The Forester Clan

The last day of VACATION

2012-02-14T23:00:00.002-06:00

So the last day, when I was hoping to dry the swimsuits, the weather finally cleared up enough for us to hit the beach! What could I do..... we they went swimming!

And played in the sand, making new friends.

Catching some waves!

Notice the security guards.... helping keep the annoying "travel guides" off the resorts beaches. They are almost as annoying themselves, but not quite. ;)

Water Aerobics

2012-02-12T23:00:00.002-06:00

Every day right at 11 they had water aerobics..... at first the girls were shy about jumping in.... but by the end of the week they were rushing to the pool. If we happened to want to do something different for the day, it had to be done before or after 11:00am!

Other Highlights

2012-02-10T23:00:00.000-06:00

When we weren't avoiding the rain we would ......

Dance under the disco ball

play live chess

Watch the monkeys climb up the tree right outside our room.

Scuba class

2012-02-08T23:00:00.004-06:00

One of the fun features of the resort.... you could "sample" scuba diving. Sweet Pea was the first to ask if she could give it a try, so Daddy went with her and they learned how to dive.

Rain, Rain go Away!

2012-02-06T23:00:00.001-06:00

For our vacation we flew Mombasa then drove to Turtle Bay Beach resort. An all inclusive resort. WHOOP, like fabulous food, without the labor and time and no dishes to boot! MY KIND OF VACATION !!!!

So we spent the first several days of our trip chillin' under the porch playin' games and sippin' hot chocolate. That wasn't our idea of a sunny day on the beach, but fun and relaxing none the less.

Kenya Vacation!

2012-02-04T23:00:00.002-06:00

It is the moment you have all been waiting for..... the pictures of our Kenyan Vacation! We were Super Duper blessed this summer by a family back home who paid for our family to go on vacation!!! Ummmm can you say AMAZING..... like my vocabulary doesn't have the right words to describe the Awesome-ness. We wanted to go, but the money wasn't there like we had thought it would be, so they stepped up and sent us out!

Can't you see the joy all over our happy faces!

Blue Bug

2012-02-02T23:00:00.002-06:00

Ok..... these really aren't the best pictures I have ever taken, but these bugs were too weird to not post about. We have seen some really strange incects while living in Uganda , but this has by far been the most colorful!

They are blue!.... no this is not some photoshop trick or tecnique... they are really blue.

We found them in pairs living on the discarded wood of our beloved ficus. There were 10-12 of them roaming around, paring off. I haven't a clue where they came from.... it their eggs were in the tree, or if they just stopped by for a visit.... either way, they were shy and hard to snap a good close up picture of.

Bye bye beautiful tree.....

2012-01-31T23:00:00.001-06:00

This used to be a big BEAUTIFUL tree that was in our front yard. It was the kid's favorite climbing tree, it gave great shade, it blocked the view of our ugly dirt driveway.... it was an all around AWESOME tree.

A huge storm blew through one night... the kind that makes Hubby and I rearrange all our bedroom furniture to keep it dry, cause the water is pouring in! Where you spend a good hour frantically running from the bedroom to the school room, trying to mop up the water that is flowing down the walls.

The next morning, we woke up to discover that the tree was half gone.... well at least have fallen over. The girls ran out in their PJ's to get in on last climb before dad ~~finished it off~~ took the rest down.

Look closely..... can anyone tell what kind of tree that is?? It took us 11 months to find out, and only after my mom flew all the way from the US did we make the discovery.

It it / was a ficus. Yes, a ficus tree.... that skinny tree you keep in pots in the sun room, or you buy imitations of at Hobby Lobby. They grow to ginormous sizes when you give them the freedom to.

Good bye beautiful tree!!!

Chalk Art

2012-01-29T23:00:00.001-06:00

I enjoy having budding artists in the house.... the only problem their art gifts are so different than mine that sometimes it is sad that we can't be artsy together, on the same project.... oh well.

Another wonderful item we got this summer in packages (i am not laying it on to thick am I: we love packages!) .......... SIDE WALK CHALK! Baby girl drew this amazing scene with the forest, and barn and field and the ocean. LOVE IT!

Curly was quick to follow with her own version of the farm..... nice. Keep imitating your big sis.... she is a good example! :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea and Curly Sue!

2012-01-27T23:00:00.001-06:00

August means Birthdays! SP and CS had their party at the pool this year. Look at that AWESOME table. What a cute tablecloth (score again for the summer teams!) This party was a surprise... Daddy took the two birthday girls and their little sister to lunch, while big sister and I scarfed a PB&J and then headed to the pool to prepare.

The birthday girls entered..... completely surprised. Dad had cooked up a story about needing to see the management at the hotel, to book rooms for the next team. And it worked!

If only my camera had worked as well........ This was the only other picture that I got of the whole party! Somewhere, on a memory card in Karuma are a few shots that my friend took, but I haven't ever seen them. OH WELL!

Funny story about the birthday party: In June my mom (Mimi) asked Sweet Pea what she wanted for her birthday. Pea replied that she wanted a KINDLE. This was a very appropriate request see that she had read EVERYTHING on the shelf and then some! Most of them she had read twice!

So when the Abilene team came, they brought the KINDLE. My wonderful friend Adina carried it with her on the plane, and was in the process of telling me it was in her room when Pea walked up. When she heard the word KINDLE her ears immediately perked up. I made her stay in the lobby while I went and retrieved the goods.

Later when we were driving to my house Adina commented that she hoped the CANDLEs made it OK. Once again Pea's ears perked up and she started asking about the KINDLE. I quickly corrected her, that our conversation was not about a KINDLE, but about a CANDLE that mommy had asked for. That put a stop to that.

Me, being the mom who lives in a third world country and wants to make each birthday last as long as possible decided it you be fun to milk the CANDLE for all it was worth. (insert sly grin) I looked in the Capital and found the perfect gift.... a CANDLE, that was actually labeled in big letters.... "CANDLE". I bought it and wrapped it up.

On her birthday Pea opened up her CANDLE first..... and was quite surprised. She was trying so hard to be grateful.... seeing her concern , I asked her.... "Isn't that what you asked Mimi for?"

She looked up and said, "Well, I asked for a KINDLE, but OK!" I LOVE IT! I told her, "Well maybe she misunderstood you. I'm sorry. Why don't you open this one."

I grabbed another package and she began to open a series of books that she wanted for the KINDLE. (we already had one, but three readers and one kindle, does not make a great combination. :)

FINALLY the last package she opened was the real KINDLE. Oh how we laughed and laughed when I reminded her of the conversation we had had with Adina about the CANDLE. When Mimi heard the story we got another round of giggles and tears.!! TOO FUN!

Package Bonus!

2012-01-25T23:00:00.001-06:00

On of the nice things about recieving teams that can bring packages is that they can also bring packages for other people who don't have teams that come. This is Mama V., she has a childrens home here in Uganda with 13 kids!

For her birthday her daughter gathered up cards and small gifts for mom and sent them to our Seattle team. It was so fun to get to be a part of her surprise and blessing for her birthday! Mama V is a HUGE blessing to so many here in Uganda, that it was nice to watch her gat blessed for a change!

Becky Ann

2012-01-23T23:00:00.001-06:00

Contrary to what her fingers say.... Becky Ann is now one! Crazy how time flies! I can't believe that this is the tiny little thing that I caught a year ago! I love my Girl!

More on Packages

2012-01-21T23:00:00.001-06:00

So this summer when the GIANT team brought all the wonderful goodies... they also brought birthday presents! (and Christmas presents too) I held on to these cute bags from Gram for a month before the girls got to receive them. So if you ever send a package and you don't get a "thank you" right away it is probably because I have hidden the package until the right moment. Extending the joy of receiving!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting things from home! Always a fun and exciting treat! Maybe onday we will actually get a package in the MAIL! Wouldn't that be fun a package in February, not just in the summer!

.....and we're back

2012-01-19T23:13:00.000-06:00

So I have a confession to make..... Sometime shortly after our vacation Curly accidentally deleted all of our pictures from the camera. Some of them I had already transferred to the computer, but some are now gone forever!!! This combined with the fact that I was already behind on my blogging..... well to be honest it was depressing. really depressing. so i avoided all things bloggy for a while.

But I am working hard to get over my anti-blogs and trying to get going again. So for some of you dedicated readers.... you will be delighted to know that there will (hopefully) be a new post every couple of days while I get caught up on all that has happened in the last six months. (Can you hear the loud cheer from all our grandparents??)

So to start off the blog-a-thon I thought I would post these random pictures of Lady and Bisky dining together.

Apparently in Africa dogs aren't much of a threat to the animals here. When we were writing our script for our Christmas play, we had a scene with the shepherds where they were joking about the days work and what would happen if the "wolves" came back to get the sheep. Well they don't have WOLVES in Africa and nobody really knew what they were so we changed it to DOGS. But that didn't really work well either, case the dogs here aren't a threat to the goats and chickens. Eventually we landed on LIONS, David fought and killed a lion while tending the sheep right, and everyone in Uganda knows what a lion is, even if they have never seen one. Lion was a good choice!

On another note.... Bisky is the strangest cat! But then, what cat doesn't have their quirks. He attacks my legs ALL the time. He will sit innocently until I walk past then jump out and try to grab my leg! Crazy. He has also taken to coming in from his night time... um ..... parties by sitting in MY bedroom window and meowing until I open the window to let him in!

And as you can see.... He won't eat CAT FOOD! I mean really?? He avoids it like the plague. He would much rather have dog food especially if there is something yummy on it like left over chicken broth!

Well check back every few days and we will get caught up on the latest Ugandan happenings!

Marshmallow fun

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

This is my sweet friend Adina. We have know her and her Husband since before they were married! They were the team leaders for the GIANT 32 person team that came this summer. With all those people we loaded them down with trunks and bags to bring us. Christmas, birthdays.... you name it they brought it. Having been an MK (missionary kid) her self, Adina knew how much joy could come in one little package. She and her husband brought buckets, and buckets of happiness for out family!

One thing she brought us was a book called "The Marshmallow Incident", a bag of mini marshmallows and some tooth picks. Reading the book and then creating things with the picks and mallows made a great family night!

Blessings in a Bag

2011-10-31T08:30:00.002-05:00

So, remember how my last blog post talked about ice cream..... and how Kent always asks for "Blue Bell" .... Well this was my Mother-in-loves fix for that.... always creative. An Ice Cream maker, and it doesn't doesn't require ice! HOW COOL is that?!?! Ice is always in short supply in our town!

With Summer teams we always get goodies. Gram always sends stuff. I order things that I need for school, or gifts for the girls. Usually we are limited to one or two bags.
But those bags can hold some AMAZING things! Like YUMMY cereal! Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds and Honey Nut Cheerios are two of our MOST favorite flavors!

And Corn chips...... so wonderful! I miss me some chips and salsa! crayons, tang, mac and cheese, spices..... the list goes on and on. I LOVE the personal things too. Like my dad sent our old recorders and a pitch pipe as well as his piano book!

One of the best items that those bags bring is.... BIBLES! They are so expensive here, so we try and have the teams bring over English NIV bibles, so that we can use our bible money for purchasing Acholi Luo bibles. Oh the blessings of short term teams!

"Stay"cation part 2

2011-10-26T08:30:00.002-05:00

A trip to the "big city" is never complete with out ice cream.... and since we were still on "vacation" we went for the mambo-jambo sundays at Java's. ;)

Sharing ice cream has always been a family favorite ever since..... well it just always has! (Remember Braums?) When people ask Kent what they can bring us, he always says "Blue Bell". So far, no one has ever brought any. ;)

"Stay"cation part 1

2011-10-24T08:30:00.002-05:00

Mid July was the only time all summer we had a few weeks (two to be exact) in between teams. Our hope was to have a fun trip to the coast, part of our push-pull methods.... But it didn't work out, so we stayed in Kampala instead. We went for pizza one night and the girls were able to make their own pizzas... super fun being chefs!

Waiting for the process to begin.

Suiting up! Can't be a chef with out an apron.

Flour faces!

Daddy checking the progress!

Adding the topings

Whoop! In the oven it goes!

The finished product..... wallah.

SB was having a breakdown at this point, so she didn't make the final picture.

T-shirt painting

2011-10-21T08:09:00.000-05:00

This summer.... yes I know it is fall...... Our wornderful Waco grandparents sent the girls some great craft goodies. Each girl got a t-shirt and had the joy of designing their own shirt. I am always torn between, helping so much that it is done well, but is not their own creation, and letting them try on their own and then being dissapointed with their results..... This time I did both!

Sunggle bug choose the fish stencil and the paint colors, but I did the work.

Baby girl was and independent artist.....no help what so ever!

Snuggle bug in the creative process....

Curly also received no outside help....

Baby girls final shirt..... I need Jesus. (the white is a dove) Later she added John 3:16.

Curly Sue has "joy" with some leaves and a heart for the "o"

I added everything SB wanted, clouds, bubbles, "movement" lines and the "water" underneath.

THANKS MAMA LINDA for the wonderful goodies.... sorry I took so long to post them! LOVE TO PAPA KENT!

Nature at Work

2011-08-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Some my find these pictures disturbingly gross, I however find them extremely interesting. I'm just sayin....

So we get DSTV here in Uganda. And it is really kinda fun. It gives Kent and I an way to keep up with world news, the kids have the occasional treat of cartoons, (many of the cartoons are from when I was a kid, too), plus our favorite is the National Geographic Chanel. The day after we watched an episode on Extreme Insects and learned all about ants and how they help in the decomposition process (I said they were gross)..... we found this in our yard.

This is one of those GI-MORMUS rats that comes in our yard sometimes. That Lady must have killed during the middle of the night. Only it is COMPLETELY covered in ants. i couldn't even tell what it was at first. It was only after poking and prodding that I was able to discover what lied beneath the dark, wiggling mass.

Cool...... and gross all at the same time. Science lesson! Aren't you glad you don't have these guys in your yard? (both the rat and the demolition ants.)

Whoop

2011-08-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Where to begin...... So last year, if you remember, we were so totally blessed by a young lady named Ashley. She was here for six months and was a great help in getting to have a few date nights while we adjusted to living in a new country. Well her sister, Laura, came to visit her here in Uganda, and Laura is and Aggie.

Both young ladies kept our young girls one weekend while we went to Kampala for supplies. When we got home, not only was our home booby-trapped, but Laura had taught the girls all the A&M cheers. As you all know Kent is a HUGE Texas Tech fan.......

So this summer when we had a team from College Station come, Laura and Ashley sent us a care package. In it was this t-shirt for Kent. It was a hoot watching Kent get his new shirt, and at first he refused to wear it, but now he wears it all the time. So thanks Laura and Ashley for broadening Kent's horizon.

WHOOP!!!

Now you see it..... now you don't

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

THIS is why I love having that nifty new camera that fits in my bag and go with me anywhere!

This little birdy fell from it's nest one Sunday at Church. The girls got so excited and everyone wanted to hold it. So most of them did.

At least while they could. The bird flew off while I was trying to snap this picture.

The local Children wanted to tourcher it or something.... the local women were discusted by it...... my young ladies wanted to take it home and try and raise it.

Ummmmm....... so I was supposed to upload a picture of Snuggle Bug with a pouty look saying "why can't we keep it mom?" But for what ever strange reason it is not working like I want it to. Bummer.

Alice

2011-08-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

This is Alice. She is a WONDERFUL addition to our little Church. She started coming last summer and was one of the major testimonies of healing and deliverance, and she has been coming ever since. For MONTHS Alice came to church wearing only a dark yellow skirt and a white blouse.

Every.

Sunday.

We would secretly have someone ask about her clothes thinking we might have them take her to the market, but she never seemed really interested. She just kept coming faithfully. After a while she started wearing some new clothes, but I think they were items that she was borrowing from some one, cause they were always too small, and looked to "young".

A few weeks ago, during worship, one of our young men felt that we should take up and offering for Alice so that she should get new shoes. The out pouring of this Church was AMAZING! We didn't ever count it, but I know her socks were blessed off..... um on..... anyway she got hooked UP!

The next Sunday she came to Church so proud of her new dress and shoes. It was sweet. She is really growing in her walk with Jesus. A week or so after the shoe blessing she started sharing with me how she had gone to the hospital and was preaching and praying for people to be healed. Now you have to understand that Alice is a VERY quite woman, and while she was re-telling me this story her voice got louder and her arms started waving all over. She is passionate about telling others about Jesus.

Another neat Alice story.... While preaching at the hospital she gave away her Bible. So later in the week Kent went to her hut to find her and give her a new Bible. She wasn't there. So they thought they would try her sister's charcoal shop. She wasn't there either, but before Kent left he saw her come running around the corner.

As soon as she saw Kent she started giggling and laughing and was extremely excited. Once she got her breath back she explained that she was just about to go into the market and do some shopping when the Holy Spirit told her "rush home, pastor is waiting". She stopped her shopping and started running back toward the house. That is when she saw Kent at her sisters shop! Cool huh!?!

The Birthday Party

2011-08-03T08:00:00.004-05:00

Sunday was Daddy & Snuggle Bug day after Church. Daddy took the birthday girl to lunch at the Coffee Hut while the rest of the Clan wrapped, iced, cleaned and planned for a PARTY! SB was so surprised to walk in after her date to find her sisters and a few of her friends waiting for her with bubbles!

The Surprise party welcoming committee!

Some of the fun activities included.... "pin the tail on the lion", the ring toss and a water balloon toss game. Everyone received a prize. I think that this was SB's first honest to goodness party with friends and everything..... I remember when she turned 1.... and when she turned 4 and now 5, but I forget 2&3??? Is that bad??? Can anyone help me remember????

The cake.... I find it harder and harder to be creative with the cupcakes and one cake pan. In the states we would go to Michael's each birtday and let the girls pick out a new Wilton cake pan. I would bake the cake and decorate it the way they wanted....... oh well.

For ever it seemed that SB was asking for new sunglasses. She told me, "I used my sun glasses to make a home for the ants, and the Lady chewed them up." She was SUPER PUMPED when she opened these from her sister.

SB also got another primate..... named Sleepy (cause he came with a blanket). Another big hit for the birthday girl.

One of her last gifts was a new backpack...... it was another item that she had been asking for, for a very long time..... her ladybug bag was "spoiled" she said. Every time we would drive through town and she would see a pink backpack, she would let me know that she still needed a new one.

She is a HAM!!! I wish I could truly capture her personality in writing so that I could share it with you!

Thank you Lord for my SB! She is a joy and the life of our Family! We are so blessed to have her as one of us. May you use her passion for your service ans glory one day. I pray that she will be an influencer and a world changer.

Happy Birthday Snuggle bug

2011-08-02T08:00:00.004-05:00

Who ever said that the youngest never have their picture taken didn't have a snuggle bug to take pictures of.
These are just some random, too cute to not share picture of the birthday girl that I have taken over the last few months.

Sportin' zenias from the flower garden...... one behind each ear!

Enjoying yummy watermelon while on a brief getaway in July. I took this cause I have a cute picture of her eating watermelon before she was one..... my how she has grown.

Play date at a friend's house last week..... playing dress up.

Look at my baby...... 5 years old, starting Kindergarten. WOW! If my kids went to school some where else, I might actually get teary eyed at that thought, but since I get to keep her at home for a while, I will just enjoy my little bundle of imaginative energy!

Sunday Mornings

2011-08-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

So.... I got a new camera for my birthday.... a small one I can throw in my bag and tote around with me to snap pictures anytime, anywhere, and I LOVE IT! Plus it is small enough I don't look like a tourist wandering around town. So these are some of the pictures I snapped at church a few weeks ago.

Our format for Church hasn't changed.... We all meet in the construction zone for praise and worship.

Then afterwards the children stay inside the "zone" and the adults move outside under the trees.

One outside they break up into groups. Kent usually gives each group a verse or two to look up and discuss. Sometimes each group's verse is the same, sometimes it is different. Then after they have had time to read and talk about the verse, each group takes a few minutes to share with the rest of the groups what they have learned or what they think. Then Kent or who ever is teaching will explain a little more and give more clarity.

Random artistic picture I took while playing with my camera on that particular Sunday.

Mean while.... in the "zone" the kids are learning their own lessons. We just finished a series on the Fruits of the Spirit, looking at them in the life of King David.

After the story/lesson the kids get to "shade" or color a picture based on the story, then they get a "bisquit" or a cookie for snack.

There are still anywhere from 85 to 100+ kids that come every week! We are so blessed to be part of their lives, even if only a small part.

A Group shot.

Fransis - "Fran-swah"

2011-07-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is Fransis. He is AMAZING! He joined our "circle" last summer during the team rush, and has been a valuable player ever since.

For months he helped me with the children on Sunday mornings. A few months ago we got him an inexpensive guitar and he has become our Praise and Worship leader. He is ROCKIN'!

Kent started calling him "Franswah".... .like he is French, and it stuck. I totally love working with every week as the P&W leader. This picture was taken on a special day for school... when he was given his "position", and took over the roll for someone else. We are SO proud of this young man.

Mommy Daughter dates.

2011-07-30T01:06:00.000-05:00

So a few months back I started taking the girls out on lunch dates. Then we started hosting teams..... the past few Fridays we have been out of town, but some where in there Sweat Pea and I managed to get in an afternoon out, squeezed into our schedule.

The idea was inspired by my friend who is a missionary in the middle east. She had read the book "8 great dates for mom's and daughters", and loved the concept. We started a Friday lunch rotation and as soon as I got my kindle, I read the book too!

The book has some GREAT ideas, some of which are hard to accomplish in a third world country, but we are going to try to adapt the concepts to what we DO have available.

A "snap" of the menu. Contrary to popular belief we can get some yummy food in Gulu!

My beautiful princess!!! So like me in so many ways.... yet so different too.

Her picture of me with the bus park out the window.

After lunch we went shopping and stopped by our favorite seamstress Florence. This is her baby girl. I love all the bright color fabrics.... the are great for fun skirts and projects, no so great for quilting.

Spending "one on one" time with each of my girls is a joy and privilege that I look for to re-starting once our crazy summer has come to an end.

OUR MOVIE LIST

2011-07-26T02:44:00.000-05:00

This is not a normal post. It is a CRAZY long list of all our movies. Movies are one of the few ways to have family time here. Movies and Games. However, we have started receiving doubles, so I thought I would post a list of all our movies, so people can see what we have or don't have.

Movie Title

A River Runs Through It

Band of Brothers

Big Mamma's House 2
Braveheart

City Slickers

Dances with Wolves
Forest Gump D -1

Lord of the Rings
Mrs. Doubtfire

Rocky
Saving Private Ryan
Second Hand Lions
The Book of Eli ***
The Karate Kid
The Last Samurai
The Passion of the Christ
The Patriot
The Scorpion King
The Shawshank Redemption
Water
Chicken Run
A Good Year
A Walk in The Clouds
Tristan & Isolde
A Fashion Fairytale
Fairytopia
Fairytopia - Magic of the Rainbow
Fairytopia - Mermaidia
Mariposa
Rapunzel
Swan Lake
The 12 Dancing Princesses
The Diamond Castle
The Island Princess
The Magic of Pegasus
The Nutcracker
The Princess and the Pauper
The Three Musketeers
Thumbelina
Narnia - Lion, Witch and Wardrobe
Narnia - Prince Caspian and Voyage
Narnia - The Silver Chair
Any Given Sunday D - 1
Any Given Sunday D - 2
Talent for the Game
The Boys of Fall
The Green Berets
The NFL Greatest Coaches
The Pacific
Chonda Pierce
Veggie tales Double Feature
A Christmas Carol
Christmas Vacation
Santa Buddies
Santa Clause 2
The Nativity

Bonanza

Red Skelton
The 10 Commandments (1923 Silent)

The Great Escape

The Thomas Crown Affair

Alice in Wonderland
Beauty and the Beast

Cinderella

Cinderella III

G Force

Little Mermaid

Little Mermaid - Ariel's Beginning
Narnia - Prince Caspian
Narnia - The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe
Narnia - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Peter Pan - Animated
Peter Pan - Return to Neverland
Sleeping Beauty
Tangled
The Aristocats
The Emperor's New Groove
The Fox and the Hound
the Goofy movie
The Lion King
The Sword and the Stone
Tinker Bell - Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure

Air Bud - Strikes Back

Air Bud - 7th inning Fetch
Air Buddies - Air Buddies
Benji D
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Buddies - Snow Buddies
Buddies - Space Buddies
Fire House Dog
Lassie - Lassie's Gift of Love
Lassie - The Best of Lassie
Soccer Dog
The Retrievers
Underdog
Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows - 2
White Fang - 9 episodes
Winn- Dixie
Joseph - King of Dreams
Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar
Madagascar 2
Over the Hedge
Prince of Egypt
Spirit
Bible - Apocalypse
Bible - Esther
Bible - Genisis
Bible - Jeremiah
Bible - Jesus
Bible - Paul
Bible - Solomon

Planet Earth

A Little Princess/ The Secret Garden

Anne of Green Gables

Dennis the Menace

Furry Vengance ***
Gifted Hands ***
Marmaduke ***
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
My Side of the Mountian
Nim's Island
Peter Pan - live Action
Ramona and Beezus
Stuart Little
Temple Grandin
The 10 Commandments D - 1 (1956)
The 10 Commandments D - 2 (1956)
The Sign of the Beaver
The Spy Next Door ***
Best of the Cosby Show
Coal Miner's Daughter
Little Rascals (1938 classic)

The Andy Griffith Show

The Best of Bonanza
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride - 2
Julie and Julia
Little Women
My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Pride & Prejudice A&E

Pride and Prejudice

Sense & Sensibility
The Phanton of the Opera
Seabiscuit
Flicka
Second Chances
The Secretariat
Charlotte's Web 2
Despicable Me
Donkey X
Dora saves the Mermaids
Dora saves the Snow Princess
Dr. Seuss - The Cat in the Hat
Gnomeo and Juliet
Happy Feet
Ice Age
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age - The Meltdown
Open Season
Princess Collection
Quest for Camalot
Redwall
Robots
Tale of Despaurx
The Hobbit
The Reef
The Secret of Nimh
The Secret of Nimh 2
Sound of Music
The West Side Story

200 Classic Cartoons

Cars
Finding Nemo

Monsters Inc

Ratouille

The Incredibles

Toy Story 1

Toy Story 2
Toy Story 3
UP
Baby Take a Bow

Bright Eyes

Curly Top
Heidi
Little Miss Broadway
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
the Little Princess

John Bevere - Drawing Near

John Bevere - Intimacy

Louie Giglio - Fruit Cake and Ice Cream

Louie Giglio - Hope: When Life Hurts Most

Louie Giglio - How Great is our God
Louie Giglio - Indescribable

How to Build a Hut in three weeks

2011-07-04T15:45:00.006-05:00

Small disclaimer....... this was SUPPOSED to post on the 5th..... WHY it didn't, I haven't a clue, but I wanted to just let everyone know that I do know when my dad's birthday is!

This post is dedicated to my dad, who loves to build. Who works steadily and had built many buildings during my life time! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Step 1. dig out the hill, and build up & level the foundation.

Step 2. Spread rock all over the foundation.

Step 3. Pour concrete over the rock and smooth it out.

Step 4. Start building up the walls.

Step 5. Continue building wall, until you have gone all the way around the foundation.

Step 6. Add doors and windows. then put the finishing over the rough bricks.

Step 7. Put on the roof beams and start "sewing" the grass bundles on the the wood beams.

Step 8. pour the finishing floor and let it cure for a week.

Some where in there you add some wire for lights and an outlet. In a few weeks, when our current company leaves, we will paint it and really finish it off nicely, so that we always have a place to let people stay when they are in town visiting. All we lack is paint! I'll post the pictures when it is finished!

Running....

2011-07-01T15:08:00.002-05:00

I am reading "The Secrets of the Secret Place" by Bob Sorge and so far there have been several that have really challenged my thinking.

Most people could probably tell you that I am NOT a deep thinker. I like to keep things simple. I don't like talking politics or theology. But one of the secrets that really kicked my brain in to gear was "The Secret of Running".

The point being that when life starts to get out of control, when storms start blowing, we don't just stand there.... we RUN to God who is our shelter and our protector. So often I find myself just tolerating the "rain", putting up with the stresses of life, waiting for it all to "blow over". Instead I want to learn to run to him. He is there, he is waiting, he will cover us and shelter us, but we have to run to him.

(Once again, random pictures of the zenias my honey planted for me in the yard. Thought they would make a good "filler" for this post.)

Charcoal the monkey

2011-06-30T14:51:00.001-05:00

Meet Charcoal the Monkey.

He was "thrown in" the last package from my mom, and was an instant part of Snuggle Bugs primate family. Some of you may remember that one of SB's gifts last year for Christmas was a bed for her monkey Chocolate, and that Baby Girl drew her a portrait of Chocolate as well.

When SB met Charcoal it was love at first sight! She had him all strapped on the other day, and she looked so snappy in her new sneakers and matching monkey accessory, I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of happy family.

This is a random picture I took, but it was too cute to NOT post some where.

Lunar Eclipse

2011-06-29T14:36:00.002-05:00

So apparently on the night of June 15th there was one of the 4 longest lunar eclipses in the last 100 years.

We were told that it could only be watched in a few time zones. Uganda just happens to be in one of those special time zones.

We had a blast staying up watching the eclipse take place. It was so amazing that I had to bust out the camera AND the tripod and got to play around with the shutter speeds.

These are some of my favorite. It was an AMAZING sight to behold! And the memory of laying on the blanket playing with Daddy will stay with the girls their WHOLE lives.

Mac and Cheeze

2011-06-28T14:23:00.001-05:00

When we asked the girls what they might like from the states, Sweet Pea answered..... Macaroni and Cheese!

So our amazing friend in Waco sent 15 boxes with one of the teams. The first time I cooked some, I cooked THREE boxes, and it wasn't enough! They still wanted more and Snuggle Bug had to resort to licking the spoon in order to get more of the cheezy goodness!

Mac'n'cheese is only one of MANY wonderful treats that the teams have brought over. We have enjoyed fun cereals, like "Fruit Loops", "Honey Bunches of Oats" and "Cheerios". We have licked our way to sugar land with "tootsie Pops" and "blow pops". And we now have enough nail polish to open a small salon! Actually, the two big girls have started paining the toe nails of all the team girls when they come for dinner! They are gettin' quite skilled at adding little hearts and flowers to nails.

Bisky

2011-06-27T09:28:00.003-05:00

On of the other exciting adventures in our lives.... we got a CAT! His name is Bisky.

He was a wild, little thing when he first arrived! He bit me in the catching process, and then when we finally were able to re-catch him (I dropped him when he bit me). The locals shoved him in a milk tin and we rushed him home and let him out in the girls bathroom. It took him a few weeks, but now he his a perfectly tame kitty. Lady even likes him!

He looks just like Shadrack the black kitty Kent gave me when I was pregnant with Baby Girl, that we had to leave in Lubbock when we moved to Waco. Our collection of animals is ever growing!

Busy Hands

2011-06-26T09:15:00.002-05:00

Here is not a lot to do here in Gulu. In our free time.... so we read. And we read. And when we have read everything on the shelf, we go back and read them again. Occasionally I can get the girls to work on a hand sewing project. Sweet Pea has been "working" on this one for a while..... she finished a humming bird last summer and gave it to my mom for her birthday.

This is Curly's first attempt at anything more than the chunky plastic squares and the huge plastic needles. I didn't have anything for her to "sew", so I drew a flower on a scrap piece of fabric, and showed her how to "color it in" with the thread.

I think I will be sending my little "elves" to Hobby Lobby for some more supplies for the "sled" from Abilene to bring when they come!s

Happy Birthday to MEEEE!

2011-06-25T09:02:00.002-05:00

This years birthday celebration seemed to never end!!! It started a week early, when Kent brought home flowers from Kampala. That night was EB's birthday party (the daughter of the TN team leader).

(Lady wearing a party hat Kent picked up in Kampala)

The following Tuesday (still before my birthday) we had the Waco team over for dinner. They brought a HUGE cake for the celebration, and after dinner we ended up having a talent show. After the Talent show, we worshiped (huge blessing to me). Then they all prayed over me and then over each one of the girls, and Kent too!

Kent hooked me up with the goods when he brought home flowers. He bought the bundles, tons of them too! And I had the joy and pleasure of arranging them in my pickle jars and placing them all over the house!

Later one of the students from College Staion gave me some yummy smelling lotion cause she had noticed on facebook that they would be here on my birthday! All in all a really blessed "day".

Waco Ladies

2011-06-24T08:42:00.004-05:00

These lovely ladies were such a blessing to my girls while they were here!! They took them all out for lunch and some quality one on one time!

This was after there "dates". Some of the girls even got to get milkshakes! Whoo Hoo!

Baby Girl and her lunch date Hannah.

Sweet Pea got a double portion and had TWO girls all to herself.

Snuggle Bug fell in love with this sweet girl the moment she got off the bus!

And of course the two curly haired girls had lunch together. They actually got finished sooner than the rest so they climbed the tree. That is Curly's FAVORITE thing to do!

Coming up for air!

2011-06-23T08:42:00.001-05:00

So like I can't believe that June is almost over!!! We have had a whirl-wind of a time these last few weeks. Hosting college teams is SOOOOOO exhausting, but it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it. The Middle of may brought a team from Tennessee. We didn't get to see all them much, but we were able to have the daughter of their team leader stay with us for a few days, that was fun. She even had her birthday party while she was here!

While the TN team was still here, we got to host a team of 11 from Waco. That was super fun and exciting! i should clarify that by "Hosting" I mean them coming to our city, we help them get settled into their hotel, we have dinner with them at their hotel, later on we have them for dinner at our house, we help them find things and generally make ourselves available to help them in anyway needed.

TN team left, a few days later the Waco team left, the VERY NEXT DAY we got a team of 16 from College Station "Whoop"! Before they left we had another team of 16 from Waco come. The second Waco team is currently still here, but they leave on Sunday.

Last weekend we went to the capital to pick up our "intern". He was here last summer and is bringing a team of 15 (i think) over in September and they will be here for 6-7 months!

Next month, in July we have a GINORMOUS team of 32 that is coming from Abilene!! YEA! ( Don't tell the kids, but I am thinking about having them bring over some stuff for Christmas) Yeah, I know it is only June, but when you live in Africa, you have to plan ahead!

BUT, Wait..... that isn't all...... we have one more final team coming over in August! And at some point in the next 6 months we will have a travel team from our organisation come as well!

WHEWWWW! Love it! Northern Uganda will be SOOOOOO blessed by all the teams that are coming through here this summer!!

Happy Mother's Day... Mother-in-law 2

2011-05-09T09:50:00.001-05:00

My Mother-in-love tributes would no be complete if I didn't include my other mother-in-loves. Were my mom and I have a common interest in reading, and humor. And my other mother in love both enjoy cooking and crafting.... this mother in love was a teacher! A women after my heart!

Kindergarten was the grade that I feared most, there is so much that hinges on how well you learn to read that I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to teach Curly how to read. But Ya Ya helped me out. And gave me the confidence to know that I can do it!

She has the same creativity and enjoyment that I do in the classroom. I can't start planning our school year without thinking of her in some aspect.

I am super blessed to have so many women in my life that I have so much in common with. I think family holidays and gatherings would be extremely boring if I didn't have these ladies to talk with and spend time with. God's planning is ALWAYS perfect!

Happy Mother's Day ... Mother in Love 1

2011-05-08T09:50:00.001-05:00

When I think of my Mother-in-Law, I instantly see her kitchen in Lawton. She poured over magazines for months looking for ideas, functionality, beauty..... and her kitchen is perfect.

She is the perfect hostess. There is ALWAYS room for one more at her table and I don't think I have ever eaten a holiday meal at her house were there weren't "extra" family members and food to spare!

When ever I make a good meal... especially if it is completely from scratch, or one I have "invented" ..... I think of her and how she had inspired me to be a better cook.

She is also craft like me... she is always sewing something, embellishing something or creating something to give as gifts for the next holiday! She is supper busy! She and Pop are always out of town visiting someone who has lost a loved one, putting on a wedding, helping some one move... if there is a need... they will help!

She is the QUEEN of packages! They were awesome to get when we lived in the states, you knew every holiday a box would come stuffed full of goodies for everyone in the family. Now that we are overseas..... we relish every little item sent with even more enjoyment! I love my mother-in-love!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T09:50:00.001-05:00

I'm going to let you in on a little secret..... I like to take pictures. I really like to take pictures of my kids and nature. Looking through my picture files is like looking through a National Geographic Magazine (well sort of). Anyway.... once several years ago my Dad shared the most romantic idea with me. I honestly think it was the most romantic thing I have ever heard him utter.

He revealed that when he is on hiking/hunting trips he likes to take pictures of purple flowers to let my mom know that he is thinking of her. Purple is her favorite color. So I have adopted that habit too! I can't look at a purple flower with out thinking of my mom!

She is a WONDERFUL woman! She is compassionate.... (crying with me when I had a miscarriage) Giving... (sending money to fill my freezer full of meat when we were poor) Even.... (like getting me my first "good" camera after she helped my brother go to Italy) Smart..... (she is a Nurse Practitioner, nuff said) Determined (she went back to college when I was in the 3rd grade) Faithful (she has been at the same job for 16 years!)

Like everyone else, she has her faults.... which also happen to some of my faults so we relate to one another well. We also have the same weird sense of humor, and we enjoy quoting movies..... actually my whole family does that and now my kids do it too!

There are some things that I can't put into words.... parts of me that will always need my mommy. Fortunately she is only a phone call away!

I am truly bless to have the mother I do!

Thank you God for giving her to me!

Little Critters pt 1

2011-05-06T09:50:00.000-05:00

I love all the neat critters that you get to see living in Africa! Granted we did have lots of interesting critters in the US that God used to prepare us for living here....... More Preperation ??

This is a ~~baby~~ newborn lizard. It is so incredibly tiny!

He gets a little lost in this picture with the grey tile and all, but he (or she?) is sitting on the tip of Curly's thinger..... I mean finger.

Itty bitty thing ain't he!

Out with the old..... in with the NEW

2011-04-18T13:20:00.001-05:00

As you might remember..... we lost our fridge a few weeks ago. It was a very tragic Saturday and it happened just a few days before Kent left for India. There wasn't time for us to replace, or repair, or do ANYTHING! We were blessed, however, by a friend and we were able to borrow a tiny dorm fridge.... which was helpful until power went out..... and stayed out...... for days. BUT that is another story!

We had been thinking about upgrading our fridge for a while.... We needed something a little bit bigger. When you go to the store only once every six weeks, it helps to have space to KEEP all that food! So we went with a nice upgrade. Not the biggest out there, but definitely bigger than the one we had bought used when we moved here.

It is about 7" bigger both ways! It is WONDERFUL! We will be able to have ice! Popsicles! I have room to make cinnamon rolls the night before and let them rise, I have room for milk, water and kool-aid! I am LOVING my new fridge!!

Happy Birthday BABY!

2011-04-15T13:18:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love this man! He is AMAZING! He loves Jesus, he is crazy about me, he adores his children, he is passionate about discipleship and he wants to see great things happen in our city!

This is how he looks every couple of days. He does..... oh 90% of the shopping for me. Going to the crowed, smelly market to bring home tomatoes, onions, carrots, pineapple... whatever the evening meal requires.

So serious.... that is until he is greeted by one of his princesses! Then he sheds all of the heaviness and frustration that can sometimes come from being out and about and puts on a HUGE smile!

He is never to busy to stop and encourage a hurt heart, squeeze a little neck, look at a masterpiece, or listen to a new song! He is an AMAZING MAN OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!

He just spent almost two weeks in India and we realized just how much we need him. We had to do EVERYTHING, and it was hard! What's the saying..... absence makes the heart go fonder.... so true. Our reunion was SO much fun though. We splurged and had two nights in a SUPER NICE hotel all by ourselves. It was amazing.

Happy Birthday BABY!!! We would be so lost with out you. Thank you for being mold-able and willing to let God shape you into the man that he needs you to be!

Memories...

2011-04-08T14:56:00.001-05:00

I just spent the last hour or so looking at old blog posts and rolling up the "site counter". My first blog was in 2008 when SB wasn't even ONE! I laughed so much I cried at times... remembering the funny thing my girls used to do and say. It was like looking at my scrapbooks.... which I don't make any more....... I miss those days.

BUT I love the season we are in too! Independence! With a capital I. I have two girls that are big enough, and enjoy helping, so they make lunch most school days. Two others that play most of the afternoon.... I hardly see them except when they are asking for a snack or if they can watch a movie. They each have a chore or two that they do to do around the house. BG feeds the chickens, Sweet Pea cleans off the table after breakfast, the other too gather the dirty clothes on laundry day. They all help fold the clothes when they are dry. Also, I pair one little one up with one big one and showers are taken care of.

They ALL love helping with Becky Ann. They take turns lugging her around trying desperately to be the one that will make her laugh, or clap her hands. They want to feed her too. The only time they are willing to give her up is when they have school work to do, or she has a wet nappy(aka diaper).

We truly are blessed with wonderful girls! So giving and loving. Reading over some of my old blog posts reminded of me of how truly blessed I am.

Bush Rat

2011-04-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

THIS was not the face that Baby Girl had when she discovered a MONSTROUS bush rat in the yard. Lady had been barking almost non-stop for the last few nights and we finally discovered why......

this, this.... THING was trying get in the yard!

THIS is the face.. and quite frankly I don't blame her...

I think my face probably looked very similar.

Most mouse are smaller than this thing's head..... just think about that for a minuet!

Doesn't that tail just give you the creeps??

Sunday AM

2011-04-06T15:30:00.001-05:00

Praise and worship

Ugandans have beautiful smiles

Honey and his translator Francis

Our Children's meeting. We have been known to have over 100 children on a Sunday.

"One for me... one for you.... one for Jesus"

The munu kids.... Foresters and the Becks. They are a HUGE answer to prayer for the girls to have friends that speak English and understand what is "Normal" life for us.

Becky Ann is 7 months!

2011-04-05T15:30:00.001-05:00

(Notice the beautiful blue valour blanket for the back drop!

Doesn't my new quilt look much better?!?!)

Miss Kevin says "Wabinen" which means "Bye bye.... see you later"

Slip and Slide

2011-04-04T15:39:00.001-05:00

This was a Christmas present for the girls ... who gets slip 'n' slides for Chiristmas?? Girls who live in Africa, where the hottest time of the year is right at Christmas time!

Only Emma would choose to roll down the hill and not slide!

Snuggle Bug

2011-04-03T16:07:00.004-05:00

There isn't much to say about this post.... I wanted to take some pictures of the blankets from yesterday's post... and SB couldn't resist the opportunity to get in front of the camera. The first shot or two is ok... but as you can see she progressively got sillier and sillier. She always is the biggest ham, and so passionate about everything!

pouting cause mom made her sit different.

SB: "Really, I can make a silly face?"

Mom: "Yes, if you will take a real face too."

Thinking over the proposition....

SB: "Is this my real smile mom???"

Mom: "THIS is your real smile!"

Projects

2011-04-02T15:31:00.002-05:00

As many of you know I am a crafty person. I really can't stand being idle. Last March I decided to take up quilting. The first thing I wanted to make was a quilt for my bed. I had looked at the few places in the capitol where you can get bed coverings, and there were none that I liked. March is when rainy season begins and Honey and I found that we were getting a little chilly at night. I SUPER SWEET friend gave us a blue valour blanket that was the exact color of our walls.... baby blue. Blue in moderation is fine, but I was on blue over load.

I started looking on line for blue and brown fabrics to make my first quilt with. I even had mom look at Walmart. I found Connecting Threads, a wonderful fabric store on line and started drooling.

I figured that HAND quilting is one of those things that you can work on whether you have power or not. And since ~~most of the time~~ there are day with out power it seemed like a perfect fit. So I started shopping and I ordered enough fabric for at least three projects. Mom got my fabric and brought it to me in July of last year. By August I had finished this quilt for Snuggle Bug:

I had made rag quilts for the other girls when Curly was a baby, but SB had never had one so she was first on the list. This is made from Connecting Threads (CT) "Canning Day". It turned out real cute... only I had to use the wrong batting, cause it was all that I had.

Next came this little project. I had already cut up the pieces for my bed quilt, but since I was going to hand quilt for the first time ever, I thought I should practice on some thing small, so I put this together from the scraps of my bed quilt.

It is made from CT's "Aqua Terra" line. I like it cause it is blue, to match the walls but not too blue. The browns really help tone the blues down. The colors remind me of a "Holly Hobbie" rug/wall hanging I had once. I labeled the back...

4 - Me : I made it for me

B1 : That is my initial and the #1 for my first "real" quilt

11-10 : the month and year I finished it

MP-HQ : Machine Pieced and Hand Quilted.

Here is the piece that started it all::

Notice the nice blue walls??? I would paint them if I could, but I can't! Oh well!

This quilt was custom designed for my bed. I don't like bed spreads where all that fabric that wraps around the pillow get bunched up around your face...... so I made it just long enough to go from the top of the bed to just a few inches off the foot of the bed. I'm thinking about taking some of the extra fabric and making what I call pillow quilts..... a little quilt the same width as the big quilt and wide enough to cover the pillows. I would like it to look made, but not have the bulk, or extra pillows. This way I just cover up my pillows..... I think it will work. I also cut out the foot end corners so that it would fit around the posts on my bed. Again I don't like bunchy fabric.

I have to admit, that once I got this crazy blanked sewed together I couldn't think of a pattern to quilt it in.... so I tied it instead. It was much faster that way! I finished it at the beginning of march... almost on year after I started dreaming about it!

I am currently working on two projects.... a blue and green batik quilt for Baby Girl, and a red, white and blue throw that I am both hand piecing and hand quilting. I'll show pictures of those as I get the finished!

Computer Saga and life in a 3rdWC

2011-04-01T15:31:00.001-05:00

It has been a long time, too long actually, but if you will give me a moment to explain.... I think you will understand why.

Where to begin.... Ahhhh Yes.

Several weeks ago, about 6 I think, my computer got very sick. It was infected with a virus that I didn't know how to cure. I was lovingly told by one who shall remain unnamed, that Google was my best friend and I could find the prescription I needed on the net. So I googled the messages I was getting, followed the Dr.s orders and subsequently killed my laptop! That is BAD news when you are living in a third world country and you depend on them to communicate with people.

So off to the capital we went, or it went, to see if it could be raised from the dead. After two weeks it was returned. It wasn't back to normal, but it was at least working. The PC guys weren't able to save ANYTHING.... that was somewhat discouraging, but not the end of the world. My Honey and I started getting to know our "new" laptop. I started installing my programs and such, and after a while we felt like old friends.

After two weeks or so, we started getting messages that said that we were victims of counterfeit software blah blah blah. I ignored it at first, but then it took away my cool wallpaper picture and gave me an ugly black desktop. I was afraid that I would loose more if I didn't fix it. Maybe I was even a little afraid that it might self-destruct if I didn't click on the "to fix problem click here" button. SO i did and the problem started all over.

I was faced with the fact that I was going to have to re-do EVERYTHING that I had just REDONE, but there was nothing for it. SO I got on line with DELL chat operators and they helped me to re-install my legal version of windows. Needless to say all my time has been spent either without a computer entirely, or nursing the headache I got while trying to restore everything back to it's original state.

Last Saturday, a FIVE days before My Honey was scheduled to leave the country, our neighbors accidentally took out the return power line. Which means that there were WELL over 220 volts or amps or whatever trying to exit my house. The result..... a fried power cord for the laptop and a blown fridge.

PRAISE GOD that the computer wasn't connected!! Just the cord was lost.... but what is a laptop with no power??? Fortunately we have friends in town with the a Dell and their cord is like ours.!! It has felt like one computer issues after another has plagued us for the last two months, and quite frankly it make me not want to come with in ten feet of it.

But I have nothing but high hopes for the future.... if only my hard drive will get enough power to it so that I can re-establish itunes on my "newest" laptop. If I can get access to my HD I will post some pictures.

** update**
I was successfully able to access my HD and retrieve pictures, so look for more posts to come!

Pop, pop, popcorn

2011-02-05T07:34:00.001-06:00

This is a brief documentary on how to harvest corn. And though my children have de-seeded many a corn cob, they have never had the experience of winnowing the seed. This was a fun family/neighborhood experience.

The corn in the wheelbarrow waiting to be de-seeded.... or removed.... or gathered....

whatever it is called.

Inspector #44 checking to make sure everything was ready to go.

The first batch being winnowed. It is an art that takes LOTS of practice to flip the seeds in the air juuust right, and catch them again, most of the time I flip and the seeds fly!

Kent taking a turn a the winnowing basket with inspector #11 watching carefully.

Another angle of the separating of the chaft and the seed. I was fascinated by the whole process.

It is beautiful watching the chaft blow away..... it almost looked as if it was snowing!

Inspector #33 supervising our her fellow employees. Many hands make for light work.

The final pour..... filling the trunk one seed at a time. ;)

The final product..... a foot locker full of popcorn seed. Another Yummy snack scored for the Foresters!

Of course when you are finished you let the workers take the cobs home to be used for firewood.

Face Paint

2011-02-04T07:21:00.001-06:00

The mall in Kampala just recently opened a new playground.... they had face painters there this week and the girls wanted to rememeber their works of art.

Vacation

2011-02-03T06:30:00.003-06:00

Everybody needs a little vacation time..... right? For MONTHS Kent had been talking about wanting to go to Mombassa and the beach. He finally got his wish! It was an incredible journey to arrive.... but we arrived none the less.So that Kent (and the family) could enjoy a week on the beach we made a harrowing journey from Gulu -to> Kampala, spent the day with friends in country adopting a baby. Then EARLY the the next morning we started the drive from Kampala -to> Nairobi. In Nirobi we brought in our extra matress (hillbilly flashbacks) so that there would be enough space for us all to stretch out. Next day we re-packed the van and headed out AGAIN. Nairobi -to> Mombassa! Don't be decieved we didn't stay there.... we just ate a nice lunch (something besides PB&Js), stretched our legs rented a local, non touristy, cheap hotel, and then headed to the Public Beach. (Picture wall to wall people! )

The next day we got BACK in the car for a quick trip up the coast from Mombassa -to> Malindi, the Italian vacation spot of choice. We had PB&Js of course.... this was not necessarily because we enjoy peanut butter, or that we were on a budget, it was more because there is no such thing as a Mcdonalds or Taco Bell ANYWHERE on the whole continent.... so PB&Js it is. Side note.....Malindi is a little Italy in Kenya: Italian restaurants, menus, signs, language. The Kenyans that lived there didn't learn Swahilli and English... they learned Italian. VERY interesting to say the least. Italian culture is very different from our American culture.

Once in Malindi our vacation didn't start right away. We stoped by countless (6+) hotels and resorts first. Most were either full or WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of our price range, some how $500 a night (even if all meals were included) is a little more than we budgeted for. FINALLY, at our last option, (we had reservations some where, we had passed the turn off, we wouldn't have been on the beach and there were only 2 restaurant options in the little town of Watamu) ... we scored. I mean really scored!

Under new management, still working out the kinks, we found the Ocean Beach Resort. We stayed in a one room villa, on the second floor. that overlooked the pool for LESS than what we would have paid where we had reservations. LESS.... can you believe it!.... It was beautiful!!!!

Now the vacation was really beginning. Only there isn't much to say about it. We slept, read, ate, swam, walked the beach, everyday..... that's it. and since sand and cameras aren't a good mix, all my pictures were taken from our balcony. We had a GREAT time. The return trip was just as long as our departure, only we stayed a whole day in Nairobi and did some shopping. That was fun, there were malls in Nairobi nicer than malls back home! We almost forgot we were in Africa.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2011-01-24T04:16:00.000-06:00

We bucked all forms of tradition this year and DIDN'T have Church on Christmas day! (gasp)
Instead we had a birthday PARTY for Jesus the Sunday AFTER Christmas. We bought tinsel and put it up the best we could, on the cement counters and walls.

Baby Girl provided the entertainment for our guests while we waited for the decorating to stop and the party to begin.

She is actually quite good at her tricks. She can make a :cup and saucer, the Eiffel tower, a winking eye, chicken feet and do lots of weaving in and out. The children as well as the adults were fascinated by her talent.

What party is complete with out games??? We did a water balloon toss, marshmallow toss, and a popcorn toss. There were SEVERAL really wet people by the end of the day!

Everyone wears their Christmas best for Church the day after Christmas.... and these ladies didn't let that keep them from participating in the water balloon toss! All the adults were GREAT sports by jumping in and playing with the children!

After games we ate cake and punch.... but I was too busy cutting and dishing up to take pictures. After cake we had gifts. There were kid gifts, women gifts and men gifts. All the children received colored pencils. Super fun!

All the adult gifts came with verses. The women got either : an umbrella (He is our shade) OR tea, sugar and a mug (taste and see that the Lord is good) OR soap and lotion (we are the fragrance of Christ).

The men received "diaries" (Cultural note: what we call a "planner" and use to "plan" out our time, they call a "diary" and use to record what they did with their time.) (He ordains our days) or a watch (There is a time for everything).

All in All it was a GREAT time for everyone who came. It was the highlight of the holidays for many of the locals. VERY, VERY unlike any Christmas service, or party for that matter that they have EVER been too!

Christmas Day

2011-01-23T03:56:00.001-06:00

Christmas day was fun..... and strange at the same time. We tried really hard to get into the "Christmas" spirit, but 80 degree weather some how dampens the mood, especially after the rare white Christmas we enjoyed last year.The girls made gifts for one another. Baby Girl drew this picture of "little monkey" for her little sister Snuggle Bug. AMAZING right! She is a budding artist and has a lot of talent. (really they all do!)Curly and I make "little monkey" a bed complete with a blanket that matches SB's. Fun Story: While I was making the pillow, SB saw it and asked if it could be a pillow for LM. I told a little white Christmas lie (are those allowed?) and said that it was a pin cushion ;). For 3-4 days after she saw it she asked if LM could have it! She was super surprised when LM did get it along with a bed and a blanket.

Part of the reason this year was so fun..... we opened ALL our gifts at once. No traveling from Grandparent to Grandparent and getting gifts at each stop... it was ALL for ONE!

Every one got bikes this year. SB and Curly's are exactly the same, only different sizes. This one is SB's. We have already had some minor crashes and both the little girls have vowed to never ride again, several times..... but slowly they are getting the hang of things.

Here are Sweat Peas and Curly's bikes. SP's is a "road bike". It reminds me of the bike Mrs. Gulch rides in "The Wizard of OZ". I think that I might have to borrow SP's bike and go for a ride one day!

There were clothes galore, toys, movies, books, puzzles and games..... tons and tons of weekend entertainment! We were EXTREMELY BLESSED this year!

THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!

One Year!

2011-01-22T03:48:00.000-06:00

It was one year ago today that we landed in our new home! Can you believe it!?!

It really blows my mind how quickly it has gone by. We have loved most every moment. It is a super crazy adventure raising 4 girls in a foregin country and they are doing wonderful.

Happy Anniversiary to the Forester Clan!

Christmas Eve PJ's

2011-01-15T07:49:00.011-06:00

Who doesn't like new pajamas??? Christmas present #1..... opened up the night before so you can wear them while you stay up waiting for the morning to arrive and look decent when you finally get to take ~~Christmas pictures~~ open presents.

Back Blogging

2011-01-15T07:48:00.000-06:00

I think that back blogging should be and official cyber term. Or maybe backblog - (v) The process of blogging about events that have long since past.

As I sit at home on Saturday, late evening catching up on all the information that I have neglected lately, I'm in my PJ's, the house is empty and quiet, AND the Internet is cooperating! Yippee! I realized that the amount of blogging I might get to catch up on could possibly become overwhelming, so after post this I am going to "post date" all my blogs so that you can enjoy them over the next few days. See I really do love you!

Practicing out in the yard.... we had some seriously injured cereal boxes after practice!

Snuggle Bug, up close. I think I was trying to snap a picture of her wounded eye, but who knows.

Mom trying her hand at archery. It's been a LONG time since archery lessons a camp.

Tom boy through and through. We have some new friend here in Uganda. There are 4 kids 13-girl, 11-boy, 9-girl, 7-boy and we have to remind our Tom boy that she needs to play with all her friends!

It may look big.... but she can handle it like a PRO.

Chirstmas Service

2011-01-15T07:28:00.000-06:00

December 19th was our Christmas service. Our kids had been working hard on learning "Silent Night"
& "Joy to the World". It was awesome to hear them singing about the saviors birth.

They also worked up a little drama. The kids acted out the birth of Jesus, while one of our helpers read from the Bible in Achoil Luo.

Here "Baby Jesus" is being "delivered"

Sweet Pea and Becky Ann enjoyed the morning entertainment.

I wish I had thought to bring my video camera... it would have be priceless!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2011-01-15T07:06:00.000-06:00

Can I just simply say that time flies far to quickly! My Baby Girl turned 11 last month (yes, in December) I can still remember the night before we went to the hospital, standing in front of the Christmas tree taking the standard "I'm having a baby tomorrow - side profile - shot" and Kent teasing me that I was bigger than the tree! (In my defence....It was a small tree).

An now here we are 11 years later, celebrating in Uganda of all places! Who would have ever guessed?!?

B-day Girl holding her cake.... In the past, I have always enjoyed busting out the Wilton cake decorating "tool box" and mixing up beautiful colors to adorn the cake "shape" of their choice, but since moving to Uganda.... we have had to be a little less elaborate. BG did however come up with this cute two layered cake design, complete with sprinkles.

She needs help "showing" her age these days. Ten from Sugglebug + on from Curly.

Mountain bike.... blue. That was her "big" gift this year. We don't have side walks... but then we have NEVER had a good sidewalk for bike riding. We are going to try and "exercise" together, she can ride while I walk. That way she can ride more than the 20 feet or so that is our driveway, and I have a walking buddy.

Birthday Kisses!!

Her other request was "hunting" stuff. So this is and honest to goodness African bow and arrow. You can get them in the market and they come with 4-5 arrows. Some of the security guards use these at their jobs, when you are hiring a guard.... the price all depends on whether they carry a bow or a gun.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T06:26:00.002-06:00

Just FYI..... this is OUR tree!

G-nuts

2010-12-24T06:26:00.000-06:00

Harvest time!! We planted Ground Nuts a few months ago and were finally able to harvest them! I have to take a moment and admit my ignorance. G-nuts the nut of choice in making peanut butter, so for a very long time, I thought that the name, "ground nut" had something to go with the fact that the nuts are "ground" in to a paste for peanut butter. It was only recently that I looked at the name "ground nut" and realized that the name probably comes from the fact that the nuts are grown in the "ground" as opposed to a tree. Go ahead and shake your head in wonder and shame....

The kids that live in our neighborhood have been weeding the g-nuts, and so when it was time to harvest they were the first in line to help.

Harvesting is quite simple..... just up root the plant. That is also how they harvest beans. After they have been up rooted and have dried a day or so, you remove the nuts from the roots. Then you let them dry some more. Then you shell them. You can shell by hand, which is what we should have done, or you can take them to the sheller. We obviously took them to the sheller, but because we had let them dry for too long a lot of the nuts split and it was hard to get all the dirt out of them....

Next time, we will know better. But here's to a TON of yummy nuts to snack on this "winter".

Table fit for a King

2010-12-24T05:05:00.001-06:00

Before we moved I had heard it rumored that you could show a carpenter a picture of a piece of furniture and they could make it. So I brought a Pottery Barn catalog with me when we moved, so I would have plenty of pictures to choose from. But we didn't have anything made right away. Instead we bought this table with 6 chairs to get us started.

The table was just big enough to fit all our family and our plates. Serving dishes.... forget it. No room. But we faithfully used what we had until the oppertunity to upgrade presented it's self.
When we were ready I made a nifty order with pictures, drawings, and even a few arrows... I wish I had been able to keep the page... the carpenter said "three weeks". We said GREAT! It will be ready just in time for our guests from Waco. But remember we live in Africa..... 'nuff said.

SIX weeks later Kent brings home this:

The first few days it felt like we were eating mile away from each other... but we have now adjusted, for the most part.... games can be hard to play, but you can put all the serving dishes in the middle so that is a plus.
You can't see it in these pictures but the chairs are HUGE~!!!~ I don't know if I wrote down the wrong numbers, or if he misread them but two children can comfortably fit into ONE seat! Huge I tell you!

And so you don't think we are wasteful.... the old table is now my sewing/craft table and the extra chairs will be modified into end tables for the livingroom after the new year! I will post on those when they are finished!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T00:14:00.000-06:00

I had TONS to be thankful for this year for Thanksgiving! MY MOM was visiting!

In September I sent her some Achoil paper bead necklaces, she sold them to her coworkers, and there was a craze! She called about a week after she sold all the beads and said ..."I may be coming to visit you next month." She dug around found her passport, got it renewed, got her shots and booked her tickets.

It was so fun to have my mom get to see where we live and experience Gulu first hand. When I asked her what she thought.... she said "It is not as bad as I thought". I was afraid that it would be worse.... funny how that works.

We had a giant house full on Thanksgiving day! Kent invited every family-less American, and a few Canadians as well and we made our own family. We had chicken, pumpkin, mashed potatoes, mac'n'cheeze, ham, green bean casserole.... and TONS of amazing desserts. Mom brought Velveeta, french onions, and cranberries as well as cute thanksgiving plates and napkins. Everyone was so surprised (and blessed) to have a real American Thanksgiving.

All in all it was a great day.... we were even able to watch the Macy's parade via the internet that night. We hooked it up to the TV and enjoyed all the floats and performers, it almost felt like we were home.

LOVE YOU ALL!!! Enjoy some cold weather, hot chocolate and Christmas lights for us this year!

Groovin'

2010-12-01T23:57:00.000-06:00

So in the last weeks we have had so much going on.... and yet nothing new. How that is possible is unknown to me, but it sum up life lately.

We started a Life Group with the people in our neighborhood that want a deeper walk with Jesus. Our first night was about five weeks ago, and we went over Acts 2:42-47

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

That night one of our group members was having a baby, so we all gave to their need. We had people give food (bananas, posho and rice) and money for cloth diapers, and soap. It was so awesome to see the group give freely to someone with a need. Since that night we have had other opportunities to bless people in our group and is has been AMAZING!

Kevin and Becky Ann are doing well! Small Kevin left, then Kevin's cousin Susan moved in. Not long after her arrival they had to move into a new house. She isn't right next door anymore. but we still get to see them. Kevin and Susan come three times a week to help with cleaning and laundry. Susan usually washes, and Kevin cleans. I am still getting used to having someone in the house andtrying to find something for her to clean.

Originally Kevin was comming by herself everyday (five days a week) and she did cleaning on some days and laundry on others. But trying to do school with some one around, and having Becky Ann as a distraction was too much for my introverted self, so we decided to have BOTH, Kevin and Susan come on three days and I pay them both. It is a win-win situation. I have two days "free" and they earn more money and have two day they don't have to "foot" (walk) to my house. YEA!

Kevin led Concy one of our neighbors to Jesus two weeks ago. Concy's husband John gave his life to Jesus a few months ago, and he has been praying for her to receive salvation. Concy comes to our Life Group and is doing really well! Kevin's sister Miriam also gave her life to Jesus and was baptized a few weeks ago. Things are really hopping around here.

We are praying for a new church building. Each week our building looks more and more like a dance hall... which we don't mind other than there is also a restaurant right out side, and they are open on Sunday mornings and we don't want to disturb Frank who has been SO kind to let us use the building for free! We need something that will accommodate our 30 adults and 70+ kids.

Our village church is doing REALLY well!! Remember my Shall We Gather At the River? post. Well that group has turned into four groups, and last week there were over 15 people that were baptized in the river!
They meet every Monday and are planning on meeting together other days during the week as well.... trying to follow that Acts 2:42-47 model!

I'm sure there is WAY more that is going on with Kent and all his guys..... but I will leave that for him to add. He is considering adding his own two cents to the blog as well, so soon you may get a second perspective!

"Our Song"

2010-10-19T06:34:00.007-05:00

Many, many, MANY years ago, when we only had two kids we would crank up the volume on this tune and dance around the house...... it is amazing how prophetic it has turned out to be.

"Me and Becky" - Chris Rice

Becky has a house on Abundant Live Boulevard
A good name, good family, and butterflies in her yard
Becky loves Jesus and really wants to make Him proud
She tears up in church and she sings her harmonies loud
She's got a Bible by the bed, a prayer journal, and a fish on her car
She makes sure to bow her head and give thanks in every restaurant

But is that enough?

C'mon Becky, let's go for a ride
If I'm driving too fast then I apologize
But there's a world out there that we left behind
Full of souls as important as yours and mine
Looks like a reckless road, and a sacrifice
And I'm crazy scared it may cost our lives
But then I remember Jesus died

So c'mon Becky
Let's go for a ride

I'm rolling up to Becky's house on my Sunday drive
I have to laugh to myself 'cause it looks exactly like mine
I smile and wave at all the happy people strolling by
We've got the same walk, same talk, and the same sparkle in our eyes
'Cause we're thankful for the blessings, but maybe we could lay 'em aside
I get a feeling we might be missin' the time of our lives

So hop in and hold on tight

C'mon Becky, let's go for a ride
If I'm driving too fast then I apologize
But there's a world out there that we left behind
Full of souls as important as yours and mine
Looks like a reckless road, and a sacrifice
And I'm crazy scared it may cost our lives
But then I remember Jesus died

So c'mon Becky
Let's go for a ride

'Cause we're thankful for the blessings, but maybe we could lay 'em aside?
I get a feeling we might be heading for the time of our lives
So hop in and hold on tight
C'mon Becky, let's go for a ride

This really is "Our Song".... raised in Christian homes, singing in church, having a prayer journal.... all of it, and now we truly are enjoying "the time of our lives".

Thank you JESUS for allowing us to give our lives for you!

Time is Flyin!!

2010-10-15T05:11:00.000-05:00

They say that time flies when you are having fun.... but really I think it flies regardless of how much fun you are having!

The end September brought out our best Waco friends, two of their kids and our overseer from AMI. That was a fast and fun trip! They were the first friends to ever visit, meaning we have developed many friendships after people have arrived in Gulu, but they were the first to come see us.

We gave them the grand tour: house, market, university, neighbors and all our favorite eateries. In Kampala they went shopping with us and we had pizza on Lake Victoria complete with lake flies galore!

I have also been guest blogger on the Women's ministry blog for our Church in Lubbock. That was fun! The first post was on "seasons" and the second was a re-post of my blog on Becky Ann. You can check it out at prize31.com . There are many WONDERFUL, GODLY ladies that contribute, it is always a good read.

I am still schooling with the girls, visiting neighborhoods, and discipling Kevin and her friend Faith. Faith is expecting soon.... maybe I will be able to add another baby to my list.

In addition to all this, I have been filling my "free" time with sewing and quilting. I brought back fabric from the US in July and have been diligently piecing together a quilt for my bed, a small quilt for Emma and another small quilt for my chair.

I am trying to get a "craft" blog going.... but I misspelled the blog name and I can't decide it I should keep it as a reflection of me, or try and fix it...... opinions?

Now I am focused on the arrival of our next guest in November..... I can't wait for that as well as Thanksgiving. We are planning a huge feast for that day and inviting all our fellow "Munu" friends. That should be a blast!

HAPPY FALL YA'LL

Have Patience

2010-09-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

Don't ask me how.... but thinking of the Dead Ant joke from the last post caused me to think of another song that I don't know much about. At some point in my early childhood I learned the "Have Patience" song.

Here are the Words:

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient
You always start to worry
Remember, remember
That God is patient too
And think of all the times
When others have to wait on you!

I have only met one other person, except my mother, who knew this song. Mr. Kely Braswell sang it this summer while we were waiting on dinner to get ready, and I was SUPER excited to know that I was not the only one who had heard it!!

So if you recognize the lyrics and can give me more info on who sang it, how to find it.... anything, I would be ever so thankful!

Dead Ant...

2010-09-16T15:10:00.001-05:00

Can anyone remember the joke that had the : dead ant, dead ant punch line that was sung to the Pink Panther tune??... Well I was wishin' I had a reason to sing it the other day.

It all started at night. Kent and Brian ( the restaurant guy) were about to leave when they were attacked by fire ants. ( not the big red west Texas kind hat hurt when they bite, but the small yet equally painful type that swarm and attack you in large groups). The girls and I realized that there was trouble in paradise, when the guys came running up the steps, stripping off their pants yelling at us to turn off the lights.

After they had checked and double checked to make sure that they had removed all of the ants that had congregated in their tighty-whiteys, they proceeded to tell us how they were innocently standing in the drive way when they began experiencing pain in some very sensitive areas. After they had redressed, we looked out on the sidewalk and discovered that it was moving.... like it was covered in small, black, swarming ants! CRAZY....

The next day the girls discovered this in the yard:

It was a pathway traveling from under the pomegranate tree to under the orange tree. You can see the "walls" of the path with a steady stream of ants flowing in one direction.

Zoom out a little way and the path really begins to develop. See here there is even a fork in the road.

Zoom out a little more, and you are looking at the Great Ant Wall of Uganda. It was amazing..... I had to fight off a little panic as I started to imagine them invading my house, but I got over it quickly.

Antioch, Gulu

2010-09-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

Sundays have been getting crazier and crazier... two weeks ago we had 45ish kids... last week we had almost 60! Fortunately it is not just Miriam and myself any more. We have added to our children's ministry team: Gladys and Francis. THANK YOU JESUS!

This is Miriam with one of our babies... we have been trying to teach all the children in one large group, but now that help has arrived we will split into two groups.

After serving some ump-teen years in Children's Ministry both in Lubbock and in Waco, I have TONs of experience.... I am a pro when it comes to planning, and preparing to teach children in America. In Uganda, however, we don't have the luxury of toy-filled nurseries, so finding ways to teach and entertain 20+ children in a dusty construction zone for an hour or more is a weekly challenge!

Every Sunday the children usually worship with the adults. After worship, baptisms and offering the children are dismissed to Sunday school. Miriam usually tells the story, in both English and Luo. Then after she tells the story and asks the kids some questions, we color. We currently have a bag full of crayons that the children pass around. Every one gets 2-3 crayons and then they share/trade with their neighbor. Then while they are still coloring we have a snack.

This is Baby Girl with her friend Rose. Is is fun to see the girls developing friendships, even with the language barrier.

Ummmm..... this is the baptismal. It works well, and it about the only other thing at our church picture worthy at the moment.

A day in the life of....

2010-09-03T15:22:00.000-05:00

Most days start with Jesus time. I get up, fix some tea and snuggle down into my big chair tucked into the quite corner of my bedroom. I have my Bible, two journals, my ipod and my colored pens. There is also the occasional book and stack of blank notecards. Sometimes I have the joy of having the whole morning to myself, other days I get to share it with one of the "babies". (I wonder if we will ever stops calling the last to babies?)

After Jesus time, is breakfast. Most mornings it is cereal. We by boxes and boxes of it when we are in Kampala once a month. Mainly Kellogs Corn Flakes, but Kent and the big girls like this granola type cereal. On weekends we have the "special" cereal : Cocoa Pops. We usually make pancakes once a week and of course there is always eggs!

As you can see, we love the master mix recipie and the pancakes we make from it. After breakfast we have God time. God time is the family devotional time, which is different from personal Jesus time. Right now we are in Genesis. After we pray it is off to the school room.

We do all the group stuff first. Then the big girls work on their books while I help the babies with their books. When Curly Sue is done with her assignments for the day, she and Sunggle bug head to the living room for playtime. I have to be careful, otherwise I will sit and work till way past lunch time! If the girls don't need much assistance, then I will work on a projet of some kind. I can't stand not having something to do, but I try not to leave the school room. If I leave, the girls usually will start playing, so I try and stay as much as possible.

Lunch.... Untill recently lunch was either: leftovers, rice or a sandwhich. Sandwhiches are either PB&J's or tuna. However, last month we discovered yummy lunch meat in Kampala, so we can now add that to the menu. With our sandwhiches we have one or two of the following: pickles, fruit, popcorn, chips, carrots or the occasional cookie.

Afternoons vary depending on the day, most are filled by finishing school, washing dishes, preparing for supper, and my favorite activity: crafting. On Wedendays I take a Boda Boda (motercycle taxi) into town and spend time with Miriam, our children's church teacher. We talk about the next lesson, and then we will go and visit some of the children from church at their homes. Today I scheduled a weekely Bible Study for Friday afternoons with my neighbor and her friend. That will be a fun time!!

Evenings, after supper are usuallly spent taking baths, playing games, watching movies or reading a book. There have been many nights when the power is out and Mommy reading a book it the only source of entertaiment. We really enjoy those nights.

Saturdays are chore days. We usually do one or more of the following tasks: sweep and mop, clean bathrooms, scrubb bathmats and rugs, wash sheets, dry and put away clothes, work in the garden or flower bed. Lest you worry about the picture below..... I didn't wash all those clothes.

Our neighbor across the street uesd to wash our clothes, but they NEVER had enough time to dry, so they would always come back smelling mildewed. So we started picking them up sooner so we could dry them ourselves. This week Kevin started washing, at our house so they could dry... completely. It has ben WONDERFUL wearing clothes that didn't smell gross!

I wasn't part of this Peanut planting party, but I did harvest the beans that used to be planted there! To plant peanuts (or g-nuts as they are called here) you need a partner. One digs the hole and the other one puts the seeds in the ground.

After chores we have free time. I craft or start cooking while the girls get filthy playing with their friends from the neighborhood.

Sundays we have Church, then we have lunch, by the time we get home from all that there is just enough time to take a quick nap before starting to cook supper.

Well that is a quick look at my day in the life of a: Stay at home mom... who is also a teacher... who is also trying to teach people how to follow Jesus!

Happy Birthday Kevin and Baby

2010-09-02T15:56:00.000-05:00

( small disclaimer... I am writing this late at night AND the spell check is not working.... so who knows what my spelling will be like!!)

My neighbor's name is Kevin... she is a woman. She is an amazing woman and is also my friend! A week and a half ago I had the priveldge and honor of praying with her to recive salvation. Three days later I had the blessing of delivering her baby.

The action started around midnight on Tuesday night. She called saying the pain was increasing, so I went over to her house for a first hand look at how close her contractions were. Kevin is a first time mom, so when the contractions weren't too close together, I told her how to time them, and then told her to call me again when they were closer together.

I need to take the time to explain that Kevin was not alone, I am not cruel and heartless. She has a family friend that has been living with her for the past few months to help keep house as well as help with the baby when she arrived. Her name is Kevin, too.

At three AM the phone rings again, and Mamma Kevin ;) says that the pain is too much.... she has thrown timing the contractions out the window, and is ready to go to the hospital. After hearing MANY horror stories about some of the "free" hospitals, we asked if we could take her to the "private" hospital.

We arrived, and she was immeadeatly seen by the Doctor. Kevin and I sat in the hall, while the DR examined her and determined that she was in true labor, and that she should be admitted to the hospital. When he came out into the hall, I asked if either Kevin or I could be with Mamma Kevin, while she was delivering. He seemed shocked that I would ask! I explained that I was willing to gown up or whatever I needed, but we REALLY wanted one of us in the room.... we didn't want her alone. He gave me a vauge response about asking the gyn. and then started having the staff prepare the labor room.

He decided that since she was a "first timer" that he would check the baby's heart beat every hour, and then he would check her progress in about four hours. That being settled, he left and we all three walked down the hall to the labor room. As soon as we entered, Mamma Kevin stripped down to her birthday suit, no back less hospital gown, no blanket.... Nothing! THAT was a new experience for me, to say the least!

In Gulu, if you want your doctor to have supplies, and you don't want to have to pay and arm and a led for them you bring them yourself! I can't imaginge with all the other thinking and planning a new mom has to do in preperation for a trip to a hospital, having to pack: gloves, gause, wool, plastic bed covers, toilet paper....... the things we take forgranted.

Mamma Kevin was amazing! Once she realized that she was bleeding, she had Kevin place the plastic sheet on the bed. While having intense contractions, we told me to put on a pair of gloves and start rubbing.... um... rubbing her bum. I can barely think straight when I have pain meds..... she had nothing, and was still able to think!!

We were in the labor room, (which is literaly two non-ajustable, metal beds; two baby warmers; a sink and a couple of chairs) for about..... 45 minuets, when she felt the urge to push.... She pushed, I suggested that maybe she shouldn't, to which she replied that she couldn't help it, it was happening on it's own. Kevin ran to get the doctor, he ran in and realized that she couldn't walk and ran to get the gurney. By the time he returned, the baby had arrived and I had caught her!

Everyone was totally caught off gaurd..... remember, they were going to check the HEART BEAT in an hour and check her PROGRESS in 4 hours. She was a "first timer" and the doctor said that she set the record for the fastest first timer.... like EVER.

I followed a doctor & the baby to the delivery room, and left the Kevins in the labor room with another DR. Kevin's doctor was having to try SOO hard to keep everything steril and clean while he checked everything out. He didn't even take the time to put on a gown, or anything... he just had the nurse tuck his tie into his shirt!

I had to help the nurse and Dr. that was with the baby learn how to use the scale! (I think everyone was extremely frazzled by the sudden apperance of the baby.) When we finally got the baby on the correct scale, she weighed in at a whopping.... 2.4 Kilos.... or 4.9 ish pounds!..... Sweet Pea weighed twice that!! That may have something to do with why she slipped out so quickly.

So the fun part about all this.......

Mamma Kevin and baby have the same birthday! I think it is so much fun when that happens!! Kent and the my girls decorated the porch for their arrival.

The baby's name.... Her local name is Apoyo Rot which means "thank God"

Her "Christian" name is Becky Ann.

How everwith two Kevins and two Beckies arround we would all be so confused,

so her nickname is "Acuc" wich means "Small one"

Acuc at one week old!

Happy Birthday Curly Sue & Sweet Pea

2010-09-02T14:56:00.000-05:00

Movin right along.... we have CS and SP's birthday!! We were traveling in Kampala on CS actual birthday, and our friends couldn't come on SP's birthday, SO we celebrated on the day in between!! This time the creative present presentation was......

Wrapping Fabric! Gracefully draped in the largest cut of fabric that I had, was the best way to give the girls gifts. It was awesome... We had Pizza and Kool-aid for dinner and then cake and.... ICE CREAM for dessert! Yes, you read that right..... Daddy somehow managed to find ice cream, in our city, that hadn't been thawed and re-frozen a million times. It was very tasty!

We even had balloon games. This was the second round. Brian missed the first round, so we willingly played again! We tried to see whose balloon could go the farthest, as well as a relay walking with a balloon between your knees. Everyone had a good time. After games and cake, we took time to love on, encourage and pray for both the girls..... that was really sweet.

Happy Birthday Snuggle Bug

2010-09-02T14:36:00.000-05:00

Ok.... I know I am a little late in posting... .but better late then never, right?? So this was SB's 4th birthday party. When there is not a Walmart around the corner, you have to get creative with the present presentation, so we planned a "scavanger hunt" that led the guest of honor all around the yard, and even had a few gifts tucked here and there.

While she was out hunting, I decorated for the party.... the tablecloth, cake and the remaining presents were displayed as elegently as I could make them. She was tickled pink when she finished her hunting and came into her "party". That is one of the nice things about living simply... anything can be exciting!!!

The trio blocks that she got were a HUGE hit!!! They all love playing with them and they loved the bead "pop-arty" too..... only they don't use the beads to make jewlery, they sort tnem and then "serve" them as food. :) Today I was treated to a FEAST!

Sweet Pea's Baptisim

2010-08-23T09:19:00.000-05:00

While we were at iCON Sweet Pea was baptized with all our AMI "family" It was sooooo neat to share the experience with liked hearted people. Everyone squashed into the pool room, and gathered around. Amazingly enough, no one fell in! After Jimmy prayed, the daddies took turns baptizing their kids! SO Cool!! My daddy baptized me, and it is special that Kent can baptize our girls too!

After everyone that wanted to, was good and wet, we headed out side and people gathered around the kids that were baptized and prayed for them. Is was super special to hear everyones prayers for our Sweep Pea.

My awesome friend Greg, took all the pictures for me so that I could "sit back" and enjoy the moment!

Whirlwind trip

2010-08-08T03:53:00.000-05:00

We stayed few days in Kampala, watching God provide miracles for my Husband by giving our family a ONE YEAR visa, for the cost of a 6 month visa, WITHOUT work papers as well as allowing him to attain a Ugandan drivers license, WITHOUT work papers before we boarded our plane to London. Cool huh!

London was fast, but we did take the "tube" into Downtown and see Hyde park. Snuggle Bug slept the ENTIRE time we were in Downtown, and woke up as we were running to catch the last shuttle back to our hotel. "Mamma, put me down, put me down!" So I did. What a trooper. I'm not sure I would have woken up so well.

We landed in Denver and were greeted at the airport by my parents and grandparents. WOW!! Emotional! After we got over the excitement of seeing each other for the first time in 6 months, and after we stopped by the hotel to drop off our bags we went to dinner. CHILI's!! All I wanted was chips and salsa! YUMMY!

The next day we left Denver and headed to Keystone, where our international conference was to be held. On the way we crossed over the continental divide. Of course we had to stop and snap a few pictures.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!! Two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world!!

Of course, being in the states meant seeing all of our family, who so graciously traveled to Colorado and endured our conference schedule. And Of course seeing Grandmas means receiving gifts.... like these totally cool rain slickers!! These will come in very handy during rainy season.

Once we arrived in Keystone, we got settled into our condo and prepared for the onslaught of people and activity. The conference it's self was AMAZING.... really can't even begin to describe that. It took awhile to really soften up.... I had not been very good at refreshing my self, and I had gotten dry, and hard. I needed several days in God presence before I was ready to receive all that he had for me.

Our Organisation goes above and beyond when it comes to blessing it's missionary's and their kids. Our activities included (but were not limited to):

- A trip to the amusement park

- Multiple trips to the ice cream shop

- Paddle boat rides

- Movie night, complete with stacks of boxes of movie candy

- A carnival, complete with sno-cones, cotton candy and popcorn.

- Performances by our talented children:

- The AMAZING race. So I need to stop here and tell the story .... The amazing race has become a new iCON tradition. It's activities this year included: fishing for gummy worms using pretzel hooks, tossing shoes, transferring cotton balls, using Vaseline on your nose, threading multiple needles, stacking bolts, and other crazy events..... The first team to finish the 4th or 5th task is given a fast pass to first place. If they choose to take it and they can accomplish the challenge.... they win. This years team achieved 1st place by eating 25 LIVE EARTHWORMS!! I thought that stuff only happened on TV.

Kent's team was proud to come in second. I think they would have lost it they had been challenged to eat earthworms. Their prize..... tiny trophies and a candy bar each!

-Cereal night!!! As many of you know.... getting good cereal is a challenge while living over seas. i have blogged about the cost and the lack of variety before. So you can guess how popular cereal night is! At icon they raid the cereal isle and buy every sugary cereal on the market, boxes and boxes as well as gallons of milk. WAY too much fun!! SO blessed that they think of EVERYTHING!

There were also worship nights, date nights, gondola rides as well as shopping trips to Target and the outlet mall! To say that we were busy that two weeks is and understatement!!

WE are still alive...

2010-07-26T00:36:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since my last post!!!! We have been away from home for three weeks at AMI's international conference. IT has been AMAZING!!!! Really really AMAZING.

I didn't not pack the camera cable.... there wasn't much room. And I was saving all the space I could for my giant trip to walmart. So after I land in Entebbe, pick up groceries and birthday presents, drive 4.5 hours, get home, unpack and recover from jet lag, then I will post pictures ans try to describe the AWESOME time that we had in Keystone, CO.

Until then.....

Happenings

2010-06-28T00:42:00.000-05:00

Sad news...

I know that I said that this Sunday I would take pictures so that you could get a feel of what our worship service looked like, but sadly there were several of us sick and Baby Girl was the only one who was able to go with daddy to service.

Here is what Kent had to say about the service in his last update.::

We had a much more Ugandan crowd in our Sunday morning gathering today...with all the short-termers gone back home. We had 25 people and 20 children attend. Two of the visitors received salvation this morning! We broke up into 4 small groups after Simon Peter gave a word on God's Love and it went great. They prayed for each other and said the "small groups was a good idea." We are having our first small group training this Wednesday evening! Be praying for revelation please.

Good News....
The "long term team" had a retreat this weekend. They were able to debrief after the three week flurry of short term team activity. It was a good time from what I hear.

Here is what Kent said about the retreat::

We had our first "long-term" team retreat this weekend. It was made up of all the translators who have been working with our short-term teams the past 3 weeks and our 2 summer interns...9 Ugandans and the 3 of us. We had a lunch last week to celebrate all that the Lord had done through our work and to see who wanted to continue working with us. We basically asked who could commit to the team/vision through August(university will start back up then) and all 9 said they were in! We left on Friday morning to go to a nearby "retreat center" and the action started before we even got out of town. As we were getting some batteries before we left, a man severely crippled on the left side of his body went walking/hobbling by. Two of the guys stopped him and began to talk and pray with him. Almost one hour later he walked away carrying his cane on his shoulder! He had lifted his left arm above his shoulder for the first time since 2007 and had opened his left hand since that time, although the hand would not stay open. His back seemed to literally straighten as we prayed over him. During all this a small crowd gathered. One of our guys shared the gospel and 2 men received salvation in Jesus! This was all because we needed to buy batteries! And because the Lord loves these people tremendously! So then we head off to our destination where we looked at some large scale strategy and weekly practicals we could begin doing this next week to disciple the new followers of Jesus. It was a lot for such a short period of time, but it was good. On Saturday afternoon as we were driving back to the main road we came upon a 9 yr old boy who walked like a 90 yr old man. His left knee was injured in a simple bike accident 2 days earlier. We stopped the van and started praying over his knee. he hopped on it a couple of times and then raced one of our summer interns to "the next tree." He literally ran just a few minutes after barely being able to walk! As we began to drive back home we all marveled at how the short retreat was sandwiched between 2 encounters with the Kingdom of Heaven. These 9 young folks are so excited to be part of this...and so am I.

Finally..

The girls and I said good by to Andrew, our summer intern last night. We had he and Jay, the other intern, over for dinner and chocolate cake, per Andrew's request. He will be headed to Haiti, to join up with a summer team that is there helping with relief work after the earthquake. He will be GREATLY missed!! I am posting a link to his blog... is you have time you might enjoy reading about what God is doing here in Gulu from another set of eyes. Andrew's blog

We have said "good bye" to so many people over the last few weeks.... The college team, the elevate team, Laura (Ashley's sister), Andrew and soon we will have to say farewell to Ashley as well..... My heart is heavy. Ashley has been here since we arrived... if you remember, we met her in the airport. Fortunately she is from Dallas, and will be easy to visit when we are home on furlough... when ever that may be.

I have decided that I can't end on a sad note....

Last night I was explaining to Curly about Haiti and what is being done there, this is how our conversation went::

Me: Haiti has a terrible earthquake several months ago and our Church in Waco has been sending teams over to help the people there who have lost thier homes.

Curly: Really?? Are all the buildings gone??

Me: Most are I think... Mr. Jay went to Haiti a few months ago. One of the ways he helped was y pulling peoples teeth, and he's not even...

Curly: (interrupting) A tooth fairy.

Me: I was going to say dentist, but tooth fairy works.

Baptisims.... #2

2010-06-23T01:03:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday was our SECOND time of corporate worship... we are leaning away from using the word "church" because of the religious background of the people. It's NOT about church, it's about a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus!!

This was the only Sunday where both teams would be able to join us. We had baptisms, and 17 people, yes... SEVENTEEN people were baptized. The team helped the "church" purchase a GIANT water tank that we cut in half to make a baptistery. It is WAY cool!!! One of the Baptize-ees was our neighbor John. He had come with us that morning, and when he discovered that they were going to baptise people, he wanted to do it! Kent explained that he HAD to give his live to Jesus first, so we had one of our AMAZING translators share the Gosple with him (again, Lawrence had it before) in Acholi, and he accepted Jesus. Then he got baptised! WOW!!!!

Next week I will take my camera and have pictures for you. I want you to get a feel for what it is really.... not what it is like with 21 extra Munus (or Americans). We are really excited by ALL that God is doing here in Gulu.

Next week I will start meeting with the girls from the pub... They want to know more of God's word... I hope to show them all the places where is talks about His love for his people. Please be praying for me, I still feel very unprepared!!

My Secret Ingredient

2010-06-16T05:30:00.000-05:00

Remember how expensive cereal is... we have been eating pancakes to help stretch our cereal boxes and make them last longer. I mix up "master mix" ahead of time, and all that is needed is milk and eggs. Easy Cheezy! There have been several mornings were the girls had breakfast duty and they made the pancakes all by themselves. The only problem is, syrup is just as expensive as cereal, so we have been trying our hand at home made.

Home made syrup is hard to make. At least is is hard to make it not watery AND taste good. We have tried SEVERAL recipes: one made the pancakes mushy, the other was thick, but gross due to all the flour I had to put in it. the third was better, but still watery....... so I came up with and alternative.

When you order pancakes from IHOP, what are they topped with?? A BIG BLOB OF BUTTER! and then what do you pour over them as soon as the butter has been evenly distributed?? Liquid sugar with maple flavoring. What other recipe has similar ingredients of butter, sugar and flavoring?? Need a hint.. think about what we are discussing here.... panCAKES. YEP frosting/icing. A little butter and shortening blended with powdered sugar, add a splash of milk and a teaspoon of maple flavoring.... and TA DA Maple Pancake Spread!

I make some last night, and today, the girls were raving about how delicious the pancakes were! All the sweet with the maple taste, but with out the soggy effect, it was yummy!! And I don't usually like pancakes.

So when the food blog-stalkers discover my secret recipe, and you start reading about a new breakfast treat, here and there, and it eventually makes it onto the grocery store shelves, right next to the whipped honey spread, in the butter section..... remember you read about it here first!

Jesus Drama - Everything by Lifehouse

2010-06-16T05:02:00.000-05:00

This is the drama that the team will be doing at the pub tonight. Please pray for open hearts!!

The Cracked Pot

2010-06-16T04:53:00.001-05:00

I don't even know how to begin this post... I am feeling like the proverbial "cracked pot" right now.

Last week, we had our first summer team arrive. They are a group of 10 college students that are on FIRE for Jesus and have come with the intention of starting a CPM aka Church Planting Movement. They hit the ground RUNNING and haven't stopped yet. It has been amazing! I will wait until they have gone to report the total and final result of their visit.

Remember Andrew.... one of our Summer interns?? He and Jay, the other intern, went into the roughest bar in town last week. This bar, The Bugandan Pub is mainly known for its prostitution. The result.... they were asked to come and "play some of their music" at the bar. So they went and picked out some Christian Rap and prepared to share a bit with the crowd. All the college guys and Kent, went to the pub that night and waited for their turn at "playing some music." Once they arrived they realized that is was "karaoke" night, where people have the opportunity to dance and sing and really perform for the crowd.... so much for "playing their music."

They guys took it in full stride. After the DJ announced that it was "Massive and Explosive", Andrew went for it with everything he had. I have been told that he became a totally different person, yelling, and waving his arm in typical rapper style. Totally preforming.... for JESUS. While Andrew was rapping, all the other guys were up on stage dancing. Yes ALL the other guys... Kent included, danced like there was no tomorrow, while the crowd cheered like crazy for the Muzungus! They were truly "massive" and "explosive"!

This one night opened up an opportunity to minister with the girls (prostitutes) that live there. Andrew and Kent had an inspirational idea to bless the girls with lunch, to get them away form the bar. So we called Brian, the owner of the Sankofa restaurant, where we had pizza for my birthday. He willingly opened up the restaurant for us on a day when he is usually closed, and gave us a great deal on the meal. His restaurant just happens to be across the street from the Bugandan Pub, how convenient. or should I say How GOD!

So, as the long term missionary, I was expected to lead out on this luncheon. WOW! I wasn't prepared for that, hence my feeling like a cracked pot. BUT despite all my flaws and cracks, God was glorified! AMEN!
The lunch started out awkward, but over time progressed into a nice comfortable group. We served the ladies samoas, beans and rice. There were 12 or so women from the Pub, a few Ugandan believers, and a Muzungu, who has a heart for these women, came and brought a former Bugandan Pub employee. After everyone ate, the woman who USED to share the same profession as these women told her story. She shared about where she came from and how she is now a new person in Christ. IT was AWESOME. When she finished, I wrapped up the "talking" with a quick recap of the Gospel.... how it is a free gift, and how you can't earn it, and how God wants us to live an abundant life by accepting the FREE gift of JESUS!

Then the women paired up and all the women were prayed over, 5 wanted to give their lives to Jesus. WAY COOL! After the prayer time, my team ladies each washed the feet of the woman that they had just prayed with, giving them a practical picture of how Jesus came to serve. We closed with an invitation to worship with us on Sunday. ALL in ALL a GREAT afternoon.

I know, I know, your mind is still reeling at the words "worship with us on Sunday" mine too. But that is what I said. We had our first "church" service this last Sunday. Unfortunately Kent and I were in Kampala, celebrating our 12th anniversary/ picking up a team from the airport. But we didn't mind. We don't want to be the focal point, it's not about the newest church with the "white guy pastor". It's about loving Jesus, and that is it.

Let me fill you in.... do you remember the story about the Evergreen bar.... it is actually called the Green Valley Bar and Kent has become friends with the owner, Frank and his wife, Molly. They are Ugandan and own several businesses in Gulu and Kampala. Kent asked Frank if we could meet in the bar on Sundays for worship and bible study, and he suggested using his OTHER building that is currently being remodeled into a disco hall! This disco, just so happens to be with in walking distance of the Bugandan Pub.... Totally GOD!

This is just a small glimpse into all that is going on. The collage team is doing some follow up with the Bugandan girls today. And we have the second team that is rockin and rolling as well. OH and tonight the team is returning to the Bugandan Pub to perform a drama for the whole crowd! UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Love

2010-06-13T05:51:00.084-05:00

As I am writing this post (June 7th) my darling husband is several hours away from returning home from a four day trip to Kampala. Four days and three long nights. I miss him.
But you are reading this (if you are a daily blog checker) on our anniversary, June 13th. Thirteen years ago we met, a year later we were married and it has been an amazing journey ever since!

Because of his absence I am realizing how much I miss him. We are in the best season of our lives! We have never been happier, or more in love. I have been getting butterflies in my stomach all day thinking about his return. (Yes, I'm sure that watching romantic movies like "Pride and Prejudice" while he was gone may have contributed to these feelings as well!)

But when your husband calls and asks if your legs are tired, who wouldn't get butterflies?? This morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was text him a verse from Song of Solomon, expressing my feelings. I was giddy with anticipation as I waited for his response. I love it!!

We have both "grown up" a lot in recent years, in a lot of ways, he isn't the same man I married. He is much better. Yes, he is the same extremely energetic, active, outgoing, social person he has always been. But he has also allowed him self to be pruned, molded and refined at the Hands of Jesus and I am in love with what he is becoming!!

There is now way to really describe the changes God has made in him... To tell you all the things that he is "more" of or "better" at might imply that he wasn't those things before. To say he is more patient with me could give you the impression that he wasn't patient with me before, and that's not the case, he is just MORE.

More loving, more thoughtful, more sensitive, more understanding..... you get the idea... More like HIM in whose image he was created. There is so much more I would love to say... I just haven't the words to say it. There are those who do and those who don't and today I am one the don'ts.

I love you BABE! When I think about us..... 30, 40 maybe even 50 years down the road... I get butterflies. I can't wait to see what God has in store.

I thank my God every time I {think of} you. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of {our} partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6

More pics from Murchison

2010-06-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

So blogger has changed their photo uploading, and I wanted to try it out. Here are some pictures from our trip that didn't make the lat post.

Pictures

2010-06-04T07:27:00.005-05:00

Here I go again... baiting and tempting you to come and visit. I won't go into detail on all the wonderful things that we saw.... it wouldn't be fair.

The welcoming committee... I don't think he was too happy about our visit though.Neither was this guy.... I would hate to have a staring contest with this guy!

Guinna Fowl..... Kent arch enemy. He, being for ever the hunter, longs to take a shot at this strange bird. It is like a quail, only bigger and he has tried to take a few out with the awesome sling shot that my dad gave him before we left, but no luck yet.

The allusive Golden Monkey. This was the first time we got to see these guys.

Babies! These little guys were two and three years old. And Elephant Family!! You don't get much more tempting than that!

This time we decided to take the boat trip up to Murchison Falls! AWESOME! This sweet nursing momma baboon, watched our every move while we ate lunch. We were waiting for out boat guide, and ate pineapple, PB sandwiches, and apples. She eventually got some of the pineapple. :)

Ok.... So these pictures that appear to be taken on the river, by me, actually were not. Kent took this same boat ride a few weeks ago, and it rained on him most of the time. He took the camera on that trip and had a hard time keeping it dry, so we opted to NOT take our camera.

BAD IDEA!!! We saw a HUGE herd of elephants 30 or so big. Missed it. We also saw a giant pack of crocodiles chasing a dead hippo as it floated down the Nile. Bummer. But Andrew took pictures, so hopefully we will have some soon.

The FALLS.... this is were the mighty Nile river come rushing into a small gap in between two rocks. Beautiful!! I have now seen it from the top and the bottom! The top is my favorite, but the bottom is pretty too! Have you called you travel agent yet?? What if I promise to make you a cake??

Happy Birthday to ME

2010-06-04T06:32:00.003-05:00

Birthday celebrations started early around here. Wed night we had Ashley, her sister Laura as well as Andrew, one of our summer interns over for dinner. I baked a whole chicken (for the 1st time ever), made mashed potatoes and gravy (for the first time ever in UG), mastered cooking fresh green beans (for the first time ever), AND...... made my own chocolate cake with chocolate icing FROM SCRATCH for the first time ever! IT was AWESOME, and easy.

I wish I had my camera on me when all the guests arrived. Kent started the procession by running in wearing a grass skirt, singing "Happy Birthday" (not the song, just the words.... think barber shop quartet, He being the bass). Then came Andrew carrying pineapples, followed by Ashley with donuts and bread, Laura had a wallet, then each of the girls entered carrying their gifts as well. Keep in mind that as they entered they each sang out "Happy Birthday"! It was so fun... then they presented their gifts one at a time, starting with Snuggle Bug.

Dinner was excellent, the only problem was that one chicken really isn't enough meat for 9 people, but nobody went hungry.... that I know of. They lovingly put a large "power's over" candle in the middle of my cake and sang ALL of happy birthday. There was much oohing and ahhing over the cake, it was FABULOUS!

For those of you who might be interested... Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Icing links. Both of these recipes have very basic ingredients, all of which I had in my cabinet! The only thing I couldn't do was "mix on low speed" cause as of today, I don't own a mixer. BUT it is my birthday wish, and Kent is going to price them for me this weekend!

After dinner was cleaned up, we all hit the sack, cause the next morning we were headed to Murchison Falls. I got up at 4:30 to put an egg casserole in the oven, then everyone else got up around 5:30.

Murchison was AWESOME, once again, but I will post on that separately cause it was amazing!

After a long day we rolled back into Gulu, around 8:00pm and had Pizza at Sankofa. While there, Brian (the owner) brought out a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup adorned with another "power's over" candle. Lots of fun! It was a day that I will not quickly forget!

Shall We Gather at the River??

2010-06-04T05:58:00.002-05:00

I am finding it hard to write about Kent and all his experiences. Being blessed to stay at home and school the girls, I don't have the opportunity to experience all the awesome things that are going on in and around our city. So Kent experiences, then he tells me what he can, then I in turn tell you.... I know that some of the power has to get lost in the process. Water downed. But I will do my best.So a few weeks ago Kent gave a man a ride "home". He was on crutches and it was raining, and when Kent asked him how far he had to go, he responded 15km. That is about 9 miles for all you Americans. Nine miles, in the rain, on crutches. Typical I'm sure, but heart wrenching all the same, when they are standing right in front of you. So Kent takes him "home" to his "village". I am "quoting" here because, his home is a hut in the middle of know where, and his village is the group of 8-10 huts that surround it.

Ever heard any one use the term "bush" like a bush doctor or in the bush, well this village is definitely in the bush. Like in the middle of no where, driving down foot paths, kinda bush.

Long story short.... which doesn't help the diluting process I know, but anyway. This guy and several from his village gave their lives to Jesus, and they got baptized! I can't remember the details, but there were 11 total, 8 adults and 3 kids.

Walking to the river. This is in the "bush" remember?

Dennis had the honor of doing the dunking.... we want to work ourselves out of a job, so to speak, so the earlier the better, right?!?

Andrew, who arrived only a few days before the baptisms, took all these pictures for Kent. There were a few cultural adjustments that he had to make. One being the fact that the women remove their shirts to keep them clean. That came as a shock to young Andrew! But he handled it well, realizing that it was the culture, and it wasn't bothering anyone else, so why should it bother him. There is nothing like jumpin in with both feet.

Kent, the silent observer. Keep in mind that all the talking being done is in Acholi.

What do you do when you can't dunk some one backwards because of leg issues???

Dunk them forward of course. It is actually kinda interesting.... most Ugandans do not like the water, they are afraid of it. There were several of the people that Dennis had to splash to get them wet, because they wouldn't go further into the water.

Kent and Dennis go back to this village every week. They have had a few obstacles, but on the whole, it is a growing church. There have been several people from surrounding "villages" that have asked that they come and share the good news in their village as well. And we are using that invitation to train the believers from village #1 to go themselves. It has been AWESOME!

Genesis 24

2010-05-25T14:13:00.002-05:00

We just had an awesome week and a half with two fabulous guys from our sister/daughter church in Knoxville, TN. Mr Kely and Mr. Greg were too fun! They had no problems playing chase with the girls, telling funny jokes, or running around like crazy people; all for the sake of entertaining my children.

Before they left on Sunday night, we had a sweet time of prayer. I was so bless by the things that they prayed over my girls, my husband and myself. Mr. Kely suggested looking at Genesis 24 in regard to the Bride of Christ. What I found, and the parallels that are there were too interesting to not share.

Let's begin by meeting the characters.... We have Abraham, Isaac, the servant and Rebekah (the bride) This is the passage where Abraham sends his servant back to his people to find a bride for his son. Some of you can see where this is going huh...

Abraham // God
Isaac // Jesus
Servant // US - believers
Rebekah // the Church aka the Bride of Christ.

Abraham sent his Servant to a foreign land. // We are strangers is this world (I Peter 1:17)
Abraham sent his Servant to find a bride // We are sent to go make disciples (Matt 28:19)
The Servant was sent with gifts // We have the gift of the Holy Spirit ( Luke 11:13)
// We have spiritual gifts (I Cor. 1:6-8)
The servant asked for favor and clarity // We can ask God who is "ripe" for the harvest (Matt 21:22) aka "treasure hunting" (but that is another post in and of it's self)

Once the bride had been found it was important that she be taken to her husband immediately.
Those around her didn't want her to leave. // They are like the thorns that choke out the plant.

She was blessed to become the Mother of many // Again the parable of the sower (Matt 13:23)
Rebekah asked who "that man" was & the servant told her is was his master// We are to tell and share about our relationship with Jesus

She was given to Isaac // The church is bride (Rev 19:7)

Though I can't find the verse for it... there is something to learning to be intimate with Jesus in this too. To being discipled. To being taught how to pray (Matt 6:9).

The Servant didn't just tell Rebekah that there was a rich man in Canaan that wanted her to be his son's wife, he didn't draw her a map and show her the fastest way to get there, rather he took her there. We can't expect new believers to know how to have a fervent prayer life, we can't think that they will know how to study the Bible. We have to walk with them, teach them show them. It's all part of making disciples. (Matt 28:19)

That is what we are wanting to do here. Make disciples. Teach people how to be the servant who goes out and finds the bride for their master. Teach them how to teach others.

Thripple & Hope

2010-05-22T16:39:00.003-05:00

Ok, so remember the long nights post?? Well there was more to that story than I actually wrote about. You see there were several OTHER nights that week that Kent and I were up in the middle of the night with Lady.
Lady is a VERY protective dog, and ANYTHING that comes near our compound receives a stout bark as a warning not to come any closer. So for several days in a row, she had been warning something, but we weren't sure of what. and the mystery "what" was extremely persistent and apparently deaf, because it didn't listen to ANY of Lady's warnings, so she kept having to repeat herself..... over and over and over.

Finally after 4 or 5 nights of constant barking we discovered what was disobeying her orders. A Hedge Hog!
Every night, Kent would get up ( just in case) and check to see if he could catch the intruder. Then one night we found it! A hedgehog. We saw it, but while Kent went in to get the gloves, and a stick, it disappeared. We poked around, but we couldn't find it again. Kent decided to go back to bed, and he let Lady out of the house, on his way in.

It took her no time at all to relocate the nightly invader. So there I was, in the yard, in my pj's, in the middle of the night, with a flash light, trying to whisper loud enough for Kent to hear me, but not wake up the girls or our neighbors.

Poor Kent got BACK out of bed and came outside. Now Kent is not a middle of the night kinda of person, he had never been good at waking up when there is something going on, and this night was no different. Actually, it was probably worse, compounded by the fact that the week had already had a few sleepless nights.
So in his sleep depraved state he killed it. Yes, he killed it.

Now my girls love hedge hogs and they have friends here in Uganda that have hedge hogs as pets. so they were devastated when Kent told them that he had killed it. They made him promise that if Lady found another one, the could keep it as a pet.

It wasn't a week later that we discovered a momma and her baby, and true to our love of the Mistmantle books they were named after hedge hog characters that are in the book.Thripple is the Mamma, and Hope is the Baby. They are cute little things, however Thripple has gotten out of her box, both nights they have lived with us, and I can hear her trying to get out right now. Hope got stuck in Baby Girls pocket, and we had to cut the pocket in order to get her out.

It has been fun having the new additions to the household. This picture is Thripple curled up in her, "it I can't see you , then you can't see me" position.

This is Hope, who hadn't really been afraid of anything since we discovered her and brought her into the family.

More with Less

2010-05-21T06:27:00.002-05:00

As I write this title, I am struck by how that is much like what God wants to do with us. More with less. More of Him, Less of Us, More Power, less self.... unfortunately that isn't what prompted that title.

"More with Less" is the name of the most awesome-est cook book EVER!! But before I tell you all about it, let me tell you a few of the ways my day to day life has changed since our move.

I no longer have weekly trips to Walmart.... I have a once a month trip to the capital for supplies. AND Kent does my weekly shopping.

I no longer sweep, or mop... well I try not to anyway, that is now one of the responsibilities of my girls!

I no longer have laundry days.... Concy washes all our clothes, towels and occasional sheet set. I have hand washed our bath maths and sheets on several occasions.

I no longer need a detailed list of all the meals that I am cooking for the week, with the detailed shopping list to go with it. I am learning how to cook with what I have!

Which brings me back to my post title.

I have, some what out of necessity, have started making many things from scratch. For example:

Carrot Sticks (yes, yes, I know what is there to make, but as a mom who was accustomed to buying the convenient little baby carrots, making carrot sticks is a change.)

Pico, and guacamole

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade Tortillas

Homemade Bisquick from which I make Homemade pancakes and Coffee cake

Yesterday I also made homemade syrup.

I have made SO many new recipes like lintel soup, birrocks (filled pockets of dough), potato & spinach soup, that I make with local greens, Awesome peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies,

HOME MADE BREAD..... complete with the long tiring kneading!

Tonight I am making a pineapple chicken dish that I hope will be yummy!

I feel like that Julie character who made a different recipe every night and blogged about it for a year..... Only you aren't having to read daily reports on the recipes, you get the whole thing in one nice post!

I know that there is so much more that I am forgetting. I was surprised last week... Kent usually goes to the market ever couple of days for me to get fresh veggies. I went over a week, yes OVER A WEEK, with out needing anything from the market. PLUS we had company over several evenings. I cooked a new meal one of those evenings as well..... I felt like Martha Stewart, or better yet, my mother-in-love who I think is one of the best cooks in the world!

So as I was saying.... "More with Less" is the best cook book ever. Written by Mennonite women, some of whom are/were missionaries in third world countries. It is written with nutrition in mind, and simple dishes. No fancy ingredients, I think that the only ingredient I have needed that I can't get here is corn starch, and maple syrup flavoring.

If you or your loved one are on the mission field this is a MUST HAVE!! I think that all churches/organizations should give them to their missionaries as a parting gift when they send them off! You can buy it on Amazon.

Happy Eating!

Long nights

2010-05-07T07:19:00.004-05:00

So on Wednesday night we were sitting peacefully at the table when Curly started screaming from the bathroom that there was a bat. Assuming that she was exaggerating, no one jumped up to rescue her. When the screaming continued, I went into the bathroom, only to be dive-bombed by a..... can you guess, BAT.

I grab Curly, with her pants still around her ankles and shove her into the bed room, only to discover a second bat in there. We ushered all the girls to the opposite side of the house and then began the bat hunt. One, we found in the trash can, the other was on the window screen above the Baby Girl's bed. Kent was quite the sight with his broom, work gloves (with holes) and a bucket or two, trying to catch them and put them out side.

After both bats were successfully out side, Kent commented on how that wasn't how he had expected to spend his evening. Little did we know what Thursday night would hold.....

Thursday night, about the same time I was once again headed into the bathroom, when I heard

the unwelcome sound of flapping wings. Assuming there was another bat I scanned the room as I quickly headed to the door. What I discovered was NOT bats, but BUGS. White ants to be exact.

Really there is no way to accurately describe the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of winged incests that were flying about. Some how they were finding their way into the house via the girls windows. They were attracted to that end of the house because of the security light. Once we realized that the only way to keep them out was to keep the lights off, we sat in the dark catching the ones that had made it in. This is significant on two different levels:

1. We normally don't have power.... Ok maybe not normally, but half the time we are cooking by lantern light, or bathing by flashlight, and for us to HAVE to turn the lights off, to do it our selves... that was sad.

2. We were collecting the bugs to give them as a gift to our neighbor, since Lady had scared her that afternoon. Yes, you read that correctly, we were giving bugs as a gift. Now don't act too shocked, I have already told you that they eat them, that they grind them into a paste. Only I told you a small fib. Kent thought that white ants and termites were the same thing, well they are not. THESE, these bugs that were swarming my house are white ants.

Anyway, back to that evening. There we were collecting bugs for our neighbor, when Lady started going crazy, Kent when to check on things and discovered people out collecting too! They were lighting little fires on the road to attract the bugs and were snatching them up and throwing them in to buckets and pots.
Kent wanted to be neighborly and so he invited them up to the gate so they could catch the bugs that were swarming our light. He even jumped in and helped. I wish I new more about these little creatures, apparently they they only come out once every so often, but when they come, they come in mass. They fly around, then they shed their wings, burrow in the ground and lay their eggs. Well I think they lay eggs, I know that they shed their wings. See:

That is all wings... and just a small portion of what was left in our yard. Kent eventually invited the neighbors into our compound as well. He even served them sodas. They were excited to have access to so many bugs. After HOURS of bug collecting, Kent finally decided to call it a night. We kept the house lights off and the gate light on and told them they could come back in the morning.

And they did. Baby Girl even helped collect a few bugs too. Hopefully we were able to begin a few new friendships through this random appearance of bugs.

Last night we kept the all the house lights off, just in case, but it was for not, because the ant rush was over.

Exploration : day 5

2010-05-02T15:01:00.002-05:00

Ok quick recap - - - - - - -

Monday : drive to Kampala and sleep at the Grand Imperial

Tuesday : Drive to Lake Nabugabo and sleep in van

Wednesday : Drive to Lake Bunyonyi and sleep in van

Thursday : Drive to Mgahinga NP and sleep in banda

Friday : Drive to Lake Mburro and sleep in the van as well as see lots of cool animals.

Saturday : Head back to Kampala, stay two nights in a hotel, while we wait for the immigration office to open on Monday
What equatorial vacation would be complete with out a picture taken on the equator???

Too much fun!! Thank you Jesus for wonderful country to explore, and beautiful things to look at on the way and an amazing family to do all with!