Charis turns 11

Charis giving a presentation for one of school assignments. 

These girls argue with each other every day but also play together each day too.

Whenever I see this at the end of the hallway I know there is Lego building going on in the living room right thats right off of the hallway.

The girls has separated the blocks by color making it a whole lot easier to find the pieces they need.

Samara seems to have started a trend when she asked for pink hair extensions for her birthday that was earlier this month. Charis asked for blue.

Before.

During. In the laundry room. 

The lady that does the hair has a precious daughter she brings.

 

One of the only pictures I got of the birthday party.

Today is Charis`11th birthday. She asked for an Amazing Race themed birthday party- to be shared with Mariana (one of the interns who had a birthday 1 week ago). Charis and her sisters have been watching this show on Hulu (We have to use a VPN) and they have really gotten into cheering for their favorite teams and also have been  fascinated by the different cultural tasks that are done in each country. Jason and  I began the planning and decided to have this party happen at the farm. There were 6 teams of 2 and they each picked a color. Each team made up a fake story of who they were and recorded this while Jason and I set up everything. The teams did such a great job- here is the list of who the teams were and their relationship to each other. 

Team black: Samara and Nevaeh. One was "Le Brawn" the other "da Brains" together they made Le Brawn Brains. And then they shot a mini basketball 

Team Blue: Sam and Charis. They climbed a tree and said they are "on top" and that's how they would be throughout the race.

Team Olive Green: Marissa and Righteous. They were Ninja Women Warriors letting everyone know that they should not be underestimated.

Team Maroon: Abby and Tori- together they made "Maroon 2" One was a farm girl one was a rancher.

Team Purple: Mariana and Gail. Mariana was a Kenyan Momma and Gail was her daughter. At the end of their video Gail jumped on Mariana's back for a piggy back ride to start the race.

Team Orange: Andrew and David. They said they were brothers whose Dad passed away leaving them an inheritance of an orange farm. They went on to explain how opposite they were in all sorts of ways which was extremely hilarious. 

The race started and each team had to  complete a puzzle, pick a marked papaya, harvest vegetables, and one of the partners had to eat a whole onion, two cloves of garlic and a chili pepper. Jason bought a party package off the internet that gave us all the logos for the envelopes and clue papers to make everything look official like the show. Team purple- Mariana and Gail ended up winning by stepping on the mat first.  All in all it was a whole lot of work but very fun and successful. 

Mariana asked for a Mediterranean meal. Jason and I have never cooked this type of food before (except for hummus) but Jason was up for the challenge. 

The day before the party he soaked a kilo of dried chick peas in water and then pulverized them in our food processor. He added lots of seasonings and did a test run of frying a patty in oil- it was one delicious falafel! Then he kept the rest in the fridge so we could fry them fresh at the farm. Jason roasted a kilo of eggplant on the grill to make Baba ganoush (We had bought tahini last time we were in Nairobi) Jason made Taziki sauce finding all the ingredients for this locally. He cooked the couscous and chopped vegetables to put in it (bought the couscous last time we were in Nairobi) I made the hummus. Jason made a marinade for chicken souvlaki and then some interns helped us cut up raw veggies. It all turned out so good. Jason shared a plateful with some of the farm workers. They were mostly mystified by the raw vegetables! They eat a lot of vegetables in their meals but always cooked. 

I can't finish this blog unless I give the credit and praise to God for protecting and preserving Charis' life 11 years ago. She was born here in this house in Gtown, in the bathtub, 5 weeks early from when the doctor predicted. Last year she asked to be baptized on her birthday when we were in Virginia. Jason and I are a witness to her growing in her knowledge of who Christ is and having a desire to not allow her selfishness be her master. We love all four daughters He has entrusted to us and we are excited to watch and see the women they will become.

Charis with her new hairstyle completed.