Halloween in Cameroon 2013

It has been a while since I posted, this seems the constant litany every time I create a blog post. Honestly, I am not keeping our life here in Cameroon a secret. I am happy to share all the exciting details of our life with our family and friends, and the blogosphere at-large. But that is just it, most of life is simply not exciting. 

We work, Sofia goes to school, I cook dinner, Sofia does homework, Al fixes stuff, kills bugs, and plays his video game. That is the regular pattern of our life. It really isn't so different than the life you lead back in the USA, or elsewhere in the world. Yes, we have to be more creative with ingredients for cooking and yes, we worry about things like whether we will have water and how many times the generator will run today, but all in all, our life is pretty simple and boring.

This week, however, was Halloween. In the US, most people went trick-or-treating on Thursday evening. I hear that most of the country was soaked with rain and I am so sorry that the weather may have ruined the fun for lots of kids. Since Cameroon doesn't recognize Halloween, which is a decidedly American custom, we decided to have our Halloween fun on Friday night. This is just easier for everyone involved, since the kids don't need to be in bed early for school the next day. This is especially nice, since they ate a lot of candy.

Sofia and her friends had a great time trick-or-treating throughout the embassy. She and her daddy made excellent pirates! Arghhh, have a look at some great pictures.

Arghh mateys...where be your buried treasure?

My happy pirates

En guard

This is a face full of mischief!

Thar' she blows....

Pretty Pink Pirate

Halloween is fun with friends!

Sofia and her friend Rachel acting silly!

She looks so serious and so beautiful!

We had a great time with Halloween and when I was downloading the pictures, I found some others that I had taken previously. I will leave you with a few final shots of Sofia.

Until next time......

Sofia's 8th Birthday

We celebrated Sofia's 8th birthday yesterday and it was an excellent party! Sofia had a swim party and she invited many of her friends from school. We had a butterfly theme including a piñata. For everyone who sent gifts, thank you. She has enjoyed playing with her new toys and games.This is evidenced by the fact that they are strewn all over the house right now. 

We had some great Mexican food and good company and her father and I are worn out. It was a truly excellent day! Please enjoy the pictures below.

Sofia showing off her new mosaic butterfly and new golf clothes!

Alberto working the grill to cook the fajitas.

Sofia's rainbow birthday cake

Sofia loved her friends singing to her

Enjoying the cupcakes

Piñata time

Lots of presents

A new monkey to add to the family

Sofia had a great birthday!

A rainbow to bless our birthday girl, right over our house.

Happy Birthday to sweet Sofia!

Easter time...almost

I apologize to everyone right up front. I haven't posted in over a month and I am sorry. Things here are so blissfully normal, that I can't usually think up much to post. We are preparing for Sofia's 8th birthday next weekend and also Easter and the start of her spring break.

Work is work and we are very busy preparing for evaluation season, award season, and several other important deadline driven things. Alberto is busy with work, taking guitar lessons, and has considered playing soccer. He is enjoying the Cameroon-Togo match at the stadium, as I type.

Already plans are underway for our summer R&R trip and I must admit, I am ready for a break. It will be nice to see our family and friends.

I am currently making yogurt, in the crock-pot. For everyone who is following our African adventure, you will know that I have gotten very domestic since coming to Cameroon. I have made sour cream, pizza dough, ice cream, bread, and cinnamon rolls from scratch. Now, I am giving yogurt a shot. I will let everyone know how it goes.

To conclude this post, of course, I have some great pictures of Sofia to share!

Sofia in her new Easter dress.

Sofia with Al before he transformed all the way into the Easter bunny!

Sofia in her Easter dress with her basket.

Honestly, Al makes kind of a creepy Easter bunny, but the kids loved it.

That's all folks. Until next time...

Happy New Year

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! I have been fairly absent from posting because we have been busy enjoying our first major holiday abroad. Christmas was fairly quiet and we spent the morning checking out the neat stuff Santa Claus brought. Sofia enjoyed all her gifts especially the Mermaid Tail from Santa and all the fun new projects from Lita and Buela. Here are some pictures from Christmas morning.

Yes, that is a real mermaid tail!

New Year's Eve was lots of fun! We went to a party that had great music and great friends. We danced and rang in the New Year with our new friends here in Cameroon!

We also took a trip to Kribi, which is a small beach town on the Gulf of Guinea. We enjoyed swimming at the beach and ate lots of seafood. Here are a couple of pictures from that weekend.

We had such a great time at the beach and are already planning when we can go back.

Life pretty much gets back to normal this week, so I will post an update as soon as we have something new to share.

Until next time...

Christmas and Hope

I am sitting here this morning, far away from home, listening to Christmas music, air conditioner blasting since it is already warming up outside and thinking about blessings and hope. Most of you who read this know that I don't usually have deep thoughts and opinions here. However, I think today is going to have a bit of both.

I am blessed to have the opportunity to pursue a career that challenges me and pays me on time. So many people are without work, without prospects, and without hope.

However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him.

1 Corinthians 7:17

I am blessed to be in a place where although life is hard, family is important. Time is spent focused on making the best of the situation and loving each other. I get to spend real, quality time with my husband and daughter. So many people don't know the love of God and the love of family, or have hope that there is something better.

For the Lord is good, and His love eternal; His faithfulness ensures through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

 I am blessed that I have a family at home that loves and supports me in my choices. Although we are far apart this Christmas, I know that I am always in their hearts and minds. I know that best wishes are sent to me and mine each day. My family is without us this Christmas, but they are not without us for all time. So many people will never see their children, father, or mother again. They will never have another hug, kiss, or phone call from their loved ones.

For everyone who still has their loved ones near, give them lots of hugs and tell them how much they mean to you during this Christmas season. And when it is no longer Christmas season, tell them again, because love is not just for the holidays it is for all days.

And now, enough deep thinking. I leave you with a picture of my sweet girl. We love and miss everyone at home. 

Have a Merry Christmas!

Halloween in Africa

So it is our first holiday in Africa...Halloween. You might say, what is Halloween like in Cameroon? Well, for Cameroonians, Halloween is not anything. No one recognizes it and the ghosts and ghouls creep them out. But for the American community from the embassy, it was pretty much business as usual. We had superman, transformers, princesses, Minnie Mouse, and my personal favorite, a beautiful ballerina. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Sofia from Halloween this year. 

By the way, we celebrated it yesterday, Saturday, October 26th, because Halloween falls on Wednesday and there was no way to decorate the haunted house in the middle of the week. So here are the pictures of my beautiful ballerina!

We were trying for an action shot. Leap!

Leap!

This is one of my favorites

And now for the truly frightening portion of our program. Al's costume....

So Halloween, before Halloween was fun. Sofia had a great time and the kids got plenty of candy. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the Africa version will be different but still great. I have a turkey, green bean casserole, and who knows, I may actually make pumpkin pie. I haven't ever done that. 


Until next time...