Labor Day Weekend Pool Party

When I (Jonathan) tell my Kenyan friends that I’m not working on Monday, I usually get a look of confusion–Labor Day is yet another uniquely American holiday that like Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, MLK and a whole host of other holidays are not observed here. But the Embassy is closed, and that is cause for a [...]

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Goodbye to Ama

Almost a month ago now, we began our journey to Kenya with Jonathan’s mom, “Ama” along to encourage and help us along the way. Last night we finally had to say goodbye, as Ama flew back home. Ama served and cared for us through the rough patches as we fought jet lag and adjusted to [...]

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The Blessing of a New Friend

Before we moved to Nairobi, friends from the Falls Church introduced us to Catherine, a Kenyan woman working with a family in the US who was moving back to Kenya in June  Catherine needed a job when she returned to Kenya, and we needed a househelper. It was a tremendous blessing this past summer to [...]

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The Wildlife Outside our Windows

Embassy security is pretty good about keeping the wilder parts of Kenya well away from our house. Despite the high perimeter wall, however, a few animals sneak in to remind us that we are in Africa. We have a male chameleon that lives in one of the bushes outside the front door (we know he [...]

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Last Sunday With Ama

One of the great blessings during our move to Kenya has been having “Ama” Howard journey with us to help as we settle in. This Sunday marks the beginning of Ama’s last week with us, and none of us want to dwell on the thought that soon she will be boarding a plane to return [...]

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A Visit to Magina Village and Kijabe

This Saturday Jonathan, Ethan, and grandma Howard headed out of Nairobi to visit old friends from when we lived in Kenya 20 years ago. The highway heading west towards Naivasha winds up the Rift Valley escarpment, with majestic views as the road hugs sheer dropoffs overlooking a 6,000 foot terraced plunge to the valley floor [...]

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A Very Mixed Week

This past week was full of ups and downs for the Howard family. The week started on a positive note as our UAB (Unaccompanied Air Baggage) shipment arrived from the US on Monday–linens, towels, toys, and bikes were pulled eagerly out of boxes by Laurie and the boys. The shipment is rather small–about 8 large [...]

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Saturday Safari

This past Saturday we took the boys on their first “safari”…a rather tame one, as it turned out, but fun nevertheless. Since the paperwork is not yet done on our 4WD vehicle, we rented a fully equipped (well, mostly equipped–no air conditioning!) safari truck and driver, which the boys found to be great fun.

 

Our first [...]

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Our New Home in Nairobi

Ten days ago, our KLM flight touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Though we arrived just over a week ago, we feel like we have been living in Kenya for at least a month. The flurry of settling into a new home, trying to build new friendships, and getting internet at our house (a [...]

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