annie lynne

Annie lynne dressed in the traditional man's clothes!  Doesn't she look too cute!  After she put it on, I could not get it off.  She loved it!

The Cat

Ayden our little animal lover!  The other day she went to the gate to tell Kirk something and when she opened the gate the cat ran in and ran right to her.  We often have stray cats in our yard, that climb on the walls, but they are always very scared and never come close to the kids.  Of course, Ayden fell in love with it and had it named in a matter of minutes, Hannah.  All that with me saying the whole time, we are not keeping a cat, especially a stray off the street that probably has rabies.  Of course, I finally gave in, mainly because we couldn't get it to go away :)  Even though i'm still not a fan and refuse to let it come in the house (miley is enough)  the girls spend hours a day outside with it.  Overall it has really been a good thing, Ayden really has had nothing to do most days since finishing school.  I am spending hours a day studying and the kiddos just play.  And now with the lack of electricity movies and wii are very limited (that is a good thing!)  But Ayden had been feeling very bored.  We had been praying for a friend and this is not what I had in mind, but the Father knows best; and she has spent hours a day outside with this cat and it has been a great thing for her!!!  and so far it doesn't appear to have rabies :)

What to do with a Boy?

What to do with a boy?  A question i'm still asking myself everyday day!!!  He is always dirty and stinky and just a plain mess, yet I have loved every minute of having a son.  Below are a couple of my favorite pics from the last couple of weeks.

 Above Abram is eating mom's blueberry pie for the first time!  He eats everything, but he got so mad when his plate was empty and I wouldn't give him anymore.  Ayden had been asking to make this and so when I finally saw some kind of cream cheese at the store we tried it.  A little different without the reg. cream cheese (this was a spreadable kind and a brand I had never heard of) but good.

 This is Abram after breakfast!  His normal look.  We leave the doors open most the time so that we can have a breeze through the house, but the problem is Abram.  He is always crawling down the steps.  This morning he had already been down the steps, poured out Miley's water bowl all over himself.  Then during his morning oatmeal (what he eats almost every morning) he grabbed the bowl out of my hand and it went all over him too.  What a mess!!!!  but so cute!!!!

 I just love this smile!  We were waiting for food and the girls were off playing and Kirk and I were just talking to him and he was so excited to have both of our full attention!

He make look sweet; but really!  Annie Lynne was sick so he crawled up there by her and acted like he was going to be sweet but really he just wanted to steal the thermometer.

baby party

My teacher's sister had a baby a little over a week ago.  Here the lady sits in her home or her mom's home for somewhere between 20 and 40 days.  It use to always be 40 but some women don't like to sit that long or they have other small children they need to take care of.  So everyday, friends and family come over to see the mom.  Somedays are more important, like a party with music, dancing, food, ect.  Other days are just normal days, drink tea and just chat.  Everyday varies on the number of ladies that come.  This was just a normal day and there were only a couple of other women there, thats when I like to go.  The last day is the most important, lots of people, music, Koren readings, etc.  I really don't like to go on the last day, it is always too loud to talk and the baby is usually in the other room and there is so many people that it is very hot.  But sometimes if it is a close friend or family you really do need to go on the last day.  Anyway the baby below was only 6 days old, they still weren't set on her name yet and she was tiny, the mom told me when she was born she was only 1.5 kilos which is a little over 3 lbs.  It felt a little bigger to me, but not much. Just saying that because sometimes the weight is a guess.  They don't always weigh them at the hospital.  I also got to hear the "baby story"  The mom was planning on having the baby at home but a doctor had told her the feet were down (ultra sounds are very common here) that is really about all the doctor does is look at an ultra sound.  Anyway since the feet were down they told her she really should deliver in a hospital.  So she did, she delivered in the hospital and the cord was wrapped around the next of the baby.  She said her baby was completely blue.  The doctor did cut the cord and a few minutes later the baby was okay.  Because of this problem they made the mom stay at the hospital for 2 hours (yes i just said hours!)  most the time the mom would leave as soon as the baby is born, within 30 minutes.  That is not the end of the story, I don't know anything about the medical side of things but she said that she delivered the afterbirth at her house.  Would not think that would be safe 2 hours later.  I would also say it wouldn't be as sanitary, but her house is probably cleaner then the hospital.  I listened to a different baby story later in the week and she was telling me the hospital was so crowded that women were laying and delivering on the concrete floor.  That can't be sanitary or comfortable!!!  

With all that said, it sure is a cute baby!!!  And Ayden and I enjoyed sitting and holding this very tiny little girl.  Please be thinking about her and her mom, Ayden and I thought about her while we were holding her, just asking that she would grow up knowing the Truth.

Abram getting some love

I went to go see this family last Friday.  Kirk is working on a project with a special needs school.  They will actually be doing the project in a couple of weeks, but part of it is teaching teacher how to use sports with the children there.  Anyway Kirk has had to go to the school many times to work out all the details.  The secretary there asked him about his wife and so he had told her about me and the kids.  She wanted to meet us so he gave her my number and last Friday we went and met her whole family (at least all the ladies :)).  It was a good visit and hopefully I will be able to go back soon to talk to them some more.  This little girls in the picture was so cute and just wanted to love on Abram the whole time.  Of course, Abram wasn't really having that, but I did mange to get this one cute pic.!  It is always so interesting to me how we are able to meet different families and get involved in their lives.

IT RAINED!!!!!

After the dust storms and just being so dry and dusty always, it finally rained yesterday.  Only for about 30 minutes but it was wonderful, thinking it might rain again today.  It is amazing how much better the weather is and just how much better everything seems after the rain.  Hopefully now I can dust with feeling like it is completely a waste of time!  Of course, when we have one thing we don't have another.  Once again someone blew something up and we haven't had power for a couple of days.  Even when all is working we are without power for 4 or 5 hours a day, but when something gets blown up we MAY only have it 4 or 5 hours a day.  So thankful for the generator!!!!!

to go or not to go

Right now I'm dressed to go to a wedding.  It's a big deal here and so I am trying to embrace the culture and I even put on more makeup then I would ever wear in America.  Be surprised, Becky, I even have on pink eye shadow.  I am wearing the local dress, it is basically a slip with a see through printed piece of material over it.  But if you are from the north in this country that is the national dress for women for special occasions.  I have one now, so I dressed in that, fixed my hair and makeup and was ready to go, when we heard some shots.  So I was told to wait, I told my neighbors who i'm suppose to be going with that I had to wait and see if all was calm.  That is one of the hardest parts of all of this.  Plans change everyday.  I always thought I was somewhat flexible but learning that I really like to make plans and actually do them.  Something that hasn't happened a lot since being back.  Well I just got the call that I can go so I'm heading to my neighbors and hopefully they haven't left, if so will take a taxi.  Very tiring always having to be alert.

the dust

Last week was crazy!!!  It is always dusty here, but last week was extremely bad.  You can always see the mountains from almost anywhere in the city, but a couple of days last week you could not even see the mountains because of the amount of dust in the air.  I knew it was bad when lots of people (nationals) on the street were wearing dust masks.  They wanted me to buy one for Abram and said I should not have him out, but it's not like he would wear that and its not like our house was much better then being outside.  Our windows stay open these days because it is getting warmer, and last week everything was covered in a layer of dust, a thick layer!!!  We hang our clothes out on a rack outside.  I hung them out and brought them back inside in just a few hours and they were covered in dust, when I piled them up to fold you could see the dust poof up and they smelled and felt dusty.  Nothing felt clean, my hands always felt dusty.  Thankfully this week is better and I have been able to dust some and then only have the usual thin layer of dust that we live with :)

argue or not to argue

One thing that is very easy to do here is to argue.  They have their beliefs and we have ours.  Often they are very different and it is easy to find yourself in an argument and you can't even really remember how you got there.  I was visiting a family that I just love, they have a Book that they had asked for a few weeks ago.  She told me story out of it that she had read and then told me the difference in her story and ours.  Then she concluded what she was saying by adding that the Book had been corrupted.  I had been thinking about this girl for a long time and was so hurt and even angry that she would say that. I tried explaining that the book could not be changed, who could change His Word.  So a couple of minutes later I found myself hot, I was speaking in anger and I wasn't sure why since this is a conversation I have had many times.  But I didn't want to argue, it gets nowhere.  So finally I said "you believe what you believe and I'll believe what I believe and I'm right 100%.  I had to throw that in there.  Probably not the most gracious conversation I have had but I was tired of hearing lies and hearing lies about everything I believe.  I then followed with a question, do you know where you will go when you die, I do.  I have a relationship and therefore know that we I die I will be with Him.  Something for her to think about.  Someone came in at that moment and the conversation changed, but hoping that she will think hard about those words.  I have seen the family since and they are still one of my favorite families to go visit, I can sit with them and feel at home, not many places I can do that here.
Remember me please that I would use and share His Words with love, remembering that they are blinded and it is only through "thinking" about them and sharing that we will see hearts change.

hospitality

I met some new neighbors.  This time I was out on the street unloading groceries from the van and two ladies walked up.  We started talking and they said that they lived behind us.  There is small field on the other side of our wall and they said that was their's and their house next to it.  They invited me over that afternoon to visit.  The older lady told me her name, but once you have a son when someone asked your name, especially if you are in front of men you say "mom and your son's name"  So I am "om (mom) iberhim (abraham)"  She told me this and then they told me the family name so I could know which house.  The interesting thing was that her daughter that was with her is not married yet so when I asked her name (very uncultured I should have known better) she just made a kiss sound.  Kirk was standing there and it would have been inappropriate for her to say her name with a man standing there.  She did whisper her name when Kirk walked in the gate.  We said good-bye and I went in.  A couple of hours later, I was studying and the girls said that someone was hollering for me.  I went to the window and looked over our wall, one of the ladies was there holding a piece of fresh bread.  They had just finished baking bread and wanted me to have some.
So kind.  I went that afternoon, and found which house by asking on the street where that family lived.  I was directed to their gate and found all the women of the house waiting for me.  We had a great visit.  I met the mom again, this time unveiled and three daughter-in-laws and 3 of her daughters and a friend.  I found out she had 9 children altogether and her husband has had 5 wives, right now only 3 as two have died.  So altogether he has 35 children.  Thankfully each wife has her own house so they stay apart, less problems that way.  As far as the visit went it was really fun for me to meet a new family.  And they are always so hospitable.  We had coffee and pepsi and cake and bread, and they were so kind to the kids.  The girls mainly stayed outside and played with all the other kids there, but they all wanted to talk to Abram and play with him.  It was a lot of fun and I hope to see them again soon.

the Ducan

I walked across the street to our ducan (a little street store, they sell the basics) earlier today.  Kirk was sick last night and this morning so I was going to get water and 7-up for him.  All I had was a 1000 bill, and knowing that he may not have enough change I went ahead and got a kilo of sugar and flour (something we always need).  This all totaled about 670 so I was waiting on my change and after he looked he said, I don't have it, i'll just owe you 330.  Without hesitation I said okay and walked back home.  I love having a little store so close and one that I can trust.  I know I can go back anytime and get my 330 worth of stuff.  Before when we didn't have enough money on us, we have owed him. This actually happens often we are always a little over or a little under.  The crazy thing is he always remembers, he never writes it down or anything.  It seems like this was probably something that use to happen in America but I can't really imagine it anymore.  You owing a store or a store owing you and nobody really worried about getting paid.  Seems like a small town thing, but here we are living in a city of over a million people and yet it has a very old small town feel, sometimes!