well. I just remember Dawn telling me that the first time she saw Ryan, he was covered in mud from head to toe. Ryan was only in her village for part of that day and I remember her saying that after she met him, she got on her knees in her bedroom and prayed – I think she prayed because she really thought that he could be the one and she just needed to give it to God! Again, details are fuzzy, but it seems to me that they ended up needing to travel together somewhere that day, just the two of them. The short story is that they fell in love and soon were married. God had given her a husband in answer to her and our prayers. I remember how all six of us roommates were at Dawn and Ryan's wedding – so fun. The interesting thing was that five of us were in different stages of pregnancy and Dawn was soon to be pregnant (Dawn and Ryan found out soon after their honeymoon that they were expecting!).

I remember their first visit to our home in Cedar Rapids when Caleb was a baby. They were on furlough traveling to churches and working on raising support to serve with AIM. We asked our church, Peace CRC Church, if Dawn and Ryan could speak at the evening service and they did. Following their time at Peace CRC, we planned to have a desert at our house for them to share more with those who were interested. I remember, prior to the church service, being so stressed about whether anyone would come to the desert, etc. I remember Dawn saying to me that it was really up to God if anyone would come and that I had no control over whether people would come or support them or whatever. Dawn has always been very blunt. God did lead one couple who attended the desert to financially support them. I remember talking with Ryan and Dawn during that visit about support raising because this process was so foreign to us. I remember Ryan talking about how much more you come to know God as your Provider when you are completely dependent on Him in this way. As he talked about this, I remember feeling like we were missing out on something. His comment has rung in my ears for many years. It was a year or two later when God led us to raise support to be a part of the ministry of FamilyLife. It was then that I really understood what he was talking about.

Ryan and Dawn had another son, Levi, and then little Seth. Prior to Seth's birth, Ryan and Dawn were debating about whether to have him in Africa or to travel back to the US. It could have been that they were close to furlough, I can't quite remember. Anyway, they felt most at peace about having him in the US and so they traveled back. A week or so after Seth's birth, Dawn felt sick with flu like symptoms. She was eventually hospitalized and doctors were scrambling to figure out what was going on because her condition quickly became critical. At first they wondered whether they were dealing with a tropical illness, but later determined that it was her appendix. By this time, her appendix had ruptured and she was at times close to death. I remember talking with her on the phone while she was in the hospital and I remember that I did not know what to say. I remember just listening and choking back tears as I listened to her weakened voice share with me the Bible verses people were sending her and how she was encouraged by them. Dawn was in the hospital for 6 weeks right after Seth was born and grieved missing his sweet infancy, their other little boys being old enough to know that Mommy was very sick. I remember talking with Ryan on the phone at that time too and he sounded depressed and distant, as one would imagine.

By God's amazing grace, Dawn made a full recovery. Ryan and Dawn came to visit us when Seth was around 3 or 4 months old. I remember Dawn saying during our visit that she was ready to have another baby. I then remember Ryan quickly saying, "we are NOT having another baby." We all laughed, but I was also just inspired by Dawn's courage. This particular visit occurred shortly after our withdrawal from FamilyLife. Dan and I were in a lot of pain at that time, really grieving. Ryan and Dawn listened and encouraged. I remember that during this visit, our conversations with Ryan and Dawn would often turn to cross-cultural missions and at this time we were not just asking about their lives, but also thinking and praying through whether this was God's call on our own lives. Ryan gave us some information to look through and really challenged and encouraged us to take the promptings we were receiving seriously. I remember standing with Ryan and Dawn at our front door and before they walked out of our home, I said to them, "You guys inspire us." I remember Ryan just smiling back. This was the last time we saw him. When Ryan and Dawn learned of our pursuing a call to Nicaragua, they were among the first to send in financial support. They encouraged us at the beginning of the support raising process by their giving and have reminded us by their example to continue to give generously as we receive generously.

This past month or so Dawn has been sending us updates about their adoption of Chloe. Chloe is a beautiful little African girl that they have been in the process of adopting. She has been living with them and has been a part of their family for the past few years. There was no guarantee that the adoption would go through and Ryan and Dawn's family were unable to leave Africa with her until her adoption was complete. So, Ryan and Dawn have not been back in the States for 3 1/2 years. Just a few weeks ago, Dawn was excited to share that Chloe's adoption was complete and that they just needed to work on getting her VISA before they returned to the States for furlough. Dawn and I emailed a bit about plans to get all the roommates and our families together next summer when she and Ryan would be in the States (we have never all been together with our kids and husbands before).

On Wednesday, August 5, Ryan was transported from the hospital in Kenya to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa that specializes in burn care. Dawn stayed back in Kenya to finalize the details of Chloe's travel VISA which she needed in order to take her with her. She wrote that the US embassy was very helpful and they were able to get it within in a couple of days. However, on Aug. 7, Dawn learned of Ryan's death as she boarded the plane to fly to Johannesburg to be with him. Dawn's face book entry reads, "My husband Ryan died Friday morning from injuries sustained in an airplane crash. He lived one week after the accident. I got to see him many times before he died. We are well. It is well with my soul." Dawn, my dear friend, you continue to inspire and challenge me with your resolve to surrender and trust and live a life of gratitude. I love you so much.

The evening of Aug. 8, I asked Will as I was tucking him into bed, "Would you like to pray for Ryan and Dawn's family, or would you like me to? He said, "How about you pray for them and I will pray for you." He prayed, "Dear God, please help Mom to think clearly. Please help her to be sad. And please help her to be happy that Ryan is in heaven with you."

Sunday morning in church we sang a song with lyrics that at one point repeat the phrase, "I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive." I felt anger and guilt rise in my heart as I thought, "yes, I am alive but Ryan is not." My thoughts were interrupted by God's whisper, "Lisa, Ryan is more alive than you are." Yes Lord, Will is right – we can be happy for Ryan, for how he is with you and for how he is more alive than we will ever be here on earth.

Eldama Ravine

2009-06-05T01:21:00.000-07:00

In March, we took a 5 night long weekend and went to Eldama Ravine. It's a town where a missionary family was given a piece of land which they turned into a farm. They also built cabins for missionaries to 'get away'. The cabins are very rustic, and creaky. The water is warmed by a wood burning stove system in the family room area. Power is on most of the time and they have a back up generator. We bring all our own food. Friends ask us what there is to do there and we reply "absolutely nothing". It's quiet and peaceful. We brought the kids bikes and they have an outside play area with a fort, slides, and swings. We take walks to the farm and check on the baby chicks. It meets our need to get out of Nairobi on a tight budget.

I made a special raspberry, cream cheese coffee cake which we devoured our first morning for breakfast.

Chloe at 2 1/2 years old. The kids got robes from the used clothes market. They enjoyed wearing them on the cold mornings.

Seth is 3 1/2 years old, he seems to be outgrowing his excema.

Levi is 5 1/2 years old.

Caleb at 7 1/2 years. He's lost two teeth.

The kids all fit in the tub. Everynight, Ryan built a fire in the wood burning water heater to heat water for baths, and it warmed up the cabin nicely. It got quite cold at night.

Chloe and Seth by the cow pasture, we saw a new born calf.

Ryan and Seth doing the dishes.

We ate lunch on the front porch every day.

Chloe napping in the tent. We could hear her snoring.

Ryan tented in front of the cabin, one night with each boy. Chloe took a nap one afternoon with daddy.

The boys and a packed to the gills van.

Rhymes and Stories by Caleb

2009-02-12T01:20:00.000-08:00

A Number Rhyme
By Caleb Williams

One, two, the cow goes moo.
Three, four, the loose floor.
Five, six, make a mix.
Seven, eight, the apple he ate.
Nine, ten, get the wren.

Tucker Goes to the Vet.
By Caleb Williams

I am a vet. Here is a sick animal. It is a dog. It is Tucker. His foot is hurt. It has a thorn in it. I can cure it. I can take the thorn out. The End

February 12, 2009

The Village Celebration

2009-02-05T00:12:00.000-08:00

Dictated by Caleb Williams

Long, long ago there lived a village. And one kid said, “Why don’t we have a wild boar tonight.” “Good idea,” said Avery and Caroline. So they went to catch a wild boar. So they went. They came back with a wild boar. And the village made a fire. And they cooked it. And it was turning night. So they started a celebration. And it was good. The End

February 5, 2009

A Story about Bumble Bee

2009-02-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

By Levi Williams

Once upon a time there was Bumble Bee. He saw a bad guy. So he decided to transform into a transformer. So he got his gun out. So he got tons of guns out. And the bad guy had two guns. So he fighted the bad guy. Who won? Bumble Bee won.

February 5, 2009

The Racing Contest, a story by Levi Williams

2009-01-21T23:46:00.000-08:00

Levi is driving a racing car. Tucker is looking where Levi should go. And it’s a number 4 racing car. And Tucker found the way that Levi could go that was a short cut. And Tucker said, “Go left to the light.” And so Levi turned left at the light. So they won the race. So they won the only goodest piston cup. The End

January 22, 2009

Levi drew a picture of his racing car.

Blasting of in Space, Space Camp and Space Dogs. A story by Caleb Williams

2009-01-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

The space ship blasts off into outer space. It went far into the galaxy. And then it comes back. And sees a boy and a dog and their names were Caleb and Tucker. And it came back and landed where they were. The Captain said, “Come on board”. Caleb came on board. The Captain said, “Take the dog too”. The space ship blasted off into outer space.

They went to the moon. Tucker met some other dogs. And they played space dogs. And they were happy. The Captain decided to set up camp there. They had lots and lots of fun. And they lived happily ever after. The End

January 22, 2009

This story was prompted by a picture I showed Caleb.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

Chloe's Second Christmas with us!

The kids got aprons and stockings that matched.

We've started collecting camp equipment, these are our new chairs.

Christmas breakfast is a special raspberry almond cream cheese coffe cake.

Christmas dinner we ate turkey and stuffing with the Gibsons.

We camped on the back yard with all the kids.

Lake Naivasha

2008-11-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

In August we took Dawn's mom and the whole family to Lake Naivasha for a weekend. Only 2 hours from Nairobi on nice roads, we stayed at a friends guest house that was beautiful. Ryan took Friday as vacation and we had a picnic on Crescent Island, hiked the Island, and headed to the guest house. Saturday we laid low at the guest house situated in a mature acacia forest and very quiet, not even cell phone coverage. Sunday we chartered a boat for an hour and saw the hippos before driving back to Nairobi.

After our picnic lunch, we went on a hike with a guide around Crescent Island. No cars allowed and we were the only ones on the Island. We got close to lots of wild life including gazelles, giraffes, hippos and zebras.

Picture after long hike on Crescent Island.

Kids getting "fitted" with life jackets.

We went on a one hour boat ride in search of Hippo's.

Hippo sightings from the boat.

Caleb's Birthday, August 7

2008-11-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

For Caleb's 7th Birthday we took the kids and oma to a play center. Some of the grocery stores have play area's where parents can drop their kids off while they get groceries. We stayed with the kids and watched them have a blast. The area had tunnels and 4 or 5 stories of rubber platforms and mesh walls to crawl through. I had to crawl to the 2nd story and save Chloe. Also had slides and a pit full of little plastic balls. The kids had fun.

Pirate Names!

2008-09-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

My pirate name is:

Captain Mary Flint

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Oma's take on Naivasha

2008-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

My pics didn't load in the order I liked, and the email was suppose to come first and it took 3 days of attempts just to get this far, so be it!

Getting fitted? With life jackets. Oma was pretty sure they would sink.

Hippos from afar! A family of about 15 with one male in the middle.

Variety of birds on the shore of crescent island.

Chloe falling asleep with her oversized life jacket.

Caleb and Levi shivering.

Python sleeping in the reeds.

I am posting emails from Oma about her time here. They won't be in order.

This weekend we went to Naivasha, we left Fri. morning and came home on Sunday at 3 p.m. we had a great time.

Friday we arrived their at noon, its about 1 1/2 hours from Nairobi, we ate a picnic lunch at a place called Crescent Island, Dawn packed a really nice picnic and we sat outside on a blanket, the weather was great. Then at 1:30 our guide(mombia) came and took us on a 2-1/2 hour walk around the island.The Kids did great. It was quite warm(we all got sunburn) but it was nice. we walked and walked and walked. Caleb and Levi were great troopers( better than oma) Chloe slept on Dawn's shoulder and Ryan, Moombia took turns carrying Seth. But we seen HIPPO's got within 20 feet of three girrafe) saw zebra, and all kinds of wildebeest, and several other kinds of animals in the deer family.. LOts of birds, there were people on vacation in boats with camera with 30inch lens zooming in on the birds, The bird watcher people were more interested in the birds than the hippos. We were walking back following out guide and went down to the water and see two huge hippos on shore, they were only about 50 ft. from us. when they heard us they went in the water abut most of us got a really good look, that was the best part of the day for me.

We arrived at our cottage at about 5:30, it was way in the boonies but really really nice. it could sleep 10 people, had a nice open patio in the back yard and we spent most of saturday sitting around, eating cookies and rice krispie bars. Ryan, Caleb and Levi did tons of exploring and at night all the kids were sleeping by 8 p.m. They loved it

Today(Sunday) we went to a hippo safari boat place and rented a boat with a driver and went to look for hippos. We seen a family of 28 with 1 male and 27 females with a bachelor about 100ft. away, he wasn't part of the family because their is only one male to all the females. We went about an hour and seen five or six different areas were hippos were. the kids loved it i have great pictures, the life jackets they wore were so big they could have dragged them to the bottom instead of helping them float.

We took an hour ride and then had another picnic lunch and headed for home. We had a great time and a nice weekend together. love dar

Baby Steps Part 2

2008-07-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

Well it's been 8 weeks now that our Kenyan Home Study was sent to the the Carolina Adoption agency. We haven't heard anything. I have called my social worker here a few times and continue to be reassured that they will contact both us and the social worker when it is completed or if they need more info. My trust is low. My experience is that unless I ask, nothing is getting done. So I keep asking.

We met with our lawyer a couple of weeks ago. He was encouraging. He affirmed that residents such as ourselves, have a longer process and more waiting. Actually the process is that same for parents who come to Kenya specifically to adopt. But since they have come to live here only until the adoption is complete, it seems they are given priority. Our lawyer has been bugging our social worker as well to get our stuff done and not have an attitude that we must not be in a hurry cause we live here.

He gave us the paperwork (rough draft) of documents he is ready to file and get our first court date. Exciting, but full of typos. I corrected them and Ryan turned them back into the lawyer. He is also bugging New Life Home for one last document he needs for Chloe. A document they had a year ago but not now. I am glad he is bugging them and not just me.

All in all, its been an encouraging month. I think I'll call the Social Worker again, would you like her number!

Disclaimer: I really do like my social worker, I think she has too much work on her plate.

Seth is Three!

2008-07-18T03:47:00.001-07:00

How can that be?

He may always be my baby boy. He definitely is snuggly in his cheetah pj's. Although feirce wielding his sword.

This was at the end of a very fun day and he's a tired cheetah.

It's nice when the kids birthdays fall on Saturdays. We had a slow morning getting up and than headed to Java House for breakfast. We haven't done that in ages, and the original Java House is still our favorite. The boys are big enough to each order and finish 3 kiddy breakfast. And Ryan and I enjoyed every bite of our big breakfasts.

We needed to waste some time so ran some errands at Nakumat (like a super target). Than off to Jamhuri Park. Ryan had seen a flyer about Polo matches. And sure enough we saw lots of horses. Near Nairobi is a smaller town of Karen named after Karen Blixen (think Out of Africa). Populated by white Kenyans of British background who are quite proper with horses and polo matches. The saturday matches were free. The kids enjoyed jumpy castles, face painting, and even cotton candy. We got to pet the horses who were not competing.

Than home for lunch and rest time.

For dinner the compound got together to grill out and wish a family fairwell that was heading back to Germany. We brought cupcakes and lit them and sang Happy Birthday to Seth. He thought it was all about him. Why Not!!!

When we got home, he opened his present and was quite excited about his sword and sheath. For 2 days he was the only one with a sword, quite an honor than that got to be too much for me and I bought them all swords, even Chloe.

Happy Birthday Seth!

Levi's Birthday

2008-06-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

ALL,
Here on this grand day of Saturday 14 June 2008, Levi Dale Williams has turned 5 years old!
I would like to share a few pics w/ you & tell a little story about my day.
We spent the day in the Nairobi Game Park a short 15 min drive from our house. We celebrated w/ a breakfast/birthday cake
& hot Kenyan tea that my mom made. My dad parked the van w/ zebras on one side & cape buffalo on the other side.
We had a great birthday party. I was so brave & excited, I even chased the zebras. After our cake & tea, we drove a short 2km.
down the road & came open 6 lions! They were resting in the tall grass on the edge of the road, my dad almost ran one over!
We spent about 30mins watching them from about 10ft away! We also saw hippos, eland, gazelle, heartabeast, ostrich, warthogs, & baboons.
We drove up to a giraffe that was so close I could almost touch its tail.
Now that's a Birthday treat you can't get anywhere else.
Thanks for your Birthday wishes!
Love Levi.

Caleb's Eggs

2008-06-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago, Caleb told us he was going to have eggs. I had no idea what he was talking about. But he recently made a new friend of our neighbor’s cook. The next day, she knocked on our door with 2 eggs wrapped protectively in newspaper. Caleb was talking non-stop about chicks, these were 2 fertilized eggs. I don’t know how to incubate eggs. We filled up a hot water bottle and wrapped them in a towel and tucked them in on top of the water bottle.

That night, Ryan had a good laugh and googled about home incubation. We found some good sites. The best, written by a 1st grade teacher who did this every year. Ryan built our home incubator from an empty ice-cream tub, old kitchen towel, thermometer, lid, and a small cup of water. He spent an hour putting our desk lamp different heights above the eggs and taking readings on my thermometer. We wanted between 99 and 101 F. Ryan taped a line on the wall and labeled it lamp height. The water was for humidity which we had very little control over. Caleb was in charge of turning the eggs 3 times a day, he never forgot. The teacher from the blog shared good ideas on teaching kids used to instant rewards, that patience is worth it. Ryan labeled 21 days later on our calendar and helped Caleb count down the days.

21 days came and went and no chicks. We weren’t too surprised. Caleb wanted to crack them open and see what happened. Another suprise, neither stunk. The first wasn’t fertilized. The second yolk was dark gray, so something had grown but not much.

When those eggs first showed up on our door, I thought, this is suppose to happened to other moms. Other moms have incubators on their desks and teach their kids this stuff. Is it already my turn? I think we will try it again. This time we will be ready, no hot water bottles!

Levi is doing great!

2008-05-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

We arrived at same day surgery at 7 am. He was in surgery by 830 am. Back in his room at 910 am. He dosed for awhile than watched pink panther on tv. By 1030 he was asking when we could go home.

The surgeon did a good job of reassuring Levi and making friends with Levi before surgery and checking on us after. The anesthetist put a mask on Levi with the first dose of anesthesia so Levi was sleeping before she put the IV in. He got a shot of antibiotic and 2 different pain meds while he was out during surgery. So when he got back to our room, he had no idea he had got shots. That was what he was most worried about. “Mom, am I going to get shots today?” So that helped. As he woke up, he told me that they hadn’t made him sleep long or hard enough. I asked him what he remembered, nothing except getting the mask on. He decided to take his own IV out, no big deal. I had asked the nurse if he could have it out and she said yes. Before she got in the room, he had started pealing the tape off and lickety split, it was out!

The nurses where great. And instead of putting us in the same day ward, we had a private room with our own tv and bathroom. They brought me coffee and Levi had warm milk and a roll after surgery. When it was time for Levi to go to surgery, the nurse brought adult size flip flops for him to walk to surgery in. Than she decided that was silly and carried him. After surgery they didn’t bring him back right away because he was too sleepy to tell them his name. When he did come back, she had him all wrapped up in a warm blanket and carried him into the room. Got him all tucked in and he fell sound asleep. I was impressed with how often they check on us.

I am mostly impressed with my son. No crying, or whining. When she carried him to surgery, he looked over her shoulder, waved at me with a big smile and said Bye mom! I think getting there early helped him get comfortable. Everyone took their time and talked to him, shook his hand and introduced themselves to him.

I managed to keep him quiet til 1200 noon and we were home by 1230. He thought he could play but his nurse mother decided differently and he took a 2 hour nap. Than he thought he could ride his bike to the duka. I think the anesthesia and stress of the day came to a head when I refused to let him go on his bike. He had a good cry. He did get to play computer games until dinner.

He has a little bandage on his tummy, and as long as he takes his ibuprofen he’s been comfortable. Tomorrow I think he might feel more like himself emotionally but he could be more tender as all the pain meds during surgery wear off.

Anyhow I am glad it’s done and he is ok. Thanks for praying.

Levi's Surgery

2008-05-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Levi has an inguinal hernia. So Friday morning at 8 am our time, he will be having surgery to have it repaired. We found a good pediatric surgeon whom was highly recommended. And we live near Nairobi Hospital where he will be operated on.

My little Levi. He's a bit nervous, asking if he will get a shot. But handling it well. We will be glad when he's back home, hopefully just out-patient.

So keep him in your prayers even during his recovery.

Baby Steps

2008-05-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

Being in the adoption process feels like taking a step at a time. In Kenya it feels like baby steps, one at a time. Even worse, during the months of January and February we felt like we took one step forward and two steps back. The Post Election Violence slowed the whole country down to a crawl.

But this week all the little steps we have been taking since November, completed a big step. Wonderful Relief.

In November we opened a file at the US Embassy called an I-600 a. To complete the file, we turned in an application, lots of documents, initiated a criminal background check on ourselves complete with handprints, etc. But we were missing a US Home Study. Since March of 2007 when we brought Chloe home our Kenyan Social Worker has been writing a Kenyan Home study about us. In November, I started stopping by her office more regularly asking what info she needed from us. That slowed down in December with the holidays and January with the violence. Since February, I stop by every Monday afternoon on my way home from the grocery store. I try to greet her pleasantly and ask how things are going, and what info does she need. I think the only thing I haven’t given her is our dental records! Good Grief!

In April, she asked if I had applied to the Carolina Adoption Agency. Nope, I had to explain that unless she tells me this stuff, I can’t know what to do next. I had asked about this months ago and was reassured that the Carolina Agency would contact me. Not so. So I printed the application on line, filled it out, sent it with someone to be posted in the states. I need to send a personal check which isn’t safe to do through the Kenyan postal service. Instead I stamp an envelope with US stamps, ask someone traveling from Kenya to the states to carry it for me who than mails it within the states. In this case, it was mailed to my mom. I needed a photo of Ryan and me for the application. We took mug shots of ourselves, seriously a worse pic of myself does not exist but good enough. Uploaded them to Walgreen’s near my mom, she picked them up. Received the envelope from me with the check and application and than posted it to Carolina.

Baby Steps.

The Carolina Adoption Agency received my application this week. Next my Kenyan Social Worker emailed my Kenyan Home study to Carolina this week. That is a big step. They for a nice price will rewrite it into a US Home study, asking questions along the way, needing more info from our social worker who will probably wait till I stop by on my way home from groceries on Monday. Eventually, hopefully no longer than a month, it will be completed. I take this expensive Home Study to the US Embassy which they add to my I 600a file. They will process my completed file and either approve or deny our ability to do an international adoption.

Of course by the Grace of God they will approve our application. We take this approval to our Kenyan Lawyer who submits it along with all our other paper work to the Kenyan court and asks for a court date, twill be our first court day of possibly 2-3 court dates that we will go through before we are finished.

In the meantime, life goes on at home, Chloe and the boys are oblivious which is a wonderful thing. When we are all done legally adopting Chloe, we can visit the states.

My goal is to do little updates of this process. This needed to be a big one just to give you the scoop of where we are.

Let's go fly a Kite

2008-05-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

We had a great week at Mombasa. I didn't get too many pics cause its a hassle taking our video camera onto the beach. And I didn't want to lose it at the hotel.

We drove up on Sunday, first two hours on the road was the pits, than smooth sailing. Ryan knows how to drive.
Monday was beautiful, we had sunny weather. 85-90 degrees, low tide was in the afternoon. I think I was on the beach for 6 or 7 hours with Caleb and Levi. Ryan went back and forth with Seth and Chloe to the house. Its still overwelming for anyone 2 feet or under to see all that water.
Tuesday was also beautiful, Seth's feet bothered him so he stayed at the house. But him and Chloe can just putz around for hours at the house. Caleb and Levi LOVE the beach, the water, the sea creatures, everything. It was Ryans day to be at the beach and I spent more time at the house. I came down with a terrible head cold.
Wednesday, we hung out at the house. The place has a fence all the way around it so the kids could run and not fear getting in the water. They played on the tire swing, road their bikes, helped daddy with the van, collected coconuts.
Thursday we loaded up the van and drove an hour north to Sun and Sand. We paid to be there for the day, all inclusive. It's a hotel with fun pools. We swam in 3 of the 5 pools. One started up on the hill and to get to the next pool you went down a slide, than another pool to float through like a river, than another slide, than waterfall steps than a big pool with a bar on one side. The pool had stools to sit on in the water and order cokes or juice from the bar. The kids thought that was cool, to sit in the pool and have cokes. Since it was all inclusive, we drank and at the whole day, 10 am to 6 pm. 3 of the kids slept the way back to our cottage.
Friday, the kids were so excited that we had one full day at the beach yet. We were out there the whole day. Seth and Chloe by now where used to the beach and playing in the sand.
Saturday we drove back to Nairobi. Before we loaded up the van, I had the kids pose in front of our cottage. They were quite brown even with lots of sun block on each day. Caleb and Levi are truly Kenyans wearing sweat pants, jeans and long sleeves any time they weren't living in their swim suits. We can't wait to go back.

Nanna's Pics

2008-05-09T02:39:00.000-07:00

Ryan's mom needs some updated snaps of Sephers. These where taken in February. One in our back yard and one in the DC3. Maybe I'll have more pics after next week. We are going to Mombasa for a week. Kids are counting the days, so are the parents.

Cessna 208 Grand Caravan

2008-05-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

The airplane involved in the accident.

AIM AIR Accident

2008-05-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday, (April 26) one of the AIM Air planes was involved in a very
serious accident during takeoff. While the aircraft was severely
damaged, the pilot and four passengers came through the accident in
remarkably good condition and are in recovery from their various
injuries.

Andy Keller, a long time AIM Air pilot, landed at a SIM medical
mission station in Doro to pick up four of the SIM nurses. He was
flying 5Y-SPK, a Cessna Caravan which easily carries 9 passengers.
On takeoff around 12:40 pm, the aircraft lifted off but failed to
attain sufficient airspeed to clear the obstacles at the end of the
runway. The left wing of the plane struck the ground, and the
Caravan flipped onto its back.

Events in the next few minutes are not completely clear, as all five
on board were very shaken by the experience. But the five were able
to help each other as they unbelted themselves from the inverted
seats onto the ceiling of the upside down airplane and crawled
outside. By this time, other medical professionals from the clinic
were able to get to the accident site and give aid.

The five, after being stabilized, were airlifted by a UN helicopter
to a nearby medical facility for further test and observations. The
next day, they were moved to Nairobi on an AIM Air DC3 under the care
of a SIM doctor.

SIM has reported the condition of the nurses as stable and
recovering. All have now been released from the hospital. One
suffered a fracture of her sternum and a dislocated thumb. Another
was a broken rib. All were sore and had smaller ailments. The pilot
is also in recovery. He was diagnosed with a broken bone in his knee
and had surgery today (April 29).

A thorough and professional accident investigation has already
begun. Other organizations will be involved, and the results will be
used as part of a continuing effort to improve the safety of both AIM
Air and mission aviation world-wide.

There is a deeper reality that surrounds the events described above.
We minister in Africa in the context of a spiritual war. As partners
in ministry, SIM and AIM missionaries share in the risk of ministry.
This event is one of many that remind us that we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against the principalities of this world.

The opposition that we face, which is evident in many ways, is a
testimony that God is accomplishing His purposes through His
servants. We should not be dismayed that we suffer, knowing that He
has already defeated the enemy.

So we praise God! We praise Him no matter what is happening around
us. We worship Him because of who He is. The true foundation of
praise is God, not our circumstances. Praise God that in His mercy
he spared the lives of His servants.

Please continue to hold the four SIM nurses up in prayer as they
recover from both the emotional and physical trauma of the accident.
Please pray for Andy and for his healing. Pilots bear a heavy burden
in these situations. Pray also for the ministry of AIM Air as the
organization will be stretched during the time of recovery following
this significant event.

Written by Alan Masters (Director of International Services, AIM)

New Dew!

2008-04-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

Ryan works with Beth at the hangar. Ryan and Jose share an admin assist, so Ryan shares an office with her. Beth wanted to give Chloe a new hair style so on Saturday, she brought her friend Maggie over to the house to work on Chloe's hair.

First they unbraided her hair which frizzed it all over. When her hair is braided, it relaxes and becomes much longer.

Second they cut lengths of black yarn and Maggy started braiding these extensions into a small portion of Chloes hair right at the roots. She didn't like that part cause it pulled. Once Maggy had the yarn secured, it was painless to have the rest braided. Until the next portion. We thought all extensions where made up of fake hair. But not for little kids, they just use yarn. Once Maggy had several braids started, Beth could finish by stringing the beads. We asked for pink and white.

After the first hour, Chloe was fried. Sick of sitting on laps, sick of being entertained. Sick of having her hair pulled. So I gave her a dose of Tylenol and a dose of an antihistamine similar to Benadryl. In about a half an hour, she was much more content to sit and suck her fingers.

Most Kenyan mama's braid their baby girls hair when they are sleeping. Chloe only sleeps in her bed, she isn't used to falling asleep on any one's lap that is holding her. But after 2 1/2 hours, lunch, and drugs, she fell asleep on Ryan's shoulder. She slept another 1/2 hour until they were finished. Of course when Ryan put her in her crib for a nap, she woke up. We found out she wasn't at all used to sleeping on beads and braids. Tonight I put her braids in piggy tails, hopefully that will help.

The next morning was Sunday. I had searched all over the used clothes market for this dress. I love it. I love the smocking on the front. I paid 300 ksh or about $3.50. I feel like the fun of having a daughter never ends.

A year ago today

2008-03-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Chloe came home to stay!

Than she weighed 7 lbs at 6 months old.
Now she weighs 21 lbs at 18 months old.

Than she could hardly hold her head up.
Now she walks, talks, and is all caught up.
(Except for only having two teeth)

Than she loved her middle two fingers on her right hand.
Now she still does, we call them silver and gold, because they are precious to her!

She is precious to us!

Of Tortiouses and Giraffes

2008-03-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

One Saturday morning in February, Ryan said to Dawn, "We should do something fun today." Dawn replied, "Like what?" "Let's take the kids to the Giraffe center." And Dawn agreed. I think Ryan was a little shocked, cause I can be a stick in the mud.

We had a great time. Chloe fell asleep on the way so we let her snooze in the van with the doors open under close monitoring. So she missed most of the photo op. Seth wanted to get in the tortouis enclosure, and the adult giraffe's head is as big as he is. They are much bigger than one might think when close up. Chloe wasn't so crazy about feeding the giraffe's, their tongues are slimey and rough. She has a thing about slime.

In other news, our digital camera has died. It was a hand-me-down which we really appreciated and lasted a good four years, but it has died. It's been limping for a while. But our sony HDV handy cam takes pretty good pics. The memory card holds 11 cards, its the small card the camera came with. So today I dug out the manual and figured out how to download these giraffe pics. Next I figured out how to use the flash better. Chloe tends to be a shadow or the boys are over exposed. So hopefully I can blog more often now, now that we have a working camera option again.

Slugs

2008-03-26T06:56:00.001-07:00

Chloe found a slug posted at her eye level on the side of our house. Convenient. She first whined about it, staring at it from 6 inches away. We went to see what the fuss was about and left her alone. Then she yelled at it and pointed at it. So her brothers would know of her discovery. She probably named it. Not sure.

Later Joyce went to check on her again and she had touched it enough to be slimed. Not knowing what to do, she sucked on her favorite two fingers named silver and gold. I think Joyce was thoroughly grossed out. She fetched her into the bathroom and scrubbed all her fingers especially silver and gold. Meanwhile Titus moved the slug to a safer place.

When Levi was 9 months old, he crawled outside to do some exploring and found a juicy slug on the sidewalk. It was juicy cause it had just rained and it was blocking Levi's progress on the sidewalk. Levi did what any curious 9 month old on his hands and knees would do. He picked up the slug and backed up so he could sit down comfortably. Than he tasted it, alot. We had a terrible time getting the slime off his face and hands. I think we even had to use salt on Levi to get it off.

Grace and Jack

2008-03-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

Grace is my niece. She just turned four and learned her alphabet by watching Sesame Street. I think Sesame Street is about the only show she watches. That is my disclaimer, when you read the following sent to me by her mom Debra, my sister.

This morning over breakfast, Grace randomly asks me, "so what about John McCain is he winning or not winning?" Well, as you can imagine I laughed right out loud! Then we chatted about her question for a minute, and I returned to reading the paper. Two minutes go by, "so what about Hillary is she in or out?" I can't make this stuff up people! The child cracks me up!

And than my nephew Jack, also just turned four, learned how to down hill ski this winter. Not just the bunny hill either. He goes down the steep parts from the chair lift with his dad holding his leash so he doesn't get away. When he gets past the steep stuff, Dean unleashes him so he can go on his own. AMAZING!

So now you know

2008-02-22T05:17:00.000-08:00

A Great Week

2008-02-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

Too many weeks have already gone by this year, stressful weeks, but this week has been different. Ryan has eaten dinner with us 3 times already.

Monday, Caleb went shopping with me and helped carry my grass woven baskets into the grocery store. (my effort at being green). We couldn't find him any sandals, he is huge these days. He helped me run all my errands at yaya, good time with my eldest.

Tuesday, started Bible Study again. We are doing Daniel with Beth Moore. After a 10 week break, it was time to dig in the word again. Also good to see ho evveyone was doing since the election. Many stories of God's faithfulness.

Wednesday, our Home Schooling Books arrived in 2 boxes. I ordered kindergarten and 2nd grade in July. It was shipped to NY and placed on a container in August. It was s uppose to arrive in November, but got to Mombasa (port city) in December or January. And than it sat there as 1000's of containers got jammed at the port after the election. People couldn't get to work and than truck drivers didn't want to drive for fear of illegal road blocks. Lots of looting and burning of trucks happening.

Levi and I went to the hangar to pick up the boxes and see Ryan. The boys helped unload the boxes from the van but mostly got caught up looking at all the wonderful books. Joyce (my house help) asked Caleb if she could go to school with him cause he had such interesting books. I spend the rest of the day until 10 pm sorting everything out so we can get started Thursday. Also got a massage, my arms feel numb and legs ache, feel much better now.

Thursday, I have a luncheon meeting at Java House for the hospitality committee. Purely business!

Friday, I am hosting Ladies Prayer Meeting in the morning. In the evening, Ryan and I are going to a movie with friends. National Treasure is just coming out.

How was your week?

Also got hooked up to skype and making phone calls for cheap!

Levi's Heart

2008-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I (Dawn) took a turn reading the boys a Bible Story. Afterward, Levi asked me if he could pray to ask Jesus into his heart. "Well Sure!" I said. He prayed a long prayer about loving Jesus, come live in my heart, be with my friends, and I prompted him about being sorry for when he does the wrong things etc. In Jesus Name Amen. He gave me a Levi grin and started for his bed. I came back with the camera and took his Birthday picture, first day of his New Life. Angels are singing tonight!

Chloe's First Christmas (with us)

2008-01-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas, the kids enjoyed the season immensely. And our joy came from watching them.

Babu arrived Sunday night and finished off our Christmas celebration Monday morning. Oma and Babu came over Monday bearing gifts! I am the most excited about Chloe's. My sister Deb picked out exactly what I would have picked out for my daughter. Chloe unwrapped a beautiful life sized baby doll. The doll has yet to be named beyond dollie. I want to wait and see what Chloe will call her doll. The doll has silky black hair, a realistic baby face, and baby toes along with a soft body.

She also received a graco baby set of toys for her dollie. A swing, high chair, car seat, pack-n-play, diaper bag, and stroller. Toys she can play with for years. Seth has fun pushing the stroller around the house for Chloe.

After we took the Christmas tree down, we made room for the girl toys in the living room. I have pink girl toys in my living room. Along side the toy motorcycles, tractors, and cars.

Thanks to Deb!

Deb even found pretty barrettes with Chloe's name on them and put them in the dolls hair.

Christmas Jammies

2007-12-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Oma made it Christmas Eve, minus two bags of luggage. I will post her email later. We had a wonderful Christmas day, very relaxing. Than the day after Christmas, wallah, her bags showed up! And we had Christmas again.

A favorite church of ours, Cloverdale in Idaho, sends us a Christmas package every year. New jammies for each of the kids is always included. A yearly favorite.

Babu flies in December 29. We are counting the days!

Christmas Blessings

2007-12-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

Four little gifts under our tree.
Merry Christmas!

Levi To The Rescue

2007-11-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

Our Seth locked himself in the boys attic bedroom Wednesday and than fell asleep for his nap. Three hours later I realized I couldn't open the attic securty door. Being a security door, it's not meant to be opened when it's locked from the inside. If we are ever robbed, we use the attic as a safe room. It has a heavy metal door with solid sliding bolts on it. We have never used it as a safe room.

Titus put a ladder on top of the car port and broke a pane in the attic window to unlatch and open it. We chose Levi to crawl up and through the heavy security bars inside the window cause he's brave and little. By now Seth woke up and is crying cause he can't figure out what is going on. Levi's reassuring words calmed him as he hopped down into the attic. He raced down the stairs with Seth close behind and unlocked the door.

Later that night, Ryan zip tied the sliding bolts open from the inside. Seth can't break the zips but he has tried to slide the bolts today, stinker that he is. Ryan assured me he used thin zip ties that I could easily break with a burst of adrenaline if I was hearding the kids into that attic in a time of crisis.

Wanza's Baby Boy

2007-11-30T05:09:00.000-08:00

Our dear Wanza had a baby boy on November 23. We have known Wanza since 2002 when she started working for us. Caleb couldn't say Miss. Wanza at the time so he called her Auntie. She has been a positive, loving influence in the lives of our children ever since.

Wanza has a daughter, Tulu who is 18 years old. She recently married last Christmas to a good man whom she knew for 15 years. Little Ian Williams Mulwa Mbuvi was born on Tulu's birthday weighing 8lbs 6 ounces. That is amazing cause if Wanza is 5 ft, I would be surprised. I took Caleb to see baby Ian when he was just 5 days old.

Chloe's Dedication

2007-11-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving we attended our annual AIM Spiritual Life conference. The speaker was great, as well as worship. We stayed in a dorm with 3 other family totally 11 children 6 and under. Twice we stayed up too late playing settlers. Our true characters present themselves during competitive games! And Chloe was dedicated. Pastor Dick chose the meaning 'Verdent' for Chloe, very appropriate.

Soccer Practise

2007-11-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Every Monday from 3:30-5:30, Caleb plays soccer. About 8 kids show up along with a Kenyan coach and practise. Caleb is heading a ball in the pic. Than they play a game. One game, Caleb was the goalie and got hit full on in the stomach. He always has stories to share around the dinner table.

We have a "ligi ndogo" club in town, which means little league only for soccer. Eric's mom (Carrie) sent Eric to play but all the Kenyan kids his age where much better and more confident in their skills. Soccer is huge here, like learning to ride a bike for our kids is in the states. So she hired one of the refs to teach the kids soccer at her house, her compound is around the corner from ours. We pay 50 ksh for a once a week practise (less than a $1.00). I am impressed with the coach. He knows how to teach, is very patient, and makes sure the kids are having fun.

Eric practised with him for a year I think and now at ligi ndogo, his other coach was impressed with his skills.

We like Caleb being with other kids, not just our neighbors, taking turns, and being on a team. He also didn't want to go this week cause he was having fun with Zach. But he did, I told him he needs to finish what he starts. Someday, that might make sense to him!

Sportin' tudes

2007-11-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

I have been impatiently waiting for Chloe to be big enough to wear a striped hoodie sweater from her cousins Elle and Grace. She wore it today, too cute.

Caleb's Heart

2007-11-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Caleb asked Jesus into his heart tonight! Ryan read the kids a Bible story and than asked them for prayer requests. Caleb wanted to have his sins forgiven and ask Jesus to be in his heart. We had been telling him about how Jesus forgives us of our sins and he had picked up on the phrase 'born again'. And that is just what he said, I want to be born again. So Caleb led his own prayer, without any prompting while we all listened. When he opened his eyes, he had a huge smile on his face.

Sunrise Acres

2007-10-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I took the kids to Eldama Ravine this weekend.

We stayed the longest ever, 5 nights, 4 full days. Sunrise Acres has 4 cabins of various sizes with fully equipped kitchens a four hour drive from Nairobi. It's up in the hills, very quiet, for missionaries to rest.

I planned and packed some of our favorite meals. The missionaries who run Sunrise Acres have many ministries including a small farm which supplies guests with milk, eggs, strawberries, and pickle relish which I stock up on once a year.

It's got a long bathtub that Ryan could give all 4 a bath at the same time. Chloe loves to splash as hard as she can. The nights are cold, and the walls are thin, so the kids enjoyed wearing sleepers.

Seth was very proud of his tigger sleeper.

Chloe's First Birthday!

2007-10-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

When each of our boys where born, Ryan brought me flowers. I carried the tradition to Chloe's first Birthday. This will be our first vivid memory of October 1. She had pink birthday cake and enjoyed 3 books just for her!

From Blue to Pink!

2007-09-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

Chloe's nursery is the first nursery we deliberately decorated. Our fourth baby was worth it. I took the boy's bumper pad and recovered it with Kenyan material called a Kikoy with bright pink, lime green, and turquoise. We painted the walls lime green and my girl friend Tiffany made Chloe a beautiful butterfly wall hanging.

Chloe means green, vibrant, blooming. We painted her room before we had picked her or her name out. God is Good!

Before:

After:

So Big

2007-08-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is filling out, putting jammies on at night take Titi Diane at least 1/2 an hour and 100 kisses!

No Training Wheels by Ryan

2007-06-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened!

Both Caleb & Levi are riding their bikes without training wheels! Levi was first, believe it or not. He has been cruising for a bit over a week now and can get started on his own. He has tried to encourage Caleb to join him and take his training wheels off, but Caleb is not easily persuaded and the competition of his younger brother doing something he can't doesn't seem to faze him either.

After dinner last night we went out to ride bikes with our head lamps on. Levi was off and running, Caleb is riding around on one Training wheel and every time he passed I asked him if he wanted me to remove it. "NO! Dad, leave me alone, I want it on!" The next time he rode by it was the same response. Finally I said, "I'll give you a dollar, if you take your training wheel off and ride to the gate. He hit the brakes and skidded to a stop. He says,"You'll give me a dollar, really?!" I said yes. Caleb says to me, "Where is your wrench Dad, go get the wrench to take the wheel off!" The training wheel came off and he got ready and said, "Are you going to help me and hold my seat?" I said, "NO. You can do it all by yourself, to the gate!"

To make it even worse Levi got on his bike and yelled at Caleb to do it like this and off he went pedaling to the gate. Caleb asked me one more time, "You're going to give me a dollar Dad, right?!" I say, "Yes, as soon as you get to the gate." I give him a shove from under the seat and off he went pedaling to the gate, Seth and I are left standing in the driveway just laughing in the darkness. Caleb made it to the gate, made a big turn and came right back to the house, pulled up on his bike grinning from ear to ear with his headlamp shining and made a perfect stop and said to me, "OK Dad, I did it let's go inside now and get my dollar!" Well, I said, "You need to show Mom how you can ride."Caleb said, "Well OK, but you'll have to give me another dollar for that!"He's a tricky one!

Dawn came out and Caleb and Levi showed us that they are both professional bike riders now and then we went in for the night. In the kitchenI got out my wallet and gave them each 100 shillings, and congratulated them on their BIG accomplishment, and then Seth put his hand out, so I gave him 50 shillings. Dawn says I've started something!! That's the big news at our house, Caleb almost 6 yrs. Levi almost 4 yrs and the training wheels are on the shelf until Seth & Chloe need them!!

They are growing up too fast!

Love Ryan

Mommy and Me

2007-05-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have a picture of me with each of my baby boys. Each one is in a white frame in Chloe's room. I have one empty frame that needs to be filled. Chloe's frame. Until now. I am going to order this picture today to fill my Baby Girl frame and have four frames with me and each of my babies.

Baby Shower (for my GIRL!)

2007-05-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

6 weeks of love have transformed her:
-She is living up to her name which means vibrant, blooming, a green shoot.
-She is sitting up with just a little bit of help.
-She knows all of her families faces and voices.
-She talks, plays, and tries to sit.
-She loves it when her brothers talk to her.
-She sings if her lips are tickled.
-She weighs over 10 lbs.
A friend toldme she looks like Seth. Maybe that's one reason we were attracted to her.
She has a similar high round forhead (a family feature of ours), nose like Seth, and big bright eyes.

Yesterday
some of my friends
threw me a baby shower.
Look at all this PINK!

She's Home!

2007-03-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Chloe Marie Williams

2007-03-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

Our new Little Girl. And she is little. We have been planning to adopt since February of 2004. God was leading us to the right time and the perfect daughter for our family.
I first held Cloe on March 7 and Ryan saw her on March 11 (my birthday). When we visited March 11, Chloe was sick with pneumonia so we couldn’t spend time with her; she had an IV and a feeding tube. New Life Home where she lived has very good nursing care, so she could stay right there to receive treatment. Doctors see the babies every day.
I’m writing this history as much to share with everybody as to save for Chloe to have one day.
My first thoughts of Chloe on the 7th where about her personality. She had energy and she was trying to engage me in her world. She made eye contact constantly and when she did look away it was because her fingers where outstretched and wiggling. They would come into view and she had to watch her fingers. Then they would pass from view and she would find me with her eyes again. Big Smiles. I came home and told Ryan, Chloe has a beautiful fun personality.
When we visited together on the 11th we couldn’t hold her, she was in a special basinet with O2 on plus the IV and feeding tube, she was sleeping peacefully. Ryan right away picked her out as his favorite. He thought she was beautiful. He wanted to spend time with her when she was feeling better.
I visited a few times during the week as she got better. Than on March 17 both Ryan and I visited. We looked at her a lot. On March 18, we took Caleb with us. He had so many questions during the week about adoption and babies. It was time. He was so excited to see all the babies. Ryan gave him a tour of all the different rooms, age groups, where they sleep, where they eat, where they play, take baths etc. Answered all of Caleb’s questions. We held other babies for Caleb to see, he didn’t want to leave. He just soaked it all in with a big smile. Just before we left, Ryan was hovering over Chloe again so I asked the nurse if Ryan could hold her just near the basinet. So he did. He tenderly picked her up and didn’t want to put her down. Caleb liked her the best, he said. I asked why, what was special about her. He looked at her again and then turned to me, ‘her hair, I like her hair’. She has a head full of thick, soft curly hair. I think if I put some special hair stuff in it, it will relax into ringlets.
On March 20, we met with the social worker and head nurse. They told us all they knew about Chloe. Her birthday is estimated to be October 1, 2006. She probably was a preemie. She was in the hospital with pneumonia. On December 29, 2006, she was transferred to New Life Home. Than we started seeing her and she had pneumonia again.
She weighs 3 kg with is about 7 lbs. She had lost with the latest illness but is taking her bottle well again. I asked the nurses to describe her personialty. One said independent. Another said observant. She doesn’t cry. She likes to watch what is going on the room around her. She was starting to feel a little better; we both were able to hold her. Ryan didn’t want to leave for work. I got her to laugh.
March 21, big brother Levi got to see her with me. He had a grin from ear to ear the whole time we held her. He was very interested in all the babies in the room, lots of questions about equipment etc. But it was Chloe he got to smile. He asked to hold her but can’t until we get her home. I sat her up on my lap and he caressed her cheek. She gave him the biggest smile.
That night Ryan got home late from work, nothing unusual. He asked Levi all about his visit over and over again. Than at 9:30pm as we were talking, he couldn’t hold it in any more. He said the reason he was late wasn’t because he stayed late at work. He left on time and sped all the way to New Life Home to hold Chloe. The home closes at 600pm. He got there at 530 and stayed til 615. He held her, gave her the bottle, played with her until she was giggling as only daddies can play with babies. And almost had her sleeping on his chest.
My two pics don’t do her justice, more will be following.
I can’t open blogger comments, for some unknown reason. Please comment to me through email. Thanks!

Long Overdue Update!

2007-03-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

Where to begin. I am so overdue to blog. Everytime you see (name) that’s who interrupted me while trying to write this! I am babysitting Lowen and Teaghan today.
Seth is 20 months and a putz and a half. He still thinks walking is optional and crawling is desirable. Two short termers, John and Jeremy had been eating dinner (LEVI) with us frequently (LOWEN). Every night when Ryan came home from work with the J’s, Seth started walking for the first time all day. He would take 20 steps in triangles (Caleb) from one guy to the other. Since they left the end of February, he quit. He walks for Ryan occasionally but that’s it. Every afternoon after naps, I take him for a long walk around the compound. He grabs my first finger and walks beside me, steering me in the direction he wishes to go. Happy as a clam. What a stinker.

(So I yelled at all the kids to GO OUTSIDE)

Levi’s vocabulary is amazing. All my kids can talk. A lot, and very articulate. Even Seth can jabber whole conversations with hand motions. Levi is independent in playing. He can go outside, find a friend, and be gone for hours. One neighbor boy, Isaac, has invited him over for dinner twice this week. He came home talking about ice cream. He rides (yell out the window at Levi to stop bossing Lowen) his bike with training wheels all the time. Stops on a dime, steers around obstacles. Etc. I think he is outgrowing his daily naps because him and Caleb talk way too loud and long after they are tucked in bed.

Caleb has only 7 weeks of school left. He whizzes through the history and science read-a-louds. We take math a bit slower to make sure he gets it, and to way lay frustration. (long break to supervise screaming). We are taking a break on reading and working just on new letters. He is not ready for putting sounds together and I am tired of pushing it. My instinct is saying, he’ll get it a lot quicker if I let him mature a little. He’s been building elaborate forts in the attic with his friends. He still skips rather than walks and bounces instead of runs. Compound living makes it easy for him to expend that energy.

Ryan and I are doing great. A friend gave us some money recently and we (actually I) decided to do something useful with it instead of putting it in the general fund. We got cheap round trip tickets to MOMBASA!!! So March 20-23 we are on the beach without the kids. Wanza is moving in for the weekend. So easy cause she knows the routines and where everything is. I just need to have a few meals ready for her. Friends from church who are missionaries have recently retired on the coast. They have a two story (knock on the door)(put the play dough stuff outside on the picnic table) house on the beach. They live in the upstairs and the downstairs is a self-contained apartment. Just for people to come and stay. For less than $30 a night. They have a pool.

We are taking a cab from the airport and stopping at a grocery store on the way. We are going to find out what it was like to cook for just two. We are going to eat dinner with out asking Caleb not to interrupt, telling Levi (Seth found me) to take a bite, scolding Seth to sit down in his high chair. We might talk over dinner, we might just enjoy the silence. We are going for long walks on the beach without looking at every hermit crab. We are going to fall asleep by the pool with out worrying about a kid drowning. We are going snorkeling a lot. We are going to miss the kids, eventually! (took picture of kids playing play dough.)

Tomorrow several of my friends are taking me out for lunch for my birthday. I picked an Italian restaurant that has a nice dining area outside. They also make pizzas in an oven heated with firewood, forget what that is called. But so good.
I think this gives you an idea of my lack of blogging recently. I used to take my computer to a restaurant to blog every Wednesday but than I felt to busy. But my Internet at the house refuses to blog so I send my stuff to my dear Sister Diane who than posts it. But just writing stuff coherently is difficult with the interruptions. I don’t even know how to rewrite the first sentence in the paragraph. Have a good day!

Caleb is a writer

2007-02-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

Chameleon

A poem by Caleb Williams

If you squeeze them,
They open their mouth.
They have a very long tongue.

They shed their skin.
It changes colors by
What kind of thing it is on.

Their horns are like swords.
Their horns protect them
From animals, from frogs.

An addition to our family: Tucker

2007-01-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

Oh The Weather Outside is ....

2006-12-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

WONDERFUL!

My kids are wearing shorts and t-shirts!

Rub It In!

Rub It In!

Rub It In!

(To the tune of Let It Snow)

We are eating our second batch of Christmas Cookies already.
Please feel free to share your Christmas stories with us!
If we get homesick, we will deal with it!
But with Nanna and Papa visiting, Christmas will be fun!

Conference

2006-12-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving Weekend, we drove an hour away to Kijabe where RVA is located. We spent from Thursday afternoon to Tuesday morning at our annual AIM Kenya Spiritual Life Conference. It was Great!

We stayed in a dorm and had 3 dorm rooms and a bathroom to ourselves. The dorm parents where wonderful. All the boarding school kids are on Christmas break so the dorm was empty except the family that lives there. An answer to prayer to have Seth in his own room at night.

We ate in the cafeteria 3 times a day. Very good food, no cooking for me or dishes.

We had a speaker from the UK who was very good. The theme for the week was ‘Guarding the Truth’. Very pertinent. I came away refreshed and ready to persevere some more. I managed to make it to every session and Ryan only missed once.

The kids did VBS with a Narnia theme. Caleb loved it! Levi had a class for his age group. Towards the end, he was hesitant to go but his teacher said he was in the 99^th percentile of everything. I was very proud. Seth didn’t like his nursery but managed. There was consistently 2 Kikuyu mama’s for every session (morning and evening). And even if he wasn’t crazy about it, they got to know him. He took naps in a separate room full of pack and plays. Took his bottle for them. They got to know when he was tired when he puts his hands behind his head. And they held him most of the time. Occasionally they would join Levi’s classroom and he plaid with duplos. I was thrilled that he was over his stranger anxiety enough to stay in nursery.

I went to conference with low expectations (having preschoolers does that to moms) and was pleasantly surprised and blessed. The kids did great, no one got sick. We were exhausted but had lots of family time every afternoon. Ryan and I got to hear God’s Word.

Cool Caleb

2006-12-12T23:05:00.000-08:00

Caleb recently figured out the remote control for the TV. It's tempting to teach him how to work the VCR. Especially when we (the parents) wish to sleep in on Saturdays. He could start a movie and get cereal for him and Levi. Maybe Seth could talk for a while in his crib and we can sleep in til 7 am. That's all we want, to sleep in til 7 am. But the VCR is out of reach, so no go.

My Back Yard

2006-11-15T00:23:00.000-08:00

I love the view from my kitchen window. The rains are here in earnest making everything green and flowering. It looks a bit like an English garden if I do say so myself. Ruth came over to borrow something and stepped into my kitchen. She lives 2 houses down and has the same back yard space that I do. And she exclaimed how pretty my yard is. It really is.

We try to eat at our picnic table as much as we can but lately with the rains, it’s been a bit cool. The other day I made myself a fantastic cup of coffee. Whipped cream, hazelnut flavor, just perfect. And took it with some home decorating magazines to sit in my back yard where no one could see me. I sat uninterrupted for 45 minutes. Seth was napping and the 2 big boys had boots on and were puddle jumping. BLISS!

I have had a horrendous cold/flu for the last 2 weeks. We have all had it in the following order Caleb, Ryan, Levi, Me, and Seth. I who never get sick have been sick once in September with strepp throat type symptoms and now this. Seth sounds like he has a frog in his throat. The end of sickness is in sight. I drank 8 ounces of fresh carrot juice yesterday. Not bad. Can’t get Seth to go near carrot juice. He loves milk in his bottle. Period.

But I am happy! I like my house a lot. I love my yard. My kids are doing great. Home schooling is getting easier. Even math and hand writing. I am not homesick for the states but do wish I could be at my folks for Christmas. We are putting our tree up this Saturday. The kids can’t wait. And I have been busy Christmas shopping. The toys here are either cheap and too breakable or way to expensive. So I am becoming more creative.

Conference is next week at Kijabe. Over thanksgiving weekend. That is always fun. No cooking. No sleep. Good speaker. See lots of other missionaries I only see once or twice a year. And we usually get sick, again!

My Back Yard Pictures

2006-11-15T00:12:00.000-08:00

My New Kitchen

2006-11-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Before and after shots!

Counting

2006-10-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

I can’t wait to get to heaven today. I have different reasons on different days why I look forward to my Lord’s return. Nothing lofty or anything, actually quite selfish. I get tired of counting two things.

Money

I made a list of all the different accounts that need to stay balanced each month.

Two credit cards
US check book
Kenya account
Supporter salary statements
Work Funds

All of these relate to each other. If one gets off balance, the tower comes tumbling down!

In heaven I don’t have to count. Even now when there is enough to go around, I look forward to the day when there will ALWAYS BE an ABUNDANCE!

Calories

I weighed myself this morning like I do every morning. I usually guess what I feel like I weigh before I get on the scale. The number I see will tell me what will be comfortable to wear the rest of the day.

I’ve lost 15 pounds since Christmas. That is a pants size. What motivated me was that there were so many clothes in my dresser that didn’t fit. What a shame. Now they fit and my Christmas, Home Assignment clothes fall off me. This made me happy for a while but on days like today, I just wanted a comfy pair of jeans that gave a little in the waist. Either I have jeans that fit well or are bunchy in the crotchy. So to get comfy jeans, I could lose another 5 lbs. I am quite sick of counting weight watcher points and feeling chubby when I really am not. My close friends have noticed that I’ve lost since returning to Kenya. I’ve had three kids and major surgery and I notice it on me even if no one else does.

When I do my grocery shopping, meal planning, and baking. I think should I really buy this cause I’ll most likely be the one to eat it? How can I cook this meal with fewer calories even though my hubby and kids could use a little extra fat on them? Should I bake this cause my kids like it or I like it?

I thought of my sister Sarah today. She has identified ‘eating’ days. I think they come monthly. And I am having one today. I am just hungry and trying to stay disciplined. I might succeed. I might not. Don’t ask me tomorrow!!!

In heaven, I will look amazing! And I can eat from my Lord’s Table as much and as often as I want. And the food will not taste like it’s made from low fat milk products and sugar free sweetners.

Mocha’s made with full caffeine, Hershey’s chocolate, and whole milk. Give me a triple.
Lucky Charms with extra charms and more than ½ cup serving.
Toast with butter and fully sweetened jam.

Lunchmeat sandwiches with extra cheese and lots of mayo.
Iced Tea with lots of sugar.
Chips with dip.
Chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk.

Sirloin steak with mushroom sauce.
Twice baked Potatoes.
Fresh cooked veggies with butter and salt.
Salad dripping in Ranch dressing.
Cheesy garlic bread.
Beverage of my choosing.
Chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream with chocolate syrup, walnuts, and two cherries on top.

And the next day would be a completely different menu for eternity!

Monkeynastics

2006-10-11T01:21:00.000-07:00

Every Monday Caleb and Levi attend monkeynastics. It’s a South Africa based program and I am using it to replace the home schooling PE program I am supposed to be doing with Caleb. I’m not a PE kind of person and they have a lot more fun at monkeynastics than they would have with me!

Levi’s class is for 2-3 year olds from 11:00 to 11:30 am and Caleb is 4-6 year olds from 11:30 to 12:00 am. It’s at another compound 2 blocks from our house.

They love it. They do something different each week and are also learning how to stand in line, wait their turns, pay attention to directions, and not chatter all the time. As I watch them, the program is a lot about coordination and balance. Throwing balls at a target and catching it as it bounces back at them, walking on a short balance beam, locking their elbows to hold their weight on parallel bars.

Levi can be quick to say I can’t do it. But his class size is small enough that the instructor takes time with him until he succeeds. Than we cheer, his confidence is bolstered, and this past Monday, he didn’t try to give up at all!

Caleb asks almost daily, is today monkeynastics day. He’s slowly learning the days of the week. They get special t-shirts to wear and at the end of the term, they each get a medal. I get to watch my kids have fun and talk to other moms I don’t get to see very often.

Monkeynastics!

2006-10-11T00:29:00.000-07:00

This Dolphin Family

2006-10-05T03:59:00.000-07:00

By Caleb William

A condensation of Dolphin Adventures

The baby had a hook in his tail. And then the diver came and helped the baby dolphin and the dolphin was scared. He saw the diving knife and then the mom and dad went to get it. And then the two sharks came and wham and wham, the mother and father whamed it. And blood was buffeling out of the shark. And the diver didn’t help the sharks because they didn’t have any hooks in him. And the shark was coming after the baby dolphin and the diver. The mother dolphin came along and whammed it in the gill.

The End.

Oma's Chronicle on Mombasa

2006-09-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

Read this first and the pictures will make more sense!

Wow!! Where do I start to tell you about the great vacation that we had, so I guess I need to start at the beginning. We left Nairobi at 7:45 Sunday morning, Ryan and Dawn were in the front seat and Oma sat behind Dawn and then Sethers in the middle and Levi behind Ryan. Caleb had his own car seat way in the back behind Levi. And off we went!! Caleb had his own little nest in the back with his treasure box, blanket and bunny. He sits there so quiet you don't even know he's along. Seth is still too small to sit forwards so he faced me and that was good because I can see him all the time. Levi was great, jabbers some but else plays with his toys. We stopped at noon for french fries and chicken at a restaurant gas station and to use the toilet. Oops, I forgot we stopped two times before that for a bathroom break behind the bushes. What fun, you kids know because you have done it. Anyway we got to the restaurant and used the toilet there which is a porcelain hole in the ground which you squat above and pee on your legs it so great!! The boys of course could go by a bush and they were done. The roads are really good about 75% of the way but the last 20 miles is terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. They are doing construction and the road is barely wide enough for the big semis and other cars. So people go crazy, passing on the left off the shoulder, there were times I just shut my eyes and didn't dare look. Ryan was a good driver; it’s the other people who were crazy. We seen tanker trucks rolled over on their sides and lots of big trucks stopped halfway up a hill because they didn't have enough power to go further up. So around 2 p.m. we hit the really, really, really bumpy part, Caleb had been sleeping maybe 20 minutes and then when the bumps came he woke up and shouted at Ryan "Dad, stop it, Dad stop it!! He had big big tears rolling down his cheeks. But he settled down after a bit, on the way home Seth was sleeping in the bumpy part and I had to hold his head with my hand so it won't roll all over.

We got to Mombassa around three and went shopping for a few groceries and vegetables. and then had to take a ferry across to our cottage. The kids liked that. It held trucks, bikes, cars and lots of people. The space from one side to the other was maybe two blocks. We got lots of looks at our truck and our white faces and blond hair and even the gray Oma in the back seat.

We arrived at our house at 5 p.m. and were very pleasantly surprised at how it looked. The people who had been there before called it "rustic" which can mean a whole lot of different things. I will explain it to you. It was a building that had three houses/apartment/cottages, whatever, I will call it our house. When you walk in on your right wall was three bedrooms. Seth slept in one in the pack-play and Levi and Caleb each had a twin bed to themselves, Dawn and Ryan had a double bed and Oma slept on the front porch. It my opinion I had the best spot. OK so then starting from the back door again you had the kitchen and bath, then dinning room and living room all one big room. The front porch went the whole length of the house. Martha - the caretaker - had made a bedroom out of sheets over the windows and a sheet cut off my bedroom from the rest of the porch, I loved it. The first morning was the greatest, I could hear the ocean waves hitting the shore, and you know how I love that. The sunrise over the ocean was so beautiful and so were the sunsets. About the house inside, I guess you could say rustic - it was very `clean, with cement floors sort of painted in spots. There were mosquito’s nets above the beds, but we didn't need to use them, I found one mosquitoes the whole time I was there. In the dining room was a picnic table for our table, and some chairs and a bigger couch and a love seat in the living room. It was interesting that most of the windows between rooms and had been taken out, so you could step over half a wall and be in the next bedroom. They had curtains on but the noise factor was always a problem. Dawn and I like it because we could go in one bedroom and peek at Seth in his bed. They also had fans, which was nice. They did hear me snore but I heard Ryan snore too. I slept so good there, of course after running after three boys and doing dishes till they came out of my ears kept me going.

We really enjoyed the tides of the ocean, it came in at 6 p.m. and out at midnight and then came in again 6 a.m. that’s why could hear it in the morning when I woke up. We were so close to the water, you could see the ocean from our house out of every room. Anyway, by 10:30 a.m. it was starting to go back out and from one to five was so much fun. You could walk and walk out and find all kinds of good things. The first day Caleb started collecting crabs. They were very small with a quarter size body and lots of legs. He had a yellow bucket which he carried everywhere and colleted things. On Wednesday I found a hermit crab on the sidewalk and dared to pick it up and show Ryan. It had little claws, and I didn't know if it was poison or not but I carried it anyway. Well, after that Caleb started collection hermit crabs. By Friday he had at least 12-14 crabs in this bucket. He put sand in and water and they lived very happily. Some had checker tops and some were white and others all different colors. There were poison shells that looked like a ball with porcupine shells on them, a sea urchin - if you stepped on them you would be in big trouble. Around 4:30 Caleb and Levi would go swimming in the little pools of water in the ocean.

We didn't get any help doing dishes but we did have someone do laundry for us which was very necessary because lots of time the boys went thru three or four sets of clothes a day. There is a fisherman who fishes early in the morning and comes to the house with fresh fish. We told Martha we wanted shrimp, they call them prawns. So on Tuesday he came with about 100 fresh shrimp fresh from the ocean. He cleaned them and deveined them for us for about $10. They were yummy we made shrimp scampi, and barbequed them on the charcoal fire.

On Tuesday, Ryan, dawn, Caleb and Levi went to a nice hotel were you could pay to swim for the day and have lunch there. They took their snorkeling stuff along to see how the boys did in the pool with their snorkeling stuff. They both tried but Levi’s was too big for him and they enjoyed swimming more. I had a nice quiet day with just Seth.

They wanted to go to this island, which was about two hours away where you snorkel and ride a dhow but they decided the boys were too little and it would be better to do it in a few years.

Friday night we started packing up and left there yesterday morning at 8:30 and didn't get home until 5:45 last night. It was a very long day. Dawn gave Levi and Seth benadryl in the morning and they slept some and were a bit calmer. In the afternoon they got another dose and they slept again. But Seth was so tired of the car the last hour was a long time. Today we are all tired and stayed home from church to recuperate from our vacation.

Sayings from the boys _ Levi said to me last night "Are you going to stay here, you can't” Why can't I stay here, I said, " because you need to go home and live with Babu. He said, " you are a Oma, not a mother like my mom is." I said, but I’m your mom's mommy, he said no, your not. End of story.

Caleb - I blow kisses to Jesus all the time, I have Jesus in my heart and my head He's in my head so your thinking about him and he's in my heart which shows you love Him.

Seth - he is starting to worm crawl on his belly. If you entice him with something a couple feet ahead of him he will crawl to it. When you put him to bed on his back, and look he's sitting up playing with the side of the pack n play. His favorite word is Hi, and he uses it a lot. He also says “Boo, dis, dat, and mommy and daddy. We are working on Oma. But no luck.

Friday and the local wild life

2006-09-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

The Cottage

2006-09-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday at the Coast

2006-09-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

View of the Kitchen.
Front Porch and Oma's bedroom on the end.
Seth on the Verandah
Caleb and Levi at the gate to the beach.

Wednesday at the cottage

2006-09-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Shrimp Night

2006-09-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

Tuesday at Voyager, Mombasa

2006-09-17T04:41:00.000-07:00

Monday in Mombasa

2006-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

New Attic Window

2006-08-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

Fall Festival Pics

2006-08-30T03:39:00.000-07:00

Fall Festival

2006-08-30T01:36:00.000-07:00

I forgot to download last weeks pics on my computer so I can’t blog about what we did on Saturday. Well I guess I can journal and add the pics later.

Last term, I was on the Hospitality Committee and this term I AM NOT!!! I really enjoyed it while I was on it but don’t miss it now. We planned social activities to encourage unity. Now I just get to attend the activities and than leave when we are done!!!

Saturday was Fall Festival. There were several booths for kids to play games and win prices (chocolate stuff from the states). Also face painting, Levi was dressed as Spider Man so he had a huge spider painted on his nose and the legs extending all over his face. Caleb went in his Cheetah PJ’s. He was ok with fleece PJ’s at 8:00am but by 11:00 it was close to 80 degrees. He was sweating. He took the top off and wore it with the hood on his head and the sweatshirt part hanging down his back. Than he had cheetah spots painted on his stomach. Also cookie decorating, a bouncy castle, craft table, and a hotdog roast. We had a good time.

Seth now has 11 teeth. Yes my baby boy is 13 months old and has 11 teeth. He is happier, he sleeps better, he is starting to eat, his constipation is manageable. Oma is coming! He needs a haircut badly. But I thought I would let her see and feel his fluffy blonde hair before we cut it. He needs a cut before we go on vacation. This morning he was babbling in his crib when Ryan got up at 6:00 am. When they came to wake me up around 7:00, Ryan’s first comment was different than it has been the last several weeks. He said, “Seth was so much fun this morning”! Otherwise it was comments on his crabbiness and a look of weariness on my husbands face before he went into work. This morning he left with a smile on his face cause he had a good time with his son.

My Seth-A-Cakes

2006-08-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

My Seth-a-cakes

He is weighing heavy on my mind! Not to complain cause he is a joy but his odd quirky health issues could drive me to drink.

The child is constantly, chronically constipated. Nothing, I mean nothing helps!

He has eczema which I treat every day! We rub Nivea, Vaseline, Eladil, Johnson’s and Johnson’s, antibiotic ointment on his parts and pieces. If I don’t put some kind of lotion on his ankles and than cover them with socks, he will rub his itchy feet on the carpet until they are raw. Hence the antibiotic ointment til they heal again. He chews on his fingers cause he is teething til they are bright red. And sucks whatever lotion I had applied off!

Tooth number #10 appeared with much fanfare. He had a rash for a week, than a fever for 60 hours. Tooth #10 appeared on his right upper jaw. But the crabbiness and finger chewing continue and the area where tooth #11 should be is red and puffy. Yesterday I was trying to bake Ryan’s favorite Vanilla Oatmeal Raisin cookies for his Birthday along with a nice dinner that he requested. I put Seth in front of the TV with toys, a dry bottom, a dose of Motrin, and a full tummy. He whined and fussed for an hour while I cooked and baked. I kept checking on him and he had no tears, his face wasn’t even red with frustration, he just had this constant fussy whine. HELP! This is not my Child! Where did he GO? When will he return!!! Hopefully teeth number 11 and 12 will come soon and we will have a break from teething.

Lets see where was I? He is refusing to eat. Hopefully just a short hiatus while he teethes but he only wants a bottle. Since he doesn’t get full during the day, we are back to once a night feedings. I can’t change him to milk cause it makes him more constipated but I am TIRED of buying formula. Since it is milk based, I have a feeling it aggravates his eczema and constipation, we go in circles. Soy makes him grumpy. Goat milk was recommended but I can’t find it in the stores and I am not buying a goat for my back yard and milking it twice a day. I’m sure the kids would like a pet goat though!

Crawling and walking! I realize when the crawling truly begins I will miss putting him in one place and expecting him to stay there. But he might be more content if he could chase after the toys he likes to through outside of his reach.

In a year, all of this will be a memory to laugh at, but not today!

Caleb's Five Year Portrait

2006-08-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

Caleb's Five year Portrait

2006-08-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

Levi's Three Year Portrait

2006-08-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Seth's One Year Portrait

2006-08-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Caleb's Birthday pictures

2006-08-09T01:21:00.000-07:00

Caleb's 5th Birthday

2006-08-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

Caleb's Birthday started Sunday afternoon. All 5 of us walked to Java house and had toasted chocolate almond fudge icecream. Back at home, Ryan pulled the queen size mattress off our guest bed and put it on the living room floor. He also lit a fire in the fireplace and we all watched Jungle Book on the floor. I think Ryan, Caleb, and Levi settled down around 9pm and I went upstairs and enjoyed the silence with a good book. The next morning I heard all the stories of who kicked who and how Levi ended up side down with his feet on his pillow.

We went grocery shopping cause that's what I do on Mondays. Than I made home made Pizza for lunch. Deluxe, Sausage and Cheese, and Plain Cheese. At 4:30 the Toewes kids came over for cake, icecream and opening presents. He got a train set to go with the one he already has, and a yoyo from the Toewes. Seth really like the yoyo. They have been playing with the train set from dawn til dusk. At 6pm Ryan took Caleb and Levi to see Cars in the theatre. They loved it.

I think we officially celebrated each kids birthday and I am done for another year!