November 2009,  Nashville, Tennessee~

Greetings from the Sormiento residence; hope all the cattle are well wherever you're at!

I know, I know:  people are not cows; that's one of my (many) Maasai sayings that I have hung on to; we, for some reason, refer to people as "cows".  It's an old habit of mine; people think I am very strange whenever I utter this!  LOL

We are doing very well, I'm happy to say.  Roberto is getting ready to go to Camp Millington this weekend for his Marine Reserve activities (he does this one weekend a month; he is a true "weekend warrior!"); as for the children, they are doing fabulous!

Jubaki, Eshe', and Kibarake continue to do very well in their studies; as for Kenji, Koji, and Keloki, the triplets, they love pre-K; they look forward to going each and every day.  The quads  (Manani, Maliki, M'Baki, and Muhisani), meanwhile, keep this mama on her toes!  They are busy-busy, into everything, and ask an endless supply of questions.  Right now, everything is "Why?"  It's about to drive me up the wall!  LOLOLOLOL

I just thank God for my friends from church or my neighbours, who always seem to know when I need help with the children the most!  If I didn't have them, I'd have given them up long ago! (NOT really!)  LOL

My brothers Naiser and Keserian continue to adjust to life here in America.  I know exactly how they feel:  when I first came here in the late 90's, everything was so new, so strange!  Some things still flummox me, like the doors (I "push" on the door when it says "pull" or vice versa), and an ATM machine still is beyond my comprehension.  I also don't understand why forms are half in Spanish and English; why is this??  Why couldn't they put it all in English only??  This is America, NOT Mexico or South America!

I learned English when I came here (actually, I was speaking it when I still lived in Kenya; it was required of me to learn English); why can't some people do the same??  It only makes things much more difficult!!

My husband doesn't mind it, as he is Spanish (okay, Mexican-American), but I sure do!!  At least he can converse with the Spanish speakers; me, I have enough trouble with my English at times!  LOL  So I don't speak Spanish except for maybe "Si" or "Taco Bell"!  LOL

Tomorrow I am taking my Marine-husband out to eat at Appleby's.  They are feeding the Veterans; meanwhile, on Monday, November 16, Golden Corral will do the same.  So Robby will be getting two free meals -- and I get a break from doing the dishes and cooking.  LOL

And the kids get to get out of the house.  That will make them happy; they love to go out to eat! 

We only do this if they behave:  if they misbehave, then no dinner out; we eat in instead.

I keep having to remind Jubaki that he is the eldest son; he should set a good example for his little brothers and sister.  Sometimes he forgets; all Robby or I have to do is remind him that we are his parents, and that usually cools his jets; he then calms down.  I guess that is easy for him to do because Jubaki, at 11, towers over his classmates:  he is now 5'11" tall!!  He's done some serious growing!  Finding clothes for him is next to impossible at times!

I guess we, his parents are to blame, because Roberto is 6'2"; as for me, I'm 6'7" or something like that (can't remember diddly lately).  We aren't exactly little!  LOL

We still go to the zoo and see our "pets" ("Shange'" the lion, our cheetahs, etc.); they are always glad to see us, but my heart breaks every time.  I know they are happier there, but I also know they miss being with us.  We don't hate the person who reported us; we thought we were following guidelines; however, it was a "safety issue", so we were relegated to give our animals up to the zoo.  They remain there to this day.  And we miss them horribly!

I saw Naiser the other day; he is doing well in his work.  He is working at Nashville Memorial Hospital as a neurologist; he loves it.  He is making boucoup money; he also has a girlfriend named Lilybelle.  They met at Starbucks; it was instant love at first sight.  I am happy for him; I hope and pray he treats Lily well!

Well, I am going to bathe, so I can get ready to go to work.  I will write in here again soon, with another update.  Sorry if I haven't written in a while; my family and my health won't allow it at times!  I hope you understand.  May God bless you always, and thanks for listening to the ramblings of a (very busy) Maasai maiden!   :)

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, M'Buti Ayala Moore-Sormiento.  :)