Thirty-What?

Valentine’s Day was my birthday. And apparently, I’m starting to look older than I really am. For the first time in my life, people were guessing that I’m 35 or 38 or thirty-something-older-than-reality! I know that I’ve aged a lot over the past two years, but wow! Maybe I need to invest in a few more age-fighting creams!!

Aside from the age insults, my birthday was really nice. It started the Thursday night before my birthday. The ladies from Bible study surprised me and a friend whose birthday is February 13th with an ice cream sundae party complete with homemade cones. (Yes, here in rural Kenya, you can’t buy luxuries like ice cream cones, so we make them! And they are SO much better than any ice cream cone I’ve eaten in the U.S.) In addition to the ice cream, I got dark chocolate, a candle holder, and these beautiful flowers. My friends are pretty great!

Friday the 13th happened to be the 100th day of school, so we not only celebrated Valentine’s Day but also 100 day. Jacob took 100 (stale) mini marshmallows to school. All the students ate “100” snacks at chai time.

Then, Saturday, my actual birthday, we had a family day. Aaron made pancake muffins for breakfast.  Since we lost power (again) right after breakfast, we just ate leftovers for lunch.

 

In the afternoon, we ventured up to the dukas so that the boys could buy me birthday presents. Joshua and I sat on a bench and chatted with a store owner while the boys shopped with Aaron.

As soon as we got home, Noah and Jacob hid in the school room to wrap my presents.

I was quite impressed with their wrapping skills. Levi was satisfied with the black plastic bag, so he didn’t join the older two. When I open the black bag, I discovered a box of mango juice and 4 pieces of toffee candy. He was so excited and proud of himself.

 

Jacob was up next. He chose a green ‘pearl’ necklace and wafer treats.

 

Noah wrapped three packages of Oreos, a “love” necklace, and a bottle of Krest. Since his love language is the same as mine (gifts), he wrapped each thing individually. He understands how exciting it is to open presents!

 

 

The store owner gave the boys a pair of red earrings to add to my birthday gifts. (That’s how generous and kind Kenyans are.) So here is my stash:

 

Joshua decided that he didn’t like his crib, so he just napped on my chest most of the afternoon. While we were napping, Noah and Aaron baked my birthday cake. Levi insisted on putting this green flower on it. (It was leftover from his birthday in July.) We didn’t have enough candles, so we used the numbers from Levi’s last two birthdays. Now, I guess everyone knows my real age. 🙂

Praises and Prayer Requests:

1. Praise God for Internet today! We have had many days this month without power. No electricity means no internet. It has been frustrating, but it makes us appreciate when it’s working!

2. Pray for rain. The river is low, the ground is dry, and it is hot. As soon as there is enough rain to rise the river level, the turbines can be turned back on. Then, our electricity (and internet) will be much more consistent.

3. Praise God for His unending love. I’ll write a “February Blessings” post as soon as I can. It has been a great month despite the dry season and all the consequences of that dryness. This post highlighted several blessings, but there are more!

Psalm 146