Dec Update

We had the girls for almost three weeks and although this time went smoother than the last, they are still high maintenance requiring much attention and supervision.  But at least they all got along:) No fighting this time. However, it reminded me of slumber parties when I was younger and the mom would have to come in all night and tell all of us girls to be quiet. These girls were so talkative, loud and full of laughter. I was happy to see them so happy but the quiet we get with the boys was very much welcomed!

Two of the girls

December is a time for preparing for Christmas, however preparations in Kenya are a bit different than back home. Here the big preparation is for the dinner. Almost every household slaughters an animal for the occasion and a couple chickens aren't enough. The closer to Christmas the more expensive the animals become. So in early Dec Mama Mwangi and I walked to the neighbors at the end of the road to buy one of their sheep for our Christmas dinner. The only problem was the sheep didn't want to come home with us. So in the midst of a very muddy road I pulled and Mama Mwangi pushed the sheep all the way home.We were certainly a sight to be seen. Mama Mwangi even fell in the mud! I think it took us about one hour to get the sheep home! But we arrived smiling and full of laughter. We let the sheep graze in our front yard. One day it started pouring rain so we proudly tied it to our front porch until the rain passed. It reminded me of a previous coworker who would tell about how he grew up in a very poor family and his parents were strange, and as an example to show how bad it was he would tell about how they would tie their sheep to the front porch.... ha guess I'm that strange parent!

Our Sheep for Christmas Dinner

We have hung a few Christmas decorations the kids made and today I'm in town trying to buy some real decorations. It's not like in the US where there are Christmas decorations in every store for months prior to Christmas.

Decorations the Kids Made

Despite the simple Christmas we will have here, I do have an Amazing Christmas present arriving on Sunday- and I can't wait!!!

Thanksgiving Kenyan Style

Although Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Kenya I think it's a great holiday and decided we should celebrate it here.  Why not take a day to be thankful, relax and eat America food!

The kids were excited that they didn't have to do any chores for the day and enjoyed relaxing and playing most of the morning. We started the day with pancakes and then for the first time had spaghetti for lunch, which they thought was great!

For dinner we we didn't have turkey as there isn't a turkey market here, but instead had two of our chickens. One was the big black rooster which was always fighting with the other chickens and the other was a hen that wouldn't lay eggs. So our older boys took on the job/fun of preparing the chickens for dinner. This is a big event! They get super excited to slaughter/prepare the meat for dinner. In their culture they like to slaughter an animal for all big events/occasions. So all of the kids go to the chicken house to catch the chickens and they all help to pluck.  When I was a kid and we had chickens, I thought of it as a chore to have to pluck, but here it is done with joy and of course I don't want to take away their joy, so I just watch :)

Dinner ended up being two chickens, mashed potatoes, stuffing, macaroni and cheese and spinach. Then for desert we had banana covered in warm chocolate fondu! Everyone said they loved it, although Karanja didn't like the mashed potatoes. They consider mashed potatoes as kid/baby food. This is the first thing Karanja has not liked!

I had a second Thanksgiving celebration with some of the Peace Corps volunteers that stay near me. Gabby is a great cook and it was delicious!