I never expected to become friends with Margaret, but I’m grateful for it nonetheless. I began to know her when I first started buying maize and beans. I went to market myself, and could never beat her prices. She was a brilliant negotiator, and I soon started buying most of my beans from her.
When the pastor I was dealing with was transferred, Margaret started going with me to the schools. Her husband is a pastor, and because...
Continue ReadingTruth be told, I was the older boys’ favorite when they were younger. But that is not the case with the dynamic duo, who favor Nancy to a staggering degree. I’m not threatened by this; it is a sign of their high intelligence.
However, I discovered WHY Nancy is the favorite, and I must admit to seeing a sense of relief. Katie and Ben are on a blistering pace to complete toilet training; I am now hoping they will...
Continue ReadingKenya put their tax forms out on April 20. Taxes were due April 30. When people protested, they made a ruling that explains much about this country. Taxes were still due on the 30th, but the forms weren’t due until June 30th.
We had the annual Eighth Grade Formal recently. It’s always funny, and it’s always sad that the parents don’t get to see their guys clean up so nice. One guy was so scared about being incorrect that...
Continue ReadingThe visa situation wasn’t going well. We had started the process in November, and chased down every rabbit they asked us to chase We had received an email from the embassy at the end of April that included:
Your below is incorrect, and I do not appreciate being quoted on things I did not say. If you fail to provide the required documents, the case will be denied.
And:
In my experience, petitioners often hear what they want to hear, and this case...
Long long ago I wrote about the trauma of having to buy personal items for my mother when I was a kid, and how when I had to buy them for Nancy, it got worse. It got a LOT worse last week.
We are about an hour away from shopping, so since I was in town, it was only fair that I would buy the product that she wanted. I went into the store, and looked and looked, and...
Continue ReadingOur kids are all changing. I have this conversation with Katie almost every day:
Katie: Daddy, what color skin do you have?
Me: I have white skin.
Katie: What color skin do I have?
Me: You have beautiful black skin.
Katie: And I don’t NEED sun screen!
Whenever Nancy works on Katie’s hair, as soon as she is done, she races to the mirror to see what it looks like. That is funny in itself, because Katie’s run...
Someone brought us one of those variety boxes of different types of chips from the states. They were the kind of bags that you might have put in your lunchbox when you were a kid. It was a great thrill, and it became almost like a poker game. `I trade you two Doritos for one Cheetos.’ I think I could eat one of those bags in one gulp when I was a kid; we lingered over our bags and our...
Continue ReadingMind you, I get up around 5:30 am during the week, and around 6:30 on the weekend. It’s just that there is something about Sunday morning that just begs to sleep in until 7. This, of course, is an outrage to the dynamic duo, who can spend twelve minutes happily playing together. After that, they come into our bedroom. It is there that I learned the first rule of twins: It doesn’t COUNT if you said it to the other...
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