My kids

The boys at home really make me laugh. This evening, they gave them some bread because Wales was falling asleep. So he was sitting there chewing his bread the same time that he was totally asleep. We really laughed. Almost every day now, the boys ask to draw a picture. I bought a few new pens when I was in town so now I let them pick whether they want blue, black or red. Brian is getting pretty good. Instead of just drawing random lines, he’s trying to draw specific things. They’re not usually recognizable, but he’s doing really well for having been drawing just a few weeks.

They are also very fond of pointing fingers at each other when they come crying, saying, “Huyu, huyu” which means, “that one, that one.” Yesterday, they were all whining a bit and Brian and Ian simultaneously pointed at each other saying “huyu.” It really made us laugh. Yesterday I had them helping me hold my water bottles while I was filtering water. Brian took the bottle he was holding, put it on his head and said that he was going to the river to fetch water. He ran outside, came back, pretended to pour the water in the pot and went again. It was so cute.

They boys call me Tayah, because they can’t quite get Sarah. Brian started saying it first. He has a hard time sometimes getting all the sounds right. Then Ian and Wales started calling me Tayah too. It’s really gratifying when I come home from somewhere and as soon as I get to the gate I hear exciting voices yelling, “Tayah! Tayah!”

Today, I was asking Milly what new things she learned in school and she was telling me some of the English vocabulary words she had learned. I asked her to explain what they meant and most of them she just knew. A few she hadn’t understood very well so I explained what they meant. I always enjoy having time to talk to her because she is often overlooked in the family. She is supposed to help with the boys when she’s not at school, but she’s just a child herself (she’s 12). She likes to play. She needs attention. She really likes drawing.

I call them all my kids. I tell them a lot that I love them. I give them a lot of attention and praise them profusely when they do things well. These days they are really doing great.