Adding to the family

We have added more animals (just animals, no babies) to the MacLean bunch. If we have two turtles, a dog, a cat, why not add three bunnies as well? So that is what we did.

This is the cage we had built for them. It's big, I know, but since we often have a random mix of animals (the boys still want a pig again) I thought it was worth making a cage that we could use for any animal. It was made in an afternoon. Five minutes after we brought the bunnies home, Caroline had made a hole and pushed her way through so we had to get stronger wire. She's not gotten in it again, yet.

We took the boys to go pick out there bunnies. There is this place that sells all sorts of animals which are used mostly for eating or sacrifices. Probably all of them actually except the ones bought by the white people. It was kind of like taking the kids to the petting zoo at the fair. Way back in the back they had rabbits so each boy got to pick out his own.

This is Dawson's. Name: Brave "because when he stands up and looks out he looks brave."

Sex: Female (though as seen from the sentence above, we call him a he. Our poor animals will have gender confusion since we call our male cat a she and now our female bunny a he).

Kenan's. Name: Strawberry "because of her red eyes." Sex: Female

Silas' bunny. Name: Thumper because he thumps a lot and honestly because I got to help him choose the name. I had a Thumper growing up and this guy looks like a Thumper. (My Thumper growing up was a girl though. I guess the lack of understanding animal gender started early for me. My sister's bunny, Pretty Star, was the male.) Sex: Male

Dawson took this picture with the boys and their bunnies. They have really enjoyed them and play with them daily so far. We'll see how long that continues. I'm fine with any outside animals really as long as it is not a bat, rat, or snake. I must admit, though, I'm actually enjoying these little guys. They are very cute and soft.

Fall Festival

Last weekend we had a fall festival at our mission. It was a lot of fun. Lots of games and candy. This year there was even line dancing taught by Carol. Notice Kenan standing in completely the wrong direction. He tried. He really did. Unfortunately he has no rhythm like his mommy.

There was a cake walk. Easy to win a cupcake when you are the only one playing. :)

Bobbing for apples. Kenan tried really hard and for quite awhile...

Finally got it (with a little help from Marcy).

Getting marshmallows out of pudding only using your mouth.

He didn't win because he was too afraid to get dirty at first. Finally, he decided to really dig in.

Ring toss around drink bottles.

There was also face painting. D wanted to be a pumpkin.

Final products

He's a lion, in case you wondered.

The kids had carved pumpkins and had them line the steps. Very cute.

My pumpkin with the other pumpkins.

The boys' pumpkins. Carved by Anna and me.

What fall festival would be complete without a hay ride? No hay but they had fun in the BUV.

Special time with Kenan

The other week we had to go Bamako with Kenan to renew his passport. Both parents have to be present with the child. Kids' passports have to be renewed every 5 years. Though this is slightly annoying, having to drive 5 hrs one day, present the passport, say yes we are his parents, and then take the 5 hr ride back home the next day, it allows for special time with each child.

When Dawson was about to turn 5 we happened to be in Bamako so we took him to get his passport renewed. Since you are at the American consulate, it seems like America. I'm pretty sure everything is brought from the States. There is a water fountain. Automatic sinks and toilets. It's the real deal. So it is a lot of fun. While we waited with D we played a game of memory with some Dora cards that were there. I can't tell you why it was so special but it was. We enjoyed ourselves. We then took Dawson out to get a hamburger and ice cream before returning to the guest house.

We were excited, then, to do the same for Kenan. He, however, was not. Since it was a quick trip up and back we decided to leave the other two boys in Koutiala. Kenan did not like this at all. He wanted his brothers to come. We told him he'd get the DS all to himself and could watch any movie on daddy's iPod. Nope, he just didn't like it. I kid you not, the kid sat looking out the window the whole 5 hrs there and back (aside from brief naps here and there). The whole way up he would complain about leaving his brothers and ask if we were going home. I was simply dumbfounded that he could sit for 5 hrs two days in a row doing nothing. I assure you his brothers would not have been the same. They would have loved every minute of getting their parents alone and games to themselves.

We got pizza before going to the consulate. Kenan thought this was only ok, though he admitted it was really good later. We played the same Dora memory game while we waited our turn. He tried out the bathroom and was surprised by the sink. It was a lot of fun. We went shopping afterwards to a store we had never been to that has various items including toys. He got to pick something for himself and his brothers. He was happy but he would tell you he still missed his brothers. Then we went and ate cheeseburgers and french fries at Broadway Cafe and ended with a banana split (it's so great to eat out in Bamako!). I think that finally won him over. He was happy and enjoyed it.

Yet he was still ready to go home. He even slept in his clothes so that when he woke up in the morning he just had to get up and brush his teeth and leave. I'm serious. He wore the same clothes both days just so he could be a bit quicker to see his brothers. He was up super early ready to go. We got home in time to pick up Dawson from school. Kenan was so glad to be home and share his gifts with them.

Again, without a doubt, his brothers would haven't given him a second thought had he been left behind. But that's our Kenan. He is so sweet.

So I'm thankful our government makes us be present for renewals of passports. Give us an opportunity to have special times with the boys. Every five years.

One of the many "joys" of Africa

There are many things to enjoy about living in Mali. There are also some frustrating things. I don't think I can say anything good about the driving around here. Kids running into the street without looking. Bikes turning into lanes without seeing who is behind them. It is dangerous and stressful. Makes sense since most of the people driving haven't taken a driving lesson. I'm thankful that I get through most days without hitting someone. That is a blessing.

Then there is the lack of speed when it comes to getting things done. Everything is slower here. An errand that would take 15 minutes in the States can take an hour easily, if not more. I was thinking, though, as I sat at our equivalent to the DMV trying to get a paper signed for our car (which took an hour and a half, not bad for the DMV I guess) that many of these annoying things have actually made me better. I'm more able to go with the flow. I'm more calm when things go wrong. We lived the past 5 days without water in our bathroom because there was a huge leak that was just fixed about 2 months ago. This would have really bothered me before. Now it really wasn't a big deal. No water in our bathroom, ok, we'll go to the boys' bathroom where the new door handle just broke off. Speaking of broken door handles, the guest bedroom door handle has broken off as well. When we wash clothes, the water drains out into the ground because something like our septic tank is full. But we just go along. No big deal anymore. I am thankful for this. I'm thankful for not getting so worked up anymore about simple things.

I even have gotten used to bugs for the most part. I remember reading a facebook post of my friend once where she talked about trying to kill THE fly in her house. That day I had killed over 60 in my house (that was an unusual day as they had worked on our front door). But regardless, bugs are always in the house. Right now we have somewhere between 50 to 100 little bugs that come out every night right beside the kitchen sink. Don't know why. I just wash them off and move on. Even the bug in the drink I can handle. I do take the insect out but I continue on with my drink. However, this "joy" was found in Caroline this week. And that's a whole different ball game.

We have these small black ants in our yard that bite. My kids are deathly afraid of them. If you tell them there is an ant around they start to scream. They are more afraid of ants and mosquitoes than of bees or wasps. Seriously. So if you ever see them run away screaming when you mention an ant, you'll know why. The bites are wicked. They really hurt. Apparently if you don't scratch it after the bite, eggs are laid from the bite and continue to grow under the skin. Once it grows bigger, to the size you see here, they are lumps under the skin that you squeeze out like a huge pimple. I cannot tell you how disgusting it was to see the first one come out and then start wiggling around. Growing INSIDE your body, even if it is an animal, just seems wrong. I, of course, handled this in a great manner, asking Brett if Caroline was going to die and if WE were going to die because they would start to grow in us. All of this, by the way, was in earshot of my children. Dawson's eyes were huge as I was asking my questions. Thankfully Brett got me quiet eventually. Surprisingly, though, Dawson didn't want to touch Caroline after that. oops. He has come around. We've explained that it is NOT spread to humans. It will not kill her or even make her sick. It's just annoying and gross. Thankfully I handled the second removal of larvae much better. Hopefully that is the last.

Lights in the darkness

We were asked to take pictures of women and children holding candles at twilight for our organization's magazine. Unfortunately I am not a photographer and don't really know how to capture images at twilight but regardless I liked some of the pictures. I also want to say that I acknowledge what I am about to say will seem a bit cliché but I'm saying it anyway.

This picture really struck me. When I was looking through them at first, I thought this picture was completely black. Then I saw the small rays of light. How true a picture of life. Though we live in a town that has relatively more Christians, the country of Mali is mostly in darkness. Many have not even heard the name of Jesus. It seems almost impossible coming from America that one could not even know who He was, or at least something about Him. Yet that is our reality. We are in darkness. Sometimes our light is only as bright as seen here.

What a great reminder that one should not shrink back and worry about worldly things but should focus their energy and strength on being a light in the darkness. How will they know where to go if they don't have a light to lead them there? What if I am among darkness but yet am so consumed by the things of this world that I neglect to fan the flame of my heart and seek to be a light? God, please teach me to be a light in the darkness.

Our neighbors.

Kids at the hospital. Due to timing, I had to take these pictures slightly earlier in the evening. I like it, though, that there is more light here. I do hope that is the case in reality. We pray that when people enter for physical healing they will see their true need for a Healer through our lives and the way in which we care for them. I do hope our hospital is a place of light.

Yes, we are still sinful. Yes, we all fail. Yes, we fall short. But I pray that God's love shines brighter. That God is in this place and His glory is bringing light in the darkness.

Running the (1/4) mile

For PE the kids at school are doing the President's Challenge for fitness and one of the activities they must do is run a mile. 6-7 year olds only have to run 1/4th of a mile. So Monday was the big race day. All the moms and several other missionaries came out to cheer.

We decided to ride in the car so we could see him start and get to the finish.

I took this picture as Dawson took the lead. You can barely see him in the mirror, but he is in front. :) He knew he only had to run a little bit. :)

His brothers cheered him on. Literally the entire (two) minutes, Kenan said, "Go Dawson! Go Dawson! Go Dawson!"

At the finish line.

Since we still had the car and the other kids had a bit more to run, we decided to drive around again and cheer for everyone one more time before they finished. I don't know if they enjoyed that but we all did. :)

At the mile finish line they had blue ribbon to run through. So Dawson hopped out of the car and ran through his ribbon.

Everyone did great!

The spectators. They were ready to go home.

Very proud of my boy!

Our very own Cat in the Hat

Dawson made a Cat in the Hat hat for Purr in school.

He looked pretty good. If only he could turn into the real Cat and the Hat and go, go, go, go on an adventure with the boys!