A Long post from vinj and Kath

From Vinj- I want to go finish making our cupboards right now, and drill holes for the pantry shelves, but I am resisting.... because kath wants to spend time. I find that I am so one track minded, there are so many things I would like to do, like blog for you guys, but I am just thinking about the house all the time. Building the house has given me alot of confidence and it feels good to be able to use my hands and actually be able to make something look good. Ok, I am off now to finish the kitchen cupbords. Sorry more later. Vinj

Everyone is in the livingroom watching Narnia on the “big screen” computer right now, Taliah just went to bed and Seth is snuggled up with great grandma. Everyone meaning, Logan my cousin from Canada and his girl friend Brittany, and my moms mom, my grandma Dorothy. I feel like I havent written in a long time and have thought of lots of stories to write about, and will try and remember some of them. Although Lana told me I could write any old thing and she would love it, so here I go... : )

Not a night goes by that I am not totaly awed by the night sky, it is SO CLEAR, I have always taken some pride in our beautiful clear air around New Norway area with so little polution after being exposed to Torontos discusting air, and Bankoks even worse air in Thailand. BUT- Zambia has skys I have never seen. They are so crystal clear, every single night, and it just lays out there with those brilliant stars, just beautiful, since there are only about 12 million people in a big mass of land, with little infurstructure I guess there is little polution, thats my theory anyway.
I cant really discribe the feelings that roll around in my heart and mind lately, the word I want to use is weird... BUT when ever I use that word I remeber my dad told me along time ago that weird actually means something far worse then what I was using it for, like back in my valley girl days of “What- everrrrr!” (shelby would remember those days, so would suzanne! haha : ) Anyway, I used to say weird alot and my dad told me the real meaning, which I forget, something about witch craft or something, and so since then whenever I say it I have this voice in my head (my dad) telling my not to use that word and to try and think of a better word. So right now a thesaurous would be wonderful, then I could maybe find a word. ANYWAY........... I walk through our house and it doesnt really feel like our hosue yet, but it kind of does... then it feels so much like home in Zambia sometimes it feels like I must be in Canada still only 30 minutes from my family, but I’m not. Hense the really “weird” feelings I am having lately. I am used to Zambia... I think because I have been here 4 times before none of the “Zambia” culture has really fazed me, it just is what it is, and I like it mostly. There is just a feelin that everything isnt whole, or right with my family so far, it feels like they should be very close. I know it doesnt make sense so I will move on.

I got to be in the room with my friend linda while she was in labour with their new baby girl Nchiwemi (chee-wem-ee... thats for Jessica who asked how to say it) Anyway, I was met with a totally different experience then the comfortable Canada labour experience. In Canada the nurses are all about the safety of the baby and the comfort of the mom in labour. With Linda the nurses gave no option of pain relief (which linda didnt ask about either!) When she was saying the contractions where really painful the nurse just said “Good, let them come even harder so your baby can come!” now if you ahve had a baby in Canada you know by then they would be asking if you want morphone, or epidural, laughing gas.. etc, right?! HARD CORE. Anyway, when linda was in the worst peak of labour the nurses were even laughing telling linda to be tough and stop complaining or screaming! I am so appauled! Totally! She was being tough as far as I was consurned NOT having anything for the worst pain in the world. Anyway, in the ned me and lindas mom got kicked out of the room for the pushing and I didnt get to SEE her born which I would have loved. But Linda was a champion, the active labour was only about 3.5 hours (doing it natural really pays off in labour time!) In the end I was scared to have a baby here just because they expect you to be more then super women! AHHH! Nchiwemi was adorable with her squooshy face and dark lips. I havent seen her for a few days and will be paying her a visit today. I still want to see a baby really born, maybe I will have to be a mid wife to really see a miracle like that happen, I guess we will see.
Seth has potty trained himself! He is still having half acidents in his pants then runs and pees in the toilet once he realises. We were only going to train him once we were in the house but he start for the past week and a half, of which I am thankful. Although he is not so good when we are out in town, and there are SO FEW public toilets in town so it is hard.
Taliah is walking confidently now all the time, with a little unsteadieness once and a while, but she catches herself. She is also sayin words like “yes” “dis (this)” “daddy” “mama” and the infatic NO she communicates with the shaking of her head. She find dirt where ever she can and plays in it. I came in from getting diapers to hang in the house tonight and found seth and taliah had got into the last bag of cement in the house while grandma was cleaning up dishes, after I had bathed BOTH of them, taliahs left side was covered in cement! The hair that I had just wshed so nicely was grey... boohoo. Tonight I cut all seths long curls off... reason being ---- it is a HUGE fight to wash his hair even once a week, he cries like I am beating him, when I haven’t even got the shampoo in his hair. SO... today when bathing he said no wash hair mommy! No wash hair! So I said fine then I am cutting it off Seth, and he agreed. If you know Seth you know anything having to do with his hair he HATES, don’t touch his hair, wash it, and above all NEVER try and comb it out. So I cut it, and he cried as if I was beating him... but at least thats it for a month or so. he looks so different I loved his little afro, but it’s gone again.... and will return at a later time.
I’ve been getting used to the little friends we have everywhere here, such as spiders that live behind the toilet, salamanders that live in the vents in the wall, or just live on your wall, and beatles that just show up on the inside of our windows... and I have also gained courage to KILL the ones I dont like, like the grasshopper/spider I saw the other day with bright red in it, that was a instant take-shoe-off-and-kill moment, and those happen alot, especially with little cockroaches and little black spiders hate those things. Anyway, I don’t call vinj anymore and hide on the bed, I just “get er done” my self these days.
I watched the older version of PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE on wednesday all day, it is a 6 hour movie, and I totally LOVE IT! If you liked the new movie and haven’t seen the older one, the older one is WAY BETTER! Believe me --- and watch it as soon as possible ok. I was sucked into that world for a day, having to take breaks to help in the house or with the kids of corse, but I loved it, was a beautiful day with elizabeth bennet and her family. Can you believe Logan and Brittany don’t even know Jane austin, or pride and predjudice! AHHHH! What is the school system coming to! haha... anyway. I want to watch it again with Vinjelu, since he hasnt seen it since high school, and he loved it then too.
If anyone wants to I would love a copy of the book... mine is in a container, and don’t know when it will be here. I am reading another english classic called “Tess of Durbavilles” I am only reading it because 9this is lame guys get ready for it) Vinjelu read the book in high school and fell in love with this character Tess that Thomas Hardy made up, and always hoped he would find a wife with the name Tess... and so I was like WELL THEN, I want to see who this girl is... (lame right) anyway, so I am reading it and have nearly cried twice at the horible things that happen to her, I am like asking vinj what is it you liked about this story! If you havent read it, Tess goes to a rich estate to work like a servant, there the bosses son kind of falls in love with tess in a sick way I would say because she is young, he eventually rapes her, she leaves and finds she is pregnant at like 14 or something, then is discrased in her coomunity, she has the baby,k but then the baby dies and that the part I am at... so really depressing, anf I really feel Tess has nothing on me in terms of character and all that, so I am no longer jelous of Tess, I love her like Vinj did... and I cant wait to read the rest of the story. And I have just tonight realised that Kate my english neighbour here on the YWAM base has the movie that was made from the book! So I will be watching that soon. All to say, WHY DONT they give these books to kids anymore! Thats why they are called classics!
Anyway... I think I’ve been rambling. IN two weeks we are suppose to be going out to Vinjelus dads moms village, so that makes her his grandma also known as GOGO, you say it just like that “go go”. She lives in a village outside lilongwe malawi. So we will see how that visit goes. She is excited to meet me and the kids, and has welcomed us to visit her there.

Will write more another time and will be posting some updated pictures of the progress of the house.

From my bed in lusaka west...