Project 52: Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with family this year.  Here's one of my favorite pictures from the day, Jude with Uncle Brian looking at Aunt Carole's tree.

Neema House Update

A few weeks ago the Neema House intern, Craig, posted an update on Neema House progress over on his blog. Like everything it involves some cultural things and he did a good job explaining them so I thought I'd share his post. You can find it here.

Project 52: GiGi

Jude loves to help out and lately he has really enjoyed helping GiGi (his great-grandmother) anytime she is in the kitchen!

We have had a wonderful time on the farm and with lots of Carson's family. Now we are in Gallatin for a couple of weeks with my family. It is such a blessing to see Jude enjoying time with family.

Support Mbegu Films

*Update: the hours of the Craft Fair are:
Thursday night Sneak Peek- 6-9pm ($5 admission fee)
Friday and Saturday- 10am-8pm (no admission fee)

*We will also have some photography taken in the Serengeti and at the coast in Dar es Salaam available for a donation to Mbegu Films.




This weekend there is a fun way for you to be a part of our work in Geita. Shopping! We will be at the Warren County Arts and Craft Fair this weekend selling all sorts of things made from African fabric. All proceeds go to our newest project, Mbegu Films. To learn more about Mbegu Films visit us at:
facebook.com/mbegufilms

I can't find the exact hours of the Craft Fair, but I'll update once I've got them. There is a sneak peek Thursday night that you must buy a ticket to, but all day Friday and Saturday are free admittance. We will be in the upstairs area.

Click on the flyer below for a closer look at some of the products we'll have available.

Project 52: Healthy Baby...

Boy! It's a boy! We didn't expect to find out this early, but at my appointment yesterday they did an ultrasound, I think because I've been so sick. I said, "I don't guess you can really tell the gender this early." to which she replied, "There is something there!" Of course the most important thing we found out is that he is healthy, measuring the right size and with a good heart rate. I wasn't terribly worried because I was pretty sick with Jude as well and he was healthy, but it is really good to know that everything is as it should be. Here's a fuzzy ultrasound pic that looks like outerspace, but that's my boy!

And of course you'd like to know his name, right? It's Silas Andrew. Silas is a name that we really love and even considered for Jude. It means wood or of the woods which we think is fitting since Carson is a woodworker. Andrew is a family name. My granddaddy was George Andrew and went by Andy. One of Carson's cousins is also named Andrew. I love that we have great Andrews from both sides of the family!

I'll try to throw in as many posts as possible, but the Project 52 posts may be the bulk of it for a while now. We are enjoying our time with family and the fact that I am eating so well these days.

Project 52: Hyperemesis Gravidarum

These project 52 posts are supposed to give you a glimpse into motherhood and I try to include things that also give you a glimpse into our life here in Tanzania. This week I’m showing you a glimpse of my hospital room at Bugando Hospital in Mwanza last week.

This isn't what all the rooms at Bugando look like. I was fortunate to get in a VIP room rather than on a ward, which enabled me to have some privacy and Carson to come and go any time.

I was in the hospital due to Hyperemesis Gravidarum which is basically when you are pregnant and your body tries to kill you! Ok, that’s not what the dictionary says, but, hey, that is how it feels at times! It’s a severe form of morning sickness, and Wikipedia says this of the actual term,”Hyperemesis gravidarum is from the Greek hyper-, meaning excessive, and emesis, meaning vomiting, as well as the Latin gravida, meaning pregnant.”  You’ve probably heard a variety of techniques for dealing with morning sickness and maybe even had the occasion to try some out for yourself. It might seem that severe morning sickness would just require a bit more or the “cures”. Unfortunately, not so much. Sunday night my body stopped accepting food, water, medicine. Wednesday night I was admitted to the hospital and started on fluids and meds to stop the vomiting. I didn’t stop vomiting for a couple more days and continued to have a variety of symptoms, but by Monday I was able to leave. We decided to change our tickets and come home a month earlier than expected so that we could recover surrounded by family and familiarity and be in the states in case I needed further medical care. So, we're back in Tennessee. I did really well on the flights (so did Jude) and we are relaxing. I'm still on three different medications that are helping me to keep down wonderful food like Pop-Tarts! 

We really couldn't have survived this without the help of other missionaries in Mwanza who spent lots of time watching Jude and housing and feeding both Jude and Carson. We are also very thankful for the American doctor who treated me. We are so blessed with good friends in Tanzania as well as all of our friends in the States who were praying for my recovery and our travels.

I hate that Hypermesis Gravidarum is a part of my motherhood experience. I was really sick with my first pregnancy as well and most likely had the same thing, though I was never diagnosed and never had to be in the hospital. It makes for a rough start to the motherhood journey, but I'm trying to remember how well it ends, with the arrival of sweet baby!