Friends. I used to think I was someone who had a lot of friends. Now I realize that I'm not. I'm someone who has a lot of family and some of them are related to me.
We were truly sad to find out in December that we were not going to be able to go home to the US for Christmas. We are in the middle of adopting our twin boys, Zeke and Amani and although we'd submitted our paperwork to the embassy for review at the beginning of December, it seemed that the 'plan' of the office workers was to go on vacation and get to it, oh, never. Me being who I am... I was understandably frustrated. Or in layman's terms PISSED OFF. So we weren't going home for Christmas. We were. STUCK. IN. KENYA.
fine. Fine. FINE.
So not fine. But I had had this thought. That it would be really fun to be stuck in Kenya IF I had someone fun to be stuck with.
So Neil and I called the Giles Family in Turkey and convinced them that the best way to spend Christmas was...
WITH US!
And thankfully they agreed with our obviously unshakeable logic.
This is Theo and Clara obviously in it to win it in the dirt. LOVE the African Wildlife in the background.
Jamie and Marie on horseback.
James and Elise.
So I just wanted to say that we had THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! I will remember this Christmas for as long as I live.
Although my FAVORITE memory will have to be. Neil, James, Jamie and I gathered around a picnic bench having dinner at the cabin we rented near Lake Naivasha. Neil (as usual) was engaging all of us in a story which he ends with...
"and there's a HIPPO right THERE!" Pointing behind Jamie and I. James, Jamie, and I whip our heads around to see a HUGE HIPPO perhaps 100 feet away from us. Ambling up the side of the property on its way to dinner.
I have NEVER seen James move so fast, who virtually VAULTED from the picnic bench to the back porch. Jamie was not far behind and I honestly couldn't tell you where Neil was in all of this. For some reason I felt it more important to focus on gathering up some dishes before rushing to the back deck.
We had made pork chops. And I liked them. I don't know, I guess I didn't want to tempt the Hippo to come explore our leftovers.
I wasn't thinking clearly. OK?
Still makes me giggle just reflecting on it. Probably always will. Anyways, I love my extended family. They are some good people.
Today we got news that the US Embassy has approved our adoption.
They probably set an efficiency record on this one.
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