This was out of nowhere

Maxwell's milestones seem to be instantaneous. Either that or I'm just a very inattentive parent. For instance, a few weeks ago he just started sitting up. He never went through the tipsy or slouchy stage. He just sat up one day like a pro.

This new trick was the same. We were getting ready to leave my parents' house, and he just started playing his favorite game. Surprise! Now he wants to play all the time. He even yanks on the collar of his shirt to try and cover his face. It's pretty stinkin' cute!

Max's mechanic

Annie slid herself under Max's walker the other day and announced, "I figured out the problem! The motor's rotten."

Seriously Overdue

So I finally got around to emptying off the camera, and I'm alarmed at all the catch up I need to do. So here's a start...

We decided to make a quick trip to Washington so Thomas Maxwell could meet his namesake. Grandpa Mounts seemed to like meeting the little man too.

Annie liked these pink fish at Pikes Market.

And Grandma Mounts helped her make apple juice.

We went to the Aquarium in Seattle. The touch pools were amazing. I think I enjoyed it as much as Annie.

Maxwell liked the bright colors . . .

and he made a new friend.

I was seriously terrified of the drive with thing one and thing two. But they were the best kids any mom could ask for. They traveled phenomenally! Maxwell complained a little, but never even cried. Maybe he was just excited to meet Grandma and Grandpa Mounts?

When ya gotta go . . .

Annie started singing her favorite Christmas song ("When Christmas Comes to Town" from the Polar Express), but it was sped up due to natural causes. She also added some suspicious choreography.

the decision

Yeah, I never planned on giving him money because, quite frankly, even if I really wanted to we couldn't. We just don't have it right now. I had considered trying to find a donor who would sponsor him though.

But I never got a response from the school, which I took as a bad sign. So I wrote him an email with some links I found to Kenyan student loans that are available. I also explained that here in the US we have to get loans to pay for school, and that I'm in fact still paying off loans I got when I was a student.

Deep down, I don't think it's a scam, mostly because the information he sent was from the school and he wanted the money deposited into his school account, not a bank. But given the risk associated with this type of thing, and the fact I don't have that kind of cash-ola. I opted to direct him elsewhere.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you're looking to scam someone, don't pick somebody who has a 1987 ford ranger parked in front of their house.

Hamisi Bakari Mwachizungu

Okay, brace yourself for a long story. When I was about twelve, two of my aunts who are nurses went to Kenya to offer medical assistance there for a few weeks. They took some boxes of toothbrushes and stuff from our beehives class. We included letters with the toothbrushes. Years later (about three years ago). I got a letter from the boy who got mine. I wrote him back, and he wrote me again.

Hamisi is about my age (23), and the oldest in his family of eight children. His dad died when he was a teenager, and he's been the primary provider for his family since. He lives just outside of Mombasa. He sent this picture a few letters ago, well actually it was just a negative that I developed.

I received a letter from him a few days ago, and he got accepted and started classes at the University of Nairobi through their Distance Learning program. He is looking for a sponsor to help him out with his fees that are due soon. He needs 52,000 KSH which amounts to about $700. He sent all the school paperwork, pamphlets, account numbers, etc.

What do I do? I don't even know if I can believe his story, and it's not like we have $700 just lying around. So I've just been trying to put it out of my mind, but then I see the letter and paperwork sitting on the table and I feel so guilty! I find myself thinking, "We don't have tons of money. We can't help him." but then I remember all the things we have like hot water and carpet, and I feel guilty again. Then I worry that if I help him I'll just create a monster, and he'll want money again and again. I just don't know. I'm typically kind of a scrooge, but this has really been haunting me, and I feel like I should do something.

I wrote an email to the school just so I can check his information out, and hopefully I will hear back from them soon. He also included his email address this time, but I can't bring myself to email him until I know what I'm going to do.

Advice please! What would you do in this situation?

Kongju (princess)

We figured since Annie fit into Tom's Korean hanbok, we should get some use out of it, and hey, free costume! So she pranced around town as a Korean princess. I managed to snap a few shots before she was off in a candy frenzy.

I stayed home with Max to pass out candy this year, so Tom did his best to represent both of us.

Gramma surprised Annie when we got to her house. She had her hanbok on too! Annie hides her hands under the top in true Korean style. That little flap is there to keep their hands out of the sun.