Safari

Our power has been terrible. Out every weekend both Saturday and Sunday as well as several days during the week. This means I haven't been able to be on the internet long enough to post any pictures. So finally, here they are!

About to enter the park bright and early. We left our place at 5 am and were at the park by 6 am.

Thus we got to watch the beautiful sunrise as we entered the park.

On the lookout for animals. It was quite cold I must say. Anna was in charge of one side and I the other.

Silas took a turn as well to see what he could find.

Our first animal spotting was Anna's favorite. Giraffes. She said her day was good enough now that she had seen giraffes. Thankfully we got to see much more though.

This just strikes me as funny. A giraffe walking down the road. The city is so close to the park. I would never want to live in one of the apartments/houses overlooking the park.

Enjoying breakfast as we continued to look for other animals.

Though the boys enjoyed the day, they did get bored of driving around looking for animals especially since they were tired to begin with. So we made them a little tent where they could watch the ipod or play a ds in between looking at the animals. Yes, I realize this seems crazy but it allowed the adults, who were giddy like school kids, enjoy their day.

I love zebras. Fell in love on our safari two years ago. They are simply mesmerizing. Incredibly fascinating. So beautiful. I could stare at them all day.

Me and my zebra loving boy.

Like I said, I like zebras.

We also enjoyed being tauregs (a people group in the north of Mali) as we looked for animals.


At one point we were able to get out and walk a path to look for crocodile and hippos. We saw no hippos as there hadn't been enough rain but we did see a crocodile laying out in the river bed. This was Silas' response.

I love Kenan. There is no one like him but the boy moves at his own pace which is slow or slower. This is how it usually looks whenever we go anywhere. I said that if we were a family of zebras, he'd be the one who lagged behind and got eaten by lions. Thankfully we aren't zebras.

Our guide with our guide from last time whom we saw as we were doing the walking part (the military guy led us with his gun through the walking area). We joked with our old guide that he was lucky since we had seen lions with him last time but hadn't this time. He said now we would have good luck which we needed since Anna had told us she wanted to see a lion eating a zebra. This was after her initial being satisfied with just a giraffe wore off. Then she dreamed big. I assured her that her request was one in a million and that she just needed to drop that dream. We'd be lucky just to see a lion.

Once we were done with the walking part, we heard that there were actually lions out so we headed to where they were.
We first saw a lion in a bush which actually scared us all as you think there is nothing there and then realize a lion is only a few feet from you.

We kept driving and saw more lions around. This one was clearing the area of birds. She just casually walked in that direction and all the birds knew to leave. Quite interesting to watch.

Silas in his lion shirt looking at the lions under the tree.

Amazingly Anna got her wish. A group of lions were eating a zebra! Now we didn't see the catch, but getting to watch nature up close was fascinating. At least for the adults. The kids were not too happy to hear a zebra had lost its life. And you could totally see it was a zebra. No denying those black and white stripes.

Vultures up above waiting for whatever would be left though it didn't seem like much would be.

Their eyes are simply piercing as if they see right into you. It was kind of scary to look them in the eye not knowing if they would for some crazy reason decide to pounce.

The Lord truly blessed our day. I had no idea that we could have a better time than our trip before but we did. It was so great. Can't wait to do it again. Next time, I want to take a zebra home with me. :)

I had a farm in Africa

Ok, so I don't HAVE a farm but we did visit a farm in Africa for the last two weeks in beautiful Kenya. Man oh man. Rolling green hills, blue skies, perfect temperature, flowers, wild animals running free in contained areas. It's lovely. If only we could get a job there. :)

When I picture heaven, I picture the front yard of the tea farm. It is simply one of the most beautiful places on all the earth.

We walked these hills each day as we went back and forth to our medical conference. This kind of beauty mixed with the perfect temperatures make me well up with joy. I can't help but think all is well with the world.

Only a bit different than what it looks like in Mali right now.

There were tons of beautiful flowers to look at and enjoy.

Almost everyday Fiona, the owner of the tea farm, had a tea tour for people with a 3 course meal on the lawn.

The kids, however, ditched the tea and instead enjoyed the beauty of the various creatures that were around. Bush babies, monkeys (only seen twice but we looked for them daily), cows, dogs, ducks, and chameleons.
We had this guy for a day. Unfortunately, thinking I was being a pretty snazzy mom, I tied a rope to the chameleon so we could keep him but he could also sit in the bushes and catch bugs. Didn't work. He was gone within a few minutes. Thankfully the boys didn't hold it against me. We enjoyed him while we had him. (and yes we were considering trying to bring him back to Mali. African airlines are pretty lax.)

I am already looking forward to returning even though that is two years (or more) away.

Next up will be the safari pictures...

My first netoma

I am happy to present my first netoma ("my name") in Mali! There is now another Sheri! People often name children after someone who means a lot to them or has helped them in some way. There are many Daniels walking around because of the OB here named Dan. Our house guy has a little boy named Brett. Most anyone who has been here for awhile has a child named after them. I never have. I know this sounds silly to even be talking about but such is reality. I've joked with many patients that their baby would be named Sheri and it has never worked. :) My friend Sabi came to deliver here at the hospital. I joked with her as well about naming the baby Sheri since we knew it was a girl. I really didn't think much of it because though they like to name a child after someone, it is usually the grandparents or the father who chose the name so I didn't think it would happen. But it did. And as silly as it is, I'm happy. :)

An up close shot of little Sheri. I feel slightly embarrassed to say this but also can't resist that the headband she is wearing on her head actually was a decorative piece that came on a Christmas present that someone sent us. So it's supposed to be on a box, but I thought it just looked so cute on her! This is the same day I pierced her ears. I've done adults before but piercing a baby's ear was a first for me. She didn't even cry!

She is a precious little baby. She smiles almost every time her eyes actually focus on my face. I know she smiles at others but I think it is special. She's my little girl!

My parents' visit

We thoroughly enjoyed my parents' visit though it came and went too quickly. I posted a long time ago pictures of the Christmas play the boys were in. My parents had just come in so they got to enjoy that. We kept them going while they were here. They got to meet several of the ladies I treat so that was fun. They also got to meet a lot of the cancer kids and diabetics that I talk about so often. Now they can really put a face to a name.

They enjoyed going to Kenan's school. Here they are drinking juice with him. This is his favorite thing about school, I believe. If only he could learn to actually drink it instead of pouring it on himself.

My friend, Sabi, had a baby just days before my parents came. We have pictures of my mom with Wassa, one of Sabi's twins (the other died) a few years ago and now here she is with the new baby.
We went to Baramba where Elizabethi, a diabetic that we treat at the hospital, goes to school. She became a Christian while at the hospital but didn't really like the "big" city of Koutiala so we sent her to an all girls' school where she will learn to read and write as well as study the Bible. The boys draw a crowd wherever they go. All the kids are watching them draw in the dirt and my mom is keeping them back with a stick (JUST KIDDING- but it does look like that).

Kenan being Kenan as he plays with the kids in Baramba.

We pulled out this 10-in-1 game table that we had bought from missionaries several years ago. There is pool, foosball, checkers, backgammon (which I believe they are playing here, or at least D is learning how to play) and various other games.

My mom brought real face paint so of course the boys enjoyed putting it on.

D was the artist for everyone.

He even did himself.

At the end of their trip we enjoyed a day in Bamako. This is at the national park. I got them to smile by telling them we would only get ice cream if they did. :) We enjoyed several visits to the new (wonderful!) ice cream store.

It was sad to see my parents go but glad that it will only be for a few months and we will see them again in March!

Kenan's 5th birthday

In our house we sing, "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy birthday to Kenan!" I personally love that his birthday is January 1. The world celebrates with him. :)

It is hard for me to believe that Kenan is 5-a whole hand! In many ways it feels like just yesterday I was in the hospital in France giving birth.

Kenan is a joy. There's no other way to put it. He is so sweet. He loves everyone. He shares so well- not just with his brothers- but I've learned from his teachers that he shares his snack everyday. The other day he wouldn't leave school as he had some fruit loops and he went around handing them out to parents and kids who were leaving. Totally unprompted he loves giving to others. He is a hugger and kisser. He loves his family. He loves his animals. Whenever we leave he always talks about how he misses Caroline and Purr. He is a special kid. He marches to the beat of his {very slow} drum. He loves to tell jokes. He'll talk to whomever, even if they aren't listening or can't understand English.

His favorite things are macaroni and cheese, empanadas, strawberry smoothies, his brothers, his doggies, legos, and Wii, not necessarily in that order.

We had his Diego party on New Years Eve as his birthday was a Sunday this year. Games were provided by my mom. (Thank you!) Among the games were pin Click on Diego...

Rescuing animals with those sticky hands...

Bean bag toss where you had to land on the animals and not in the hole.

I love watching Kenan open gifts. It is just so him. He looks at each thing and is so happy about it. He opens things slowly and enjoys each item. This was his response to the card Dawson made for him. He loves his brother.

I love how opening gifts is a communal thing at this age. Everyone "helps"out.

Getting ready to blow out his 5 candles.

He blew a lot since they were trick candles. We probably have 10 shots of him blowing and blowing.

His special cupcake with strawberries in it.

He enjoyed it. There was strawberry ice cream to go with the cake.

His brothers liked it too.

This is just a picture of his drawing skills. I was impressed that he did this all on his own. (Obviously he didn't write the Baby Jesus part but he drew the rest alone). He loves artistic things. He loves coloring and painting and singing.
Quotes from Kenan in the recent past:

-See me dancing? That's what I do when I'm excited.

-As he was putting on his shoes to play in the mud, he sees Caroline pick Purr by the neck (a regular occurrence). He jumps up and says, "I don't care about shoes! I care about Purr!"

We love you, Kenan! So thankful that the Lord gave you to us! You are a blessing, truly one of a kind!

Wanna eat?

This is what Brett found at the END of his bowl of cereal this morning. Those six big, dark "grains" aren't grains at all but bugs. When we went to look at the box of cereal there were tons crawling around. So I guess these lost their life in the milk. It's better to eat fresh bugs, right?

There is a saying that the first year you are overseas when you see bugs in your drink or food that you throw out the whole thing. Then eventually you take the bugs out of drink but keep drinking. The last stage is that you see you the bugs but go ahead and eat them. I am definitely at stage two. Does Brett get to say he is at stage 3 since he ate his whole breakfast - for sure bugs included- but he just didn't know about it?