1/2 year + 34 years

Look who's half a year old already! This precious bundle isn't quite sitting up on her own yet, but she loves to roll over, to make all sorts of noises, to interact with her doting sister and brothers and others, and to chew on things with her three (soon-to-be four!) cute little teeth. "Frieda Joyce" is named after her Grandmothers and her name also means "Peace" and "Joy." She is a content, joyful little girl, so I think her name is just perfect for her.

For my 34th birthday, on the 27th, I asked to take a family trip to Berberati. Lois and Frieda had never been there, and I hadn't been there in almost four years, so I was greatly looking forward to seeing many friends I said "see you later" to at the end of 2012.

Marie-Helene, Tychique and Jacobin braved the dirt roads along with the six of us, and we had fun travelling together (almost five hours round trip, so it was a long day, though a good one!) Our source of travel amusement was the four boys goofing off nonstop in the back seat of the car; I love how they manage to communicate very effectively in what we have dubbed "Sanglais," a very interesting combination of Sango + Anglais (French word for "English").

Once we got to Berberati and waited out a couple hours of torrential downpour at some friends' homes (typical rainy season), Marie-Helene tied Freida on her back for our walk through the neighborhood to say hi to other old friends.

 The first time I looked at the below photo, I noticed how hard the two girls in the background were laughing; the second time I looked at the photo, I noticed who was making them laugh! Do you see?

Marie-Helene's parents have gone through some challenging times of sickness over the past few years, so it was a joy to see them in good health. The girls were happy to meet them, too.

We spent some time at Rachel's house--she was a special friend when we lived in Berberati, so it was great to see her and to see how her kids have grown. She prepared us a delicious meal!

We visited my former Gbaya teacher, Marianne, at her home...

 I finally got to meet my adorable namesake, Ruth, who up to now I had only seen in photographs; she is two years and two months old now:

The boys had fun playing with other kids and their toys...

An added bonus to the trip was that Adam was able to meet with the Gbaya-French/French-Gbaya dictionary revision team. Adam has been doing his part of the dictionary work (data entry) in Gamboula, while these guys have been doing their part (revision) in Berberati. It was good for them all to meet up in person and talk through some important issues, including the Gbaya orthography (spelling system).