happy 6 months, sweet jacob

Happy half-birthday, our precious little one!!

How can it possibly be that Jacob is six months old already?  I'm thankful that keeping this blog has helped me to be more mindful of how rapidly time continues to pass by.

It truly feels like just a few weeks ago that we were anticipating "baby brother's" arrival...that we were adjusting to life as a family of six...that we were learning who this wonderful new person in our midst would turn out to be.

And now, as I sit in our simple temporary home in northern Tanzania, dealing with an extremely slow internet connection that only occasionally allows me to upload pictures, I have a chance to realize the blessings that have enriched our lives since August 19, 2012.  I am filled with gratitude for sweet baby Jacob and the love and life that he brings to our family.  As I wrote to friends recently, he has turned out to be the gift that we didn't even know we needed.

His warm, engaging and endearing personality is not lost on a single person he meets.  No matter the age, ethnicity, or language of persons who cross his path, each one seems so taken with this baby and his loving attitude.  We are one lucky family to have him in our midst.


And in these six short months, what a ride he has already experienced.  From his birth in Houston, to our cross-country drive to Georgia and South Carolina, to our month in Louisiana at Christmas time, to our trans-Atlantic journey to Tanzania, Jacob hasn't missed a beat.  Without a doubt, his relaxed persona has made a big difference in making for so many great memories.





So what do I want to remember about Jacob at this age?  Well, everything, but most especially...

• how he smiles that gorgeous gummy smile when he sees one of us approaching
• how he sometimes wakes up singing in the morning, and what a beautiful a sound that is
• how he makes everyone around him feel so funny/special/loved
• how he is rolling over all the time now, and how he recently figured out that sleeping on his tummy is way more comfortable...and how wonderfully he has slept at night since making that discovery (happy dance!!)
• how he is starting to enjoy his first solids this week--"Cerelac," made by a European company and very similar to baby cereal in the U.S.--and how Madison has already asked when she will get a chance to feed him
• how he has taken to so very many changes so readily, how he rarely cries (and when he does, I know I need to pay attention), how he just is joy, all the time...and how I wonder if this is predictive of his personality later on...and how I really don't want to mess that up! 
• how his siblings still clamor for time with him, how they never tire of snuggling with him or trying to make him laugh his precious belly laugh, or how they are constantly amazed by the new things that he can do
• how he adores his daddy...and how his face lights up every time he hears Chris' voice or sees him nearby
• how he still opens his mouth wide onto my cheek, chin, shoulder, etc., so often...I don't even care if he is actually rooting for milk that he might have missed--I just love that it feels like precious, slobbery kisses to me
• how he is keeping his daddy and me young and energetic, because really, what choice do we have?  :)
• and finally, I want to remember how he reminds me, every single day, that God is so very present in my life...right here...right now

You are deeply loved, our sweet Jacob.  Thank you for being you, and for making us, us.

safari...wow

I don't really know what to say other than that...wow.  We were fifteen days into our lives here in Tanzania and we had the opportunity to go on an actual real-life safari this past weekend.  Like, in a bumpy jeep.  Down rocky gravel roads on a warm and sunshiny day.  In Africa.  I guess I figured that we'd eventually get the chance to do something like this, but I sure didn't expect it to be so soon.  Or so amazing.

Some of our fellow Kiswahili students suggested that we get a group together for a safari, and after a couple of days of indecision, we decided that this weekend would be a good a time as any to go for it.  So we gathered with a few friends early Saturday morning, loaded up the kids (yes, Jacob too, and yes, he seemed to enjoy the ride and was a total trooper the entire day), plenty of water, snacks, and a picnic lunch, as well as lots of free space on our cameras, and we were off to the Tarangire National Park.  I'm told that this park is about 90 km from our language school here, which translates to about 55 miles...which on these particular north Tanzanian roads translated to an almost three hour ride.  

But it was absolutely, positively worth it.  

I'm just going to stop talking so much now and show you some pictures.  Because, just wow.

(if you click on any picture, you can view them all in a larger size)

We loved seeing such amazing creatures in their natural, beautiful habitat.

The zebras were playful and moved so easily together as a group and as individuals. 

The antelope were as graceful and as shy as you would expect them to be, and the males, with their huge, curving horns, had a majesty about them that was hard to miss.

The lions (who, we are told, are tough to catch a glimpse of some days) were so peaceful as they rested near the water, seemingly oblivious to our jeeps and cameras and curiosities nearby.  

The baboons didn't miss a beat in their mass migration across the shallow river...even as our jeep pulled right into the middle of said river and parked there for several minutes.

 And as for these guys...well, they deserve a blog post all their own, because they are my very, very, very favorite of all.

After an almost twelve hour day on the road, we returned, exhausted, grimy, and oh-so-happy.

Going on this safari was an extraordinary and moving experience--truly, such a privilege.  Being in this gorgeous land, living among incredibly kind and loving people, and now getting the chance to see such spectacular animals...I don't know what to say.  We are richly blessed.  

There were moments that I had to actually remind myself that this was real life and that we are really, finally here.  I am grateful for the adventure that every day brings.  It is all a gift, and we are so thankful.

kiswahili school, wiki moja

So after that wonderfully relaxing week of rest in Dar es Salaam, we have just completed a whirlwind week of adjusting to a new home/awesome language classes/meeting people from around the world/putting the kids in their language school/having our brains stretched farther than they've had to stretch for quite a while/and oh yes, an absolutely spectacular safari which must be a post for another day.

Phew!  And it really has been that full and that busy, but somehow in the midst of all that newness, there has been very little stress.  We have never felt rushed, we are enjoying daily tea breaks and long, leisurely meals, we are sleeping so very well (all six of us, thankyouverymuch!),  and we are just thrilled to be here.  What is it that the developing world has figured out that we in the West seem to be missing?

Of all the fun and useful new vocabulary that we've learned in our Kiswahili course, my hands-down favorite is an expression that I hear at least four or five times a day.  I hear it when I apologize for my choppy attempts at speaking this beautiful language, or if I arrive late to class, or if the kids spill something, or when something gets lost or broken, or we forget something that we were just taught, etc.  And the single-word response is this: hamnashida.  It's pronounced /HUM-na-shee-dah/ and it essentially means "there is no problem."  I know what you're thinking--we're in the land of the Lion King, so why not "hakuna matata"?  Well, in the two weeks that we've been here, I have yet to hear that particular phrase.  Yet, the lovely "hamnashida" is spoken, really almost sung, several times every day.  And I think that what I love about it is the fact that it seems to capture what I have seen as the spirit of the Tanzanian people.  There is a welcoming nature to practically every person we have met so far--they are warm and hospitable and seem genuinely happy, both in their own lives and as hosts to the many "muzungu" (white, western) people that pass through their land.  I also think that the spirit of "no worries" in some ways reminds me of my home state of Louisiana, where this same sort of relaxed, "let it be" mentality is so readily embraced.  While I know that there are drawbacks to being laid back all the time, for now, I am grateful for the break, and I am enjoying the experience of leaning into the spirit of hamnashida.

And as for our first week of language classes, it's been fantastic.  I'm not sure what our expectations were, but whatever they might have been, they've been exceeded.  By a lot.  We are in very small classes (our beginner's class of 8 was split into two groups of 4), our teachers bring experience and patience and fun to each class, and we are enjoying some less-traditional learning methods that add an amazing new dimension to the whole experience.  The course director told us on the first day that this institution is big on "active, participatory learning," so as part of our classes we have the opportunity to learn in a number of different ways.  In just these first five days of class, in addition to learning lots of  important grammar, we've sung Kiswahili songs, played games like Bingo and Scrabble to help solidify our vocabulary, and we've spent one-on-one time with native Tanzanians to brush up on our dialogue skills.  This week we will go to a market and practice both our grasp of food vocabulary as well as our Kiswahili bargaining skills!  Be assured that we are learning a ton and being humbled--a whole lot--every day.

And those kids who were feeling a little homesick our first few days in the country?

They are doing just fine.

Joshua continues to amaze us and everyone he meets with his Kiswahili proficiency.  Our teacher said that when she sees him on campus, she speaks to him as fast as she would to a native speaker (and trust me, that is mind-bogglingly fast), and Joshua understands every word and responds like a native as well.  This weekend he's enjoyed his first soccer experience when one of our neighbors' sons stopped by and invited him over.  He said he had a great time playing ball outside with a group of boys and then enjoyed some time on his friend's Playstation.  You know, since we moved our family 8800 miles across the globe so that our boy could get in some Playstation time.  Kidding, of course.  We couldn't be happier that he is thriving on so many levels.

Madison and Caroline continue to be each other's best friends and are enjoying language classes as well.  All three big kids are in class together, but the teacher meets each one right where he or she needs to be challenged.  They are loving it.  And they, too, get cool field trips and experiences.  This week they made Masai beaded jewelry, trekked through a forest, chose what animals they will carve from wood later, hiked around a beautiful lake, and prepared (with lots of help) a delicious African meal for us and our teachers.

And our sweet baby Jacob, now 5 and half months old, is busy making friends and influencing people all over the place here at language school.  Although there are a whole lot of cultural differences that we are learning to navigate as we go, the love that people have for babies seems to cross all cultural lines.  And despite his mommy's characteristic worries (this time focused on the guilt of putting him in childcare while I attended classes), Jacob is doing remarkably well.  He has a one-on-one nanny who adores him, speaks to him in Kiswahili all day long, and brings him to me when it's time for his feeds.  So we see each other in the morning, then at our chai break at 10, again at lunch time, and then when classes are done in the afternoon.  I am most grateful that this aspect of my language school experience is going so well.  Thank God.

I have so much more to say and many more pictures to post, but it's late, and my tired brain needs to rest before we launch into another happily-jam-packed week of learning.  For now, I'll just say, asante sana for your thoughts and prayers.  Wishing much amani (peace) to all.