Feeling Anxious To Go

We have been slowly but surely getting ready to go to Kenya. We got Kai's passport in the mail a couple of weeks ago. We skyped with Jerry and Danielle Sanders and met them for the first time. They are another American couple that just flew out to Kenya this weekend. They will be serving long term as house parents in the orphanage alongside of Peter and Maryann who are a Kenyan couple who are also house parents.  It was great to get to meet them. We hope to skype with them a couple of more times before we head over to join them. The part of our conversation with them that stuck out to me the most was when Jerry explained that he is so humbled that God would call him and Danielle to take care of all those kids. He also talked about how he is famous in his small town in Tennessee because it is unheard of for anyone to move to an African country. We are excited to get to know them and become great friends.

We have also sent out our support letters and have several opportunities to speak at churches. If you have not received a support letter and would like one please email us at gkkwalker@yahoo.com.

We have days when we wish we were leaving for Kenya tomorrow. Its hard to be in transition and see a goal but know that you have a long time before you can even start working for that goal. We also have those days when we are making great memories with friends, family and Kai. We know as we look back on this time in the States we will be so grateful that we had it.

We have been keeping busy. We just got back from a week in Portland, Oregon visiting my (Kristy's) college friends. Kai got to see the ocean, pick berries, ride up to the top of Multnomah Falls in his stroller, and meet lots of new friends. Gideon found out that his teaching job at CCU will not start this fall because they had a smaller number of students than expected. A little frustrating that they did not communicate that was the case when they hired him, but God continues to provide. He has been helping me take care of Kai. He is a great Dad! We are also watching a friend's 1 year-old everyday. It has made me realize that I would never survive if I had twins. I would never go anywhere. I would stay at home all day long. Gideon is also cleaning the office where the president of CWH (Children With Hope) works. All this to say God is taking care of us and knows exactly what we need.

June and July Praises and Prayer Requests

Praises:
* We are getting to spend lots of time with family. Grandma and Grandpa Walker came out in early June to meet Kai for the first time. We just got back in early July from seeing Kai's cousins closest to his age Hannah and Asher. We get to see Babu and Bibi (grandpa and grandma in swahili) almost every day.

* Gideon has a job and is in the process of filling out paper work and getting all set up to start his job as Adjunct Professor at Colorado Christian University for the online and some in seat classes.

* Kai is healthy and happy. He is experiencing a lot of firsts. First camping trip, first fourth of July,  first 5k run/walk, first hike.

* Despite feeling like we are in a period of transition we have been busy.

* God continues to provide for all our needs even when we are impatient and worried about exactly where God has us.

Prayer Requests:

* That Gideon's classes that he is teaching at CCU will begin soon.

* That we will continue to be prayerful about the way we are raising Kai. That he would see God through our interactions with each other, our families, our neighbors and with him.

* That we will be patient as we are eager to go to Kenya in January and start our next adventure. That we would be fully present here in Grand Junction, content,  and attentive to God's will while he has us here. That we will take advantage of spending time with family and loving on them.

We are thankful for each person that reads our blog and sends up prayers and our behalf. Please let us know if there is a way we can be praying for you.

Postpartum Lessons and Thoughts 2 Months Out

We always get asked if being a parent is harder or easier than we thought it would be. I think you can all guess our answer. Why is it that no matter how much we were warned to get rest during the pregnancy and warned how challenging parenthood will be that we didn't  fully understand what those words meant until the time came when we are experiencing it? I think overall Kai is sleeping really well, but still we are not getting as much sleep as we are used to. Also the changes in his sleep pattern throw us off as well.

With the lack of sleep also comes more of a challenge to show the fruits of the spirit to one another as we try to figure out our parenting style. I think mainly me, Kristy, gets a little less patient and moody with less sleep. Some of our discussions that have turned into small arguments have been over what exactly does a nursing schedule look like, should we use the pacifer at all times or just for nap times,  is it too early to put Kai on a nap schedule or should we just let him sleep whenever he wants. Of course we both want to have him sleeping through the night as early as possible, but what exactly does it take to get him to that.  I'm not sure we ever came up with answers, but we learned that even if we disagree with the way we do things we need to be more patient with one another as we learn what is best.

Last summer I wrote about how our  vacation time in the States was a reminder of our True Home in Heaven as we didn't feel completely at home since we missed things about Cambodia. These past two months after having Kai is another one of those reminders. Having Kai has given me a new perspective on how fast life on this earth is. When I am watching him grow and change so fast I'm so thankful to God for this gift and want to enjoy every minute and not  take advantage of what God has planned for us each day. It challenges me to have more faith and trust in God's promises as we live life here on earth.

We are loving our new life as parents and all the learning, challenges and new experiences that comes along with that. Kai is doing great. He is full of smiles, coos, dirty diapers,  and movements. He loves to be moving unless he is sleeping. His favorite toy is the ceiling fan. It entertains him for minutes. He has already more than doubled his weight and we think he is going to be a big boy!

We're Parents ( for over 2 weeks and its still sinking in)

If you are friends with either one of us on facebook you know Kai has arrived. He was born May 11th, 2012 at 10:08 am. He weighed 6 lbs 14.5 oz and measured 19 inches long. The birth experience was great up until the 2 1/2 hours of pushing. He was face up and had his arm around his neck and hand up by his face. I guess he did not want to come out. My midwife ended up using the vacuum to help pull him out. Gideon even had to sit down the last couple of minutes because he felt like he was going to faint. When I was pushing through a contraction he would also stop breathing.

Waiting for Kai was definitely not easy, especially since he came 8 days later than his due date. Gideon was getting really antsy and kept worrying about not having a job yet. After Kai was born Gideon was so glad that he has had some time to spend with Kai. Gideon is a great dad. He has changed more diapers than I have. Gideon always gets up at night after I feed to change Kai's diaper and rock him back to sleep. These first couple of weeks we can't stop commenting on how cute he is. We feel deeply blessed to have this new joy in our lives. We have enjoyed hanging out with my family. Grandma and Grandpa Mercer are so happy whenever they get to hold him. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Walker will get to come meet Kai in person the first week of June. Gideon is still in the process of looking for a job, but we know God has a plan for us while we are home for this little while. Please pray with us that we would be patient and trust that God will provide while we are here.


With no job and adjusting to a new family member, our lives feel a little bit in a jumble. We are now longing for some sort of routine to at least feel a little normalcy in our lives.  Please pray that we would continue to trust God, that He has everything in control and peace.


We have been going on long walks, hanging out with friends, doing lots of laundry (baby clothes, spit up rags, blankets), spending lots of time with family, applying for jobs, giving Kai baths and showing Kai off to our church family.

Thank you for praying for us these past nine months, as we have prepared and awaited Kai's arrival. He is healthy, absolutely adorable, and continuing to grow every single day! Please continue to pray with us that we would be great parents and we would be able to show Christ's love to him.

Since being home we have been able to meet with the Children With Hope board members. We have not quite yet began to prepare for our departure to Kenya, but it is always on our hearts and minds. If you would like to see more about the Children With Hope organization you can visit their website at www.childrenwithhope.org, and they are also on Facebook at Children With Hope. The organization has gone through some difficult transitions these past couple of months, but God is growing the organization through the difficulties. Our job will remain the same and we are excited to see how God will work.

Above pictures of Kai. He has already grown and changed so much.

Above pictures are of the new kids at Children with Hope Tobiah Home. Their names in order Jared, Joshua, Sophia, and Rachel.

It looks like Kai already has lots of friends to keep him busy.

6 Days and Counting

I've been counting down ever since I left Cambodia but we are officially at less than one week from when Gideon gets back to Colorado. We have been apart for 30 days and we have 6 more to go. Yes its been hard. A couple of days before I left Phnom Penh we questioned our decision to be apart this long and so close to Kai being born. We were nervous that Kai would come before Gideon got here. I guess that is still a possibility but I think he will hang on for a few more weeks. He doesn't seem to be in too much of a hurry.

Even though these last 4 weeks going on 5 have been hard I think both Gideon and I would agree that it has been good. Gideon said to me the other day in a skype conversation that God understood our needs and put us both in places that we could handle the hardships. Gideon is used to be alone and actually thrives sometimes in places where he gets lots of alone time. So him being in Cambodia with out me and family has actually been ok for him. He has had lots of time to spend with God. I on the other hand hate being alone so being able to be here surrounded by family and friends that I have not seen in a long time has been good for me. One of my strengths is being flexible and transitioning/adjusting well into new situations. Our hope is that I have done most of the transitioning that needs to be done before Gideon gets here, like setting up the house we will be living in.

So what exactly have we been up to the last 4 weeks while we have been apart. Here it goes:

Kristy:

1) Going to doctor's appointments

2) going on walks alone, with our dog filos, with friends, and my mom

3) making sure our insurance is all worked out with our doctor

4) opening gifts at baby showers for Kai and getting all the motherly advice I can get.

5) taking lots of naps because everybody says I should get all the rest now before Kai gets here

6) hanging out with my older brother Jake

7) cooking dinner for my parents (most of the time it has turned out good)

8) gaining weight from all the food I've missed, but I haven't gone to any of Gideon's favorite restaurants and I haven't opened the girl scout cookies yet either.

9) unloading all our kitchen supplies from storage in to the apartment we will stay at once Gideon gets here.

10) Making sure we have all the necessities needed once Kai is here.

11) Skyping with Gideon every day.

12) Using a humidifier because my body is not used to all this dryness.

13) Going to beauty school with my mom and getting all pampered. Hair dyed, nails done, facial, hair cut... the works.

14) Wearing jackets and sweaters in the morning because its a bit to0 chilly.

15) Watching basketball games with my dad.

I think that sums it up!!!

Gideon:

1) Missing me!! ;)

2) Enjoying every moment with his students.

3) Making plans to pack up and give away things he will not bring back with him.

4) Going out to dinner with friends, trying to make good goodbyes.

5) Sweating so much he soaked his i-pod and it doesn't work anymore. It is now hot season in Cambodia.

6) Finishing his practicum and class for his Master's program.

7) Working on lesson plans for his long-term sub, and working on unit plans for next years teacher.

8) Exercising and losing weight. Thank goodness his tennis shoes broke and hopefully he will gain some weight the last week he is there so I don't look like I've gained too much! :)

9) Playing games with 35 elementary students every Thursday after school.

10) Enjoying driving the moto without having to haul me around on the back.

11) Spending time with the guys getting fatherly advice.

I'm sure Gideon could add a lot more to his list. I think he has had the harder/busier 5 weeks.

Please pray for him as he travels to Grand Junction Wednesday April 11th.

We hope you all of a Happy Easter and a great time celebrating our Risen Savior!!!

School in School

School in School is a catch up program for local Khmer kids who attend government Khmer schools. Our teaching assistants at Logos International School with some other staff plan supplementary lessons to what the kids are learning at school during the day to help them with Math, Khmer, and English. Even after a regular school day many of our Khmer staff at Logos stay until 6:30 pm to help children that come to Logos for this extra help. They also get a chance to share about Jesus with them. My TA Sorphorn helps teach the grade 2 math class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

These kids do not have to pay anything to come to School in School, and after talking with Sorphorn about her classes I thought of some people back in the States that would love to send some school supplies to help make their class more hands on and encourage the kids to learn more. Thanks to one of our supporting churches, Grace Gathering, last week the math class got to use some of these new supplies. They are so grateful and it looks from the pictures and video they had a great time. Please Enjoy the pics!

Baby Shower #1

Leanne is getting so crafty. She made a sign with Kai's full name hanging behind us in the window.

Our good friend Leanne hosted a baby shower for Kai this last weekend. It was so much fun. Thanks Leanne! We played lots of games, snacked on some great food, and got to spend some time praying for Kai, Gideon and I. Gideon stayed home and worked on his Master's classes, but he did get to enjoy some of the yummy food when he picked me up.

We played a guess the baby food game. Check out some of our reactions to the DELICIOUS food. :)

Getting some advice about labor and the birth experience. I'll take all that I can get!