My Friend: The Crockpot

So sorry I have been MIA for almost a month now!  I guess you have figured out by reading this that I am still alive.  It's been a busy month combined with nausea and fatigue (it feels like someone zapped all the energy out of me!).  I am hoping since my second trimester is quickly approaching that these things will magically go away.  A girl can hope, right?  And, really my nausea is getting much, much better.  So, that is giving me hope too!

Anyways, I have been doing a lot of crock pot cooking.  I usually use it at least once a week because of the convience and ease of it, but lately it's been more like a couple of times a week!  When you are nauseous it is really awesome to throw all the ingredients in and not have to deal with the smells very much!!!  When you are tired it is great to just have dinner magiclly ready without much work. :) So, yeah....the crockpot is really my friend right now.

One of our Africa friends was over one day while I was putting stuff in the crockpot and he asked what it was and I explained it to him.  He thought about it for a second and then he dubbed it "the lazy women's cooking pot" while smiling very big.  My friend: the lazy women's cooking pot!  It sure gave me a chuckle and hopefully it did you too.

So, I hope to be back to posting more regularly again.  Hope to "talk" to you again real soon.

Kind regards,

P.S. As I was posting the crockpot picture I ran across this picture:

It made me really want one again.  I think it has to do with the pickles.  We can't get dill pickles here and they just sound so tasty with that awesome chicken sandwich! ;)
P.S.S. Please excuse any spelling errors (of which I am sure there are MANY).  My spell check thinks I am French at the moment and is not being much help.

"The Talk" (& A Little Book Talk Too)

I've been dreading it.  Since I was pregnant with my Ms. Sojourner.  10.5 years ago.

Did you know my parents never had "the talk" with me?  I thought maybe that would be the way to go, but then I remembered the horror of piecing things together from peers and being clueless in Sex Ed., and then I decided not to do that to my kids.

Why did I have to have girls?!  If I'd of had boys this would be Mr. Sojourners job and life would be much easier.  But alas, God blessed me with three girls and cursed me with this responsibility.  (I am pretty sure having to have this conversation is part of the curse from Adam & Eve's sin in the garden.  I am not sure how, but it just has to be there fault.  Curse you Adam & Eve!)

While we were in the U.S. I got a few books to help lead the conversation.  (We'll just pretend they are "How to Have 'The Talk' for Dummies" books.  I googled that and they don't have it; you should write it!  I'd buy it.)

Here is the one I used:

There are a couple more in the series.  One before the above book: The Story of Me (God's Design for Sex)(which we have and have used in the past).  And, two after the above one I used: What's the Big Deal?: Why God Cares About Sex (God's Design for Sex) & Facing the Facts: The Truth About Sex and You (God's Design for Sex) (which I purchased in case I need to have further "talks" in the next 19.5 months).

Since the announcement of the baby on the way there have been a few questions.  I figured it was time to whip out the books and give it a try.  How bad could it be?!

My 8 & 10 year old giggled the whole book.  OK, maybe only when private parts were mentioned.  It was mortifying for me.  But, I survived.  They now know the basics.  We even included another talk about inappropriate touching.  (We have had those talks before.  The sexual abuse statistics freak me out.)

So, when did you (or do you plan to) give "the talk"?

Kind regards,

Wordless Wednesday

Kind regards,

In Honor of Tuesday

And, (in what seems like a lifetime past) Chick-fil-A Kid's or Family Night ('cause we used to love those nights where kids eat free!)...

I would really love one of these...

Or, maybe just this...

(with some sweet tea).

Or, possibly just one of these.  Yeah, that's sounds real good this morning.

'Cause really nothing else in this world sounds at all appetizing.  Nausea is not my friend!

And, I am pretty sure I couldn't really even stomach that once I had a bite or two. But, hey...at the moment, it sounds really tasty.

So, when you get a chance...have one for me! ;)

Kind regards,

19.5

19.5 months since we came to Africa & 19.5 until we head back to the U.S. for 6 months.  We're at the 1/2 way mark!  Wow.  We have come a long way.  We have learned a lot.  About the world.  About ourselves.  About our Creator and Sustainer.  We still have a long way to go.  I know that it will not be easy.  I also know that He will go before me.  I am very grateful for that.  'Cause one thing is for certain...we could not have come this far, or finish, without Him.

Reflecting on the past & pondering the future,

In honor of MLK Day (a little late)...

(And, because the cute little Sojourners say they funniest stuff.)

Middle Sojourner (to Little Sojourner): Today is Martin Luther King George Day!  He said a speech to millions and millions of people.

Little Sojourner: {blank stare}

Middle Sojourner:  Let's go play!  We'll pretend that you are white and and I am black  and we will put all the people together!!!

Little Sojourner: OK!

I overheard this while lying in my bed and dying suffering from extreme nausea.  It made my day.  I love the way kids think and process things they learn.  They don't always get it exactly right, but they retain the just of it.

On a serious note, Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man and I am so thankful that our country honors his life and memory each year.  His most famous speech is more then inspirational along with much of what he said and did.  (Below are a few of my favorite quotes.)

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

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. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

How did you celebrate your MLK Holiday?

Kind regards,

Hello!

Me += horrendous nausea, not many blog posts, #2 on the 13 Before Thirty List (minus the big amount of weight loss first) & three ecstatic little Sojourners.

Thanks for your patience while I try to keep from puking!