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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Family News

While the work and ministry here in Tanzania moves on so does our family life. Sometimes time is moving too fast. It seems like the children are growing and changing so much everyday that we are overdue to update everyone on their progress. So here goes...

HANNAH: Hannah will be 7 years old in about 3 weeks! Boy does that make her mom and dad feel old. She lost her first tooth on Sunday--she didn't get her first tooth until she was 11 months old so we weren't surprised that she was so late to begin losing them. Hannah was so excited, laughing her head off while blood ran down her chin! She is doing wonderfully in school. She is homeschooled 2.5 days a week and is in the first grade. She also goes to our school at the Kweli Centre 2.5 days a week and is in Standard 1. She loves both schools and is learning so much. She is quite the little leader of her gang of girls at the Kweli Centre. It will be a rude awakening next year when we go to the States and she's not the novelty that she is here!

CALEB: Caleb's big news is that he can now ride his bike without training wheels! Every Monday is Steve's day off and he spends the afternoon playing with the kids. Steve suggested two weeks ago that they take off Caleb's training wheels (Caleb is 5) and we were surprised Caleb went for the idea! He did so great, and was very proud of the bumps, bruises, and cuts all over his legs. He will be amazed when we are in the States next year and he can ride on pavement instead of rocks and dirt--it will feel like glass to him! He also is doing well in K-5.

SARAH: Sarah is now 5 months old and weighs a whopping15.5 pounds! She has started eating cereal and bananas now, so we expect her to continue to fatten up. We wish she would sleep through the night, but it's hard to get frustrated with such an adorable child!

NATALIE: I continue to work at the school 2.5 days a week, and homeschool Hannah and Caleb the other days. I'm thankful for my sister-in-law, Tricia, who is a great help to me at school so I don't have to carry the load alone. The Kweli Centre is Sarah's second home, and she even has her own bed/playpen there. She's like the school mascot! We are still trying to have ladies meetings at church each month, and I teach Sunday school and Bible club once a month too. I am looking forward to going to Morogoro and Dar-es-Salaam for Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping in a few days! It's hard to believe the holidays are almost upon us again! The kids are excited about getting out the decorations this weekend.

STEVE: Steve continues to do more than I thought humanly possible--preaching, teaching, traveling, dealing with government things, communicating with supporting churches, etc., yet still makes time for his family. He carries a heavy load, but does a great job and we are so thankful for him.

2 comments:

Kjersti said...

What a lovely family!! We so miss you all and love to see pictures and read about your life. Little Sarah is so adorable:) Say hello to Hanna from Simen, and tell her that he also want to loose a teeth soon. And Caleb is so brave riding his bike!! I wish you a great safari to morogoro and Dar!!

May God bless the five of you!

all the best
Stensland family

momma said...

great family pictures!!

congrats to hannah on her tooth :)