17 Kids and Counting

I have found that living in the New Creation Family Home here in Uganda is like having 17 younger brothers and sisters. I’ll admit, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a family as large as the Duggars. And well, now I know. All I have to say is that there is never a dull moment. Each child in this home has their own personality, but they all come together as one.

You’ve got Bena, the free spirited.
Sara, the kind and gentle soul who keeps to herself.
Margret, the love-bug.
Henry and Lawrence, the joksters.
Charles the “big brother.”
Anne Marie, the “little sister.”
And the list just runs on.

Each morning as we leave our room, Taylor and I are greeted with “hello, Auntie” and are soon after given tea for breakfast. Although, we never quite know when the tea is actually ready since Henry and Lawrence like to trick us. The girls give us hugs and absolutely love seeing photos of our friends and family.

I think what I am going to miss the most about Uganda is all the little moments with the kids. Especially all the “lying” the boys do. They like to trick as all the time, and we find it absolutely amusing. Let me give you some examples:

-Sunday morning I was leaving my room when Henry came up to me and asked why I was dressed nicely. I responded, telling him that I was dressed for church. He proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t Sunday and that Sunday was the following day.

-When asking what something was in the kitchen, one of the boys tried to convince us it was a jetpack.

-And the best yet, Lawrence told us our Sloppy Joes were made with toilet water. When telling him that our Sloppy Joes at home had more sauce in them, he said, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry.” Auntie Taylor then said, “I’m not worried!” and Lawrence interrupts by stating, “I’ll add more water next week.”

At the end of the night we tried to scare Charles and Lawrence, but unfortunately it did not work so well. I hid in the pantry and Taylor asked them to show her where the bananas were. I hardly startled Charles and it didn’t even faze Lawrence.

So, Tay and I are in the process of thinking of our next move on the boys to play along with this little game of theirs.

The girls have been writing us letters and drawing us photos constantly. Taylor hung hers on our wall last night and it’s just so heartwarming to see. We were talking about how it was going to be hard/sad being at home with all these letters and drawings missing the kids.

I absolutely love living in the family home. Uganda is different, but it’s perfect. I am sure some of you are wondering what’s different about Uganda, so here you go:

-We bathe in a bucket

-Our toilet does not flush, so when we need to flush we fill a bucket with water and pour it in the toilet…it then flushes

-You cannot put toilet paper in the toilet

-The birds sound like monkeys

-Lizards are welcome in the home…we’ve named ours, Lizzy

-There are not really any rules for driving on the road

-The pedestrian never has the right of way, always the right to get out of the way

-Children know how to cook and use large knives to cut

-Being resourceful is actually put into play

-Clothes are washed in buckets by hand and are laid out to dry

-Kids are not bratty like those in America, they get what they get and they don’t throw a fit. I’ve never seen a child mad or sincerely upset here. They are genuinely happy.

- Hair. My hair is played with at least four times a day.

-They don’t know who Taylor Swift is…what?! Although, they do know who Justin Bieber is. Typical.

And one last thing, the weather closely resembles that of Sacramento. Although the heat is a bit harsher since we are closer to the equator.

Oh, and P.S. The kids think Taylor looks like Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical. It’s one of the most amusing things ever.