Tribute to Clay

Tribute to Clay

Update

Clay died this morning.

There is much love lost with his passing.

He's no longer in pain.

Pray for Joyce and CJ.

Today is November 3, 2009, will you pray?

Dear Friends,

My dad's close friend has pancreatic cancer. His young son, CJ, wants to cast all his cares upon God for he cares for us. He wants the cancer gone. He wants his daddy to not have pain. Please pray for God's healing hand to totally heal Clay. CJ and his mom, Joyce, need help. Please pray for God to help them. He doesn't help those who help themselves. He helps because that is who he is.

Psalm 55:22 (New International Version)
²² Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.


Love,

Kanani

Black Cherry IBC and Sand

The very idea. Giving a 7 yo black cherry soda for his birthday. The nerve of some mothers; they're obviously rich beyond compare such that the idea of ever cleaning up after such a gift would cause so much trouble would never cross their minds. How dare them.

Really, I'm glad for the gift. It's a mixed blessing, you see, I don't like cherry flavored drinks - unless it's cherry coke (with caffeine that I'm not supposed to have!) or a cherry blo-pop. Why don't those set me off? I guess black cherry IBC is better chilled! However, all my kids like the black cherry IBC flavor. That's the other side of the blessing, M gets to share. It's really fun to watch him do what he's been taught to do. He does it very well and quite naturally. So as they are sharing, S who is always unsettled in his chair at the table, does a 360 with his cup in his hand. There you have it. The source of my new carpet stain. A really rich mom would've had the kids drink it out on the brand new deck, but apparently I'm not that smart.

So, how is all this a real blessing you ask? I have a routine for carpet stains which is why my carpet isn't more stained than it is. It involves a hoover mini-vac that pretty much inhales just about everything in it's path. It's famous. I have friends who borrow it just for special occasions. Well, I worked long and hard on this stain - did I mention that it was black cherry IBC stain on my carpet? I worked on it twice. It may be time for professional help. I digress. When I emptied out this awesome mini-vac which had worked for a very long time on these stains There must have been an entire cup of sand.

We live on beachy sandy soil so sand in the house is a given. But this was ridiculous. How could I clean this area and collect an overflowing cup of sand? Well, apparently this is an overlooked area of my house. It's kinda gross, really. And I use RESOLVE (You know the commercial I'm thinking of right?!) But that's not all. Tonight I picked up the living room specifically so I could vacuum after all the kids had gone to bed - I hate vacuuming in the day time, I have no idea why. I took special care to vacuum the aforementioned area. Again, I picked up an overflowing cup (I really didn't go to the effort to measure it exactly) in my wonderful spectacular fantastic Bissell Healthy Home Vac. If I thought you'd read it, I'd tell you more about my vacuum and how I decided to get it. Suffice it to say, a dear friend bought one, recommended it with caveats and now I own one.

So, to all my friends who've visited before, I'm sorry. I had no idea there really could be that much sand in one area. Guess I'll have to vacuum that every day like Danny says.

For the record, M even shared a root beer with me.

Duck

DUCK

I do not endorse the jokes on this site, but this one is incredibly hilarious. Please enjoy!

Totally insignificant findings in my study today... maybe not all insignificant

Proverbs 30:15-16

	The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
	the grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

How many times did you use your vegetable peeler this week?

What about watches? Is it really important that my watch have all the bells and whistles?

Dinner, was it alright? on time? done? did you have any?

For me, I used it enough that I had to pull out the second one because the first was buried in the stack of clean dishes not yet put away by my kids who never cease to amaze me in their skills used to avoid work. Don't worry, it's a new thing for us... perhaps it'll stick with us.

MM bought me a new watch today. Perhaps the face of this watch won't be decimated or removed as the last few watches I've had. My new watch isn't very big - some might call it feminine. It's supposed to be feminine. If it'd been up to me, I'd have bought the one with the dial on the face that shakes on your wrist at the alarm time. That'd be nice. However, I learned years ago that a gift received is not returned - love it or re-gift it, if you don't you'll never find one when you need it.

Note to MM, please don't ever ever leave me to tend to the smoking fire while you are gone for four hours. Most assuredly the meat will be no where near done as you think it should be and you'll be mad at me. I don't like it when you are mad at me!

I didn't write that for MM, he doesn't read my blog... neither does anyone else, for that matter.

I digress.

The point is this, I had a great day. I got to close the curtains in the house when I wanted to elminate radiant heat from turning my house into an oven. I enjoyed a great evening with my family. I got a new watch that makes me look a little more like a lady...

Now, don't get your hopes up, there's not wardrobe change coming any time soon!

Now for the rest of the story...

You were wondering, I can tell, why on earth would I blog about a silly salad spinner? It's true that it's wonderful and I really think every household should have one, but there's a behind the scenes story that I'm ready to share...

I bought my salad spinner late last year/early this year - I don't really remember. But I shop at Walmart. Things appear on their shelves today and tomorrow are gone - there' s no guarantee what'll show up next so I bought our salad spinner from the clearance price rack. I was thrilled to find it works well and is a good size for our family.

Since I decided that it works so well for my family and I'm always thinking of things for Clea in Uganda. I felt that she too should reap the benefits of my magnificient find. So since I've been back (yes it's been three months since I returned!) I've searched my regular Walmarts in search of the elusive salad spinner set. I wanted to be sure I could get another one for my self (Selfish, I know!) before I sent mine off and it wouldn't fit in the package I sent in May. I had looked online and found it available for site to store or home shipping but they also showed local stock in a few stores around town - but they were never on the shelves!

I know you know this because you are a faithful reader of my blog - even if you don't comment- but I live way out so searching through Walmart does not fit into my schedule. So I resort to strange ingenuity for such things as shopping. I inherit clothes from my neighbor because she lost all the weight I wanted to loose. I make many things from scratch rather than store ready mixes. I go to town as little as possible and still survive. I hate shopping. More than I hate shopping I hate calling Walmart. But I was desperate. I'd asked at two Walmarts and they couldn't imagine what I was talking about (shame on me for not having that UPC code - now you know what they're for!)

Finally I was getting things ready to get to Justine to take to Connie to take with her as she returns to Uganda next week (pray for wonderfully peaceful travel and smooth reunion of the whole clan!). The spinner was going - in fact Justine already had it. But I needed my new one. Clea already had the vegetable peeler and the knife. I wanted another one for my house. What do you do? You break down and call Walmart - but not the Tallahassee ones. They haven't the time to answer the phone let alone find what you are looking for - even if you have the UPC (computer nearby helps- who wants to write down all those numbers just to find out you transposed one or two!). So I called Crawfordvill Walmart! No one is housewares answered my call, so the operator put me on with the manager! Sweet relief. He not only made several trips across the store for me (I'm sure he used his time wisely along the way), but he made sure I got just what I needed.

But he's not the real hero of this story - It's Jessica! Knowing that she'd most likely visit her local Walmart in the near enough future I made the next phone call. It was Sunday afternoon and she was eating lunch- I was being lazy! I gave her the description of the item, the UPC code and the manager's name (sorry, I can't remember it now!). She dutifully wrote it down (or pretended to!) and said she'd take care of it for me. This is way better than site to store - this is site to door delivery!

I have my salad spinner, vegetable peeler and knife with sheath. Clea will have her set soon. Jessica is a saint. You are now enriched. Thank you all, and Good Night!

Wanna know what I like?

We'll start with what I don't like - I don't like wet wilted salad.

Now, the good stuff: I like a good salad spinner. Kinda knew that was coming didn't you?

So, I've priced the pricey ones and they are. I checked out the cheapies and they are. Then the clearance rack at W-M caught my eye - $10. There it was the perfect salad spinner. It was exactly what I wanted, for the right price at the right time. Not only that I got a bonus vegetable peeler - blades perpendicular, if you really want to know; I've never owned one like that - and a knife with a sheath (perfect for picnics!). Was any one item worth 10$ or the frustration of learning that it wasn't worth $10 or even $5 alone? No, never; but each of these was worth $3.33 each and they have proven themselves...

From our garden we pick fresh greens and drying them is a pain - we love the spinner!
From the produce departement we buy carrots - the garden hasn't rendered many worth eating - and my kids love the peeler better than my parallel blade zyliss version - therefore they can have carrots for snack... mmm tasty!

Now about this knife. Knives have been the ongoing struggle in our kitchen. We love a sharp knife. We've had our knife set for nearly 9 years now (don't ask me how I know!). We work hard to keep our knives sharp; as everyone knows, a dull knife is a sure ticket to the ER. So when I acquired this bonus item I declared all other hands off as I intend to use it to it's fullest potential. It's not the sharpest knife in the drawer - but it will be soon. Since it has a sheath, it'll be the only knife in the drawer. Which leads me to the question of the day:

How do you store your knives and are they safe?

Now on with the rest of your day... happy blogging!

PS. I'd post a picture but I'm afraid of the giant chain, so here's a link to their picture.

Wanna know how much I like my spinner set? I had to buy two. One to keep and one to send to my DF Clea. Visit her blog and check out the latest snap she took of her firstborn!

Guess what's a treat after our work is done?

Today our boys surprised us:

They finished weeding part of the garden, all their lessons, and lunch. Then they dove into the river for a few hours. They've been busy!

It just goes to show that with appropriate motivation, your kids can do most anything.

When they started the day, diving in wasn't on the list of things to do. If we had then they might have never gotten the work done. Instead, It was after weeding that the river was offered and they buckled down to do all their lessons!

I'm happy. They're happy and we'll all sleep good tonight!

Sorry, I was too busy having fun to take pictures.

Oh, and there's nothing to update about the deck, except that it's coming along via behind the scenes work.

surefire things...

Wanna know my surefire secrets for everything?

Surefire way to prevent clogging the WWW with comments - don't post to your blog.
Surefire way to prevent leaving for vacation on time - don't pack until the day you are leaving.
Surefire way to win friends and influence people - look them in the eye when talking to them.
Surefire way to eliminate stress - look at newborn babies!
Surefire way to overwhelm yourself - bite off more than you can chew.

OK, I haven't surefire ways for everything, but I tried. At least one person has let me know they keep checking my blog for updates. Well, we've been busy. You all know about the flood after my trip to Uganda. What you might not know is that we are having a deck built - I have pictures... I'll share them... Right now! There are pictures with explanations, but in the end we'll have poured over 40 cubic yards of concrete for the foundation and pillars. So we've been a little busy.

The best part of the deck you ask? Well, it's hard to pin it down to one thing. First there's the low sloping stairs - the old stairs were awful. These are a marked improvement. Then there's the roof - decks aren't much good in FL without shade. Then there's the sundeck which makes it possible to sit in the sun and grill without roof cover. But best of all - the crane. Yes, that's right folks, a crane. I know what you're thinking - a crane, why on earth would you want a crane? Well, in a word - groceries! Ever since we moved in here 9 years ago I've wanted a dumbwaiter. With the floods and all it just wasn't practical - besides all they lift is 100 pounds our less. My crane will lift up to 1/2 ton. And just what will three boys do with a crane? The world may never know - especially if their Dad trains them to fear the crane. It will also lift our 1/4 ton generator up during flood events and make living here during floods more practical.

So there you have it, dear friends, an update from the river.

If you check out the Best of Uganda album there are the best pictures from my trip to visit Clea and Isaac. Oh, BTW, the program Clea made for me - it still works! So far, I have all but three windows clean in my house. The 7 fans aren't faring so well - only two of them are clean, but they're clean!

Three boys, all in a row...

Apparently I can't catch a good picture fromt he bow of the boat. It's fuzzy but here's a picture of the house on the second day after the peak flow during April Fools' Flood - that's my name for it. For a brief moment we pondered whether or not Meteorologists across the country would conspire to play such a joke as to tell the entire SE that they would be flooded during the week of April 1 and following... During this picture it's actually about a foot lower than the peak, but none the less, it's quite dramatic to realize the amount of water that flowed past my house.

I scheduled an appointment for my boys to visit the Pediatrician today. It's loads of fun to haul all three together and hear them place bets on who will get shots. This time it was L. He took them both in stride as M and S watched in wide eyed wonder. I totally respect our pediatrician. He is acquainted with my dad and all that we've done over the years as a family. He's the kind of guy that I'd want watching out for my kids health. I won't get into the vaccination debate. I'm a wimp and uneducated in such matters. Please comment all you want about it, but don't expect me to respond... Any way, that's not what prompted me to post tonight. Tonight it's all about boys. On FB I did a silly quiz about "how many kids will you have". Based on my answers, 3 girls. How could the 5 question quiz be so off? I'll never know. I talked with another mom - she has 5 kids- all but one are girls. They talk all the time. My boys wrestle and fight all the time. The fights aren't about anything real, just about anything that doesn't matter so they can get it off their chests. Then as I walked out of the office with the official estimate "L, if he keeps going, might grow to be 5' 8" or so by the time he's done." a nurse commented "all in a row" and made the motion like stair step kids. Before we left the house his friend came to visit and we discovered he'd grown by several inches (or so it seemed) since we last saw him - how could this be? Now he's a head taller than L now and taller than me.

I also realized today, as we travelled around town that I have been really stressed lately. I had no idea how stressful flooding is to the victims - you think I'd know by now after 2 major (although they call it officially moderate) and several minor floods! This one really took it's toll on us and we are all as a neighborhood recovering as best we can. If you know someone who's been through any kind of flooding, lend them a hand - even a batch of cookies (even from the store) would make their day a little brighter. Reach out and touch them with a gesture of warmth and love. My folks wouldn't have us stay anywhere but their house in our time of need, but I know it's hard on them both. Hug someone who's helped displaced people.


Pray for a couple of teen boys who need a stable home before DCF places them in a foster home.

For the record, that's our mailbox on the left side of this picture. Yes - the water was over 3 feet above our road! Also pictured are two of our neighbors who kept our generator fueled up to keep our fridge running for Saturday - Tuesday!

We interrupt this slow developing blog-cast about Uganda to bring you the latest news from the winding river...

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over. –James Boswell from Life of Johnson, September 1777.

So when I first met MM he went on and on about this house. The house on the river. The house in which he grew up. The house he spent hours and hours playing without siblings. On and on the stories went. Before that though I remember returning from senior vacation with my dad and the Hwy 20 bridge across the Ochlocknee was closed and we had to detour through Quincy. I said “Those dang fools living on the river!”. I had no idea that less than 10 years later I’d be one of those fools. I think I even sang the song “Don’t build your house on the sandy land. Don’t build it too near the shore. It might be kinda nice, but you’ll have to build it twice, yes you’ll have to build your house once more…”

Today I sing a different song. It goes something like “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” It started last August when we learned how the different emergency agencies behaved during storms. It was very stressful. So last weekend when the river started to rise and MM was camping with L, at God’s prompting, I purged our basement (the first floor is supposed to stay empty) of junk and organized what was to stay down there (there’s a high shelf!). I felt silly on Saturday after cleaning the extra room in our house because the river didn’t rise in to the basement.

It wasn’t until Tuesday when I called MM back home from camping that I felt slightly vindicated. I drove home from town to begin preparing for the rain that was to come. About the time my neighbors and I gathered all our potted garden to our patios (tell me we don’t know that it’ll flood!) and emptied all the basement bottom shelves and makeshift tables from last weekend, MM shows up to handle all the man work. It seems the work never stopped. We believed we were ready for whatever would come. So much so that I brought our boys back to the house (L stayed out camping with my dad) on Wednesday. Why on earth would I bring them back except I think that we’ll stay at the house through the flood?

We woke up Thursday morning with the river over our driveway by about a foot or two. Wednesday it had been only ankle deep and rising. I worked on work a little while MM worked on miscellaneous things around the yard. The rain fell and the river rose. The kids played around the house (what’s not covered with stuff from the basement) and I worked on important things like clean dishes and clean floors. Oh, and then the electric company made an error and turned off our power instead of power across the river! I spent the afternoon making phone calls to restore our power and finally succeeded. After dinner with our neighbors (had to wade with kids on my shoulders to get there!), we waded back to go to bed.

You’d think that we’d have known the signs. When we went to bed the river was still rising. MM was scheduled to return to L and break camp on Friday. Certainly we could wait until morning and get out of the house safely – why didn’t we take the cars up the road before now? Then it’d just be a boat ride to the cars and we’d be to safety. It was 3 a.m. when I woke with a start and called the dam. The river is rising and not going down anytime soon. It was two inches up the wheels of our neighbor’s truck. Everyone must move their cars now. What possessed us all to wake up to walk their dog or call the dam can only be called God’s hand of protection. We didn’t know about the lower than our part of the road spots until Friday morning as we drove out of the neighborhood and encountered them with our truck and van. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in all my life. After we all made it out of the house and to the neighbors where we parked the boat trailer, MM and I had a moment – WOW. What on earth were we thinking?

I often wondered why our family doesn’t spend much time camping together. After all, the struggles you encounter as a family serve to draw you together as you search for solutions. Now I know why we don’t camp together (I just send Dad with one or more of them)- we encounter all our struggles together and find solutions as we live in our sometimes houseboat. Our family is being forged in the crucible of floods and life on the river!

as of right now, the river is 26.11 feet. It was 23.71 or so when we were leaving. That's right - it's up to the mailbox bottom now and gently rising. We're taking refuge at my parent's. The water might not recede until next week after all the Sunday rain...

And I really did say "This is life. If I thought it was supposed to be any different, I wouldn't live down here." For a copy of the picture see:

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=CD&Dato=20090402&Kategori=PHOTOS03&Lopenr=904020805&Ref=PH

What else did you learn in Uganda, Kahlua?

Before I get totally slammed with "upload those pictures already" requests, here is a picture of the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains. Enjoy. I was taken all over the area surrounding Fort Portal. This was on a day hike when all 8 of us wore me out hiking up the trails. Also, this particular shot shows the slope of the mountains. The camera is upright. The trees in the foreground are planted on the slope of the mountain.

But onto the real reason for this post.

A couple years ago Clea along with her family and mother, moved into our house. While we all lived together we learned much about each other - as anyone would... I learned that I'm a terrible housekeeper and my dear friend learned that I live in the MATRIX. If you need a pot, there's a special place for it, but you have to move the canister in front before you reach for the pot or it won't come out or if you want a special jar of sauce, it's in it's place, but you need a stool and a road map to get to it. Everything is that way - even my linen closet. Pull from the top and insert at the bottom... I also learned that if there's a way to make a doable list, Clea's the gal for the job.

Well, in Uganda, things weren't much different when I entered into Clea's home. I didn't think they would be. The amazing thing is that I didn't see much activity going on about cleaning anything. It didn't need to be cleaned. Either it had been or would be before the next month is over. I didn't notice it until we were talking one day and she mentioned her chore program. It's for keeping the house clean without giving up days on end to accomplish it. It's useful for Susan who works in the house to help Clea and Connie, because it lets her know what's going to be done so she needn't worry about it.

I've heard of such programs. Flylady is the only one that comes to mind right now, but they are all over the place "how to clean your house in 15 minutes a day" "What to do when guests are coming over" "Year round spring cleaning" (Those are just my ideas) Here's what you get when you do a web search for "How to keep your house clean":

1. How to Keep Your House Clean in 20 Minutes a Day
2. The 10 Habits That Keep Your Home Clean
3. Keeping House Clean - Tips on Maintaining Your Home As a Peaceful...

So imagine my delight when I had a chance to sit down with Clea herself and generate a plan that if followed at a minimum should help me with my own home. You would think it was complicated or something but really it wasn't. I'd share it with you but a picture is worth a thousand words. I've been following the chart for nearly two weeks now. I actually find it quite rewarding. My family of males can even follow it. I'm sure you can't read it, but you don't need to. Just know that I'm following the program and enjoying success along the way.

Clea, here's to you, dear friend. Thanks for a job well done!

Did anyone besides me notice that the beginning of CLEAn is Clea?

I've had a weeks rest at home...

[just in case you are wondering, the pictures haven't been uploaded yet...]
now back to the old grindstone... I thought I'd start my journey blog with a taste of the cuisine to which I was treated...

We'll start with dinner since it's the first thing I ate at the Wootton's monastary (more on that later). I had chicken soup. I'm confident there was chicken but from where I didn't know. The soup was great. I think I even had buttered bread. I was quite surprised at the presence of chicken as I had heard that meat was not very good locally and it was too expensive to get to the big city for better meat... Even so, I enjoyed the soup after a long journey (3 days to be exact!) to get there.

Fast forward to breakfast and you have eggs - rolled up in chapati - Add a little sauce of chopped onion and tomato and perhaps some green bell pepper on the side. Oh but wait, it's not that easy... First you have to get the eggs from the market --- more on that later --- then they sit on your counter in a egg carton (the big 2 dozen or so size) until you use them. Yuck say all us refrigerator freaks, but the reality is, fresh eggs can be treated that way. Before you cook the eggs, you must crack them. How will you know that the egg is fresh? The grocer might not have perfectly rotated his stock. Does he even know how to rotate stock? If he does, does he throw in a few bad with the good and pretend ignorance?

In Kenya, Connie and Clea, broke many rotten eggs and were very sad to say the least when once it was broken right into a cake batter they were making - all from scratch... It wasn't until they arrived in Uganda that they learned to float test the eggs. You know the old David Letterman segment "Will it float or will it sink?" Good eggs sink. Each egg is tested that way.

Back to breakfast - are you worn out yet? Don't give up, last night we had to make chapati (much like tortillas but with fat cut into them and the pan fried.) If you've never made tortillas, you ought to try it some times. There's no bakery to go and pick up the bread you want at $1 a loaf. Even if you do buy bread, you might make croutons out of it but not a nice soft cold cut sandwich. So here I am enjoying breakfast - complete with juice from concentrate.

From my description you'd think all we did was eat. To look at the scales, you'd be convinced. But really we did have some normal days. There are four kids to tend to. They aren't all out of diapers and only half of them will string a whole story together. Onward to lunch. It's usually leftovers, but with me around I don't think there were as many so at times lunch was an extra preparation. Peanut butter and jelly. Seems simple enough. Grab the peanut butter and jelly and a few slices of bread and you're good to go. Not so fast. Remember the bread? While breakfast was being cooked, you had to start a batch of bread dough. It takes at least two hours to prepare. which includes rising times. As long as Clea doesn't object, I'm going to take the liberty of sharing the recipe here. She got it from somewhere, but it's a good recipe.

Combine the following items and let dissolve and poof:

2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tsp sugar.

Combine and dissolve in big bowl:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp shortening
2 tsps salt
2 cups boiling water

Add first mixture to second. Add 7 1/2 - 8 cups flour (Clea uses 7 cups). Mix.

Turn out on floured surface; kneat 10 min

Place in greased bowl (probably the one you used for the second mixture); turn once; cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down let rest 15 minutes. Divide into two (2)

So as long as you started the bread before breakfast was served and you got it in the oven more than 20 minutes before lunch, PB&J is an easy lunch. Although I have to say, I really did enjoy the Nutella sandwich we enjoyed one day... Oops I dont' think I was supposed to share that... Tee Hee!

Before you take a deep breath, there's the cleaning up of all the cooking mess we made. Thankfully they have hired a helper that is able to take care of these things so Clea and Connie can focus on the kids and other things they have to do. Are you thirsty yet?

Remember, TIA (This is Africa) what should be simple is never and what should only take a few minutes of concerted effort takes weeks. TIA and therefore I shall not shall not shall not touch the tap water to my lips. TIA, I shall not touch the tap water to my lips. For that we have squirt bottles to rinse the toothbrush and our mouths. But just how do we fill those squirt bottles? Katadyn makes a great tank filter that adequately filters the water to make it safe for consumption. Every day (I can hear Connie missing me now) someone has to take the tap water and pour it into the filter tank so that over the course of the morning it can drip via gravity out of the filter and into the holding tank.

As long as everyone does their part, the water is great. I've seen other filter contraptions that aren't so nice. With any of them, there is the possibility that the floor will be mopped. Well, it seems I've rambled on and on. Perhaps too much, but if you've read this far thank you.

One post from Uganda

So I'm here in Uganda, I've sort of turned my heart towards home. Today the Internet connection is speedy enough for me to blog for the day. I have so many things to tell you about my trip, but the best thing is that my friends are all doing very well. They aren't starving and they are very secure. Most secure in God's arms, but physically in a compound that gives the kids freedom to roam a little and still be safe.

I have to stay awake on the first leg of my return flight after spending a day travelling to Kampala and shopping for a few last minute items like malaria test and Bilharzia treatment then onto Entebbe to be dropped off at the airport. Staying awake at the right time coming over here made jet lag adjustment very minimal. I'm hoping to take a nap in Amsterdam. Please pray for my return flights. I had no troubles getting over here and I hope it is the same on the way home.

Please praise the Lord also for MM and the boys. It's been some fun for them while I've been away, but I think they are just barely keeping their heads above water and waiting for my return. Praise the Lord for the work he's doing over here. It's seems it's slow progress discipling but there is lasting fruit. Praise the Lord for all that he's shown me and all the blessings he's poured out on The Woottons and Connie!

We made it to Orlando...

After dropping the kids at G & Ps we departed but not before changing the oil in the van - very important DFs, very important...

I'd say that is was all fun and games leaving today, but a dead battery, Sunday drivers on Monday and defective printers at the car shop prevented such an adjective (or would that be an adverb... -I'm leaving for Uganda I don't care!).

We arrived and had a great time getting here after the bumpy start. As I type this Isaac and Clea are at home sleeping, preparing to get up in the AM and look for fuel. There was none in all of Ft. Portal. They are making their way to Entebbe to pick me up tomorrow...

About the good word on my last post: Blow some points on the Hyatt Regency at the Airport. Yes the rooms are outrageously priced , but if you have enough bonus points that you'd otherwise waste - they are worth it. Not only that but they checked my flight times and arranged to come pick us up and take me to my terminal so I'd be there on time! How totally cool is that. I'm so glad I stayed here.

Sorry if you've never traveled internationally, but it is really nice to know that I can eat a brunch in the hotel before we are set to go and then all my baggage and my car will be taken care of - It's way cool. The only problem we have encountered so far is that we don't exactly know what a good tip is for the valet service and the bell-hops! So, chime in here for me...

Bags are packed. now what

Without giving away any details to strangers, I'm leaving very soon!

I find it incredibly funny that my carry on weighs more than each of my checked bags...  

I have more stuff for my friends than I do for myself (OK the cured meat may be a little selfish, but I can't possibly eat 4 pounds of salt pork, 4 pounds of summer sausage and 2 pounds of pepperoni while I'm there.  Besides it'll give me a great opportunity to go on that beans and rice diet I've been wanting to try....

I spent last Friday with a missionary friend of mine.  She spent the past year in Switzerland.  Some people think that it was vacation, but I tell you the truth, it was not.  She spent more than a few hours alone - really alone - no TV, radio or phone or anyone else.  It wasn't a journey where she was supposed to be alone, but after her daily work was done (ministering to a precious aging servant!) all she had was time.  She could get on the computer, but even that was limited...  Emailing your kids is just not the same as talking to them or being with them.  Emoticons don't even come close to sharing all the feeling in your voice or face...  It was so encouraging to know that God showed up when she hadn't planned it.  

I have no real plans for what I'll do or be in Uganda other than a servant to my dear friend and her family!  Perhaps that's the best place for me to begin - with nothing to offer but me.  I could ask to go on safari or some exotic journey, but Uganda is exotic enough TYVM!  I'm content just doing whatever my hands find to do...

Like now, I have shoes to shod on my 3 yo, dinner to make ready and tidying up along with folding laundry...  

May the Lord Bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you and give you peace forever...

Uganda Update

I'm slowly acquiring the things I'm going to take to Uganda. It's amazing how fast you can fill you luggage with things for a trip. I'm trying to minimize my needs for the sake of taking as much as I can for my friends. I've been really busy with life in the midst of getting ready to go and thus haven't been able to keep postings going here. I'm sure that I won't think of blogging my trip. I learned from November that such lofty goals are for the birds...

So, until I have time to write again...

I'm cheating. I have two blogs...

Here's a copy of my results from last week. I lost no real chest measurments last week, perhaps one inch in my waist. and maybe an inch in my waist. I might have lost 1/2 inch in my hips. Now I think the loss in my thighs is good because I lost 1.25 inches in the upper and 1 inch on the lower. I'm thinking maybe MM has figured out how to measure me. Is there anyone who can give pointers on actually measuring consistently! I'm frustrated.

If I assume the chest loss recorded last week was a farce and the upper arms thing was invalid as well, then I've lost 9 inches total. I'm not convinced that these measurments are real. That's 3% of my inches lost!

We'll see what next week holds...

T-Tapp Week One Results - Measurable

I have no idea how T-Tapp works, but I'm here to say that it works for me. I hope no one comes along to challenge my thinking about this. I have enjoyed working out. I am enjoying the results of working out. And, I enjoy not taking up all afternoon to do it and there are visible results already.

The list of areas I'm measuring along with last weeks and this week's measurements are present with my comments. I lost 5.5 inches overall in the past week. I may have lost more but my measurer isn't to thrilled at the idea of measuring me.

....................1/2/2008..1/10/2008
....................Inches....Inches
Bust/Chest ..........40.......36.75...good
Waist ...............37.5.....36.5....good
Abdomen .............41.5.....37.5....great
Hips ................42.......41.5....well enough
R Upper Thigh .......23.......23
L Upper Thigh .......22.75....23
R Lover Thigh .......17.5.....16.5....good
L Lower Thigh .......17.......17
R Calf ..............15.......15
L Calf ..............15.......15
R Upper Arm .........11.75....14......What?
L Upper Arm .........11.75....13.5....What?
....................294.75....289.25
................................5.5.inches lost in one week.
Weight (lbs.) ......158.......157.4

What happens when you are innoculated...

You aren't supposed to get Yellow Fever or Hepatitis A or B. But in the mean time, you get miserable. I haven't had a shot in years and by far this is the worst I've felt ever. Would someone please remind me to get the follow up shots when I return so I don't have to do it ALL over again next time I go (there will be another time, God willing!).

This afternoon I was most miserable. From chills to aches and pains. I know this is normal and much better than the diseases themselves.

I was able to double check my itinerary and I'm on Northwest Airlines all the way and my seats are confirmed and near the potty!

How do you carry water you like while travelling? You don't right? Yeah, that'll be the biggest bummer because I've been downing 1/2 gallon a day quite regularly. Of all the things I'll miss, that'll be the one thing I miss the most. Anyone want to find a portable distiller for me to take?

It's the little things isn't it. Also, if you'd remind me that I'm really glad I got the required immunizations, I'd be much abliged.

I'm so glad you asked...

I have been not blogging because I've spent hours and hours searching for flights to Uganda!

I couldn't decide where I should share this news first (I'm sure I just moved to the bottom of the list since I didn't stop some of my friends to share with them). I have way too many options. There's my local group of friends. Then there's facebook and sparkpeople (but I don't know that group of people IRL - except two!) and an entire e-mail group. Therefore, I started here.

For my readers who don't know(all three of you, how could you not), I have a dear friend and her family that are Servants in Uganda. They've been there for 6 months and will be there for at least another year or more. They can't just pack up every 6 months and journey home, so I'm going to them.

I've never been a planner. I knew for a whole year that I was going to go to visit next month. It took me until today to buy the tickets! Am I afraid of commitment? Probably. But as of today I'm going to Uganda. In essence, I'll be gone for two weeks right smack in the middle of February!

This marks the 14 year anniversary of the first time I traveled overseas, and it was in February then, too. So twice in my life I'm celebrating my birthday on foreign soil.

Please pray for us. MM and L, M and S will be together for two weeks. They'll be fine together, but it can be stressful. Pray for the river to stay within it's banks. Pray for my traveling safety as I'll be going alone (unless someone wants to go with me!). Pray for our deck to be built soon. I know it's a distraction from what is going on, but the deck would really help.

Also, check this out:

http://www.t-tapp.com/home/index.html

I don't have a fancy link that'll show the T-Tapp logo or anything, but there's the link anyway.

I was going to wait until I had more comments...

but, that will take too long and Christmas season will have passed. Besides, I have pictures to share.

A friend of mine had a Christmas brunch with a white elephant gift exchange. The rules of the game are somewhat complicated, but apparently if you are the first to open a gift your choices of gifts is limited only by what others bring. I liked this game, this time. I was #1. There was some discussion about the ethics of stealing a gift from another participant (why can't I put "player" in there?). We wondered if sugar coating it into "going along with it because it's part of the game" or trading (which it really couldn't be called that!) would somehow make it right. In the end we just played the game with a guilty conscience at practicing stealing from one another... Would someone comment about this dilemma, please?

In the end in exchange for a Spanish-English dictionary (is it really a dictionary?) I acquired/stole/left with a beautiful chrome and glass shelf that is close enough to what MM wanted that I don't have to hear about it for the next 30 years.
This spot on our wall used to be empty. We have all white walls (with a ever so slight shade of rose - but for you decorators out there - it's white) and white appliances and light tan (really it is colored) tile and a white tub with white tile and white toilet and white... Well, you get the point. So the chrome is our friend. But to me that's not the best thing. It was fun watching MM put it up. All I had to do was threaten to put holes in the walls and he was Johnny on the Spot. Now way would I be allowed to put the shelf up on my own. Never mind that I'd have probably not shown my kids how to trust Jesus in all things...

OK, that was a sad confession but it's true. However, what I did get a niche in my testosterone laden house with only one bathroom (I don't need it changed, really. I like it this way.) where I can store my girl stuff (not all of it!). Note: heretofore I didn't not need said shelf as I had no "girl stuff" that needed its own shelf. It was all community property and didn't deserve special treatment. But MM in all his creativity came up with one gift for Christmas that he could get for me - a CHI. The shampoo and conditioner etc was not his idea - it was my second mother's idea. She's a professional hair stylist and what she says goes.

This is M. Some have not quite figured out the naming system I use for my boys. It's S, M and L. As in Small Medium and Large. Someday, God willing, they'll all be large compared to me, but they'll always be S, M and L. So this is M. He's a little silly around the camera and we still love him!

So now I have a new niche in my bathroom where I can store my stuff out of little one's reach, I don't have any climbers to speak of... The ones that can reach don't because they are girly.