December 31, 2014 - Happy New Year/Godt Nytår

While it was not a great year for me in terms of blogging, but our family did have a lot going on in 2014.  Our biggest change was the arrival of Aya Karen!  Clearly the year's highlight and a wonderful gift to all of us.  But since then we've also been pretty tired and hope that in the new year she will let us a get a little more sleep.  In 2015, I think our biggest wish would be to relocate our family out of Africa and back to either the US or Denmark.  No - that is not an announcement of any kind - just a wish for the new year.  We'll certainly try to make it happen any way.  After 7 years in East Africa, I think we're finally ready to try something new!

My resolutions for 2015 are to do MORE:  blogging, sleeping, exercising, and problem solving.  I would like to be more patient, more productive, more kind, and more "in the moment".

My resolutions are also to do LESS:  complaining, time-wasting, and internet-ing. I would like to be less tired (ok, maybe already mentioned that one), less far away from our families, less whiny, and less distracted.

Everyone else is sleeping right now or getting ready for tonight's new year festivities.  But Aya is with me now and she says: gee gee gee gee...mamamamamam...aslkdhsgkjhalk...ack ack ack.

We are counting the many blessings of this year and looking forward to what next year has in store for us.  Here's hoping you're doing the same.

With love and good cheer...Happy New Year!

LMW

August 13, 2014 - On my birthday...

The news in the world is really depressing these days.  Police killing people in America.  Russia vs. Ukraine.  Israel vs. Palestine.  Airplane crashes.  Ebola.  Suicide. If you really stop to consider the true, enormous weight of these situations and events, you would never get out of bed.  Or at least I wouldn't.    But today is my birthday - and so for one day I would like to be completely ignorant and neglectful of the reality of the larger world, and just focus on the joys of my own immediate little world.  I know that is not particularly socially responsible on a grand scale, but for one day I'm letting myself off the hook.

Turning 34 on a Wednesday doesn't seem like anything so special, but when surrounded by these four...well, it just feels down right lovely.  Thank you to my dear ones for helping me enjoy this life, ups and downs and all, and helping me age so well (I hope).  

From me with lots of love...

LMW

December 14, 2013 - Christmas "Lordag Slik"

Kristoffer grew up with the tradition of having "Lordag Slik" (Saturday candy) as a kid. This meant that he didn't get sweets or anything during the week, but would also get candy or some kind of treat on Saturday.  It is something we try to do with our kids too, which not only limits them asking for cookies and ice cream or candy during the week, but gives them something special to do on Saturdays when we go to the store and they can pick something they want.  We do make exceptions now and then, but we try to stick to it.

And today we had a very special kind of Lordag Slik because we made "gingerbread" houses! I think my mom started this tradition when my oldest nephews were very small, and she still does it every year with whichever grand kids she can get her hands on. Making these houses involves using graham crackers, frosting and tons of candy.  Totally awesome! Last year Grace loved doing it with her cousins at my parents' house and she has requested doing them before Christmas several times since then. 

So when I went to the US I stocked up on supplies which Grace and Noah have been watching and waiting for these last several weeks.  And we decided that today was the day...so it was sort of like Lordag Slik on speed :)

What I liked best about the process was that our family sat at the table having fun together for more than an hour, listening to Christmas music, getting a huge sugar high and being super silly.  It was awesome. There were definitely challenges though...such as the melting frosting making it pretty difficult to STICK anything and the somehow stale graham crackers being pretty soft and breakable. But hey, we are surrounded by development challenges on a daily basis here so perhaps it was just fitting that our houses felt a bit "East African" anyway.  It was messy and fun for all of us.  Grace wanted our team to copy a lot of what Far and Noah were doing so they were more the idea team, but ours turned our a little bit neater and more organized (if I do say so myself).  Noah was very serious about unwrapping all of the different candies, and eating them!  Grace was hoarding her unused stash for later and was concerned with decorating the whole "compound" with  an external (candy) wall, just like all of the compounds here.

Such a fun family tradition that we all enjoyed, and we briefly Facetimed with my mom so she could chime in, which made her feel close even though we are so far. Happy Holidays! 

LMW

December 12, 2013 - Just Silly

We are in the season of "short rains" here (although I think it is already supposed to be over!) and Grace and Noah love to play in the rain in their boots and with their umbrellas. I have no idea what happened to the umbrellas on Monday - but Kristoffer took this video of them playing in the rain.  They were wet and silly - it is so much fun to be a kid!

LMW

December 7, 2013 - Email Hackers

Have you ever received an email from a Nigerian hacker – where he acts like he knows you and is somewhere having a big emergency and needs you to send him money ASAP?  Or the email comes from a person you know whose account has been hacked and your “friend” is asking for immediate financial help!  Quick!  Get to a Western Union!

Well, we had that happen once to me when we lived in Nairobi (from the email of a person we knew there) and we decided to have a little fun with the hacker.  So I played along with it, getting as much information as I could, and eventually said that I too was in London and would be happy to meet up to provide the money “she needed”.  Of course the hacker eventually figured it out when I wrote:  I know you’re a hacker and you’re not getting any money from me!  But this week Kristoffer found himself in the same situation and also had a little fun.

If you’re interested in playing along, here is a guide for pranking your hacker:

Hacker:

Did you get my previous email? its very urgent please.  

Kind regards

Timothy

Kristoffer:

I didn't get your email. 

Hacker:

Please I need your urgent assistance, am currently in Manila city, Philippines, for a short vacation and my bank is having some network problems, can't transfer out here. am stranded and confuse right now, please can I get 2,500 USD from you or whatever amount if not all, I will refund you the money in few days as soon as I return, please get back to me if you can.

Kind regards

Timothy

Kristoffer:

But I thought you didn’t like east Asia? How did you go there? Was it to watch the golf tournament I know you like?

Kris

Hacker:

Thanks for your prompt response so sorry i never mention about my trip to you, i will explain better to when i return in few days all need now is to sort my bills here, please let me know if you can raised me some funds here, so i can forward you m detai, i will pay you back as soon as i return. hope to read from you soon.

Kind regards

Timothy

Kristoffer:

But already I owe you even more. Should I just send you the whole amount? 

Hacker:

Thanks, please kindly help me have the money sent by Western Union Money Transfer.to my name and the Location below.

Name: Timothy Kosgey

Location:  35 Newport Boulevard, Manila city, Philippines

Country: Philippines

Send me the details of the transfer as soon as you are done.

Kind regards

Timothy

Kristoffer:

Shouldn't I send it to your Bank Account instead? I spoke to my bank about the transfer and they advised me to transfer the funds instead. Especially when it is above USD 10,000! What do you think?

It's funny that you now sign with your full name, I kind of like that better!

Just hold on, the transfer can happen very quickly!

Best,

K

But then our friend Timothy must have realized he was being played (I think Kristoffer pushed it too far with the 10k).  Also, at some point the more emails they send the more information you have to report them to the server, increasing their chances of being “caught” (whatever that means).

We found this interaction to be very amusing!

LMW

March 12, 2013 - The Human Fund

If you are a Seinfeld fan, you might remember the episode in the show's last season when George is too cheap to buy Christmas gifts for his work colleagues and instead gives them donation cards for a fictitious charity, The Human Fund ("money for people").  It is the same episode as "Festivus for the Rest of Us".  Anyway...Kristoffer and I love Seinfeld.  We own all the seasons on DVD and watch them repeatedly.  We still find them hysterical.  

Almost a year ago, we started noticing a car driving around town with a spare tire cover for "The Human Fund - money for people".  We were insanely jealous of the super-cool people who owned that...because of course we knew they were also Seinfeld fans!  Fast forward 7 months and we discovered that we already knew the people with that tire cover.  They actually had a few of them custom made for others in on the joke.  And it is a pretty funny joke here because every NGO/Charitable Organization pretty much has its own tire covers...and, you know...they are for REAL charities!  

We were so happy when these friends donated their final tire cover to us...I think once they heard how Seinfeld-pyscho we were and how much we so desperately loved their tire cover they felt a little bad for us.  So now our Landcruiser sports this bad boy.  

It's been on there for a couple months, but I literally still giggle every time I see it (the picture totally cracks me up!). 

LMW