Interested in a trip to Kenya?

Jambo Rafikis! (Hello Friends!)



I miss Kenya! I was reading the blog site of one of the girls that I met while I was there and gosh when she explains some of the things she is doing, I can just see the beautiful little town of Kitale. How I wish I could go back there again. I was thinking about this today (I do have alot of time on my hands - my doctor won't release me to go back to work and I don't see her again for two weeks!), anyway so I was thinking - if there is one thing I could do different if I went back to Kenya, what would it be?


Well, let me tell you - I would spend more time with those little kids, hugging and kissing on them and letting them play with my hair. I would try to be a little less "afraid" while I was there - I always had this little bit of fear that made me hold back just a little bit. I hope if I get to go again, I hope I don't experience that.




Lastly, I'd probably try to learn alot more about their culture - including more of their language and I would bring back lots of suveniers to give away to my family and friends.




Oh and one more thing - I'd go to as many Kenyan church services as I could find. Even though I couldn't understand their language all the time, I still haven't found a spiritual experience that has matched up to what you get in Kenya. I think it's because they don't have the distractions we do.




Anyway - so I now have an updated photo of Laban, the little boy who stole my heart while I was there. He's getting big and is a cutie. Labn was such a sweet boy - he wanted to come to America and be a preacher. :)


Here he is:








And this, a beautiful Kitale sunset - taken from the roof of our hotel room - where we discovered a bath tub with dirty rain water where the hotel staff was washing our clothes! A very nice gesture on their part, considering that most of them probably do not wash their own clothes.














And here is a picture I want you all to know about. Puffing on glue bottles is a very common addiction amoung the young street kids in Kenya. These are kids who are the poor of the poor in one of the poorest countries. These are kids who have been on the streets for most of their life - and some of them all of their life, being born to mothers who are street kids.

And some samples of the animals I saw on my safari.

So now - the question... ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A TRIP TO KENYA? I've got a really great contact that is always looking for groups to come and help with their projects. Just curious if any of you are interested in taking a trip? It wouldn't be for a year or so - takes a while to plan - and you could fund raise all the money you needed for travel and related expenses. Anyone could go - it would actually be a GREAT experience for kids 10 and over. They will know how wonderful their life is here in the United States!

Let me know if you are interested!

Kwa Heri! (Goodbye!)

Car Wreck

So feeling pretty grateful after yesterday. I was sitting on Highway 40 in construction traffic and heard tires squealing, the next thing I knew someone hit me. The poor little old man was 98 years old and said, "I been drivin' for 80 years and never had an accident 'til now."

I went to the ER and was checked out - nothing broken but a whole lot of soreness. I think my guardian angels were watching out for me yesterday.... so last night ... whether it was the pain pills and muscle relaxers or what, I do not know, but I had a sort of day dream that my grandpa and uncle Tommy were flapping their angel wings to keep the car from hitting me hard. :)

I'm very grateful that I didn't have Suzanna or Brookie with me.

More Easter Fun - The Pictures Say It All!

My Mom and Brooke playing on the indoor playground.






My Girl with her new wiffleball bat - yes...hitting herself in the head :) I'm really hoping she learns to use it!




I think she looks like a little old lady with a big but!



"Hey Look What I Found!"



The big kids getting ready for the Egg Hunt at my aunt's house.



Suzanna - busy hunting. I tried to get a picture of her face while she was hunting so I threatened her with a picture of her backside - I always keep my promises!



And afterwards - completely worn out but you can see by that sweet smile that she had a great time!

That's all for now - as you can see we had a fun Easter. Hope ya'll did too!

Easter Egg Hunt and Other News

On Saturday we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt that our department holds - we fill 20,000 eggs with candy and prizes. The weather was pretty yucky, only in the 30's and rainy but we still had a good turnout! Brooke's mom and Grandma brought her to the hunt. Here's a couple of pictures - she did okay but once she picked up an egg she didn't want to pick up any others. She just wanted the one she had! :) I love that baby girl! She had fun but I think she got cold. Not really dressed for the cold weather!

Suzanna didn't get to go to the egg hunt because she is spending Spring Break with her grandparents in Oklahoma. I think I saw Mike sticking some eggs in his pockets for her - he swears they were broken ones but... I dunno. Do his coat pockets look full to you?? He's a park volunteer and I'm pretty sure it's against the rules!

We still have a busy week of Easter stuff - tried to finish up basket shopping for the girls last night but that didn't go so smooth - Mike's way too picky! I'm going by myself tonight! Friday my mom is coming to my house and we will have Brookie all day Friday and Saturday - I think we'll probably spoil her a little and then do some shopping and then spoil her a little more and ...well probably just spoil her the whole time! Saturday afternoon we have the Easter Fair at church so Brookie will get to do another Egg Hunt there. Suzanna's plane arrives early Sunday morning and after Church -she and Mike and I will be headed to Alton to celebrate the holiday with my family. I'll post more pics of all that stuff in the next few days.

In the mean time...here's some recent pictures of my ball player. Suzanna participated in the park Softball Pitching Clinic. She's very eager to learn and with alot of practice I think we can get her some playing time! She's never played before so we're learning the basics!

That's all for now! I have to go pick up Brookie from the babysitter - she and I have a little shopping to do!

Birthday & Daddy's Little Sweetheart

Brooke on her Birthday - trying some ice cream... you think she liked it???

Today was a busy day. Suzanna and Mike had the Daddy's Little Sweetheart Dance. I'm pretty sure they were the cutest couple there! Suzanna's day began at 2pm with an appointment at the Plaid Money (a children's salon) where she had a pedicure, manicure and had her hair fixed. She was really excited about the dance and I'm pretty sure her daddy was too.

Tonight was Brooke's birthday party. She had a pink teddy bear birthday cake all to herself. She wasn't so sure about whether she was suppose to eat it though! The other picture is of her opening the present my mom got her. Her Grandma Karen is helping her.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Dottie