Strickly Speaking

break down

2012-01-24T15:09:00.001+03:00

today I had planned to meet a friend at this fantastic cafe/art gallery place with a great outdoor play area for kids. I had Elizabeth with me and the boys in the car as I was going to drop Elizabeth off near to the taxis. as I started coasting down the hill I pressed the brakes and realized the car wasn't stopping. I wasn't going too quickly but immediately started to panic. I said to Elizabeth, "my brakes won't work! my brakes are gone!" and luckily I was going slow enough that I could pull somewhat off to the side and pull the e-brake. cars were honking as I found the emergency lights and waved them around me.
I realized the car had actually died and not just the brakes.
so thankful to have had Elizabeth with me as she called over some men to help {people don't just come and help you here. and they expect to be paid for their help.} and as I couldn't get the car out of park and into neutral, we all piled out and a guy hopped in and somehow maneuvered it off the road.
I called Jamie and he came with our friend James and they took over while I decided that Elizabeth and I would walk back home with the kids {and had to insist that no we would not be taking a boda with the children}. we were no further than our church which we used to walk to before we bought our car so I knew we could do it.
but it was hot.
Noah complained a bit, but eventually just dug deep and walked with determination.
I was proud of him.
Elizabeth and I walked and talked about how God knew that would happen and had Elizabeth there to help me. well, in between her telling random guys to eff off for making comments about me. oh Elizabeth.
we were all sweaty by the time we got back and Jamie called me with an update. nothing too expensive and the ministry mechanic was going to come by and fix it there.
just another random, crazy day in Kampala.
thankful for His protection.

God with us.

2012-01-21T17:42:00.000+03:00

I went outside just now to check on the boys.
as I called down to them {they were on the second level of our yard} to be careful, Noah asked if I would be staying out with them. I told him no, that I was going back into the meeting in our living room and I said that they would be fine because they're in our own yard.
and then Noah said,
oh yeah! and God is with us! *then he turned to Jude* don't worry, Jude! because God is with us!

moments like these make all the hard times parenting worth it. completely.

5 months

2012-01-21T15:20:00.000+03:00

here we are. 5 months in. it feels like forever ago since we got on the plane in chicago and headed to london and then arrived here in kampala. tired, but excited. ready to start a new kind of life here.
and so I find myself tired. and not really too excited. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of adjustment phase and I'm okay with that because I'm still confident that this is where God wants our family, regardless of what I'm feeling right now.
I am missing home. my friends. my family. the familiar. but we've been brought here for such a time as this and so I am desperately trying to seize each moment instead of yearning for ones to come.

we leave for Spain in 5 days and I could not be more ready. ready for refreshment. ready for a change. ready to be with co-workers who are doing exactly what we're doing but in different places.
I am so ready for this:

granted it will be around 12 degrees and feel absolutely freezing compared to the weather we have here, but still. jeans! scarves! jackets! shoes!
sometimes you just need a change. 5 months in, bring on the change!

banana pancakes

2012-01-18T15:47:00.002+03:00

pancakes. banana pancakes. so light. so fluffy. so good.
we ran out of bread the other day and so for lunch I made these for the boys. this has quickly become our favourite pancake recipe since being in Uganda. I didn't have any lemons to add the lemon juice and they were still delicious although I definitely prefer them with the lemon juice. so if you have it, use it.
also? a secret confession of my favourite pancake topping? peanut butter and brown sugar. so sugary. so delicious. I don't know if it was my Dad who introduced me to this fantastic combination, but let's just say it was. because he also introduced me to ketchup with french toast. does anyone else do this? or is that weird?
anyway.
pancakes.
make 'em. eat 'em. love 'em.

also this recipe is incredibly versatile. you can replace the bananas with 1 cup of grated apple and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon for apple spice pancakes.
or instead of bananas, lemon and 2 tbsp of sugar you add 1/2 cup grated cheese and 1/2 cup crumbled bacon {mmm, bacon} for a more savoury pancake.
or any other combination you can think of! the options are endless!

banana pancakes

combine:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

combine separately and then add:
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup oil
1 cup of mashed banana
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

stir quickly until blended. {don't beat, though. a lumpy consistency is good for pancakes.} cook on a hot, greased griddle, turning when bubbly.

you can always keep any extra that don't get eaten and reheat them in the toaster for a fresh-from-the-griddle experience.

new shoes!

2012-01-17T18:17:00.000+03:00

With Spain less than 2 weeks away I've been trying to figure out what we need. I figured the average temperature will be around 12 degrees. Which, quite frankly, for us will seem ridiculously cold.

So when I realized I didn't bring shoes for Noah and Jude could barely fit in the ones I did bring, I asked Jamie to pick some up at the crazy market he was heading to. {My boys live in Crocs and flip flops/sandals. I love living in a country with only "dry season" and "rainy season". No need to buy clothes for 4 different seasons!}

When he brought home the shoes and the boys tried them on it was instant love.

Seriously.
Jude wouldn't even take his off for his nap.

And Noah kept asking when his quiet time would be so he could have it with his shoes on!

The beauty of living with less is that when something "new" {they are likely second-hand, coming from the market and all} is given, the gratitude and "specialness" is so much more!

christmas in africa

2012-01-12T12:47:00.003+03:00

i know christmas has past but i couldn't resist this after a friend sent it to me knowing my love of christmas music and also? the last song they do? perfection.
enjoy.

a bit of verbal you-know-what

2012-01-10T20:31:00.003+03:00

i've been feeling a bit of writer's block on this blog lately.
maybe it's because i've been preferring to actually journal {for awhile, this blog was my only journal} and keep my thoughts to myself. to reflect and be raw without thinking about grammar/if this is interesting to other people.
maybe it's because life has slowed down and we've been shuffling back into place, like pieces in a puzzle that are familiar with their places.
i find myself in that all-too-familiar place of looking forward more to what's coming than where i currently am. the rush of christmas and visitors and sightseeing has passed and here i am in the
now what?
i've been consistent {for the most part} in sticking with three simple health-related goals i set for myself about a month ago.
1. drink water. all the time.
this involves me filling up my water bottle over and over again throughout the day. it also involves many, many trips to the bathroom throughout the day.
2. exercise 5 times a week.
surprisingly i've been doing really well with this. it's helped that jamie's been doing the 30 day shred along with me for encouragement.
3. no snacking in the evenings.
this allows me to still nibble on some chocolate in the day if i want but after dinner, snacking is no longer. except for one "cheat night" a week. i've also stuck to this with unprecedented resolution.
it feels good to stick with something. and see results. that has helped as well.
i don't tend to weigh myself too much {i generally go by how my clothes fit - or don't} but i'll likely step on the scale at the end of january and see how i'm doing.

i've got the heebeejeebees right now. nighttime is always when the bugs and creepy crawlies come out. the big ants that like to hustle around our kitchen. the mouse was already spotted tonight. {i shake my fist at that thing. or that species in general as i can't be sure it's the same one since we've already disposed of 2.}
there are scratchy noises coming from across the room.
but that's life here.
in a few weeks we're headed to spain for a week and a bit. i'm excited. but also? it's going to be stinkin cold compared to here. {that would be our 30 degrees compared with their 12 degrees. brrrrrr.}
but still...spain! hoorah!

whew.
that feels better.
any resolutions or goals you've set for yourself - health or otherwise?
what gives you the heebeejeebees?

beauty for ashes

2012-01-04T20:33:00.000+03:00

my brother went home last night. it was a really good visit. surreal and yet normal. he really fit in with the culture and our team. he said it was the best two weeks of his life. that gave me warm fuzzies.
for the last 3 days of his visit we went on safari. there were plenty of things that did not go as planned.
things like having a vehicle that was too small for our 6 adults and 2 kids.
like our family sleeping in one bed.
all you co-sleepers out there? props, man. i don't know how you do it but i do know that it's not the strickland family's first choice. but i am slightly proud that we did it.
like neither jamie nor i bringing jude's bunny on our afternoon boat tour {after having woken up early that morning for a safari} and a very sleep-deprived jude screaming for 1 hr and 45 minutes of the 2 hour tour. another lesson learned. {don't do too much in one day. and always bring bunny.}
but there were things that made is completely awesome and worth it.
like this view when we pulled up to our hotel {even though i was suffering yet another migraine}:

and the fact that i went on a safari in africa with my brother:

there were times i had a bad attitude. when i wasn't embracing both good and bad. when i didn't take the time and ask Him to help me find things for which to be thankful. to open my eyes to the splashes of glory.
but
He does promise that if i seek i will find.

so Jesus? i'm seeking. help me to find the beauty in the every day, no matter if things are going the way i thought they would or not.

{also, a pedicure and a massage also work wonders.}

january two

2012-01-02T22:49:00.000+03:00

i love steph's idea of taking monthly pictures of your kids. so i'm hopping on this bandwagon!
maybe this will help my boys to learn to smile nicely for family photo opps.
but i'm not holding my breath.
here's the first of many more {i hope!}.

{this just happened to be taken on january 2nd of both my boys. so i'm using it. i'll be more intentional next month. promise. also? they're standing in front of an elephant skull. awesome.}

goodbyes and hellos

2011-12-30T20:58:00.000+03:00

i was thinking about the new year. how you say goodbye to one year and hello to another in a second.

and then it occurred to me that we've had quite a few of those this past year.

goodbye to diapers and hello to underpants {and a few accidents}.

goodbye to our house and guelph and hello to living with family in toronto.

goodbye to canada, family and everything familiar and hello to a new life in uganda in a new house with a new team {and a new-to-us car}.

goodbye to friends in canada and hello to making new friends in uganda.

lots of goodbyes.

but lots of hellos as well.

and as it stands now, we've only 18 months left here in uganda.

it seems like a long time, but also i know it'll fly by and that makes me a bit sad.

my friend kelly told me about how she asks God for a word for the next year {an idea she got from her} and i thought about that and i really liked it.

so i've been thinking and praying about it.

i think next year's word will be embrace.

webster's dictionary defines embrace as to love or cherish and to take or receive gladly and eagerly or to accept willingly.

i want to embrace life here in uganda.

i want to embrace opportunities as they come up.

i want to embrace my calling as a wife and mother.

to embrace is to accept and not resist.

i'm moving forward from 2011 and embracing 2012, whatever it may hold.

a very merry ugandan christmas

2011-12-28T15:04:00.000+03:00

christmas was lovely. low-key. laid back. i loved it all.
i did remark to curtis at one point that it felt like we were just pretending it was christmas. he agreed. but i think we all still enjoyed ourselves.
i woke up thinking of all the things i needed to still do so i quietly slipped out and started prepping some breakfast stuff. curtis was already awake {still recovering from jetlag}. the boys and jamie came out shortly after.
we turned on skype and chatted with my sister and brother-in-law {their late christmas eve} and the boys opened their presents from them while on skype.
then it was time for stockings!

i love stockings. growing up my dad would usually do stockings for us and individually wrap each item in our stocking. my sister and i would close our eyes, reach inside and pull something out. then we'd quickly unwrap it, open our eyes and shout for joy at some random item we'd just received. our stockings often held practical things like socks and underwear and then as i got older sometimes i'd have note paper or kitchen items. then there'd be some gold-chocolate coins and a clementine in the toe of the stocking. and some of my favourite things would be the random doo-dads my dad would find at Lee Valley or the dollar store or these days it seems Pier 1 is the choice store for random {but usually handy} little things.

i had saved up these little battery-powered fan-thingies the boys got from jamie's mom and i put them in the top of their stockings. well, the boys were completely enamored with them and played with them for a good 15-20 minutes when we convinced them to open up some of the other things inside their stockings.

then we read the last of our advent ornament stories {from this book} which told the story of the manger and Jesus' birth.
then we opened presents and our living room soon filled with wrapping paper and toy pieces. and lots of car noises.

we ate our breakfast and the guys {nick & trevor} went to church. i had to get the turkey ready as i really had no idea what i was doing. i recruited curtis to help me cut off the turkey neck {thank you, curt!} and then we stuffed the turkey and put 'er in the oven. and hoped for the best.
the afternoon was chill, playing with toys and games {and snacks} and relaxing in front of the tv.

i remember christmas day as a kid. checking out what everyone else got, trying out new games, toys or sitting around the table munching on leftover brunch foods. or eating my clementine from my stocking. and babybel cheese! i missed that this year. i remember one christmas one of my brothers got some sort of star wars computer game and all of us huddled around the computer, howling with laughter at some sort of storm trooper video.
sometimes we'd walk down the street to the ice rink and hop the fence if it wasn't open to go skating for a bit while we waited for dinner to be ready.

we spoke with jamie's family at around 5pm in between me chopping up potatoes and checking on the turkey.
then our friends james and ronald came by in their finest clothes {james wore a really cool traditional ugandan dress/suit thing and ronald was looking very "smart" in a sweater vest} and the turkey was finally ready.
i was terrified it was either going to be underdone and we'd all end up with samonella poisoning or overdone a la National Lampoon's Christmas vacation.

while the skin was a bit crispy, the turkey meat was tender and delicious. i was so proud of myself. my very first turkey - and then jamie carved it for his very first time too! i think we are officially parents.

i didn't take any pictures during the meal or after as i was so exhausted i could bring myself to sit at the table and soak in the good and funny conversation, but i do remember sitting there, smiling. quite pleased with the day and how it had all turned out.
while we have missed our families and some of the more "wintery" things about christmas time in canada {not that it was really wintery in toronto this year...} i've thoroughly enjoyed spending christmas with just my husband and kids {and brother and nick and trevor...but you know what i mean.} it's been so good to just be us. to not have to rush around and do this, go there, get that, and be rushing, rushing, rushing. it's been chill and it's given us a chance to figure out how we as a family are going to celebrate christmas and to solidify those traditions as uniquely ours.
i know that these traditions won't always be able to be kept and especially as my kids get older and one day will form their own family units, i'll be given another opportunity to start new traditions that fit with my stage in life. but for now? i'm loving where we're at.

hope you had a wonderful christmas, no matter who you were with or where you spent it.

rosemary strawberry scones

2011-12-26T20:06:00.002+03:00

i made these scones for christmas morning breakfast.

they.were.amazing.

i am in love with them.

you need to make them.

the original recipe called for a lemon glaze, but i was too lazy and it turned out these were simply perfect without the glaze {and significantly less sugary!}.

so here ya go. you're welcome.

*slightly adapted from Giada De Laurentis
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
6 tbsp butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup strawberry jam

place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. preheat oven to 375 degrees F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary leaves, salt and butter in a food processor {if you are lucky enough to own a food processor - but if you're like me, you can just mixe it all up with your hands} until it is crumbly. transfer to a medium bowl and gradually stir in the heavy cream.
transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. knead gently to bring the dough together, then you can either roll it out and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter or pull of plum-sized chunks and roll and then pat into flat-ish circles.
make an indentation in the middle of each scone with your finger or a small, round spoon and fill it with about a 1/2 tsp of strawberry jam.
bake scones for 15-20 minutes {depending on your oven} or until slightly golden brown around the edges. transfer to a wire cooling rack and then enjoy when they are cool enough to touch.

around 2pm {when the turkey was finally cooking away in the oven} i enjoyed another with a cup of real coffee with my new french press i got for christmas and the starbucks christmas blend some sweet person sent over from canada.
perfection.

my christmas morning breakfast menu:
monkey bread {sweet and delicious!}
cheesy bacon apple bake {savoury and bacon. what more is there to say?}
rosemary strawberry scones
coffee
bananas

the paradox of christmas

2011-12-24T11:06:00.000+03:00

wishing you a very merry christmas.

prayer as a last resort

2011-12-24T09:19:00.000+03:00

i know it shouldn't be like that, but sometimes {often} my attitude is exactly that.
prayer is a last resort.
when i can't help in my own strength, i guess i have to pray.
being miles and miles away from family and friends has been challenging me on this front.
when i read emails from close friends telling me of tragedy or illness or hard times i feel frustrated.
frustrated that i can't be there to bring a meal or babysit or take them out for coffee.
why is it that i feel that these things are more valuable than praying for them?
i have access to the Creator of the Universe who loves me and cares for me and my friends in a way i never could, and instead of talking to Him i want to bake some food?
this is so messed up.
i am not doing so great on the whole ephesians 6:18 front.
and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
and so God has removed me from being able to help people physically - on my on strength - and is causing me to rely on Him to meet the needs of the people i love. instead of me meeting their needs.

God,
You are the Wonderful Counselor. You have a better listening ear than I. Your words are infinitely wise.
You are the Mighty God. You are all-powerful. Kings and Rulers are only in positions of power because YOU have put them there. There is no situation that surprises you or catches you off-guard.
You are the Everlasting Father. Like an earthly father comforts a hurt child, you bring comfort to Your hurting and broken children.
You are the Prince of Peace. You calm the unsettled spirit and restore Hope.
Thank you for sending Jesus. The rescuer. Thank you for sending Him to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and to release the prisoners from darkness.
And thank you that when I am weak, when I am forced to rely on YOU instead of ME, only then am I strong.
This Christmas would you be all that you promised to be for those who are grieving, hurting, sick and vulnerable?
Thank you for Jesus.
Amen.

blue christmas

2011-12-20T11:36:00.003+03:00

...actually, more like a green christmas. and i don't mean in a "save the world" kinda way.

i mean with palm trees and sunshine, shorts and t-shirts, flip flops and bathing suits.

it does feel a bit surreal, but i am so happy to be here. so thankful.

and

my brother flies in tonight {Lord willing he catches his 3rd connecting flight!}and i'm so super excited to see him and have him experience our little ugandan life and christmas and get a great big bear-hug from him!

noah is watching a christmas cartoon and jude is wearing his bunny as a cape shouting "merry christmas!", the stereo is playing folk angel and sufjan stevens and sarah mclaughlin and michael buble and jamie just left on a boda boda to pick up some last minute food items {it's just not worth the insanity to drive our car this close to christmas!} and i'm off to shower and then make lunch and then do some christmas baking with noah.

so a very merry christmas to you from us in uganda!

the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
isaiah 9:2

good news of great joy!

the one with the christmas baking

2011-12-18T14:28:00.000+03:00

it's surprising what you can and can't find here in terms of cooking/baking.
to be honest, i can find most things i need for baking/cooking. but when it comes to specialty baking items, sometimes i have to scour a little harder.
so do ya wanna know what i'm baking up for christmas this year?
of course you do.

i've blogged about my cheese stars that i've made every year since jamie and i were married. i'm still planning on making them this year {i can't bear to break with tradition, even though cheese costs a fortune here} and i did go for the less expensive cheese so hopefully they turn out.

i've also already made gingerbread house-cookies and they turned out quite nicely. the one thing i really miss? my big fridge/freezer and my deep freezer to store baked goods. so we just eat 'em. not such a shabby deal, after all.

i tried a new recipe this year - jam butterballs. they turned out nice enough. not sure if they're a keeper for next year, but yummy.

the amazing 3 pepper spiced cookies i made last year are also on the dock for this week. they were amazing. i'm making them again. even if i haven't found dark chocolate yet.

martha stewart's chewy molasses-spice cookies are also a must. so simple. so delicious.

then i'll probably throw in some of this delicious-looking buckeye bark, chocolate raspberry almond rugelach, lemon shortbread squares and maybe some christmas caramel popcorn.

i made candy cane cookies with the boys. it was fun and also gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with them through the telling of the story of the candy cane. these we also ate right away. they were also gigantic. good times. lots of sugar. that should be our family motto.

yesterday the boys' advent activity was to pick out something from the world vision catalogue to give to a family in need. noah thought we would get to pick out the piglets and chicks ourselves and deliver them like we did the gifts to the babies' home. i think it was slightly less exciting than he had envisioned. but still...

today's activity is to make some hot chocolate and watch the polar express! noah's really excited to watch it. and drink hot chocolate. jude might just be excited for the hot chocolate. but either way...fun!

1 week 'til christmas!

God With Us

2011-12-17T20:32:00.000+03:00

about a month ago {maybe more?} i read on twitter about a band called folk angel and so i decided to check them out.

they had a couple christmas albums.

and they were good!

they would be releasing a new christmas album this month and i knew that when i got my hands on some iTunes credit, i'd be purchasing that album.

and then they tweeted that they were giving away the entire album for free to the first howevermany people used the special code. and i got it for free!

and it.is.incredible.

but i think my favourite song is not actually a song at all.

it's something called spoken word. it's not rapping. it's sorta like reading a poem. sometimes with music. and it's extremely powerful.

anyway, the last song on the album is called God With Us and it blew my mind. every time i listen to it, i break. i want to fist pump. i want to learn it all and perform it someday. i want to let it sink down deep and permeate my entire being.

and i've been trying to figure out how to share it with you guys and today i found it.

please, if you watch anything this christmas season, watch this video.

this is what it's all about.

jesus.

coming down from heaven. the rescuer. the saviour. pure and blameless lamb of God.

taking the penalty for our sin.

THIS is the good news. THIS is what makes Christmas so amazing, wonderful, joyful, incredible. THIS is why we celebrate on christmas day.

GOD WITH US

Poem by Isaac Wimberley

The people had read of this rescuethat was coming through the bloodline of Abraham

They had seen where Micah proclaimedabout a ruler to be born in Bethlehem

Daniel prophesy about the restorationof Jerusalem

Isaiah’s cry about the Son of Godcoming to them

So for them—it was anticipation

This groaning was growing, generationafter generation

Knowing He was holy, no matter whatthe situation

But they longed for Him

They yearned for Him

They waited for Him on the edge oftheir seat

On the edge of where excitement andcontainment meet

They waited

Like a child watches out the windowfor their father to return from work—they waited

Like a groom stares at the doubledoors at the back of the church—they waited

And in their waiting, they had hope

Hope that was fully pledged to a Godthey had not seen

To a God who had promised a King

A King who would reign over the enemy

Over Satan’s tyranny

They waited

So it was

Centuries of expectations, withvarious combinations of differing schools of thought

Some people expecting a political kingwho would rise to the throne through the wars that he fought

While others expecting a priest whowould restore peace through the penetration of the Pharisee’s façade

Yet a baby—100% human, 100% God

So the Word became flesh and was hereto dwell among us

In His fullness, grace upon grace,Jesus

Through Him and for Him, all thingswere created

And in Him all things are sustained

God had made Himself known for theglory of His name

And this child would one day rise asKing

But it would not be by the sword or aninsurgent regime

It would be by His life

A life that would revolutionizeeverything the world knew

He would endure temptation andpersecution, all while staying true

Humbly healing the broken, the sickand hurting too

Ministering reconciliation, turningthe old to new

A life that would be the verydefinition of what life really costs

Saying—if you desire life, then yourcurrent one must be lost

And He would portray that with His ownlife as His Father would pour out and exhaust

And Jesus would be obedient to thepoint of death, even death upon the cross

So just 33 years after the day that Helaid swaddled in the hay

He hung on a tree suffocating, dyingin our place

Absorbing wrath that is rightly ours,but we could never bear the weight

So He took that punishment and he putit in the grave

And He died

And when I say that He died, what Imean is that He died

No breath, noheartbeat, no sign oflife

God is a God of justice, and the penaltyfor our sin equals death

That’s what Christ did on that cross

Then… On the third day, in accordancewith scriptures, He was raised from the grave

And when I say that He was raised,what I mean is that He was raised

Lungs breathing, heart pumping, bloodpulsing through His veins

The things that He promised were true

He is the risen Son of God, offeringlife to me and you

Turning our mourning into dancing

Our weeping into laughing

Our sadness into joy

By His mercy, we are called His own

By His grace, we will never be leftalone

By His love, He is preparing our home

By His blood, we can sing before Histhrone

Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

So now we, as His bride, are the oneswaiting

Like the saints that came before,we’re anticipating

He has shown us that this world isfading

And He has caused our desire to be forHim

So church, stay ready

Keep your heart focused and your eyessteady

Worship Him freely, never forgetting

His great love for you

Immanuel, God with us

just another friday morning

2011-12-16T20:26:00.000+03:00

so, we have this mouse problem in our house.
we've tried poison but that gives me the heebie jeebies what with us having young kids and all.
we've tried traps. no dice. these african mice are smart, i tell ya.
and finally our friend james set up these little piles of bait (i have no idea what's in them, except that he crushes up some drug that totally makes the mice chill and immobile. yeah, so now i'm not sure if that's any better than poison.) and this morning jude walked into the dining room and went straight for the corner of the room and said,

Lookit Mom! Lookit!

and i thought he was pointing to the open cupboard doors.
but he wasn't.
it was this teeny tiny mouse.
with wide open, beady, little eyes.
just sitting there.
totally drugged up.
i called my hero {that'd be the hubs} to come and dispose of it.
he did.
so who knows if there are any more mice, but thank God for jude noticing it. i would NEVER have noticed it sitting in that corner.

lesson {re}learned

2011-12-15T20:46:00.000+03:00

i thought i had blogged about it before but i checked. i haven't.
so we took family pictures for our christmas card back in october.
for the most part, they were a massive fail.
i mean, in the end i did put together a decent christmas card {reveal to come soon!} but i did have to use multiple pictures due to...well...this:

or this:

and get a look at this fantastic shot:

i believe this picture really does say a thousand words. this one's going down in the family yearbook for sure.

the aftermath/bribing with the promise of lollipops if we got smiles:

oh family pictures. the lesson {re}learned? lower your expectations.

jude's face says what mine wanted to at the end of this photo sesh.

two weeks

2011-12-11T20:22:00.001+03:00

i saved the m&ms my mom sent me from canada especially for this.

not gonna lie, it was total sugar overload. but so much fun!
both the boys decided to "save the rest of theirs for tomorrow" after picking off 90% of the candies after dinner tonight.

we don't have snow to go sledding on. {or shovel.}
we don't need down-filled winter coats or cozy ugg-boots.
in fact, it would seem that practically over night we've entered the dry/hot season.
i didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

we've stayed faithful to doing our weekly family advent devotional, but most weeks {every week} it looks like {from all outward appearances} a bust. this morning when we did this week's devotional, noah ended up in a timeout for sassing and being rude. there were tears. and screaming. and anger.
we are not a perfect family.
we never will be.
but our job as parents is to teach and instruct our children and tell them of God's love for them. for us.
so we keep on keepin' on.
and we trust in His word.

immanuel

2011-12-08T22:07:00.001+03:00

we've been opening our advent envelopes and have done things like going on a nile cruise, made paper snowflakes, done other crafts, read the story of Jesus' birth by candlelight, but yesterday our activity was to go and buy some things for the sanyu babies home and today's activity was to go and deliver them.
so this afternoon {after we went to a christmas party at kelly's house}we went back to our side of town and visited the sanyu babies home to complete our advent activity for the day; dropping off some diapers, wipes, rice, formula and other needs they had.
remember my 1/2 birthday party that my amazing friends threw for me back in april? well, half of the money that was given to me was to go toward a charity/cause of my choice. this is one of the things my money went to!

i was excited to involve the boys and give them this chance to help other kids.
i'm not sure what i was expecting to see, but for some reason i was not expecting to see all 49 children running around without shoes on. i was not expecting to see one of the little toddlers with completely soaked pants {from pee}. i was not expecting to see one of the staff crying as she said good-bye to a newly adopted baby {we had just arrived at the end of their farewell party}. i was not expecting to be offered to share a lollipop with one of the kids.
i believe these children are given what the staff can give them {be it love/attention/physical needs} and that it is one of the better run and maintained orphanages in kampala, but still my heart aches.
i watched my children walk into the playground area in their crocs and sandals with fresh diapers and clean clothes on, still smelling like the shampoo from the night before. they played on the swings and slide with the other kids, oblivious to the fact that at the end of the day, these children would likely sleep in a room with a lot of other children with no parent at the end of the hall to come in and lie down with them when they wake up during the night. when jude fell off the swing he knew he had me to comfort him. and even though he screamed as we left {he wanted to stay longer and play}, i thought of all the other children who had no choice but to stay there.
we will definitely go back to sanyu many times over the next year and a half that we are here. i will hold children and give them love and attention.

and my heart will still ache when i leave.

tonight i prayed with the boys that God would send more parents to sanyu and all the other orphanages in uganda and the world to bring home their babies {no matter if they're 9 months old or 9 years old} and bring them into a new family just like God brought us into His family.
it all comes back to Jesus.
and that is what christmas is all about.
i was adopted into God's family because Jesus gave up everything to become a baby and be the rescuer of mankind.
immanuel. God with us.

Cappuccino Muffins

2011-12-06T14:53:00.001+03:00

is it just me or does anyone else consistently forget how to spell "cappuccino"?
anyway, my friend kelly gave me this recipe and oh! they are delicious!
they have all kinds of different flavours of milk here in uganda - banana, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and...coffee! so of course when i saw this coffee-flavoured milk i had to buy it. whether i would drink it as is, or make something with it, i did not know, but somehow, i would ingest said coffee milk.
so {after the tail end of my migraine faded into oblivion} i made the muffins this afternoon with noah.
the recipe doesn't call for coffee-flavoured milk, but i used it and they.were.amazing.

cappuccino muffins

combine
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar {i know. it's a lot. but dang, these are good.}
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp instant coffee {every baker should have a small tin of instant coffee for baking needs. just a personal opinion.}
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

in a separate bowl combine
1 cup {coffee flavoured} milk
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

you can even add 3/4 cup chocolate chips for an extra special treat {sadly, chocolate chips do not exist in uganda.}

combine the dry and wet ingredients. stir until just combined.
bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes in greased or paper-lined tins.
makes 18 muffins exactly.

whatever you do, do not drink a cup of tea with these muffins. coffee, milk , water or even juice, but not tea. it is forbidden.

you're welcome.

a great Christmas video

2011-12-05T12:42:00.001+03:00

so i found the perfect christmas video.

have you heard of this incredible program called Jelly Telly? it's all kinds of awesome.
so they have a christmas video {you can watch trailers for it here.} and i bought it and then downloaded it {over the course of many hours overnight - yep. our internet is slow-ish.}. we watched it this morning after working on paper snowflakes {one of our advent envelope activities} and building a fort in the living room.
anyway, this video is great. it is entertaining for the littles who may be on the young side to understand everything in the video, but it also explains everything from why we call it "christmas" to christmas trees to st. nicholas and how they all point to the birth of Jesus.
most importantly, the gospel is shared clearly. i love it.
it is exactly what i was looking for.
noah did throw an incredibly large tantrum after it was over when i said he couldn't watch it again {right away}, but i'm taking that as a sign that he liked it.

jinja

2011-12-03T20:14:00.001+03:00

we've been in jinja since thursday on a little getaway with our friend & coworker archie, who's joined us from canada.

jinja is located on the nile river and some of the places we've been to are absolutely gorgeous.

we went on a sunset cruise of the nile and we were the only ones on it! there were snacks a-plenty and even a barbecue on board for us all to enjoy to some eclectic tunes {kid rock, bob marley, coldplay, garth brooks...yeah. it was epic.}.

we sat back and enjoyed the ride.

and then jude threw his nalgene bottle into the nile.

awesome.

and our captain even turned around and fished it out of the water!

we've done lots of swimming and watched some christmas cartoons. we've eaten some yummy food {tonight we tried banana fritters - so good.} and there have been been some kids for the boys to play with here.

i am looking forward to getting back "home" and wonder at this homebody i've become.

homebody and yet...traveller still. it's interesting.

we've been reading our christmas story books and opening our advent envelopes {although today's was "Do a craft with Mom." and that was a bit of a fail as i didn't properly read the instructions. oh well.} and can't wait to get back to our house to go through all the goodies that archie brought from home for us.

so very thankful.

oh! also, our boys have slept in the same bed for the last couple nights here. the nights have not been super smooth, but they could have been worse. needless to say, both boys took 2+ hour naps today.

it's so good for all of us to continue to learn to be flexible. i'm just thankful they are used to sharing a room {which i 100% recommend}.

happy saturday!

wandegeya

2011-11-29T19:45:00.001+03:00

wandegeya.
an area we often drive through here and joke about as a team that this is where the guys do their drive-thru shopping. many vendors will come up to the windows and try and sell you their wares. we've bought locks for our gates there, sunglasses, fresh produce, kids' toys as well as getting more airtime cards for our phones.
but there are also other people coming up to our window at wandegeya.
people in wheelchairs, homeless people and children.
begging for money.

Truly he taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.

today we were stopped at the main intersection in wandegeya when 3 little children ran up to our car.
my heart broke.
i asked one little boy what his name was.
araba, he said.
one of the little girls looked to be only just older than noah.
they spotted our water bottle and started miming the drinking motion.
i handed it over, grateful to be able to give something tangible but wishing i had three of them.
the light turned green and we started to move.

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.

noah says, i hope there's a restaurant at the store where we're going because i'm starving.

how do i reconcile the huge gap between my lifestyle and those begging, starving, thirsty children?

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

i can't give to everyone and my giving isn't necessarily going to be the best way to help in some cases.
but what i do have, i'll give. and where i can, i'll proclaim the power and glory of Christ.

come quickly, Lord Jesus.

advent ideas

2011-11-28T21:08:00.001+03:00

ad - vent
noun
1. a coming into place, view or being; arrival
2. the coming of Christ into the world
3. the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.

this will be the first year we've actually done something intentional for advent {besides chocolate advent calendars}. i've been scouring the internet for ideas and talking to friends and so i thought i'd share what we'll be doing together as a family this year for advent.

advent envelopes
you can find a plethora of variations on advent envelopes on the internet {hello pinterest} but basically you have envelopes numbered 1-25 and open one every day. inside each {of ours} is an activity for our family to do together such as decorate gingerbread cookies or drink hot chocolate and watch The Polar Express or make paper snowflakes and decorate the windows. i adapted some ideas i found online to our not-so-wintery climate and i think the kids will really like them.

advent story books
so i kinda went overboard and ordered a bunch of books off of amazon for advent this year.

The Advent Storybook
24 stories told by Benjamin Bear's Mama to Benjamin as he impatiently awaits Christmas. each story brings you closer to the birth of Jesus and ties it all back to God as being the central focus of Christmas. love it. we'll be reading a story from this one each night before bed.

Celebrate Advent
this is a cool book that has 25 christmas stories from around the world with corresponding tree ornaments. i'm excited to read this book with the boys and i'm sure they'll be excited to have more ornaments to hang up on the tree.

The Story of Christmas
this is your typical "advent calendar" style book. it opens up to display 24 mini board books and read in sequence, they capture the story of the first Christmas, from gabriel's visit to mary (book 4) to the three wise men gazing at the star (book 9) to Jesus' birth (book 24). each book is one of four different trim sizes and features a gold thread loop so that after it's read, it can be hung on the Christmas tree. i think we might do this one in the mornings along with our advent envelopes.

christmas books
there are so many great christmas storybooks that i wish i could buy or borrow, but unfortunately there aren't really any public libraries here in kampala and my funds are limited but here are two i purchased this year.

Room for a Little One
this is gorgeously illustrated and a sweet story.
i think i was drawn to this because jude will often say to us before his nap or bed, "there's room, mama" and pat the space beside him on the bed.

Humphreys First Christmas
adorable illustrations and told from the perspective of one of the camels accompanying the three wise men. i think my boys will like this one.

family devotional
we have started the first of our advent devotionals. jamie's adapting this one from matt chandler's The Village Church for our boys in conjunction with The Jesus Storybook Bible.

other advent resources
i downloaded a few advent colouring pages for the boys and will probably bring them with us when we take off for a few days later on this week. you can download them for free here.
another great resource is a book called Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper. i didn't bring mine with me when we moved to uganda, but i wish i did! a friend of mine has a copy here and i'll likely give it another read-through. {note, this is not a Christmas/Advent book per se, but has a section on Christmas}.

the only thing i'm really lacking is some solid christmas dvds for kids. i'd love to hear your recommendations if you have any!

so that's what we're doing - maybe we won't get through it all, but we've got some great traditions that i'm ready to start with my little family here in uganda.

i'd love to hear what you're doing {or not doing?} this christmas!

Tree

2011-11-26T21:08:00.001+03:00

we put up our tree today and ate popcorn and watched christmas movies and i bought some lovely christmas ornaments whose proceeds go toward a great cause.

it's the saturday after american thanksgiving; what did you do today?

{also, nick caught the mouse that was terrorizing me last night at 2am. sweet relief!}

november busyness

2011-11-25T09:44:00.001+03:00

i can't believe it's november 25th already. craziness.

we've been busy here!

we had our first visitors this past week {did i take pictures? of course not. ugh.} and i went on my second ever boda boda ride {it was much better during the day than at night}.

i bought christmas presents at the craft market {have i mentioned how much i love shopping without my kids? so.much.easier.}, i wrapped christmas presents {which jude got into while i was blow drying my hair and totally opened at least one present and then proceeded to adorn himself in said christmas presents},

wrote {or at least started to write} christmas cards,

made the Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake {and it was just as amazing as she described},

and even completed making my advent envelopes {here's a sneak peek}!

i've started playing christmas music and on saturday we'll be decorating our tree!

i love christmas and since i've become a parent i've found an increased richness to this holiday. i've searched for ways to make memories but also tools and ideas to teach and instill in my kids the true meaning of christmas. this year we are starting a few new christmas and advent traditions. i'm excited to have this time with just our family to strengthen us as a family unit and solidify the traditions we'll decide participate in possibly for the duration that our kids are at home - maybe even longer!

{on monday i'll be sharing some of the tools and ideas we're enjoying during this Advent season with our kids and our family. so stay tuned!}

until then, happy friday and enjoy the christmas tunes!

the one where a milk truck almost falls on me

2011-11-18T23:18:00.001+03:00

today a milk truck almost fell on me and noah.
i'm not even kidding.
it all started with a trip to the friday market - to buy lovely crafts and such.
my friend aletha and her adorable son clancy joined us.
when we got there i found that the entire dirt road that leads to the friday market was all churned up on the left side {which was where we parked last time} and now was a cavernous, hilly landscape. totally unfit for parking on.
so we ventured up a bit further and decided to park on the right side of said dirt road.
and then cars were just barely missing us as they tried to squeeze past us and avoid the mountainous left side of the road and we thought, "hm, maybe not such a good idea to park here." but then as we were heading back into our cars, aletha gasped and grabbed clancy {he was in his carseat on top of the hood of the car} and dashed beside me and up onto the hill we were parked right up against and i looked

and there was a HUGE milk truck. barrelling down the mountainous left side of the road and was now at a 45 degree angle. it was about to fall on us and our babies. i grabbed noah {jamie had jude a bit further up and out of harm's way} and dashed up the side of the hill as far away as i could get from the truck and covered noah with my body thinking, "if it falls, it will fall on me and hopefully i can protect noah."
it somehow did not fall on us and i am certain that there were angels holding it up because how can a truck drive at a 45 degree angle and not tip over? how?
aletha and i talked afterward {with shaking hands} about how we understood the instinct that you hear about how mother's would gladly sacrifice themselves for their children's safety.
we ended up laughing and shaking our heads saying, "this is africa. T I A." truly. because what would prompt someone to drive their massive truck down a road like that? the answer: this is africa.

basically, anything goes here in this beautiful, crazy, tragic, amazing continent.

this is africa.

related: i have become convinced of the presence of angels all around us - especially in relation to vehicles.

the flip side

2011-11-16T21:23:00.001+03:00

so life is not perfect here.
it's not all giving thanks and seeing the shiny side of things.
and i am far {f a r} from perfect. i never want to give the impression that i am floating around with my magic wand pointing out all the lovely things in my life with one of those gag-worthy smiles pasted on my face.
jesus gives me joy and i am s l o w l y learning to give thanks in all things, but i am often a slow learner.
like today.
both noah and jude are sick.
jamie woke up sick as well.
i was grumpy at times.
i gritted my teeth when jude broke a glass left on the table and angrily told him to stop touching mommy & daddy's things. {and then promptly melted when he came over to me and sweetly looked up at me and said, will you forgive me, mommy?}
i threatened, raised my voice and was impatient.
i let the boys watch movies pretty much the entire afternoon because they were both sick and we had power {for the first time in awhile}.

and then as i huffily sat in the bathroom overseeing "water play" before bed, i couldn't help but let a smile wash across my face as the boys looked at their coloured water {my mom sent these little tablets that colour bath water} and commented on what colour their penises were.
i watched with quiet contentment as jude copied exactly what noah was doing with his boat {sink, sink, sink. dump, dump, dump. float, float, float.}.

and then it was time for bed and jude screeched and screamed with tears and snot mingling together on his face because he didn't want to get out of his bath.
and then noah and jude couldn't agree on the same bedtime story and noah teetered on the edge of an epic meltdown before giving in to {~~tyrant~~ toddler} jude's demands for the cars story instead of aristocats.
sigh.

they are in bed now.
so is jamie.
i am headed there soon.
i pray that tomorrow will be less tiring. that jamie will feel better. and the boys too.

being

2011-11-15T17:54:00.001+03:00

life here is full and yet quite simple and slow-paced.

i reflected the other day that my life may appear to be boring and mundane.

but we are happy and well-fed, not worrying about where our next meal is coming from or what would happen if we got sick and had to go to the hospital.

a care package from "gramma"!

we are blessed but the tricky part is to not become comfortable.

i told jamie i don't want to become comfortable in my life here.

the view i will never tire of.

i want to be challenged.

i want to sacrifice and give and find joy in the everyday.

i think when you stop giving and being challenged then life stops being an adventure.

i made bagels. they were quite the process {make the dough, let the dough rise, make the bagel shape, let the bagels rise again, cook in boiling water, then bake} but they were worth it.

i'm so grateful to be living this slow life.

nowhere to dash off to, and no jam-packed schedule to keep up with the joneses.

i'm finding it's more about being than doing here.

and i like it.

cherishing each moment as it comes.

finding the joy and laughter in weddings next door that blast their awesome 90's hits and songs put to reggae beats.

singing at the top of my lungs that this is the good life on our way to church and being unable not to smile at an incredible men's a cappella singing group.

having impromptu photo shoots with my two littles and marveling at their gorgeous eyes. how can they both have "green" eyes and yet look so different? amazing.

being at peace with mess and chaos and continuing to learn patience and grace.

taking a "sick day" and watching movies and eating popcorn and recognizing the blessing of electricity and power.

learning to take nothing for granted and to always give thanks.

2 bread recipes

2011-11-10T22:54:00.001+03:00

I've made more bread and baked goods during my 2+ months here in Uganda, than possibly in the entire time I lived in Guelph.
I've referenced this recipe here and possibly tweeted about my love of baking bread.
Here's the recipe I've used and found fairly easy to make.

Easy Bread
*from The Wycliffe International Cookbook
Combine:
4 cups flour {feel free to use any combination of flour; whole wheat, soy, oat, wheat germ, cornmeal, the options are as endless as is the selection at your grocery store!}
3/4 cup milk powder
2 tbsp. dry active yeast
1-3 tsp salt
3-6 tbsp sugar, honey or molasses
3-6 tbsp margarine, shortening or oil

Add and mix well:
2 3/4 cups lukewarm water

Add:
3 1/2-4 cups white flour

Knead for 10 minutes, grease and let rise until double. Punch down, divide in half and let rise in greased bread pans until double. Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes. Remove from the pans to cool. Makes 2 loaves and a pan of "popovers" {I put smallish balls of dough in greased muffin tins for serving with soup}.

I've made white bread, whole wheat bread, whole wheat molasses bread, cinnamon bread...this recipe is so versatile and it's really hard to mess it up.

And yesterday I decided to make Joy the Baker's Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup {so good. Make it today.} and she said in her recipe that she would serve it {and everything else} with crusty bread. So off I went on the hunt for a French Crusty Bread recipe.
And I found it. And it's amazing. Make this today, too.

Crusty French Bread
*from a Family Circle Cookbook
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 cups very warm water
6 cups all purpose flour - you may not use all of it
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp shortening
flour for dusting the pans
1 egg white
1 tbsp cold water
1. Pour the very warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast into the water. Stir until the yeast dissolves.
2. Stir in 3 cups of the flour, the sugar, shortening and salt; beat until smooth. Slowly beat in enough of the remaining 3 cups of flour to make a stiff dough. It will be somewhat sticky in appearance.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead for about 5 minutes.Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, using only as much of the remaining flour to keep dough from sticking.
4. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn to coat all over with the shortening. Or, brush very lightly with oil. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place to rise. It should double in 45-60 minutes.
5. When dough has doubled, punch it down and cover and let it rise a second time, until doubled in size. This will take 30 minutes.
6. Punch down the dough again and knead 1 minute on a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2-3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into about a 12x9 inch rectangle. Roll up jelly roll fashion and pinch the seam together. Tuck the ends underneath. Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with flour.
7. Place the bread on the prepared baking sheets: cover and let rise until doubles again, about 30 minutes.
8. Make several evenly placed diagonal cuts on top of each loaf. Beat together the egg white and 1 tbspof cold water: brush over each loaf of bread gently with a pastry brush.
9. Place a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Place baking sheet with loaves on shelf above the water.
10. Bake in a hot 400F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from baking pans and cool on wire racks.
11. ENJOY!

a new era

2011-11-09T14:03:00.000+03:00

remember my share the love blog posts? remember when i blogged about my love for our sound machine{s}?
yesterday i was commenting to my friend, aletha, that i love our sound machines. if there's any "sleep crutch" i've leaned on heavily, it's been sound machines. my kids have done so well sleeping on the go, in different places and i credit the sound machine largely for their flexibility. it's just a small piece of "familiar" that we can take with us.
anyway
so i went to turn on the sound machine yesterday for jude's nap and

nothing.

the green light went on, but no sound came out. jamie thinks it was likely the result of a power surge.
RIP sound machine. i tried our other sound machine but jude didn't like the sound of it {he's in a scared stage these days.} so i scrapped it.

which brings us to our current situation.
no sound machine. *sob* but we're heading into the hot/dry season so fans will soon become a necessity for us. we have one small desk fan that i used in the boys' room last night and it was a success. they slept well and even slept 'til a decent hour!
i knew this day would come someday and i think it's good for the boys to get used to no white noise in the background. i know they can both sleep without it as they've done so before {and noah is an especially heavy sleeper so i have no worries with him} so here's hoping the rest of this transition is just as smooth as last night was.

lately.

2011-11-08T21:38:00.002+03:00

yesterday we {i} caught a beetle in a nutella jar.
the boys had come running to me and slightly hyperventilating they told me that there was "a bug!" outside on the porch.
sure enough there was a large beetle, lying on its back and frantically buzzing and trying to flip himself over.
i shut the doors so the boys could be "safe" and watch the bug when i had an idea to put it in a jar.
i was brave and succeeded in putting the soon-to-be-named Larry the Beetle Bug into a jar.
the boys loved watching the beetle scurry about and try to escape the confines of the small glass house.

i made cinnamon dough ornaments the other day. you can make them too. they smell like christmas. i hope that they don't attract small {or large} creatures.

also? it's weird to me that we are wearing shorts and t-shirts and flip flops and playing outside in the sun {and refreshingly cool rain} and it is november 8th. weird, but good. very good. {not going to lie - i love being able to tell my kids to put on some crocs and then we're outside! none of this jeans-sweaters-socks-coats-hats-scarves-mitts-boots business.}

i've been spending more time with Jesus than i can remember in the last 4 years. being here is so good for me. for my soul. today i was reading from judges and thought that if someone were to make a high quality movie of some of the old testament stories they would likely be rated R for extreme violence. another thought i had? God is so patient and merciful. and He uses normal, weak, faulty, sinful people. and He does amazing things through them. so cool.

we balance the mundane with crazy adventures on a weekly basis here.
we eat yummy food.
we laugh a lot.
i love it.
God gave us an opportunity to respond today with grace and generosity, with love and compassion and we seized it. and we were filled with joy. it is truly a joy to be used by Him.
so this is what i've been up to lately.
you?

jamie's strawberry birthday cake

2011-11-06T23:23:00.002+03:00

i think jamie and i have a new tradition for our birthday weeks.

whoever is celebrating their birthday gets to stay in bed when the kids wake up in the morning and the other person gets the kids up.

for the entire week preceding your birthday.

i liked it when jamie did it for me so i did it for him (and now i'm ready to lie in bed a little longer tomorrow morning!)

today jamie turned 30.

i'm no longer in my 30's without him.

hurrah!

he didn't ask for much, but upon my questioning him, he requested a strawberry cake.

strawberry it is, babe.

ingredients:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 pacakge (85 g) strawberry jello

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs (room temperature)

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk, room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 cup straberry puree/jam

prehead oven to 350F. Butter and flour pan size of choice. i have limited options here so i chose my oval glass pan.

in a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine and stire the milk, puree/jam and the vanilla. set aside.

sift and whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

cream the sugar, jello and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes.

add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

add the wet and dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating between wet and dry. try not to overmix.

fill your pan(s) with batter and bake for 30-40 minutes - although if you are going with smaller pans, you will need to bake for less time. check your cake(s) at 20 minutes and once you feel it's almost ready, set the timer for 2 minute intervals.

let cool on racks for 10 minutes before loosening edges with a knife.

happy birthday to the love of my life, my best friend, fellow sojourner on this crazy adventure called life and the father to my children.

here's to our 30's!

jude's antics

2011-11-05T08:43:00.001+03:00

jude is just one of those kids.
you know the kid whose parents always have an outrageous story to tell of his latest adventures?
the kind of kid who can't be left alone for too long or else he's bound to get into some sort of crazy mischief?
the one who blurts out hilarious comments in unexpected moments?
seriously.
jude cracks me up every.single.day.

yesterday alone he did several things that made me laugh out loud.
after dinner he slapped his hand and then said, "sorry, hand. will you forgive me?" *pause* "will you forgive me, hand? HAND?!"

later after i gave him a cookie he looked at it and then made it say {as if it were a puppet}, "hi, i'm a butterfly." and then he made if "fly" all around. he then looked at me and said, "i eat butterflies. big ones." and proceeded to shove the cookie into his mouth.

he constantly does sound effects and plays around with using different "voices" depending on the situation.

and then last night i ran the boys' baths {see this post for what that actually means} while they were wrestling with jamie in our room. i went back to the living room, heard jamie say "okay, bath time" and then noah came out to me to help him with his shirt. then he ran back to the bathroom and called out, "MOM! Jude is...um, come SEE!" and i already knew what i would find when i went into the bathroom.

and this morning?

while jamie was scrubbing off some pen & marker that noah had used to illustrate some art on our coffee table, i was trying to print off and make up our weekly meal plan when jude came into the spare room {where our printer is} and said,

"look mom! a daddy rock!"

i looked over.

it was a rock-hard piece of poop. in his hand.

life is nothing less than exciting around here!

oh hai

2011-11-03T13:47:00.000+03:00

we've been here and there.

we didn't do halloween {it's not a thing here} but the boys put these costumes on and wore them the entire afternoon of the 1st.

hope you're having a great week!

yes

2011-10-29T20:42:00.000+03:00

monday was the day before noah's birthday. it was the morning. i had just finished reading a story to the boys which involved some friends making cinnamon rolls.
noah asked me if we could make cinnamon rolls.
i said yes.
and then we ate them for lunch.

tuesday was noah's birthday. i said yes to a lot of things. including hugs, smiles, kisses, sugar, bike riding, skyping, and lots of laughing.

wednesday i said yes to creativity and googly eyes and 2 hours of playing with homemade play doh.

thursday i said yes to getting a cracked tooth fixed and a cavity filled here in uganda. it's gorgeous. and it was 1/3 of the price of what i would have paid in canada.

friday i said yes to cuddling on the couch and watching a movie while the rain poured down.

today i said yes to socks in mud puddles and warm bubble baths.

who knows what i'll say yes to tomorrow!

Apple-Carrot Muffins

2011-10-27T17:55:00.004+03:00

i have had this recipe saved on my computer for ages but have never made it.

why?

well, because it calls for milk powder and i never had milk powder in my pantry in canada.

but here in uganda? we always have it. sometimes we have the real stuff, but it's not like canadian milk and it goes bad a lot faster. so i almost always have a tin of powdered milk on hand.

i made these yesterday and i will definitely double the recipe next time. these went like hotcakes! or...apple-carrot muffins. they are delish.

bon appetit!

you need

1 cup of whole wheat or all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp dry milk

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large apple, peeled and grated

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

preheat your oven to 350F degrees. combine flour, sugar, dry milk, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and ginger in a mixing bowl. in a separate bowl combine the oil, honey, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. beat lightly with a whisk until blended. add the grated apple and carrot to the liquid mixture and stir well. fold in the dry ingredients until just combined but don't over mix or the muffins will become heavy.

line a muffin tin with paper liners {or grease them up with butter like i did} and fill muffin cups until 2/3 full. bake for 20-25 minutes.

these are delicious. make them today and surprise someone with them.

these were enjoyed with the best cup of instant coffee i have ever tasted. so.stinkin.good.

birthDAY

2011-10-25T21:13:00.000+03:00

today was a good day.

i slept 'til 8am when the boys ended waking up {glory! a sleep-in!}.

i made "sprinkle pancakes" for noah's special birthday breakfast.

he still says his favourite colour is pink. so pink it is.

then he opened his presents {a brand new bike from family back in canada, a mickey mouse pop-up book and the new Cars 2 video - bootlegged of course.}.

such a big boy on his 2 (four) wheeler bike!

and we watched videos from friends and family wishing noah a happy birthday and other funny shenanigans.

i took the boys to the mall to pick up a few items we needed for his birthday dinner and he picked "bubblegum marshmallow" ice cream. of course he did!

and then we took it easy in the afternoon and i relaxed on my "no tv during the weekdays" stance and let the boys watch Cars as a set-up to Cars 2 which we had planned on watching during dinner.

it rained.

we talked to "gramma" on skype and then i made pizza for dinner and we ate it while watching Cars 2. then we had cupcakes and make-your-own ice cream sundaes with homemade hot fudge sauce, candy, sprinkles, bananas and marshmallows as toppings.

it was a good day.

so thankful for noah. he made me a mama 4 years ago.

he is bright and smiley and cuddly and long and gangly now.

he is questions and giggles and knock knock jokes.

he is sweet toothed and chocolate milk, please and glasses of water in the middle of the night.

he is racing cars and building tall towers and taping pieces of paper together to make ramps.

he is noah. my son. my first born. a small piece of my heart that walks around outside of my body.

i love you, noah.

FOUR

2011-10-25T16:29:00.000+03:00

today i am a mama to a FOUR year old.

no time to write a sentimental post, we're busy partying!

noah on his brand new bike!

big Sunday brunch

2011-10-23T16:03:00.001+03:00

it's sunday again.

sundays aren't really my favourite day of the week here. going to church isn't really that fun or enjoyable and often i come home quite tired from trying to corral my kids and not make too much of a scene. it's enough that we're mzungus {white people} without being rowdy mzungus.

but that's not what this post is about.

big Sunday brunch is partly for me. to eat delicious and filling food before heading out to church that happens to fall right over the lunch hour.

this week i had some leftover pumpkin puree from thanksgiving so i made up my own pumpkin spice pancakes and served them up with an overnight egg bake. add some tea and juice and you've got yourself a big Sunday brunch.

voila!

here's the overnight egg bake {which was delicious, by the way!}:

ingredients:

8 eggs

1 cup of milk

8 slices of slightly stale bread {more or less...whatever looks good to you. this recipe is totally changeable depending on what you have in your fridge/cupboard/pantry}

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

whatever else you want to throw in! {i used 1/2 a green pepper, 1/2 a red onion - finely diced, some pork sausage. next time i'll add in some tomatoes and maybe some mushrooms too!}

assemble ingredients and put in a large, greased casserole dish. cover and put in the fridge the night before.

in the morning, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until it's not so jiggly and looks done to you.

and the pumpkin spice pancakes while they were in the pan {also a hit!}:

combine:

2 cups flour

2 T sugar

4 t baking powder

1 t salt, optional

combine separately and add:

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup oil or melted shortening

2 T brown sugar

1/2 t each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

stir quickly until blended and then drop onto an {ideally} hot, greased griddle {or you can just use a large pan like i do.} in any size you prefer {i use a 1/4 cup measuring cup}.

keep warm in a warm oven on a baking sheet if you want to serve all at once. serve with maple syrup or anything else you think would go nicely with pumpkin spice pancakes!

one thing i do love about sundays here is after church, once we get home, we hear hymns being sung in luganda for the whole afternoon coming from a nearby church. it's beautiful with all the different harmonies and i often hum along with them.

there are always things to be thankful for. sometimes you just have to listen for them.

linking up with Miss Elaineous Mondays

wheels

2011-10-22T08:54:00.000+03:00

so...we bought a car.
i know! crazy.
but true.
and actually, i'm really glad we did!
this past thursday i ventured out with the boys for the first time.
and?
we lived to tell the tale.
{so maybe i crunched into a parked truck on the side of the road and maybe it scratched the car pretty bad and maybe now the passenger doesn't exactly open, but...we're alive and that's the most important part, right? also, i'm still not entirely used to leaving enough space on my left.}
mostly i'm just glad i actually did it and have driven a few times now. it's a tad stressful, but i'm figuring it out and getting used to driving on the left side of the road in a country where road rules don't really exist.
it sure is cheaper to drive to kelly's house {on the other side of the city} than hiring a taxi to take us there.
it is also going to free us up on weekends to venture out of the city and see some of the sights on our own.
i'm so thankful for yet another blessing God has given us here.

last night on the way home noah said {again}:
this is really feeling like home now!
and i agree. i really can't think of anywhere else i'd rather be.

a perfect 30

2011-10-21T20:22:00.000+03:00

i almost feel as though i can't even write words to do this day justice.

it was perfect.

jamie and the boys brought me breakfast in bed {okay, so i was pulling on my jeans as they walked into the room, but it's the thought that counts, right?} and then gave me a couple cards {thanks amanda for the sweet card and hilarious lollipops!}.

i came out to the living room to discover that they had put up "30" garlands everywhere {again, thanks amanda! you are one thoughtful, wonderful girl!} and the new coldplay album playing {shhh! it's an illegal copy, but jamie's buying me the real one in 3 days when it officially comes out!}. go and buy mylo xyloto when it comes out. just do it. it's freakin' awesome. i've been listening to it non stop all day long.

then i hopped in the car {yes. i am driving in kampala. this is a blog post for another day.}, cranked up the coldplay, and drove to meet my sweet friend, kelly at a wonderful french bakery called le patisserie. we had lattes and apple turnovers that had the most delicious apples inside the butteriest, flakiest pastry ever. perfection.

outside le patisserie

then we drove to friday market where we walked and talked up aisles and aisles of gorgeous african art, jewelry, musical instruments and general creativeness.

i bought some pretties for me, an apron, a light shade to cover up the hideous florescent light fixture in our dining room and a cool wooden block thing that you can change to show the month and day for "educational" purposes for the boys.

after a very productive shop at friday market {i'll be back.} i drove home and hung out with the boys for the afternoon and even got to have a wee nap.

also, did i mention that all this week jamie has gotten up with the boys in the morning so i can lounge in bed a little longer? i married up. just sayin'.

then jamie and the boys and i got back in the car and drove to the mall and did a bit of looking around. i got the boys some juice boxes and we waited for jamie to finish paying for the other things.

then we went over to cafe java's and i ate the most delicious curry EVER. it was their coconut fish curry and OH.MY.GOSH. it melted in my mouth. buttery, coconutty, deliciousness.

then we ordered dessert {why yes i did pack up 1/2 my dinner so that i could still have room for their brownie sundae! how did you know?} and nick and trevor surprised me with this fantastic batik for our dining room! great job, guys!

and then, our dessert came out and all the waiters sang to me. ha! love it. sneaky, sneaky, guys.

and then we stuffed ourselves with delicious ice cream and chocolate brownies.

{note jude's finger reaching out to nab some of my ice cream!}

easy there, big fella.

i was so blessed today. by friends a far sending me sweet messages on twitter and email and by friends here treating me to breakfast {thanks kelly!} and giving me very thoughtful gifts.

teapot from kelly, sugar bowl from our housegirl elizabeth and delicious camembert cheese from a fellow missionary, lynn {who remembered our conversation about our mutual affection for cheese.}

i wouldn't change a thing about today and my heart is full.

*also now? i'm going to watch The Fellowship Of The Ring - per my request. happy birthday to me!

land of eternal summer

2011-10-15T20:13:00.001+03:00

today we went swimming. outside. in the middle of october.
so surreal.
and yet, i love it.
it even rained while we were swimming but then the sun came out and it was a sweet, warm rain.
the boys loved it and i think we'll likely do it again sometime soon.

later today while i was pushing noah on the swings, we talked.
he - without any prompting by me - started listing off all the things he loves, make him happy or is thankful for. it was so wonderful to hear my boy choosing to give thanks and recognizing that he has much to be thankful for. i am thankful to have such an amazing little boy with such a huge heart.

one of jude's latest saying is "i'm safe. we're safe." and when i asked where he got it from, jamie told me it was him.
sometimes when our power goes out in the evening i light a candle in the hallway near the boys' room in lieu of a nightlight, but every time i've done it, jude cries and cries and jamie told me he blows it out and tells jude that he's safe and he doesn't need to be afraid. so i guess i'm not lighting a candle near their room anymore.

why being a mom rocks.

2011-10-15T15:30:00.000+03:00

last week i made a little mail box for the boys and it's been a huge hit. every morning noah races out to the living room and checks in the box to see if there's any mail for him.
i don't remember to do it every day but when i do, oh he is just beyond thrilled.
sometimes it's just a note saying something i really like about him.
sometimes it's a small candy and the other day i wrapped up 2 small books - one for each of the boys that i had picked up at a book store in town.
the other day i left them little note cards and i didn't know what jude really thought of it all or if he even got it. but yesterday i heard him say "love, Mama" to himself. i looked over at him and he was holding his note card {upside down} and he said it again, "love, Mama". then he saw me looking at him and he walked over to me and held out the card for me to read to him.
oh my heart. words can't describe.

kibosh

2011-10-14T23:52:00.002+03:00

a few days ago i decided enough was enough.
for whatever reason, i feel a lot of guilt when my kids watch too much tv. i think mostly it's because i know i put it on for them a lot of the time because i'm lazy or selfishly want to do my own thing instead of interacting with them.
so i put a kibosh on tv during the weekdays. except for a movie night a week there is no tv allowed. on the weekends they'll be allowed to watch saturday morning cartoons and that's probably going to be it.
i expected so much resistance from them, but for the most part...nothing.
they've asked a few times and when i've said no, we've thought of another alternative and they've been happy enough with that.
because today was rainy for most of the day, they did get to watch a veggietales movie while i biked on the stationary bike. but because of this, i've been engaging so much more with them and we've been so much more creative and things like this have happened:

lots and lots of reading. we've always been big readers, but lots of reading happens around here.

we play with cars. a lot.

we do a lot of crafts. this is the boys "car garage" that they built this morning and played with for so long this afternoon.

our very own cooking show, here in uganda! {here you can see jude stirring the popcorn and noah is cutting his stove with a plastic knife while thomas the tank engine is being fried up in a wok.}

music + crafts = dance party.

i read a quote a couple days ago that said, "the grass is always greener where you water it." and so that's exactly what i'm doing. here and now. i'm watering this grass that i've been given. and it's so good.

my love for coldplay

2011-10-13T22:00:00.001+03:00

it all started in a rusty red car driving along a scenic route on the north island in new zealand in 2000.
a song came on.
it was catchy.
i'd never heard it before.
and i really liked it.
the announcer {in her adorable kiwi accent} said it was a song called yellow by the british band, coldplay.
i was hooked.
and today they are by far, my favourite band of all time.
i have loved every single album for different reasons.
i love how each album reminds me instantly of a specific time in my life.
parachutes reminds me of my time in new zealand and directly after when i returned back to canada. yellow and sparks {this should have been the song jamie and i danced to at our wedding} remain two of my most-loved songs.
a rush of blood to the head reminds me of the winter in toronto; crunching down snow-covered sidewalks at night while listening to politik or the scientist.
x&y will always remind me of the months jamie and i spent living with my mother and sister in law and while fix you is such a great song, some of my favourites from that album include 'til kingdom come and swallowed in the sea.
and then there's viva la vida or death and all his friends. jamie and i purchased this one while in england on our way to ireland. and then? we listened to it for 5 days straight while driving through the irish countryside. sometimes i can still smell that gorgeous irish air when life in technicolor starts playing.
and now a fifth album {mylo xyloto} is being released just 3 days after my 30th birthday {that would be october 24th}. and i'm pretty pumped. {because someone is buying it for me, right?}
also? i have never seen coldplay live.
never.
this is a travesty.
it's also on my bucket list {okay, so i don't really have a bucket list, but if i did have one, this would be ... definitely in the top 5}.
did you know they played downtown toronto {for free} a couple weeks ago?
yes.
they did.
and where am i?
not in toronto.
sigh.
but that's okay.
this post doesn't really have a point, other than i felt like i should catalogue my love for coldplay over the years.
that is all.
happy random thursday!

thankful.

2011-10-11T23:32:00.000+03:00

there is so much to be thankful for;

no headache when i woke up this morning.
a new swing set for the boys!

{do you like our tire swings? i think they're cool.}

turkey dinner - the turkey was a fail {um, i had to pluck some lingering feathers. it was not a pleasant experience.}, but still...turkey! in africa! amazing.

and the pumpkin pie. how is it that the smell of something brings back memories of so many things? when i smelled this pie come out of the oven last night, i thought of autumn, thanksgiving in canada, Summit {a student retreat that we go on every year}, fall leaves and so much more. and the taste...so worth the baking, mashing, blending, straining that i did. it.was.amazing. {if i do say so myself.} my first ever pumpkin pie! from scratch. like, for real scratchy, scratch scratch.
bet you've never seen a rectangle slice of pie before! {i had no pie plate so i improvised.}

anyway, jude thought it was good enough to practically inhale. and quite frankly, i agree.

and just over a year ago i wrote this. and now we're here. amazing.

turkey in uganda

2011-10-10T16:37:00.000+03:00

so this is a story about my quest to serve a turkey dinner for ~~the real~~ Canadian thanksgiving {that would be today, folks}.
i figured my best bet was to go to a local and ask if they have turkey here.
elizabeth. my trusted, amazing, sweet, hard working house help was the first person i thought of.
she smiles and says that yes, they do have turkey here in uganda and she will go to the market and find out for me how much.
then she pauses
do you want them to kill it or will you do that here?
she smirks because i believe she already knows the answer to the question she asks.
we laugh as i say that yes please, we'd like it to arrive dead. and preferably plucked.
she laughs again.
later in the week she texts me and asks if i want a male turkey or a female turkey.
um...?
seriously have you ever thought about if the turkey you eat at thanksgiving and/or christmas is male or female?
me neither.
so i google it. {of course.}
and we decide male is the way to go.
and i find a pumpkin!

and last night i baked it. {it's just as orange on the inside as ours are on the outside.}
and then this morning i woke up with a migraine.
and elizabeth is MIA until 11am.
with a female turkey.
cut up into pieces. in a black plastic bag.
i smile.
because...it's funny. our different cultures. me trying to do this "canadian" thing in the middle of uganda.
and a turkey cut up into pieces seems funny at the moment.
i tell her that usually we cook it whole.
we smile at each other, probably thinking how funny the others' culture is.
and then i go back to bed.
and i'll cook my thanksgiving dinner tomorrow instead of today.
i'm feeling better now and will probably bake my first ever pumpkin pie for my sweet husband. this is probably his favourite part of thanksgiving dinner.
i'm learning {ever so slowly}. to be thankful. every day.
and this afternoon as my headache slowly subsided i looked outside and saw my home. my green grass and exotic trees. the stone wall behind us and the red dirt on the roads. and i smiled. because being thankful in all things {as hard and ugly as they sometimes are} is teaching me contentment and joy.

linking up with miss elaineous mondays

fall

2011-10-04T18:45:00.001+03:00

today we made fall leaves and put them up on our front door.

it makes me smile.

i miss fall.

date night and big Sunday brunch

2011-10-03T09:33:00.001+03:00

so we had our first date night since moving to kampala.

we went out for dinner and a movie.

and i took a boda boda. at night.

it was terrifying.

i honestly do not want to do it again.

and there is no way i will willingly let noah or jude take a ride on one.

absolutely terrifying.

my legs were like jello for a couple hours afterward.

but i digress.

we got there safely and quickly and a lot more cheaply than if we had taken a private hire (taxi cab).

dinner was delicious, i laughed out loud (a lot) in the movie and we got to chat about a lot of things.

and yesterday was Sunday which meant that we had big Sunday brunch!

it was delicious. i love big Sunday brunch. trevor said to me that he doesn't know which is more exciting; Friday pizza night or big Sunday brunch. i couldn't pick either.

we had bacon and cheesy scrambled eggs with banana muffins (for the kids) and coffee banana scones. yum!

next week i'm making these. um, i'm really excited.

after brunch, while we were at church i was getting pretty frustrated with the boys. they were fighting with each other and up and down and not listening and i could feel myself getting angry.

angry at the boys. angry at our church for not having children's programs that start at the beginning of church and just angry that i didn't get to have a peaceful church experience.

as we sang (i forget the song), the thought of sacrifice and picking up our cross and following after Jesus struck me. hard.

motherhood isn't easy breezy.

but it isn't the easy breezy things in life that conform us to the likeness of Christ, is it?

nope.

so i lowered my expectations, prayed for patience and love and moved through and forward to choose to have joy.

and church finished early!

i was thankful for that. (is that wrong?)

we're just over 6 weeks into life here and it's pretty good. my next goal for myself is to make up a monthly curriculum plan for noah including games, crafts and reading/writing. hopefully by the end of the week i can have something made up.

happy Monday to you!

saturday

2011-10-01T14:17:00.000+03:00

i slept like a log last night. it was amazing.

i made starbucks coffee this morning for breakfast. have you heard of this amazing invention called a thermos? you should get one. it keeps your breakfast coffee hot when it's 2pm in the afternoon and you're hankering for another cuppa.

it's pouring rain. the boys were delighted to put on their raincoats and run around. i liked watching their joy and the beads of water coming off their {MEC} raincoats that we bought before we came here. a wise investment as far as i'm concerned.

i had cheesy scrambled eggs with a leftover biscuit from yesterday for lunch. and a cup of coffee.

i lay down with jude for his nap and watched him suck is fingers until slowly he drifted off into sleep and his fingers fell out of his mouth. is there anything more wonderful than watching your child sleep?

i took this picture of noah while running in the rain and all i see is baby noah. i love it.

i'm waiting for my butter to come to room temperature and then i'm making these. be jealous. or make 'em. whatever.

tonight jamie and i are going on our first date night since moving to kampala. i'm excited. maybe i'll tell you tomorrow what we ended up doing. {rule #1 of living in africa. always hold your plans loosely.}

plans are in the works for a swing set to be made for the boys. again, holding this loosely. maybe by the end of this month there will be some sort of play structure in the backyard for the boys!

i'm exercising almost every day. we got a stationary bike and i'm using it! i think i'm in a place where exercise is just a part of my life. i enjoy it. i need it and i want it in my life. so i do it. it makes me happy and a little bit proud of myself.

our house girl {elizabeth - she is awesome} is looking into the availability and prices of a turkey and ... pumpkins! now apparently they don't have orange pumpkins here. they only come in yellow/green so we'll see. i may have to experiment a bit but i'm hoping to be able to serve pumpkin pie come next monday {canadian thanksgiving}.

have i told you how much i love october? no? well. i love it. it makes me sad to be missing the change of the colours of all the leaves in ontario. the crisp fall weather that requires cute hats and pretty scarves and stylish boots and goes well with steaming mugs of hot chocolate and apple picking and baking, baking, baking. so i'm getting some of this and i miss it, but i'm not homesick. instead, i'm embracing the goodness of living in africa. life is pretty awesome and i'm choosing to open my eyes wide to the beauty and splashes of glory in the everyday.

this is me. on the first saturday in october. 2011.
how's your saturday?

it smells like rain

2011-09-28T18:58:00.000+03:00

we've been hearing thunder for the last couple days but no rain.

i had just been speaking with my mom on skype and mentioned how we hadn't had rain in a few days.

about an hour after i said this the skies opened up and rain poured down from the heavens.

i breathed in deep.

it smelled so good. earthy. wet.

i grabbed my camera and went outside to find it smelled even better out there.

i thought to myself

i never want to forget this.

to my delight, noah joined me and sat on the warm steps as we watched the rain come down.

can i go and run around in the rain, mom?

definitely. always and definitely.

Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;

hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.

Let my teaching fall like rain

and my words descend like dew,

like showers on new grass,

like abundant rain on tender plants.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord.

Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the rock, his works are perfect,

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32:1-4

hidden

2011-09-26T11:19:00.000+03:00

a taste of life in kampala:

and before this ride, at the market:

day to day life is fairly non-eventful at home with the boys. we play together {cars, pretend cooking and real cooking, read books, do crafts, kick the soccer ball around outside and watch some tv - the boys' current faves are Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jungle Junction} but to be honest we rarely leave the house on our own. it's quite a lot for me to to take both the boys out by myself especially at the age jude is where he just likes to take off and explore on his own. not really a safe thing to do with boda bodas whizzing right beside you.
but we get by.
i continue to work through why God has specifically brought me here to do what i could easily do at home in canada, but i trust Him and already sense that He is using this time to refine me, shape me and make me into someone i wouldn't be if i had stayed back in canada.
as a wise woman said to me, it is a time of "hiddenness". hidden away from distractions. hidden away from comforts. hidden away in the home with often no one by my children to see what He is doing in me.
for such a time as this...

linking up with Miss Elaine-ous Mondays

friday night fun

2011-09-24T12:26:00.001+03:00

it all started with some life ministry staff {stephen & grace} dropping in on thursday afternoon. they mentioned they would come by on friday and make matoke. and bring their kids. their 5 kids.

love this ugandan culture.

so we didn't really know what to expect.

but more people kept getting invited and at final tally i think we had about 18 people over last night for a dinner and impromptu birthday party for little junior {the fifth child of stephen and grace}.

so we sent nick off to the market to pick up some drinks and a birthday cake and grace and stephen and i prepared food in the kitchen.

they showed me how to make matoke, ground nut sauce and chapati and i introduced them to the glorious food that is quinoa {although in the end we all agreed that it was useless for me to show them how to make it as you can't buy it here in kampala}.

we all snacked on roasted ground nuts {exactly like peanuts} and popcorn while we waited for the matoke to finish cooking.

the kids watched some cartoons on jamie's computer as the power was out.

kids are the same no matter where you are. they all like cartoons.

once dinner was here and everyone had arrived we all enjoyed a delicious dinner of matoke, chapatti, quinoa and fresh pineapple {you have not eaten pineapple until you've eaten fresh, tropical pineapple} and bananas.

it was a fun and relaxed night and it felt good to have a full and happy house.

one

2011-09-21T20:29:00.000+03:00

happy first monthiversary to us!

to celebrate living in uganda for 1 month we {me and the boys} made rice krispie squares with {lots} of sprinkles. i gave jude a little container of sprinkles thinking he'd pick them up with his fingers and delicately sprinkle them all over the rice krispies.

oh silly, silly me. why of course he just dumped the entire thing out in a pile on top of the rice krispies.

they tasted amazing.

then the boys helped me make {whole wheat molasses} bread.

and then i made italian ground beef and veggie soup with apple crisp for dessert. jamie even came home with strawberry ice cream so we served it up with a scoop of that deliciousness.

and then {just now} i found out that i won a contest i entered on this fantastic kids style blog i subscribe to.

what a day of blessings.

what a month of blessings.

whether the weather...

2011-09-20T08:39:00.001+03:00

i can't complain about the weather here. it's been lovely.
we are in the rainy season so it's rained almost every day here. but i don't mind. i like the rain.
however last week the rain turned into this:

Ice in Africa from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

i've rarely seen hail in canada, but africa!? that's incredible.

mint chocolate brownies

2011-09-18T14:04:00.000+03:00

we've been in uganda for 4 weeks today.
that just seems absurd to me.
but here we are.
this morning we were invited to a different church and so {reluctantly} i agreed and we went.
it was at 9am so that meant no big Sunday brunch. *sad face*
after about 1.5 hours of sitting quietly and then running around outside in the mud and puddles i grabbed a crying {mucky} jude and walked to our waiting taxi with noah walking behind me.
we were going back home and we would do church there.
it was a good choice. for me and my attitude and for my kids. they just can't sit still for 3 hours.

anyway so i was able to have lunch ready for the guys when they got home and i made these.

well, they were mint chocolate brownies.
they were just so good we ate them up far too quickly for me to grab my camera.
no joke.

one of the cool things about being in another country is they have food products that you can't find at home {and vice versa, usually}. the range of cadbury chocolate bars is unsurpassed. like, amazing. they've got your typical fruit and nut bar, dark chocolate bar, milk chocolate bar - but then there's things like top deck {half white chocolate and half milk chocolate}, snack bar {like a fruit and nut, but it's basically fruit and cookie - it's good!} and my favourite - mint crisp. it's a milk chocolate bar with pieces of crunchy mint candy inside. so.stinkin.delicious.
it's become clear to jamie as well as nick and trevor that the mint crisp is my favourite and it seems that they keep picking them up for me when they see them. so at one point i had THREE mint crisp bars in the fridge. then i saw these on pinterest and i knew what i would do with them.
so here's my recipe for mint chocolate brownies. if you can't find a mint crisp bar {too bad for you}, you can use whatever kind of mint chocolate bar you can find - or mint chocolate chips. but it's absolutely DIVINE with the mint crisp bar.

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 bar of cadbury mint crisp, chopped up into chunks {or equivalent minty chocolate)

blend the butter, sugar and vanilla. then add the eggs - beating well after each addition. combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt & chunks of minty chocolate in another bowl. gradually beat in the egg mixture making sure not to overmix.
pour into a greased pan and bake at 350F until sides are pulling apart from the pan.
my oven is hotter than mount vesuvius and so it took just under 25 minutes but yours may take up to 40 minutes depending on your oven. also, i guesstimated the temperature.
serve warm on its own or with a big hunk of vanilla ice cream.

also, this is a great recipe to win over a man's heart. just sayin'.

that's my jude.

2011-09-16T16:06:00.001+03:00

moments with jude...

watching him walk around the house wearing jamie's necklace. it looks so cute on him!

looking over at him guzzling from my glass of water. "were you thirsty, jude?"
*breathless* "yeeeah."

just now he ran over and handed me my hair straightener {which I have NOT used at all since being here. natural waves, baby.} saying "mom, hold this."

smelling a stink and i ask, "jude, did you do a poop?"
wrinkling his nose, "neeoo. i did poop."

this morning jamie asked him, "jude, where's noah?"
and he answered {no word of a lie}, "he's on the couch watching topy & binoo." just like that.

that's my jude.

Ginger Snaps

2011-09-16T11:30:00.003+03:00

what does one do after sleeping off a massive migraine?
make ginger snaps, of course!

i got this recipe from my delightful friend, kelly. i think she got it from her mom. moms' recipes are the bomb.

here's the snappiest of ginger snaps:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar (i actually found some here!)
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses (called black treacle here)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup flour

cream the butter, brown sugar, egg, molasses & vanilla. this is much easier done with a blender or mixer than by hand, but very doable by hand, let me tell you.
add in your spices.
blend in the flour.
roll cookies into little balls - i made mine just shy of a tablespoon each but feel free to make yours however big or small you prefer.
then roll in some white sugar.

yum.

then bake for 9-12 minutes at 375F.
now, my oven is a gas oven and has no temperature gauge. at all. so i guesstimate for the temperatures. so mine baked at 7 minutes and were perfect.
also, it could just be my Ugandan-bought baking sheets, but a little baking spray helped to get them off (as the first batch stuck to my sheet). it also helps to remove them right away onto a baking rack.

(this was the batch that stuck. but a picture and a hug from jamie in the kitchen was worth it. don't they look perfect?)

if these don't say fall/winter i'm not sure what does.
make sure to nom on these with a nice warm cup of tea.

or just nom. either way.

giving thanks for the ugly

2011-09-13T21:00:00.002+03:00

i've picked up the habit of giving thanks in a journal. of doing eucharisteo.
{i even started a new "gratitude" journal that my sweet friend, mandy gave to me as a goodbye present.}

today after i dumped in a new package of pasta and then noticed there were dead bugs floating around in the boiling water i sighed.
and then grabbed a spoon and started spooning out as many bugs as i could find.
later as i picked through the cooked bow tie pasta for the ones that had bugs on/in them i was floundering.
how do i give thanks for this?
how do i practice giving thanks for the ugly things in my life? like bugs in my pasta.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
as i pondered my predicament, the horn of africa's famine came to mind.
and then i gave thanks. with a sincere heart. not just because i ought but because i truly felt grateful to have food.
i have food to feed my children.
i don't have to watch them starve.
and when one of them doesn't want tonight's dinner, i can offer him last night's leftovers.
leftovers!

today during my quiet time {noah and i had one together!} i read that "anything less than gratitude and trust is practical atheism." i was shocked. and convicted. how often do i grumble with an unthankful heart or stress because i do not trust the I Am?

so when i found bugs in my pasta i dug deep to find something to give thanks for.
even for bugs in my pasta.
besides, isn't there some sort of missionary joke about finding bugs in your food?

lessons in being organized

2011-09-13T10:00:00.000+03:00

because i can't just run out to the grocery store and buy everything i need in one place {oh how i miss super walmarts - not going to lie}, i am being forced to cultivate something i've tried to do for years.

meal plan.

i know a meal plan saves money, time and lightens my emotional load as dinner hour approaches.

and yet i've not been able to consistently do it.

until now.

i have no car.

and the market doesn't always have what i want or need.

and my fridge is smaller so i only have so much room to keep things cold/frozen.

plus having to cook for two extra guys demands that i think ahead.

so i plan.

my meals and my grocery list.

and

i use what i have. before it goes bad.

i can't count the number of times we had to throw food out in canada because it went bad because i didn't plan to use it but bought it anyway and then forgot about it.

it makes me sad and kinda sick when i think about it.

here?

we eat everything {except the things that have bugs in them. ahem. oats. ahem.}.

so i've been meal planning on a weekly schedule.

and it's glorious.

and it's posted on my fridge {the yellow one on the right}:

{also we found a woman who will be our "house help" and i've made a weekly, biweekly and monthly cleaning plan. look at me all organized and such!}

i am able to plan my week so that we're eating foods that we love and enjoy but also that are good for all of us.

and i'm not stressed.

in fact, i'm really enjoying it.

i've always loved cooking, it's just been the planning {at the last minute} and the clean up that's stressed me.

oh yeah, because i cook, i don't have to clean.

it's a pretty sweet deal.

i figure that 2 years of this will have it fully ingrained in me so that for the rest of my life {whether in Canada or Africa} i'll be meal planning and saving us all time and money.

i set up my meal plan by general categories:

monday: indian/ethnic

tuesday: pasta

wednesday: soup/stew

thursday: comfort food

friday: pizza/mexican

saturday: bbq/leftovers

sunday: big brunch in the morning and a roast/comfort food for dinner

this gave me a framework to build my plan around. wanna know what we're having this week for dinner? m'kay.

monday: indian spiced beef with warm curry potato salad and dhal

tuesday: sesame chicken pasta salad

wednesday: butternut squash soup & fresh bread

thursday: shepherd's pie

friday: pizza!

saturday: leftovers

sunday: banana pancakes {recipe forthcoming} + egg bake {brunch} and then zesty mac 'n cheese for dinner

how has being organized helped you?

share your tips with me!

big Sunday brunch

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000+03:00

i love traditions.

and i just started a new one.

because the church we've decided upon doesn't have any english services earlier than 11am and goes 'til 1pm we found ourselves very hungry after church is finished.

so on saturday night i decided that sunday mornings we would have a big Sunday brunch to tide us through the lunch hour while at church.

this Sunday brunch menu consisted of:

masala tea

baby bananas and oranges

my own take on the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls

cheese and ham quiche

and some cinnamon bread/toast for those who wanted it.

it was delicious.

i love this tradition already.

{because really? who doesn't like brunch?}

dinner is almost ready and we had minor snacks this afternoon.

i think the big Sunday brunch worked.

linking up with Miss Elaine-ous Mondays.

so big

2011-09-11T18:00:00.000+03:00

hey noah and jude,

stop growing. okay?

not really. but how are you getting so big so fast?

noah you are long and tall and big and still loving cuddle-time. i love that.

don't stop loving cuddle-time.

i think we both forget that we need it every now and then.

and your cheeks.

they are boy cheeks.

not toddler cheeks or baby cheeks.

you're so stretchy-tall!

jude you are talking talking talking.

i'm sorry i can't always understand you.

i know one day i will and you'll be telling me amazing stories and making me laugh even more than you make me already.

you are still squishy. but you are getting so tall!

your arms and legs are so long and you can reach - um, pretty much everything i put up on the counters.

you are fearless.

still.

and jumping! real two-footed jumps!

you boys together = chaos and frustration and joy and sweet moments and separating you to two different couches and wrestling and uncontrollable giggles and brother-secrets and crumbs on the floor and yelling and hugging and driving cars and copying each other and thanking Jesus for our food and family and friends.

oh my boys. i love you.

with all my heart.

my heart is so full.

rain :: storm

2011-09-10T18:00:00.000+03:00

quiet nights are hard to come by here.

it's now been several nights in a row where jude has slept all the way through the night without waking up {thank you Jesus}.

but the other night i woke up to

nothing.

no dogs barking.

no african clubbing music.

no random djembe drummers.

no loud cawing birds.

no honking.

no sirens.

just a few crickets.

and then it started to rain.

have i mentioned how much i love the sound of the rain here?

no?

well, it's amazing.

incredibly soothing.

and lovely.

probably one of my favourite nighttime sounds.

{another one being the sound of cars driving along at night on empty roads. it reminds me of home.

total city girl right here.}

i decided to thank God for this sweet middle-of-the-night blessing.

just for me.

look for the every day blessings.

they are there.

alongside the challenges and hardships, they are there.

you just have to look.

************

and then there was last night.
raging, fierce, thundering, lightening, sheets of rain poured down.
angry, harsh, powerful rain.
not the steady, sweet sound of a light rain that happened a few nights ago.
no, this was pure power.
He was there in that powerful, fiercesome storm.
but just like elijah, i didn't hear His voice in it.
but i knew He was there.
sustaining us.
protecting us.
my heart broke as i lay there listening to the rain go on and on.
i was thinking of all the ghettos i've seen here in kampala.
children and their parents live in those ghettos.
i'm sure their roofs leaked.
i'm sure they were cold.
did they tremble in fear because of how exposed they felt in the storm?

there are blessings in my life, but even here, in this life that is so different from what i'm used to, i have it so much better than most others in this city.
what are their blessings?
what do they look like?
is their faith stronger than mine?
surely it must be.

how to take a cold shower

2011-09-09T22:08:00.000+03:00

it's true.
i take cold showers.
perhaps when we get out of this "cold" season i'll be happy for the cold showers, but for now my motto is "get in and get out.".
so here it is, my guide to taking a cold shower if you must.

step one.
hopefully your shower has a faucet (in addition to a shower head). if not, disregard this post.
this is necessary if your water pressure ~~sucks~~ is not so great (like mine).
turn on your water faucet.

step two.
starting from your feet, get wet as high as you can. for me it's usually up to my thighs.

step three.
crouch down and get your upper body wet.

step four.
put your head under the faucet and get your hair wet.

step five.
lather up your hair with your shampoo of choice (currently mine is Pantene).
you can either do this with your head still somewhat upside down or invert yourself. i usually stand up once my hair is lathered and on top of my head. (cold water on the back is the hardest part. hang in there, you're almost there.)

step six.
put your head back under the faucet or at this point, feel free to turn on your ~~lousy~~ shower head and stand underneath it to rinse out your hair.

step seven.
wash your bod.
rinse your bod.

step eight.
turn off the water and get out of the shower.

step nine.
use a spray-in conditioner and comb through.

you're done!
welcome to my life.

and that's okay.

2011-09-06T10:55:00.000+03:00

this place is not my home.

not yet.

i know it will feel like it someday.

but it doesn't feel like it right now.

and that's okay.

i miss my home and native land.

and that's okay.

there are so many things that are wonderful in my life and in my house and in this city.

and i'm learning to count them every day.

but i'm not denying that right now...

i miss my home, my friends, my family, {my car}, my city, my church.

and that's okay.

{there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens;}

found on pinterest.

little things

2011-09-03T22:44:00.000+03:00

it's the little things that make me happy.

i think that's true about most people.

here's what's made me happy in the past few days:

is it weird that it makes me happy to have somewhere to put my toothbrush and face wash?

oh and not only do the boys have a shelf for toiletries but they also have a mirror! oh the luxuries!

{it only took 2 weeks. still waiting on ours.}

you guys, i have mixing bowls. in all different colours! happy!

would you just look at that soft lighting? goodbye ugly florescent lights!

also?

tonight i had a hot shower! {also for the first time in 2 weeks.}

all those who are planning on visiting us here, take heart!

your bathroom has the only hot water tank in our house.

and last, overhearing noah "reading" the very hungry caterpillar to jude this afternoon.

a moment of sibling happiness a midst the cranky, aggravating behaviour that was more than present today.

and now off i go to read in the beautiful glow of my new soft lighting.

bon nuit!

beginning

2011-09-01T20:58:00.003+03:00

yesterday i decided to just go ahead and make some plans with a blogger friend i had not yet met.

so this morning {after baking some banana bread} jamie called our taxi driver {his name is abby and he's been great so far} and me and the boys loaded into the car and drove to the other side of kampala to meet up with kelly and her boys.

it took less than 30 minutes {i was totally expecting it to be longer} and we arrived to their lovely house way up on a hill.

me and jude. noah was beside me.

my view from the backseat.

oh my. it was indeed a breath of fresh air to my soul.

to be honest, i've been missing my friends and specifically some solid, female interaction.

and so i prayed.

and God is so faithful.

kelly and i had a lovely time chatting and our boys played together quite well.

in the words of humphrey bogart, "i think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

thanks God for providing for your children.

matthew 7:11

Stove-popped Popcorn

2011-08-30T20:56:00.000+03:00

i bought corn kernels at the grocery store the other day. {yup, there are both markets and grocery stores here in kampala.}
i figured at some point i'd probably end up making popcorn.
i figured correctly.
we had no chips and we were all feeling a bit munchy so i decided to make some popcorn.
now it may just be because i'm in africa and all, but this popcorn was the best popcorn i've ever had. and there wasn't even any butter on it! {and i'm a soggy-with-butter-popcorn kinda girl!}
here's how you make it:

you need:

3 tbsp oil (i used canola. you can use whatever you like, but one with a higher smoking point work best}

1/3 cup corn kernels

salt to taste

on med-high heat in a large pan, pour the oil in and 3 or 4 kernels. {trust me.} cover the pan.

when the kernels start to pop, remove from heat and add in the rest of the kernels and cover again. the oil is now at "popping" temperature.

count to 30. {noah likes to do this with me - although he sorta gets lost after 15.} this allows the rest of the kernels to heat up.

then put the pan back on the stove and wait until you start to hear the popping. once you hear the popping, open the lid a bit {if you can, it gives the popcorn a crisper taste/feel} and start shakin'.

once the popping stops/slows down you can remove the pan and voila! perfect popcorn!

you can add the salt now - OR you can add it to the oil at the beginning. this is what i do and it evenly coats all the popcorn.

i think in my last batch, i only had 2 unpopped kernels. sweet, eh?
and there are endless flavourings you can add:
cinnamon and sugar
parmesan and black pepper
curry powder
or just lots and lots of butter.
but we're pretty happy here just eating it with a bit of salt.

enjoy!

this week i...

2011-08-28T20:03:00.001+03:00

landed in entebbe airport.
visited an ugandan hospital with noah.
bartered and bought some crafty-type things at a market.
settled into a new home in a new country on a new continent.
learned how to light a gas stove and oven {lighting the oven is scary but worth it.} and baked muffins.
went to a ugandan church and loved it.
walked over 4km on the streets of kampala with kids in tow.
popped popcorn on my gas stove. {it was delicious. i will teach you how to make it in a coming post.}
fell asleep to the sound of rain falling on our tin roof.
wore skirts a lot.
showered by candlelight.
started watching the LOST series from the beginning {again}.
explained a lot of things to my kids.
ate some of the most delicious french fries {chips} with ketchup at a cafe.
read a lot of heart-warming emails from my sweet friends in canada.
thought about the importance of having friends.
talked to people on skype.
worshipped Jesus in the everyday moments.

how was your week? i'd love to hear!

saturday morning

2011-08-27T10:21:00.000+03:00

starbucks coffee and strawberry jam muffins.

my first experience with my gas oven was a bit scary, but i figured out how to light it.

these muffins turned out pretty good.

there's definitely room for improvement, but good for a first attempt {and with no measuring cups}.

it was certainly nice to enjoy coffee and muffins for breakfast.

i've been listening to page cxvi's version of 'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus on repeat the last few days.

'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

just to take him at his word

just to rest upon his promise

and to know, "thus saith the Lord"

Jesus, Jesus, how i trust him

how i've proved him o'er and o'er

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus

oh, for grace to trust him more!

anecdotes from my side of the world

2011-08-26T00:15:00.000+03:00

yesterday i was unpacking a grocery bag and pulled out a pack of hangers when a cockroach {just a small little guy} fell out of the hangers. i lost sight of him and for a second thought i would just leave him. but then i thought about the fact that i was doing all this on my bed. and did i really want a roaming cockroach in my bed? so i searched him out and found him and stepped on him.
then later while lying in bed that night i realized i never picked him up off the floor.

my phone has a function on it that has something to do with the muslim call to prayer.

i am wearing a sweater right now.

the other day we were in a walmart-type store when i got to the cash and realized jude was not with us. we had been split up for a bit, jamie watching the boys while i got some items but then when we all came back together he just wandered off.
mini freak out. right.there.
he was in the toy aisle riding on a baby bike.
wild child.

the appliances we bought the other day don't fit with the plugs here in uganda. apparently you are supposed to take them to the service counter and they switch them for the correct plug. weird. {on the upside, we now have a working toaster and kettle!}

i bought a fan today {finally} only to have a crazy breeze blowing through our home right now. {hence the sweater.}

i went for 2 and a bit days without looking into a mirror. shocking. {we still have no mirrors in our house.}

bingo bango

2011-08-25T00:11:00.000+03:00

it was a day of good and bad. {isn't every day like that?}
noah's elbow popped out yesterday {the third time this has happened} and by this morning he still wasn't using it and complained/cried in pain when we tried to move it.
so we looked into a couple options and decided that i would take him to the nearest "hospital" {it was really more like a clinic} with lynn, a missionary who lives just up the street from us.
it was a rough visit.
he screamed and cried when the doctor tried to touch his arm.
i tried to help the doctor understand that it wasn't because he was a "big, black man" but because he was a stranger and noah was afraid of the pain that he would feel if his arm was moved.
i had multiple "i wish i was back home" moments but that is life when you move overseas and to be expected.
i won't go into all the details except that we were sent for an x-ray and it was an extremely traumatic experience for noah and ended with both of us in tears.
when we went back to the doctor, he had left to go to another hospital.
we waited.
and waited.
and waited.
and then we decided to leave and come back tomorrow.
and i decided to try and have another "go" at fixing noah's elbow.
and sure enough, within the hour of getting back home, he was using it and playing happily with his new friend, sophia.

thank you God that you healed noah's arm. thank you for the perspective that my days and weeks and months will be filled with low points, but that you will also be there to lift me out of the miry clay.

we made and enjoyed spaghetti with a hearty meat sauce for dinner. {high point!}

one of the sessions in chicago during our training was about adjusting to a new culture and the speaker pointed out that if there are mothers on the team, they will likely not experience the typical "honeymoon" period, but go directly to the slump {and eventually equalize and rise up again to a "normal" level}. bingo bango, mr. speaker.

our home is coming together s l o w l y but God is {as usual} teaching me and sustaining me.
i want to be adjusted and used to this city and culture and know my way around {and have a fully stocked pantry and fridge}, but that takes time. {where is that fast forward button, anyway?}
i love change, but i hate the transition part.
we're getting there.
i just have to keep going.

alive

2011-08-22T22:12:00.000+03:00

ohGodohGodohGodohGod

I am going to die.

carrying 2 year old jude in my arms and halfway across a crazy downtown kampala street I realize I can't make it with most of our team.

standing beside me is trevor, the other guy on our team and we both feel the insanity of the streets.

no traffic cops.

no stop signs.

no traffic lights.

kampala rush hour.

we just have to go for it.

eventually we see a break and go for it. a taxi van gives me a nudge {with a child in my arms at that!} and my initiation into kampala living is complete.

I am alive.

we have the week to settle in and buy things like, oh ya know, a fridge, oven/stove and couches. and maybe some hangers. and food. and a broom!

oh settling in.

my view.

words to encourage

2011-08-18T07:05:00.000+03:00

we are all here to find
the place where our restless souls
will be free
we were all made to see
our hearts could not rest
until found in thee
divine invitation

you have redeemed my soul
from the pit of emptiness
you have redeemed my soul
from death

i was a hungry child, a dried up river
i was a burned out forest, and no one could do anything for me
but you put food in my body, water in my dry bed
and to my blackened branches, you brought the springtime green
of new life
and nothing is impossible for you
you have redeemed my soul

this week i've been able to worship with page cxvi in person and it's been so wonderful. i hadn't heard of these songs before but i love them. (neither are written by page cxvi, but their take on them - as usual - is fantastic.) i thought i had blogged about page cxvi before, but i can't find it. well, i love them. check them out.

he swims!

2011-08-17T06:27:00.003+03:00

once he figured out the water wings and realized he had independence...

pure joy.

and for me to watch my child learn a new skill, become confident and excited about his new ability...

also pure joy.

like nothing I have ever experienced until I had kids.

being a parent is really, really cool.

big challenges.

massive blessings.

linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesdays

savour {alternatively titled: life in a hotel}

2011-08-16T05:12:00.000+03:00

just checking...

2011-08-15T00:05:00.002+03:00

From our hotel room near Chicago...

Noah: Mom, when are we going to Uganda?

Me: On Friday.

Noah. Okay. On Friday.

going, going, gone - sorta

2011-08-13T05:11:00.000+03:00

so this morning we left our families in toronto and boarded a plane for a week of training in chicago.

with all our shtuff for the next 2 years in uganda.

oh yes. we increased our bags from 8 to 9.

{i just couldn't make it fit.}

sucked it up and paid the luggage fees.

said our teary goodbyes {it was harder for me to watch our parents saying goodbye to our kids} and made our way through customs and to our gate {i 100% recommend sucking it up and paying a porter. especially if you've got kids and you have 9 pieces of luggage. plus carry on luggage. boy did we milk the carry on luggage.}

the boys did great on the plane.

okay well noah did great.

jude did not like the whole "sit in your seat with this seatbelt on which will restrict all moving around-type activities.

but whatevs.

all our bags arrived {quickly!} at o'hare and with the help of some friendly US staff people we shuffled all our bins over to the bus and made our way to the hotel.

leg one: completed.

we are not special

2011-08-11T06:14:00.000+03:00

today at the travel clinic (our third and final visit) i met a couple who were missionaries.

from kazakhstan.

placed in toronto to reach the jewish immigrants.

(their oldest daughter works for campus crusade for christ in kazakhstan.)

amazing.

they did exactly what we are doing.

they left their known and came to the unknown for the purpose of glorifying God by spreading His fame. for them it meant moving to toronto.

we are not special people, jamie and i. we're just ordinary folk. ordinary folk who love Jesus and want to bring His name glory by spreading His fame across the nations.

we don't want to waste our (short) lives and for us that means moving far away.

to uganda.

we want to be a part of something bigger.

we want to glorify God more than anything else in the world.

i am not brave.

but i am confident in Jesus.

and i would give my all to follow Him - wherever it leads me.

what does loving Jesus (truly loving Him) mean for your life?

relax

2011-08-10T03:43:00.000+03:00

because everyone ought to sit on a front porch in pajamas with an umbrella as the sun sets.

excuse me while i go drown in packing.

Jude's laid-back birthday party

2011-08-07T18:41:00.003+03:00

I decided to keep things low-key and relaxed for Jude's birthday party. seeing as we'd be in someone else's house, I wouldn't have any of "my" things and not really a large place to host our families, I decided it would be better to just chill at the beach.
and so a week ago we did.

and it was awesome. and relaxing. and a lot of fun. and exactly the way birthday parties should be.
don't get me wrong, I've done the themed birthday party and there's a part of me that enjoys all the details and planning but this was definitely not the time to do one of those parties.
it was a time to celebrate Jude, enjoy some good food and hang out with family.
so we set up a table, some blankets, camping chairs in the shade near the beach and tied some balloons to a huge tree.
then we did cake and ice cream as soon as everyone arrived so that it wouldn't all melt before we had a chance to enjoy it.

Jude loved singing and blowing out his candles and he insisted that he was in fact, not two, but three and a HALF.
funny kid.

my awesome photographer sister took a bunch of pictures of the day since I left my camera back at the house (which really wasn't that far, but it was nice to not worry about getting "the" shot and just enjoying the moment).

my favourite shot of the day.

Noah and I had prayed ahead of time that it would be a nice day (as it was forecasted to be thunder showers and feels like 41 degrees!) and it was an amazingly perfect day.
later in the day I said to Noah:
Remember when we prayed and asked God for a nice day for Jude's birthday?
Noah: Yeah.
Do you think God answered our prayer?
Noah: I think SO!

it was a lovely, laid-back birthday party for a two year old and I wouldn't change a thing.

why?

2011-08-06T06:10:00.000+03:00

why are you moving to africa?

why are you packing up your lives {into 8 rubbermaid containers} and flying halfway around the world?

why are you going, especially when you have two young kids?

and then...

why are you taking your kids away from comfort? safety? opportunities? wealth? friends? family?

even if you don't say it, i know you think it sometimes.

because of Jesus.

because He loves us and it's his love that compels us to leave what we know for the unknown.

because our love for Him causes us {causes me} to actually desire to give up everything for the sake of bringing Him praise.

it's because of our kids that we are going.

not despite. or even though we have kids.

our call is their call.

as a family we are called to africa.

the opportunities they will have are like none i could ever offer them living the life we live in canada.

their eyes will see things they would never see.

they will experience life as most of the world knows it.

they will learn to live with little.

and i know they will love it.

{it's their parents that will probably have a harder time.}

they will see their parents striving to obey God and listening to His voice to go.

they will likely see us making mistakes and learning to lean on Him more and more.

we will bond together in a way all families should, but the western world and all her distractions make so difficult.

us & Jesus.

David Livingstone {missionary to africa} said this about leaving the "benefits" of england:

"Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice."

this is what i want for me. for us.

we leave in one week today.

there have been crazy setbacks due to my procrastination and lack of planning;

but we go....

(in 7 days and counting)

TWO!

2011-07-31T15:24:00.002+03:00

My sweet, spunky, crazy, willful, cuddly, squishy, adorable, cheeky Jude,

Oh how my heart bursts with love for you.

Also, how are you TWO!?

Your long legs and short hair cut, your many, many words and your hilarious facial expressions; all these show to me you are no longer "baby", but quickly turning into "boy".
I cherish each day.
Not necessarily longing for the past or yearning for the future but learning to be happy each day with whatever stage you are in.

This year has been a full one for us all!

You continue to surprise us with the amount of things you know; colours {you know red & purple!}, numbers, letters, songs and words to songs, characters {minnie and mickey mouse!}, you love to jump, run and climb and you HATE being left behind somewhere in the house {upstairs, downstairs, etc.} but you have no qualms about running off in the mall by yourself.
You are a mystery and yet you are predictable.
You are a joy and a challenge.
You are ridiculously cute and cheeky and you know how to do "blue steel" looks on command.
You call Noah "Neeno" but now know how to say "Noah" and also call him your "brutha". It's cute.
You call your Daddy "Daddy" and you call me "Mama", "Mom", "Mommy" and sometimes "A-nessa". Cheeky.
You are determined and creative and I am loving each day of getting to know you more and more.
I pray for you often and hard and I think about who you are becoming and who you will be and how I can help you get to be the man God wants you to be.

Your Daddy and I pray you will come to know Jesus and love Him with all your heart, soul and mind and that you will contend for the faith wherever God leads you.

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

Happy 2nd birthday my sweet boy.
We love you.

sunny days...

2011-07-29T02:03:00.004+03:00

so remember this and this?

we're house sitting just steps away from that beach.

until next Friday.

call me if you want to come visit.

we won't have internet {or time to check. we'll be at the beach!}.

a new take on Christian kids songs

2011-07-28T19:49:00.000+03:00

today while putting Jude down for a nap I was singing "Yes Jesus Loves Me" to him and Noah was nearby and joined in with his own version:

yes, Jesus is creepy
yes, Jesus is creepy
yes, Jesus is creepy
the creepy told me so.

I couldn't help but smile. I don't even think he knows what "creepy" means.

an ode to my jude

2011-07-28T03:35:00.000+03:00

Jude is 4 days away from turning 2 years old.
How did we get here?
How did time fly by so quickly?
I don't know, but I am holding onto each day and trying to remember to live.in.each.moment.
For the longest time every time we introduced Jude, he would get a hearty,

Hey Jude!

with a big smile and usually a comment about the Beatles.
It's a good thing we like the Beatles (and I love that song) and I hope Jude will too because he's likely going to get it for the rest of his life.
So in honour of the Beatles, Jude, and his approaching 2 year birthday enjoy this collection:

love this movie.

cutes patoots. love his pronunciation.

ukulele!

if you watch only one of them, this is the one to watch.

(this one is pure jokes)

hey Jude

I love you.

breakable

2011-07-26T05:01:00.001+03:00

kids are pretty resilient.
but they need some sort of stability in their lives.

it was a long, drawn out, somewhat difficult bedtime tonight but God gave me grace and patience for my sweet boys.
noah looked at some books while i rocked jude to sleep and then i lay down with noah until he fell asleep so he wouldn't be scared on his own.
they are both quiet and sleeping now. i pray they sleep through the night okay.

while i lay there with noah, he and i had another conversation about africa.

n: do aunt heidi and uncle jordi (whose place we are house sitting for now) work at daddy's work in guelph? (the university)
me: yes.
n: but daddy doesn't work there anymore.
me: you're right.
n: why?
me: because we're going to move to uganda and he'll be working there.
pause
n: but why do we have to move to uganda?

oh how my heart squeezes with a little grief as i try to explain to you, sweet boy, why we feel God has called our family to move to uganda. away from what we know. to something different.

oh how my heart is excited for all that you (we) will experience and how it is going to be so worth everything we are "giving up".

He is worth it. all of it.

i pray that you will know this and experience this. with all my heart this is what i pray for you and your brother.

photo credit

photo shoot

2011-07-22T22:00:00.004+03:00

oh heat wave. you are hot. and wavey.

anyway, so apparently we picked the hottest day for a photo shoot. outside. with the humidity it was 46 degrees celcius (117 degrees farenheit!).

yikes.

oh. and i forgot jude's shorts at home. and all my bribery snacks.

sigh.

but we still went out (jude in pajama shorts) and braved the weather.

dang.

it was hot.

and my sister did such a great job - especially with two moderately grumpy kids and all of us being generally hot and sweaty.

we will likely try again before jude's birthday party, but for now, enjoy this little beauty:

"blue steel" (too bad jude didn't participate - he's got a killer blue steel look)
(also, i really want this to be the picture for our prayer card. but it probably won't be. because while my jawline looks incredible, there are far cuter ones of the kids and jamie.)

my random life

2011-07-22T21:25:00.000+03:00

just now i walked into my room to find noah in his "quiet time" sprawled on my bed with books covering his entire body - even his head.

he peeks out from under the books and says,

mom, i'm not done yet.

i tell him i know and asks him if he wants some music. he says yes. and then he says,

and then go back out, mom.

well alrighty then.

i ask him what he's doing and he says,

being quiet.

um, okay. sounds good to me. strange child.

also this happened today:

and i wish i had my camera with me last night at 10pm at the beaches jazz festival. noah was shaking his booty and grooving to all the big band jazz. it was awesome.

the kid has some sweet moves!

share the love

2011-07-21T15:48:00.000+03:00

farmer's tans.

no, scratch that. i don't love farmer's tans.

but both my boys have 'em.

because they're almost always in a t-shirt.

hence, my love for sleeveless shirts.

and specifically for younger kids - rompers.

oh my heart.

on a day like today (yeah, it feels like 46 degrees with the humidity) noah is in a sleeveless top and jude is in a sleeveless romper and i.love.it.

i think 2 yrs might be the longest i can push the romper on jude, but dang! so cute!

Old Navy

Carter's

love.

what are some summery things you love?

get on your boots

2011-07-20T20:33:00.000+03:00

tomorrow my sister (the lovely and talented photographer that she is) will be doing a family photo shoot for us before we move.

thanks to Pinterest (oh Pinterest, you are full of lovely ideas and a very good time waster.) i found some inspiration for some poses, props and outfits.

love the apples and the red barn background.

ties! love.

oh this looks like such a fun family.

the setting + their outfits = awesome.

so this morning i took the boys to Good Will to see if i could find any treasures.

it took some searching and if you've got young kids {ahem...boys} you'll know what it looks like to "search" in a store {basically it looks like racing up and down the aisles as fast as possible while at the same time keeping your eagle eyes on the lookout while also sweet talking your kids into behaving and engaging with them to see what they can find - my boys liked the hats and the little animal nicknacks.}.

in the end, i think i did come out with some great finds.

i got 2 dress shirts - one for each of the boys; we'll roll up the sleeves for a beachy look - both from old navy as well as a pair of gorgeous brown ankle boots for me (for $9!).

i know. ankle boots aren't really summery but i honestly could not resist. i've got some plans for these babies and our photo shoot tomorrow.

now to prepare my kids. you can dress 'em up, but you can't make 'em smile.

but we can definitely be flexible and have fun.

so hopefully we get the fun and the smiles.

here's hoping!

more noah funnies

2011-07-18T04:29:00.000+03:00

today during the boys' bath time, noah and i got talking about men and women and being married.
it went something like this:

n: and one day when i become a man i'll have kids too!

me: well, if you want kids, you'll have to get married so they can have a mommy.

n: so i'll marry you!

me: aw, that's sweet noah, but i'm already married to daddy. so you'll have to marry someone else.

n: what about auntie jen?

me: *laughs* nope, she's married to uncle graham.

n: what about miss jen?

me: nope. she's married to mr. nick!
*pause*
you know how you have friends like hannah b and hannah t and leah? well when you become a man, they will become women. so maybe one day you'll marry one of them.

n: yeah. like hannah t.

noah thinks about this for a bit longer and then becomes distracted by jude playing with the bubbles. jude flops on his belly in the bathtub and laughs. noah does the same and laughs as well.

n: i think i'll just marry jude.

oh kids. i love their innocence. i love the lack of filter. i love being a mommy.