Breaking the blog silence...

It's been so long since I've blogged that I couldn't remember my sign-in password...that's pretty sad!

Thankfully I had it written down along with the 37 other usernames and passwords for various accounts, so here I am once again...back in blogging action.

Things have been CRAZY the last couple of months, so much so that I was too exhausted to blog! I was already tired from months of dealing with the aftermath of the theft, plus various other crises that kept popping up, so when we hosted and staffed a 6-week Leadership Development Course, it just finished me off.

Instead of getting refreshed, like I had hoped, the LDC just took every last little bit out of me. By the time everyone left, all I wanted to do was stay in my house and have time with God. I was really really really finished.

Now, almost 4 weeks later, I'm doing much better but still needing space and a lot of time with God to process this year and try to learn the lessons He's been teaching me through all this. Maybe one day I'll be able to share some of those things on this blog.

In the meantime, here are just a few pics from the past couple of months:

My baby girl turned 5 in early November

and wanted a Princess birthday party.

I was stoked at how well the cake turned out...

...and Kezi and Elsie Jayne (who shared the

b-day party...she turned 3) loved it!

We borrowed a ton of dresses and let all the little girls pick out the one they wanted to wear, then added a few accessories. They came out in pairs and did a little twirl to show off their princess attire. They were adorable!

My big boy turned 9 a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't so impressed with my cake this time around, but he was happy with it so that's all that matters.

Aidan wanted a campout/sleepover with a bonfire, so he and his friends pitched

the tent, then roasted hot dogs,

marshmallows and sweet potatoes in

the bonfire. The dads slept out with them

and did a great job!

They also played water balloon games which brought lots of laughter and quite a few drenched clothes. But hey, December in Africa is dry season, so they didn't stay wet long.

Otim almost popped his balloon just from laughing so much.

Noah and Ogeno race to the basins with their balloons.

We also got into the holiday spirit

and made about 130 Christmas cookies!

I was so thankful for Kezi and Kenzie who

rolled, cut and colored with me.

John, Noah, Aidan and Cheryl (Kenzie's mom) also got into the spirit and helped decorate.

But the real highlight for me of the last few weeks is this right here...

RAINBOW TOES!

Someone told me at the end of the LDC

to try to do something fun for myself every day.

So when Kenzie came around with her

nail polish kit one day, I took one look and said,

"There's a rainbow in there."

So there you have it...when you're down in the dumps and need something fun to do, spice up your life with some rainbow toes. There is no way you will not smile at least once (or many times!)

We're off to Kampala tomorrow for the holidays, so stayed tuned for more pics...