Dana’s Avenue

I just had one of those moments when I realized my life has changed dramatically.

I was sitting at the computer holding Asher when I heard him “do his business”.  I let him finish then got up to change him.  As I put my foot down to stand up I thought, “What is that wet stuff squishing between my toes?  I didn’t even know he spit up.”  I looked down and - oh - that’s not spit up - that’s POO!!!!!!!  Running down his leg, and down mine, and now is not only between his baby fat rolls but also all over my bare foot!

When I dreamed of having a baby this moment never entered my mind…

This is our local church where Mama Imanueli’s husband preaches.  It sits next to their house.

From left to right:  Baba Imanueli, Mama Imanueli, Ana, Imanueli, Samueli, Upendo.

This is a shot better showing their home.

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.  ~John Wilmot

What’s wrong with this picture?  Can you figure it out?

On Saturday we went to a friends’ house to celebrate their kids’ birthdays.  She has a little girl who just turned 4 and a little boy who just turned 1.  She invited everyone around town with little kids so it was fun for them all to get together.  I can’t wait for Asher to get to join in the fun a bit more.  Here are some pics from the day:

I’m telling you, I learn something new here every day. 

When we get our milk it comes fresh from the cow.  Still warm even.  So we have to boil out any unpleasantries that could cause crummies in tummies (ode to Dr. Seuss).  I watched Mama boil our milk last week and she poured it from the container through a sieve into a pot.  I was interested so I asked her why she did it that way.

She said that sometimes when they milk the cow some of its hair goes into the milk.

Blek!

Didn’t really need to know that.  But.  I will always be using a sieve in the future!

Many people in villages along the main road of Tanzania (the Tan-Zam Highway) sell fruit to make a living.  I believe this is papaya.

Amazing how many things we make from scratch these days.  Here’s our first batch (ever) of strawberry jam:

You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once.  ~Polish Proverb

Okay, so 3 days a week at the office isn’t working.  Not only do I feel my attention is now divided between Asher and work, getting ready for work, getting home from work…..the worst part is that Asher isn’t sleeping as well at night.  Which means I’m not sleeping as well at night.  Which means Jonathan isn’t sleeping as well at night.

And besides all that…..I have heard from a few women on a variety of subjects and the resounding theme is that your kids grow up entirely too fast.  Even the hard seasons we go through are only seasons.

That’s when it hit me.  I have the chance to watch Asher grow up one time.  He’ll be 5-months old one time.  He’ll be going through this season one time.  And trying to work and take care of him is messing him up.  And it’s just not worth that.  Nothing is worth that.

So I have stopped going to the office 3 days a week.  We’re still discussing options of me doing some of the finance work from home as it fits into Asher’s schedule.  That would be better as I would be able to totally focus on Asher, take care of him, and as time allowed I’d be able to help with the accounting.  We’ll see what we come up with…

One of my mom’s friends keeps a list of the 40 meals she makes most frequently to help her quickly plan each week’s meals.  I think I’ll do that too.  Of course I have about 5 meals that I make most frequently (which really makes meal planning simple - haha) but I plan to add to my repertoire. 

This week’s menu (minus the chicken since we still haven’t found any):

Monday - Tacos

Tuesday - BBQ, Rice, Green Beans

Wednesday - Burgers, Fries (homemade from potatoes - yum)

Thursday - Beans, Rice, Veggie (not sure what I’ll get from the market yet)

Friday - Pizza, Salad

Saturday - Sloppy Joes, Salad

Sunday - Clean Out the Fridge Day

Things I need to do this week:

Make Buttermilk

Make Sour Cream

Not sure how to do that exactly but I’ll figure it out………..why can’t we just get it here!?  Oh well.