Quilt

Just finished this quilt and dropped it in the mail today for little Grayson out in Colorado.  It’s such a good feeling to finally finish a project that you’ve been working on for a long time.  Not sure what the next one is going to be…I’m thinking I want to make one of those pallet ottoman things that I’ve seen all over Pinterest?  Just need to figure out what kind of fabric I want to use…always the hardest part for me.

One Week

 In one week we leave for this place: 

 

I'm hoping there will be lots of this along with many orange fantas in a bottle.

 I've gone to Africa now a couple times and one of the things I always look forward to are the orange fantas in a bottle.  Yes, I know that I can get orange fanta here in the US, but I never do because it just isn't the same...the only time I drink it is when I go to Africa and I don't know what it is but it is soooo good!  The only little problem we're going to have this time is that because Scott will be with me I think I'm going to have to watch my orange fanta intake.  Many of you know about Scott's disdain toward any kind of sugary soda...he believes it's morally unacceptable to drink it.  Now, I do agree that it's not good for you and I really do try my best to not drink it, but it is definitely a weakness and a cold orange fanta IN A BOTTLE IN AFRICA is pretty high on my list of weaknesses.  I've already asked Scott what my orange fanta allowance would be and the number was disappointingly low...I know he's only looking out for me and my health, but when he's not looking I may be hoarding orange fantas.  I can totally picture myself hiding a bottle in my backpack to save for a time when he's off doing something else and I have a few minutes to down a bottle...I'm crazy like that.  OH yeah, by the way that's goat on stick in that picture up there.  I know what you're thinking, but it's really good!  We have a couple of really long drives that we have to make and whenever we drive through a town you can always count on people selling stuff, so whenever we make a stop people come right up to the van and you can buy food and drinks.  I was definitely a little hesitant the first time I tried it but it was AMAZING, flavorful and much better than boring chicken which was my other option, and it didn't make me sick so I can't even say how many of those I ate.

So, we'll be in Uganda and Kenya for two weeks and it's going to be a whirlwind of a trip.  Scott and I were asked this past year to serve on the board of an organization called 127 Worldwide that our friend Sara Beth started.  Our mission is to connect people to the needs of orphans and widows around the globe through education, advocacy, and sponsorship.  Currently we have three different partnerships that span across Uganda and Kenya and we're going over to check on each one.  We will have 7 different flights along with 2 long bus rides as we make our way to each location.  It's going to be an exhausting time, but we're so excited about the journey.  First we'll be in Uganda at Acres of Hope which is the same place I visited last year although at that time it was just a large plot of empty land in rural, northern Uganda.  Since my time there last year 4 pod houses have been constructed and the first group of children have moved in just in the last couple weeks!  I can't wait to see many of the same children I met last year!  We'll be helping to furnish the other pod houses so more children can move in and we'll also be working on the child sponsorship program.  In Malava Kenya we'll be visiting Tumaini which is an orphanage for 53 children and a school for 243 children.  We'll be working specifically on addressing some of the needs of the orphanage and school along with the child sponsorship program. From Malava we'll take a small plane down to Nairobi, Kenya to visit the Kibera slum (one of the largest slums in all of Africa) where we have a partnership with Swahiba Youth Network, a large ministry that encompasses several other smaller ministries that outreach to the youth in Kibera. One of which is called the Young Offenders Correction Center and also the Jitambue Project (Swahili for ‘Discover Yourself’) which is an ongoing Teenage Girl Program that currently has 520 girls from 10 High Schools. We are sensitizing, mentoring and empowering these girls, most of whom have gone through tough and traumatizing experiences which include rape, loss of parents, siblings and losing their homes during the post-election violence This is somewhat of a new partnership for 127 WW so we'll be assessing specific needs while also ministering to the youth in Kibera.  Since 127 WW is still so new we also have a videographer coming along with us that will be able to capture on film alot of what we'll be doing in each location so that our supporters here can have a better understanding of each partnership.  I'll actually be working closely with him to make sure we can get specific shots and interviews that can then be used on our website and marketing materials.

One thing I didn't mention is that we are flying out a few days early so that just Scott and I can spend some time in Jinja, Uganda.  We have a close relationship with a pastor that lives in Masese which is smaller slum just outside of Jinja.  There are basically three sections of Masese...1, 2 and 3.  Masese 1 is where Pastor Simon lives and it is by far the worst of the three sections.  I got connected to Pastor Simon and his family a couple years ago and we've stayed in contact ever since.  I was able to visit with him for just a day last year, but this time we're actually staying about 1/2 a mile from his house so that we can spend more time with he and his family and also more time in Masese.  I can't tell you how excited I am about this part of our trip.  I had such a short amount of time with his family last year and I CRAVED so much more and wanted to be able to stay longer and really develop a relationship.  It's so hard to develop a genuine relationship over emails and texts, so my heart is so happy just knowing that we'll get just a little more time with the Muwreza family and I'm so excited for Scott to finally meet them.  We will only have two days with them but Simon is going to show us around Masese and also introduce us to many of the people that attend the church that he has helped to plant there.  We will also be taking about 100 pairs of shoes with us to do a small distribution and would like to also take bibles.  When I asked Simon what were some things that we could bring with us the first thing he said was bibles, that many of the church members don't have one.  So, if you're interested in donating a bible let me know!

Please pray for us if you can.  There are a TON of logistics going into this trip, lots of traveling, crossing over borders, navigating unfamiliar territory, hot days and nights, Scott's fear that I'll drink too many fantas, etc.  We just appreciate all of your prayers during our time away.  Thank you so much to everyone that has supported us financially or donated items for us to take...such a huge blessing to us!!  Thank you to our friend Ben who has SOOO graciously agreed to stay at our house for the first week and watch Murph...Ben, you're a saint, I hope you still like us when we get back!  Thank you to my mother-in-law who said she would watch Murph if we needed her to, but it looks like she's off the hook!  Thank you to my parents who even though I know it's difficult for them to know that we're so far away in a foreign country still support us and are excited for us to have this opportunity.  Oh yeah, I also turn 30 while we're gone...oh my.

Just Life

Well, as usual it's been forever since I posted.  Maybe I need to give up this blog thing because I'm really kind of horrible at it.

Every once in a while though I get the urge to post something, so here's what's been going on the last few weeks.

 This is Murphy a few minutes after puking up an entire bag that he had eaten...along with most of his breakfast that morning.  GROSS!

Made this for my mom for Mother's Day.  It's one of those wreath yarn things from Pinterest.

The beginnings of a new quilt (my cousin is having a little boy).  Doesn't look like much now but I'm excited to see how it's going to look when it's finished! She is going with neutral colors, which there are some in there but I threw in a few splashes of color to brighten it up a little.

Aww...sweet Murphy Man.  Scott is pretty happy about being away from him for two weeks while I on the other hand am going to cry like a baby when it's time to leave him.

That's about all I got.  Not a whole lot going on lately, but it's been good!

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

No, we're not pregnant Mom and Dad.

But, we're going to Africa!!! I've known for a little bit this might be a possibility but I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure that we're (meaning Scott and I both) going to Africa in June...I can hardly stand it I'm so excited!!! Truly such a blessing that God has allowed me to go to Africa three times in the last three years...honestly it's difficult to put into words how I feel each time I get the opportunity to go, but even more so that Scott and I get to go together. It's such a strong desire within my heart to be in Africa and be able to visit the orphanages and help to advocate for the orphan that I truly feel so blessed every time I get to go.

So, we leave for Uganda June 13th and will spend the first few days kind of on our own in Jinja before we meet up with my friend Sara Beth and also another good friend KB and small team of students from Louisiana College (KB is the student activities director there). We'll then head up north to Nebbi which is where I was last year...spend a few days there checking on Acres of Hope then we'll drive over to Kenya where we'll stay at an orphanage and check on some more projects.

So, some business we need to attend to immediately, is fundraising. I still have a TON of these as well as some bags and other stuff that I brought back home with me from last year's trip that I need to sell ASAP to help raise funds for this trip. Seriously, I probably have about 100 of these in all different colors and lengths. They make great necklaces or bracelets which is usually how I wear mine, just wrapped multiple times around my wrist. They're such great gifts and have a really unique story behind them. About half of the ones that I have were made by women in the Masese slum which is actually where we'll be spending most of our time when we're in Jinja. We have a dear friend who is a Pastor in Masese and when he heard that we were coming last year he got several of the women together to start making beads so that we could purchase them when we were there. So, the money that we gave them to purchase the beads was actually divided up among several women in the church to help support their families. We bought out everything they had and then I bought some more in one of the markets. So all of these beads are handmade and they really are beautiful. They sell for $15 each.



I also have some really cool bags/purses that I'm selling for $30 but I only have a limited quantity of these as well as some fun little coin purse type things for $7...again a limited quantity, so let me know if you want to come by and check stuff out or I can bring some stuff to you!!

Project Grow: Take 2

So you may be wondering, when was take 1? Well, that was last summer's attempt at a complete fail of a garden. Here's why it was a fail:

1. Scott said I should start small and just plant it in this one area that was already kind of under construction since we had just moved in (we're renting an old farmhouse and we tore out a bunch of ugly shrubs).
2. Said area was right next to the side of the house where apparently lots of scary, creepy crawly things like to congregate. Big spiders for instance...just one of many examples though.
3. I don't like bugs, actually I have a SEVERE, UNHEALTHY, FEAR of anything that even resembles a bug.
4. Did you know that gardens possess a ton of bugs? Well they do.
5. Did you know that if you don't water or weed your garden because you're afraid of the bugs that live there that everything planted in your garden will die? Well it will.

That my friends is why my garden failed to yield much of anything last year. Well, I take that back...apparently anyone can grow zucchini in Indiana because somehow we did get a few of those which I of course made Scott go pick or Murph found and got ahold of before we did.

However...

I'm turning over a new leaf this year...I'm trying to get over my fear of bugs. Actually, ok...there hasn't really been much trying on my part but I really do intend to at least take a stab at trying to not be so afraid of bugs. I'm still really excited about having a garden, I have these dreams of warm evenings spent taking care of our garden with Murph laying in the grass just watching and not running off when he's not supposed to which then gives me heart palpitations because I think he's never going to come back. Ahh...it's such a nice dream. Then I wake up and realize that I don't know a single thing about a garden and I need some serious help! So, that's why we're giving the garden to some of my Burmese friends who are amazing gardeners! They're going to plant whatever they want and then they'll have fresh vegetables all summer long. So, Shaw Mo came over last night and we went over to TSC (Tractor Supply Company)...I love this place, you can get pretty much anything! Right now they even have the little baby chicks and baby ducks that you can buy, I was so tempted! But seeing as how we haven't had much success just yet in raising our own chickens I decided to wait until we can reinforce the coop a little better. Anyway...back to the garden. She picked out pretty much every vegetable I know of, and some I don't...what is a Lemon Cucumber by the way? This is everything we planted (sorry for the bad IPhone pic...it was the nearest camera).


Then we got these cool little starter kit things...enough for 144 plants. Since we're trying to save money and start with seeds we have to grow everything indoors first since it's still a little cold to start planting outside.

So, right now everything is planted and we're waiting for sprouts!! I'm not sure how many will turn out but I'm following all the directions to get as many as possible. Once they've all sprouted then we'll transfer them to the actual garden which is going to be pretty big this year, at Shaw Mo's request. Since I've been volunteering with the Burmese families which is going on 4 years now I've always thought it would be so great for us to move somewhere that had lots of land that we could let them have to do whatever they wanted. Many of the families were farmers back in Burma before they were resettled here and I know it's something they really miss. They all now live in the same apartment complex right in the middle of the city which means no land for them to farm, I feel so blessed that we have this land that's not being used and I think they're really excited to be able to have their own garden. We're hoping to get the area tilled up this weekend and I'll post more pics!

KONY 2012

Watch this.

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Vacation, Here We Come!!

I do not like winter. I especially do not like taking Murph outside in the winter and following him around willing him to poop so we can go back inside. Apparently he needs to walk around and decide where he is going to go to the bathroom and these things take time I guess. A LOT of time actually…so much so that this morning I just didn’t have any more time to follow him around so we went back inside. He’ll just have to hold it until Scott gets home and can take him out. Dude has to learn that he can’t just lolly gag around and sniff the entire yard.

Anywho, we’re going on vacation in like 3 days or something! My parents rented a condo in Madeira Beach, FL and asked if we wanted to come hang out for the week…uh, yes please, “have you been in the presence of my husband in the last few weeks…the man needs a vacation”! Poor guy works a bazillion hours at all of the different jobs he has and tax season is just not a fun time for him. So I’m glad we’re going to be able to get away for a week.

Here’s a few things I hope we’ll get to do while were down there:

Lay on the beach
Read some books
Lay on the beach
Read some books

I am going to miss Murph while we're gone, especially after the week we've had. Poor guy has had to go to the Vet way more than any dog should. Finally everything is fine and hopefully we won't have to go back for a long time. It's crazy how attached I am to his goofy self, I know he's a dog but I don't care. He's a sweetheart and he's perfect even in all of his flaws, even when he smells bad too.