Kids Updates

The kids are all pretty entertaining lately. Eva and Eli are both adding words and working to communicate. They continue to call each other 'baby.' They can say more words and sometimes we can hear them responding to something in the environment. When a speaker at the conference was talking about the concept of "sugar daddies," Eva piped up with a loud, "da-DEE!" When someone on the radio talked about meatballs Eli enthusiastically said "ball! ball!" One morning we were able to watch them playing outside with the teacher and they really looked like they were conversing. They're still a ways from real talk, but also definitely coming along. Eli's new improvement is that he can use the potty some. Today I took him to pee at a restaurant, which was a first. I think he'll train himsefl. Eva loves to play in the bathtub. I call her the "mermaid." Her favorite is to lie down on her tummy and kick her legs while making swimming motions. The teachers this week nicknamed Eli "lovebug" because he likes to give Eva and Sam hugs and kisses. He's a cute guy. He's the only one of our kids who eats enthusiastically and is not very picky. He's a funny one. Sam is also growing into a big brother. He does try to help Eli and Eva and often offers guidance or admonition. Sam is very funny to watch interacting with them. His favorite book lately is "The Monster Who Ate Darkness." We like it also, so it is pretty painless to read. In Emily's hometown, Sam started playing with a little t-ball set, and after seeing some kids play at church today, he's requested a soccer ball. It was fun to watch his improvement in just a few weeks in other areas too. Randy had gotten Sam a kettcar, and at first he could only really ride it on flat surfaces, but by the end of the time he was able to do circles in the driveway, which required some uphill. He is also a big fan of the cats. He even made up a song about them the other night. His other main animal interest lately is horses. Barb took him to a place where he was even able to ride some ponies (a black and white one! a brown and white one!). He has a stuffed horse he got from his great-grandmother Jeri Ann, who he has named "Cornchicken." Somehow he has perfected race horse naming without ever having seen a horse race. Sam's very shy around people from northern island. I can't tell whether this is because he often encounters them in crowded places (restaurants, churches), whether he's ashamed that he can't communicate in Second Language, or whether he is just feeling some cultural schizophrenia. He somteimes behaved like this in public back on the island, when people would approach him and try to talk to him or comment on him (hair, skin, etc.). I think probably it's just something he'll grow out of, and I'm reminded that it's nice that he has some set communities where he can get to know people and be known as himself.

Car Tripping

So this may be an overstatement, but Emily is probably one of the worst car-trippers of all times. There's a lot of wining, followed by moaning and complaining, with some blame and anger thrown in for good measure. This is probably also because our children, especially the twins, are not great travelers. I'm typing this on the road after having driven the first six hours. The babies are now relatively quiet and Sam is watching a video. It hasn't been pretty so far, but it was probably compounded by the combination of packing and church-ing that preceded this. Here's hoping that the remaining trips go a little more smoothly.

Touring

Another aspect of our work now is sharing in local congregations. I find that sometimes I really like this. With those from the island (like today and a few weeks back), it's helpful to learn about how they have balanced child rearing and work and travel and life in different places. In other local congregations, I get a sense for what people are interested in. Right now in the US, the main secondary language is on the rise (and being taught in more and more schools). It's fun to talk to relatives of people taking it. I also get to see what some classmates are up to. What's it like to serve multiple churches? A solo church? As head of staff? What are the challenges in starting at a new place? What are some different ways of doing worship, education, or youth? Interesting things. In terms of schedule, this stretches us. It's a challenge to visit so many places, but the alternatives (basically: stay in one place and tell family to visit; put Emily and kids in one place and just I travel) are not really tenable. I think we even have a fairly decent "go, stay, rest" schedule, but it's still a bit wearing to be in city three or four already and to have several yet to go.

Denom HQ

This was a pretty interesting, though intense week, at our denominational HQ. I was starting to wear out yesterday, just because I find long weeks (7-9 days in a row) hard, especially with evening meetings and long days with the kids. Eva woke up most nights, which was hard on Emily. On the other hand, child care was very good. Sam had a little friend, "Ale" (for Alejandro). He liked the activities, and the ratio of childcare was good (two teachers + Ale's nanny Andrea). Fun! They did crafts and had lessons. It was nice for me to be able to get breakfast, pack it back, and drop the kids off. I think we sometimes miss adult conversations and meetings, and I liked that for hours I could sort of forget about my kids. On the other hand, we also had the chance to talk to a lot of people who have raised kids cross-culturally and know what it is like. It was also just interesting to learn about the work that others are up to and to hear how things have been going for them. Many of the people we met were in their third or even fourth decade of working abroad, so it was good to hear about their work and how they did things. I also always find out something about logistics I didn't know before: how to get reimbursed for something, what is going on with a volunteer program, new personnel, major new initiatives, etc. In that sense, it was very helpful just in getting a handle on how things are going.

9 Days

Tomorrow I finish up nine days away from home. I'll have preached twice, talked to small groups eight times, and gotten to know a number of people in the broader church world. The conference was pretty well run and I would definitely do it again. Today I'm just enjoying the quiet. I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner pretty much by myself. I took a long walk. I worked on (long overdue) student papers, which are still not done, but hopefully will be 50% there soon (this part is making me wince). I missed a few mini-milestones. Sam apparently slept on a mattress on the floor in grandpa and grandma's room. Eli peed in the toilet (standing? sitting? details to follow...). I can tell it's been a bit of a rocky week for Emily, with late nights, night interruptions, some early mornings, etc., etc. Even a ratio of 4:3 with the kids is not a piece of cake. It will be a fair amount of driving tomorrow. Ninety minutes to friend Matt's service. Then several hours to where my friend Greg is. Then home to the family. I think it should be an okay day. Today it rained a lot. I was lucky to have aircon until today, but am now just running on Vornado power (this is the fan we bought to see if we want one when we go abroad again). That's the news from here. I still have no cell phone, but am able to do typing on my little chromebook. I have my dad's taste for orphaned but creative technology. Someday I'll start posting pictures again too.

Conference

This is my first time participating in a conference quite like I'm at. It's centered around mission workers who serve in a couple of dozen conferences, but then invites children and teens, mostly from within a hundred miles, but also from much farther away. I like the people I am meeting and they are all doing interesting things. For me, it's also been a challenge--mostly in a good way--to try to explain what we do and where we live to different age groups. I'll have talked to elementary, jr. high, high school, and adults by the time I'm done, and also will have preached at two friends' churches (one is a large suburban congregation and the other is a set of yoked congregations). It's an interesting place to be. I like the setting also. It's at a college campus, but one in a rural area. I get to see horse-drawn carriages, there's a beautiful lake and some nature courses, and there are various critters around (I've seen a snake, frogs and rabbits, etc.). Our kids are too young now, but it's the type of place we could maybe go as a family. I remember my Aunt Nancy has a camp her family went to, and David and I went to a camp when we were school-aged. This might be a nice compromise. Originally I thought I'd have to leave on Saturday and get a hotel, but I think I can stay an extra day if I'm willing to switch rooms. I'm hoping Saturday can be a grading/catching up day. I also found out I can visit one of my best friends from high school on the way home. I feel like this has been a productive time and I've gotten some things done. Emily's having a tough time with the kids back home. Three kids is a lot, even for four adults, and Eli's pulling some nighttime shenanigans. Hopefully things will settle out, but she's (understandably) nervous about our next conference and the transitions facing us. I'm thinking now might be a good time to check out a bunch of books from the library and to see what they have to say. Sometimes it helps just to hear what others are up to. Sometimes with the kids I still feel like we're pretty low on Maslov's Hierarchy of needs (is that right?). We're working on food and sleep and shelter. We're still a ways away from self-actualization. It's still at the survival stage.

Ports at Sea

It's hard to believe that we're coming up on a month in the US. We're doing pretty well with the transitions, but I still feel like there are a lot of ups and downs. We like being with family, and the kids are having a great time. I'm connecting to congregations and we'll get to see some familiar faces. I had a burst of productivity this week, but the truth is that getting things written and graded is still tough, even when I carve out a few quiet hours. I'm enjoying the small pleasures of being in the states. Everything is in English! I can internet shop! The public library lets you take out a huge quantity of books for weeks at a time with multiple renewals! Other things: we're thinking about weaning at some point. With Emily around 24/7 they want to nurse pretty much continuously. Next up for me is about 9 days on the road. I leave early tomorrow morning and go to a camp for most of the time. I'm excited about the time away but hope it isn't too hard on Emily and also know I'll miss the kid (this is my longe

st trip away). That's us for now! And attached are some pictures from the Indi trip.