You got your shop on!

Wow!  We are overwhelmed and so thankful for your response to the Kenyan Teachers’ Wish List! We still have a few remaining items that haven’t been purchased: 2 packs large plastic stringing beads (about $7 at Michae~taken by Rosie 10 bottles washable paint~taken by Rosie 6 Books of various themes (family, colors, shapes, time etc) [...]

Are we really doing this?

Ian here, sometimes I get a bit of inspiration and hop on here to share my thoughts.  Today I was woken up way too early by a text message from teacher Mercy and have spent the morning working with her to finalize a few things.  Why?  Because she has been frantically working to get everything [...]

Ameena

Today we celebrate one wonderful year of having Ameena in our lives.   What a full year this last one has been.  Being pregnant while living in Africa was interesting.  I felt healthy, but had more physical symptoms than with any of my other children.  Crazy high blood sugar that I monitored much less than I [...]

Farewell

Goodbyes are a big deal in Kenya. Through out the 15 months that we were in Kenya our family was able to learn about the importance of a proper farewell to Kenyans. Of course we’re talking about a going away aka tea party. Of course there will be presents. Of course a ridiculous amount of photographs will [...]

A how to lesson

I’ve posted in the past about my love of kangas & how Kenyans use them to tie babies on their backs.  Because some of you asked to see what it looked like to balance the baby on the back, I took a few pictures about a week before we were due to come back home [...]

I am not lost

Habari ya siku mingi!  Do you remember me posting in the past of the Kenyan saying, “You’ve been lost” when you haven’t visited someone for a long time? Well, I know that I haven’t visited my blog much in the last few weeks, but rest assured, I am not lost from it. Life has been [...]

My grand idea

Most of you who knew me back home know that I love a good deal. Garage sales make me happy.  Especially when you score the ones where the people just want to get rid of things…for crazy prices. We’ve collected a LOT of things while here in Kenya.   Some of it basic household items, some [...]

The morgue

If you’re a facebooker and follow the Karibu Centre posts or see my status updates then you will know that on Monday we got the devastating news that one of our vulnerable pregnant moms had a nonviable baby. She was 40 weeks when she got the diagnosis, a day away from her estimated due date.  She had felt the [...]

Ticket please

We’ve lived here in Kenya now for almost 14 months. I’ve been to the different markets here in Thika plenty.  So much so that the locals all know me and I’m old news.  Gone are the days when everyone would turn and stare, call Mazungu, or try to charge me insane prices for items. But then [...]

Hair

  Ian has always had a special relationship with his hair.  He won’t admit it though.  When I met him in college he had long straight hair that went past his shoulders.  I used to watch him mess with it during chapel.  He’d pull it back into a ponytail and flip it up and down [...]