friday links

this morning i threw jude's beloved bunny in the wash thinking, if i do it now, it'll be washed and dried by the time his nap rolls around.
and then our inverter went on the fritz and everything connected to our inverter stopped working. like the washer. we called our handy electrician friend who said he'd come by around "mid-day" {noon}. we went out to run a few errands. came back, ate lunch and then it was time for naps and jude's bunny was still sitting in the washer; soapy and wet.
i convinced him to lie down and told him that he'd have to nap without his bunny. he didn't cry, but he did tell me {repeatedly} that he missed his "bun-bun" and wished he had his bunny back. and then he napped. for a good {almost} 2 hours. woohoo!
by the time he woke up, our inverter was working, bunny had been washed and was in the dryer. jude was happy. so was i.

anyway, here are some links for you to enjoy this weekend!

already thinking about mother's day? here's a fun-looking craft for the mom who is a goddess in the kitchen!

this.looks.amazing. please make this today. or this weekend. or just...soon.

this is a fun craft you can do with kids and it's from a blog i've recently discovered and subscribe to.

addicted to instagram? i think i might be if i had a smart phone. here's a review on a bunch of really cool and fun-looking products you can make with your instagram pictures. {i also just found her blog and am now subscribed to it. love these aussie bloggers!}

i am addicted to this website. gorgeous nursery themes for your baby or toddler. love, love, love all of her themes!

and an article i came across this week and was so refreshed by. on finding and receiving grace - especially in those early years of motherhood.

happy weekend!

traffic cop

so i got pulled over today.

we were driving to my friend kelly's house today to hang out with her boys and there is this one spot that i've almost always seen a traffic cop standing at, pulling people over. i've gotten pulled over once before and the cop just checked my license and wished me well.

not so today.

i was polite and gave my license when the cop came to my  window and asked me for it. then she proceeded to ask me to put on the brakes and checked my lights. then she came back and proceeded to ask me to put it in reverse to check my reverse lights. then she told me she was going to write me a receipt {ticket} because my back tires were not filled enough. i politely said that i was not aware that this was an illegal offense in uganda.
she told me she could "park my car" right now or write me a receipt and hold onto my license until i went to the bank and paid it and then i could pick up my license at the police station. i told her that i would be happy to go to the station and she could write me the receipt and i would pay the ticket there. she repeated what she had already told me.

she left to go back to her other traffic cop buddy and so i called jamie and told him what was happening. noah asked me why she had pulled me over at this point and i {somewhat bitterly} replied that it's because i'm white and she thinks i have lots of money to give her.
she came back with an official receipt book and showed me that my offense was {on the back of the receipt} for not having a car that was fit for driving on the road.

at this point i was getting frustrated and feeling taken advantage of and again said that i was not aware that my tires were less than full and that i did not know that this was an offense that would get me a ticket. she then started saying that my brakes lights were out and reverse lights are out and this and that {she started pointing to random things on my car} and that my seatbelts - oh no, you're wearing your seatbelt. i told her that of course i was as it was unsafe not to {me being a smartass}.

she kept saying that she would write me a receipt, etc. etc. and then finally {i admit, with frustrated tears in my eyes} i told her to write me the receipt as she was leaving me no choice and i had two small children with me and had no other options. she just looked at me and then said,
you go to a gas station and buy new tires. i am forgiving you this time. but you go get those tires replaced.


i took off as soon as she gave me my license back before she changed her mind.

these are my tires when i got home today {no filling with air, no replacing.}

front tire

back tire

um? how are my back tires flat? yeah. she was totally looking for a bribe and to take advantage of the white woman. i was so angry when i got to kelly's house and looked at the tires for myself.

so this is life here in uganda. bribes are expected but today i'm glad i fought the system and also didn't get a ticket while i was at it.

water

on saturday i posted that we had no water on facebook. a friend commented that soon i'd be hearing from all the other missionaries about "this one time we went 7 days without water". {luckily no one did make a comment in that vane.} little did i know that we'd end up going over 5 days now without water.
we buy our drinking water, so please don't fret that we're about to all keel over and die from dehydration, but still.
i never realized how much i use water. and how much.
to do dishes. to wash my hands. to cook with. to flush the toilets. to brush my teeth. to shower {yeah, i stink pretty bad. one shower in 5 days in africa? have i crossed the line of TMI on my blog yet?}. to wash my hands {while prepping food, after changing diapers, coming in from play, washing hands all.the.time.}.
and now apparently the problem has been "fixed" {they were fixing some water main in our area or something?} but we still don't have water.
i think of most others in this city and country who {if they even have access to clean water} have to walk some ways to fill up containers and then walk back with their heavy container, full of water.
yesterday our power went out as well. and then at night. and then today again. {on and off throughout the night and day.} and i think,
what is God trying to teach me? 

i met with another missionary who lives nearby us and works in the same ministry as we do. her and her husband have been here for many, many years now and she said something to me,
we weren't called here to live a convenient life. that's not the life God has given us. 

i'm not here to live a convenient life. i'm not on this earth to live a convenient life. i believe God is slowly {sometimes it doesn't seem slow enough} stripping away the things in my life that i depend on. the main thing that sticks out here is all the conveniences i've been used to for the last 30 years.
a part of me wants to cry out,
isn't it enough that i've left behind family and friends, my home church and sidewalks, starbucks and libraries? parks and safe driving? isn't it enough? 

i think the answer {for me, at least} is that it isn't enough until i treasure Jesus Christ above everything else in my life. more than water or electricity, sidewalks or libraries. more than friends and air conditioning. i need to treasure Him in such a way that it is noticeable to everyone around me.
and right now He's showing me that i don't. 

but he is good. and merciful. and patient.

Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

but i'm still praying the water comes on. soon.

confessions of a young mom on sunday

today i went to church {as in, i entered a church building} for the first time in at least 2 months.
i know.
but church is hard. at least, i find it really hard here.
in canada, we entered our church to familiar, smiling faces. we didn't stick out like sore thumbs. we promptly dropped off our boys in their safe, incredibly creative and age-appropriate children's church classes.
then we would often happily chat with a friend or two in the lobby and walk in to find a seat to familiar songs to worship to. the sermon would usually be thought-provoking and Bible-based. then we would pick up our boys afterward, chat with friends until the lobby cleared and we would drive home or to a friend's house for lunch.

in uganda, we drive to church and immediately heads turn when we pull up. we are muzungus. white people. the boys are often happily greeted by ugandans with good intentions, but it's often too much - especially for noah - and i have to keep reminding them to say hello and be polite and not be rude or grumpy.
we somehow corral the boys into a pew and try to keep them from crawling all over the ground that's covered in a fine, red dust. they are up and down and fighting with each other and i can barely pay attention to the song that's being sung. then children are dismissed to their classes and i walk with the boys to theirs. they are expected to sit for the remainder of the time listening to a lesson or colouring. maybe they sing a song or two. the doors are left open to the courtyard, which leads to the parking lot. i stay with them because they'd run out in a heartbeat if i left them.

today we went to a different church that we could walk to. at our other church we were one of a few young, white families. at this church? out of at least 200 kids in their children's church, they were the only white kids. we were stared at. pointed at. giggled at. but the lesson was told much more engagingly for the boys' age despite being expected to sit for the entire time.

today was better. and i'm betting it's not necessarily because of the lesson {although it was so much better by leaps and bounds than any other lesson i've heard for kids since being here}. it was because my reason for going was different. today i went for my kids.

we are not in canada. we are in uganda. it is good to go through hard things. it is good for the boys to learn to deal with stares or "standing out". it is good for us to show our boys that church is an important part of our week. it is good for me to go. if only for the sake of my children.

lemon poppy seed pancakes

yesterday was pancake tuesday!
did you eat pancakes? we sure did.
i made our favourite banana pancakes as well as trying out a new recipe; lemon poppy seed pancakes! they were delish. i wish i knew where i got this lemon poppy seed recipe so i could give credit, but i don't know or remember. {please let me know if you recognize this recipe as yours!}

lemon poppy seed pancakes
aka pure deliciousness
2 cups unbleached ap (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup poppy seeds
zest of 4 lemons
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted

butter, to serve (and for pan)

to make the pancakes combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl. 

in another bowl the buttermilk, eggs, butter, lemon zest and poppy seeds. 

add the wet to the dry. stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don't want to over mix.

heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet. wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. repeat with the remaining batter. 

right now? i'm sitting in my living room with the smell of freshly cut grass, trying not to be angry with the stinking power company who has again shut off our power {after almost 24 hours of no power and no power the night before that either}. sigh. this is africa.

i think i'll go enjoy a leftover pancake.

and watch this video {please watch it here on hulu if you live in the united states as the quality on youtube is ridiculously bad}:

ps i totally heart kristin wiig.

3 great finds

we went to the mall today. my main goal was not accomplished {to buy a potty for jude, but that's another post} but i did find a few other exciting things. you really just never know what you'll find {or not find} here in kampala.

corn flour {it's what they call corn starch}! plain cheerios! coconut!!!
oh the things i can make now!
this is the first time i've seen coconut here {aside from the whole coconut} and i'm really excited to make some sort of granola bar/energy bite for me and the boys to munch on this week.
and corn starch!?! now i can bake shortbread! i'm super pumped.
and plain cheerios. oh cheerios, i'm so sorry i took you for granted in canada. you are delightful and a perfectly wonderful thing to snack on. and to find them at 9,000UGX was very exciting. granted, that's like $4, but it's a lot better than $10! also? a lot healthier than the "loopy nuts" we've been buying for the boys to munch on.
another solution to my morning breakfast woes? flavoured milk in my cereal. i have sorely missed eating cereal for breakfast as the milk here just tastes a bit different. it's fine in my tea or coffee...but in my cereal? it's just not super-amazing. also, cereal is expensive here. so this week i'm trying vanilla-flavoured milk in my rice krispies.
anyway, it's truly the little surprises that can make a day here. i'm learning to look for them, name them, and be thankful.
{and in the future, i strive to never complain about the things i can't find in a canadian grocery store.}

i flop my legs over the side of the armchair when the night comes. 

heave a sigh.

it's so hot. i miss the rainy season.

rejoicing when power comes back on so we can all sleep with the fans on. full blast. 

i take a shower before bed to wash off the yuck and dust from the day. 

this morning it's grey. cloudy. thunder rolling in the distance.

could rain be coming?

the wind picks up and blows through the open windows in my living room.

and then...

the rain.

it's been 6 weeks without rain. 

but it comes 

lightly at first in drizzles and pitter-patters and then a bit harder - large drops splashing off our faces upturned with smiles and laughter

and then tapering off to a light drizzle. 20 minutes of rain. 

beautiful.

break down

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.

just another friday morning

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.

jinja

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!

the one where a milk truck almost falls on me

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.

whether the weather...

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.

giving thanks for the ugly

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?

how to take a cold shower

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.