Where has the year gone??

Oh my goodness, this time last year I was big and uncomfortable. Joshua arrived 1 year ago next Monday. He has one week left of being an under one - and getting into the soft play area for free!

What a whirlwind year. Joshua has spent half his life in Africa and half in the UK. I am definitely finding it easier to be a mum in the UK. SO much more to do and less insects to worry about, but then having to put clothes on him is a bit of a hassle.

He is such a blessing to our family. It has been a hard transition especially for Alex in the last few months but Joshua brings so much joy and laughter. He is almost walking, he is very happy to walk around holding your hand and occasionally I can get him to take a few tentative steps on his own. I find it amazing to watch him grow and learn and change.

Some normality

We have been back in our house just over a month and we are feeling some sense of normalilty, Alex has been having meetings with the MoD (his old employer) for the last couple of days and is due to return near the end of the month. He is not full of the joys of spring about this, but I have reassured him that he will have food and a smiley baby to return to. So as these photos prove it life is ok.

Joshua has been crawling for 2 months and is almost walking - all very exciting...

..... and he is pretty happy about it as well

Bath time - all the better for bubbles

The snow - as Alex says, 'cold without snow is not really worth it.'

Photos from a cooler climate

with Aunty Jenny on Boxing day

Some quality time with Uncle Gareth

Snuggled up and a new way to drink milk - look no hands

Still being carried in the sling - the hat performs a different function though - less to keep the heat off more to keep the heat in.

Back in the UK

We have been back in the UK for 1 month, so there is really no excuse for not updating this blog! We left Africa in a whirl of seeing local friends and saying goodbye to them, selling nearly all of our furnature (praise the Lord) and very sad goodbyes to our lovely team mates. The night we left the Island the power went out and still hasn't returned, this is a nightmare especially as it is the hottest time of the year and trying to sleep without a fan on is really challanging, we are praying for you guys! Big Pole Sana! (very sorry in Swahili) Since we have been back we have been reflecting a bit on the last 2 years in Arica, there are so many things we will miss. I hope to do a post soon with some incredibly witty and well thought out comments (well we can all aim high!) but for now here are some new pics!

A suitably islamic pose! No smiling allowed in photos. This is one of our good friends Mr M he come over the last day we were there with a Kofia (hat) and Kanzu (white long shirt) for Joshua With some friends, it is actually their house we are sitting in!

Giving as good as he gets!

My men - so cool!

Major developments

Well, in the last few weeks Joshua has started sitting, can walk when in his walker and is getting his first tooth! He is 6.5 months, 7kg , (Lb 16) and just getting cuter and cuter!

We said goodbye to Paul and Jo Stacey last week, they came out from one of our supporting churches – Emmanuel in Bristol, we didn’t really know each other very well before, so it is always a risk living together for 2 weeks! However we had a great time, we bonded as we suffered in the heat and humidity together, made some home visits to our friends in the village, saw some of the amazing things Zanzibar has to offer – Dolphins, tortoises, turtles, beautiful beaches and survived attacks from fish, urchins , mosquitoes and a gate! They also brought an entire suitcase full of amazing goodies, books and food for Joshua, chocolate and salami for us and a brand new laptop to replace our one that died recently. Thank you so much to everyone at home for your amazing generosity.

Saw an old friend Grace (see very early entries) at a wedding.

Gotta be quick

Hi all,
Internet success for the first time in 3 weeks - Yey! Some new pics to enjoy.

6 months today!

Our team - some new additions - Hans' parents - Hans Sr and Doris and Joshua

Team ladies, asante Paula for the T-shirts. Doris, Roxanne, Paula, Me and Doro

The Vocational Training Center - it is coming on!

The classroom block

This is where the cars with be worked on

The compound and the entrance

Giving our lovely guests a tour! This will be the office

Thank you SO much to the Emmanuel mums group - Ella's kitchen - AMAZING!

Ide celebrations with some friends

Some more pics

Saturday fun in the pool!

This is the first time he has really enjoyed the pool - the air temp is close to 40 degrees so the water has heated up considerably!

5 months - I just can't get over how cute he is!

I am starting to see the likeness!

After our well was dug we had the problem of what to do with all the coral that had been dug out of it! Thankfully there was a local cow and cart on hand.

Joshua's favourite way to get around

Feeling cut off!

Well as you can see I am not a regular blogger! This was always true but has been compounded by the fact we have had very little internet access since we have been back. In 10 weeks we have probably had 6 days when it has worked. We also have no television or radio and there are no English newspapers here so you could have all been struck down with swine flu and we wouldn’t know it. Well that is not quite true our parents do keep us informed on the major things. So I am sitting in our wonderful teammates – the Osborn’s house scrounging off their internet! So 10 weeks of life back in Africa have come and gone our little boy is growing and changing all the time and he is such joy and delight. Last week he stared having mashed banana and milk once a day and just loves it, up till then his only taste (apart from milk) was malarone which he gets every day. Half a paediatric pill crushed up added to milk in a syringe and forced down him, he clamps his mouth shut as soon as he sees it and makes a disgust face afterwards – so sad – but so far no malaria praise the Lord. He has been really healthy which is so good, it has been me that has been more ill this time – various sickness bugs and a nasty session one night in the bathroom (12 times in 2 hours, but that is far too much detail) On other more pleasant news we finally have our own well! We have shared a well with our neighbour for the last 18 months but every now and then that neighbours landlord decided to remove our pump and not tell us so the first we know of this is no water coming out the taps and it is a 3 day process to get it going again – lots of fun with a baby let me tell you! However our landlord agreed to having a well dug in our garden. 4 weeks later and 23 meters deep (through coral rock) we have hit the water table – the problem now is getting it into our holding tank, but that is a saga for another day.

Alex got straight to work as soon as he arrived back and has been really busy with various meetings, proposals, budgets and reports. The school is looking good, we are almost ready to get the computer classroom set up and should have a functional car workshop early next year. Alex has also had the chance to tell some of our local friends Bible stories in Swahili, when we got back we told the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho and our God who keeps His promises. I am still trying to find my niche, I love being a mum and Joshua is a constant source of joy, his gorgeous smiles and lovely noises and gurgles are so fun, but I feel like I could and should be doing more than just keeping him entertained. He is at such a great age now (5 months can you believe it) where he is happy to be out and to just watch the World. I am learning the art of contentment (not very well some days) but what a great lesson to learn.
Will try and be better at blogging!



I am not really sure what has happened to Alex - he says he wants to blend in!!

Just one of the sights to endure when buying meat, Thanks for the photo Jono!

Our well being dug -One man down there all day just chipping away – no airflow, hardly any light – it has got to rate amongst the worst jobs in the World!

Our last day

Well, our time in the UK is up, we fly back to TZ at 19:20 tomorrow evening. leave here at 15:00. Somehow we have filled our massive (7 bags) luggage allowance - a little worrying! AFter all the packing an dgoodbyes of the last few weeks it will be reat to finally get there. Joshua is 14 weeks and is still as gorgeous as ever.

Our last month

Well we fly back to Africa in 1 month! Time in the UK has be so wonderful and we can't believe how fast it has gone, We are now thinking through all the things we need to take back with us - the list is long! There are so many emotions as we consider our return, excitement at seeing the rest of the team again and our friends out there, trepidation when we think about how Joshua will cope with the heat, bugs, malaria and lack of medical care and sadness as 2 sets of grandparents, 2 uncles and 2 aunts say goodbye to their first grandchild and nephew. Here are more recent photos for your viewing pleasure, he really is a gift from God, so many smiles and gurgles - gorgeous!