The Faces of Julia's First Food

We were going to wait another month or so before giving her solid food, but she seemed ready and willing so we tried it out for the first time yesterday. We started with avocado. It was messy, but a lot of fun!

Thanksgiving in July

A couple weeks ago we were surprised with a gift from a Tanzanian friend of ours. A turkey!!!! Turkeys are a precious commodity here. They are not sold in stores or butcher shops, but around Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have seen signs posted for turkeys for sale. And they are not cheap. One turkey is over $100. Needless to say, we have never bought one. A friend of ours has a few at high rural home and wanted to bless us with one. He is not rich, quite the opposite, actually. So, him giving us the turkey was a huge sacrifice for him and a big honor for us to receive. George drove about 30 minutes away to pick it up and brought it back in our house. Eli kept calling it a chicken. We kept it in the garage for one night before slaughtering it it. By "We" I mean George. Since we don't have an oven, we couldn't roast it whole, which I would have liked. Instead, George butchered it like a chicken and we stored the parts in the freezer. We do have a toaster oven and in case you ever wondered, can you cook a turkey in a toaster oven, the answer is yes you can! First we cooked the drum sticks, then the thighs and then the breasts. The breast was my favorite. We just did a simple butter, salt and pepper rub, placed in a dish on top of sliced potatoes and the results were heavenly. I wondered if Eli would have a problem eating the turkey or would be traumatized by the killing of it (He didn't watch it, but after seeing it alive we had to tell him it was for eating, not keeping). But he was fine... and he loved the turkey. Eating turkey was such a treat, especially knowing what a special gift it was. And we still have more in the freezer other days. Yum!

Proverbs

The weekly Bible Study I am doing with other moms and kids has been looking closely at the book of Proverbs. Specifically, we are looking at what it says about "words" and "wisdom." I have been reading Proverbs for many years and it's easy to read over them quickly, glossing over the verses. But, in studying these verses in particular, we have found a gold mine. Words mean so much and can lift someone up or crush them. When we think about the words we say before letting them fly out of our mouths, we can save ourselves and others from a lot of hurt and trouble. This study has been going through Proverbs chapter by chapter and it was helped me so much to weigh the value and results of my words. Below are some of the verses that have particularly stood out to me:

Proverbs 10:11 "The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain..." (Are my words going to be life giving or do I have malicious intent. The Bible doesn't say it's ok to hurt someone if they have hurt you back. We are always called to respond in love.)

Proverbs 10:19 "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."
Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

(Never share information that is told to you in private. Resist the urge to gossip. It can be so damaging.)

Proverbs 10:21 "The words of the godly encourage many..."
Proverbs 12:18 Some people make cutting remarks,but the words of the wise bring healing.

(Will what I say be helpful or hurtful.)

It all comes back to love and showing others our love for them because of our love for Christ. The verses below are used many times in reference to marriage. But they are for every relationship.

1 Corinthians 13:3-7

"If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

If we are loving and wise, then we will be so careful about what we say. I am far from perfect in this area, but pondering on this point gives me something to aim for. As we seek to be better moms, wives, sisters, friends, neighbors,and ambassadors of Christ, I have a new appreciation for Proverbs and it's wisdom.

The Tooth Saga Continues...

Remember that pesky tooth issue.... well it came back! I was so relieved to have it taken care of. Unfortunately, that relief was short lived. A couple weeks after having the filling done, it came out while I was eating dinner. After I realized it was gone and there was a giant hole in my tooth, I braced myself for the pain to hit. Fortunately, it never came. Since there was no pain, I decided to wait to fix it until I could go to a better dentist. There was no way I was going back to that other guy. A couple weeks later, we headed up the mountain to a hospital that is known for good dental care. It was where I wanted to go originally, but there were no dentist there when I went (on a Saturday). It's a bit far from Moshi and such a random place to have a hospital. However, I was very impressed with their services. They had pretty decent equipment. There was even an x-ray machine. This dentist was nice and very good. He determined that I needed a root canal, which I was bummed about. It took two visits to get the treatment done, but it appears it has done the trick. He did a great job and even did the filling the right way (not just slabbing cement over two teeth). The best thing about this place...not only is it the best place to go... it's the cheapest! Most foreigners go to Arusha (an hour and a half from Moshi) and pay lots of money for dental work. They really should be going here. The total cost for my root canal... $75! Isn't it hundreds in the US? I am just so happy it's done.

Washing Machine!

We have a washing machine!!!!! This is a BIG event in our house. I have lived without one for four years and am so thrilled to have one. Our neighbors (and friends) moved away and gave us their washing machine. It's from Germany and is really old. I have never seen one like it before. When you open the lid, it has a round metal cage inside that tosses the clothes. Then it has a detached spinner. Since the instructions are in German, I don't really know if I am using it right, but the clothes are coming out clean so we must be doing something right. The spinner is awesome and gets so much water out of the clothes, they don't take long to dry on the line outside. I love doing laundry and am having a blast using it. Woo hoo!!!!