Lizard fever is spreading

Today we made the lizard trap. We cut out a square at the top and a square on the side, duck taped some mesh wire on the holes, and cut a 'trap door' on the other side. Levi collected grubs or maggots(which I am not sure). I found a stick and Isatu got a piece of cord the plumber left. Albert and John collected the needed rocks and we taped them to the door, propped it up with the stick, tied the cord to the stick and Levi got in position. Even Samuel the guard got involved clearing the area of any distracting grubs. It became a family affair to catch Levi a lizard. The first exciting moment when a lizard went in Levi pulled the cord and he and John when running to the box. When John grabbed the box he accidentally pushed the mesh in and the lizard ran out. That was the cause of a huge meltdown on Levi's part. Once he had calmed down we set the box back up, taped everything back in place and began another wait. The second catch also escaped somehow so we did not get a lizard pet today. It really was great fun though.

CONDO!!!

Lizard in Krio is condo. We have seen many a lizard and heard many a shriek from Levi announcing his newest catch. Today Andrew took John, Isatu, and Albert to sports day practice so I tried to talk Levi into going with them and racing the other kids but he was having none of that. He was set on staying here and continuing the hunt. So today Levi was out in the dirt for hours collecting small grubs and putting them in an old plastic coke bottle. The boy had a plan. This afternoon he saw two good size condo's on top of the compound wall where they like to sunbath and unknowingly taunt a five year old boy. He laid out all the grubs in a pile, sat down beside it and waited. Some of the grubs would escape and he would corral them back. Would you believe that the lizards came all the way down the wall, ran half way to the pile and then ran away again. I guess they were either testing the waters or they lost their nerve. They were obviously interested because they would stay right on the edge, creep down and then run back all the while eyeing the grub pile excitedly doing their push ups. After an hour or so of that a few spectators were back from practice and interfering with his plan. So, he decided to switch it up and make several piles and stand a little further back. If anybody stepped out of the imaginary line(mostly Isatu and Ivey) he would bark out orders to get back and wait. It was quite entertaining actually. The lizards came about 4 feet from all of us and ate every one of those grubs. There were a few unsuccessful attempts of running to catch them but they would come right back to eat. Tonight while Levi is fast asleep he has unknowingly entertained his mother. And so, I have a plan. On tomorrows agenda is making a box with a trap door. You know the propped up on a stick with a string attached kind. That should be about as entertaining for me to watch.

Here is one our day guard Samuel helped him catch.

Now before anyone gets upset and calls PETA you should know that during nap time this lizard 'escaped' according to Levi and apparently he scratched the cord with his toes. I won't disputing a good assessment to say weather or not I know differently.


and a baby one that he caught back at the guesthouse:

African domestication the oncoming meltdown

So we moved into our house on Thursday.

I drove the very short distance to the center to pick up our kids while Andrew stayed at the house with Levi and Ivey who built a special 'welcome to our new house' track for the train. When I got to the center they were just sitting down to dinner so all the kids were in one room and Uncle Daniel announced that the Sisco family should go and collect their things. The room erupted in OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH (if you've been here you know the 'oh' I am talking about), and cheers. Albert cried and John grinned from ear to ear. I couldn't locate Isatu quickly enough to know her reaction. The kids sang 'It's so hard to loose someone like you' (again if you have been here you know the song I am talking about). It was very touching. They packed their backpacks and hugged their aunties and uncles goodbye.
We drove down to the house and when we got there Levi showed them the train, we showed them their new mattresses(I can't say bed because those haven't been built yet) and rooms. And then we ate dinner together on the floor.




We do a lot of sitting on the floor right now because it takes a while to get things built. We have bought 5 kid size stools and that is it. We have a work table and shelves ordered for the kitchen and we hopefully will be able to get to town soon to order our couch.
I have been amazed at how well everyone has done so far adjusting. Levi andIvey seem ok with all of the changes of moving cultures and are already speaking some Krio. Levi is calling seashells cockles Ivey is saying she has to go wet when she needs to go to the bathroom. Albert, John and Isatu seem to be dealing well with all the changes of living in a new home with very strange new people. The other day when they were supposed to be resting Levi pulled feathers out of his pillow, tiptoed across the room and put them all over John. And so it begins.


They all enjoy playing together and there is a lot of laughing which is the most beautiful sound around here. Andrew and I weren't anticipating the ease with which everyone has settled in. That has really been a great surprise. We expected to be learning a lot about our new kids but we thought we knew their general personality which I guess is mostly true. However, we had no idea how hilarious John is. He has had us rolling in the floor(literally since we
don't have furniture yet) laughing. Albert is mostly quiet but he does laugh and joke a lot. And Isatu is my shadow. Where ever I go she is right behind. We have tried to have moments alone with all the kids and after dinner we give each one a chore to do. Last night Levi and Ivey cleared the stools while John swept and Albert mopped(both very necessary) and Isatu was supposed to help dry the dishes that I washed. I ended up getting distracted several times though and everyone ended up showered and in bed before I could get to it. They all really like to do the chores and she was a little upset that she didn't get to do hers so we let her stay up to do it. I cleared her a spot on the counter by the sink and gave her a towel. We talked about her favorite food, color, aunties, friends, etc. until all seven plates, seven cups, seven forks, and a hundred misc. items were dried and stacked on the counter beside her. I look forward to that being a time that we enjoy with each of our kids. We have tried to be somewhat organized and so we have different colored plastic cups with lids and straws. Each child has been allotted a color to remember so that we don't go through more than one cup a day. Albert is orange, John is yellow, Isatu is pink, Levi is blue, and Ivey is purple. While doing dishes last night Andrew was remembering that hetoo had color coded cups growing up. He was yellow, Katie was green, and Rachel was red. I am sure that I will come up with more solutions to simplify life but if anyone has any time savors like that please share.
Speaking of the dishes, I know that no matter where we live we will have some things to deal with that are difficult or frustrating. The dishes are one of them. Because we have a gas stove (I guess) black soot gets all over the bottom of the pots when we are cooking and then when you move it anywhere it gets all over whatever you sit it on. Then it is hard to get off the scrubber or your hands. It makes such a mess! I had to wash my hands three times to get it off. And, the soap doesn't really get sudsy so the soot just smears around. I am foreseeing that it could be the cause of a serious meltdown for me.
Dirty floors and feet are also one of them. I have probably washed my feet 3times a day ever since we have been here. And, I have swept every day and mopped at least every other day and at the end of each day it is amazing how dirty it is. I have such a hard time feeling like things are clean even though I am spending a lot of time cleaning. Everything is more difficult. Our laundry area required a certain pipe to be put in so that meant it had to go in the garage. The garage floor is uneven so the spin cycle is pretty interesting. I literally lay across the top and hold the water discharge tube down in a bucket because it isn't connected to anything yet. We can't find the right size bucket for it. I shook so hard one time that the little legs that you screw up and down to make it even came off. And the hose went flying all around and soaked the whole place. I am happy to have it though and once we have a bucket and a platform for it we should be free of the shakes, spills, and brain injuries. I wish you could see the faces of the locals watching this fiasco. I am sure they wonder how wrestling machines could possibly be easier than handwashing. I had to read the manual which I have never done for any washer or dryer before but it has strange symbols so I didn't know how to work it.



The kids are cracking me up because they would really like to start school so they keep praying at night that we would be able to start school the next day. Right now we don't have a table for them to sit at, a desk for me to put the stuff I need, or white board or anything yet. I sat them down to explain the situation today but I have a feeling that we will be having a repeat prayer tonight. We have a list of things to getbuilt but we have had a hard time getting it done quickly. We currently have two projects going at the same time from two different carpenters and both have told us wewouldget our items on Saturday. If we can find a third carpenter we will start another project. And then of course we will start new projects with each carpenter as they finish the first.
I know that sounds like a lot of complaining but through all of that we really do like this house. It is easy to locate everyone fairly quickly, there are no stairs or balconies, all the tile is neutral, it is flat and there are lots of trees. As a matter of fact the kids really like climbing one of them.



When we toured the house I did not notice one of the trees but on one of the first few days living in the house Andrew was noting the fruit trees and commented that God had tripled the size of my lime tree. In the U.S. I had a lime tree that andrew gave me for valentines day a few years ago that I really loved and hated to give up when we left. But you can't pack a four foot lime tree so it now has a home at a neighbors house. This is the lime tree in our new yard.



We also have a lot of mango trees around our compound and the bats get in them and make loud chirping noises at night. Then in the morning you can see where they have been eating the mangos. Then there are the roosters. Isatu says they say 'Coco Loco'. Ha. I always thought they crowed once magically at sunrise and then went back to strutting around pecking things but no. They say coco loco a lot. However, neither of these noises come close to competing with the noise that the dogs make. It sounds like 100 dogs are being beaten or something. It goes on forever and is really loud. AND it only happens at 10:00pm or later.
We walked around the neighborhood yesterday and walked down to the beach. The fishermen were there pulling in their nets. Andrew and Albert walked over to watch and when I looked back to see where they had gone they were helping pull the nets in which was pretty funny to some women on the beach.

I can't explain myself but I really love that all 24 of my brown eggs are all stacked up in a little wire basket bought across the street by Samuel our security guard.



Some interesting notes:
1. Mattress sizes are apparently not the same country to country. Andrew went to the factory and they sold him a 'queen' size and 2 'twin' size mattress that are the size of the full and king size in the U.S. So all the sheets that I spent months finding the best deals on are now unusable.
2. Butter is not rectangular like in the U.S. It comes packaged the size of two sticks of butter side by side so even the butter dish that came with our refrigerator is almost a square instead of a rectangle.
3. Saturday Andrew showed John(8) how to use a seatbelt.
4. Yesterday a lady came to the door with a muskat wondering if we would like to buy itfor security. The kids all held it and the plumber warned me that they bite so we gave it back to the lady and told her no thank you.
5. We go to the center for churchand after the service was over right as we were walking out of the gate John and Isatu's mother came to visit. We've never met her before and she stayed for an hour or so and then wewent home.
So we have now met 3 of the 4 parents.
6. We had a situation yesterday that we've never experienced before. The power is out right now and so we have had to use the generator for the fans and lights. We try to make it as long as possible without it because it cost approximately $15 per day to run. That can get expensive if it goes on for days. Also of importance to know is that Abdul is sick so Andrew cooked dinner the last two nights. So, for the last two nights we turned the generator on when it got dark so that he could see in the kitchen and we left it on for part of the night until it cooled off. Now, before you feel sorry for us, here is the situation. Yesterday a lady came to our gate door and told our night guard that she lives in the house (which is probably not much bigger than our generator room) that backs up to our generator room. She asked if we would consider not using it because it is making her house extremely hot. The noise doesn't bother her but the heat is unbearable. I bet it is! It is hard to walk in that room because of the heat and I think it is loud so I am sure it is when lying next to it. Plus the smell is strong. So I feel terrible for that lady. But on the other hand I have to say I also feel bad for us. We just spent A LOT of money buying the generator, gas for it, and men to install the grate we needed to keep it secure, and an electrician to install it. We bought it because it is hard for an American who is used to air-conditioning to come to this climate without even a fan. There is no where else to put the generator so we don'tknow what to do. It is the quandary of the day.

I know this blog update has been sporadic but it is all the information that I have accumulated since the last one that I have time to share. We hope everyone is well. We miss and love you all.

2 years and 4 months in the making

what did we do?


brothers


Isatu and Ivey


isatu


Ivey


Levi


John


Albert

We have a house!

I am so excited to announce that we have found a house. It is a three bedroom and we are very excited that this one has shade and is on a flat lot. Also, we shouldn't go hungry because there are several fruit trees within the compound. There are lime, mango, guava, and orange trees. We have been busily collecting all the items we need to make it a home. All of the bags we have shipped have made it so far and the airlines have yet to charge us for any of them. We are so thankful for that because it has saved us a lot of money and we have most of what we need to set get started with basic living and homeschooling. I am hoping to get a few photos up soon. The lady who owns the house is finishing the paint and heightening the wall by 3 blocks in the back over the weekend and beginning of next week so we should be able move in on Wed or Thursday. We have a couple of projects to do (shelf building and such)so I will do before and afters.
The people at Greenfield Market are so nice. Levi and Ivey are really warming up to Auntie Rema who has been giving them KitKat's and Orange box drinks. Unfortunately, Ivey vomited hers all over the store floor today. I think she just got a little to hot. I can't go without telling my favorite thing in the store, so actually I will show you:
(I have to upload our photos as small for them to upload but if you click on them you can view them larger)

In case you don't like meat in your toilet paper.
And, at the Freetown Supermarket they have this fun package:

a big dollop of whatever

Here is a photo that goes with a previous post. We just passed it for the second time and it still makes my day.



I have yet to get a good photo of this but one of the main cell phone companies here is Africell whose logo is 'Africell. For all the reasons'. I am not leaving any thing out. It is what we have for our phones and we use it for all the reasons.

Are you trying it kill me?

As the hunt for a house continues we have had a few interesting experiences. I probably should not relay everything here as there are grandparents to consider but
some stories are just too exciting not to tell. About a week ago we went to look at some houses that were within walking distance of the guesthouse. It required walking down the hill, turning right and then right again. Simple. That road is a little busier than some but not exactly a freeway. It is pretty unusual for a car or motorbike to get past 40mph because there aren't many area's without traffic. So all that to say we had just seen a house and were walking back. It was just as we got to the intersection where we would turn left that two motorbikes-one coming down the hill and one going up the hill ran into each other. It was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. The man on the bike closest to us flew up in the air probably about 9-10 feet, flipped and landed on his back. I can't recall exactly what happened because I only saw him. It was like a stunt scene you would see on a movie. He got up and I don't think anyone had any major injuries but one of the guys started yelling at the other, "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME?!?" Then they picked up their bikes and went to the hospital to check for injuries. That is how we discovered that if you have an accident you take yourself to the hospital and police station. You don't wait around for police or ambulances.
We have exhaused our options around here so we got on a yahoo group to see if there were any postings for housing and sure enough there was one. So I called the lady and made an appointment. Roland, who was with us when the bike accident happened, drove us to the place. Well, that is only halfway accurate. He drove us 95% of the way. We turned down the 'driveway' of what was labeled a beach house with a stunning view and had to get out of the car and walk the last stretch because the car would not have made it. At the end of this dirt path we found ourselves in a very small fishing village right on the ocean. The house was a 3 bedroom 2 bath shell with no flooring, windows, or anything practical that we would need so we both knew immediately that it wasn't an option but the adventurer in us thought it was awesome. You could walk probably 12 yards from the imaginary door and be in the water-after you passed one hut and a smokehouse. Everyone was quiet trekking back up the hill to the car. Andrew was calculating the cost of the spear he would need to join the village and I was lost in wondering if there were any mambas around when Roland turns to me and says, "this walk is not easy" and something about that really got me laughing. So then smiling he asks, "is it funny?" Yeah, I think it's funny. It really was a beach house and I really was a little stunned.

What is not funny is that hot sause, ketchup and mayo are all about $4 a bottle here. And I am pretty sure that the Freetown Supermarket doesn't do coupons. Today's events included that and going to furniture stores- mostly just to get out of the house but also just to see what is available. You will be happy to hear that we found a fabulous purple crushed velvet couch that looks like something out of the movie Aladdin at one store. That was only upstaged by the orange zebra print one someone was selling on the side of the road. Seriously, the prices were unbelieveable. We are definitely going to have all of our furniture built. I am excited about that happening one of these days.

Our kids have been coming over after nap time each night and we have dinner and hang out until bedtime and Andrew walks them back over to the center. Today the kids watched the movie Rio. It is so entertaining just to watch them watch the movie. I love thier laughs, expressions, comments,etc. There is a part in this movie were an orphan sells some birds to the villain. He is at the door and the guy gives him less than promised and tells him to go home to his mama. He answers that he doesn't have a mama. And the scene gets worse when the villain then asks, a papa? and Uncle? anyone? and the answer is no so they shut the door in his face. He walks away to the roof of some building with the small food he bought with the money he got for the birds and sits down alone looking over the city of Rio. When I saw this movie for the first time about 3 months ago I cried at that. It really got me because I was thinking of the very children I watched watching that same scene today. John cried. And that is one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I went and got him a tissue and loved his sweet little face smiling as I handed it to him and he realized that I had been watching. No more John. No more will you hurt that hurt unless it is empathy for someone else.

The Two Peeping Toms

I was so concerned about expediting the rinsing of Pigpen that I didn't see him there. Levi did however and I shrieked. A six inch African spider was on the underneath of the sink. Andrew had to photograph it before slapping it senseless and sending it to its plastic trash can coffin. It took me a few minutes of moving everything that could possibly disguise a spider family member before I would get in the shower and even then I gingerly pulled on the curtain with two fingertips slowly inspecting every crease. Thank God I was washed and mostly rinsed before I realized that there was a lizard on the wall in front of me. It was fairly far up but it was slipping. I called Andrew in there to do I don't know what. He suggested I spray it to scare it off. I followed that bad advice and he slid all the way down the wall. The point of this blog post is that I need to confess that I said shit twice. I don't usually say things like that but something about a spotted cream colored reptile sliding down the bathtub at me with nothing but spider infested shower curtains to grab got the best of me. Andrew was supposed to get in the shower after me but right after this incident the power went off so I really don't blame him for not wanting to go in there. As soon as Uncle Jessie got the generator on we went to see if the creep was still there and sure enough he was waiting, watching for his next victim. So we sent in Levi. And the second point of this blog is to say that Levi is in fact our hero tonight as he gladly went in, took the lizard by the tail and took him outside our balcony door. That door happens to be nearest my bed and I know for a fact that the lizard can come right back in here anytime he wants so Levi's gets to sleep with me tonight.

Abdul is in the kitchen!

We just had chicken cooked with vegetables and rice and watermelon. It was so good. Really, it was so good. Ivey asked, " what is that guys name? Uncle Abdul? Uncle Abdul is a goooood cooker!". John stood up, stretched his arms out and said, " I thank God for this chicken". Ha, me too. When Ivey had eaten her watermelon to the green John tried to take the rind from her, she had a death grip and Andrew said, "you better watch out she'll bite your finger" and the three African kids were hysterical. They thought that was so funny. It is so fun to be eating together as a family. As I type this all five are watching 'The Incredibles' and Isatu is telling the dad to run (from the robot) and Ivey is very concerned asking "Is it hurting? Is it hurting really bad?".
We thank God for this time together.