Picture at 13 weeks

Here is a 4-D picture from our last scan (first time to see the baby like this.) It was taken March 6-just starting week 13. We got to see he/she dancing all around!
Now I just need to talk Allison Miller into coming over to Kenya in Sept to be our doula!!! :)

One of the books I'm reading right now (there's usually at least 3 at a time!) The author is actually Karen Blixen, author of "Out of Africa". It is a collection of short stories. Each one takes you back to a different time and have a very "folk-tale" feel to them. They are full of insight into human behavior with just the right amount of mystery. I like the NY Times' description, 'Tales as delicate as Venetian glass.' I would recommend any of Isak Dinesen's writings!

I was sick last week with a stomach bug and Ms. Lee, a sweet Korean girl that is helping Michael out in some of his ESL classes, sent these for me. They are Korean crackers. Not you typical saltine, but not bad at all!!

Bump picture-only 9 wks, but first sign of our little bump!! Taken Feb. 14

Jinja

Right before Christmas, Michael and I traveled to Jinja, Uganda with our friends Rich and Shauna. It was such a great mini-vacation and we were so blessed by the beauty of the area. Jinja is the town that rests beside where the Nile River begins as it flows out of Lake Victoria. The area is so lush and fertile with beautiful green hills that rise above the mighty Nile. It has a rare beauty and we loved all of our time there. We went white water rafting down the White Nile (some of the best in the world), swam in the river, met up with old friends that live in the area, and met some new friends. On the last day, we took a boda into town and shopped around. These are our 2 treasures that we came away with...2 paintings by a local artist. We were also given a baby chick to bring home to Kenya by our Ugandan friend, Patrick!

Our sweet friends, Brett and Trishia, spent New Year's Eve and Day with us and Michael's parents. On NYE we baked the classic Funfetti cake sent to us by a friend from home. Let's call it a tribute to the good ole Funfetti days in Auburn!

This is also a little glimpse of the new paintcolor in the kitchen. I was suppose to post pictures of it a long time ago. This is also our mini oven, Michael's mom got quite a kick out of it!




The guys helped us make a big New Year's day breakfast. We had french toast, bacon (Kenyan version), eggs, and LOTS of Brett's gravy!
Cheers to great friends!

Christmas Day

So in addition to our great friends from home, Steven & Nicole Chitty, who spent Christmas in Kenya with us, we also had Stella, baby David, her friend Latifa and her baby over for Christmas day. They came in on matatu from Kibera for a late breakfast and gifts. It was a very different type of Christmas for each of them, but we all enjoyed the day thoroughly. The Chitty's helped us give the sweet babies a great Christmas-they loved all of their gifts.

We cooked sausage balls (turned out to be an interesting feat!) We first had to figure out how to make sausage from scratch. Adding onions and 3 different kinds of hot peppers to ground beef was simple enough. We have a great cookbook on cooking from scratch in Africa where we found the rest of what we needed to make the bisquick. They turned out great and Stella especially loved them. She went back for at least 5 helpings! It was a wonderful day and we thank the Lord for all of the blessings He has given us.

Finally up

I've been meaning to start a new blog site for months! Michael and I have a blog site for our supporters and ministry updates but I have been meaning to start one for more personal topics. Due to busy schedules, guests in town, and fighting off morning sickness, the new blog has been delayed. I'll try to backtrack a little over our past few months.