A beatiful blurry mess

With Zach on the road in remote villages without network, our days pass in a bit of a blur.  Kind of like this, which was taken as I tried to snap Mari painting, and she chose that moment to stand up on the picnic table, so my finger pressed the "capture" key as my other hand plunged to make sure she didn't tumble off.






Yep, that pretty much sums it up! A beautiful blur, with people I love present, in the picture, but everything a bit out of focus.  Mari first had raised bumps like hives all over her body (I've not posted those pictures), then a chest cough and head cold that resulted in 3 days of fever. 

We stayed home from children's Bible study yesterday, Thursday, so Mari could rest and recover.

She did rest, as her daddy does...artfully.

 Zach was home for Saturday and Sunday before he set off again, so we went on an adventure...exploring our favorite places in the compound where we live.  Each person gave a hint and the others had to go and find the place.  When we found it, we were rewarded with a sugar cookie and koolaid. This is my favorite, high on a big rock, level with the full crown of the frangipani trees!

Monday was a holiday, so a friend invited us to go swimming!

 One of Daso's favorite thoughts to share these days sounds like this, "Isn't it amazing...when Mari's my age, I'll be 20! Can you believe it? It feels like it's not that far away." The new mommy in me wants to say, "It may seem that way, but it is a VERY, VERY, VERY long way away! It makes me want to sing..."time slips away just like hourglass sand, sieze the d---a---y, pr--a--y for strength from God's hand, that nothing will stand in your way...sieze the day, lai, di dai di dai, lai di dai di dai dai dai." 

Please pray with me that we can seize these moments together, enjoying Mari's growing vocabulary and confidence in step taking, Daso's constant curiosity and expanding world, all of our journey's with God, and these precious days in Nigeria that will never come again.  We also have four children that have just started school at a Daso's school from our former neighborhood. Two of them recently lost their daddy, and a third is growing very fast into a young woman. Please pray that God will provide wisdom as I, Christy, aim to bring the community around these young people who need encouragement and support from those around them.  May he also provide strength as new commitments always demand more energy than I realize, and sacrifice on the part of our children. 

Thank you for standing with us in prayer...what a joyful, stretching journey this is!