he made it!

kev called last night and he made it to the top! the cell network wasn't very good where he was so we didn't get to talk long, but he said they were doing good. last night was their last night on the mountain. today, he'll come the rest of the way down and then stay at a hotel about 40 minutes from the ending gate (the same one he stayed at before the climb). tomorrow morning, they'll take a bus back to nairobi where he'll stay w/ some friends from jbu before coming home on thursday. we're excited to see him! i keep reminding myself that he's going to be really tired when he gets home.

the kids are doing well. we've still been doing school while kev's been gone but it hasn't been as intense (as intense as kindergarten and pre-school can be?!?!). we've enjoyed the continued routine to our day.

after the weekend of it just being the kids and i, it's nice to have jackline around as well. she did some grocery shopping for me this morning before coming to work. i think some people regularly have their househelper do shopping for them, but we haven't. it was so nice though to not have to figure out when i was going to get to town. cyrus, my language helper, has also decided that since my mom will be here, i won't get in as much swahili so he had me meet w/ him yesterday in addition to today and tomorrow this week. again, it's nice to have someone else around. the kids also enjoy cyrus.

yesterday, jboy told jackline about easter eggs. during lunch, she said, "so john is telling me that easter has something to do w/ eggs?" i got to explain the US commercialism of easter to jackline and cyrus. cyrus always thinks the word bunny is funny (i'm not sure why) so he really got a kick out of the easter bunny.

he called

so kev called tonight. i talked to him for less than a minute when he asked me to call him back. i tried, but it won't go through. i was hoping he'd called back but it didn't happen. however, he sounded really good and it was nice to hear his voice.

today, he had a special treat for us hidden in the wardrobe, behind his shoes. it took awhile for the kids to find all of it, but when they did, there was a chocolate bar (a fruit and nut cadbury bar!), two apple juice boxes, a bottle of strawberry fanta, and a movie (tangled). Fridays are pizza and movie nights so he said he had something special for our night. we also drink soda with dinner, well, J-boy and kev and i do (e doesn't like it) so the strawberry fanta is a new soda for us and j-boy enjoyed it. e usually drinks juice so we assumed the apple juice boxes were for her and m. the movie was a hit and one e and i had been wanting to see. so, we enjoyed our pizza and movie night and talked about how much we missed daddy.

on his climb today, kev will have gone higher than he's ever gone. tonight he will sleep at just over 14,000 feet. tomorrow is an acclimation day so he'll hike up and then sleep at the same place he is tonight. kev says hiking high and sleeping low is good for acclimating!?!?!

again, it was good to hear his voice and he seemed to be doing good (in the less than one minute we talked :) )

thanks for the prayers for the kids and i. we are doing well. tomorrow, we will go to a friends house for awhile in the morning and then have been invited over to our kenyan teammates house for dinner. it will be a busy day, but it looks like we should get naps w/ no problem!

no answer

i talked w/ kevin last night after receiving a text from our teammate katie saying "kevin's out of credit. he loves you." he can still receive texts and calls but he can't send any or make any. he said i should try and call him everyday at 7pm and he'd have his phone on. we read that some places on the mountain have coverage. i tried at 7pm...no answer, no ringing actually which means either he forgot to turn his phone on or there's no coverage where he is tonight.

he's climbing the rongai route incase anyone wants to follow along online. today, he drove from the hotel to the route gate (about 4-5 hours) and then hiked for about 3-4 hours. he should be just through the rain forest area tonight and camping at about 9,300ft. he did find a sleeping bag to rent in moshi and they're camping in tents.

tonight, i had no idea what to make for dinner (this is a frequent occurrence here in kenya). i was looking through the cabinets and saw the popcorn kernels. kev really doesn't like having popcorn for dinner; however, the kids and i do. i suggest popcorn and the kids yelled w/ delight..sweet! we had popcorn....and coke floats for dinner tonight. it was so good. i suggested maybe having it again while daddy's gone and the kids thought that sounded great! awesome! our teammates, tim and liz, are bringing dinner over tomorrow night and friday's pizza night so my next two nights are covered!

we're missing kev lots and m keeps asking where he is and if he's home. we made a countdown today and j-boy keeps referring to today as day 8...meaning we have 8 days until daddy's home. we can't wait!

the adventure continues...

kevin's in moshi, tz today, spending time in town and hoping to find the last of his needed gear. he said it is much warmer there and he had to sleep on top of the covers last night. he's hoping tonight is a bit cooler. he will leave tomorrow morning for a short drive to the entrance gate where he'll get checked in and then begin his climb.

he left a journal for the kids and i to read while he's gone and to record our daily activities for him to read when he gets back. he tells us what he'll be doing each day and then gives the kids a challenge or something to think about that has to do with what he'll be experiencing that day. he's also left "special treats" for us around the house. today, the journal said to find a package in his bottom dresser drawer. we found three small chocolate bars and one big cashew and coconut cadbury bar. these were our after lunch treats (except for mine...it's more than a one sitting treat). he also wrote something special that he's praying for each day. he was so thoughtful and took time to make this time special for us as well. regardless, we are missing him and ready for him to be home. :)

i'm not able to talk with kev on the phone but we've decided we'll text a couple times each day and see how long we can do that before kev's phone credit runs out. therefore, we send these extremely long texts and try and give as much information as possible w/o being able to ask questions. kev said he's met a lot of really neat people at the hotel where they're staying.

tonight we are going to our teammates house for dinner and then having dinner w/ other teammates on thursday night. this week, we have teammates in town; however, one family is leaving for furlough this coming weekend and the others are going on vacation, so next week, we'll be alone.

kevin's gone for an adventure

kev left today for mt. kilimanjaro. he'll get home march 22...in 11 days. he's super excited and we're super excited for him to come home, show us his pictures, and tell us all about it.

in the mean time, we will track his journey on the internet, watch the weather reports for the mountain, and read the daily journal he left for us. today, he wrote us a short note and told us to find a surprise behind the TV. we were all excited to find two bags of candies!

today marks 11 weeks pregnant with #4. i'm feeling pretty tired still and try to nap every afternoon. my nausea is pretty limited to the late afternoon and evening. i've only gotten sick a few times, thankfully. i'm also trying to continue my language while kev's gone as well as schooling with the kids.

last week, we had a bit of a break from school as e was out sick for three days. she seems to be doing better although her appetite isn't back to normal yet.

we'd appreciate prayers over the next week and a half for safety and protection for all of us. pray for good health and rest as well. pray for patience for me as i care for the kids. pray for peace between the kids and extra obedient hearts. pray for kev to connect with God as he enjoys His beautiful creation.