A song of ascents. Of David.

  But I have calmed myself
       and quieted my ambitions.
       I am like a weaned child with its mother;
       like a weaned child I am content.

    Israel, put your hope in the LORD
       both now and forevermore.

It's 8:30am.
My eldest has already been woken up at 6:30, been toileted, washed, fed, brushed*, clothed, backpack packed Ducktale'd and buckled into the 'school bus' by 7:25. The baby has been mopped up (poopy explosions at 6:30am are not my idea of a pleasant wake-up routine, let me tell you), rice krispied, played with, tottered about, schlemmed and bottled up into bed by 8am. I've taken a cursory look at my calendar and established that the MAF invited dutch film crew has arrived and is hopefully put up in the Raphia Hotel, and that Thanksgiving is this weekend! (ACK!) Making thanksgiving meal lists and observing, as i disobediently blog outdoors on the deck in my hoodie and thick sweats, that it feels like Thanksgiving weather just now. My modified pumpkin spiced latte (recipe sent courtesy of bestie Healther ) cools quickly beside me and my feet are getting chilly. The wind is cool and the sky overcast. I can smell the wood smoke drifting over the lake nearby. It feels like a good day to take a hike through the colouring leaves and then cozy up by the fire with a hot drink... except by the time i'd get back from my walk i'm sure it'll be 32C like yesterday... and we've got no coloured leaves to walk through here. Just the beginnings of litchi buds, blooming hibiscus and the last lingering blossoms of the jasmine vine. Oh, and the abundance of passion fruit blossoms crawling up the front of our house where Josh has put up some lattice to keep them from creeping into the garage.
 

check out that new grass! woot, woot!

Recently we've been having an attack of fleas - at least Asher and i have - he's covered with little bumps all over his little body and mine itch like hives. GAh! The rats are also quite prevalent in our compound. We continue to see them run frequently along the wall to the guard house where i'm told they live in the sink of the guard house bathroom? we've also got them in our backyard running along the back walkway and there have been sightings of rats sneaking into the kitchen. so gross. we've been more vigilant about keeping the back screen door closed and i've started feeding the rats in the evening a special blend of peanut butter and rat poison. They seem to like it a lot... Unfortunately, after watching movies like Ratatouille i'm guessing that there's a whole community living under our backyard. bah!

Wednesday felt a lot like Sept. Long weekend again - Josh was home for a duty day, so he did some work around the house. The gardener worked all day at putting in the (hopefully) last terrace in the back yard, and because Rhonda's bananas were finally ripe and there was an overabundance of them, Mme F. made us some Malagasy fried bananas. oh! yum! (and oh so greasy ). It was a lovely work day treat that we all shared with tea on the deck.

Josh should be coming home from his three day trip to Diego (far north on the coast) today. Hopefully he'll be back by the time Judah is back from boys' club. I've been elected to sew club sashes (?is that what we'd call them?) whereon the boys will pin the badges that they earn. (just like on the movie UP! ) This evening i'm out to BibleStudy/Beth Moore's Jesus the One and Only. Last week during the (somewhat interrupted. ha.) talk by Beth i was given what i think is God's answer to my query of what i should be doing just now: preparing myself for a powerful work of God in my life. Just as John the Baptist prepared all his life for his public ministry - which seemingly started when he was about 33 years old - so i am continuing to prepare myself to be used effectively for the Kingdom. (not that i'm trying to compare myself to John - but you know that). I reckon taking Malagasy lessons is part of that preparation. Studying theology. Learning how to be a good mother... Investing in my marriage, developing good habits. Anyway, until the Lord leads me into a clearer direction i will continue to prepare. And i am content with that.

---

*yesterday on our way driving to church Judah pipes up from the backseat, "Mom, you know what you forgot?!" (which is a usual statement coming from the backseat usually followed by some inane and mom-unimportant declaration) "What?" I ask warily, since i'm a bit frazzled after waking up and putting myself and two boys together for acceptable church appearance en seul when usually Josh is there to help with much of it. "You forgot to brush my teeth!!" Oh dang. I felt like a scatterbrained single parent just then. ha. I helpfully told him that he could have some gum once he got to church so he wouldnt have such stinky breath (which he spit out half a dozen times within the first 5 minutes because he's never had gum before and thinks it's a cursory solution - ie. chew and spit out like substitute toothpaste - I sincerely hope that the childrens' church leaders werent the recipients of half chewed gum... but by the time it was over i noticed he didnt have it in his mouth anymore. eeps!) To which he responded with great concern, "does the gum wash away the sugar bugs?"

 

Not only did we make it to church just the three of us (usually when josh is gone it's somewhat pointless to go to church because it'll mean just hanging out outside while i miss the sermon anyway. but now Judah likes going to childrens' church and Asher plays mostly well just outside the church doors, which means i can still listen) but we also went to the Raphia for lunch. it's easier going there than home since i dont have to cook and the boys have someplace new to play. The ladies at the Raphia know us so well there already that they tell me what i'm going to order as i pretend to peruse the menu thinking i'm going to try something different. ha.

Although we bring the pack-n-play along to the Raphia to corral Asher in a somewhat cleaner environ, it's a hopeless cause. He doesnt like being penned up when the other kids are running about... so i just throw my hands up and declare that he can be washed before he takes his afternoon nap. It's just an inevitability that they're going to get covered in clingy red dirt when we're there. Our compound dirt isnt nearly this red nor as noticeable when he crawls through it, nor, apparently, as tasty.

Happy first week of October to you all.

(this blog entry is from yesterday when the video didnt upload. i've since re-videoed Judah's zipline in a much shorter clip so it posts better)

So while i try to upload another video (mostly for my dad's entertainment, dont feel obligated to watch it) let me tell you what's going on currently at our house.

The boys are sleeping. Asher usually goes up at about 6:30ish, sleeping by 7 (put in bed with a bottle of warm formula milk, sleeping 4 minutes later). Judah goes upstairs at 7 after his pre-bedtime chapter of the Bible downstairs. I'm still quite impressed with (and greatly respect him for it) Josh for keeping up with this chapter a day after supper routine. Judah goes to bed and is usually sleeping before the light gets turned off. (yes!! my prayers for Reimer-type sleepers were answered! )

Josh is playing X-Box because i'm hogging the computer where all the Glee episodes are on. We've been voraciously watching 1-2 episodes per evening recently. It has sparked more 80s music being played at our house these days. haha.

I'm on the computer just finishing up my last of a few online purchases to come along with various people coming to visit/work in Mada in the near(ish) future. I've so far ordered a few books from Amazon (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner, and Hold onto Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld), an icecream maker, a digital voice recorder (coming in 2 weeks with some MAF auditors), and a bathing suit (!). I'm trying not to let the thrill of online purchasing infect my blood. ha.

We just had a skype call with our former neighbours. Judah was missing Larissa today especially vocally, so we thought it high time to talk with them again.

The video is a moving snapshot of Josh's latest building concoction: a bricolage zipline made from a laundry line pulley, some sort of randomly found plumbing pipe for a handle, and a steel cable he just happened to have lying about. We'll see how many of Judah's friends' mommies allow their kids to come over to play now. LOL.

We're all currently also getting colds. The weather is up and down these days with a lot of gusty wind that surely is the reason that we're all getting headaches, achy bodies, fatigue, and the beginnings of coughs. This blows especially because Josh is on a trip from Saturday until Monday (over the weekend when there isnt any househelp. BOO!). gah! He's up north in Diego.

Today (Saturday) Judah and i went to town with friends of ours for a burger and fries and a whirlwind trip through the fabric shop because Josh is claiming he's in desperate need of more GAP pants and wants fabric so he can get some made at the tailors. I also picked up some very lovely tealish geometric fabric for another dress or maybe a skirt or something of the sort.

I havent been sleeping well again because Asher is having terrible nights the last few days. bah.