Finally, a photo finish....TIK!

FPD...the rest of the story  -  And this was written and ready to go on Saturday night, and the power went out AGAIN. The whole day yesterday and then a surprise flash of it coming on, in the middle of the night, every light in the house and the uncalibrated tv with its loud static. So delayed once again, but here we go....

Really, I did finish and do them on the correct days. But I live in Africa and sometimes life feels as such. Internet went out last Saturday, nationwide. It came back this week but I was traveling and did not have good internet. You want to know why our internet went out in Kenya? A ship dropped its anchor and cut the fibre optic cable in the ocean off the coast. Isn’t that the most random thing ever? When my internet provider told us that it was a nationwide problem, I did not believe them. Until I read on a friend’s Facebook that her internet was out in Uganda because of problems in Kenya. Oh, Kenya. 

So, the finale ~ the completion ~ of my personal challenge to do something consistently for the entire month.... 

FPD #25: Green

Tinkerbelle in an avocado tree. Don’t you see that every day at your house? Julia is in a pretty big fairy phase. Our boys have become quite skillful at fairy play, particularly at hiding them in perfect fairy places. They are such good sports! I found this little surprise in the tree the other day as I was putting the table out under the tree for Maina’s birthday party. 

FPD #26: Night

A bit of a cheat picture. This was actually taken a few weeks before, on February 5th to be exact. My little girl is in love with the moon, and there were a few nights where the moon was just gorgeous. She loved it! And I love the fact that I took this picture myself! It was a total fluke. I tried again the following night and only got a blur of a yellowish moon or a bunch of black. 

FPD #27: Something I ate

A special treat - a turkey wrap. We were in Nairobi on the 28th. And Nairobi is the place we go to eat good food. And Java, which most visitors/mission teams love, gets quite old to Nairobians. But I am not a Nairobian anymore, so it is once again enjoyable And even more enjoyable ~ there are new things on the menu for the first time in a few years! The “new” items are not super new, but I was out of the country for six months so they are new to me. Wraps!!! A turkey wrap! Turkey meat is way too expensive for me to buy so this is lovely treat. What is crazy is that a few years ago I would not touch tomatoes or avocados, both of which this wrap was filled with....and it was delicious! 

A turkey wrap - definitely a surprise treat that I can’t wait to have the next time I go back to Nairobi! 

FPD #28: Money

This picture makes us look rich! Shillings. The largest bill in Kenyan shillings is 1000, which is about $12. Our rent is only a little over $500 per month, but we pay quarterly. And we pay in cash. TIK. This is my baby house manager and social worker counting out rent and monthly shopping money. And I think Kenyans like to count money. So, they count it at least twice, and always sort them into stacks of 10’s. And then count it again. And in the supermarket, they will probably count it again. I think they probably count it about seven times when you are standing in line at Tusky’s supermarket. Thankfully, our girls only counted twice and were on their way to pay our rent. 

FPD #29: Something I am listening to

I listened to this a lot for a few days, but it has since calmed down. This was the day we brought two new puppies and a mama German Shepherd to our house! Our big boy (12 month old Samson) wasn’t so sure about the puppies. And their mama, Ziva, wasn’t so sure about Sam and Lady who already live at our house! It was a bit of a three-ring circus around here for a few days, full of yelps, yaps, barks, growls, and tiny puppy whimpers. 

Now, challenge completed. Back to regularly scheduled blogging programing....

I got a little behind. Actually, the first one I missed was because I didn't want to think about a photo of me, even if it was a favorite. But here it is, I like this one....

FPD #21: A fave photo of me

 This was Valentine's Day last year and I love it because I so clearly remember that exact moment. We had just taken some adorable pictures when I said, "Julia, give Mommy a kiss." She did, with a big hug, then said, in the most animated voice, "We LOVE to kiss!" Such a goofy girl! And as her vocabulary has grown this year, so has her humor.

And I just love this one. :-)

Then, I didn't do last night because there was no stima (electricity). That's a legit excuse, though, right?


FPD #22: Where I work 

in a house full of potty training boys...

with a shamba, where I (the girl who knows nothing about farming) seem to do an awful lot of advising on planning, planting, and harvesting... 

with lots of sweet baby play time... 

 and a search for land and decision making beyond the capabilities of my small brain!...

surrounded by the love of precious babies...

and a few new goats.

And all but two of those pictures were really taken on the correct day. I think I'm doing pretty darn good with the photo challenge.  (Remember, I blamed one of these missed days on circumstances beyond my control.) And remember those expense reports from last week? Finished! This is the month of follow-through! And that, my dear friends, is an act of God. Maybe those New Years Resolutions will be real this year after all. 

Oh, I almost forgot about today's photo. 

FPD #23: My shoes

For that, you can go back to Day 12. I didn't look ahead and I already did this one. 

Handwritten....ahhhh :-)

FPD #20: Handwriting

The handwritten start of my day....journal, memory verse card, calendar to-do list. This is how it works.

I like handwritten things. I still journal every day as part of my prayer and quiet time. I still write in my old fashioned calendar. The iPhone/iPad calendar aps are awesome, but I still like my calendar. And with all the memory verse aps and high-tech ways to memorize scripture, I'm still on the notecard method - and it works for me. :-)

I know it is not clear, but do you really think I'm going to put a picture of my journal writing this morning on the internet? :-)

Phones, lovely phones

FPD #15: Phone (a day late)

Trena + Phones + Kenya = Drama. I can't count how many phones I have had since I moved here. They have broken, been lost, broken, been stolen, broken, had technical difficulties, broken. I've had my share of phone issues.

Some people are surprised by the ease of communication here, the accessibility and affordability of phones and airtime. I tell you, everyone has a phone here. They may not have electricity to charge the phone, or enough money to top it off, but everyone has them. You can buy phones for as little as $10. There are no contracts, and you can buy phone credit in any amount above 10 cents. I have been through my share of cheap Kenyan phones. I guess they simply aren't designed for much use.

So, here is my beautiful ghetto-phone, and I tell you, it is high-tech kind of nice by Kenyan standards! I'm not sure how much longer it will last. It spontaneously turns off every 2-3 hours, the screen flickers off when I press the left side buttons, and the keypad blacks out for a few seconds when I press the right side buttons. I'm just praying it hangs on a few more weeks until I can get my phone that I (er...Kris) ordered on eBay!

And here is the best use of this phone! Julia's lifeline to Nana....and Nana's lifeline to Julia!

"Out of the Blue Clear Sky"

I love George. (George Strait, that its.) And today I found myself listening to George as I was driving out under the amazing African, blue, clear sky.

FPD #13: Blue

So why was I driving out under the beautiful blue sky, you ask? I have been LAND HUNTING!!! Yes, there are BIG things in store for His Cherished Ones!! There will be more to come on that later, but as a side note I will take this opportunity to ask you to please pray for us (especially me, personally) as we set out on this new {ad}venture. Pray that the Lord will lead us to the exactly place He has already prepared for us, and for discernment for me to recognize and hear Him in this process.

And, after spending five hours driving the hot, dusty, DUSTY, DUSTY, DUSTY roads, this exhausted mama's busy day was just beginning! I left the house this morning planning to return home immediately after our MMM (Monday Management Meeting) to get busy on my long list of tasks, including some fun Valentine's baking and making. Well, that five hour land hunt began with a call from the guy during the meeting, so we left after that.

Did I come right home, then, and get busy on my long list of tasks?!?!  Um....no. I'm telling ya, it was a BIG and BUSY day for me and HCO/HOH!  Stay tuned...... :-)

Too much of a good thing?

FPD #12: Inside your closet

Really? Why is this on the list? Who wants to see inside my closet? I don't.

My clothes are actually organized, but you can't tell by the edges hanging down. When I was looking at my closet, I noticed how weird my shoe stackers look. Why on earth do I have 20 pairs of the same kind of shoes?!

TOMS and Crocs. That's pretty much my Africa-wear. This place is DUSTY. The first thing I do when I come home from being out all day is wash my feet and legs. And any house keeper considers it part of their job to wash and clean shoes on a regular basis. That was weird for me, but I totally see the need for it. But washing and setting shoes outside to dry in this hot, intense equator sun is really hard on leather shoes. But, Crocs are perfect for that. Wash-and-wear! And same with TOMS. They are not leather, and they are easily washable.

And of all my Crocs, not one pair of the big, oversized ones that most people think of as Crocs. And I think there are a few cute ones. :-)

And TOMS, though I was resistant to the bandwagon trend of them at first, have become my favs!! Especially the super cute wedges! Totally worth it.

Makes me happy

Oh, yeah. It does....

(Catching up from yesterday. I wasn't able to get on and post. Can I pull the Africa card and say that it was just one of the TIK kinda days?)

FPD #11: Makes me happy

Really, this can make any day better. Well, almost any day.
One of the perks of this place is that I get my favorite drink from a glass bottle. And, oh, pulling that bottle out of the refrigerator and seeing the glass fog up, and then the bubbles fix up. Mmmm....yep, makes me happy!

Bubbles. Fizz. And in my fun cup from home....even better. You can ask Kris and my mom. I am a cup girl. Cups and bags. They all make me happy. :-)

THIS is why I don't do self portraits

Some friends and I went on a little day trip to Nairobi today. We got to pretend we were normal Americans, going to a place in Nairobi that is a very big taste of America. This is where we stock up on all things American. We planned to go to about four different places, but ended up spending the whole day at Village Market. In all the years I lived in Nairobi, I never spent so much time there!

As we were leaving, literally driving through the exit gate, I finally remembered that I was supposed to take a self portrait picture today. Well, there's a reason I don't do these! (And I know I could get creative and think of a different way, but the good ole hold-and-shoot self portrait is what we've got today.) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I usually have a 10 pound camera in my hand. Not so easy to hold. Okay, it's not that big of a camera, but it's still not so easy to hold up with one hand. And it looks really goofy to try to take self shots with this big thing, especially when we were driving through the exit gate.

FPD #10: Self portrait

I tried to take a picture of myself and my friends Haley and Chia. First of all, it just wasn't right. That 10 pound camera thing. I tried to do some "test" shots to see if the settings were right.

 But then we weren't even able to see Chia in the "for real" pictures.

 (I'm not driving here, by the way. Our steering is backwards.)

 And then the big shadow on Haley's face.

So we just gave up.
But at least I'm not giving up on the February Photo a Day challenge!! :-) I'll be back tomorrow....

Karibu!

FPD #9: Front door

Habari ya asubuhi na karibu nyumbani kwetu! (Good morning, and welcome to our home!)

Just a few minutes on Pinterest and my front door is put to shame. But I do like "my people" that greet me at the front door every day. Kenyan doors are not really "pretty." They are definitely built for security, not aesthetics. How pretty can you make metal and bars?! Getting into a door means a lot of clanking, knocking, and banging of metal. No one can sneak into my house! To get from outside, to inside my house and lock the door, there are a total of 9 locks and latches. But it's "home," and I love it!

The Sun

FPD #8: Sun

I tried to find a positive in regards to the sun. I'm not loving it so much right now. But, with the avocado tree, it doesn't seem so bad for a moment.

It is SO hot and dry here. Seriously dry. And I am a West Texas girl saying that. And, I am West Texas girl who was home during the hot drought of this past year. Granted, it is not near that hot here. But the dryness is way more intense here. I can't explain it, but I'm sure it has something to do with the sun. Right? The only thing good I can find with the sun right now is that it is somehow helping my avocados grow!! (That has to be the case, right?)

It is mind-blowing how quickly things dry up here. I am glad tress don't die so easily. Everything else we plant is pretty much gone, or will be soon, but the avocado tree....it's still good! Yay! And when things do dry up here, it affects everyone's lives in very real ways. Water sources dry up and food simply stops producing, and it's not like America where you can still get food at any old store. People suffer in very real ways. They cannot feed their families. People starve. Animals starve.

The sun. It can be pretty harsh! But at the same time, it's life-giving. Isn't that true for so many tough points of our lives? But things rooted deep will continue to grow through the drought and dry times. And eventually, the rains come, God refreshes, and life goes on. And hopefully, we have grown through it.

(And had I known what I would write about the sun today, I would have taken pictures of the dry, dusty Nakuru so you could see how *uh-hm* lovely it is.)

"Stop pushing the button!"

FPD #7: Button

Little Girl discovered the car alarm button. Actually, my wonderful friend, Dennis, fixed it while I was in America and it makes the beep noise now, so it's like a whole new toy.....or thing to annoy Mom with. Little stinker. Can't you just see it in those little eyes?!

Yep, she knows how to push my buttons....and now, the car alarm button.

From morning 'til evening

I'm catching up with FPD today with Day 5 and 6.
FPD #5: 10am

10am - MMM (Monday Management Meeting) I meet each Monday morning with my management staff. We all have our notebooks and calendars out to compare. It is amazing how busy we have become as an organization and how important it is that we meet and plan! Today, we went to a fun little cafe and shared a vanilla cake. I, of course, enjoyed my Diet Coke - with ice, one of the main reasons I chose this cafe today.

FPD #6: Dinner

...but not mine. :-) This is Freddy with the boys' dinner ugali. Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck. This is one (of many) Kenyan food(s) that I will never learn to enjoy. A big blob of bleck. This is maize flour and water boiled into a semi-hard pile of mush that is turned out of the cooking pot and onto a plate in one giant blob. It is served in big chunks, then pinched off, squeezed with your hands and used as a utensil to eat sukuma wiki, a kind of greens. Kenyans LOVE this. It is hands-down the most "Kenyan" food and they don't consider a meal complete without it. (I don't consider a meal with it...unless, of course, I am eating dinner in a Kenyan's home.) So, as usual, the boys are having ugali for dinner tonight.

Catching up....FPD #3 and #4

FPD #3: Hands

I must say that this is one of my favorite things about my job. Sweet little baby hands. These, sweet hands of baby Blessing.

FPD #4: A stranger

Familiar strangers. The ones who walk up and down our street all day, peacefully grazing their cows, often on the flowers and shrubs along our driveway.

February Photo Challenge

I just found this and it looks kinda fun. I want to try to do it. Partially for the photo aspect of it, and partially just to see if I can keep up with it and actually complete it. I am a few days behind, but I'll catch up.

So, here goes....February Photo a Day (FPD) #1: My view today

My view driving from my house to the baby house. I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful place!

FPD #2: Words

My boys' garage.

I love my boys! I love that they now live at my house. I do not love the fact that they are living in my garage. They deserve so much better. But they love it. And it is way better than where any of them had been living before. We just can't wait for my new ministry partners, Andy & Ginny, to get here and find their new house where the boys will live with them!! But for now, the boys are happy. They take great pride in their place. They have made it their own. And apparently no girls are allowed. Good thing. Although Mom does go in every day for room check, especially since we did our thorough cleaning last weekend! (By the way, Maina got a special treat tonight because of his "most improved" housekeeping practices!)