School uniforms make everything a little more challenging in the morning. First graders don’t really get the concept of a belt, and it doesn’t seem to be catching on very quickly. With uniforms comes uniformity. However, a loud pair of socks and the universal dress/casual/all-around Chuck Taylor’s kicks that out the window.

By the way, Erin cut all of her hair off. I call it her movie star hair. She calls it her 5-minute-to-get-ready-mommy-hair. Either way, I dig it.

This also happens to be the first year the twins are in separate classrooms. Catherine came home after the first day and said, “I think it was a great idea to put us in different classrooms.” Thanks for approving, Catherine.

Next, it was Sophie’s turn to go to school. She has been majorly excited about school, and she was very disappointed to learn that she would only be going three days a week. I am not sure that her teacher has heard her speak yet, but she sure talks about it when she gets home.

You can buy them here.

]]> http://www.6kennedys.com/?feed=rss2&p=178 0 http://www.6kennedys.com/?p=159 http://www.6kennedys.com/?p=159#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 11:46:00 +0000 Zach Kennedy http://www.6kennedys.com/?p=159 Hope you are enjoying the series. If you haven’t gone to puremission.org yet, go this week and click “LIKE” on the facebook section. A donor has agreed to give $1 to Esther’s House Orphanage for every “LIKE” up to 10,000. The deadline is Sunday, and it is a simple way to send a dollar to Esther’s House.

Here is the second episode if you missed it.

If you haven’t seen the first episode yet, here it is. Episode 2 is coming up on Sunday, and it deals with how we settled into life in Africa, if you ever really settle in. Honestly, just living in a third world country takes up so much of your time and energy that there is never an opportunity to really get settled. At least not in the two months that we were there.

There are no restaurants, no grocery stores with everything in one place, no local supply of mac n cheese. Everything took four or five stops to find, and then several more hours to prepare. That was if the power stayed on the whole time. We definitely returned with a new respect for those on the mission field in the most challenging places, giving their lives to share the gospel. It takes a strong heart and a lot of patience. And in those challenging places, you realize how little patience you actually have within you. It can bring out the best in you, or expose the worst. Most days, it did both.

The more we get into the editing of the footage the more I am reminded how much I miss our Malawian friends. We hope to go back soon, though this time without all the kids!

By the way, this post is coming to you from the Greatest City in the World as Erin and I are getting some much needed time away. Big thanks to Grammy and Lovey for watching the kids for a few days. You are the best!

Here is a quick taste of what is coming tomorrow. We created one minute spots on the kids we care for at Esther’s House and will feature their stories on the show. Here is the story of Linda.

For now, here is a short promo that includes some of the footage from the pilot episode.

Now for the story:

Erin called me at work this afternoon.
“Hey, how is your afternoon?”
“Things are going well, you?”
“Do you have a hand saw?”
“Why would you need a hand saw?”
“To cut Sophie out of the chair she is stuck in.”

I drove home as fast as I could and here is what I found.

We walked her out to the garage so we wouldn’t get sawdust all over the house. I chose to use a jig saw as it was much less intimidating than a huge hand saw.

We are still not sure how she got into the chair like that. And, knowing Sophie, it wouldn’t surprise me if she managed to do it again.