I’m somewhere between a third and halfway done with my book project (shameless plug: sign up on the right side of this page to be notified when it’s ready). I’ll try to post an excerpt for the internet’s review next week. Writing a book is hard, you guys….but it’s also a lot of fun. I’m excited to finish the thing and see what the world thinks.
During our first trip to Kenya, I noticed that very few of the kids in the villages wore shoes. Thinking it would be a nice gesture to buy shoes for a few of of the kids, I asked our Kenyan guide where I could purchase some.
I heard a story awhile back about a man by the name of Mohammad Yunus. I don’t recall the source, so I’m probably going to butcher the story and get a few of the facts wrong. Sorry. Hopefully you’ll get the gist of it.
Since we’ve recently returned from our trip, Kenya is fresh on my mind. People often ask us why we go. One reason is that is traveling has always been a uniquely educational experience for our family-particularly traveling to a land with a different culture. We all learn volumes about ourselves, our world, our priorities, and our faith every time we go. For those of you who are interested, I thought I would share a series of stories of lessons I’ve learned in Kenya over the years. These stories serve as the backstory to why we feel so tied to this place. Enjoy.
As word has gotten out about our week, it has gotten a bit challenging to return all the texts, messages, calls, etc. Sorry, everyone. So, I thought it might be more efficient to use this blog for one of its intended purposes: update family and friends on our little world. For those of you wondering, here’s a synopsis of our last few days:
Warning: this is not my usual post. It’s long and anti-climactic. I typed it up mainly to share the story of our trip with our family. Then, I thought, “Perhaps others will get some joy from our misery.”
2006. That was the last year anyone could possibly describe our family as “normal.” 2007 and beyond–not so much. Between June of 2007 and March of 2009, our family doubled in size from 4 to 8. All six kids of ours were under the age of six years old. Four of them were still wearing diapers. Goodbye, normal (*shameless plug* read more about that journey in my book). Not too long after, our family grew by one more. Here’s the ultra-short version of that story: our teenage neighbor found herself in a tough spot in need of a change. That change ended up being a move into our house. Hello, insanity. Our life was crazy, and we loved it. Fast forward to 2015. We now have 8 kids at home, ages 11, 9, 9, 8, 8, 6, 1, and 1 month. Our favorite teenager is living it up in College Station as an awesome Aggie at A&M.
