7x7 (ish) link award

Big news, people! I've been nominated for an award.

Or, maybe it is just a little shout-out over at a friend's blog. No matter. We like the love, and we are going to share it.  I love reading blogs - seeing little snippets into people's lives, getting recipes, or inspiration for things (that, let's be honest, I'm never likely to do). And, being in Kenya it is a nice way to stay connected.  So let's get started. . .

1.  thank the person who nominated you
 Thanks, Erica for the linky love.  I've only known Erica for a few years, but we have a lot of weird connections.  She moved to Kijabe not long after I left for the UAE, quickly started dating a dentist, and joined the Bible Study that I missed so dearly.  Dexter had a picture of us on his fridge, and she said, "hey, that looks like Essex." to which he said it was, and we discovered that she went to college with my parents' best friends' youngest daughter (ie: basically a sister). Oh, and she was born in the hospital I was working at in the UAE.   She and Matt got engaged two days before we got married. {If you want a good story, go read that one. Stat.} And the real kicker is that they had their first born son just 2 + weeks after Kyalo was born.  I'm telling you, it's weird.  Anyway, thanks, Erica.

2. share 7 things about yourself
  1.  I have a ridiculous love of popcorn, and happily eat it for dinner (and sometimes, breakfast)
  2. My wedding rings were my grandmother's from her own engagement/wedding in 1941 - 71 years old. I think that's pretty cool. I like carrying a little piece of her with me everywhere.
  3.  I have a terrible habit of starting a work out program, and then quitting just days before the intended duration (90 days? I did 80.  6 weeks? I did 5, etc. I'm currently on week two of this and it is kicking my butt, so let's hope I finish!)
  4.  I am horrible at math and numbers, and yet somehow I'm the one who mostly manages our finances, and not Dexter who is a CPA.  Perhaps this explains why we're always broke. . .
  5. After graduating from Gordon College in 2000 (!!!) I went on to do Mission Year in Oakland, CA. What was supposed to be a year, ended up being five very good years.
  6. I really do hope to take a photography class or two some day so that I can get better pictures of our little family.
  7.  New Jersey is the third place I am moving to site unseen. I guess I like the thrill of the unknown!

3.  share 7 blog posts, in the following categories:

most beautiful:  Kijabe is an easy place to live for beauty. Here are a couple:  flowers and light.

most helpful:  I'm not sure if this was helpful, but I shared the story about Hope Rich (and posted my first video!) to get people to pray about her situation. She was granted traveling papers in December in order to travel to the US, so the Riches are now happily home.  I'd like to think this helped somehow. . .

most popular:  I'd say it had to have been the one with the story of Kyalo's birth.

most controversial:  I can't really think of anything that I've written or done that would be controversial.  But this story about the tree coming down had some major controversy that didn't make it onto to the blog.  As the tree was coming down, a branch fell on a power line damaging it.  We were asked to pay big bucks to fix it, but it wasn't our fault - the station electrician had said he couldn't get there on the day we were having the tree come down to turn off the electricity.  No one told us, so we proceeded.  Major drama ensued - including having the elec at our house turned off for a day.

most surprisingly successful:  This one about clubfoot has the most views. I guess it pops up in search engines?

most underrated:  I'd say this one about the sights along the roads in Kenya.  I love the signs here!

most pride worthy:  homemade bagels and oreos. need I say more?

*bonus because it didn't have a category- my favorite post:  Telling my mom about being pregnant.

4. nominate 7 other bloggers
This is where the "ish" comes in in my title. . .I don't have 7 to nominate. Either, I need more friends, or I need more friends who blog! (Shiny, I'm waaaiting...) So, here are my four nominations, with a little word about them:

The American Ambassador
        My friend (and fellow Gordon Alumna) Jessie who lives & works at Oasis in the UAE.

Migonis Home
        Jen, another Gordon Alumna, and former co-worker of my mom's. She lives near my home town and is a major decorator, and is always doing interesting projects. Many of her posts start with, "I found this on the side of the road. . . " and that always makes a good story!

Not By Might
       My friend, Jenny's, blog {she's also a friend of Erica's. another connection!}. She's a teacher up at RVA and has become a good friend to me the last year or so.  I love reading about her adventures as a teacher/mentor.  (Her most recent post is about the donuts the students make. They're Krispy Kreme worthy, and I will miss them when we're in NJ).

Gray Paint Decor
       My sister-in-law, Noelle's blog about various little decorating projects she does.  She may not be posting anytime soon since she just had her sixth baby in January, but check out what she's done. 

and lastly, a picture (mostly because I forgot to post it in the weekend recap)

 one tired little ranger

This was so much fun! I hope the others will do it, too. I enjoyed looking through my old posts and remembering different stages of our life.  This blog has turned into a nice little journal of sorts for us.