Most Changed Baby

When I am away, I always wonder how the babies will change. I came back this time to find that ALL of them had grown! How crazy what a difference three and a half weeks makes in the lives of little ones. 

This time, the most changed baby was Joseph. He had grown a bit, enough to be a notable difference, but the biggest change in this little guy was in his development. 

When I left, he was still very much an infant. When I came back, he was a little baby...complete with smiles, coos and a little personality! I had seen a glimpse of that a few weeks before I left, but I was surprised to see the little boy when I returned. What a little cutie!! He loves to play, he reaches out and grabs for toys to hold, laughs at loud singing and bubbles, and still loves to be held!

Being away always makes you notice things. You see the ordinary with fresh eyes. I came back this time to see that the older babies (Elizabeth, Jeremiah & Kate) have turned into full-fledged toddlers, the middle babies (Eli & Hope) have become big babies, and the infants (David & Joseph) are no longer infants. What a blessing to watch all these kids grow! 

Baby Success Story - Soni

Pretty little Elizabeth Mothoni (Soni) was reunited with her mother while I was away in America. 

This is a good thing. She was taken from her mother and her mother was put in jail for "neglect." The sweet thing did not look neglected, and as we learned the story, it was most likely a disgruntled friend or family member looking for an excuse to cause problems. The mother did leave Soni in a bar...but it was with her father. (This is not uncommon Kenyan woman behavior, trying to get the father to help with responsibility.) 

When the mother was released from jail, she immediate came looking for her baby. THAT was actually a surprise and proof that the mother does love her baby and wants her. In this country, that is a GOOD THING and we are happy to reunite this little girl with a mother who loves her. And based on Soni's previous condition and well-being, as well as our social worker talking with her mother, we do believe this is a positive move. We are happy and blessed to have been able to hold this precious baby until her mother could take her again. 

Thank You, God, for your work in Soni's life and for allowing us to show her Jesus for the month she was with us. Continue to bless her throughout her life and make your love and provision known to her and her mother each day.

Meet the Staff - Maggie

Maggie is one of our new additions since moving to Nakuru. She is a lovely lady.

Maggie was initially hired as our household assistant, doing cleaning and laundry. However, we soon noticed her gift in caring for the babies and moved her to the position of baby caretaker. From the very beginning, she was so comfortable with the babies and very interactive with them. She is a true natural when it comes to little ones. Her grace and softness is perfect for the babies. She loves them, and they love her. 


I first interviewed Maggie at my house a few weeks before moving the babies to Nakuru. As she sat on my couch, so timid and sweet, Nelly had to interpret when the conversation got too advanced for my limited Kiswahili skills. That was a few short months ago and now there is no need for any interpretation for Maggie! I'm still not sure if she really needed it then or not, and I tease her about it often. Either she was just too shy and hesitant to speak English (which I totally understand), or she is a really fast learner.


We love having Maggie on our staff! She truly brings joy to the house each day. She loves the Lord, loves the babies and it shows!

Girls' Getaway to Sedona

The reason I went home so early for Kris's wedding is so that we could take a girls' getaway trip. It was hard to leave Julia for so long, but I really wanted to have time to hang out with Kris before the craziness of wedding week. 


When we were thinking of where to go, Arizona never entered my mind. We wanted a spa type weekend where we could relax. A beach trip was kind of out because it would have been in the middle of hurricane season, and being from the Gulf area that's always on our minds as a consideration. We both love big cities, Chicago, NYC, but didn't want the hassle of the hustle and bustle of a city. Napa Valley was a consideration, but....I'm a missionary, on a missionary "salary," and didn't want to spend my life savings on a five day spa retreat. 


So, Kris (or Barry, actually) thought of Sedona. My first response was something like, "Um....no," but after seeing a few pictures and some of the spa resort links Kris sent, she sold me on the idea. And I am glad she did. I must say that my perception of Arizona was a bit skewed. Obviously, not all of it is flat, dusty, cactus sprinkled desert. 

Sedona was beautiful! And, despite the fact that I spent half the time on the phone getting/giving updates on my mom, we had a wonderful time!

  
We did spa treatments each day, which were fabulous!

And we spent some time shopping in the cute little quaint shopping square. Sedona sits in a valley type thing with the big red rocks surrounding it. It was a beautiful atmosphere and gorgeous weather. 

And of course, Kris had to do a little geocaching. She couldn't find this one...

We did a Pink Jeep Tour into the red rocks. Absolutely beautiful!

It was great to spend time together without agendas and to-do lists. Lots of time to sit and enjoy the views. Arizona wasn't what I thought it was. Well, this part at least. 

My Best Friend's Wedding

Bestest Friends - SO glad I could be home for her wedding!

Bridesmaids were me, our friend, Kirsten, and Barry's sisters, Twyla and Pam

Barry's friend, Ron, and I praying for them, one of the most precious moments I shared with my best friend and her husband. Truly an honor. 

 The sunshine was remarkable. God's blessing shining down on Kris & Barry. Beautiful!

I wouldn't have missed it for the world, Mrs. Heslop! I love you guys!

Well, I Didn't Do So Great....

I WAS doing good at keeping the blog updated....and then chaos hit. :-( These were honestly, perhaps the hardest few weeks of my life. If it says anything about them....I went to America for over 3 weeks and actually LOST weight! That just does NOT happen! 


I am back home (for 2 days now) and life is beginning to get back on track.


The babies did fine while I was away and I was SO happy to see them! And of course, happy to see my baby Julia meet me at the airport, too. It was one of the most special moments ever. Over three weeks away from my baby was TOUGH, even without all that transpired while I was home. It is GREAT to be back with her.


Kris's wedding was absolutely beautiful. I am so grateful that I was able to be there to share it with her. She and Barry are now enjoying their honeymoon in the Cook Islands near New Zealand. She has even texted and emailed to make sure I am still alive after an eventful few weeks. I love her so much and am so happy for her and her new husband! They are amazing!


My mom went home from the hospital on Tuesday. It was quite an ordeal;  three weeks filled with worry, confusion, frustration, fear, and sadness as she was not able to attend Kris's wedding. The doctors continued (and continue) to be at a loss as to why she took (or is taking) so long to recover from a concussion. None of them have ever seen anything like it. However, on Sunday and Monday (2.5 weeks) she was able to walk a few steps without fainting, so she was released Tuesday morning. She is still terribly weak, as is to be expected after three weeks of no activity. She is receiving physical therapy at home and was able to walk 30 steps yesterday, up from 15 steps the day before. She is also able to sit up for most of the day now. Please continue to pray for her full recovery and that there will be some answers as the initial cause and probably of recurrence.


Okay...NOW, back to regular posts....REALLY! 

Please Pray for My Mom

I mentioned a few days ago that my mom had an accident and is not doing too well. She fainted, fell and hit her head and has not been doing well since then. That was Wednesday of last week. She is still in the hospital. 


She is better, but still not able to sit for more than a few minutes and she is not able to stand without fainting. She is in severe head pain, which is to be expected, but it drains her energy terribly. Between that and the drugs, she is only able to stay awake for a few hours of the day. She is mentally alert, as much as to be expected for a concussion. She knows what is going on and knows details (like asking me about the preparations for Kris's shower) and she remembers most things (like her trip to Kenya a few weeks ago), but she still has trouble with some random facts like where she was born and what year it is. Those type of things come and go. All typical of a concussion. 


I would ask you to please pray for her. Pray that:
- the doctors would figure out what is causing the fainting, 
- her head pain would cease, or at least decrease,
- she will regain strength and be able to support herself while sitting,
- for peace and comfort when she realizes she will not make it to Kris's wedding (and the same for me and Kris!!!)


I must say that I am so thankful for God's timing and for the time my mom had with Julia in Kenya. I am thankful that this did not happen while she was in Kenya. We were so blessed with an amazing time together! She absolutely adores Julia...and visa versa! And I am thankful for the healing my mom has already received and the healing that is yet to come! 


Here are a few pictures of Julia and Nana's time together...

Wordless Wednesday - Little (Honorary) Flower Girl

Auntie Kris ordered her flower girl dress before we knew if Julia would get to come to America or not. She still gets to be in Auntie Kris's wedding as an "Honorary Flower Girl." :-) 

WHAT A WEEK!!!...nope, TWO Weeks!

Well, I have been a bit busy and obviously haven't posted in a long time. Oops!


But to recap, let me just tell you about the past two week. It's been pretty crazy. Here are a few highlights. (Or a lot.)


* I was working early the week before last to prepare to leave the baby house and the ministry. That takes a lot, but it is a bit easier this year as I now have George, my assistant. Still, making sure all bases are covered while I am out of the country and ensuring that things are in place enough to carry ahead with ministry and the process of preparing the babies for adoption eligibility is quite a task. 


* I was spending the middle/end of that week mentally preparing (or practicing the art of avoidance) to leave my Julia. That was SO not fun. In July, I had started preparing myself for the possibility of leaving her, but I had no choice. I was not about to miss my best friend's wedding! But leaving Julia is one of the hardest things of my life, if not the hardest. But, doing the responsible motherly thing, I pulled myself out of the abyss of denial and dutifully packed her bag and prepared her for her trip to the Ingram's house. (She is staying with some amazing friends whom she LOVES.)


* The end of that last week was spent scurrying around and doing all the last-minute preps and packing for my trip to America. Nana and Julia and I spent our last day hanging out in Nairobi and enjoying being together. 


* We left on Friday, Sept 24th. And here, I must stop and notably give myself kudos for walking out of the Ingram's house, leaving my baby, on my own two feet! No one had to carry me out kickin-n-screamin. That was better than I expected. I held myself together until I hugged her goodbye, gave her a kiss, handed her to Florah (the Ingram's oldest daughter), told her "I love you. Go slide with Moses and I will be back very soon." We won't mention the hyperventilating and incessant sobbing that overtook me the moment I walked out of the room. That was absolutely the hardest physical act I have ever had to do and it actually hurt! My heart literally hurt for hours afterwards. But I did it! And I survived. And so did Julia. 


* The rush of mixed emotions continued as I reached Houston. The tears flowed once again as I recognized the reality of landing in America without my little girl, something I really did not believe I would have to do. Once again, it hurt. But that sadness was replaced by excitement when I saw my best friend and my dad waiting for us as we came out into the muggy air of Houston. I was SO excited to finally see my friend, the bride-to-be with the big shiny rock on her finger and glow on her face. (Okay, the glow was probably her freshly highlighted, wedding-ready hair, but she still looked great.)


* The next few jet-lagged, reverse culture-shock days were a bit exasperated by changes at hand. You might be surprised to know that this girl of many life changes over the past few years, really does NOT like change! I am a "comfort zone" kinda girl. Kris's house is my American home. We were roommates for 5 of the 7 years I lived in Houston before moving to Africa. When I sold my house to go to Kenya, most of my stuff went right back into Kris's house. She was planning to get new living room furniture and other stuff, so she sold hers and was going to keep mine until she decided. She never did that, so each time I go home, I really do go "home." My clothes still in the closet, toiletries in my bathroom, piano in the front room, dishes in the cupboards. Well, in preparations for the fiance moving in, changes must be made. With a house already full of two people's things, room had to be made for a new resident, so my parents took most of my things to their house. Kris has been busy over the past year clearing things out, cleaning, organizing and getting ready for her future husband! The house looks GREAT, but for the familiarity-loving, over-attached, change-hating me, it took a few days to get used to. I'll partially blame it on the jet-lag and travel emotions, but it did take me a few days to acclimate to being home this time. Once I did, it was WAY worth it! Seeing Kris take on her new role as wife-to-be is so great. She is doing a great job and I am so excited to see her grow into this. And her house looks fabulous and totally (well, almost totally) ready for the Mr. to move in!

* So, on to last week. My parents went back home on Monday and we had a great day of shopping before they left. A shopping spree is usually on the agenda for my trips back to America. Clothes don't tend to last too long with hand-washing or Kenyan washing machine washes and line drying on the hot, direct equator sun. And...I got to shop for my little girl for the first time! Yes, people send her some adorably cute clothes that I get to dress her in, but this time I got to pick out and buy her some things myself. It may sound shallow, but it was so much fun!  

* As soon as Kris got off work on Monday, the fun began!! I finally got to participate in the bridal fun that a maid of honor should be a part of! And a great way to spend time with my "muchly missed" friend. After our oh-so-important stop for my much-needed Chick-fil-a (the casualty of Sunday being my first day back), we hit the ground running with a visit to the wedding/reception location, stops at a few bridal stores, shopping for wedding accessories, shoes, etc., and a trip to the tailor. It was great to spend some time with my best friend!

* The next day was a day of laundry and more packing followed by more errands and shopping 
when Kris got off work. :) Packing....for what? A GIRLS SPA TRIP!!!  Yes, Kris and I went on a girls' trip to Sedona, Arizona. We spent five days at in beautiful Sedona, watching amazing sunsets, enjoying our phenomenal views of the amazing red rocks, shopping on the quaint little strip, and complete with some fabulous spa treatments including facials, message, body wraps, and head message. Mmm...long needed relaxation! (For both of us!)

* Just as Kris and I set out on our little spa vacation my mom had an accident. She passed out, fell down backwards and hit her head. She had a mild seizure shortly after that. It took a few hours for her to wake up and once she did, she was very groggy, in severe pain, and unable to speak clearly or remember basic facts. Over the next few days, she gradually woke up and began to feel better. I was in Arizona by the time we got the first full report. My mom has had a bit of a history with concussions so we kind of knew what to expect. She is always very slow to come out of anything, and she reacts in extreme ways to medications and sedatives. It takes her twice as long as the average person to come out of anesthesia after a surgery. So, considering what my mom would tell me and knowing that it would take a few days to see how she would come out of this, I opted to stay in Sedona with Kris and try to enjoy our getaway. My whole reason for coming back was to spend time with my best friend before she gets married. In fact, it was my mom who helped me make the decision to come home a few weeks before the wedding, even if I had to leave Julia, to make time for this trip. 

So that's what I did. I stayed in Sedona, spend half the time on the phone, but was able to enjoy my time there. My mom gradually got better and by the time we got back to Houston last night she was tons better. She is able to sit up, she is fully awake (when she is awake), she knows most basic facts, recognizes anyone who comes to visit her and she is fully aware of what is going on. Unfortunately, she is still not able to stand without blacking out. The doctors believe that this is still related to her concussion. As soon as that is taken care of and she is feeling up to traveling, she will be heading back to Houston to help us get this wedding show on the road!

Meanwhile, I am working towards a shower for Kris this weekend and preparing for hosting the rehearsal dinner, and of course, missing my Julia and the babies at the baby house SO MUCH! Lots of fun to look forward to before I head back to Kenya in less than two weeks!!

Now....back to regularly scheduled blog postings....