Our Home Tour: Horn of Africa

I’ve been inspired lately by Taking Route’s blog series on homes around the world. And even though we aren’t currently in our home in Africa right now and when we go back we will actually be find a new place, I thought it would be fun to do a blog about the place we did call home from 2016-2018. It was Ezra’s first home and our first home in the Horn of Africa, and it will always hold a special place in our heart.

I’m also going to try and link some of my favorite things to bring back in suitcases for decorating, because sadly Target, Ikea, and Hobby Lobby haven’t cracked the market where we live. However, there are a few new places that popped up about a year after moving there that have provided a few affordable decorating options! But it’s still nice to bring those cheap Amazon and Target finds from home.

And speaking of home, I’m hoping this helps inspires me for our next place. In case you are interested in our crazy timeline of events our 2019 house hopping looks like this:

Baby Girl arrives end of December 2018

We pack up our belongings and move out of our temporary housing here in the states and head back to Africa mid-March 2019

We find a place to stay for a week or two as a family of four until we move into our supervisors house in April

We house sit for our supervisors while they are away, and slowly try to find a few necessary things in storage (baby bassinet, blender, etc)

For the summer, we make the mass exodus to ???? (location to be determined based on our language needs and availability) If you haven’t been following along or heard me talk about it, everything shuts down for the summer because of the heat. Our programs come to a stop, locals leave to visit family in neighboring countries, and expats take the chance to visit home or brush up on language skills in other countries.

So for the summer we will be living out of suitcases in another country (as we don’t plan to return to the states for summer 2019 due to cost) and hopefully we’ll stock up on a few needed things and escape the heat.

Then in September we return to our host country and begin searching for our new place!

So yeah, home is very relative these days, and I’m about to become super nostalgic for our old/first home in the Horn of Africa.

The view from our balcony. We had apartment complexes all around us (despite what many people though that elaborate building was) and an empty field to the right. That field gained quite a few things over the months we were in this place. There lived as sweet family there who owned a restaurant on their property often frequented by construction workers and guards. Toward the end there was a giant container out there and usually a pack of goats.

The Living Room

We were lucky enough to find an apartment that was mostly furnished. The year we moved to the Horn of Africa there was an influx of refugees coming from Yemen and needing apartments with furniture, so most of the places included everything. Now (only two years later) that’s nearly impossible to find, but it also means cheaper rent since there are way more places for rent. However, it also means we have to buy some furniture when we return…a very costly expense in our country.

As a side note, I LOVED this dining room table! It was a beautiful wood and huge! I would decorate it for each season and we did family meals, language study, projects, you name it on this place. One of my goals is to find a table this size for our new place. It’s perfect for having friends over too. It’s hosted many of holiday parties and random get togethers.

BEFORE PHOTOS

And speaking of holiday parties, here’s a shot of our set up for a Christmas party with some of our team members. Our place also came with a white patio table so we pulled it in and set it in the middle. This should give you an idea of how huge the living room/dining room area is that it can fit a table for 8, another table, two couches, and three other pieces of furniture! And what’s crazy is that I’ve seen a lot bigger living rooms that ours!

A closer look at the couch. I actually replaced this couch cover with one I got on Amazon. I like the fitted couch cover look better, so that was an easy fix. And if we need to take it off to wash, we have an extra one ready to go. I bought the couch off of our teammates who were retiring for a mere $8, finally a deal that won’t break the bank! (I’ll include links to everything below) I’m also planning on bringing back pillow covers for these three pillows—still searching for the perfect ones, but so far Amazon looks like my best option. The curtains we brought with us from the States and have actually had them since our first apartment as a married couple, I may have even had them before that?

Here’s the couch with the new cover on it. Not amazing, and I probably would have gone with a different color if I had seen it in person, but the price was right!

Another look at the living room, when it’s not set up for a party. We also had an old elliptical machine we found in our team storage that we put in the right corner. I eventually added an exercise ball and a few hand weights. You really need some sort of inside exercise place because it’s so hot and I still don’t feel comfortable running outside by myself.

Our balcony which opens from the living room

One of my favorite things about our house is this bookshelf. Another buy off a family who was moving and we were lucky enough to get to send a ton of our stuff over on a container. So I packed those plastic buckets full of memories. The decor has been rearranged quite a bit over the years and of course we’ve added a few things, but this is the general idea. It contains our wedding photo book, our wedding guest book, things people made for us for our wedding, and of course photos and some of our favorite coffee table books. I’m still debating on whether or not I want to eventually paint this thing white, but the wood on it is much prettier than a lot of our other pieces so it will probably depend on if I have any paint left. (I bought a paint off of Amazon that’s similar to chalk paint, so no sanding required. I did not bring this in a suitcase so I’m not sure what the rule is on that, I was able to get it over on a container, but I’ll link it below too)

Some other things we added to the living room:

1. A rug. While I wish I could have afforded some beautiful rug that brings the whole room together, it just wasn’t possible. I mean, even in the states rugs are expensive! But we did have access to the US military base and we bought an off-white carpet rug that ended up being perfect. The main reason is because when Ezra was still crawling (or learning to crawl) the tile floor was too much. Once we got a rug, he immediately started crawling! Plus rugs are just great.

2. Target dollar finds for the wall. We have concrete walls and even though we got a drill out we still could not manage to get anything hung on the walls with nails. So I gave up and used velcro strips. REally important to note we did not use anything but velcro! Anything else was too flimsy and the heat would just melt it right off! But for some reason the velcro stayed through the heat. I’ll link these things below too. My favorite was a gather sign that I found for Thanksgiving in the dollar section and hung above our dining table.

3. Even though I had all of these photo frames to hang on the wall, I had to give up that dream. So I took the photos out of the frames and ended up hanging them up with clothes pins on twine.

The Hallway

Here’s a look at the hallway when we first moved in with all our stuff. The front door is right behind the angle of where the photo was taken and then all the doors to the rooms (bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, and even the living room) are off of the hallway. I feel like maybe the better title for this space is the foyer.

We ended up putting quite a few pieces of furniture in this space. The kitchen didn’t hold much so this space held a lot of our fancy dishes, odds and ends, and we had a coffee bar at the end of the space. I ended up replacing the knobs with ones I brought back and got marble contact paper off of Amazon to replace the old contact paper that the previous owners had put on the piece. I also have grand plans to paint this guy white, but we’ll see…as for the pieces you see on there, we got the owl cookie jar at a local garage sale of moving expats, the tree is a handmade gift from Kenya, and the letterboard was a necessity I brought back in the suitcase, along with my assortment of cookbooks. And of course the amazing Ikea foldable boxes. (links below)

The back of our hallway and to the left is our kitchen. You can see our water tower and after this photo was taken we actually turned that back table into a coffee station. Our coffee collection kept growing and it made since to keep it next to the filtered water. We also had to get a fan for this space because it was the hottest place in the house and where we always ended up talking with visitor forever…equals sooo much sweaty conversations. You can also see the original contact paper of the furniture piece and how much better it looks with new knobs and contact paper, a cheap and easy fix! To the left you can see part of the other piece of furniture we had in this space—holding mostly all of our kitchen appliances.

Here we are from the front door, and you can see how the hallway/foyer works as you walk in. The Taco mat was a great find from Walmart. (link below)

The Guest Room/Nursery

BEFORE PHOTOS

This is one of the bedrooms with the bed, night stand, lamp, and curtains that came with the apartment.

I got a map wall decal off of Amazon and we put this rocking chair on a container. The decals are great, because they peel off without taking off the paint and if you are good enough you can reuse them, but I couldn’t get it off in good enough shape to reuse. However, one thing on this rocking chair. The white part of the fabric turned yellow where our body oil touched it and mixed with the heat and then the screws rusted and rotted and eventually broke. Very disappointing, but I guess you get what you pay for, but now we are on the hunt for something a little higher quality for baby number 2. I’ll link the rocking chair below for anyone who doesn’t live in an extremely hot environment.

Here you can also see the wardrobe in the corner. Another must have item we’ll need to replace!

I love expat garage sales. We got this changing table from an embassy family who didn’t need anymore and these the small chest of drawers from another family who was leaving. I changed the handles out of the drawers and will paint it white eventually. I’d love for the changing tablet to be white as well, but whatever. The chevron tubs are from target, and we were lucky enough to find the crib in our team’s storage container!

We did a lot in this room. We replaced the curtains with navy curtains from Walmart. Added a bunk bed, where we didn’t use the bottom mattress but instead left the double bed underneath for guests. The bunk bed will eventually be part of Ezra’s big boy bed, since the double bed was part of the furnished apartment. We also added a cute tent from Amazon and had a fuzzy rug from Ikea. I’ll link them below, especially since I don’t have photos!

So I can’t believe I don’t have more photos of the nursery/guest room. I guess we spend the least amount of time in this room, because half of the year Ezra sleeps with us due to only running the a/c in one room, but here’s the best photo I could find of his crib.

Master Bedroom

Here’s the very real view of our bedroom. It’s the room we spend most of our time in during the hot season because we run the a/c at night and it stays cool for most of the day. We also have a TV in here that we got an embassy garage sale for $5! It’s the only TV with HDMI so we usually hook up our computer and can watch netflix. The end tables and wardrobes came with the apartment so we’ll have to buy some for our new place, but the bed and other pieces of furniture we bought from families who were leaving. I am going to paint that dresser white and the handles gold. It’s my first painting project on the list. I’ve wanted to do it so many times, but the task just seemed so daunting, and moving always seems like a good time to paint before you get things settled. There’s our rocking chair which we moved into our room during the hot season and you can see the yellow stains from our body oil/heat…eww. But since it’s broken we probably won’t be using it anymore. We also had a pack-n-play, a small entertainment center, and another small piece of furniture that held our towels and Ezra’s diapers and pajamas during the hot season since he was sleeping in the room with us.

We also had a bathroom to the left with a tub, shower, and bidet. I wish I had a photo of it so you could see the rugs and shower curtain; it made a HUGE difference in making the bathroom look better. I’ll link some of my favorite finds below.

Our bed isn’t made, but we brought our comforter from the states that we got as a wedding gift. I once had a friend who grew up overseas tell me about bringing your comforter from home because it makes your bed feel much more homey, and they are right! We also brought our sheets—the ones on the bed I picked up at Ross and they have little elephants on them, as well as the pillows. When our bed is made it has a white blanket at the end I got at Ikea and had for years and several pillows we got as gifts from our wedding.

As for the decals on the back wall, I picked them up at Target and they are gold feathers. I was able to save those decals when I pulled them off so I’m sure I’ll use them somewhere in the next house. (links below)

We brought those curtains from home and since they were too long I just pinned them to make them shorter, that way if our next place has long windows I don’t have to regret getting them cut and sewn! There’s the other pieces of furniture that’s next in line for a paint job, and hopefully that bed will get one too! So many paint jobs around here!

Again, real life. The entertainment center belonged to the apartment, so we’ll look for something else when we move. The rug is one we picked up from the US base and it was a game changer! We eventually hung photos on twine with clothes pin above the tv because I gave up trying to get anything nailed to the walls. (see photo to the right)

Here you can see our comforter in the bottom of the photo and the twine with photos idea I ended up doing around the house.

The before photos of the master bathroom, trust me, the decor did wonders for this space

We had a small storage piece to left of the sink for our stuff and also had hanging organizer on the back of the door. I’ll link a similar one below.

The Kitchen

We moved this table out onto the balcony and just brought it in when necessary.

the kitchen sink—real special, I know.

In place of the white table we put this piece of furniture we got from a teammate. This piece is beautiful and made so well. I think they brought it over from England years ago and I love it.

So why take photos of the cabinets? Because they are a rarity in homes here! If you want cabinets you have to buy them yourself and have them installed, but we were so excited to see our apartment came with some, even if they weren’t that pretty or straight…

And our washer, again it was provided with the house, which is not usually the case, and yet another thing we’ll have to buy when we get back. This washer was brand new because the original one didn’t work, we were spoiled indeed! And Ezra loved watching the wash through the little window.

We got this piece from our teammates as well and I painted it white (despite what the photo shows) and painted the handles gold. Notice our transformer and Ninja blender. :)

So another rarity—a HUGE fridge! Seriously, most of the fridges are teeny tiny and also don’t come with the apartment. I’ll probably miss this thing the most and be sad to see what we can buy with our budget.

The Office

Again, a room I don’t have many photos of, but here’s one side of the office. We actually had three desks in here because it served as our team office when needed. Reed has a desk, I had a desk, and we had an extra one for a team member. We also kept our books and a lot of storage items for camping and whatnot in here.

Here’s my side. We ended up moving the bookshelf you see in the photo to the left behind my desk because we got another bookshelf to keep up with our ever growing book collection. We end up taking all the books from families when they leave since no one wants to use up luggage space for heavy books! We also have a really big metal cabinet we used for storage and I loved getting to put photos and magnets of friends on there.

Courtyard

One thing I wish we had more of at this apartment was a place to play outside. Even though it’s hot, there are some months in the year where it’s nice to be outside, especially with a toddler. We only had a small little area and it’s really where the cars went, but I made use of this favorite corner of mine and always took photos here.

The gate to our place!

Daddy and Ezra hanging out of the window of the office

Links To My Favorite Things

1. Chalk Finish Paint

2. World Map Decal

3. Wall Decals - Since I can’t find the feather ones I bought I just linked a bunch of things from Target, but if you can browse Target you’ll find better deals

4. Marble Contact Paper

5. Battery Operated String Lights (I didn’t mention these above, but I love these. I use them for the holidays and also for general decor. I’ve draped them around the tent for Ezra and also put them in glass jars as well as hanging them above doorways.

6. Foldable Play Tent for Ezra’s Room

7. Hammock Swing (Which I’ve failed to figure out how to hang yet)

8. Couch Cover - we bought this one but the price has gone up quite a bit! But there are lots of options out there, just make sure you get the right size

9. Bamboo Towels - If you don’t have a dryer and hate crunchy towels, then get yourself some bamboo towels! They dry so soft and are amazing! These are the ones we bought, but they are unavailable, so just search for bamboo towels on amazon

10. Travel Power Surge Protector - This is a must have! We have had a hard time finding a surge protector and already had several issues, so I got another one of these babies and use it for our tv or any important electronics.

11. Over the Door Organizer - I used something similar to this for our bathroom since bathroom storage was non existence and furniture/plastic drawers are crazy expensive!

12. Pillow Covers - I haven’t actually purchased any yet as I’m always looking for deals at Ross or TJ Maxx or Target, but I really like this color scheme, however I may have to change my curtains to make it match a little better…we’ll see what I end up with.

13. Ikea Rug - fits in your suitcase and makes a great background for baby photos

14. Letter Board

15. Gemstone Knobs - I got similar ones to this for some of our furniture

16. Storage Boxes

17. Similar Taco Mat (I found mine at Walmart but it’s not there anymore, but it’s just an idea, these things are lightweight and great to add a little something to the floor)

18. Chevron Rocking Chair and the rocking chair I’m thinking of getting for our next container

If you’re interested I also have a pinterest board for inspiration for our next home. Everything is based on ideas that can be replicated at low cost or brought in a suitcase (minus a few pieces of furniture). You can find it here: https://www.pinterest.com/jessicaleegardner/gabode/

Swimming With Whale Sharks

Go! Go! Go! The man yells in a thick accent; it actually takes me a second to understand what he said. Then I quickly pull my mask over my eyes, put a death grip on my phone, and jump into the deep ocean blue. Immediately I begin clicking the shutter on my phone, hoping to catch the giant creatures swimming toward me. 

When I heard we would go swimming with whale sharks I couldn't decide if I was excited or scared. The term shark seems intimidating, why would want to go looking something that has the potential to kill us? But whale sharks are gentle creatures and they don't eat meat. There are only a few places in the world that you can actually swim with whale sharks and they are only around for a limited time. 

We packed up our truck with food, snorkel gear, drinks, blankets, and everything needed for a day at the beach. We then headed out of town driving for an hour on a paved road until we get to a bumpy, dirt road. If you didn't know the way, you would never know it led to anything. Another hour past military bases, camels, and goat herds and you reach one of the most serene and unique beaches. 

Instead of sand the shore is lined with large rocks, in the distance there are old run-down concrete buildings, now decorated with graffiti. Once we set up camp we wait for the man to pick us up with is boat. We left Ezra with two of our teammates who stayed behind on shore. They said he did great and only cried once he saw us returning. Finally, our little guy is starting to be comfortable around others!

Once we reached the area where the whale sharks hang out we then wait for the driver to tell us to jump. He does a fantastic job of pulling in front of the whale sharks so when you jump off the boat you land right in front of them! It was amazing! My flippers didn't fit so I wasn't able to swim to keep up with them, but I was still able to grab a few shots with my camera. Which by the way I highly recommend the Lifeproof case for your iPhone. It allows you to take it under water and take photos and videos. A dream come true!

After a few times in and out of the little boat you are so tired and ready to return to shore. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling, eating, talking, and of course getting way too much sun. 

I recently watched a video clip of a guy who traveled to every country in the world. He then would shout off a few things to do in each country, but when he came to our neck of the woods, he said he couldn't find anything to do. Well, mystery man, I feel sorry for you, because you spent all that money traveling all over the world and missed one of the most unique opportunities. I wish I could write him and tell him about all the things there are to do in our little country, whale sharks just one of the many!

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Life in Africa: Part 2

Since posting the blog A Typical Day in Africa with a Baby, our little guy has grown a lot! He is now 16 months old and all over the place! And now that he is no longer an infant our schedule has opened up to do more in the community. So I thought I'd do another post on what our day/week looks like here in Africa.

7:30 - wake up and get going (In an effort to be vulnerable, I'm not a morning person, so it takes me fooooorever to get out of bed, but I aspire to get better and spend some quiet time during these 30 minutes instead of hitting the snooze button) *insert thumbs down emoji*

8:00 - Sometimes Ezra wakes up around this time, but he usually just plays in his crib until we come and get him. Then we change him, give him some milk, and get him in the high chair for breakfast. Sunday through Thursday our house helper arrives and she often takes over on days I have appointments in the morning.

9:00-12:00 - Mondays I spend my time in the home office or visiting the women at our Project House. I'm usually meeting with the jewelry group for Dreamer & Co or meeting with others as I leave this day open for appointments. On Tuesdays we have team meetings, and Wednesday through Thursday I have language lessons. Friday and Saturdays are the weekend here and on Sunday we get ready for chapel at the base.

10:00 - Ezra takes a nap (depending on the day) and Monday-Thursday our house helper is actually watching Ezra and getting him down for a nap so we can attend language class or work in the office. When he wakes up he has another 4 oz. of milk.

12:00-2:00 - Ezra is usually awake by now and we get ready to have lunch. Lunch is the main meal here so we usually have a big spread, pasta and bread, rice and beans, and other dishes prepared for us by our house helper. 

2:00 - 4:00 - Ezra goes down for a nap, sometimes we do as well :) Most places close down for "siesta" time and so we take this time to rest as well.

4:00 - Ezra has a snack, and depending on the day I leave for my next activity. Monday I attend Girl's Run 2 practice, Tuesdays I have women's volleyball, and Wednesday I have women's basketball on the French base. Reed has langugage class Monday-Wednesday so our house helper stays with Ezra. Thursdays and Sundays I use the afternoon to catch up on office work in the living room, while Ezra runs around playing. 

6:30 - We start preparing dinner. I return back from volleyball or girls' running. On Wednesdays I am actually leaving to go to basketball, so our house helper feeds Ezra dinner and put him down for bed.

7:30 - We eat dinner together. Ezra eats with us and we try to get him to eat whatever we are eating as well. But if he refuses it then we chop up some fruit and bread or make a smoothie for him. 

8:00 - Bath, bottle, bed for little man! He gets one more 4 oz. bottle of milk and then goes down for the night. 

9:00 - We watch tv, catch up on emails, and try to be in bed by 10:00pm, however most days it's really more like 12:00 am. But we are working on that, because getting in the morning is so much harder!

Below are a few answers to some common questions we get about raising a baby in Africa:

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1. What do you feed Ezra and does he still take bottles?

We have transitioned from bottles to sippy cups and we hope to eventually transition to milk only being drunk from the 360 cups. Right now Ezra is such a wiggle worm when we change his diaper, so we often use the sippy cup full of milk to keep him still. It's really the only way. As for food, we try to get him to eat whatever we are having, but there are a few foods that we eat consistently that we found do not bode well for his digestive system (i.e. beans). His favorite (outside of all fruit) is spaghetti and musil (a local dish made out of red lentils). We also make him grilled cheese sandwiches and left over rice pilafs for days when he won't touch our food. We can always count on cut up fruit, pureed fruit, and crackers to be a big hit. His other favorite is any kind of smoothie. In fact, if I make a smoothie for myself as soon as he hears the blender he starts whining for some. The good thing about our smoothies is that we use Juice + so we know he is getting a good dose of fruits and vegetables. 

2. What kind of milk do you use?

The milk here is actually a point of contention. A local company started producing milk, but it gives everyone bathroom issues (even the locals won't touch it). But the company refuses to fix the issue and they have stopped letting many companies import other brands. Sometimes we can find milk from France, but it comes in tiny bottles and is skim milk. We would go through four containers in one week! We finally decided to use the formula designed for babies 12-36 months. We can buy it in a large container and it last for a couple weeks, plus it has extra vitamins to help with growth. 

3. How do you keep Ezra cool in the hot climate?

From November to March the weather can range from upper 60s to upper 80s. While it's still warm inside the apartment we have found it's not too hot for sleeping. So Ezra will sleep in his crib in his own room during this months. We run the a/c for two hours before bedtime and then shut it off when he goes to sleep. We also keep his ceiling fan on high and have a tower fan blowing on his crib. So far, he hasn't woken up sweating, so we count is as success. During the hot months we will move him into our room with the a/c and he'll sleep in the pack-n-play. During the day we keep the fans running and if he's out in the stroller we have a portable fan that attaches to his tray and blows on him. It works wonders! During the hot months if it gets too hot inside then we run the a/c for a little bit and make sure he stays cool. 

4. How do you get clothes and other supplies for him as he transitions?

We plan ahead. We have yet to find a place that sells affordable baby clothes so we find it easier to bring several sizes with us. We have stocked up through size 2T and when we travel during the summer we will plan for the next year. We also have visitors that come from the US during the year and will ask them to bring us something if we find something breaks or we need something.  

5. How did you get Ezra to sleep through the night? 

When Ezra was four months old we read the book, 12 hours by 12 weeks. We started following the guidelines and with a lot of practice we got Ezra to sleep through the night. He would still wake up around 6 am, and sometimes have an occasional mid-night wake-up, but around 1 year he started sleeping 12 hours at night and waking up anywhere from 8am to 10am! He was also going to sleep at 9pm or later. That's the downside of sleeping in the same room, he can't fall asleep until we are quiet in bed and all the lights are off. 

Who Runs The World?

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Life is much easier with a one year old than a newborn. I am finally plugging into community here and able to be away from the house for more than a couple hours. One of the joys of my new schedule is getting to work with our running girls. Every Monday I drive out past wadis, camels, crazy drivers, and end up at a huge stadium with turf grass and an actual track. Underneath my sheet dress is my scandalous capri pants and t-shirt waiting to be seen by this group of teenage girls.

The girls start by warming up for 15 minutes around the track. Afterwards they do their stretches as a group and then for 30 minutes I work with them on strength training. It can be a challenge tailoring exercises for 9 year olds all the way to 17 year olds. We've done sprints, push ups, squats, stairs, resistance bands, and medicine balls.

A few weeks ago we had to break up a fight between two girls because the younger girl kept talking bad about the older girl. And their natural instinct is to start fighting, pulling hair, crying, the whole shebang. But how can you blame them when they have never been taught anything else? How do you teach respect? Well, first off, you model it.

We try to live our lives with respect for the culture, the people, and the customs in the country we are guests in. Second, these girls will have to endure lectures and be disciplined according, something they have never really seen before. Most of their discipline has been in the form of physical abuse. We want to show how one can love sternly but still gracefully. 

So this past week we began implementing discipline. The girls have started arriving late to practice, talking back, and refusing to do drills. It's frustrating to have to tell them to go home for bad attitudes or starting fights, but as I've discovered it's necessary to teach them respect and the importance of listening. So when they arrive more than 10 minutes late they now have to run extra and do push-ups. When they refused to listen, push-ups, when they talk back, push-ups. Yes, some girls began crying and faking push-ups, but others got down on their knees and did what had to be done. It's a slow process, but a necessary one. 

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The Sounds of Thanksgiving

The smell of homemade pumpkin pie, sage, thyme, and turkey roasting in the oven—these are the smells I often associate with Thanksgiving. But since living in abroad over the years, I’ve learned to associate this holiday less with smells and more with sounds. While there may be an occasional familiar smell if some lucky American managed to pack a can of sweet potatoes or pumpkin puree in their suitcase, there are usually new smells that come along with each holiday—some good, some not so good—goat manure, sweat, sweet cake, whole wheat dinner rolls—you get my point.

But no matter where I’ve been on Thanksgiving one things remains the same—the sounds. Upbeat conversations about life and loss carry through the air harmonizing with the call to prayer. Children running around barefoot, laughing, playing, crying, and then snoring from the long-expected nap of a sugar crash.

Our Thanksgiving was nothing less than these familiar sounds. We celebrated on the rooftop of a friend’s house and 30 or so people came bringing their best dish cooked with local spices and whatever else they could find. And as it has become a tradition for our little group of expats, the Sunday after Thanksgiving we all gathered to play the annual baseball game. The kids who are away at boarding school return home and we have more than enough people for two teams.

Last year Ezra was only two months old and fell asleep on my lap as we watched Reed play his favorite sport. This year, Ezra ran around getting chased by local kids who loved his white skin and cute little stature. They tried to pick him up, help me when he was crying (because they were picking him up), and even play peek a boo with him. Hopefully one day soon he’ll actually understand all that’s happening, but for now he’s just taking it all in day by day…and tear by tear.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving we want to say thank you to those who follow along with us and remember us in your prayers. We really could not live here without you. On days when we find ourselves frustrated at the cost of living or crying in pain at the doctor’s office, or mourning the loss of a local friend, we think of you, and remember we are not alone in this journey.

Ezra with our teammate. These two have grown to love each other, mainly because he feeds Ezra all the things!

Sunrise Service on the Beach

There's a stillness in the air that happens somewhere in the night—the wind stops, the waves die down, and the mosquitoes buzz. But it's there in the quiet when you realize just how big and vast the world really is.

On Easter weekend we traveled to a semi-secluded beach two hours outside the city, where your neighbors are foreign and local military, a couple of donkeys, and a camel. It’s a typical Horn of Africa scene, at least in our part, but it’s a safe spot where once a year the teams from our city come together and rest.

That evening as we warmed up chili over the fire, one by one we slowly sat in our folding camping chairs and watch the embers crack. A guitar started to strum and singing could be heard quietly over the roaring waves. “Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have mad. I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed.”

Never did those words ring more true than they did that night under the darkness, lit only from the fire, the night sky, and the occasional flashlight. And as seamlessly as the music had started, the stories began. Surrounded by both young and old, everyone had a story, so we sat and cried and laughed and offered thanks to God for his protection and love.

The next morning we had an Easter service on the shore, then we celebrated by swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking. Reed, Ezra, and I also hiked across the little mountain and took photos of the sunset the day before. And while Ezra was sleeping peacefully in his pack-n-play (with adult supervision) we took the kayak out on the ocean and found a sandy beach around the mountain. And greeting us as we arrived was none other than a camel! Only in the Horn of Africa!

Meet Some Fearless Moms

It's my first mother's day as a mother. While last year I got to celebrate mother's day pregnant, this year I get to really understand the joys and struggles that come with being a mother. And I also understand how difficult this day can be for so many. So I'm not going to bombard with you photos my little guy (I'll save that for another day), but I am going to show you some of the mothers I've met over the past year here in Africa. 

Last year I did a blog post showcasing mothers I've met in the past 10 years of my travels, I loved reading your messages and comments about it and so I've decided to share a few more stories. I hope that for those of you who look at today and feel pain and longing that you will somehow feel peace. I pray that you can know that you are loved and thought of and that just because you may not be celebrating today that you still have purpose and life! 

Sadly, a month after visiting with these families we got word about one family who lost their son. He was the only child I didn't get a photo of that day and now I regret it so much. Their son was a teenager and suffered from brain damage, but was able to walk himself. However, he came down with diarrhea and died. It broke our heart to hear of child dying of something so easily prevented. So it's why we work here, training people about the dangers of dehydration, loving on them every chance we get, and giving them something to try and make their life just a little bit easier. 

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Our NGO works with a local school run by a woman who has returned to the Horn of Africa after living for years in Canada. She decided to return to her home country and open a school for street children. Many of these children do not have parents and are lacking the proper papers to attend public schools. During her time at the school she also came in contact with several families of handicap children. Many of these children suffer from epilepsy and have severe deformities. They do not have access to wheelchairs to the mothers will carry around their children so they do not have to sit in the dirt all day long. 

Many times when we meet handicapped children in remote areas around the world they are not cared for or given much attention, but the amount of love that these moms (and some fathers) had for their kids was amazing. The moms would wipe of dried boogers or saliva before I took their photo and they would fix their hair and whisper in their ear to smile. 

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The lady in the middle received a new wheelchair and her daughter came along with her.

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Here they are with my mom, who got to be a part of giving them their new wheelchair and meet all the mother's above.

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This mother I met briefly in February at a clinic in town. At first I thought she was the grandmother of this 17 day old baby but it turns out she was mother who had just given birth to this little sweet girl. She was at the hospital because her newborn needed to undergo some test to see if she was HIV+.

The mother was already HIV+ and so now the long wait of finding out if you passed it on to your daughter. I couldn't imagine what she must feel, having a baby only a few weeks old and having to find out if she has a life-threatening disease.

She was sad, and it broke my heart, because usually women will at least smile for me or find pride in showing off their kids, but you could tell she was hurting, tired, and alone. So pray for mothers like her, pray for their children, and pray for the doctors that one day they will find a cure for these heart-breaking diseases. 

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Some mothers and their children I met back in February at a distribution where we gave out food, clothing, and blankets. You can read their stories here: Life in a Volcanic Desert

Life in a Volcanic Dessert

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As we bumped along the dirt road to what looked like the middle of nowhere, we suddenly pulled in view of what appeared to be a brand new center. It’s off-white buildings perfectly constructed. Even the ground had been covered in rocks to give the compound a feeling of wealth—but that was just an illusion.

Now all that remained was an abandoned center, cut off from funds, full of women, children, and older men inhabiting the rooms, once meant for classrooms. We were hours outside the city and with a minority people group living there, the government overlooked the needs. Others had come to help, but they also had given up, as seen by the classrooms now used as makeshift homes.

When our trucks pulled up with food, clothes, and blankets for this small community, it didn’t take long for word to spread. Soon children and women swarmed the vehicles. We quickly realized that what we thought would be a small gathering of village elders, had turned into a community event. Later that day, we learned that another organization was also planning a distribution that day, which may have led to the community already on alert for distribution of aid.

Mira stood out in her bright blue hijab, the colors bouncing off the background of brown dust. She had a baby slung on her hip and one of her daughters following her around as small children often do. Though she had another child, he was out playing with his friends. Mira isn’t sure what age her children are, as age isn’t something often kept in their community. Instead, she was more concerned with what they would eat and if they are safe.

Asna appeared quiet and uncomfortable, she nestled her little girl in her lap, and after few questions began to smile. She was pregnant. Joy came across her face as she told us, and one could see that having children out here was no small feat. Later when we were eating with the village elders, we learned that many women do not have access to a hospital. If there is an emergency they will go by ambulance to a town several hours away, but for the majority, having a baby is something done at home.

Agnus reminded me of myself. She had a gold nose ring similar to mine, she was tall and sturdy like me, and even had a 4-month-old boy just as I did. It’s funny, seeing yourself in someone, yet living completely different lives. I can’t imagine the hardships that Agnus faces. While we were blessed with a beautiful windy day, there are many months out of the year that their home is considered one of the hottest habitable places on earth. Temperatures sore above 100 degrees, and when you only receive water once every 10 days, surviving becomes that much harder.

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Several of the women who received rice and beans at the distribution

Asna pictured with her daughter

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Agnus pictured with her children

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Mira pictured with her daughter

We asked the elders how we could help relieve their strain for fresh water. Living in the middle of a volcanic desert doesn’t provide much access to clean water, or even dirty water for that matter. There is a water source 30 minutes away by foot, but it’s not much help, when there is no irrigation system for the water to reach the village. When asked what would happen if the water trucks do not come, Muhammed* replied matter of factly, “We would die.”

In our line of work there are often two things that help people get out of the poverty cycle—nutrition (provided through water and food) and education. But here, in a small village, of forgotten minorities, there is neither. The children do not have a school to go to, though they live in abandoned classrooms. Muhammed said that the older children are becoming restless and starting to cause trouble. The lack of basic needs is why these people feel helpless. Though they keep on having babies and caring for their young, they yearn for more—a place where they can send their children to school and not have to limit their intake of a water, a luxury we so often take for granted.

But since we now live in the country, we have the opportunity to keep helping, to keep loving, and to keep going to the hard and forgotten places. So it's our hope that we can soon send some teachers into this community and begin educating these kids, because we really believe that one of the biggest helps in getting out of the poverty trap is education. 

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We feasted on goat meat and more

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The fed us enough for days

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Ya know, when you get a flat, and it takes 5 gives and two goats to get it done...

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Because it's not a trip unless you come back with a goat. Don't worry by the time we were done we had one more goat in the back. Yet, sadly these goats will be dinner soon. :)

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I am still amazed at to how they get up there!

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Baby toes and the most colorful meal I've ever seen!

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The boys hanging out.

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Ezra was not into this flat tire thing...
 

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This beautiful girl and her father live in a hut on the side of the road that takes us to our destination. We stopped and gave them some of the food we had for our distribution.

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goats on trees

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Refresh My Soul: Lac Assal

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Back in December we took a family trip to the Salt Lake. It's the saltiest lake in the world and the lowest point in Africa. It's also one of the prettiest landscapes in our country. So enjoy this month's refreshment courtesy of the beautiful Lac Assal.

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Our Typical Day With a Baby in Africa

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The apartment building across the street

We are often asked what does daily life look like while living in Africa. To be honest, I'm not sure there is a "normal" day, but I figured I'd try my best to explain one. Now that we have a baby (who turns 3 months on December 23rd) in the picture, our days have drastically changed. So I offer this timeline as an inspiration to those trying to work from home with little ones, and for any mommas out there who might be exclusively pumping. It's a long story as to why I'm exclusively pumping, but the short version is 2 hours of breastfeeding and wasn't full, tongue tie, and one week in NICU eating from a bottle. Like I said, short version. Anyways, here's what a typical day might look like:

somewhere between 4am-6am - Ezra wakes up for his early morning feeding. (sometimes this has happened as late as 8am) At this time, Reed gets up and warms the bottles and changes him, while I get ready to pump. Ezra usually eats around 6 oz at this time. Somewhere between 40 min. to an hour later we all go back to sleep.

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Ezra enjoying his time in the Mamaro

8am - Ezra wakes up and Reed feeds him another 3 oz bottle and I pump again. Afterwards we change him out of his pj's and we put him in the mamaroo while we get dressed and eat breakfast.

9am - Our house helper arrives and begins cleaning the kitchen. :) We transition to the office so she can clean the bedrooms. All three of us go into our office to work. This is when we answer emails, work on reports, and other office tasks for our NGO. Ezra usually plays in the mamaroo and sometimes nods off for a few cat naps. On days we adventurous we'll spend the morning at the cafe down the street. We try to at least go once a week. They have a great cheap breakfast and we have already made several friends with some of the regulars. 

11:30am - Ezra takes another 2-3 oz bottle and goes down for a nap somewhere between 30 min - 1 hr.

12pm - We eat lunch, usually prepared by our house helper. 

12:30 pm - If he's not already awake, Ezra wakes up and wants to play. We usually do tummy time and on a good day he'll even roll over for us!

1:00 pm - I pump again, and we take advantage of the local custom, which is to rest! All the shops shut down till about 3:00 or 4:00 so we can't do any errands. We usually put on a tv show while I pump and Reed continues playing with Ezra. 

2:00 pm - Once a week we'll take this time to go to the grocery store or get drinking water. Recently the grocery stores have decided to stay open during the pause "break" and it's the perfect time to beat the crowds. Ezra will catnap if we are out and about, if not, then he wants to play!

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Just one of our many stops on our evening walks around the neighboorhood.

3:00 - 4:30 pm - Ezra takes another bottle sometimes two, which is around 3-5 oz. He finally takes another nap and so do we!

5:00 pm - Exercise time! Since the only air conditioned gym is $300 a month and our floor in our apartment is so slippery I have yet to successfully complete a workout video, we have to get creative on how we get our exercise in. Right now (in the winter) the weather is perfect for walking and jogging outside, so we load up Ezra in the stroller, cover him with a mosquito net and explore our neighborhood. Ezra loves bumping along and usually sleeps the whole time. We finish our walk with some lunges, planks, wall sits, etc. 

6:00 pm - Since we only have cold showers we make sure to shower while we are still sweaty, but since cooking dinner also involves sweating Reed will go ahead and begin cooking, while I shower and then pump. 

7:00 pm - We start getting Ezra ready for bedtime. We give him a bath, change him into his pj's and if it's Saturday or Sunday we call our families on FaceTime before Ezra falls asleep. One of us will also continue finish cooking dinner, while the other feeds and put Ezra down for the night.

8:00 pm - Ezra is usually asleep by now, so we finally eat dinner while watching a movie or tv show. After dinner we may do a few more emails or office work, since we can finally work without interruption! 

10:00 pm - I pump again while doing my daily French lesson on my iPhone. Afterwards we clean all the bottles, and we fall asleep by 11:30. (as a side note, cleaning bottles in Africa is a chore in itself.) While the water here is actually clean enough to drink it's very salty and has a lot of sulphur. So everything it touches seems to weaken by the day. Things turn brown quicker, and just seem to fall apart. That being said, we have to wash the bottles with our drinking water. Praise to my momma who bought us a water tower when she was here this month! Because that baby has saved us countless steps! With the water tower the water comes out blazing hot! So now I just pour some in a bucket and start washing. The soap here is also horrible. It's just water-downed goop, but I have a special reserve of Dawn that a family got at the store on the American base and I only use that soap for cleaning all the bottles and pump parts.

So this is our schedule most days except Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. On Tuesdays we have team meetings, so our entire mornings are spent hosting our team in our living room as we take time to debrief the last week. Fridays are equivalent to the western Saturday and Sundays—it's the day of rest. So our house helper has the day off and so do we. On Sundays, we spend the morning going to chapel on the American base and then eating out at a local restaurant. 

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Gathering stories and photos at a recent distribution to disabled children.

Our schedule will also change once we begin French classes again. Starting in January we will either take classes at the local school or look for tutors. We aren't quite sure how this will work into our baby schedule, but we guess that one of us will do French while the other is on baby duty, and vice versa. So for now it's a small glimpse into our life. We expect things to change as Ezra gets older and has a more solid routine of sleeping and eating, and once I know longer have to pump 6 times a day! We also have jobs that pop up on a moment's notice that we have to be a part of as well. Since my job is documenting any humanitarian distributions, I also have my camera charged in case I get a call that a distribution is happening today and I need to go and get stories. 

As I think about our daily routine I realize how different it is from our routine in the States. Life seemed simpler as you went to work from 9-5, often time later, had set days of rest, but never rested outside those days. Always had plenty of notice before big events, and most importantly had family to help out with babysitting. But even though our new life is different, it's a blessing. We get to be stay-at-home parents and work full-time. It's an interesting mix that provides a lot of challenges, but we wouldn't trade it for anything.

I also realized that it took all day to write this blog post because of stopping to pump, eat, change diapers, holding Ezra while typing with one hand, etc. It seems that whatever time it took for a task to get done before it takes double the amount of time when you have a baby, and it also takes even more time living in Africa. My mom finally understood that statement during her time staying with us. The heat makes things go slower; it makes us go slower! So in an effort to feel like we get at least something done each day we've started telling each other what we would like to accomplish each day. My list usually consists of two things: work out and do 30 minutes of French. Sometimes I get ambitious and add "send out newsletter," or "write blog." We've found that this has helped us stay focused on just a few things at a time and hopefully those few things will add up over the long run. So while we may not feel like we get as much done in a day as we use to, we go to bed tired, and we at least get something done every day, and for that I count it as a win.