Seth's Birthday Party

Seth's birthday party was today.  His birthday is actually on Monday, but today the Madorys and the Mickeys, the two missionary families that we work with, were able to come over for a party.  We had a lot of fun.  BJ roasted hotdogs, and I made kettle corn (blue for fun!) and Seth's birthday cake.

Seth enjoyed playing with his friends, and Brina loved all of the attention that she got.  She was continually passed from one pair of hands to another!  

See the red construction paper signs under the Happy Birthday decorations?  This morning while I was hanging balloons, Seth wanted to help decorate.  He wrote on two pieces of construction paper, "Let's party forever."  and "I love everyone that come to party."  Then he stuck them on the wall with tape! 

In one of his birthday cards, Seth got 2,000 shillings.  Sound like a lot of money???  It actually is for a boy!  It is about 22 dollars!  You can see BJ teasing Seth trying to swipe it incognito! 

On Monday for his birthday, we are going as a family to the Nakuru game park.  Hopefully we'll get to see some big animals!  We're looking forward to a family day out together.  I will try to bring back pictures!

Another Daughter

Many of you know my sister, JoAnna. She and her husband and her little boy live in McMinnville, TN where Andy pastors Antioch Baptist Church. They have been through some major trials of their faith in the last several years, but they continue to trust God and serve Him with all their hearts.

Several months ago, I posted Rebekah Joy's story.  Rebekah was my sister's firstborn. She had numerous health problems and only lived six days. Those six days were bitter-sweet. So full of pain, but also so full of God's Presence, mercy, and grace.

Since then, God has given her an adorable little boy named Christian,

and now she is close to delivering their third child, a little girl whom they have already named Audra.  She recently wrote this, and I thought it was beautiful.  She said I could post it on my blog.

As the time of my delivery quickly approaches, I find myself thinking again about how much God loves me and what He's done for me over the past two years.  As I dream of holding another daughter in my arms, bringing her home, dressing her, watching her grow strong and healthy, teaching her things, I catch myself thinking about my firstborn, and the few days I had with her.  I go over those precious moments in my mind, remembering every detail of her short life.  And once again, I'm amazed at the love that God pours out on His children.  I think back over the past two years and see His hand in our lives even more now than ever before.  And things keep happening to this day that keep me from forgetting just how much God was there.  At my last doctor's visit, my doctor asked me about Rebekah's and Christian's deliveries.  I casually told her that I'd been in the same operating room with both babies.  She just about couldn't believe that.  She told me that they have 12 delivery units there and the chance that I would end up back in the exact same room again a year later was just about impossible.  Of course I didn't know that at the time, and when I came close to delivering Christian, I wanted to go back, sort of to face my fears, face the pain of losing Rebekah.  I knew I would always have trouble going into a hospital if I didn't go back to Vanderbilt and see those halls again, walk through those familiar wards again.  The atmosphere in that operating room the second time was so different, so relaxed, and it greatly helped in wiping away some of the pain from the first experience.  I needed it.  But how did it happen?  How did I get the same room again?  Now this may seem small to some, but to me, it is again proof of God's hand in our lives.  Obviously God knew what I needed much more than I did and let me go back to the same place again.  I know it'll be strange, and in a way, hard to once again hold a daughter in that place.  This too may seem silly to some.  You see, when I watched Rebekah take her last breath, and later held her empty blanket in my arms, I prayed and asked God to fill her blanket once again.  God has answered that prayer, and needless to say, that will be the blanket I take to the hospital, the one that Audra will be wrapped in first as proof that God hears and answers prayer!  Looking into her face and seeing Rebekah's will bring back some pain, but it'll also hold a beauty of its own as well.  A beautiful picture of God's great love for His children.  God has been so good to me!  He has given me the desires of my heart!  I will never be able to have a big family, but I am so very grateful for the three that God has given to me.  I will most likely never be wealthy in the world's eyes, but when I look at my little family, and the love, the beautiful relationships we have, and hear the squeal of delight from my son as he wrestles with his daddy, as I watch him sleep at night and see his smiles, feel his little arms tighten around my neck in a childish hug, I realize that this world has no idea what true wealth is!  I have true wealth!  Tears came to my eyes the other day as I told Christian, "Daddy will be home soon".  It hit me that some children never hear those words.  And yet, I know that daddy WILL be home.  Yes, I am rich!  And these are greater riches than all the gold and glamour the world can offer.  I am blessed beyond words. I love my little family and will treasure every minute of my children's lives as if it were my last.  This is a lesson that death teaches.  I learned it well with Rebekah.  Don't ever take life for granted!  Time spent with family, and with your children is so precious.  Slow down, and enjoy each minute of their lives.  Don't rush through it, wishing it were different.  Treasure it.  It will be gone before you know it!

Sheer Happiness

Yesterday, I was thinking to myself, "How is it possible to be as happy as I am?"  Every time I think about my baby daughter, my heart just wells up with joy!  Every time I hold her and kiss her squishy cheeks, I fall in love even more.

I love the barret, and the hair sticking up behind it!

 

 

 

I had to take this picture of her sleeping because of her tiny baby hand!  Aren't baby hands adorable?  

Touring the Upstairs

"Twende ju."  Let's go up!

At the top of the stairs, we come to a this landing.  On the right is our inverter/battery system for when the power goes off . . . which is often!  And that round thing on the left is the hot water heater.  We flip a switch on the wall, and then it takes about an hour to heat water for baths. 

Turn left and you find two bedrooms and a bathroom.  One of these two rooms is Seth's room.

Across from Seth's room is the pink room.  It will be a guest room eventually after we repaint it.  Who wants to put guests in a pink room?  And it is not a pretty pink either!  Imagine orangey pink!  Brina's nursery was the same color until BJ repainted it cream.

There is a bathroom/shower (also pink) between Seth's room and the pink room.

Notice the two doors inside the bathroom.  Very typical here.  First door is the shower.

 
Second door . . .

Now let's go back to the middle of the landing.  Here is Brina's changing table.  It sits in the hallway between our bedroom her nursery.

That room to the right is the master bedroom, but let's turn left to Brina's nursery.  Yes, she sleeps in her own room now.  I made the decision a few weeks ago when I was sick and coughing so much.  My cough kept waking her up.  I moved her to the nursery and now she sleeps 8 hours or more each night.  That was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life!  Here is the nursery, the only room we've done any work on since moving.  BJ repainted it, and then we had curtains made for it.

I wanted the nursery completely done before Brina's birth.  We hit a snag, however with the crib leaning up against the wall.  It is borrowed from another missionary, but it doesn't have the screws to put it together.  Furthermore, it is an American crib, and the right screws are nowhere to be found here in Kenya.  So Brina is using Seth's old Pack n' Play for now.  She doesn't mind!

Okay, back to the master bedroom.

Our bedroom is huge!  I love it.  We may repaint it one day; the walls are quite yellow!  But that is not high on my priority list right now.

 Look at the size of our closet!

Our bedroom has it's own bathroom.

 

The bathtubs in this house have been such a blessing, although we do try to use the water sparingly.  

Now back out to the landing.  One more hallway.   

That door on the right in the hallway is our school room.

And down at the end of the hallway are doors that lead out onto this huge balcony.  The balcony looks out over our front yard.

And now our tour is complete.  Isn't this house huge???  I definitely get my exercise going up and down the stairs and around to all of the rooms everyday!  God likes to do exceedingly above all that we can ask or think.  Our house in Karen was tiny.  Now we have a house that is four times that size.

Creating Curriculum

BJ is writing his own Kenyan Sign Language curriculum as he goes along.  Each week, he writes a new lesson for his students.  Then he translates it into Swahili for those who do not understand English as well.  Most of his students prefer getting the English lessons, but there are a couple who benefit more from having it written in Swahili.

He is also putting together a Kenyan Sign Language "dictionary" for his students.  I am excited about this because I can use it with Seth in school too.  He simply takes pictures of himself as he forms the signs.

"Language"

Some signs are the same as American Sign Language; however, many are different.  Also, some signs such as "language" require two or three pictures to illustrate it fully.  He then prints out the pictures in black and white.  I was impressed.  The pictures turn out really clear on paper!  Of course, he had to dress in black so that the contrast would be there.

"Deaf"

"Child"

Needless to say, Hubby is extremely busy throughout the week.  On top of all of the hours he puts into preparing for his lessons, he has also been making trips to the Deaf school here in Nakuru.  He is trying to get a Bible club started there.  The high school opened their doors to him with no problem whatsoever.  The superintendent of the grade school, however, does not seem very happy with the whole idea.  He has agreed to give BJ a trial day in May, and then he'll decide if he wants to let us in again.  Please pray that God will soften this man's heart and open this door for us.  The devil does not want those precious deaf children to "hear" the Word of God in their language.

The Karen Sign Language Class

This past Sunday we all went to Karen together.  Bro. Madory had a migraine headache that lasted all week, so he asked BJ if he would preach for him.  This meant that I also needed to go as interpreter.  So we made a day of it.  Up at 4:30 a.m., left at 5:30 a.m., got there at 8:00 a.m.

Every Sunday, Seth loves going to Karen with BJ.  They have a Sunday morning tradition.  Before church, they go get fresh-squeezed juice at Java restaurant.  This week I got to get in on the tradition too.  BJ said I broke tradition though because I wanted a chocolate milkshake instead!

We got our drinks, and then headed to the church for BJ's 8:30 a.m. sign language class.  He's been teaching this one longer than the class at Grace, so these students are a little farther along.  I enjoyed sitting there watching my husband teach.  He loves what he is doing!  He was teaching them the proper facial expressions to use when asking questions in sign language, and then making them practice those expressions.  There was a lot of fun and laughter going on in class.

One thing about learning sign language:  You have to get past worrying about what you look like! 

It is a blessing to see what God is doing with the Deaf ministry in Karen.  BJ and I watched with joy as the Deaf interacted with the hearing and vice versa.  Understand.  That is a milestone here in Kenya where the Deaf have been shoved aside and ill-treated for so long.  These Deaf people are seeing love in action.

Dr. Wala, the dentist who recently checked our teeth, is husband and father to the two ladies in the front middle of that picture.  He recently put braces on one of the young Deaf men who comes to church.  Simon walked into the sign language class trying to hide his teeth because of those braces, but you could tell he was pleased!  It is obvious to us that the Deaf in Karen are beginning to open their hearts to the people of Karen Baptist.  They are beginning to trust them.  Praise the Lord!  It takes work and time.  It's been about a year, but now fruit can be seen. 

After church, we went and got pizza to eat in the car on the way back to Nakuru.  We made it just in time for church at Grace.  After church, BJ again taught sign language.  By that time, Brina was exhausted.  I tried everything to get her to go to sleep.  She only likes to sleep in her bed, so she cried and cried.  Finally, I took her to the car and made a "bed" for her on the back seat where she finally fell asleep.  When we got home, I carried her to her bed, and she slept all night until 6:00 the next morning.  The rest of us slept like rocks too!

Sundays are long and tiring, but oh, so worth it!  BJ humbly prayed during our family devotions that night, "Lord, thank you for letting us serve You, unworthy as we are."  My heart echoed an Amen to that.

Daddy and His Girl

I love this picture!

Look at that fly-away hair

My day has been busy with laundry today.  We ran out of water this week, and then had difficulty getting a water truck to come.  Needless to say, my laundry piled up.  It sure happens fast with a newborn!

School with my two.  I love it how Brina's looking at her big brother.  She was giving him smiles a few minutes before this picture.

I know I post lots of pictures of my kiddos on my blog.  Bear with me, folks!  I do it for the grandparents sakes.  I know my mom in New Guinea downloads the pictures from my blog because they don't go through very well via e-mail.  So I gotta keep them coming!  :)

German Farmer's Breakfast

Gotta share a family recipe today!  I have no idea where my mom got her recipe for German Farmer's Breakfast, but she's been making it for years.  My sister makes it, and I make it too.  BJ asks for it all the time; it is his favorite breakfast!

2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup ham, bacon, sausage, etc (whatever you have on hand)
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green or colored bell pepper, chopped 
Mushrooms, optional
8 eggs
2-3 Tablespoons milk
Salt, pepper, Tony Chacheres seasoning, seasoned salt, parsley, and Tobasco sauce
Grated cheese

Instructions:
Fry the potatoes in oil until close to done.  Add the onions and fry until they are done as well.  Drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  
In a separate skillet, cook the meat.  Drain.  Can saute the bell pepper too if desired.  
Now place the fried potatoes/onions in the bottom of a greased casserole dish or a cast iron skillet.  Add the meat, bell pepper, and mushrooms (if desired)
Place the eggs and milk in a bowl, and sprinkle in some of each spice and a few shakes of Tobasco.  Beat well. 
Pour mixture all over potatoes and meat in casserole dish.  
Bake at 350-375 degrees until the eggs are set.  
Sprinkle on as much cheese as desired.  Bake 5 more minutes until the cheese is melted. 


* Note:  This is one of those recipes that does not have exact measurements for everything.  But trust me; it is hard to mess this one up!  It just comes out yummy!  Also, I've added a few ingredients to it since I married a Cajun!  Cajuns like Tony's and Tobasco in or on almost everything!

A Picnic in the Tent

Yesterday, Seth and I had a picnic in the tent.  He recently got this tent in the mail from BJ's Aunt Helen for Christmas, and he loves it!  It is set up right now in our living room.  It being Thursday, BJ was gone all day yesterday.  Each Thursday, Seth and I try to do something special together while we wait for Daddy to come home.  Sometimes we read books together, or eat popsicles together, and lots of times we snuggle up under a blanket on the couch and end up falling asleep waiting for Daddy.  BJ usually gets home between 8:30 to 9:00 p.m.

We tried taking a couple of pictures of Brina in the tent too.  Seth took this one.  A little blurry, but not too bad.  He's learning how to use my camera . . . with supervision, of course!  =)

Then I put both children in the tent for a picture; however, Brina was not very happy with the arrangement!

Ok, so I fed Brina and put her down for a nap.  Then I ran back downstairs to have a picnic with my boy. 

What was on the menu?  Leftovers!  I don't cook big meals on Thursdays, but we had some yummy leftover rice with beef tip gravy.  A little cardboard box made the perfect "table".  There is something really fun about eating your supper in a tiny tent!

Seth is going through this stage right now of making silly faces at the camera!  Ornery boy!

This tent has a tunnel too!  Mommy doesn't fit too well in the tunnel, but Seth has fun scurrying back and forth through there!

Thank you, Aunt Helen.  You sure made a little boy happy!

Continuing Our Tour of the Downstairs

Remember this hallway?  Today we will continue our tour of the downstairs.

That door on the left is BJ's office.  His office is rather dark in spite of the window, so it was difficult to get a good picture of it.

BJ's "desk" consists of action packer boxes stacked up and covered with a beautiful Maasai blanket.  You can't see him sitting back here when you open his office door!  This is his corner, his sanctuary, and he loves it!

 
And here is his bathroom that is tucked away in his office.  This office was actually a guest room with an in-suite bathroom, but it works better for us to use it as an office for BJ.

Now back into the hallway.  At the end of the hallway is my laundry room.  Our refrigerator is in the laundry room too because it wouldn't fit under the cabinets in the kitchen.

Turn right, and we enter my spacious kitchen.

Now I'll go stand in that doorway (that leads to the dining room) in the above picture and shoot back the other way.  Notice my pantry tucked back in the corner.  There are tons of cupboards in that pantry!  That is only half of it.  The other half is hidden around the corner.

Now, from the kitchen, we enter the dining room.  In the left side of the picture is that sink for washing hands!

Another view of the dining room and the kitchen door.

Now for the living room which joins the dining room with a couple of low steps.  From the dining room, you would see this love seat across the living room . . . and Baby Girl.

Now if I go stand at that love seat, we get a picture of the fireplace . . . that doesn't work!  We've tried to light a fire in there a couple of times, and smoke just pours out into the house.  It is summer time here right now, so we don't need it.  When June, July, and August get here, we will probably see about getting it fixed or cleaned out, whatever it needs.

There's Brina again!

Here is a shot that shows you back towards the dining room.  See the low steps and the beautiful archway?  I love it.  As you can see, I love houseplants as well.

Notice the puzzle on top of the fireplace on that board.  We are working on it during family fun times together.

And here is the other side of the living room--a couch with a bookshelf behind it.  Seth's tent is also behind the couch, Mom and Dad.  Can you see the tip of it?  Our living room is huge, so I arranged our furniture to cut the room in half!  Otherwise we would be shouting at each other across the room in order to communicate!

That door above leads back to where we started the other day, the foyer with Seth's bike in it.  So that is what the downstairs looks like.  Next I will lead you upstairs to see our bedrooms, the nursery, and the school room again.