Friday's Favorites - but not everyone's

Our weather here is a bit different than what most of you are experiencing at home in America. We needed a little cool off time, so Susan and the girls decided to set up the little wading pool I found in Nairobi a few weeks ago. 

When I bought it, it seemed like a good idea....at the time.

After the shock wore off, some of them began to enjoy it. It was worth it. 

And then lots of cute cuddle time as they dried off. Thanks, Auntie Jackie for the fun towels! :-)

Friday Fun in Our Flips!

We took some Christmas pictures in the Flip diapers today. Whew! The big kids needed a little play time afterwards. 

The aunties thought I was crazy for letting them play outside in just their nappies! They were terrified that they are all going to get sick. But it is HOT here! (This is our summer time.)

Don't ask why I only have pics of their cute little back sides! I don't know. They just weren't into showing their faces I guess. 

Friday's Favorite - The Best Gift!

I teared up this morning as I put on my favorite piece of jewelry. As I fastened it on my wrist, like many times before, it caught my attention in a special way.

My best friend in the whole world gave me this gift that touches my heart so deeply. We began this journey of His Cherished Ones together and she gave me this James Avery charm bracelet as a reminder of the little lives we are blessed to touch, and those little lives that touch and change our own.

There is a house charm for Haven of Hope Baby Center, and a little shoe for each baby in our home.

As I put on the bracelet this morning I was a bit nervous and apprehensive about our baby house inspection and interview today, and when I saw little Hope’s name, it just put everything into perspective.

Thanks for the reminder, God! And thanks, Kris, for the special gift…that continues to give and bless me every day.

Friday Favorites - Tonight's Julia Quotes

A few of my favorite quotes from Julia...all within the past half hour! (She is 2 years, 2 months) Life with this little girl is an adventure! I just realized it was after 9pm on Friday and I haven't done Friday's Favorites in forever, so leave it to Julia to give some easy material for my favorite moments from this evening.


We are in Nairobi, staying at Hampton House. She was in her bed, supposed to be trying to go to sleep. I was cleaning up in the adjacent dining/kitchen. 


Julia: "Mama, I need you."
Me: "What do you need?"
Julia: "I need chapa." (chapa = spanking)
Me: "Did you get out of bed?"
Julia: "Yes."


Don't you love that innocence?! It is that amazing stage when a child knows right from wrong, is learning about consequences, but has not been tainted by the human pull of lying to cover it up.


A few minutes later the sleep avoidance tactics are still going strong:


Julia: "Mommy, I need water. I need milk. I need juice. I need popcorn." All said back-to-back and very matter of fact. Silly girl.
Me: no reply
Julia: "Mommy, I need water. I need maji (= water). I need water."
Me: no reply. Really, she doesn't. I'm not being mean. She drank a LOT less than an hour ago.
Julia: "Mommy! Mommy's ears...Julia say, 'I need Mommy.'" 
Me: ...Okay, seriously, I have never said that to her. I couldn't stand the ignoring her any longer, I had to clarify what I heard! I walked over to her in the bed, leaned down and said, "What do you need?"
Julia: ...She put her hands on my face and turned it sideways, held my ear with both hands, put her mouth to my ear and said, "I - need - Mommy." 


Hilarious! (I thought so anyway.) Obviously, I was not listening, so she had to tell my ears to tell me to listen???? We do talk about ears....Ears hear, ears are for listening, etc. But I don't know where she got that whole thought process. Kinda cool though.


Aaaand few minutes later....


Julia: "Mommy, where's Daddy? Mommy, where's Daddy? Mommy, where's mine Daddy?" (Over and over and over, actually still going at this very second!) 
Me: "Oh, sweet baby, how I wish I knew!!!!!" (My silent response. She's supposed to be going to sleep so I am verbally ignoring her now. But dang-it, do I certainly have a reply to that!!) She is actually referring to the little Maurice character from her Beauty and the Beast figurines. He is Belle's daddy and she calls him "Daddy." I knew where it was; I had taken it off the bed so she wouldn't play with it, but....if anyone wants to help us find Julia's real daddy, that would be great, too! :-) 

Friday Favorites

So it may not be a great picture, but let me just tell you that this was a most precious moment. 

I have many wonderful childhood memories. Comfort memories. Like pallets on the floor and family movie nights.


I can remember the red, white and navy blue quilt with my parents wedding anniversary date stitched on it spread out on the living room floor in front of the big brown console tv. I know we watched many different movies, but somehow we also seemed to watch the same few more than a hundred times. When it was my brother Kenan's turn to pick, it was probably Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows. When it was my turn to pick, it was usually The Sound of Music or The Parent Trap. 


Last night, I got to make a pallet on the floor with my little girl. Instead of my mom's wedding present quilt, it was the quilt given to me by my mom when I left home and moved to Kenya. Instead of a wedding anniversary date stitched on it, it has a picture of my family on it. Instead of laying the quilt on the short-shag carpet, we laid it on the carpet on the hardwood floor. Instead of lying in front of a big wooden console tv, we were watching on our flat screen. 


But a few things were the same. My mom was still there. And we watched The Sound of Music. And Julia watched and enjoyed it. I got to share a most precious memory and favorite movie from my childhood with my little girl...and my mom.


It was definitely a favorite moment!  

Friday Favorites - I LOVE my Prado!

Let me just tell you how blessed I am to have an awesome car! God gave us this vehicle, a Land Cruiser Prado, that is perfect for our oh-so-wonderful Kenyan roads. 

It came in very handy while we on a little safari in the Nakuru National Park on Wednesday. We came up on a tour van that was stuck in the mud. And, yep. It was the Prado to the rescue! So much fun to be the rescue vehicle for a tour van. 

Friday's Favorite

My favorite bit of GOOD NEWS this week....

We are getting much closer to getting our babies placed for adoption! We have made more progress since we moved to Nakuru than our whole time in Ngong/Nairobi. 

In order for our babies to be registered with an adoption agency and eligible for adoption there are a number of criteria that must be met. One of the crucial criteria are that the babies have a committal, or are officially committed to a registered agency or home. That was a piece of the puzzle that we had not been able to move forward with in our previous district. Now, with the help of a more cooperative and organized district and a social worker who knows how to get things done we are one step closer to that!! 


We received news this week that we have the "go-ahead" to begin the committal process with our babies! That also implies that our district is giving us the official "go-ahead" to continue operating in our district while we complete the registration process. So, as of today our social worker is submitting the committal papers for all eight of our babies!

As a side-note (and very important to me, personally), this also moves me a step closer to being Julia's legal guardian. The childrens officer has also agreed to help push Julia's committal through first and quickly in hopes of processing her fostering papers before I leave for America. She will still not be able to travel with me, but I will legally be her guardian when I leave and can make the choice where to leave her while I am gone. Then, we will be ready to move forward with the permission to travel as soon as I return. Pray this is able to be expidited within the next one month.


Yep, I LOVE good news! And this was my most favorite news this week! 


Another piece of favorite news this week is that my friends, the Omondi's, got the visa for their daughter, Anjela, to travel to America in September! (Remember THIS post and prayer request?) Thanks for your prayers for them. 


And thanks in advance for your prayers for us as we submit the committal papers for our babies! Please join us in praying for quick and efficient processing.

Friday Favorites

My favorite internet purchase ever....wall stickers!

I bought these wall stickers at Fun Decor for Kids.com. They are awesome! They stick well, but are also movable. They have totally transformed our playroom, dining room, the babies' rooms and Julia's room. So much fun!

Friday's Favorite

My friend, Kate, gave me the most awesome gift.  A baby wrap.  Of course I have seen people wearing them, but I had no idea how comfortable and versatile they are! 

 

I have tried a number of different baby carriers, and I have to say I am totally a baby wrap mommy now!  I love this thing!  It can work from newborn to big toddler.  In the past week I have carried Baby David and big Tracy with the same wrap.  

Julia LOVES it! I usually wear her on the back if she is awake, but I use it many times on the front if she is sleeping or I want her to sleep, especially getting her out of the car and going in to the market when she is sleeping.  And it doesn't hurt!  I carried Julia for two hours yesterday and never got tired.  (And if you know me, that's pretty darn good.)

I have this one that Kate gave me, but my girls have now been introduced to it and try to steal it for them to use with the babies.  I am glad they like it, but I am not ready to part with it. If you have ever thought of sending a care package to us, 2.5 yards of jersey knit would be an awesome gift! ;-)

 

Thanks, Kate, for my new favorite thing! I love it!

Friday's Favorite - Flips!

I LOVE our new Flip cloth diapering system!!

 

 

Thanks to Wes and Kailyn Lowe, we got a complete starter set of Flip diapers for all our babies! These are amazing! With a house full of babies (all in diapers), using cloth diapers is quite an ordeal. Needless to say, disposables are definitely not an option here! 

Let me tell you about the Kenyan way of diapering. I know, if there are any men who read this blog, you have just tuned out and well on your way to another site.  But...seriously, this is a GREAT thing for us and I just HAVE to share!

The "diaper" is more like a kitchen towel. No, it is exactly like a kitchen towel.  These particular ones are one and two months old.  You can see how easily they wear out, requiring us to purchase new ones each month. (By the way, we call them "nappies.")

Over the nappy, we use tie pants. I have yet to find any plastic pants here that come close to working. These spoil (oh, look! I'm using Kenyan terminology!), or tear, VERY quickly. The one on the left is less than two weeks old, the one on the right has lasted one month.

The nappy is folded and then wrapped and tucked. Obviously, bulky, not at all form-fitting, and definitely LEAKS!

 

  

The tie pants are tucked behind, then wrapped and tied in the front. I had to work long and hard, along with a few helpful volunteers (like Terry!!) to train our girls to tuck the cloth nappy UNDER the plastic! It seems logical to me, but proved to be quite a chore to convince the staff that the purpose of the plastic is to be a barrier between the nappy and the clothes! I cannot tell you how many times I had to explain that the cloth part gets wet, soaks through, and goes onto the clothes!

 Also, keep in mind that we (or "they," I should say) wash them by hand and hang them on the line to dry. Diapering is a major deal in a baby house!

So...when I was home in December I began researching cloth diapers.  Thanks to so many people who offered advise, I finally decided on Flip diapers.  Thanks, also to Kailyn Lowe who did a LOT of research as well!!  Then, an added blessing: Kailyn and her husband, Wes, offered to buy us a complete starter set of Flip diapers!  

This has been one of the BEST things that has entered our house! It is a HUGE time saver, money saver, energy saver, and clothes saver! Our staff really appreciates them.  And although our babies cannot express themselves in such ways, I am SURE they also love them.  How could they not?!  They seem SO much more comfortable than the Kenyan nappies they had been using.

One more note: Due to the rainy season coming up, we will have a hard time getting laundry done and dried in enough time to reuse.  We would love to purchase a few more sets for that reason, as well as to have enough when we add our next babies.  If you would like to donate towards that, please follow the link at the top of this page.  

I know I just posted about another need yesterday, Elizabeth's therapy. I do not want to always be asking for monetary support, but these are two of our current needs that I want people to be aware of.  That is what it takes....all of us working together to help these little ones who truly depend on us to meet their needs.

Thanks to all of you who help make this possible!  And, thanks to Flip Diapers and Cotton Babies!! We LOVE your product!  (Sorry, I'm not one of those cool bloggers who know how to connect with products and give fun, great give-aways!  But you can go there and find out about them yourself.)

Blessings....