To the Hospital Again

NICU

Baby Joshua came home Sunday afternoon but by Wednesday morning he was not doing so well. We noticed that his color had changed a bit and we had him tested for jaundice. His levels were elevated enough that the doctor requested that we bring him back to the hospital. We didn't know at that time that we'd have to leave him there for 2 days and nights. That was hard on mom and dad but Joshua was able to come back home by Friday morning. We are so thankful that he is doing very well now. It was a bit of a stressful time as Alexis celebrated her 3rd birthday on Thursday so inbetween the birthday festivities we made 3 trips to the hospital to visit Joshua. We are so glad that is all behind us and our family is home and healthy! Alexis had a great birthday and we'll get those pics up soon. For now we just wanted to show you Joshua's new shades!

Welcome Joshua Lee Foreman!

Baby Joshua

Joshua Lee Foreman was born on October 23 at 11:17pm. He weighs 5 lbs. 14 oz. and is 19 inches long. He enjoys eating, sleeping, cuddling and watching Husker football.

Botswana and Beyond

Botswana and Beyond

I’ve heard a few interesting phrases recently and thought they were interesting enough to share. I heard a lady at church mention that she had a “jolly time” at one of their recent functions. She seemed pretty “jolly” herself! Another lady asked me if I wanted to “plunk down.” Yep, I decided to stay where I was. Someone asked our children if they would like “a drink of orange squash.” Are you kidding? No way! But then we learned it’s the South African equivalent of Kool-aid and it really is quite okay after all! We were invited to a “braai” yesterday and enjoyed BBQ hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks. Lucas and Alexis love to ride in the kid trolley at the store. I usually find a smaller shopping cart for myself. The grocery stores are so large that Dan and I usually divide and conquer our shopping list.

Oh, Shame!

After living the last year in a Muslim dominated country in West Africa where shame is such a negative and powerful part of the culture, it is so odd to hear South Africans say, “oh, shame” as such a natural part of almost every conversation. I have finally discovered that “oh, shame” is similar to saying “okay” or “that’s too bad” in American culture. It is one of the weirdest adjustments I’ve had to make.

On a lighter note, when you go grocery shopping and look for strawberry jelly just make sure you buy jam because if you buy jelly you’ll end up with jello!

Adventures in August

August 2009

Hello everyone! Thank you for your patience as I gradually get more updates on our blog. This pregnancy has slowed me down a bit more than I would have imagined. We spent the month of August mostly getting settled into a routine at home and exploring various parks on the weekends. There are many parks but it's tricky to find a public park. Many parks are gated so you have to be connected to the school/business/neighborhood to get in or you have to buy something at a restaurant to use their park/play area. We did have some success and found a great park near our house and have enjoyed several picnics as well. The next few pictures of the kids are courtesy of Allison's portrait studio. Haha. Since we haven't had access to getting some really nice pics done of the kids, I've decided to practice my photography skills and see what happens. So, we hope you enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend!

Lucas on his bike

Lucas on his bike

Well, a couple Saturdays ago we went to a nearby park to play and let Lucas ride his bicycle. He saw a girl a little older than him riding without training wheels. He decided he wanted to ride like her. So, the following day we went back to the park. Lucas hopped on his bike without training wheels and took off! Dan walked near him for the first few minutes but Lucas didn’t need help. There’s no slowing him down now!

South Africa Tidbits

This past Sunday I did more driving-probably a good 20 minutes. But I spent all my time focusing on coordinating driving a stickshift and Dan had to keep telling me to watch out for the curb and to stay in the middle of the road. Because the steering wheel is on the right side of the car I have no concept of how much space the car is taking up to the left of me. It’s so weird. It will take lots more practice before I drive by myself. It’s so nice to drive on real roads on Sundays because hardly anyone is out. Nothing is open in the afternoon so there’s no reason for people to be out unless they’re learning to drive like me. 

Lucas just came and asked for milk. That’s been a highlight and the most purchased item on our grocery list. We love that we have fresh milk again!!!! Dan’s so happy to have a toaster and loves having toast for breakfast almost every morning. Alexis is happy that Rice Krispies is one of the most popular cereals here. I’m happy that I can find brown sugar! Our first few trips to the grocery store were overwhelming to say the least. Several of the stores remind us of Wal-mart but we haven’t seen that much stuff in one place in a long time. The aisles were long and there were so many choices.

Figuring out prices is a whole different game. In Dakar we used “cfa.” For awhile 500 cfa = about $1. So we learned to divide everything by 500. Not so hard. Here the currency is called the rand. Right now $1 = about 8 rand. I just have to keep remembering to divide by the right number! And cooking using Celsius, grams and milliliters is a little tricky when my recipes are in cups, tablespoons and teaspoons! I must admit that so far everything I’ve cooked has turned out fine and my math skills have greatly improved!