First day of "Short School"

It was a blessed morning!  We all woke up in a good mood, ready for our first day of school!!!

We started off with reading some of Proverbs 19 and the verse that we picked as our "verse of the day" was verse 11... "The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression."  Wow, that's a good one for a kiddo to memorize.  We talked about not loosing our temper with each other and about forgiving each other when we do something that offends.  Good way to start the day.

Then we brought out the craft supplies and started "Tanzania School".  We learned about the colors of the flag and what they stand for - green for the land and agriculture, yellow for the mineral wealth, black for the people, blue for the ocean.  We also learned the names of the 4 Presidents of the country.  Then, we learned how to count from zero to ten in Swahili, super fun asking them that the rest of the day.

We did some preschool with Sissi, she loved it and didn't want to stop.  Gwangi did an excellent job picking up with his reading lessons and Krypto didn't get any wrong on his math drills, Yahoo!  Krypto read the first chapter of "Sir Knight of the Splendid Way" and we talked about how it's an allegory of our Christian walk with the Lord.  We made correlations between the paige with our childhood and time before we know the Lord, and then when he decides to find the "way" and the older Knights that have been before him.  We talked about the time in the chapel and the visions he has and how the Light was Jesus walking with us during all of our trials.  It was neat and he didn't want to stop at Chapter 1!

This is how I dream of school being, each and every day...excited and peaceful kids and so many connections being made!  What a fabulous start to our year!!!!

Got some shopping done for the new house, down at Slipway, later in the morning.  Then got a birthday cake for Sissi tomorrow at Fairy Delights ;), it's a Black Forest cake!!!!!  Then picked up a trailer with some stuff from the AG Mission.  Less than 2 weeks now, we'll be moving in!

Working on the covers of our "Tanzania Lapbooks"

So ends the first day of "Short School"

Routine...what the Stamp Clan THRIVES on!

We ended our school year this past spring in April, around the time that we got frantic with moving out of our house in CO and Indy getting ready to retire from the Air Force after 20 years.  It seems like it has been forever since we've done school.  Now, don't get me wrong, all of life is school...traveling and looking at maps as we crossed the US, meeting new people, learning new languages, doing so many things we had never done before.  But, actually sitting down and doing school, well, it's been a little while.

About a month or so ago, I remember Krypto saying to me "Mom, I hope you won't be upset at me when we start school again this fall." I was shocked and said "Why would I be upset at you?"  Krypto "Well, it's been so long, I feel like I've forgotten everything I ever learned."  Now, anyone that knows Krypto knows that there is no way he has forgotten everything, he is one super bright kiddo and I'm very proud of him.  Nevertheless, I understand what he's saying.

I had another experience with Gwangi, he said "Mama, I could have more to do if I really knew how to read."  Don't I know this is true...he sees his brother with his nose in a book every chance he gets and he feels like he's missing something.  I'm sure he is frustrated that he got his glasses in December, can finally see well, we were on track and starting to teach him how to read in February and March and then oops, we stopped doing school and packed it all away to move.

Sissi is so cute, she is super excited to start doing school "just like her boys!"  It's going to be a lot of fun this year to have them all in school...a FIRST for me, all three kids doing school!!!!

SO, we have 20+ pieces of luggage sitting here, I would say about 1/3 of it is related to school, no kidding!  I brought books, school supplies, craft stuff, all kinds of curriculum from Pre-K for Sissi, to 5th grade for Krypto and everything in between.  I want to unpack and get started...alas, it's all dispersed in every piece of luggage because of weight restrictions.  I can't just say, let's open these 6 bins and I can do school.  Since we're not moving into our house for another 2 weeks, and yet Daddy is going back to work on Monday, I have been scratching my head about what to do.  I've got it, I went through the bins and picked out a few things for each child and we're going to do "short school" and start warming up for an official full start on the 29th of August.

Here's what I've got....

In my usual way, I want to start everyone off together.  We'll do our Bible time in the AM.  They are all really liking the verse by verse look at Proverbs, so we could spend a few months there!

Then we're going to take the ideas of several of my friends and do a Tanzania lap book over the next 2 weeks.  We're going to get out some books and use the computer and look at these 10 things (one each day for the next two weeks) and draw and talk about them...

-Learn the 4 Presidents names and talk about the Flag
-Learn and label all the surrounding countries and learn a fact about each one
-Learn the major cities in Tanzania and locate them on a map
-Learn the basics of the major religions in Tanzania
-Learn the common foods eaten and grown here and their Swahili names
-Learn about what animals live in Tanzania and their Swahili names
-Learn about the Indian Ocean and what animals/fish live in those waters
-Learn about tides
-Learn about Zanzibar
-Learn about what insects live in Tanzania, specifically about the mosquito

We're also going to learn a few new phrases in Swahili and things to get us around.  We'll start the actual Rosetta Stone Swahili program in a few weeks; but, in the mean time...

-Days of the week
-Months of the year
-Numbers
-What is your name?  My name is...
-How old are you?  I am .... years old.
-What grade are you in?  I am in .... grade.
-How are you today?
-How much does .... cost?
-How do you say .... in Swahili?
-Which way is .... ?

After our "Tanzania School", which if you're interested, you are welcome to join us in learning more about the country we're living in, we'll do some individual items.

For Sissi (pre-school this year), I got out one of her pre-school workbooks.  We'll do a couple of pages in that and then she'll be free to go and play while I finish up with the boys.

For Gwangi (first grade this year), I pulled out the "Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading" by Jessie Wise.  This worked so well with Krypto and Gwangi was really taking off this spring.  I love how it covers some basic grammar and a full course in phonics as you take them through the book.  It's fully reusable with subsequent children and in just a few minutes a day, you'll get your child reading and being able to sound out words that they aren't necessarily familiar with.  When he's done, he'll be free to go and play while I finish up with Krypto.

For Krypto (3rd grade this year), I will have him start doing some review math drills on the Math-U-See website.  He was half way through 4th grade math when we left CO, so he was just starting long division.  I know he needs some review on his multiplication and division facts, so we'll re-drill those these next two weeks so that he can start up again in "Delta" where he left off.  He can do math drills while I'm working with Sissi and then I pulled out a Lamplighter book, "Sir Knight of the Splendid Way."  My plan is that I'll read one chapter the night before and he can read it to himself in the morning, while I'm working with Gwangi.  Then, we can get together and talk about the chapter.  It'll be great for him to get some good quality reading in again, he's been reading mostly little kid books and comic books this summer.  I think it will also be good to start training him for some Upper Grammar discussion time.  I want to be sure he's having full comprehension and pulling out themes and character issues that he might see in books.  I know this will take time and training; but, I'm so ready for this phase in his education.

I am so thrilled to get started this year, and to share this time with the kids.  We'll spend time in the morning doing school, and then we'll still be free to run a few errands and see people before lunch.  It'll get us "warmed up" for full school to start in just a few weeks and answer that need that we all have for routine in the household.  I'll post more about what we're learning over the next few weeks.  I'll also pull together all the other curriculum and subjects that we'll be using and let you know about that adventure.  In the mean time, I pray this finds you blessed and please, if you join us on any of these items, let me know what you discover!

What we've been up to!

I would have to be honest and say, most days are good around here...we are able to find our blessings and remain positive; but, there are some days that aren't so good.  OR, let me be more specific, they can start off good, and then we can allow the enemy to steal our joy (John 10:10).

For the past week, we've been progressing well...we know our way around town now (for the most part), we have a house to move into (not until the 27th; but, the promise is there), the rash that the kids had is pretty much gone (only to be replaced by mosquito bites...oh well), we have a contract on our house in CO!  Hallelujah for so much blessing!

I then wonder why a childish meltdown, or a loss of power, or a fuel strike can get me down.  Why, and how, can I so quickly go from blessed and content, to grumpy and having a personal pity party?  I really need to pray more about this and continue to make choices to be thankful in ALL circumstances (1 Thes 5:8), to do EVERYTHING without complaining (Phil 2:14), to be the wise woman and BUILD UP my house and not tear it down with my own hands (Prov 14:1).

You know the old saying "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"....it really can ring true in most homes I think.  We, as wives and mothers, are daily responsible for setting the tone.  I can quickly turn and blame my children for the bad attitude that abounds, they are arguing, or fussing at each other and I get angry in response.  I have to remember that I'm the adult, I have plenty more years of experience than they do, I can't get sucked into their immature responses to change and being tired and not getting what they want,and then respond in kind.

Last night was a prime example of this phenomenon.

We had a wonderful day at South Beach with the Porter family and Holly...we had a BBQ, spent time playing in the surf on a private beach, celebrated Joshua's 8th birthday, it was super fun!  We came back up and hit quite a bit of traffic in town.  At first, I was good, I got out my Kindle and opened it to Proverbs and we spent about 30 minutes going over about 20 or so proverbs.  I would read them, ask the kids what they thought they meant, and then we would come up with examples from our own lives and what we could do to be the "wise man."  It was super pleasant.

We dropped the Porter family and Holly off at their house and set off for our own house.  The traffic wasn't good, it was 6:30, the kids were hungry, tired from a full day in the sun, and still had some sand on them.  Sissi decided she was itchy from the sand and began to scream and cry at us...it wasn't pretty.  Now granted, no nap (second day in a row), sun tired, hungry...I get it.  I was patient (at first), we chanted our Fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), we tried to play games, I even let Sissi come up front (something I would never have done in the US) and sit in my lap and I tried to cuddle her as she continued to alternately whine and then kick and yell at me.  I sang her songs, lullabies, prayed with and over her....we got home FINALLY at 8pm.  We raced through a quick shower and I got them some sandwiches, apples and chips.  Then bedtime...it wasn't fun at all, she was so overtired at this point.  I won't go into the details, but it went on until almost 11.  By about 10, I had lost it, I was now tired, grumpy, had other things to do, and just wanted her to be asleep.

The bad mood carried over to my sleep and I woke up this AM tired, still grumpy, and wondering why I felt this way.  Over the course of the morning, I made pancakes and got some quiet reading time in.  Indy and I sat on the bed and had a talk while the kids played and he said something that I've heard from so many other friends....sometimes, you have to make a CHOICE to be happy, you have to pray to the Lord that He will CHANGE your heart and allow you to make that CHOICE more easily.  I want to be happy with what I have, to be content in my circumstances.  Today, on the way to the grocery store (by myself, Indy kept the kids), I did just that....I prayed for God to change my heart, to help me to be happy where I am, to remind me when, and why He called us here!  Honestly, I feel better already!

Here's a devotion I found, from Joyce Meyer, about enjoying our life!
http://www.voiceofafricaradio.com/daily-devotions/125-we-are-meant-to-enjoy-our-lives-.html

And here are a few pictures of what we've been doing!

The School that Indy will be teaching at (HOPAC)

Our time at the beach

Making Sand Angels

One of the little tidal pools

Joshua and Krypto's feet in the water

My boys...we had 2 firsts yesterday...we got to chase sand crabs and ride on a ferry!

The house we're staying in right now

The yard where we are staying right now

The moon tonight, about 6:30pm local time

The First 10 Days...in Pictures

I thought I should finally clear off some of the pictures from my camera.  Hope you enjoy!  Love and miss you all on this AM that I fully intended to make pancakes for my family and then discovered that I couldn't plug my grain grinder or griddle into the transformer or adapters because one of the prongs is bigger than the other one.  That's pretty normal on most American appliances, so I feel yuck that I brought all of them and now can't use them...ahhh, need to look for another set of adapters, or another transformer maybe...but, in the meantime, SUPER frustrating!

The kids' play area in Heathrow Airport, the kids were so tired!

The boys asleep on the second flight

All dressed up at the Hanson house

The kids with Katie Ness, sister of Gwangi's Chief from Springfield

The Ness family when they were leaving to go back to Moshi....ahhh, we miss them!

The kids with Sarah at Sea Cliff

Some strawberries I bought, this handful was more than $2...it was 3,500 Tanzanian Shillings (tsh)

A shot of all the construction going on everywhere in Dar

One of the houses that we were shown.  They seem to be the two extremes, not so nice and super nice.  Still looking for the middle ground.

Family day at White Sands

A view of the beach at White Sands, you can see some of the islands in the distance

Sissi, walking on the beach

Walking toward the rock wall

The kids were appalled at the trash, we'll go back one day with a trash bag and pick some of it up.

The guest house that we were staying in at the Hanson/AG Compound.

Krypto woke up with red dots ALL over him this morning.  They are starting to fade after some Benadryl.  We looked up all the bug rashes on line, can't find one that really matches....he and Gwangi say that they heard buzzing all night long, so I think something was in there...not mosquitoes though.

A Week Already!

It's Tuesday night, we've been here a week!

There have been so many praises to report, the excess luggage not being charged, the kids traveling so well, the play area in London....  What I really need to focus on now is His Grace.  I tend to get overwhelmed and make these really hideously long to-do lists and then I get caught up in life and forget to sit down and do them (gasp! I know, this is me we're talking about here.)  Well, this week, I made a list and then a day later, when I sat down to take care of it, all but two things on it had already been accomplished.  I was literally amazed!  God has been providing for us in so many ways.  I need to remember that when I get tired and the kids are fussing because they are tired.  I need to remember that when I'm hungry because everything here takes twice as long, and the kids are fussing, because they are hungry, because everything here takes twice as long!

I am thankful for good friends already...the Ness family was amazing in hosting and mentoring us for the first few days.  Thank you Mike, Kari and Katie.  I am thankful for Laura and her family that are taking us under their wing and "adopting" us!!!  I am thankful for Amy and her family that have watched our kids, intervened for us when we've needed them and have given us so many good ideas already.  I am thankful for Holly and Natalie, our house mates here in Dar.  Their experience and help have been wonderful in getting around town.  I'm thankful for Charles and Tahnya, our new pastors, that have been helping us to get settled and showing us neat places to eat and take the kids to play.

So far, we've been able to get connected with the internet (as you can see), we've gotten new cell phones (let me know if you really want to call us internationally and I'll send you the number), we're using a vehicle from the AG mission, we're going to be house-sitting for a neat family for a month (thank you Freitas family) while we continue our house search on the further North side of town by HOPAC.  We've gotten plugged in at church this past Sunday, I think we're really going to enjoy going to "The Ocean".  We're trying to learn a few new Swahili words each day, which has been fun.  Today was "please" (tafadhali) and "excuse me" (kumradhi).  We try to use them during the day and review the whole list each day at bedtime and it makes for some fun time with the kids.

Today was productive too, we got to get gas for the first time by ourselves ;), we then went to Shoppers and registered our phones and tried to get cash...the machine was out.  There were two people that tried to get some before us, we were so glad it wasn't our card it choked on.  We then went up on the peninsula to get some cash because we knew there was a Barclay's by the Doubletree at Slipway.  We were successful and took that money over to the IST Clinic to pay our family membership.  We are now in the system and have medical care, should we ever need it.  We then found our way to the Porters' house with our map, yahoo!!!!  She took us to a place called "Funky's" which is a place to eat, a pool, and a kid's bounce castle play area.  It was fun and outside (most places seem to be outside) and the kids were distracted while we waited over an hour for our grilled cheese sandwiches and fish fingers.  This afternoon we had some quiet time, I tried to make mango bread...according to Krypto it's more like "exquisite mango pudding" (a son that knows how to give his mom compliments....I need to keep him around ;)), and then Gwangi decided that he wanted to cook dinner, just like Mama Christina (the house worker that helps the Hansons and lives here on the compound.)  He came up with cooking some garlic and onions in the pan with some oil, then we added broccoli and tomatoes, then some water and tomato sauce and put it over noodles, it was actually quite good and the kids ate it all.  Maybe we'll have another Master Chef on our hands...just be careful when you give him a knife, he almost cut my finger off trying to help with the tomatoes...so glad we have our membership at the IST Clinic as of today!

But, really, there are so many things that are different here, the bugs are everywhere (my sugar was moving the other day and the bag was still closed....argh), the prices are super high (we paid the equivalent of $2 for 2 baby heads of broccoli and over $2 for about a handful of strawberries...these things will have to become special treats, but during transition, I'm trying to provide their favorite foods), getting used to driving on the other side of the road and shifting a manual with your left hand....hard!  Learning a new language...interesting so far.  The different types of living conditions here are hard to understand, you can have Western style houses right across from people living in what we would call a shack with none of the usual conveniences.  I walked a block or two to a local "duka" (a hole in the wall shop that will sell fruit, veggies, cards) with Mama Christina the other day and was just shocked at all I saw as I was walking.  When you drive, so much of the "details" of the other way of life seems to pass you by.  When you walk, you are forced to take it all in, and at at times, it really isn't pretty.

I haven't taken many pictures yet, I've still been overwhelmed a bit and just trying to stay on top of the basics.  I'll try to get a few more shots in tomorrow.  We're going up to HOPAC to look at more houses, and then we're hoping for a family fun day on Thursday, maybe the beach.  The kids are so tired of all the errand running and just want to have some fun with us.  We're praying we can keep our promise and be as much fun as they're hoping we can be!!!

We so appreciate your prayers about our living here, still lots to work out; but, it's all coming together.  Please continue to lift us up for good rest, positive attitudes, a quick resolution to the housing situation here in Dar, the sale of our house in CO soon so we won't drain our budget here, etc.  We'll post some pictures soon!

Our Week in DC!

We have had an amazing week in DC so far.  We're exhausted, it's been a long two months since we've been able to live in our house, not have to repack a suitcase and the car every few days.  I am enjoying the time with our very good friends; but, most of me just wants to rest, to put my things in a drawer and to stay in my jammies all day!  I pray that I am still being a good friend, that the times we talk and share with others is still a blessing to them....like they've been a blessing to us.  I just want you all to know how much we love and appreciate you, we may not be the best at showing it this last week, as we are finishing up our time in the US and getting ready to get on the plane....  we love you guys....

This may look like a ton of pictures; but, I missed a few pretty major shots - there are no shots of Kristy and I, Kim Haes and I...Enjoy what we have here to share!

Slip and Slide at the Pryslak house

Woo-hoo Spencer!

Fun slide there Sissi

Coffee Night with my ROTC friend Kays

Meeting up at GORC park with our old sitter, Sam

Sam with the kiddos after a "baseball" game

Dinner at Medieval Times with the Rykiel family

Sissi and Gwangi

Jase, Krypto, Josh at dinner

Indy and Jay

The battle between the Knights

The final procession

Loretta, Jennifer and I at the BBQ on Sunday

A group shot

Ash Brid and I

Michelle Pryslak and I

Tony and Jeff P.

Indy, Bubbles, Sheila and Troy - I used to work with Sheila and Troy at 6 SOPS in Colorado Springs, CO

Loretta and I

My tired girl and I

Group shot at the Boyd's house

Pictures with Rachel and Spencer P.

Play time with the kids

Picture with Steve, Inna, Lizzie, and Lexie Boyd