This month has been extra rainy!  What we missed last December we are making up for now, with swirling storm clouds and a few extra nights of little boys creeping into bed with us when the thunder gets too loud.  Some of the old trees in our neighborhood have succumbed to the wind and lightening and it’s fascinating to see inside those monstrous branches, where the termites have hollowed out the wood and replaced it with mud.  What you see on the outside does not reflect the inside at all!  I guess you should never judge a tree by its bark.

Eli and Jake are busy with school and friends and doing things that little boys do.  They’ve started new after-school activities.  Jake does track and field, Eli does T-Ball, and they both are doing field hockey and karate.  Jake comes home full of energy to show us the moves he’s learning, and Eli comes home full of stories about the other kids and reports who got in trouble and why.  The difference in their take-away from school is really amazing!  So much for twins being similar.  It sort of blows a hole through the Nature vs. Nurture debate.  Each of our kids is clearly touching a different part of the elephant.

Jake:  “I just organized my room Mom!  I love organizing things!”

Eli:  “I’ve notice that some people like organization.  I’m not one of them, I don’t care if things are messy.”

There are my guys eating cream puffs.  They turned out good!  All creamy and puffy.

The Lego obsession continues, along with Shopkins, Little House books (we’re reading Farmer Boy now), and magnifying glasses that burn holes in things.

Jake is always typing, reading, and fiddling with the iPad.  Eli spends his time turning trashy bits of paper and aluminum foil into whatever is on his mind.  This week he froze water into an ice skating rink for a plastic penguin, and made a vacuum cleaner.

Mike has been busy doing everything.  Work, poker, taxes, freelance graphics, training for a triathalon, and coaching soccer on the side.

It has been a busy spring!  And yet in the back of our minds, we know we are leaving Zambia soon, which makes us extra committed to staying present each day that we’re here.  There are still friends to enjoy and sundowners to be had, and sunshine streaming through our windows in the morning.  We even discovered a new place with paddle boats.

And as I clean out closets getting ready for our move, and plan journeys in my head to all the wonderful places we’ll get to visit when we move to Austria, I know that Zambia has already taken root in the deepest part of my heart.  This country is where my little boys became kids.  Those precious years full of learning when everything is new, when it’s fun to go camping because you get to eat Froot Loops and pee on rocks.  Where a classroom of 8-year olds falls in love with Paul Simon just like their parents and grandparents, because they understand what it means to be Under African Skies.  Where we ride bikes outside and dig holes in the dirt, and don’t even know that the TV could work without Netflix.

Not saying good-bye to Zambia yet.  Not until you make us!  And in the end, not ever.