Hi From Uganda

I just have to try to share our road with you.  We live about 8 miles from the edge of town and it takes about 20 or so minutes to get there.  Every week the road gets worse.  These pictures are from weeks ago so the pot holes and washouts have only gotten more and bigger.  It deters me from going anywhere!  The wear and tear on our van let alone bodies and minds is too much.

And then we share the bad road with trucks, motorcycles, people, animals and bikes...

But we still go to town to get out and get supplies...  A few weeks ago the kids and I went to the "Soroti Fair".  We tried to have fun but it was hot, the workers come right for you wanting your business and of course Makai wanted to give to them, and there wasn't too much there this time.  We made the most of it though.  Makai road in a car, jumped on a bouncy house, and went into the zoo.  The zoo is 75 cents to get into.  It only has a few animals; crocodile, monkeys, ostrich, monitor lizard, camel, and snakes.  Quite terrifying actually when the worker taunts the cobra and it opens it's hood and has the mamba crawl on the top of the cage!  Get me out of here!!!

Luka trying to win money or soda.

The cotton candy for like 25 cents was a nice treat!

I just can't believe some things here.  This dangerous chemical jug is what the restaurant uses to wash hands!  What?!

Makai is really picking up on the language here and calls motorcycles "piki piki".  He even loaded his piki piki with wood.

We have so much fun with our kids and I am enjoying every moment I get all together!
We went to Jinja so Grace could get more medical help for her hip, to go to the dentist, and get away to beautiful place with good food.  We called it our fall break.

I think this is the tallest pine tree in Uganda!

These were at the guesthouse where we stayed.  I love them!  No one can tell me a name or what they are.  What I learned is they are found in the sand by the water.  They feel and look like glass which makes sense because glass is made with sand, right?

Instead of enjoying fall colors we are enjoying tropical temps, swimming and colorful flowers. 

Lake Victoria - the source of the Nile.

 

Fixing Up

This is the wood from our porch eaten by termites while we were gone.

On top of the termites the screens were rusted through and falling off.  All this lead to home improvements around here.

What a mess!

Thankful it turned out!

Then we moved onto a small basketball court.  Luka has been begging for one, so for his 13th birthday we gave him a gift certificate for one.  Luka had been playing on our water tower but it was only about 6ft high and since he has grown it wasn't much of a challenge anymore.  Now he can really play basketball!

What a learning process.  Making the court, finding parts and having the welder make the basketball hoop, putting it in right...  It was a test in patience.

But we made it!  This was Luka's first shot on the new court!

These are some of the termites that do so much damage around here!  They build their castles on anything.  You can literally leave wood or paper on the ground over night and the one side will be all eaten by the next day.  Plant a tree and they will sharpen the bottom like a pencil.  Can we get a good Michigan freeze please!!!

The termites ate the legs off this cupboard so we went with brick this time.

I also found some home improvements inside the house.  I love being creative!
I put black material on what was our green chair. 

Make some new pillow covers.

Grace made me these paintings

And Josh helped me make and put up new curtain holders in our house.
The kids think I am changing a lot of things.  I told them it will be 9 years ago in December we moved in, so it is time to improve a few things around here. (:

Pictures from Obule

 I have been writing a post for a week (or so) but it haven't been able to finish it, so in the mean time I thought I'd share a few pictures.  A glimpse of our lives here and what we've been up to...

Put the swing up for Makai to enjoy.
No playgrounds around so this will have to do.

Emalai is always carrying something on her head!
She loves village life.  Now Makai is following her lead.  The other day he walked to the borehole and came back with a small jug of water on his head!

This is where I found Makai the other day, dancing on the table to music. (:

Sometimes we don't know what we are getting into.  Grace's friend wanted us to come to his farewell from secondary school.  It was kinda like prom and we soon became the foreign superstars.  You just gotta laugh sometimes!  We took pictures with our friends and soon had many others joining our picture and wanting a picture with us.  Luka loved it and would have stayed to be in all the pictures with them.  The boy knows how to have fun!

Grace enjoys decorating cakes and was asked to make one for a friend's birthday.
Unfortunately, our bumpy pothole filled road cracked the cake and the heat melted the frosting.

Emalai and her friends made dolls from a part of a banana tree and scraps of material.
So cute!

It isn't fall here but we are still celebrating!
Homemade pumpkin doughnuts - yum! 

Playing market together.
Funny thing, whenever we say we are going to market Makai will quickly say, "No don't like when they touch my hair."  Guess people here touch his soft, black hair too many times for his liking.

Makai, Luka and Josh have been throwing the football around.
Makai know what he is doing.  He loves to drop kick or kick the football from a stand.

Makai worshipping in church

He joined some ones choir last Sunday.  People loved it as he danced to their song!

And sometimes Makai doesn't love church and just needs his daddy.

Too loud!

We have been greeting people and Makai was helping our friend sew with her peddle machine.

Makai is so funny.  When it stinks or he toots he say, "Plug your nose Daddy!"

Our homeschool, Africa Adventure Christian Academy, had a spirit week thanks to Emalai's organizing.
This was school spirit day.

Sports day - water balloons, gaga ball, and Frisbee golf

Art and Music Day

Fall Fest Day

October 11 we celebrated Grace's 17th birthday!!!
Grace is fun loving and brings laughter to our home.  We love her singing and dancing, art, love for kids, style, photography and modeling.  We are proud of her for perseverance through hard things.  We love you Grace and God loves you too!

Birthday confetti poppers is now a birthday tradition.