Safari

This week my mom and aunt Mo came to visit. It was so wonderful to have them here. I loved the help with the kids and I was really excited for them to share in the experiences that we are having here. It is so hard to express what it is like here. Zach came 2 years ago and brought home a million pictures and video but I was never able to truly understand until I stepped off the plane 4 weeks ago here in Malawi.

So since I am posting tonight and not Zach prepare yourself for pictures!!! Zach almost killed me when I asked him to upload all of these for me. I know...I should learn how to do it myself.

The first picture is just us waiting for Grammy and Aunt Mo to get off the plane. The kids were so excited to watch the plane land. And I don't know if you can tell from the picture but right at their feet there is an opening in the glass that is just large enough for a small child to slip out of... a small child named Addis. Yes, he almost crawled under the glass and fell off of the balcony of the airport. Thankfully some man grabbed me and pointed out my son on his suicide mission.

Days are long and hard around here, so it was time for an escape. It is crazy that there are places like Mvuu Camp in Malawi, but I guess there are tourists everywhere. The lodge and restaurant are situated in the middle of a huge national wildlife reserve. You drive "safari style" for about 10 miles before you reach the river. You then get into a boat for an hour tour. At the edge of the river there is a restaurant with excellent food. Which we proceeded to eat until we were all miserable. After four weeks of tuna and ramen noodles we couldn't help ourselves.

This is the children hanging out of the sunroof of the van as we drove through the safari.

The crazy thing is that we really are as close as the picture looks. It was amazing to see all of these animals this close in the wild. It made me a little nervous too because Addis kept trying to jump out of the boat.

My mom made friends with this little girl one of the days we were at the orphanage. Her name is Ana and she is one of the fifty orphans in the non residential program that we care for at Esther's house. They are fed vita-meal every morning and fed a big lunch on Friday and Saturday. Ana asked my mom if she would be her special friend.

This is a goofy picture but I had to post it. This is Addis holding baby Ana. He always wants to hold her because he sees his brother and sisters hold her all of the time. She is with us 2 nights and three days a week. I am also well aware that his hair is a little scary in the picture and poor Ana agrees. By the way this is what she does most of the time we have her unless I have her tied on my back in the chitchenzie.

I love these last two pictures. Every time we are out at Esther's house or in the villages the local children flock to our kids. They want to hold their hands, carry Addis, and pet the girls hair. My kids kind of like the attention. Well three of them do. Sophie just gets irritated and wants me to hold her all of the time. Imagine that! I just wish they could communicate with each other. I think they would all really enjoy each other if they could talk to one another.

Well that is all for today. We don't have any big plans for tomorrow except for catching up on school. Grammy and Aunt Mo might have set us back a little this week!!