America so far...

Well, its been a stupidly long time since we last blogged.  We didn’t choose the best time to start since we were just about to head back to the States.  So here’s the quick update on our last few weeks.  We’ve been back in the States for a couple of weeks now.  We spent the first week at the beach with my (Lauren’s) parents.  Right after we got back Graham got sick so much of this week has been spent taking care of him, but he’s better now and we’ve finally been able to catch up with some friends.

Here are some random observations I’ve had since we got back.

1. I’d forgotten what it was like to be in the south and hear the things southerners say in pretty funny accents.  Mostly it just makes me smile, but I do get tired of being asked, “So how ya’ll like over thair?” which is usually followed up with the ever insightful, “ya’ll must like it pretty good.”
2. I really, really liked watching Graham play with his cousins.
3. Kenyan bananas are way better than American bananas.  I’m especially missing the little short ones.  I miss mangoes too, but it’s a fair trade off to be able to eat blueberries.
4. Both of our parents remodeled while we were gone so I’ve thought a lot about how nice it would be to own a home, remodeled or not.
5. Today I went to get my drivers license renewed, it took 20 minutes.  Kim filed for my Kenyan license 2 months ago, its ready now but I still have to sign my life away for Kim to be able to collect it for me.
6. We are getting old.  The other day we went to Cracker Barrell, just the 3 of us.  No one over 60 was involved.
7. America has gotten bigger.  I was in a gas station on our way back from the beach and the Pringles cans were bigger and all the candy bars were king size.  At McDonalds all the drinks are $1, no matter what size.  Just give me a small for 79 cents, that’s all I need.
8. My parents water their lawn, there’s certainly nothing morally wrong with that.  In fact, I’m glad they have finally been able to get their yard in the shape they’ve always wanted it in.  But I don’t remember the last time I had water to take a shower at home, and I’m not even one of the ones who knows what it means to suffer from the water shortage.  A friend told me its predicted that the majority of the worlds’ wars in the next century would be fought over water.  Its really not that hard for me to believe.  I’m rambling, but I just wasn’t expecting water to be a source of culture shock.

So there you have a bit of life as we know it right now.  Thanks so much for thinking about us and praying for us as we transition home for a short time.  We’ll try to do a better job of keeping the blog updated now that we are settled down a bit!