oh so much!

So much to catch up on! Sorry I have been slacking. I was actually sick this past week with a stomach infection so it put me out of commission for a few days! Almost all better now though. I did end up going to a clinic to see what was going on and ended up getting antibiotics which have helped a lot. The whole experience was interesting though because first it cost 50 shillings (about 75 cents) to see the doc and that was pretty much just a conversation- no blood pressure or temperature taken or anything you'd expect when you go in to get evaluated. I had a blood test done which was about 100 shillings (about a dollar and some change) and the lab tech pricked my fingers and put the blood right onto the little glass thing they put under the microscope. Anyways, so as much as I hate being sick it was still kinda cool to see how they do things in health care over here- not that I wanna experience it again!

As for Happy Life there is so much going on! It has been so good to be with the older kids. Its a bit different without the other girls around because most of the time I am the only one playing with them and therefore they all want me to see what they are doing at all times! They are all doing fantastically. There manners have improved so much too. Samwell and Emmanuel are now going to a new school (they were in preschool on site) and loving it.

Tuesday of last week was an eventful day to say the least. Elijah and Cyrus who were adopted when I was here over the summer came back to visit. It was so cute to see the kids reactions when they were all reuniting. Elijah was a bit quieter and seemed more out of his element then when he was here but that has to be expected. They still seem to remember everyone and the other kids looved seeing them! The US director and his wife, who were in town, planned a big lunch for everyone that worked there which was so nice. It included so many good Kenyan foods too- an no ugali! haha. We received 7 new kids that afternoon from a government home. It was only suppose to be 5 but they went to the courts behind HL back and made it 7! The littlest one is Max who was only 10 days old at the time! There were 5 boys all about 3 years old and speak no English so Andrew use to say "how are you?" about 17 times a day when he saw me, but that has stopped now thank goodness! Lastly, a little girl about 7 months old who has chicken pox! I cannot believe they brought her when she was still contagious. Her name was Niha (nee-ha) but it was thought to be a Muslim name and they wanted to change it to a Swahili name. I suggested Neema (nay-ma) which is a name I heard in Tanzania a lot and really liked and that is what they kept! Kinda an honor to name a child I think! Finally, to top off this crazy day we got a visit from Stuart and Gordon who are two Scottish men in their 40s here for work that the girls and I met randomly back in August and invited to visit the home. Turns out they have been back a few times and always bring some donations for the kids. They have talked up HL to friends interested in donations back home. And they have worked on a partnership with their company and HL and brought by a check for 500 pounds with plans to bring another next month! Who would have thought a random meeting would have turned into a great relationship for HL!

A few other exciting things happened last week after Tuesday as well. Nathaniel, who was adopted right after I had left, came back to visit. Everyone was so surprised at how big he has gotten- very chubby now!! Two of the new babies, Linus and Wisdom have been very sick with malaria. Each day myself and the social work took them down the road to the clinic to get checked up and given shots. Ow they did not like the shots! At the end of the week when I left Wisdom was doing so much better and Linus was still fighting but as I got back today it turns out they had to admit Wisdom to the hospital yesterday because he took a bad turn. These kids are sooo little and under three months old, breaks my heart! Please keep them in your prayers!

On Thursday afternoon I had taken the older girl, Loise, for an afternoon out instead of the afternoon nap. We went into town and had ice cream- which of course melted and made a mess but that is half the fun of eating ice cream when your 5 years old! We then walked to Uhuru Park for a boat road. They have peddle boats and even though Loise's legs were a bit too short she made it work! We had a wonderful day and in the middle of the time on the lake she looked at me and simply said 'today is good!' :) I did get a few interesting looks from people in town though and even asked if she was my son (her head is shaved like most kids here and I have to admit she looks like a boy sometimes)!! It really was a good day.

I will leave you with something for those of you back in Columbus- this past week I saw a Columbus Zoo shirt one someone and another guy wearing a Dublin Coffman shirt. Made me think of home :)