My precious daughter

To my darling daughter

You turn 9 today

9 is a special number - i searched its meaning and indeed, some say that  since the number 9 is the largest and last digit, it shows “finality” and completeness. 

Well there you go, sounds special right?

You are simply an amazing girl!

Beautiful and very smart

Full of joy, just like you name Raha!

Always considerate, having the interests of others at heart

I love the way you can be decisive

You enjoy having good things

and excellent in maintaining them in good order

You are studious (meaning you work hard) 

and of course, loving too!!!

My 'beloved daughter, I pray that in all respects, you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers' (3John 1:2)

Happy happy birthday Jojo!!

From Mama

STEEL the same..

so 11years anniversary is a Steel anniversary

I knew this last week as we marked our  11 years in marriage

We thank God immensely for grace and providence

And not one to shy away from marking milestones, amazing Watamu was the destination of choice

and Watamu did not dissapoint

wow wow wow

here are some pics!!

all this made possible by the Amazing DreamTrips Club we belong to; we can book affordable holidays and enjoy amazing destinations!!

cheers to many more!

All in a name -GOLDEN GIRL

So KCPE2017 results are out

and the top student is a gal

and a girl called Goldalyn

she and her proud parents are invited for an interview  on CITIZEN TV

they are visibly bursting with pride, their third born child is on top of the pack!!!!

when asked, why the name, the father didn't flinch

he was clear in his mind

he saw his new born angel, saw the way the mother was tense at having birthed a baby with albinism, and he decided this one is our GOLD!

oh what a name!!

what a prophesy!!

the girl is confident and brighter than a star

(Her quote, you succeed with your PHD, Prayer Hardwork and Determination)

this one is going places

such pride

such honour

May the Lord go before her

May her path always be smooth

Well Done Goldy!!

Memories

So am in an uber

I have been staring at the comp whole day

so decide to stare at images at a distance

am told thats a good way to exercise tired eyes

my eyes focus on the street lights

we are on the by pass

fast heading towards the interchange at Ole Sereni

suddenly deja vue

All of us piled into the car

circa. 1983

taking Mum to work, in Kenyatta National Hospital

night duty used to start at 8 I think

cant remember much after that

oh well

back to reality

The BIG countdown

Sifa: Mummmmm, are there many gods??????????

Me: ahhh...no...why?

Sifa: why do we say Mungu wangu?? (meaning everyone has their own God)

Me: (pause) because he is one God for all of us

Sifa's mind has already moved on to the next things

I love this age! they are so inquisitive! and the questions can sometimes floor you, you really have to get to know why they are asking

Sifa: we are 2 boys and one girl

Me: yes, so i have one daughter and 2 sons

Sifa: am i your daughter?

Me: ...ummm, no my son!

Sifa - crying loudly - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, I want to be your daughter (it sounds more special i guess)

Me: ok for today, you are my daughter (will explain the difference later to him)

hehehehehe

and also this day he asks: Mummmmmmmm, God is who to Jesus?

Me: he is his Father

Sifa: na mbona  teacher anasema Joseph ni baba yake

Me: ummmmmmmmmmmmm

Incidentally, since we turned over the calendar to October, we have been counting down the days to 20th

and now he announced that people can wear sweatpants at the party

and that Yaya & Zouk is the cartoon on the cake!!...no wait, one day to the day, he says he wants PJ Mask on the cake....frantic call to cake lady....hope you have not printed the cartoon yet? we need to change it!

....and when we took a road trip to Nyeri for his birthday, and we had the  blue sign 'You Should Be Here' to take photos with........he says BUT Mummmmm, we are already here!!!!!!!!!!!

This truly is a special birthday!

Happy happy 5th birthday my Bujacus!

Unplug

This life is full of noise

at every turn, your attention is demanded

and internet does not help this dilemma

instantly our attention is taken to something else

even if in the middle of conversation

suddenly the incoming message seems more important

just with the bleep of 'new message'

once in a while, one needs to unplug

unplug from everything

put of phone, laptop, and any other device

and listen to your heart

in the silence, you may just hear God speak to you!

This was my plan today

But, i had to cancel

maybe next weekend!

Of birthdays and themes

I love celebrating birthdays!

The whole preparation, and sharing food and laughter with family and friends just gets me all so excited

So I turned...ah hem....and surprise party was in the works, challenge is one of the guests let it slip a week to the dday, so change of plan, I had to be enjoined in it..

Theme was the 60s!! and oh what fun we had/ including a VW Combi photo frame, thanks to the party organiser!! we had a blast, cheers to many many more!!

PS...now the kids in estate think i turned 60!!!! LOLEST

Life...workflow

6am

Oh am late

dash off to nm lane

reach 8am

type away

oh, its nearly 2

better get something to eat

oh its nearly 7

better leave now

repeat motion each day

thursday

oh am tired

and this cough!

i need a vacation

Amazing Jordan

So I went to Jordan for a week - the heat!!! Thank God i carried my hat :)

I was excited about the trip especially since I have really longed to see River Jordan and all the history around it. I missed a trip to Israel some time back and my sis has taunted me for this for years!!

The hotel we stayed in was simply amazing, what these guys have done to recover dry land and made such an oasis, only God knows! very impressive!! and the infinity pools? let me just stop there

So.........on one of the evenings, we went town to the beach and simply floted in the Dead Sea, plastered mud all over our bodies, took a shower (some went back to the sea) and finished with a swim at the glorious infinity pool - amazing experience...and i will not even start on how the sunsets look like over the deadsea...

By day 4 we took a drive to the river and saw the place where Jesus was baptised. It has been fenced and the river no longer passes there....it changed route... two people in the group actually dipped themselves in the river, where it now passes overlooking an imposing Israel border, symbolic of being baptised (one needs to but a special white robe for this)

The fifth day we took off to Petra....on the way there we saw the statue that's believed to be Lots wife, the one who turned to a pillar of salt.... I must say I had never heard of this place before! Petra that is

From the name it means rock (remember Peter, being called rock). The place is one rocky place and it is an ancient city that was built on the rocks! Those guys curved out amazing tombs and stadium from the rocks....waaaaaaa...yaani just google for more information

Then we were reminded that Petra was featured in TinTin and Indiana Jones movies...imagine that!

Ah Jordan! amazing place

Enchanting Zanzibar!

So, I have a large notice board in my room which I call a Vision Board

The idea was to put up images of places we would love to visit as a family - and you can be sure the first picture was that of Zanzibar

...and so it has come to pass!

From August 11-13 we visited the enchanting island....the planning had been in the works since Easter! We travelled to Zanzibar by the ferry and this was a unique experience! we sat the inner deck and the aircon was maximum so was very chilly!! Around 90min later we landed in warm Zanzibar and made our way to the hotel Zanzibar Beach hotel....the hotel is ok with a great swimming pool, but looks run down...though there was a lot of activity geared to sprucing it up - am sure it will soon look magnificent again.

That evening we had dinner at Forodhani...open air food market serving delicious ready to eat eats....of course with cholera back home we wondered how this concept can be adopted in a city like Mombasa! anyways, we enjoyed it kabisa

The kids loved the swimming pool ..and so the second day we took off into town with older kid only and toured Stone Town! oh what history! it pays to have a guide, then you don.t miss the rich story this island has. The doors just blew me away....I simply had to get a fridge magnet to remind me of their majesty. We had heard a lot about Lukeman and so we had lunch there - its a cozy restaurant that serves local dishes at the most affordable prices; and its full of tourists too!

Soon it was time to head back home...this time we sat in the upper deck of the ferry....

I would go back there!


and recommend that if only adults that the hotels inside stonetown are good....since you are then within walking distance of everything including the ferry terminus.....but if you have tiny tots, maybe the hotels mashambani (further in) would be better!..

Now thats a big tick on the Zanzibar postcard on the vision board

Next??

I wonder!

First Holy Communion...another milestone

So next week, my son will be receiving his first Holy Communion!

Am excited for him, such a blessed milestone, after 1.5 years of going for catechism almost every saturday that is delivered in Kiswahili (no less)


Of course, my mind goes back to my own first Holy Communion day

It was in Holy Family minor basilica in the centre of town. My sister and I wore matching outfits that probably had 90% net fabric (i should look for that picture!). I remember the outfits were made my my mothers friend at a place near Kongoni primary school

I entrance hymn which I recall vividly was

...Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
Enter his courts with praise,
Today will be, a Joyful day,
Enter his gates with.....

So this is my prayer to my son

Amen!!!

To new beginnings

I feel like I have been with DCA for a minute!!

Today was my last day at work and it took me all of five minutes to pack my stuff, handover the key and exit the building

Its been 1year 4 months and am ready for the next challenge, it has been an interesting ride, nothing like where i was previously for 11 years! I have always worked in small teams but this has been the smallest ever! At first I must admit it was a massive challenge trying to get self motivation to work from home, but once i got the hang of it, I actually prefered it to driving all the way to Lavington.  Gives a new meaning to managing by results!

My kids also loved this, and would keep asking me, Mummy are you working from home??

Then of course when you have meetings via skype and you have to remember to tell the older kids to contain the youngest so that he doesnt burst into the room! only happened once though, but i was nearly done with the meeting anyways

I will miss DCA
BUT, such is life

One door closes, another one opens

Praise be to Almighty God

Daddy has rested.........

So

it comes as a bit of a shock when you wake up on a Sunday morning, and casually glance at your phone and see missed calls and messages, please call me back. Thats what happened to me on the morning of March 26...I called back my sis in Dar and she broke the news, thats not what i was expecting to hear! I mean we knew he was down and she had visited with him the day before and informed us that yes he looked weak, but he was ok. And that that night at 11pm he was to get another injection....kumbe that was it!! waaaaaaaaaaaa

I cried

I felt sad

More for him, really, that dealing with diabetes all these years then thats what actually floors you

waaaaaaa

I had to be one to tell my younger sis since thats the only person who didnt know. She leaves closeby, and that was not easy

waaaaaaaaa


and in such cases, one just has to dry the tears and together, decide on what needs to be done. See my father had many children, and we are the older ones, the ones in Nairobi, so we were well aware that the main plans would emanate from Nairobi. Mercifully one of us was in Dar and so could keep us informed

My bro flew out that evening and it was really great that he could do that, BUT I can only imagine the strain he went through since the group in Dar was adamant that Mzee Mawanda be laid to rest very soon and not April 8th as we had hoped

So April 1st was set as the date. That sounded so close, but we managed

That week was a blur, so many things to be done, travel documents, newspaper adverts, programs, attire ....so much to be raised....friends coming through like you cant imagine...despite the short notice....forever grateful....

About 23 people came from Nairobi by bus via Kampala to Bukoba and a good number from Dar es salaam by bus and air. My sis had gone to Bukoba earlier than all and kept writing that its raining and very muddy, and sure enough the bus we were in could not go past a given point to Bibi (my 91 year old grandmothers) home

March 31st was the vigil night and April 1st after a somber mass, then there was the viewing - thats when it hits, since i had not seen him in that state before

waaaaaaaaaaaa


It looks so final, dont know what this verse means, but it passed through my mind

1 Corintians 15:
54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.…

Fare thee well Daddy

So many memories
So many  lessons
Watch over us

Till we meet again

When we waste water?

Today is March 22

Today is World Water Day!

The theme is around water and wastewater....that we need to conserve water and make better use of waste water

Water is sensitive to me, I grew up in the big city, but soon many estates came around ours and poof, the taps went dry. This started a long period of having water that comes maybe once a week, and drips out at night, so we learnt the art of listening for water. And as soon as the water came, we jumped out of bed (no matter and time) and began washing and cleaning and storing water till morning, when the taps went dry again.

The estate had one house that had access to army water....and so when the massive water bowser came to fill their big tanks, we benefitted from the balance....and since the pipe was big, having a basin was futile since the pressure was too high and all the water would splash out. So we brought out the movable tank and once it was filled up, we filled up smaller basins and ferried the precious commodity home!! waaaaaaaa

Then I moved to a boarding school and as luck would have it, the big tank that supplied the school had a problem and so that was my introduction to fetching water from a river > we had to make several trips, for the kitchen using huge metalic sufurias, for a teacher who can reroute you as you make your way back to the school and finally for self! And I tell you God was on our side, because that basin of water was the drinking water as well

So this poster rings so true for me

Fast forward to college days and still home didnt have constant water supply, and so during trips to town center, it was very emotional for me seeing the verandah at KENCOM being washed with water from a massive pipe and flowing freely and am like, wish we had that kind of water at home! #sigh

Of course working in ASAL areas made me have a whole other appreciation for water....the sight of the dry earth for miles and miles is enough for someone to know that once they get water, they need to use it carefully!


So this water day, spare a thought for those who dont have access to clean water...and think twice before you waste water please....

#nihayotu

Mummy fear!

Its raining!! ok, a slight drizzle, but after such a hot day, any amount of rain is welcome

Am enjoying a hot cup of tea and some sweet potatoe, yummy!

Takes me back to when my kids were young, I had been told that sweet potatoes are good for kids. Thing is, sweet potatoes normally chock me, I dont know why...I cant take more than a slice...so you can imagine I never ever gave my kids sweet potatoes; they tasted in when they could walk and talk!!


I never admit this publicly, hehehehe, would sound strange!!

I also love mushroom soups and sauces...but I again mummy fear sets in!! I have read about mushroom being poisonous, and so all i do is look at them in supermarkets and step aside! of course when am in a restaurant, i never fail to order some mushroom! wish i knew how to tell these apart so family could also enjoy this taste!

Of course this continous campaign against polio also gives me jitters. My under 5 has had so many vaccines against polio I honestly cant wait to have him turn 5!  8 more months to go....when i see the letter from schoool i sign with a lot of reservation, since its been drummed that the vaccine is not harmful no matter how many times its given....honestly i dont understand this logic, much as it has been explained to me soooo many times!

There is the issue of earbuds!..strange eh?? Thing is, I fear that the kid will stick things into the nose or ears and it becomes an emergency...so for a long long time, I have never used earbuds in front of my kids....for fear that they may stick other things into their ears!

Anyways, what fears do you have as a mum??

Resolve.,

she walks, no wobbles into the room

one cant mistake her

i mean, she must be over 200kg!

everyone is trying not to stare

me included

she seems to be used to the stares

they dont seem to faze her

she takes her seat

feels like a thud!

am concerned

thats where am headed

thats how i will look and feel like!!!

if i keep up with this procrastination!

oh my!

even my young son says my arms wigu wigu

(wiggle wiggle)

i must look at that gym advert again

i should start right away

they have a class this evening

mmm

or i start tomorrow?

sigh

Me and my markings...

Looking at pictures of women with traditional markings on their face, and  this made me check out the marks I have on me....of course none are as deliberate and symmetrical as what these ladies have done on their faces!! that's bold, waaaaaaaa

So I bear some scars on me...thing is, I don't have a mark on me that I don't recall how it got there

BUT the word scar seems so harsh.......so lets just call them marks :)

I was in a primary boarding school that had lots of barbed wire....wire around paddocks of green grass....we were allowed to step on the grass....so i wonder why the short fences with barbed wire...anyhoo....I think each child who passed through this primary school must have been grazed...I cant remember what I was doing, but I got myself a huge deep cut on my leg. No idea why I didn't go and see the school nurse...I just stayed with it till it healed!!! no tetanus shot, no fever...waa...God does indeed take care of children...

My thumb also has a mark,...the nail is not curved well, is more angular....this i recall very vaguely what happened...and if I remember right, I think I actually saw the bone on my thumb!!....the thumb had gotten swollen and the swelling had to be cut off....years ago when i tried getting the real story from mother, she said, weeeeeeeeeeeeeee don't even go there! and that was that....so details of what happened, i may never know

Then of course the stretchmarks all over my body! thankfully I paid attention to a tip to rub my growing tummy with copious amounts of good old Vaseline when expectant, so I did this for the three rounds and so that was sorted...should have done the same for my legs though...LOL...anyways, these ones I wear with pride....I carried humans for crying out loud....some marks of victory have to remain on me!!!

Lunch manners??

So am seating comfortably with my plate piled with assorted warm foods for lunch. Am in a workshop at a hotel that is known for serving fresh food only and so am looking forward to the sumptuous meal, then baaammm....there comes the lunch pooper

You see I had actually sat next to someone who had something negative to say about my choice of lunch from the attractive buffet. Lets call her P for Pooper!

P: Oh you eat wheat

Me: Yes!!

P: wheat is not the best. you should avoid it...and then she goes on to give a detailed account of how her gluten intolerant stomach used to react violently to wheat before she realised, years later, that all the bloatedness was because she was reacting to the gluten

Me (thinking) woah TMGI!!!!!!

Anyways, ever the gracious listener, I listened to her litany of problems related to all manner of foods, when I realised mmmm maybe she is recruiting members to her side so earnestly, since she cant enjoy vyapati like am doing?? LOL anyways,

Jokes aside, some people really react badly to wheat, others like me dont....BUT I am aware that I need to reduce my intake of wheat since it seems its digested slowly and so can cause me lots of other problems.

So I moderate it, but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, please, lunch is not the time to talk about bloated tummies!!

Obama Out (mic drop)

After 8 years at the top of the world, leader of free world, as they say, Obama takes a bow. Today he gave his final public address and I was keen on listening to it, until i realised it means waking up at 5am on Feb 11!! so i settled for watching a recorded version instead.

That position must be a very very challenging one, but I understand that the entire team takes all the credit or barbs. So he exits the stage, and though I may not fully grasp the complex foreign and local policies he spearheaded, I must say I still admired him....what he represented, his eloquence, his very public display of affection to this wife Michelle and children, his very visible support to military families and of course, his charm!!

God speed, Jatelo, you did the best you could, and shattered several ceilings while at it!!

Happy 2017

Its a new year!

...and an old friend reminded me of this poem, so let me just hang it here

If—

By Rudyard Kipling           

 

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!