Spoiled Americans at Heart

First, I must say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our precious daughter, Elly, who is 2 today. We are sad to miss her big day, but we are thankful that she's too young to even know what a birthday is :) We'll make up for it once we're home.

Now for the update:

Today was a break from the daily grind. We woke up to the power being turned off, which means no hot water, no electricity, and no internet. What's a girl to do?

Luckily, before I had time to get grouchy, our translator showed up, and we set out to run some errands. First we went by the airlines to adjust our tickets. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to make our Sunday return flight, so we have tentatively bumped them back to Friday the 8th, though we are hoping for sooner. Please pray that the DGM process is efficient and swift so that we can get home.

Following the airlines, we went to a grocery store near the Embassy. I broke out into a big smile upon first entrance...There were rows of food, and eveything from motorcycles to toys to diapers for purchase. Kinshasa's form of WalMart. We loaded up on water (which is $3 per large bottle at the hotel) and pop ($2 at MaCampagne) along with other goodies...some healthy and some not :)

To top off the morning, we went to N'Ice, a local ice cream shop. For those who don't know....I LOVE ice cream. It was awesome! Andy and I both got two scoops. I opted for mint chocolate chip and Obama cookie (which was double chocolate). Sidenote: They LOVE Obama here...people wear Obama t-shirts and can't fathom that an American wouldn't vote for him, which might appall my father-in-law.

Yesterday was rough around here because there was nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one was working on our papers because DGM was closed for Independence Day. But God's mercies are new every morning, and this morning was a treat.

Additional thoughts from Congo:
--We are RICH. I don't think of myself as rich. We will never make 6 figures...we drive Kias...and we shop at Meijer, but nevertheless, we are rich. The fact that we have white skin in Kinshasa makes us elite. To tell people that we are staying at MaCampagne is to say that we are rich. (It is nice here, but certainly not nearly as nice as most hotels in America) In comparison with most of the world, you and I are rich. And it is easy to forget that most live with infinitely less, especially when the US is our standard instead of the World. The question then becomes, what will we do with the vast wealth that we have been given?

--The Kids:
Mercy has received medicine for various types of intestinal worms and parasites and is on the mend. She no longer blows out of 2+ outfits per day! She is the easiest baby and rarely makes a peep, though she's starting to exert herself a bit more in recent days. She's sweet but fiesty and very mobile. She will push up on all fours, like a pushup position and then drop down on her belly and do the Superwoman move. She is really really close to crawling, which worries me because she's so quiet. I'll have to have an eagle eye on her or else she'll be into all kinds of stuff without my knowing :)

We have been trying to come up with a good nickname for Silas. Among the options are: Bubba, Tubby, Buster, Big Boy, Chunky, and our personal favorite Jumbotron. Needless to say...he's huge! He was held a lot I believe, so he requires more than sweet little Mercy, who is half his size. My arms are tired!! The good news is that he's getting a bit better at putting himself to sleep instead of needing to be rocked and he is usually really smiley. I think that once he can stand up to cruise around and is able to stop compulsively itching all the time, he is going to be in heaven! (We have applied cream for scabies but the crazy itching continues. His diaper rash is also better, but will quickly bleed if we let him try to scratch...so sad) We have been working on clapping and he has the Miss America wave down :)

Neither kid has eaten many solids. We have been trying to introduce them each day as a I brought rice cereal, squash and sweet potatoes, but what they really need are puffs and other goodies to munch on throughout the day. As it stands, Silas is consuming MASSIVE quantities of formula...we are bumping down to 6oz bottles instead of 8 b/c he was drinking 56oz of formula per day, which is enough for 2 babies! He hasn't seemed to mind.

We will keep you posted on our paperwork. Pray that we can come home sooner than expected. We are more than ready!