The World According to My Four Year Old

Overheard at my house:

"Mommy, I'm making a chore list for us to do in the morning!" Can you tell what we've been up to lately?

Making breakfast. "Mommy, did the toaster sneeze?"

In the mall, VERY loudly. "Mommy that boy is wearing earrings like I do!"

Getting ready for the morning. "Mommy, this shirt is too big it shows my nibbles."

Walking through Target, Sophia spotted a staff member carrying an armload of register tape. "Mommy, that's awful tiny toilet paper!"

Life Lessons

Our family has always had a lot of maps and globes around the house. We even tried the multiple clocks from multiple time zones in the kitchen, but the ticking (OH THE TICKING!) drove me crazy. (On that note I have half a dozen white matching clocks if anyone needs one!)

We've had a lot of geography lessons the past couple of years keeping up with daddy and Kaga (grandpa) It's like a global 'Where's Waldo?'

Last night Daddy explained to Sophia why he couldn't play another game of Cootie because he needed to talk to people on the other side of the world. Getting out a little globe he demonstrated it was night time for us and Daddy doesn't like to work at night, but it was morning on the other side of the world in Asia.

Trying to be a good teacher I went hunting for a flashlight to play the part of a sun in our little object lesson. Mommy was in for an object lesson too. I learned that in case of emergency NONE of our flash lights work! Strangely enough all of them are missing random pieces or batteries but the most telling sign is that all of them are covered in tiny finger prints and slightly sticky. Hmm??

With or without a flashlight this was better than my failed American geography lesson. Our vintage US puzzle was missing a piece, one state that I seriously couldn't identify. So who did I ask? My foreign born, green-card-holding husband--immediately he got it. Wyoming! How embarrassing!

Saturday Morning Inspiration

Change is in the air for the Ndjerareou's. Friday ended Nate's second week working for a new job! (Praise the Lord) He'd resigned at the end of February desperately in need of a rest and work that he could be passionate about (if it helped the third world even better!)

We're very thankful that he found all three so that the accompanying move to Dallas is just the next step on our journey. Don't get me wrong I HATE to say goodbye but our family is a little desperate to settle down. Especially since we'll be adding another member to our little clan this December! (One more thing to be thankful for!)

I guess you could say the nesting phase has begun or the thought of moving our family into an apartment while we get to know our new city has got the creative desperation flowing. Along the way I have to share a couple of great ventures and ideas:

Apartment Therapy

Little Dresses for Africa

Tutorial: Hanging Book Display

Food & Memories

Our family enjoys travel especially when we get to explore the local cuisine. My favorite memories with Sophia include exploring local markets and trying our hand at the exotic dishes at home. It brings back memories of my fearless mother, plunging into African markets with a boisterous laugh and a fierce love of haggling.

She's a great cook with a huge repertoire of Americana recipes in her head. Somehow I really never learned how to make anything traditional from her. Instead she impressed on me a love for trying our hand a something different that comes out of one big pot and takes an assortment of indigenous spices.

Asian, African, Mexican. Especially if it's got cilantro in it! Sophia and I put these two recipes together last week and all the elements took us back to Mexico. It was so good I had to share. Even that vivacious mother of mine who doesn't really appreciate cilantro LOVED it! Let me know what you think or even better share a recipe you've fallen for!

Better Homes and Gardens Sweet Potato Hash

Cilantro Chicken

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. " ~Oswald Chambers

In the past few months I've been distracted by the difficulties and frustrated by God's silence. Life's handed me enough experience know that God uses the silence to teach us to listen deeper. This time through the valley it was my husband's journey. The past few months have been about Nate & God, that's a new experience for me. Now that it's over I can say it's been a privilege to walk this road with him.

But I didn't come here to whine, that's partly why I've been so quiet. I believe in authenticity and sincerity in faith, but this was Nate's journey. The last thing he needed was my public venting. Thank you for your patience and your prayers. I promise more details soon.

I'm just starting to see how many prayers God has answered. My sweet grandfather came through surgery wonderfully and that only added to the list of prayer requests God has smiled on recently. In His own way He waited until we were at the end of our spiritual, emotional and financial resources. Perhaps that's why I got angry? But now these answered prayers feel like tangible expressions of our faith and everything seems sweeter. Thank you Lord for being bigger than our difficulties!

Thank you for your prayers

Wednesday morning, my maternal grandfather will be having a somewhat risky surgery. Thanks you for remembering us in your prayers.