Happy Easter From the Hilkemanns

Good Friday

Thinking about how Jesus died on a cross for my sins. I'm so glad that wasn't the end of the story.

We are doing okay here. It has been wonderful to have family come. My mom, Becky, came for the month of February and that was wonderful. She got to be with me for the last and most difficult part of my pregnancy, the ten days that I was in the hospital and the first week out of the hospital with the girls. God's timing is so perfect. The day after my mom left, the boys, the girls and I all moved back to Machakos. It is great to be with Todd full-time again.
Todd's mom, Julie, and his Aunt June came a week after my mom left. June stayed three weeks and I can't tell you how thankful I am that she came. She is a delight to be around and helped so much. Julie has just a handful of days left of her 5 1/2 weeks here. Julie is a great mother-in-law. I'm so thankful that we aren't at odds with one another. Having family here with us during this time of great transition has been very special. We got to introduce three family members to Africa. The only drawback of having them is that now we are more lonesome for our home in the States. We wish all our friends and family could visit, but we will be back soon enough.
Other news is that we have been dealing with minor, irritating health issues. Todd, Isaiah and Nathanael have all had boils, but are thankfully all healing now. Todd and I have had some back troubles and fevers, but none of us have gotten malaria.
Overall, we are doing fine. We are wondering about the future and learning to be patient and to not complain (again). Some lessons have to be learned a few times. It can be funny, in an ironic way, to listen to Todd and I trying to parent the boys because we say things repeatedly that God has had to teach us a few times. Parenting is a humbling experience.
The girls are doing very well. They were 8 weeks old yesterday. At 6 1/2 weeks their weights were up to 8 pounds 4 ounces for Makena (from 4 pounds 10 ounces at birth) and 7 pounds 6 ounces for Naomi (from 4 pounds 5 ounces at birth). They get up two to three times a night and are staying awake more and more. We still don't know if they are identical or fraternal and we may never know. They look alike but with the almost 1 pound weight difference it makes them look a little different. We have kept Naomi's toes painted just to make sure we weren't switching the babies around. The girls are just starting to smile and that is so much fun. The girls love to be held. Makena smiles a bit more and is my more vigorous eater. She loves to push her head back to see more when she is being held. Naomi seems just a bit fairer of complexion and is my "gourmet" eater. Both girls are very content and beautiful, if you ask me.