Well, December has arrived and is passing too quickly. Jeff successfully turned 33 and was thrilled to get the birthday present he's been dreaming of for years - the complete 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary. Jeff could never decide between the hard copy and the searchable CD-ROM version, but now there's no question. He's already enjoyed a few hours curled up with the OED browsing etymologies, linkages to other languages, and obscure meanings.
This week we finally received our van. It was packed in a container and sent via ship from Baltimore to Douala, Cameroon, and then by truck to Yaounde. You can imagine our relief that it made it safely here. Jeff still loves the old Tercel (which he will now get to drive every day) but Stacey is thrilled to have the space and comfort she knows she deserves. Hopefully, we'll take our first road trip soon to see the beach.
We had a Friday night movie party recently. We cleared out a big space in the living room, set up the projector and invited two families from the Embassy to join us at our house. The Swaneys have three boys (ages 7, 5, 2) and the Sousas have four boys (ages 6, 4, 2, and baby). It was exciting (fun?) to have ten boys all piled up on the floor watching the Incredibles and eating popcorn. Ivy just tried to stay out of it all! It is really great having these families here in Yaounde.
We've gotten hooked on two TV shows recently. Stacey bought the complete series (all 7 seasons) of The West Wing, and we've been watching an episode (or two) almost every night. Jeff is just as shocked at Stacey's crush on Rob Lowe as he is at her shameless support of the liberal policies the show espouses. But it is great TV nonetheless. The other show is not such great TV, but we like it anyway. When we watch Deal or No Deal on our Armed Forces Network TV, Elijah yells out, "No Deal! No Deal!" Noah and Caleb analyze each move carefully, and (like all game shows) we always wind up doing better on the coach than the contestant on the show. Caleb gave Jeff a Deal or No Deal board game for his birthday, and so far we've all won a great deal of brightly colored one-sided money.
We set up our artificial Christmas tree, put on Christmas music, and set the A/C as low as it would go just to try to feel a little Christmas-y. It's working. Tonight Jeff told the boys they could read or play, but had to stay in their room. We just needed a break for a few minutes. Noah grinned knowingly, and said, "Oh, you're going to be wrapping presents!" We didn't deny it, and it kept them in their room for a while at least! We know our Christmas won't be white, and we're really going to miss our families, but we're looking forward to the holiday. Jeff has been working with Primary and the branch choir on the Christmas Eve sacrament program. Stacey shared two of our artifical Christmas trees with a couple of families who didn't have one (finally answering Jeff's question - why are you buying Christmas trees when we already have one?). She's finished her online shopping spree, and is now ready to focus on Christmas baking.
Finally, an update on our German Shepherd, Mchanga. Last week we gave her a strong dose of de-worming medication, and she seems to be improving slightly. We'll take her in again next week for another dose, just to make sure we got it all. Hopefully she'll start gaining weight soon. Her coat is doing a lot better, and she seems to be a little peppier, so we're hopeful.
We hope family and friends are enjoying the cold and snow this season. We're not really missing it, but we do miss you all a lot!
