Miscellaneous photo mantage--an attempt to break the blogging drought!

A thing of beauty is a joy forever!

A little chronological update:

1. I went to Nairobi in August to attend a USAID conference re: writing some grants for UCU this year.  Mark also enabled me to have 2 days of grown up time alone which was lovely-- included are some pictures from the National museum.  I also enjoyed some different coffee treats, different crafts and arts project. I also appreciated how much greenery is in Nairobi due to the efforts of Wangari Maathai, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangari_Maathai.  

2. Daniel had his 9th birthday-- the last two photos include some moments from that.  This semester Mark and I have done some homeschooling with Daniel.  While it includes some benefits like focusing on what he needs, doing Rosetta stone spanish and getting to do some field trips (this week we'll go to the sugar factory), Daniel is missing the social aspect of school.  Daniel is loving watching Broncos games with Mark, loving playing with his friends, learning to play some sports, and still enjoys a good prank from time to time.  

3. In September the girls started attending a local school here in Mukono which is very progressive by Ugandan standards but may still be a bit too "rote" for our kids and the school schedule (their main break all of Dec, Jan and some of Feb) and no break in our summertime is not ideal.  So, it may not be a permanent option, but i've been very proud of them for their efforts and good attitude about it despite the less "play-based" mentality of preschool/kindergarten.  Not decided yet for January what we'll do about school, but will keep you posted. 

All things trees hold a special place in my heart... a cool stain glass mosaic at the National Museum in Nairobi.

A cool bench design!

The map of Kenya in stained glass-- praying for Kenya and all of East Africa due to terrorist threats from Al Shabab, a terrorist group from Somalia.

I've shown shoes at the door photo before (cultural practice here)-- but can you see what's added in this photo? We're at the age of legos, star Wars and Lord of the Rings.  

Using the card shuffler from Grandma Kay-- Daniel's birthday (yes, early September!)

Cooking time with Dorothy--prob Daniel's birthday cake!