So I Have to Reach Real Big to Hug Them

The other day I had this sudden strange realization that (right now) our little family of six is spread out over three continents. Byron and I are here in Spain, Colin and Heather are home in Tanzania (with the outstanding Russell family,) and Jesse and Trevor are in the States. Weird!

I'm missing them all these last couple of days :-( Last night the worship started up and I immediately felt worse! Ha! Doesn't that sound bad? Well, if it's only a guitar that plays then I'm usually pretty fine. When it's guitar and djembe, I have a little melt down. It is part of the soundtrack of our lives to have Jesse, Trevor and Colin playing guitar and djembe together.

I never have the right words for musical things but I can tell you that Trevor's guitar has a rich and sparkly sound under his fingers. Jesse has graceful, strong hands on the djembe. Colin has a quick, firm but light touch on his djembe.

So I have to "get over" a rush of emotion when I hear those sounds together as it just brings up in me a longing to be with the boys. Mixed with that is the memory of many sweet times with our community in Lisbon, the Lisboa Matrix. Sigh.

And then there's Heather. I miss hearing Heather singing all through the house. She fills the airwaves with numbers from Annie and Oklahoma and Walk the Line. Oh yea!

Missing the kids is sad. But there there is ONE family member who has just turned up to fill the weekend with BIG JOY! Barbara is here! Yes, the indescribable, incomparable, excellent, wonderful, shining Baba took bus after bus all day long from Portugal yesterday to get her last night.

Imagine us with big, beaming smiles :-)

Round Here

I like that Round Here song by Counting Crows.

That song, however, has nothing to do with my post. I was just thinking about our "round here."

Monday was quite a day for the Borden offspring.

Offspring #1: Jesse took three big final exams up at Westmont. Yay, Jesse! You are now officially finished with your second year!

Offspring #2: Trevor got his driver's license (!) with his right ear still deaf from the ear infection. (We worried he wouldn't be able to hear the examiner sitting on his right and giving him instructions like, "Turn left at the next intersection.") He's happy! Good job, Truby!

Offspring #3 and #4: Colin and Heather and I spent two hours at the Department of Public Health. We needed to get them caught up with vaccinations before we get back to Africa so Colin got three jabs and Heather got FIVE! She was VERY brave until the 4th jab and then she had a little cry. More tears with the 5th, which, I understand, stung quite badly. Colin was brave throughout, as is his norm. Nicely done, Col and Heath!

Heather has been informing people quite brazenly that she now has five diseases! Well, hopefully she does NOT. Monday we go back for Yellow Fever and the oral Typhoid med. Jesse (Offspring #1) will have to have those too.

Well, that's "round here" for now...

Colin's Feet

This is Colin's self-portrait that he took last week.

I think it's a cool photo and have been wanting a reason to post it. So... I finally found one.

Colin's soccer team lost today but he scored his team's one goal. It was a really nice goal too. The goalie kicked it out and it came to Colin. He chipped it up over the defenders and it sunk in behind the goalie who was still just a little out of his place.

Very nice indeed.

Just thought I'd show you the feet that scored that pretty goal :-)

13!

We've had a nice Christmas and I'm just about to get into bed. It's almost the 26th now here in California and, since we leave at 7am to drive to New Mexico to visit with Byron's Dad, sisters and niece, I want to take a minute now to post a Happy 13th Birthday Colin note for tomorrow.

We are all so glad Colin was born. We would be sadly deficient in this family without his sense of humor and his consistently fresh take on things. Hurray for Colin!

(It's official: We now have three teenaged boys in the house. That would explain where all the groceries goes! Bless 'em.)

We're Missing Colin

Colin has gone to Catalina Island with his classmates for three days.

I'm missing him around our house.

Trevor showed me this photo of Col on the Triplet site today. Here he is being the guest screamer at one of their concerts last summer. What a cutie.

Bring that little screamo home!

colin in charge

I love it when Colin is in charge of what we're listening to. Early in the morning, as we rush out the door for the school run, he remembers to grab the ipod. For the duration of the journey to school, we are treated to Colin's mix.

Some days, though, the whole thing can be quite jarring. Colin, who has recently become a huge fan of Bob Marley, will flip back and forth between Mr Marley and Blindside. Talk about culture shock! I go from the complete mellowness, (my blood all warm and tropical and my mind all dreamy,) of the Marley tunes to the gritty, urban cement of Blindside. Now I don't actually mind Blindside, but not when my head is in Jamaica.

But recently, Colin has chosen more co-ordinated mixes. And more and more, an old friend is getting play time. The Larry Norman tapes we own are now about 25 years old. We played them in Byron's room in the boarding house in San Francisco where we studied during our engagement. We played them in our tiny first apartment and in that dreadful faded orange Subaru we drove in those days. We played them as we bounced over the rough non-roads of East Africa with three little boys packed into our truck with us. And now Colin is playing them again.

The other day, as Larry crooned his (often ornary and frequently funny) lyrics to us while we cruised the streets of Lisbon, Colin piped up.

"Man! When I was little, this guy was my favorite artist. Now that I listen to him again, I know why. This guy is awesome!"

Larry Norman! I adored the album my sister brought home from a Norman concert in London in the early seventies and now, 32 years later, my kids are loving it too. A man for all seasons... What a guy!