This...

 

This is when I got to Skype with my long-lost friend Abigail.  (And an added treat - I got to see some of her siblings, too.  Love that family!)

 

 

 

This is Janel, playing with her food.  (If you look closely you can see the little face she made in her apple.)

 

 

This is my nice stack of wax prints, for which I had been anxiously awaiting.  The blue one is with the tailor right now, being made into a dress.  I'll bring the others home with me and make something with them myself.  Oh the possibilities, the endless glorious possibilities...  Fabrics, you know, are my one weakness.

 

 

This Theo playing with his cousin.  His kissing cousin.  I didn't actually get pictures of him kissing Theo, but every time he did, Theo would burst into the most distressed cries.  It was comical.  (And I tried multiple times to capture it, but they were just moving too fast.)

 

 

This has been flapping on my neighbor's line the past week.  Narnia fans!  ...Or not.

 

 

This is an impromptu sewing-project-music-practice visit with Anna.

 

 

 

This is Theo and the chair he loves to push around.  (C'mon, Baby, walk!  You can do it!  Four more weeks.)

 

 

This is when he got tired of standing.

 

 

This is that cheesy grin that melts my heart.  Every time.

 

 

This is a Friday evening crafting fest with Anna and Marie-Claude.  It was such fun, chatting and crafting and eating popcorn.  Although the crafting was somewhat difficult when we were in the dark for most of the evening.  Power cuts just always seem to come at the most inconvenient time.  If only we could schedule them...

 

 

This is the stack of envelopes I folded on said crafting evening.  Over 100.

 

 

This is the start of Julien's "documentary": getting my hair braided.  He told me he'd be the official reporter, and he'd charge 5,000 CFA per photo.

 

I was like, "Hey, wait!  It's my camera you're using."

 

"Oh, okay.  4,000 CFA then."

 

 

 

This is the first braid.

 

 

This is my "reporter" failing at his job.  Blurry pictures.  Tsk, tsk.

 

 

 

 

This is the final braid.  She braided for several hours Saturday evening, then we stopped for the night and she continued Sunday after church.  All in all, in probably took six or seven hours...not counting breaks.

 

 

 

This is dipping the ends in hot water to seal them.  Ish.

 

 

This is the new 'do.

 

 

This was the face I made because we were talking about the stinky garbage pail that had just been opened.  I totally didn't realize Julien was taking a picture right then.

 

 

 

 

This is me and my little pal.

 

 

This is my favorite picture from the past week.  I love his toothy grin, the sparkle in his eyes, his sweet little cheeks.  I just adore him.