Nighttime Dilemma

3 AM
Elsa: "Mama, I can't sleep because my pillow is not the perfect temperature
for my head!"

Plus One

The family that has been with us all week had some brake trouble on their
trip down. When Caleb and Mr. went over to check out the car and see if they
could work on it before they left to travel back to Addis Ababa, they found
out that pretty much all that had been holding their front wheel on the
whole second day of travel down here was the brake caliper. Needless to say,
the car isn't able to be driven out. Seeing as we were already planning on
heading into town to re-supply on Monday, we decided that we would just
drive them all out on Saturday instead, and get their car trucked out when
we return from Addis. So if you do the math--this will be 4 adults (one six
months pregnant and prone to motion-sickness), 1 teenager, 2 kids out of car
seats, and 2 kids in car seats. In our Land Cruiser which seats 5
comfortably and then has two fold down side-facing seats in the very back.
Fun.

Oh, did I mention the 4 foot python as well? He also is making the trip with
us. This morning Caleb was called over to our evangelist's house to kill a
snake and found a python. Knowing it's not poisonous, he captured it instead
and intends to bring it with us to Addis to give as a present to one of our
friends there who is an avid snake-guy.

Fun.

A Matter of Perspective

We have a family of five visiting us this week, some colleagues of ours who
live and work in Addis Ababa. Last night we took them on a cookout out
beyond our house a few kilometers, to the ridge where we always start a fire
and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. It is usually the highlight of
visitors' trips down to the Omo because of how beautiful it is out there and
watching the sunset from the ridge, but the elements were against us last
night. As soon as we got our fire started, a major wind and dust storm blew
in, knocking over all of our chairs and covering us and our food with a
thick layer of dust. Our kids were oblivious to anything out of the
ordinary--sitting on their mat happily eating their hot dogs as if this is
what life is like everyday. Oh wait, sometimes it is.

On the way home, Caleb put Elsa and our visitors' two younger kids up in the
cab with him to escape the worst of the dust (Ezra turns into a complete
Mama's boy when other people are around and wouldn't be separated). Elsa is
one of those kids who thinks if you breathe you are wonderful, so has been
in heaven ever since these other two kids arrived because she has playmates.
Elsa was enthusiastically trying to tell the other two stories and ask them
questions, and getting rebuffed at every overture. Finally the older girl,
Esther, asked Elsa how old she was. Elsa said "I'm three." Daniel jumped in
quickly and said "Well, I'm four and a half!", and Esther, not to be
outdone, said, "Then I'm the biggest because I'm six!" Elsa sat there for a
minute and then said "Oh. I think though that God is the biggest."

She's got it all figured out, doesn't she?

Bedtime with Ezra

Daddy: "Okay, no more talking. Good night, Elsa. Good night Ezra."

Ezra: "Daddy, me got a question!"

Daddy: "No more talking, good night."

Ezra: "Daddy, me got a question!"

Daddy: "Ezra, no more talking, you can ask me in the morning."

Ezra: "Daddy, me got a question!!"

Daddy: "Ezra--"

Mama (from downstairs): "Just let him ask you, then he'll say 'love you, Daddy, good night'"

Daddy: "Okay, Ezra, what's your question?"

Ezra: "Daddy, please you stop talking. Night, night, Daddy!"