This past weekend we went up to the capital city with the students here to visit the campus up there and also to have some down time with them. It was a three hour bus ride and the kiddos did great. The city is so beautiful and smaller than Abidjan so it was nice to be somewhere that was more spread out and less busyness around. We went to the
Bacillica (I
don't think that is spelled right) which is the tallest cathedral in the world. It was absolutely
gorgeous!! From the very front
entrance to the front doors was a kilometer of marble and the round sanctuary was all stain glass windows. They built the whole thing in only three years working 24 hours a day the whole time. It was a gift from the president and no one but hom knows how much it cost at all. Pictures definately dont do it justice but here are some anyway to give you an idea.
This is one of the windows there. It is really interesting if you look closely Jesus is riding the donkey and the man with his head in his lap is the president here. The architect of the cathedral is the man on the far left with the long hair as well. We dont know if they asked to be a part of it or they were just put in the building as a way of honoring their gift.
This is a view from way up high. It can hold 18,000 people here and each pew is air conditioned.
Here is the marble walkway
The outside. They look so small in the front if it!
Then we were off to the presidents palace to see and feed the crocadiles! He has a mote around the house and these critters are in it. We bought two chickens and the man below threw them to them to eat. But before that he held them by their wings and smacked them together for a while to get them to make a lot of noise so they would all come over to his side. I felt really bad for those poor chickens!
Pretty sure I would not stand this close to that big guy holding chickens taunting him!!!
We went to the President's Hotel and went swimming and played on the playground for the afternoon one day and it was so fun for the boys! Elliot crashed out right after swimming!
Craig had a great time too! :)
Ahhhh!! Our internet has been so so so slow and it has not let me upload pictures until just now! I have quite a few to put up but I might just put them as separate posts so it actually gets one up for all of you wanting to see the kids smiling faces. So, since I have not been on campus or gotten out of the house much since our summer project left, I have turned into a semi crazy woman. I have come up with the most random things to do with the boys and a photo shoot was one. So, here are the top 5 since the blog thingy will only let me upload 5 at a time :) This first one is the only one that I got of Elliot smiling and of course, the only one where Keenan's eyes are closed and he is acting like he is asleep. Figures :).
They have really started playing together and it is so fun to see them interact and hear Elliot belly laughing at Keenan's silly faces. And Im loving that they can entertain each other for a bit and I can get a little bit done.
Sweet boys! As I was typing that I have turned into a crazy woman being home alone with the boys all the time, I realized that might sound alarming. There are times definitely where I think I am going to lose my mind and need a little adult conversation where I am not correcting someone's behavior, or answering the question of "why?" 50 times, but all in all we are doing well. I have been reminded in my times with the Lord of how short this season really is where I am home with the boys all day. Before I know it they will be gone and maybe even moving their little families away to a foreign country. Its hard to imagine it all in the midst of giving a spankin but I know that my parents have said this all goes by way too fast and I am really enjoying making binoculars out of toilet paper rolls and homemade playdoh. I love making them giggle and even better when Keenan can get me to laugh really hard and the look on his face of sheer joy that we are laughing together. One of his new phrases when we are doing something together is "We're having fun, huh, Mom?" with raised eyebrows and a huge smile on that sweet little face of his. There are times of great joy and also of great shame as I mess up and react more out of anger than really the big picture of what is going on and really how old they are. I just keep thinking that we as humans learn by modeling FAR more than teaching and I have to be really walking with the Lord day in and day out as I minister to my kids and train them in the way they should go. And that is not a task that I can take lightly. Oh the joys of parenthood, right?! Im loving it and wrestling with it all at the same time!
We are in our new apartment!! It is great to be in a place where we are not all sharing the same room and spread out and unpack everything finally! I will have to take pictures and post them after we are done unpacking and the place does not look like a tornado went through it! Keenan is excited to have his own room again and he was so happy to have his new safari sheets that we have not used until now. The move went smoothly and now all that is left is settle in. Just had some pictures to share as well. Keenan and I were swinging the day before we moved from the old house and had some pics from that. He really really loves swinging and could do it much longer than I can push him! But then he got tired and decided to lay down in the sand pile that is right next to the parking lot in front of the house. I got some fun pictures of him so here they are:
