ironic

we recently heard about a local grocery store that got a shipment of american goods and were selling them at marked up prices so of course we were slow in making our way to see for ourselves. this weekend we finally made it into said grocery store and i finally had the privilege of gawking at the things that now Zimbabweans will characterize Americans by. as i walked in the store, i was greeted with an island of ragu and bertolli pasta sauces, an array of cereal including raisin bran and special K, a large variety of "pasta/rice sides" packets, and plastic containers of country time lemonade and kool-aid. on the next island of American goodies included cookies and crackers. this is where i became slightly more interested. there are a few things that i just can't find here- one of them is graham crackers. i enjoy a graham cracker and i have a few recipes that i love that have a graham cracker crust that i have had to set aside for the time being. these got me a little excited but the kicker was the box of saltine crackers. now i love a saltine cracker. i especially craved them when i was in my first trimester and needing to eat constantly to fight off that nauseous feeling. so when i saw that little square box that said "premium salted tops" i am sure that my face lit up. oh why didn't this shipment come 5 months ago?! then i glanced at the price and i'm sure all brightness from my face disappeared and my jaw dropped. almost $6! maybe a few months ago they would have gotten my money- when i was desperate to find a cracker i liked. in fact i would have bought two boxes because i never trust a store here to have something twice (i learned this the hard way with the crackers). but not now- sorry management.

oh and those gram crackers that got passed up- $7. somethings i'm not so desperate for.

-m

new pictures

a week and a half

33 weeks!

for grete

the quinoa growing in our garden and the only fall colors i can seem to find.

-m

"vaenzi"

(zach--you're in the picture, just in the shadow of the moringa tree--sorry!)

we recently had some friends/family/supporters/vaenzi come and spend some time with us and our church here. it was lovely to have a little taste of home- especially for dan since they were all his long time friends. for me is was amazing to watch dan reconnect with some of his closest friends, play the piano and guitar with them and catch up. i was greatly encouraged by their kind words and prayers.

they came with a variety of talents they used to encourage the church like preaching, singing, drum and guitar lessons, children's work, and medical knowledge to share.

one really exciting thing for us was that dan's uncle came for a few days around a trip to kenya to work with a sister church of his home church. it was really fun to host him and let him see a bit of our lives. he even got to experience a water shortage!

-m

KITTENS!

we knew they were coming soon. yesterday i sat on the bed watching the cat sleep and i could see the kittens moving in her- much like my own belly. and last night she curled up under our bed and had 5 kittens. they are sooo cute. 1 jet black, 2 black and orange like her, and 2 orange. we are excited! maybe we are a bit like little children and are fighting to not touch them.

i have only had two pets in my life other than fish. when fish have babies it isn't very exciting and they usually die too easily. my dog was a boy and my guinea pig never had babies so this is my first time with animal babies- especially brand new ones. i'm kinda excited. i just need to find a home for the 4 we aren't keeping before our baby comes. i don't think i can handle so many needy small things at once. and let's be honest- our baby wins no matter what.

-m