Tag Archives: Kenya

Nursery Color Inspiration (I need your help!) + 19 Weeks!

As you may very well know, John and I are not finding out the sex of our baby. AH! I know, right? Trust me, I am dying to know, but I know that the surprise in the end will be TOTALLY worth it.

Well, we’re in the process of starting to think about our NURSERY and, well, I really want to prove that gender neutral nursery’s don’t have to be boring! They don’t have to be “conventional” – and so John and I decided on the theme for our nursery and we are so excited.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know how much Kenya means to us. I’ve been back twice and my husband came with me this year and a huge chunk of my heart is in that community of Kiria. Well, I’ve taken A LOT of photos on my trips back to Kenya, and we thought what better than to do a KENYAN-THEMED nursery?

We’re going to blow up photos I’ve taken and put them on canvases or large prints and hang them around the nursery. And what better way to tell our child about Kenya and the people and our experiences AND the animals than to surround him or her with photos and memorabilia?

Well, although I have photos picked out, we still have not settled on an overall color palette for the room. And so, I’ve gathered a few of my favorite photos that I’ve taken in Kenya and made color palettes out of them for inspiration.

So, I want to know: which one is your favorite?

[Option ONE: The Crowned Crane]

Kenya & Safari Inspired Nursery Color Palette

[Option TWO: The Watering Hole] Kenya & Safari Inspired Nursery Color Palette

[Option THREE: Zebras] Kenya & Safari Inspired Nursery Color Palette

[Option FOUR: Tiny Santa]
Side note: this is probably my favorite photo I’ve ever taken. I took it through the window of our bus on the way to the village one day and I just love the story it tells. Kenya & Safari Inspired Nursery Color Palette

So seriously, which one is YOUR favorite? What do you think would look best in the nursery?

Now for my 19 week update!

still being molly - maternity style: purple blouse, maternity jeans, red TOMS, red bow bag How far along: 19 weeks!
How big is baby: An heirloom tomato or small cantaloupe
Weight gain: At the doctor’s last week it looks like I’m right on track at about 10 pounds.
Sleeping: Sleep? BAH!
Food cravings: This kid loves milk, ice cream, cheese – anything dairy. But my latest craving this week has been blueberry waffles with powdered sugar on top! NOM NOM NOM!
Food aversions: Still no desire to eat Tokyo Express. Sad times.
Symptoms: Pretty much all the same.
Doctor’s appointment: We go for our anatomy scan next Thursday! I had my 18 week checkup last week and the baby’s heartbeat was steady at 140.
Wedding Rings: Still on!
Movement: On and off. Nothing consistent yet, but when I ate [B]Ski’s for lunch this week the baby was moving like CRAZY afterwards. It’s really all hit or miss.
Best moment of the week: My mother-in-law is coming to visit tonight so I’m really looking forward to spending time with her!
What I’m looking forward to: Our anatomy scan next week! YAY!
What I did / Got for baby: My new mom car!
What I learned this week: The baby can yawn, smile, and frown in the womb right now. SO CUTE.
Prayer requests: Still praying for sleep and better rest. I’m just dragging all the time. I also would love continued prayer for the health of the baby – I’m still in that stage where I’m just so careful about everything and I just want this baby to be strong and healthy.

Kenya in Instagrams

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Happy Friday, guys. I know I’ve been talking a lot about Kenya, but well, it’s still fresh and it’s still on my mind (and probably will continue to be for a while. Like, forever).

And, honestly, since I got back on Sunday and was gone for a couple days this week for work, I haven’t had much time to, well, just relax.

So, my Friday post today is dedicated to the Instagrams I shared while in Kenya. It’s hard to explain how beautiful the country and people are. So, I’ll let a few of these simple Instagrams help a little bit.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” -1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

It’s Friday and that means it’s time to link up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk, Allison at Two-Thirty Five Designs, Me and the Moon, the Bargain Blonde, and Jeannett at Life Rearranged. You should go link up, too! They’re good people.

Some Africa-Inspired Fashion

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You guys, my first day back to work was yesterday. I still don’t feel 100% myself or totally back in action. I don’t know if it’s jet lag, or that longing I was telling you guys about, or what, but I’m in a wee bit of a funk.

So, I figured it would be appropro to have some subtle Kenyan reminders in my first “outfit” back in the real world. Or something.

So, I rocked my favorite zebra print cardigan as a nod to those zebras we saw everywhere. Seriously, zebras are like deer in Kenya. EVERY-WHERE, they are.

I also had to rock some of my new Kazuri beads. Kazuri is this AMAZING bead factory where they train underprivileged women the craft of bead making and pottery and give them an opportunity to work and earn money. 100% of the proceeds go to the women there. We took a tour of the factory and it was amazing to see the love that goes into EVERY piece of jewelry.

I like to call this my Kenyan arm party, you know… minus the watch. But these bracelets give me a constant reminder of where my heart is. My handmade KENYA bracelet, my NILISAIDIA band (Nilisaidia means “I helped” in Swahili), and my Resonate HOPE band that is the mission of HOPE Missions at our church.

And my red TOMS seemed even more appropriate. I mean, ONE for ONE, of course.

And I know this is something I go through every year, but it just seems especially hard now. I mean, I think about how much I love my TOMS. They’re probably my favorite, most comfortable shoes. But then I think about the fact that they were $45, and that’s like one and a half month’s salary for my friend Philip in the village – it just seems tough to justify something like that.

I mean, I’m just being real.

I’m not saying that to say that spending $45 on a pair of shoes is wrong, because it isn’t – it’s just a mentality of a consumer-driven society that we live in. And I think as long as we keep ourselves in check and we remind ourselves of what’s most important – God, our family, our friends – not STUFF, then it’s okay.

Or something. I know I probably am not making any sense at all… this is more me word-vomiting the jumbled post-mission trip thoughts I have going through my head.

Forgive me. I promise my dry, creative wit will return soon enough. In the meantime, I leave you with Christopher’s lion story to make you laugh.

Happy Tuesday, y’all.Linked up with Transatlantic Blonde and Wardrobe Wednesday

A Kenyan Nail Painting Party + #YOLOmondays Link-Up

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You guys, we are back in the United States of America. We got back late on Saturday and we have spent, or I really should say, I have spent the last day and a half in a funk and totally jet lagged. My husband doesn’t get affected by jet lag too much. I am jealous of him.

I’m beginning to start the process of adjusting back to “real life” – you know, work, blogging, driving a car, etc. It definitely feels weird. I remember it took a while to get back into the swing of things last year. But, life always finds a way to straighten itself out again.

In the meantime, while I’m getting myself in order, I thought I’d share a little about one of my favorite moments of our trip.

Don’t worry, y’all… outfit posts are back in action starting tomorrow!

I touched on this a little in a post last week, but wanted to share some more photos.

On our last official day in the village, the women on our team had the opportunity, nay, the privilege to paint the women’s nails.

This is a tradition that our team has done every year, but this year it was the most fun I’ve ever had. We took about 25 of the women in the village, we brought them in a classroom, and we created a little “nail salon” for them.

Not only is it awesome to just get the chance to love and serve these women, but it’s AMAZING to see how they TOTALLY come out of their shells.

Kenyan women are STRONG women. These women work, raise children, find ways to feel their families… the whole nine yards. The whole week you see the women working hard with a serious look on their faces (most of the time).

But, you get these women alone in a classroom with some nail polish and cameras, and they turn into GIRLS.

Seriously. They were LAUGHING and having a blast. The women even started talking about their husbands. And the single women? Joked how they might find husbands now!

It was like a bunch of girlfriends hanging out at a beauty parlor.

To get to see them relax and not have to think about work or all the stress in their lives, and just BE WOMEN, was such an honor. I felt SO privileged to be able to join the other women on our team and do this.

It seems so small – something like painting nails – something we women, girls, take for granted. But to these women, it was the time of their lives. They’ll literally be talking about it for weeks, months, even until we go back next year.

They love the bright nail colors and they LOVEEEEE glitter. Every woman wanted glitter on her nails… or a design. But since I have NO idea how to paint a design, I opted for glitter.

So, I painted a few of the women’s nails, and all of a sudden, they wanted to paint mine! So, of course I let them.

Mary, Anacstasia’s mother, painted mine first – and she was GLOBBING the paint on. It was hilarious. I showed her how to smooth the paint out a little.

My nails still looked (and still do) pretty jacked up… but it was so much fun and I felt so honored, I really didn’t care.

Me and Mary after I painted her nails.

Milkah, the nursery school teacher, after I painted her nails.

Some women even opted for pedicures!

Then, the women got SASSY! They started posing and vogue-ing. It was so funny.

It was honestly the most fun I’ve had in such a long time. And it was just another reason why I love serving in this community – getting the opportunity to not only serve alongside them, but also get to just have FUN with them. And be WOMEN.

It doesn’t matter what country your from, what culture you’re a part of – women are WOMEN – and sometimes, we just want to feel LOVED and BEAUTIFUL.

And that’s what we did. We made those women feel LOVED and BEAUTIFUL.

Anyway. I want to thank all of you for your love and support over the last 10 days. You really have no idea how much your comments, emails, prayers, and encouragement meant to me and our team.

Happy Monday, y’all.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

It’s NOW time for the #YOLOmondays LINK-UP with my awesome co-host Carly from Lipgloss & Crayons! This is such a great way to get to know other bloggers! Love seeing y’all linked up every week.

Grab the button (code is available in the sidebar, or you can just right-click and save the above button) The Rules for #YOLOMONDAYS Link-Ups:

Grab a button and / or post a link back here in your BLOG POST (NOT your blog’s main page) so your readers know what all the #YOLOMONDAY-ness is about. We love you guys linking up and we do go through and read all your posts… so if you do not give credit, we will have to remove your link. That’s no fun, right? Right. So be nice and share a link! Pretty please?
Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! An outfit post, a giveaway, a story, a recipe, whatever. Why? Cause it’s #YOLOMONDAYS!
Visit a blog or four that you’ve never been to before and leave a #YOLOMONDAYS comment – you never know, you might “meet” someone new that you will lurve!
Have fun! Cause #YOLO!