Mrs.O's writing room.

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:13 – 14 I'm still reminiscing about the good times I had in Uganda this past summer and the MTN Kampala marathon certainly fits the description. One event I didn’t want to miss while at home was the MTN marathon. Being a former employee and having lots of friends working there, it was certainly one of those things on my to-do list. For months I reminded myself of the need to get in shape, but until the last week that was only a thought. I got into panic mode and decided to do a jog around the Ntinda neighborhood two days before the big day – bad idea on many fronts. For some reason I seemed to look pretty odd jogging on the streets, maybe because it was 9 am on a Friday morning. People stopped to stare, traffic jams started out of no where, I over heard one chapatti vendor saying something like “it’s these Tanzanians who are going to disturb us”...

Today I was literally sliding on the road, there was ice everywhere. It was like a large skating arena I tell you. Now if walking was hard, then imagine what was happening with the cars. Well most of them were parked at home but for those that dared to go out, they were skidding like crazy. Mich's school was closed for the day and so were many others. So the joke that when it snows Texans stay home is not funny, there are good reasons - not skidding and dying being one of them. Check out Mich's collection of icicles, he was so excited I was given strict instructions to keep them in the freezer. But meanwhile my fellow Kampalans ', what is going on? Can we take it easy?, this borders on embarrassing. But I must give some credit, these guys are fast, over here no one is thinking of putting up sign posts or anything. We are just stressed, there is a lot to deal with, the weather, the economy, finding a church for the first family, you know, that sort of thing.

It's getting cold up in here, these are the times I need to look on the bright side. Somewhere down the road, not too long from now nature will be springing. Took these pictures last spring in Philly.

It's a week today since Mich started pre-school and am glad to report that the protests haven't been as many or as severe as they were in Uganda. He seems to be getting a hang of it which is certainly nice. Of course the questions about why he has to write or read still come up but not as forcefully as before. I think we are on to something good. He has a file that details the events of his day and looking through it I definitely see an improvement, his name is getting more legible and the coloring is not too off. At such moments I'm usually delirious, hugging and kissing him and telling him what a great job he's done. Mich on the other hand has this - "what's up with you? it's no big deal" look on his face. Over the weekend I was left speechless when after I spanked him for disobedience he said "thank you mummy for spanking me". Aaaah! who is this kid? did we get a swap? if we did they certainly did a good job and I'm liking what I am se...

Just sitting around thinking back to the time I spent in Uganda. It is interesting the things one notices and learns about a place after being away for a while. So, I walk into the bank to withdraw some money, I join the queue of about 7 people. I am just about to reach the teller when a young man walks up to me and asks if I could help him bank his money. Huh??? He said something about leaving his post of duty and how he has to get back before a certain time. I was in such shock, amazed at his boldness and also wondering why me? There were other people in the line you know?! Well as you may or may not guess I agreed and the rest is history. Another day, I get into a taxi and remember that I need to send a text message. I pull out my phone and start typing, then my neighbor develops an interest in my message - reading as I typed. I pretend that I need to get something else out of my bag and the lady turns away, when I get back to writing, she is all interested again eh! Dryness! in fac...

Dentist appointments took on a whole new meaning for me this past week, it was a lot more fun than I expected - I kid you not. Seeing a dentist has been defined by grim, miserable periods that I hoped I could wish away, not this time. I went for a checkup two weeks ago and the nurses attended to me hand and foot, they were literally at my beck and call. May be it's the competition over here, they want to make sure you come back. When I finally met the dentist (probably in his late 40's) he introduced himself and gave me a firm hand shake, now seriously, how many doctors do you know shake hands with their patients? (unless of course they have a relationship). There was a screen in front of the patient chair on which I could see photos, x rays and digital drawings of all my teeth. The ones marked in red needed attention, lets just say with my chart you had to look for the ones not marked red :-( So I made an appointment to get the project underway and this is how my second visit ...

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land. We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills. For we know that, Lord, you are able and you're willing ...

This is a great day. Today, the 20th of January 2009 I saw Mich off for his first day of school right here in Irving Texas. I woke him up, he got dressed and was off without so much as a complaint (well except for the fact that he wanted to sleep a little longer). Then I got myself a nice comfy spot on the sofa and watched the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, so yea, that's another reason why this day is special. Since I couldn't make it to the mall in Washington D.C, I took pictures on screen, funny huh?!. We had a perfect view watching it on TV because one, we were in the comfort and warmth of our home and two, ABC reliably delivered all possible angles. I can confidently say I didn't miss a thing. I got a little concerned when Barack begun the oath with a slip, I thought oh my goodness, the man is overwhelmed. I was relieved to later find out that Chief Justice John. G. Roberts made the blunder when he said the words in a different ord...

Probably the most talked about, written about person in the past several months - Obama. It's a buzz up in here, almost every channel I tune into is saying something or the other about the man and his up coming inauguration. Mich was a little puzzled about why they want Obama to say so many things - time to educate. I explained to him how Obama was going to make a promise and what that meant. It's great to be right here when America is making history. I get teary eyed watching videos of Martin Luther King Jr making his "I have a dream" speech 46 years ago - " I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal .'" "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Seeing Obama live that dream today- is ab...

I feel like 2009 is a year in which we should look back on our lives and thank God for all the blessings He has given us. It is amazing what happens when we start counting our blessings, all over a sudden hearts are lifted, things don't look as gloomy as before and we realise that we are truly blessed. Start with something as simple as life itself, I am so thankful to be a live, yeah I got bashed in 2007, was continuously reminded about it in 2008 but I'm certain I never would have made it with out big J or is it big G. At times I feel real lousy about my big tummy and the fact that I have no kids (Mich not included) to show for it but then I'm reminded that God loves me anyway, it's not something He is hangup on and at the end of the day I don't look that bad - really. This year, the words that dominate my mind are obedience, discipline and self-control . Self-control literally means controling yourself - being the boss of you. It hit me recently that over eating ...

These past few weeks with Mich have been amazing. I can't get over how much he has grown and continues to grow. His statements never cease to tickle me, just like last night when he had a "eureka" moment. Mich - "Mummy, I know why it takes long for God to give us the things we ask for" me - "really, why?" Mich - "because He is still making them. I asked Him for a cart and I haven't received it because God is still making it" me - silence "wow!" Mich - "He finishes them at the end of the year, around Christmas " I was amused that he was covering for God and better still, He knows that God is faithful, when He takes long there has got to be a good reason. His little brain soaks up information like a sponge, right now he is in the phase of creating theories to explain different phenomena. He has a sense of humor, loves to tell jokes and catches them too, even when they are quite subtle. Books are a big thing in his life r...

I bet you were thinking about cowboys and Indians and whatever other connotations “west” has today. Well sadly no, I was actually referring to the western region of Uganda. Sam, Mich, Rukundo, Geoffrey and I took a trip to Kabale to visit with Mich’s great grand mother (Sam’s grand ma), Mich’s grand aunt and other relatives. Kabale is breathtakingly beautiful, it’s defined by hills, mountains, lakes and valleys. It’s also very fertile; I got the impression that every household owned a farm. Looking out the window I could see acres upon acres of tea, sorghum, millet, cabbage, bananas, onions, Irish potatoes, rice, mangoes, pineapples, green vegetables and lots more. I’m told it’s the land where “mirik, frows on the virrage paths” – “milk flows on the village paths” in other words they have lots of cattle - break that down to milk, cheese, ghee, butter and everything you can squeeze out of a cow. “Nyogukuru”, grandmother in Rufumbira was really happy to see us, especially Mich....

After 4 weeks of church shopping we found what we were looking for. It fits the bill-I think (you know that sometimes what we want or think we want and what God would have for us are not always in sync). But the goal is to step out anyway, start with what you think is right and God will clarify things as you go along. What was I looking for? well, here is the description; Average sized church, not too big, not too small, size enough for us to develop meaningful relationships. Free worship, I need to be able to lift up my hands and dance without being a distraction or a spectacle. Friendly and warm atmosphere, a place where we can feel at home without bending over backwards to fit in. Solid teaching, what ever that means. Last Sunday we visited Living Hope Church . We got to the door and were greeted by two or three people, in the mean time I was trying to figure out where Sunday school was when a lady came over (I think she was an usher), and gave me a welcome hug. I was still rilling ...