family resemblance

this is how they eat. as you can imagine I am reminding them to sit down on the mat about 50x per meal

when we first arrived, the Ugandan housekeeper asked me if we picked Benny out because he looked like me.  I found that an odd question but she was serious. she said we have a similar facial structure.  you can judge for yourself if there is ever a picture of me taken with them.  I have taken almost no photos at all this trip. too busy living it to film it I guess.
oh and for the Proch aunties Sarah Hannah and Molly - I was looking through the family photo book with Johnny yesterday after nap and he flipped to the page with you all on it and said "aunties!" and I replied "yes aunties" and he came back with "auntie wange!" [my auntie] which I though was pretty darned sweet!

today was a long and bit trickier day.  Dad was gone w/our host doing ministry from 9:30ish am til 6pm.  Mamma was on duty all day.  Only J took a nap today and J cried whenever B did anything he didn't like or wasn't planning on.  B slapped J whenever he was unhappy with anything that he did.  good fun times. 

they are very cute when they share with each other.  for example: when playing with playdough, which we do every morning after snack, there is only one of a certain toy used with the playdough.  each boy wants to use it the entire time so they use it once and the other boy starts immediately please please please please until the other one relents and grumpily tosses it as his brother *rinse and repeat* for the entire playdough time. but please is truly the MAGIC word to them. you must relent if the other one say it. no exceptions.

another thing I have noticed which I am sure is not new to any parents out there.  it doesn't matter if the 2 boys each have an identical item in their hands they will still want the one the other has and fight to get it.  totally bizzare to me but hey, I'm not a 2 year old.  I am finding that when I say "no this is just how it is so have this one or nothing" they are starting to believe me so they will take what they have.

J is the opinionated one who desperately wants his own way.  he cries when he doesn't get it.  he is turning back into a baby and it is nice to see him tender and kind of cute after all his toughness.  he wants praise and to please me more than anything.  all I really need is to praise his brother and he will get right in line and request "mamma, gamba good boy Johhny" [say Johnny is a good boy] he also LOVES to clean.  Only my uncomfortably OCD friends/family members have ever liked cleaning this much.  give that boy a baby wipe or a cleaning rag and he is in heaven cleaning everything he can reach.  it will occupy him for an unnatural [in my opinion] length of time.  but anything that takes up time is GREAT. I sure am glad I brought so many baby wipes!!

they both remind me to be polite if I forget to say please or thank you.  even if I want to take something from them because they shouldn't touch it or they are being naughty they  say "mamma gamba puudeeeze" [mommy say please] 

when they are looking for me they call me Mommy.  like if they were outside and I was inside and they are not quite sure if I am close by they call for Mommy...not sure why.

they just sing all day. especially B.  I mean he sings while he plays, eats, bathes, runs, walks, draws, uses the bathroom, as he is falling asleep, in between blows on bubbles blowing [like he will take a deep breath and sing a phrase and use the rest of that breath to blow the bubbles] very cute stuff.

J has figured out how to climb out of his crib...no surprise there. he is a natural born climber.  it was only a matter of time. so this AM at 6am he joined me in my bed.  it was at least another 15-20mins before he was really awake enough to interact.  I anticipate that will be our new routine.  I didn't mind even though it is a twin bed so not the most comfortable to share with someone else.

tomorrow we will go to church for the 1st time since we arrived here. dad will be preaching further away from here but I will go to church with out hosts with the boys. yikes...we will see how that goes.

in all the daily-ness of life please don't forget that it will still take a miracle for us to leave by the 9th of September with the boys.  please continue to pray to that end. the battle is not over just because there is nothing to do but wait.