Playing in the Rain

Rainy season is almost over.  The rains are coming far between now.  They may be over already, in fact.  (We're hoping for at least one more!)    If they are over, we won't see rain for around 9 months.  Things will turn brown again and we will miss the glimpses of green that we have savored over the last few months.

I recently took this picture of Little Sojourner in what may have been our last rain.  I love how much fun my kids have playing in the rain.  It reminds me of my childhood summers spent at my Grandma's house;  waiding through the gutters on her brick street after a rain.  I hope my children will look back fondly on moments like these playing in the rain, savoring the short season.

Do you have fond memories of playing in the rain?  I'd love to hear them.

Kind regards,

*Linking up to It's a Blog Party's "Say Cheese" Wednesday.

Sick Little

Little Sojourner has been sick with high fever and stomach issues the past 48 hours.  He took her to get some blood work done today.  Thankfully it came back negative for malaria.  The doctor thinks it may be a parasite and so she is now on meds for that.  She just asked for some mashed potatoes after 48 hours not being able to get her to eat anything so of course I whipped some up!  Hopefully she will be able to keep them down.  It sure is hard a Momma when her Littles are sick, you know?

Kind Regards,

When Power Outages Happen

As they often do in Africa.  Instead of dwell on how much we are sweating without our fans, or how much we aren't able to get done when the power is out, we try to make it a game.  You never know what exciting thing we will do when the power goes out. 

We may play tag by moonlight complete with a courtyard full of delighted squeals.  We may sit on the porch and enjoy the cooler breeze complete with the entertainment of the beautiful stars God filled the night sky with.

We may have a "fancy" candlelit dinner.

Complete with placecards.

We might have story time with Daddy by flashlight complete with the excitement of the Little Sojourners getting caught up in the way he tells a story.

Or, we might relive all of our Disney moments while we each share out favorite memory, favorite ride, favorite show, etc. complete with magic that cuts through the dark.

You just never know what might take place when the power goes out at our house.  It's my hope, though, that even in these seemingly inconvenient moments we are making memories with our kids that they will remember for years to come.

Unwrapping our little moments in the dark,

*Linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky.

The Joy of Teaching

Last year at this time we were consumed by language learning.  Ms. Sojourner and Middle Sojourner were in their first un-homeschooled year.  Life was really different.  (That doesn't even include all the geographical and cultural differences we were experiencing!)  It has been a hard year, but God has been faithful and He has continued to work in our lives. 

I went from being a stay-at-home homeschool Mom to a full-time language student, full-time NGO worker, with no more homeschooling.  Some days I wish things could be like they once were.  Sometimes I long for my old life.  Every once in a while I desire the solid purpose my life had at that time.

This summer I scaled down my language and work hours so that I could enjoy more time with my kids while they were on break.  I am so glad I did.  It was a refreshing time for me.  As the summer came to an end (as I shared last week) I was dreading it.  I wanted my old "job" as a wife, mom, and homeschool teacher back!  I knew that this was not possible in this season of our lives.  I laid it at His feet.

The past few days He has blessed me.  He knows the desires of my heart.

My Little Sojourner is eager to learn.  She wants to "go to school" like her big sisters.

Every morning I have woken up to the sweet voice of my Little Sojourner, "Will you be my teacher again?  What will I learn today?"  Precious to my heart. 

Joyful,


*Linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky for Tuesdays Unwrapped.

Pancakes!

Today was a pancake kind of morning.  We are savoring our last few days of Summer before heading back to school on Thursday.  I have so enjoyed having all of the Little Sojourners home again.  I really miss our homeschooling days and hope that someday, God willing, we will be able to do it again.  This will be Ms. Sojourner and Middle Sojourner's second year not to be homeschooled and I am dreading it.  But, today instead of focusing on how much I am going to miss them, I am focusing on thoroughly enjoying them.  Who knows what fun we will have today!

Middle Sojourner with the syrup.

Since it is about $10 for a small thing of prepackaged syrup here we opt to make our own and the girls are great helpers in this.  It is super easy too!

Maple Syrup Substitute:

1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar*, 1 cup water.

Boil until desired thickness.

*You can use white sugar and 1 teaspoon maple flavoring.

(We usually add a little bit of maple flavoring even if we use brown sugar, but you can adapt it to your tastes.)

Ms. Sojourner enjoying every bite.

To make this a little bit simpler of a meal we make up our own Pancake Mix:

10 cups flour, 2 1/2 cups dry milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup baking powder, 2 Tbsp. salt.

Combine it a large bowl.  Stir until blended well.  Store and label in an airtight container.  Use within several months.

To make pancakes with mix:

1 1/2 cups mix, 1 egg slightly beaten, 1 cup water, 3 Tbsp. oil.

Mix the wet ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the dry ingredients.  Blend well.  Let stand 5 minutes before cooking.

You can also make these great onion rings with the mix (they remind me of Sonic's onion rings):

1 1/2 cup mix, 1 egg slightly beaten, 1 cup cold water, 3 Tbsp. oil, onions cut into rings.

Mix together the wet ingredients; pour over the dry and blend well.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Dip onion rings into the batter, then fry.

Easy peezy lemon squeezy as my Little Sojourners would say.

Little Sojouner cleaned her plate.

So this morning our bellies are full, our hands are sticky, we are high on sugar, and we are ready to enjoy a day together.  I can hardly wait!

I love linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky on Tuesdays and "unwrapping" the small things in life like pancakes with my Little Sojourners.  What are you "unwrapping" today?

Kind Regards,

A Little Backwards

Little Sojourner demonstrating how it's done.

For my first eight plus years of parenting I taught my little sojourners how to sit at the table, eat over their plate, use a napkin, politely decline when they didn't like something, etc.  You know...all the normal manners stuff!

Then, for the last year I have been teaching them (and me!) to squat around a communal bowl, eat with your right hand, eat out of "your section," not reach across or step across the bowl, eat even when you don't want to know what it is, be gracious when those who have very little share what they have, etc. etc.

You only eat with your right hand because your left hand is your potty/nose picking hand.  Literally in the local language "right" is "rice side" (the hand they eat rice with) and "left" is "nose side" (the hand they pick their nose with).  Awesome.

Now if I could only convince my kids not to pick their noses at all.  We don't have to be that cultural!

Learning as I go,


*Linking up with Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky!  Also linking up with Try A New Adveture Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking.

Kid Korner

I am a Mommy to three Little Sojourners and I love to share about fun things we do together, funny things my kids do or say, etc.

Here are a few posts of funny things my kids said or did:

• A Money Mystery
• Moving
• My Birthday Extravaganza

Here are some fun activities we have done:

• Fun With Little Sojourners
• (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Kind regards,