Bakery Blog

Lutaaya has two very special Aunties in her life.  Auntie Nancy and Auntie Sara.  They visited Uganda and still do.  Their next trip is booked for a couple of weeks time, so please keep them in your prayers.  They love on the kids at Lutaaya's former orphanage so much.  They take gifts and spend a lot of time with the children.  True Aunties, in every sense of the word.

Lutaaya was so pleased to know they live a few miles from our house.  They visited when she first arrived and have been keeping up to date with our progress.  Lutaaya loves them and they dote on her.  They invited us to visit their bakery.  So Lutaaya and her friend spent the day at their bakery.  What a lovely day it was.

We started off by looking the part with our health and safety hats.  Giggles all round!

They had lots of baking organised for us:  bread!

Bread rolls!

Welsh cakes!

Icing cup cakes!

Lutaaya was blessed so much by these lovely ladies while she lived in Uganda.  The gifts they gave her while she was in the orphanage were the only things she had in her possession when she left.  This broke our hearts as she had no personal belongings, nothing to call her own.  She simply fitted in an orphanage and fell into the bracket of an 'abandoned baby'.  She had no identity.  Only recently has she realised she can have favourite things and an opinion on what she likes and dislikes.  I am forever thankful to people like Nancy and Sara who spend so much time loving the children in the orphanage, the people who put their time, effort and money into seeing these children as individuals and treating them with the resepct and love they deserve.  Now we are blessed to have them live so close that they can share times like today and make such happy memories.  The photos will certainly be added to her memory photo album.

Ugandan Elections

Uganda has been very much in our prayers and minds over the last few days. The Presidential elections have been held and the result has been announced.  The preparations were taking place while we were there in october/November.  So many people lived in fear of the elections, as the atmosphere can change suddenly in times like these and trouble can break out so easily.  Thankfully, this time, this has not been the case and the elections have been peaceful so far. 

Museveni, the current President, has been re-elected.  This seemed to be the way things would go, by talking to people on the streets, but the opponents have tried hard to win the presidency.  Still the possibility of trouble is likely as the opposition refuse to accept the results, so please keep Uganda in your prayers.  The country has enough to deal with, without having any trouble to deal with.  My friends, Mark & Keren, are living in Uganda at the moment.  You can catch up with the election updates on their blog here. 

I received a text from the lady I stay with in the mountain village this morning saying that even though the trouble had been held off, still people had been bribed to vote for the opposing party, and the army had been deployed to oversee votes.  She stated that this put a lot of people off voting.  I think when we casually walk into voting booths in the UK to put our crosses in the boxes, we forget how fortunate we are to have freedom of speeach and the right to vote.  For so many this is not the case!  

Lutaaya's Birthday! 10th & 1st

This week saw my sweet girls birthday.  The title may confuse you...I mean, how can my girl be 10 and 1 all at the same time?  Well she was 10, but this was her 1st birthday.  Lutaaya had no clue of what a birthday would have in store.  She simply had never experienced a birthday.  When we discussed birthday gifts one day, she told me she'd like a bike but wouldn't have one as she never wrote it on her Christmas list.  That's how confused she was in regards to birthdays!

So this was my chance to put the last 9 birthdays right.  And we tried our best to make this a memorable 10th Birthday.

Lutaaya woke up to the sight of her bike.  She is very straight talking, she gives no consideration to other people's feelings or reactions to what she says.  You have her point of view no matter what.  Today was no exception.  She eagerly rushed down the stairs to tell me she wanted a pink bike!  Anyone who knows her, will know that liking pink is a new fad since living in Wales.  Red has always been the preferred colour.  I trawled the net to find a bike with a hint of red on, thinking she would be disappointed with anything less and she turns around to tell me she wanted a pink bike!  Priceless!  I have to add, she soon realised this was a really good present and was happy to accept the bike she had. 

So after present opening, Lutaaya went to school, cake in hand, to share with her school friends.  She certainly throught she was the Birthday Princess.  We had friends and family around in the evening for a tea party.  Lutaaya was spoiled rotten and had all the special people in her life come visit.  We even made the event international, with Skype chats to her friends in America.  Jadyn's family even got to join in singing happy birthday to her, how cool is that?

This could be dangerous!!!

Here goes!

This takes a lot of concentration

Thanks Uncle Cameron!  Now I can ride my bike.

Happy Birthday Lutaaya!

Yes she wore her roller blades whilst we sang Happy Birthday~!!!

Make a wish!

So this was the low key party!  Friday saw the madness start!  Lutaaya's first disco for all her school friends.  And didn't she love every second.  She danced the night away and thrived being centre of attention all night!

Birthday Princess

Dancing Queen

Conga

Happy Birthday Princess

Smothered in love by her friends