We have come a long way baby!

OMG. I usually delete forwarded emails...but this one I had to take a moment and breathe...then laugh...then get a little angry...then laugh again. Can you believe this is an actual article from Good Housekeeping (May 1955)? It is amazing to see how far "we" have come in the last fifty years, but it just goes to show what kind of craziness women had to tolerate and deal with. My favorite ones are "his topics of conversation are more important than yours" and "a good wife always knows her place." Oh, but "take 15 minutes to relax and put yourself together before he gets home to look refreshed" is also a pisser!

I hope JJ doesn't get any ideas...I know you won't honey! But some of these things I already do, right?...ha ha ha.

If you click on the image above you will be able to see a larger version of the article.

Scenes from Miami

Photo: Luka at Annie's house....yes, this is at a friend's house. She has a professional playground at home!

I have been in Miami for over one week, and things have been a whirlwind. Running after Luka 24/7 has left little time for photos or downtime to catch up on the blog. He is asleep right now and I am awake...which is rare these days.

We have spent most of our time with family and friends in home, parks and the beach. We are saving all the extra special outings like the zoo, Disney, etc. for when daddy arrives in 8 days!

I have not taken out my camera once since I got here...yes, I know that is bad...but I haven't had the time or the hands for the camera. Luckily some friends have sent me photos and my father took some photos yesterday.

Here you see Luka at the St. Francis (my uncle's church) FunFest...he really wanted to get his face painted. He thinks it was a Spiderman...we didn't have the heart to tell him it was a baseball. Note: Luka had never seen a baseball.

This is Evan...my newest nephew! He is such a good baby:

Here we all are trying to play bingo...word to the wise...not a good idea with two toddlers. They just wanted to punch all the numbers and I couldn't keep track. It was very funny!

Help Haiti

Everyone can help. Please remember how lucky you are if you are reading this. There are thousands of people that are not as fortunate as us that are in dire need of our help:

To donate to the Red Cross click here.

Beware of the Lions & Poop

Recently a friend of mine traveled around Mozambique and came across this warning in his travels. I found it quite amusing and a little scary. Thanks Bastiaan for the photo!

I can't believe they referred to lion "shit."

If you click on the photo you can see it larger and read the memo.

21 Weeks

This week I went for check-up at the doctor and we took some pictures of the baby. We wanted to make sure we were both doing okay for the long flight ahead of us in just a couple of days. Luka and I (+baby) will be flying to Miami to visit la familia.

Well, here is Baby van Herksen. We still don't know if it is a boy or girl. I had to keep reminding the doctor NOT to tell me what it was. He knew right away...but I kept closing my eyes just in case I would see something that gave it away. JJ and I are really excited about the surprise. Do you think it looks like a boy or girl? Everyone keeps telling me they think it is a girl..but we have NO idea.

He/she was feeling a little social...in the photo you can see the baby sort of waving its hand. The doctor did say that it was a nice size baby and that I shouldn't expect a tiny baby at delivery....oh goodness! But we are both doing great. The baby passed all the tests we got an "okay" to fly.

My next post will probably be from Miami....

Luka's "Shape" Period

Many artists go through "periods." It is defined a phase in the development of the work of an artist, groups of artists or art movement. Well, I don't know if this is an art movement....But just as Picasso had his Blue Period, Luka is going through his Shape Period.

Recently we started learning and practicing shapes at home with games and on the chalkboard. Last week he wanted to paint the shapes and this is was the result. Isn't it great? In the first one you can see his attempt at making squares and the second painting is Luka's interpretation of circles. I think in this one he really let his creative juices flow and the result was an abstract face. Do you see it?

Well, we are very proud of our budding artist. Dad, this is especially for you since I know you love to see Luka's work.

For the record, Luka did EVERYTHING on his own except writing his name Luka on the paper.

New Friends New School

Luka started a new school this week. Due to scheduling issues we had to find him another school. We got lucky and he was able to join some of his friends at Nyoxani - a Mozambican/Portuguese Pre-School. One of his friends that goes there is Tendai. We met Tendai a couple of weeks ago and they are like two peas in a pod. Tendai is a little younger, but I think Luka likes acting like his big brother.

Here they are strutting their stuff and their backpacks.

Don't you love Tendai's boots?

For more photos from Luka's first days at this school click here.

Sunday Afternoon Bliss

What more could a girl ask for on a Sunday afternoon....Her two favorite boys napping and I get to watch The Audrey Hepburn Story on the Hallmark Channel. Don't you love this photo?

What Happened in 2009?

I can't believe that 2009 has gone by so quickly. It seems like yesterday that I was celebrating Christmas with my family in Miami last December. As I look back at this past year I can't help but think of some of the moments that shaped my year (or just fun things that happened) and laid the groundwork for some of the things to come in 2010!

- Going to Obama's Inauguration in DC with Luka, Moqui, Wole & Maxwell.

- Luka's Turns 2 and we throw him a proper Mozambican Birthday Bash!

- Switching to Mac...JJ was so happy I did this...I wasn't at first...but I would never go back now.

- Both Oma & Opa from Holland come and visit us in Mozambique.

- Driving through Europe with JJ & Luka. We went to France, Holland, Luxembourg & Spain. What a trip!

- Going to Mallorca for the first time and meeting my grandmother's family.

- Some of our other MAC purchases: my new MacBook and JJ's iPhone...what would we do without these toys!

- Start two new projects Maputo Infant Nutrition Program & Maputo Yard Sale...a girl has to keep busy. Thank you to all my family and friends that donated to the orphanage.

- Becoming an aunt again...twice...Evan & Olin join our family.

- We finally bought the chairs I have always wanted for the dining room - six white Eames chairs. They are gorgeous! We will have these chairs FOREVER.

- JJ and I find out that the IVF finally worked and we will have a baby next year.

- Luka starts school for the first time.

- Luka and I can hold a decent conversation...he cracks me up.

- Luka's uses the potty...we are still working on this one...but almost fully trained!

- Surviving my 1st trimester...it was a doozy...I am looking forward to enjoying the pregnancy in 2010.

- Luka understood and got excited about Sinterklaas & Christmas (Santa Claus & Baby Jesus) this year. He still asks if they are going to visit again soon.

- Seeing our new baby on the ultrasound and feeling the baby kick in my belly for the first time...it is surreal to think that there is a living person inside of me. I can't wait to meet him/her.

These are in no particular order and I am sure I will think of more as soon as I post this to the blog, but reading back on the list I can't help but think how lucky I am...someone pinch me.

My Belly @ 20 Weeks

What do you think? Baby bump or just too many donuts? I wish we had donuts in Maputo!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Mozambique! I can't believe that it is January 1, 2010. Growing up I thought 2010 would be a little different. I think I saw one too many episodes of The Jetsons, but I totally thought we would have cars zipping through the air and I might have a robot washing my dishes. Well, we aren't there yet...but I can talk to my family through video whenever I want and the Internet has completely changed the way we live and interact with the world. Between you and me I don't think the flying cars are too far into the future.

Happy New Year and may 2010 be full of blessings and new adventures!