James Silas

I have tried to update our blog a million times. Two kids under two is hard. Slow internet is hard. A thousand interruptions is hard. Just while writing that sentence I got interrupted six times, and only twice because of my kids.

My point is: James Silas Kidd was born on March 28, 2016, at 9:05 am, after 12 hours of (unmedicated*) labour in a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. He weighed 8lbs and was 20 inches long- a full pound heavier and two inches longer than David was. (Now, at 3.5 months, he's 14lbs, and more-than-20 inches.)

He's the best. He's very different than Davidy, and by that I mean, calm, quiet, laid-back, happy, easy going...you get the idea.

We named him James after my favourite book of the Bible/because it's a name we both like. His middle name, Silas, is from Abram's Tanzanian grandfather, who "adopted" Abram into the family several years ago, and who passed away in March, just two weeks before James was born. We miss him and love him so much!

We are settling into a routine as a family of four. About once a week I get the boys to nap at the same time. (About once a week David doesn't nap at all.)(It's really fun.) Of course this routine will quickly be disrupted, because we are headed to North America soon! We will be in the US and Canada from September-mid April. We are so excited to catch up with family and friends! In the meantime, here we are! A houseful of boys.

I would like to blog more (than twice a year), and often compose nice long posts in my head, but they rarely make it to my computer, as you can see. I have no idea if anyone actually checks our blog. But I"m too stubborn to give up entirely. Just being honest! 

*Yes, I will brag about unmedicated labour. I won't preach about it, but I decided I have earned the right to brag! 

 

Abram on Father's Day

David aggressively loving on his little brother

Family of four!

Two months old (Don't ask me where his 1 month or 3 month photos are...! I did take them)

Besties and road trips and babies, oh my.

It's been MONTHS since I've blogged, and let me just tell you, when the power is only on from midnight till 5 am, getting online becomes...difficult. July, August and September have been basically powerless, and it's extremely frustrating (though the past few days, we've had electricity about half the time- woohoo!)


The big news first: I'm pregnant again! Baby is due in March, David will be 18 months old. the baby will probably be born in Kenya again, I'm hoping for a girl but who knows, and yes, I'm excited and nervous and tired and busy. Thank you. : ) (Also, morning sickness has been wayyyy better this time around, THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR MERCIES.)

Technology is pretty amazing, isn't it?

The past few months have been eventful, needless to say!

In July, one of my best friends from Oregon came to visit us for four whole weeks! Abram, David and I all loved having Lindsay with us for so long. I mean, really:

Don't they just look so in love?

Lindsay spent about two weeks with us here in the village. It was lovely- school was out, so everything was a bit more laid-back, and we spent time drinking coffee, reading, talking, playing with David, trying to convince him to take naps, going for walks, drinking coffee and reading. Linds got a bit of a taste of what our lives are like here- I believe the first day she was here, we had twenty something people knock on our door. (Our record is thirty something.) She had fun picking up more Swahili, trying to learn people's names, and trying to help people pronounce hers! For me, it was a huge blessing, because not only did I have a good friend around, but I had someone to help tag-team with David, dishes, cooking, etc.

The first week of August, the four of us packed up our things and drove to Nairobi for a two week visit, so that we could visit Visible Grace, go shopping, visit friends, find out I was pregnant, get an ultrasound, and do other fun city things.

Off we go!

The 10-12 hour trip, always adventurous, ended up being pretty rough, because David came down with a flu and threw up no less than seven times that day. You guys, I don't even know how it's possible, but vomit was like puddled under his car seat. (Not under him. Under the seat.) It was really sad and really rough- I hate seeing him sick and not knowing what to do! Thankfully, after he threw up he was pretty wiped out, and spent most of the trip sleeping. He didn't seem too upset, but I sure was. After ruling out malaria, we were afraid it might be carsickness (something that doesn't work for our traveling family), but thank GOD, David hasn't had any problems since, including the trip home. By the time we got to Nairobi that night, David and I were out of clean clothes- not a fun start to any vacation! Oh well- now I can add 'change clothes in an outhouse' to my list of life experiences.

The highlight of our time in Nairobi, as always, was visiting the looney tunes at Visible Grace. The kids are growing like weeds, learning more English (and more shenanigans), helping around the house, and doing well in school. Steve, Judy, the Kenyan staff, and the Kenyan board members are doing incredible work, and God is so good to bring everything together like this, and get me out of the way so that Africans can lead this thing, and I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

The only downside is that the kids don't really like Steve or Abram very much:

I mean, really. 

Steve is somewhere under that pile of children.

Sorry. Sometimes I feel like I have to be sarcastic, or I will explode.

It was really fun for Lindsay to visit the kids, as well. Linds came in 2011, when we broke ground on the house, and again in 2013, when we had our housewarming party and were just getting this party started. The kids adore her, and it's great for everyone- in America and in Kenya- to have someone consistently visiting and maintaining a relationship with VG and the kids.

David's a big hit around the house, too:

And the youngest of the kids tell Steve and Judy, "I'm not the youngest anymore- David is!"

Between visits to the house, we had a good time enjoying life in Nairobi. Abram and I were also blessed to go on not only one but TWO dates- Lindsay babysat one night and another friend the other. One date was just because, the other was to celebrate (early) our second anniversary!

I know we look like we're camping, but under my sweater, jacket, scarf and leggings, I'm wearing a pretty dress, as well as the bracelet Abram gave me on our anniversary last year.

In the middle of August, we had to send Lindsay home. We loved spending time with her and are so blessed by her love for our family! We miss you, Linds! 

Lunch on our last day together- a friend watched D, so we got to eat food without it being thrown in our lap!

Abram and I had planned to leave Nairobi a day or two after Lindsay left for the States. The day before we were going to leave, our car started making ominous clunking noises. We are so, so grateful we took it to the mechanic, and didn't end up stranded on the road somewhere between Nairobi and Tanzania! We ended up being in Nairobi for a total of four weeks, instead of two. The extended stay and the car repairs ended up being really hard on our budget -and our savings- but we are grateful that God provided places to stay, and we are grateful we now have a well functioning car. Between pregnancy and a busy baby, I am not interested in buses anymore. Though we did take the bus a few times in Nairobi, and with Abram's help, it's not bad. Just tiring.

Anyway- we are grateful to get to visit a few other friends in the interim, including a couple families who live in the slums, who we have known for years. We are so blessed and humbled to know these people, who are incredibly hard working and resourceful and kind.

I love this one: from left to right, Abraham, David, and Abram and David!

We also took David and our friend Katherine to my favourite place in the world- the giraffe centre. I am very sad to report that David was terrified and hated it and cried and now I can't be his mommy anymore, because what kind of son doesn't love giraffes?

He finally calmed down- his baba helped him to be brave.

Scoping each other out.

We got home to our village in early September, and jumped into an extremely busy month, which I will try to blog about later (hopefully!) In the meantime, here are more pictures of Davidy that didn't fit anywhere else:

This kid really, really loves dogs.

Spring Break

A solid month has gone by since I've written anything, and here's the thing: I have thought about or planned to blog almost every single day for the past 4 weeks. I have major respect for any mother who gets anything done. Anything. Did you brush your teeth today? You are awesome. You showered?!  And your neighbour didn't have to come over and hold your screaming baby? I don't even believe you.

Me? Cry? Never!

Anyway- lots has happened in our crazy, boring, exciting, busy lives. Here's a brief update.

April is a holiday for the college where Abram teaches- most of East Africa uses a year-round system, where schools are closed in April, August and December. The month has gone by quickly and I can hardly believe classes will be starting again on Monday. It's been a nice change of pace, and a chance to get to spend more time together, and to travel a bit!

Last week we were in Nairobi, visiting Visible Grace and some of our friends in the area, as well as doing major shopping (dark chocolate, decaf coffee, gluten free soy sauce, rice flour...).

Me: Thanks for being so generous and letting me buy so much stuff, and not complaining about it!
Abram: Well, I haven't totaled it all up yet. I'll complain later.
Me: ...Oh.

(He didn't complain, though. He's so generous. Abram would live off of $3 for the rest of his life, I think. Whereas I'm like, "well, in order to be truly happy, I need a hand mixer Jesus." I've never met anyone as content and non-materialistic as him. It's so annoying admirable. One of the many things I love about him. It also makes it hard to think of gifts for him!)

Er...as I was saying, we were able to visit the kids at VG, attend a board meeting, go to our (English speaking!) church, and visit a few of our friends. We also got a chance to dress Davidy in some of his 'winter' clothing, as it's rarely cold enough in TZ for long sleeves, let alone SWEATPANTS. You guys. I submit to you that few things are cuter than a baby in sweatpants.

It's always bittersweet for me to visit the VG house, because I miss the kids so much, and part of me still wishes we were there- but, I am happy/reluctant to admit, I think the entire ministry is doing better without me. Steve and Judy, the house parents/manager, are doing an incredible job, and we are grateful and impressed every time we talk with them or see the work they are doing. (Clarification: I'm still involved. Just in a very different capacity. I do not, for the record, miss Rita waking me up at 5:45 every morning.)

Rita: So innocent, so sweet. So loud.

I miss them. A lot. 

Raising 11 kids and holding a 12th: The best house father ever, Steve.

Everyone was of course delighted to see David and meet him for a second time- many of the friends we saw had visited us in the hospital when he was born! It was really cool to realise that, if we live in East Africa for a while, these people will know him throughout his entire childhood- watching him from newborn to toddlerhood to...adolescence?! Who knows. It's hard for us to be away from our families and home churches, but God has been good to bless us with 'families' here in Kenya and Tanzania. Davidy has American, South African, Canadian, Tanzanian, Kenyan, German and British (and more!) aunties, uncles, grandmas and grandpas. We really do feel supported and loved! And we are seeing the truth in the African adage "it takes a village to raise a child." (No, Hilary Clinton did not coin that phrase!)

Learning to sit with his cousin Charles (and yes, he's licking him. I don't know.)

Cousin Precious. And the aforementioned sweatpants.

Almost everyone we know had a baby last year. Seriously. Everyone.

Now that we are back home, we have a few days to settle in and get back into a routine before school starts again. Abram will be teaching a class on the book of Genesis, which I plan to attend/audit. I am looking forward to learning more about the Bible, as well as watching my husband teach! Thanks to a lighter teaching schedule this term, he will have a lot more time to research, read and write for his dissertation.

The view from our porch. It's good to be home!

We always enjoy a change of pace, and a chance to visit friends, but we are looking forward to life 'as usual', as well. This term should be a good one, and one of our good friends from Oregon is visiting at the end! Hurry up, Auntie Lindsay!

Thanks for a great pic, Jere!

Settling In

We are finally home, after 10 flights, 20 hours in the car, and four thousand disposable diapers (gross).  Now I'm attempting to blog, nurse David, and upload photos on a very, very slow internet connection. Why didn't I make time to blog while in North America, Land of the Fast Internet? Why? Why, Ashby?

In the past few weeks, we visited friends and family in four different countries. We went to a rehearsal and dinner for a wedding in Kenya, we celebrated Thanksgiving in America, we celebrated Christmas in Canada, we celebrated New Years back in Kenya, and we drove from Nairobi back to Tanzania without air conditioning. (It's summer here!)

We spent New Years Day with the VG kids. Precious, Peter, 

Jane and Mariano were unsuccessful in fixing our A/C.

This is Canada. It is not summer in Canada.

As soon as we got back to our village in Tanzania, we all three promptly came down with bad colds. Welcome home!

Our time in Ontario and Oregon was wonderful, exhausting, overwhelming, went by too quickly, and will be cherished forever- I got to meet my nephew, you guys. And Abram and I got to go on a date. ALONE. We miss our families already, but we are glad to be back home, too.

Because I was sick and in bed for much of the time, it took me at least a week just to unpack our (many many MANY) suitcases. I wish I could say I enjoyed the process of sorting through all our wonderful gifts, but between the heat, the fussy baby, and the sinus infection, it was mostly a blur. BUT. We are feeling so blessed by our friends and family: our suitcases were full of clothes and diapers and toys for David; natural/gluten free/whole foods for Abram and I; books for all three of us; new (!!) clothes for me; etc. We may not come back to the US or Canada for a couple years, so we are very excited to have all this stuff to help make our home feel more homey.

Speaking of homey, I have on my to-do list to give you guys (that is, my sister) a tour of our house! Stay tuned!

Abram has a busy term ahead of him: in addition to research and interviews for his dissertation, he is teaching three classes at the Bible college here. I am auditing one of his classes! I leave David with our friend Mary on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for a couple hours and get to sit and listen and learn things about the end of the world (dun dun dun...). It's exciting to get out of the house a bit, I've wanted to learn me about this subject for a while, and it's a great opportunity to get to know some of the students a bit more.

Besides taking the class, my goals for now are to get settled into our home, raise David well, support Abram in his work, fine-tune my Swahili (my grammar is getting worse...in English AND Swahili. Mommy brain, anyone?) and be a blessing to the many, many visitors we have on any given day. Last week I counted, and we had seven different visitors in a two hour period. In other words: right now, my ministry is our home. (Almost every day, someone observes me feeding David WHILE answering a knock at the front door WHILE cooking dinner, and then asks, 'so, what do you do?')

 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, etc. 

I am going to try try try to update our blog every couple weeks. This is mostly dependent on fast internet, so I can't promise anything!

Happy January, friends!

Here are a few more pictures; mostly of Canada: 

frequent fliers.

David, as it turns out, is a very good traveler. He did really well on all five flights we were on last week.

We are in the US now and it's wonderful and crazy and exciting and exhausting and sad, because we only have two weeks.

Here are some snapshots from Kenya and Oregon and Canada and over the Atlantic Ocean.

After a few pretty rough nights due to travel, jet lag, change of schedule, change in weather, etc, David started sleeping through the night this week! Last night I slept for 7.5 hours in a row, which I haven't done in at least a year. I feel like I can do anything now, including dishes.

My sister had a baby in May, and it's been wonderful to pretend to be sister wives together. My nephew is as adorable as I expected him to be, and we have big plans to smuggle him back to Africa in our suitcase.

David smiles now, which is amazing, and I spend most of my time trying to make him smile, and trying to catch it on camera, or talking about how great it is when he smiles.

Next week we go to Ottawa to spend two weeks with Abram's family, and then we head back to Kenya and Tanzania just after Christmas. 

It's pretty hard to find time to update my blog these days, even with a fast internet connection! So don't expect anything until the new year... a very cozy and merry Christmas to you and yours, dear friends.