Pregnant Pause?

OK - the title of this blog is just an attention getter. We are NOT pregnant. But we haven't written for a long time. There are probably many reasons for this (we can think of four two-legged reasons), but in part it's because our life in Cameroon has become normal and it doesn't always seem like there is much exciting to write about.

But looking back at the last 6 months, we have in fact experienced a lot, particularly as a family. In February we took a trip back to the States to visit family. Unfortunately, we were all quite sick for the first couple of weeks, and spent most of our time in Colorado in bed instead of on the slopes. Jeff and Elijah returned to Cameroon disappointed, but gratefully, Stacey, Noah, Caleb, and Ivy managed to enjoy a couple of weeks with the Bishops.

So Jeff began again to work toward the next vacation while Stacey and the boys tried to get as much school work in as possible. We planned a trip with Jeff's parents to Turkey in June. (Stacey will post a message about the Turkey trip along with photos soon.)

Greatest accomplishments so far in 2007:

Noah - Graduating from beginning horse riding ("voltige"), Noah now takes the reins each week in a semi-private lesson with his own horse. He gets the horse ready, walks and trots (French style) around the arena, and takes care of the horse afterwards. He loves it!

Caleb - Caleb has created some wonderful art recently, showing creativity, imagination and skill. He also improving his reading dramatically - largely motivated by his desire to understand our Calvin and Hobbes books!

Elijah - Early in the new year, Elijah decided to start wearing big boy underwear. Nearly overnight he was potty trained - much to his parents' delight! He talks in long never ending paragraphs about anything and everything. As a two-year-old, he's as much fun as he is trouble!

Ivy - Every week seems to offer something new from Ivy. She took her first steps a couple of weeks ago, and is getting more and more comfortable upright. She has established very definite preferences for family members - Mom is at the top, followed by Noah and Caleb, with Elijah and Dad trying to avoid being at the bottom. If Stacey is away, she'll take Jeff without problem, but as soon as she sees Stacey she insists on being attached to her hip. She's growing fast, but still has hardly any hair!

Jeff - Jeff is just glad that he hasn't been declared persona non grata by the Cameroonian government and kicked out of the country. He's increasingly frustrated by the corruption and mismanagement and finds it increasingly difficult to keep his opinions to himself.

Stacey - Stacey (with some help from the boys) painted the living and dining rooms in bright colors, making the house even more of a home. She has instilled a love of history in the boys through lessons on the Pharaohs, Greek mythology, and Old Testament history. She keeps us all together - which is an enormous accomplishment!

We'll try to keep this up more often in the future. Look for our report on Turkey in the next few days. We love hearing from family and friends, so don't hesitate to drop us a line!