Cough Medicine

We have an awesome
pediatrician here in Nairobi. He always seems to have an opening to get us in whenever we need even on the same day. I called on Wednesday morning to see if he could see Ruth. We were there an hour and a half later. He really doesn't like giving out prescriptions and so he gives us natural things to buy at the store or something to make. He told me to give the kids echinacea and to make this cough medicine for them. I finally got to make it this morning. John went first and downed it; Dinah went second and put up a little fight but finally finished her dose; and Ruth didn't mind it either. We're to give it to them every 4 hours so we've not had another dose yet. This is the finished product.

Here's the recipe for anyone who's interested:

20 ml water (4 tsp)
20 tsp honey
40 pinches tumeric powder (it was about 1/8 tsp)
40 drops fresh ginger root (it was about 1/4 tsp)

I boiled the ginger root in some water until it was soft and then squeezed it to get the drops. (I think I'll boil it longer to get it softer.) Then I mixed it all together and warmed it on the stove. Dinah and John get 2 tsp every 4 hours and Ruth gets 1 tsp.

Smiles

I got some cute pics of the kids this morning so I thought I'd post them while they are sleeping. Enjoy!

John took his turn at feeding Ruth today. It was so precious. He was so patient with her until she got down to about an ounce and then he was done.

She was sitting in her chair eating Cheerios while I was trying to make some cough medicine.

He was standing at the counter eating Cheerios. If I'm in the kitchen, I just about have to have all of them in there with me.

She likes to move her artwork around on the fridge and put all her little magnets around the edges. It keeps her busy. :)

I took this one on Wednesday. My sweet, sweet girls.

Dinah Quotes

"That's a wrench. Daddy has lots of wrenches."

"That bird's legs are gone." We were reading a book and there were 2 birds in the sky. One was flying with it's legs hanging down and I guess the other one had it legs tucked under it.

Nathan and I were talking about how we'd like to have a dog when we were all in the car the other day.
Dinah: "I don't want a doggie. I want a kitty cat."
Daddy: "Mommy is allergic to kitty cats."
Mommy: "They make mommy sneeze."
Dinah: "Daddy likes kitty cats."
Daddy: "Dadddy doesn't really like kitty cats either."
Poor Dinah. Doubt she'll ever get a kitty.

"Are ants boys?"

Dinah to John: "That's not a kiss." They were standing in their chairs in the kitchen looking out the kitchen door (it's a 2 part door, so I open the top part, and they can look out). They were facing each other and giving kisses. It was so cute. I should've grabbed the camera, but didn't think about it. Sometimes they give these lame kisses and so we tell them "that's not a kiss." I guess she picked it up from us.

Happy Belated Birthday, John!

It's so hard to believe it's been 2 years since you were born! What a happy, handsome, healthy, kind little boy you've grown to be! We love you SO much and are so glad you are a part of our family!

No Turning Back

Last night as Nathan was examining John's pacifier's before bed, he found holes in all 3 of them. We had told John before when he was chewing on them that when they got holes in them, we'd have to throw them away. It's not like we can run to Wal-Mart and pick up a new pack. He took John to the bathroom and explained to him what we had told him before about having to throw them away when they had a hole. He then had John throw them away one by one. After the first one, John held my hand as he threw them away. His little lip was just a quivering and his eyes were filling with tears. Almost broke my heart. He was a champ, though. After he figured out he wasn't getting them, he talked in bed for a few minutes, called out for his paci, and then, went to sleep! What a big boy! Now on to potty training! :)

A Double Dose

If anyone is lacking in patience, you can come on over and stay with our 2 and 3 year olds for a few hours. Now that John is talking, he is asking what things are all the time. He will keep repeating what he's saying until you acknowledge what he's talking about. By that point, Dinah wants to know what it is he's talking about. It's definitely teaching Mommy patience. Sometimes I find myself starting to get frustrated and then I remind myself that they are little and are soaking up so much information. How I respond to their questions is also teaching them. So, I shake off the frustration with a little laugh and keep on answering them.

Our Day

Yesterday John didn't feel well at all. For a large portion of the day, he layed on me. He fell asleep on me twice, sleeping a total of 5 hours between his 2 naps. We had planned on giving him his birthday present yesterday morning so he could play with it all day, but when he woke up and didn't feel good, we decided to wait until after Nathan got home. His only symptom was the fever. So we treated it a few time with tylenol or ibuprofen. Thankfully, he's back to his normal self today. Here are some pics from the day yesterday.

He wanted to swing even though he wasn't feeling good, and of course, he asked to go fast. :)

Zipporah hangs up our laundry so nicely. She sorts the big clothes and the little clothes, the socks, and the towels. I just thought I would take some pics while I had the camera outside with me.

She was trying to trace her foot like Auntie Beth showed her how to do. I think it turned out about 10 times the size of her foot. :)

She's gonna be a good Kenyan mommy. She wraps her babies up all the time!

What a pretty smile. She loved sitting in the grass and pulling it up and examining it. Thankfully she didn't try to eat it.

John even helped make his birthday dinner of veggie hot dogs, french fries, and coleslaw. I told you he loves to stir. I think his temp was about 101 in this pic.

Thank you to everyone who sent him birthday cards. Dinah got the top one when Nathan brought them home and opened it before we could stop her. I think she was more excited about John's birthday than he was. :)

We start with cards and read them all. He got some really cute ones. A couple even had kool-aid.

Way to go, Uncle Wes!! He loved the stickers and kool-aid!

He had a whole stack of cards including the ones left by grandparents and Auntie Beth.

Ruth enjoyed the discarded paper. :)

New crocs from Nana and Poppy.

Black and yellow Batman Crocs. He's wearing them right now.

A Kenya shirt and new book from Mimi and Papa. He also got an airplane shirt and a couple pairs of shorts from Auntie Beth. The picture was blurry...sorry!

Uncovering his tool table from Mommy and Daddy. We're hoping for hours and hours of entertainment.

The hat is too big so it keep slipping. :) It was a good pic and then the hat fell.

Ruth wearing the hard hat. :)

All in all it was a pretty good day. We skipped the birthday cake since he wasn't feeling well and was needing Mommy more than he needed a cake. We'll try to get it made tomorrow. :)

Prayer and Praise

Prayer~

Nathan is taking a class at work for 2 weeks on King Air maintenance. Pray for him as there is a lot of info he will be learning.

We have 2 sick babies. Ruth didn't feel well on Saturday and ran a low grade fever. Her fever is gone now, but she still has a yucky cough. John woke up from his nap yesterday not feeling well either. He had a low grade temperature and just kind of layed around on us yesterday afternoon. This morning he's running a temp and just laying around. Poor little guy...what way to spend your birthday. He's sleeping now so hopefully he can fight it off pretty quickly and enjoy the rest of his special day.


Praise~

Our little boy is 2!! What a sweet personality he adds to our family! He's such a little blessing to us all.

We had a great weekend (other than the kids not feeling well)!

We have airline tickets to come home! Woo hoo!

Sunday Sweets is Moving...

...to Tuesday Treats. After this week, I'll be posting on Tuesday instead of Sunday. It's just hard to try to post on Sunday. We're usually busy doing family things. But for this week, I'll go ahead and post.

~Ruth had a cough and low grade fever on Saturday so I decided to stay home from church with her. Nathan took Dinah and John to church and when they came home, they brought me these beautiful flowers. Notice there are no roses...my sweet Hubby knows I don't like them.

~We've recently had some pictures printed and framed. He does such a wonderful job hanging them where I ask and measuring everything so they are even. It's a tough job getting them even because our walls are anything but straight and even.

~I hardly ever have to change a dirty diaper on the weekend. He so graciously takes over this duty for me. What a great Daddy and Hubby!

New Family Picture

It's a May Party!

Yesterday evening we went to For You with our good friends, Kurt, Angie, and Micah Neuenschwander to celebrate John's birthday. It's one of our favorite places to eat because the kids have a great time playing and the food is delicious! Our other friends that came to Dinah's party weren't able to make it since 2 just gave birth and the other 2 families were out of town. We thought it'd be a fun treat to go out.

They bring sliced carrots and cucumbers that have been marinated in some sort of vinegar marinade. Ruth likes to suck on them. :)

Look at this honkin' basket of toys they have for the kids to play with! It's so nice because the kids can run around and play before the food gets there.

Micah swinging John. They have an awesome playground with a huge slide, swings, see-saw, and lots more. John loves playing with Micah.

Trying to get a smiling picture. :)

Oh, the anticipation! :)

By the third try, he had it down pat. He blew both of them out at once!

Check out this "kids" wrapping paper!? Only in Africa!

Yum, yum. Homemade brownies with homemade "black" icing (as Dinah calls it) and chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

Everybody except Ruth enjoying their brownie and ice cream.

Good to the last drop! He had a small amount of Fanta with his brownie and ice cream. Talk about a sugar high! :) He was so sweet asking for it; I just couldn't say no.

Time for presents!

A cool bookbag from the Neuenschwanders so he can be like his big sis.

He got 3 new lift-the-flap books in his new bookbag.

I found these nice number and shape puzzles when I was on Biashara Street a couple of weeks ago. They are handmade and painted. Pretty nice although the pieces only fit in the specific spot they were cut out from.

Famine Relief Trip

I (Nathan) went with a group from our church a couple Saturdays ago on a trip down to the Ukambani area. This area is basically located about halfway between Nairobi and Mombasa. It has been devastated by famine for the past few years. They have not had a decent rain in over four years. Our church has partnered with some other churches in the area to help provide food and seed for these people as the ground is just not producing anything. It was an eye-opener once again to travel to an area outside Nairobi and see the people and how they live in utter poverty. It was such a blessing to see their reactions to us showing up and how they praised the Lord for our giving aid to them in their time of need. I would love to get some videos uploaded to show them dancing and singing...I'll work on that. I just want to say a big "thank you" to our church family at Fairplains Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro, NC for giving a large financial gift to help support the famine relief effort.

This is part of our crew in the van I rode in. It also consisted of me, Ryan, and Julie.

This mosque was in the outskirts of the town of Machakos. It is a constant reminder that Islam is invading just about every country of the world, no matter how "christian" it is. Machakos is were AIM does its ABO (Africa Based Orientation) and where Scott Theological College is located. It was just a few minutes away from where we began our journey.

Here is a small roadside market in one of the small towns. These small towns that are on the main road all set up their markets where travellers can easily stop and get what they want. One town must have been the red onion and garlic capitol of Kenya, because everyone was selling them.

We passed this broken down lorry (big truck) on the way...when a vehicle breaks down, they scatter the branches all over the place. This is supposed to warn you that there is a broken down vehicle...too bad they really only do it within like 30 feet of the vehicle. Not much warning sometimes.

This is a baobab tree...or what's left of it, due to lack of water (notice the dry red dirt/sand). They are often what one thinks of when picturing the African savannah. You start to see them all over the place as you head down the road.

Here's some of the shops in the first town we stopped in, called Mtito Andei. Very interesting how they are laid out, and also the advertisement that takes place. The matatus are waiting for passengers before they head on the next little town.

Here's another reminder that in Mtito Andei, there is a battle between good and evil. These young Muslims were just leaving prayers. Sorry about the dead bug smudge.

This was our first stop, a small church/school combo. It was hot and dusty, but the people were so nice. All the children (about 200 or so) poured out of their classrooms and ran into the main building when we pulled up.

The older children sang and did skits for us...it was a beautiful time. They danced and clapped as they sang and when they were done, they ran back and squished back into a seat with all their friends.

Here I am with some of the bags of maize that our church helped to purchase. I found out later that for the three churches we went to, we gave about 192,000 Ksh (somewhere around $2500). Amazingly, our church here in Nairobi alone has given over 500,000 Ksh to help these impoverished people.

This is my friend Paul "teaching" a small class at the school. After the children performed for us, they had to go back to their classrooms for their studies. Some of us wandered around to take some pictures and talk to the little kids. Paul went in and started teaching these children the lesson on the blackboard. It was funny...they didn't say anything at first, and then they really started responding. The leaders of the school provided us with a soda and a huge biscuit (cookie) before we left. It was so nice of them.

We passed this little shop on the way to and from the first church/school. Interesting, huh? It just shows that most Kenyans just love the President of the United States without even knowing anything about his political or religous agenda.

This was a cool RR crossing picture. We went over these tracks on the way to the second church. It was just out in the middle of nowhere...dusty...dirty. The RR tracks here are more narrow than those in the States...which probably explains why the train derails so often.

Here we are sitting in the second church waiting for the little program to begin. It was mostly women and children, as is the case in most of the small upcountry churches. It's a shame, because the husband is supposed to be the spiritual leader in the home, according to the Bible. It just shows again that not only are a majority of Kenyans lacking physically, but spiritually as well. The ladies in this church did sing beautifully for us. We also had the privilege to be invited into the pastor's study, which was a room about 10 feet by 8 feet with a dirt floor and no desk. We smashed all 13 or so of us and the pastor, his wife, and some lady leaders of the church in that room so that he could express his thanks for our church helping their church. It was a wonderful time of sharing.

Here's the outside of the church with all the members. Notice the ground...red dirt. No grass. There were no doors and no windows in the church, only hanging curtains in the empty spaces. The floor was dirt and the seats were hard benches. It was a typical small upcountry church; no plush comfort of American churches...or even the big city churches in Nairobi.

Saw this on the side of the road on the way to the third church. Thought it was interesting.

The road to the third church. We had to crawl through that herd of goats. This church was way out into nowhere, too. Everytime we passed children, they smiled and waved and some chased after the van. It was very hot and dusty heading out to this church. I had to put sunscreen on my left arm because it was hanging out the window most of the time.

This was inside the third church. It was much smaller and not as many people, but still mostly women. At each of the three places, we all had to stand and introduce ourselves. At the second and third churches, everyone there introduced themselves, too! It was very neat. This church was still working on their building and there was a big hole in the roof where they haven't had enough money to buy the mabati (metal sheets) to cover the hole. I think our pastor was negotiating with their pastor how much it would cost to buy the metal. We sang at this church, too, and the people were just as nice. They were so grateful that we were helping them with food.

Here's the third church. It was very similar in construction with the second church, as you can see. The hole in the roof was on the other side. It was pretty interesting to look at how they build the buildings.

On the side of the road to the third church. You can see how dry and dusty it is. This is why there is no food. They haven't had a harvest in a long time and are living in very poor and simple conditions.

This huge Sikh temple is in the town where the third church is. While they don't have as large a following as Islam in Kenya, it is still a very real presence of evil.

Some roadside scenery. It sort of looks like Utah or other places in the western US with all the mountains and red dirt. It was very, very dry.

However, closer to Nairobi, it starts to get green again because of some small rains. It really is a beautiful country.

It sort of makes me think about West Virginia where my Grandpa lives.