Elise practiced her grain pounding skills when we visited the village.

Braden loves to play with all the lemons Elise picks.

Braden finally loses his battle with Mr. Sandman.

Braden got a little dirty after he fell out of his walker. No wonder they're banned in the US.

An inflatable raft made a great little bed on our picnic to the river.

Check out my bracelets from aunt Jody.

Elise was unwrapping her biggest present when she cried out, "It's a motorcycle."

She's learning how to petal and getting better every day.

What's in my Christmas stocking.

Elise loves sparklers.

Elise got to sit on a villager's donkey for a minute before it decided to walk off.

A kid knocked down a bird with a singshot and tried to impress Elise and Braden with it.

All of Ron and Deb's friends came up to see the grandkids they had heard so much about.

Grandpa built a swing for Elise before she came! Thanks Grandpa Abram.

Grandma and Grandpa Abram also built a little play area for Elise to hang out in over Christmas break.

Yes we made it through the water, but we needed to use the winch to get our co-worker's car up the muddy river bank.

One of the reasons we're looking at getting a good 4X4 here in Guinea. Note the high air intake on the passenger side so the engine does not suck up the river water.

Mommy told Elise to take all the water bottles to the fridge. Well they're all lined up ready to go in.

Since we had so many people to go up north after our conference we hired a taxi to help us. They never have AC but since it's the coolest part of the year it wasn't too bad. We put the kids in the car with AC.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Imagine these kinds of bumps for 10 hours, one way... with children.

The leaves on some of the trees here are huge.

A golden bug that looks like a jewel. If we found enough we could decorate our tree.

Elise and Braden love taking their baths in their tubs.

Elise smiling big in front of our 'poinsettia.'

Braden's six-month picture. He is able to stand on his own with a little support.

We found this snake (Puff Adder?) on the road. It was already dead.

We found this guy in our sink one morning.

This Praying Mantis was in our house too.

This mean looking wasp was building a house filled with worms on our porch before he ran out of luck.

This big 'cricket' makes a very very loud noise at night. That's Elise's hand next to the jar.

Elise feeding Sophia a bottle.

Sherri cleaning up the kitchen.

Elise playing with daddy in the entrance to the kitchen.

Getting coffee ready to grind in our tiny kitchen.

Elise in the dining room.

Our living room.

Grandpa and Grandma Abram with the kiddos.

Look what the cat drug in. She loves to hunt lizards.

Grandma and Grandpa and the Baums came to visit all at the same time a couple days after arriving in Guinea.

All of Elise and Braden's friends who want to catch a glimpse when we open our gate for a moment.

Elise pushing a stroller around our courtyard.

Grandma Abram is watching Elise take a bath outside in a tub. It was so hot when they stopped by.

The power for the bac comes from a couple young guys.

Crossing the river on a ferry called a bac.