Sorry that it has been so long for those of you who are reading this.  We have been busy these past few weeks trying to get all settled in.

It looks like Wood Inc. is all sorted as they say here.  We are now running a small business just to take care of our family.  Everson is our new gardener.  His mother is Annie who used to be Eastons nanny.  He is a very nice man and he has been busy cleaning up our yard, a key job he has is running down into the village to buy me cokes I am out.  He does that because we still don’t have a car, which is a whole nother story.  Our cook is a man named John.  He was a cook for 20 years at the university here in Malawi.  He thinks we are crazy about half the time for the way that we want him to cook.  But Easton loves his cooking.  He has started to eat so much food since our return to Malawi.  We now realize that Easton just didn’t like the ethnic American food we were trying to feed him.  Dorothy is Gracie’s nanny.  She is a very sweet lady, she was a nanny for another teacher for like 16 years.  But their kids were all grown so she was looking for another job as a nanny.  Easton was a little hesitant at first but now he loves seeing her after school.  We also have a guard at our house, but he technically works for a security company and we are often getting new guards.

(Easton and Gracie playing with Dorothy)

We are starting now feel more settled into life back in Malawi.  We are learning to live with frequent water shortages and frequent power cuts.  Easton is quickly learning about these things.  The first few times the power went out he would get scared in the sudden darkness.  But now he just announces that there is no power and says that he needs a candle.  We are still looking for the right car to buy.  There isn’t used car lots or craigslist, so you need to look in the newspaper or look for signs on cars.  Not having a car is difficult here.  We have to rely on people to give us rides to go shopping, this isn’t a quick trip because you often have to go to four different grocery stores to get the best prices and to get everything you need.  So it becomes an all afternoon event.  We have to walk back and forth to school, on most days we get rides, but when we don’t it is a long .63 mile walk. 

Easton has been begging us to take him to Africa to see the animals.  When you try to tell him that he lives in Africa he says “no I live in Malawi.”  So this weekend we took him to a game park called Majete.  It was a great day trip with friends.  We got to see at least 20 elephants, a number of Sable, Impala, Kudu, Warthogs, Baboons, and Hippos.  That night Easton fell asleep at 5:15 on my lap and slept for 12 hours so I think he enjoyed it.  There is so much more to talk about, I will try to update soon I promise.

Easton and Dad looking at Elephants from a hide in the trees.  Gracie in her Giraffe print top.  You can see the elephants in the background.