Daniel finally writes a blog... (but Libby chooses the title)

Hello All

As Libby has pointed out, it's been a while since I have contributed to the blog. This is partly because life has been a bit manic, and partly because, despite the manicness, there has not been a lot going on that is worthy of publication. Work has been very busy with all the additional flying towards the end of last year as a result of our assistance with the famine relief effort (which continues). In addition we are still working on building our capacity in Juba so that we can increase the flying in South Sudan more efficiently. At the moment we have Nairobi-based pilots rotating through Juba on a weekly basis, and several rotating short-term staff helping out with operations and administration. We are hoping that in time we will have a full complement of staff and the accommodations and infrastructure to support them. All means lots of work...

In addition I am trying to get ahead of myself at work, and trying to set things up so I can work remotely. This is because we will be returning to the UK for 4 months at the beginning of April. Number four is due at the end of June, and given Libby's history with pregnancies and births we have decided it is prudent to not test the Kenyan medical facilities to their limits... :)

So we will be in the UK for the longest we have been since 2006 - which should be an interesting experience! It willl be interesting to see how the kids (and us) adapt to 'normal' UK life, albeit for a short period. Although we will probably not be up for a great deal of travelling we hope to catch up with as many of you as possible. We would be grateful for prayer for all the logistics of packing up here; travelling to the UK, and setting up a short-term life in the UK!

Incidentally, this is our 600th blog post since we started way back in 2005 - and according to our statistics we are just short of 10,000 page views - thank you all for your continued attention and support, especially in the times when we are short of inspiration!

Classic Caleb, age 7

I love the conversations I have with Caleb.

Yesterday before bed.

Caleb: “ Mummy, do you know the difference between Ninjas and spies?”

Caleb: Mummy, do you know how to draw a Ninja? Would you like me to show you?

This morning at 6:30am Caleb climbs into bed with me. Being such a nice little boy, you would think that he would say, "good morning mummy, how are you". Alas, all pleasantries ignored he cuts straight to the chase,

Caleb: "Mummy, why haven't I ever held a chicken head skeleton?".

Me: (Thinking) Good morning to you to Caleb.

Me: I’m not quite sure, you just haven’t. (failed again as a mother)

Caleb: "Mummy"

Me: Yes Caleb"

Caleb: “Can I take a chicken head to school today for show and tell?”

Me: “ No Caleb, I don’t have any chicken heads, how about you take your alien instead?”

Caleb: “Mummy”

Me: “Yes Caleb”

Caleb: “What I would really like is to hold a chicken without its head on and see what it does”.

Me: “It won’t do anything, it will be dead”

Caleb: “Yes but chickens sometimes move a bit after their heads are cut off”


Caleb wonders off to go and see if he can annoy Bethany.

A bit later.

Caleb: “Mummy”

Me: “Yes Caleb”

Caleb: “ Why are the Somalis trying to blow me up?

He reminds me of Calvin as in Calvin and Hobbes.