getting ready...

We're at less than 4 weeks until we hop on that plane...and I do mean hop! We will surely have a little pep in our step--at least at the beginning. It will take us 2 days to get back to Atlanta (about 9 hours to London, where we will spend the night and then another 10 hours to Atlanta the next day). We are happy to be staying the night in London. It will help us (and Zoe hopefully) to adjust a little to the time difference. We took the same flight when we went home last year for vacation. Nate ate so much McDonalds in London, he was sick for like a week when we finally got home. He said he will be more careful this time (we shall see!)

We have been spending the past several weeks starting to pack stuff away into boxes. We figured a little at a time would be better than everything all at the end. However, something put a halt on our progress...

Yeah...if you didn't see on Facebook, Nate broke his finger close to his hand, so he has had a cast on for a few weeks now. He was playing volleyball and somehow (not-so-gracefully) fell into the wall and broke his finger with his own elbow. Not many people have done that, eh? Anyway, he has been a really good sport about it. In fact, he wasn't planning on teaching at the University this semester since school just started and we will be leaving in a few weeks. But the director of the program loves Nate (and knows how qualified he is to teach) so he has asked him to teach an "intensive course" before we leave. So he is teaching basketball practicals twice a week and theory once a week. So proud of him! This picture was on his first day of class this semester. Except--oh!--nobody told the students they had classes so nobody showed up. TIA. They started the next day and have been going strong ever since. They frequently ask Nate to lengthen class so they can stay and learn more. 

Back to packing...he is still able to do lots even with his cast. Zoe loves to help by pulling things out of the boxes we have already packed. Yesterday we tackled our bedroom closets. Nate found the pile of clothes he had bought in the market to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro last year with our friend Chris. He was modeling for us...

Zoe thought it was really funny when Nate had on the hat, it quickly became not so funny when we put the hat on her...

She looks like the the mean elf that brings the kids to Santa on "A Christmas Story," right??

A different kind of anniversary...

Today marks 3 years since we set foot in Tanzania. The day was ironically a very fitting summation of what the past several years have been like....

I wake up and go in the kitchen to get Zoe some milk, and as I pass by the guest bathroom, I hear a very disturbing familiar noise--the water pump is on the fritz again. I return to the bedroom and let Nate know; he responds with a long sigh (one that I've heard many times since we arrived--I know exactly what all is wrapped in that sigh). He pulls himself out the bed, gets on some clothes, and grabs his tools. The dogs follow him around to the side of the house. He has his long wool socks on--with his ugly as sin sandals which he got in the local market--to keep the mosquitoes off his ankles (if you are picturing a grandpa, you're about right). A few minutes later, he comes back inside, defeated. He will have to call the fundi (repairman). 

No rest for the weary, he has an appointment with the embassy to pick-up our passports. You see, we dropped them off last week and paid 82 bucks a piece to have them TAPE in extra pages. That's robbery, my fellow american citizens. As he gets ready to head out the door, the fan slows to a stop. Yep, the power is out. A problem we have dealt with since we stepped foot in this country. A problem that can make an ordinary morning turn into a miserable attempt to get through the next several hours.  A problem that can make an ordinary wife and mother turn into a sweaty, grumpy, mess of a woman. Nate leaves, we open all the curtains and windows to feel the slightest breeze, but there is none. It's just hot. I strip Zoe down to her diaper, but the sweat is dripping from her beautiful little curls within 5 minutes. Luckily, it doesn't take too much longer for the power to switch back on (Zoe and I do our usual song and dance in praise to God!) and Nate gets home at about the same time. 

Zoe goes down for a nap and Nate tells me the fundi will be here around 3 to (hopefully) fix the water pump. I decide I'm going to the beach for some quiet time. We have been taking turns going to the beach in an attempt to spend some good alone time with the Lord and enjoy His creation. So I pack my lunch (Nate forbade me from eating at the beach, because last time he went and ate there, he came home with a nasty bug) and head off. The entire way to the beach, I'm considering turning back because it's getting pretty cloudy...but there is still a patch of blue sky in the general area of the beach that I am clinging to. I finally pull in and now there is no turning back (after all, I've paid my 5000 shillings...something like $3). The guards who take my money are smiling and laughing as they look at the dark sky overhead. It doesn't matter...I'm committed now. I grab the beach bag and head to the lounge chairs on the sand. Just me out there. That should have been my first clue. No need to take my cover-up off, there is no hint of the sun. What I can see is storms and rain all across the water. Guess what? It's headed my way. But I just watch as it approaches, thinking perhaps the weather will miraculously change course. I'm wrong...it starts to pour not 5 minutes after I sit down and I make a run for the car. I'm starving by this point, so I pull out my egg salad sandwich and pout (all the while texting Nate about how grumpy I am...I never suffer silently). When I finish, I put the car in reverse and pull out of my spot. I'm about to pull out the gate and accept the mocking laughs from the guards that admitted me 15 minutes prior, but I see a break in the clouds. I pull back into my parking spot. It's still pouring, but I might as well wait for a bit. Ten minutes later and it's still pouring. I think to myself, "there is no sense in sitting here all day, I could be doing something else." So again, I back out of my spot. That little patch of blue is a wee bit bigger and I REALLY wanted some beach time. So, yes, I pull back into the spot. And yes, the guards are watching me. And yes, I am embarrassed. Finally, the rain stops and I go back to the beach and sit on my chair. I pull out my ipod and just relax for a bit. To make a loooong story short, the sun came out (for a little over an hour), and then it got super cloudy again, so at that point--I left. 

But as I sat and pondered the past three years...I realized that it was the perfect illustration of our time here so far. Sometimes it really, really sucks. The water and the power go out. It rains on your day at the beach and you end up eating your lunch alone in the car. But then wait, the sun peeks out from behind the clouds for a bit and you realize things aren't really that bad. The rain was actually kind of pretty and definitely cooled things off. So all that to say, I had a really nice time with the Lord today. He blessed me through my grumpy-ness (as He always does), and I remembered that there's always a reason to praise--rain or shine.

If that was the end of the story...it would be nicely wrapped up. Right? But I can't conclude before I tell you what happened at home while I was gone. Actually, Nate can tell you much better. Driving home from the beach, Nate texted me. This is exactly how his text read:

"October 9...the day it all went horribly wrong (I feel the need to insert...that's a joke!)...

The BMT guys pulled up to get all the limbs out of the yard, then the fundi showed up, the dogs are both going crazy. It's 3, so Zoe needs to wake up, but as soon as I open the hallway door, I smell poop. She has messed herself and apparently her diaper came off in her nightgown, poop everywhere. I'm trying to get her cleaned up, water is not working, she's screaming, and everyone else is trying to get me to come outside for something or another. It was a madhouse. I'm glad I had my quiet time before all this happened. Lol."

One of the many reasons I love my husband...he can laugh through it all! And you certainly can't say the Lord doesn't have a sense of humor. Happy Anniversary to us! I'll leave you with a picture of us 3 years ago...about to get on the plane...young and naive. 

Mommy-Daughter Time

Zoe and I had lots of time to spend together this past week! Nate traveled to Morogoro for a National Volleyball Tournament and was gone Wednesday-Wednesday. We missed him SO much! It's been quite a while since we have been away from each other longer than a day or two. We used to do it all the time--funny how things change! Zoe seriously missed her daddy...every time she heard a car horn, she would yell "Daddy!" because Nate has a special honk he does when he gets to our gate.

But we had some good girl time together. One day early in the week, I decided to take Zoe to the beach (she absolutely loves both the pool and the ocean). I quickly remembered why we usually go as a family. It takes two to control that little girl. From the moment she saw the water, she was ready to get in. Making her sit to get lotion on was like pulling teeth. She sat in her float for maybe 10-15 minutes. Then...it was time to jump off the side...and guess who had to catch every every.single.time, and then hoist her back up on the side for her to jump again? Yeah, you guessed it! It was me. Getting her out of the water to have a snack and rest for a bit was like torture. Luckily, I brought along her mini DVD player...so she sat for a few minutes and watched some Veggie Tales and ate some peanut butter crackers.

(this is an old beach picture, but still cute)

I decided to start packing and organizing the house so as to spread out the work (which is more than I expected). I caught up on all the laundry, and then I went through ALL of my clothes and made piles to keep and give away. Zoe helped...

We played with blocks, we watched movies, we went on walks, we went grocery shopping, we went out to get pizza, we went out to dinner with friends. We did anything to get out of the house for a little bit every day. It was a fun week of girl time...not so relaxing, though. But we are SUPER happy to have Nate back home. He got home after Zoe's bedtime on Wednesday, but she got to stay up to say hi to Daddy. Here are a few pictures of their reunion...

Nate and his uke

This post is just going to be a short brag on my talented husband. A few months ago, he took our Hands On Volunteers to Morogoro and stayed with some friends of ours there. Our good friend Kim is very musical--awesome voice, wonderful at guitar, and recently picked up playing the ukulele. Nate tried it out and instantly loved it, and apparently picked it up pretty quickly. After another visit from Kim and her husband CP and a little more practice on the ukulele, Nate decided he had to have one. Obviously, not available in Tanzania, Nate asked his parents to send one for his birthday. They looked around and picked out a pretty fabulous one and sent it in a package. Nate got it shortly after his birthday and started playing immediately. Aside from a few visits from Kim and another friend Chris that also plays, Nate is teaching himself to play using youtube videos and some other stuff online. So proud of him! Zoe absolutely loves listening and playing a little. Maybe she will grow up to be a musical genius herself...

Like father, like daughter

I always say "It's been way too long since I have posted..." So I'll just move on...
I want to catch up on a few posts that I have been meaning to write for several weeks.
Let's start with Father's Day...

Father's Day was just a few days after Nate's birthday so we had several days of fun celebrating him. (He is the most fabulous after all, and he deserves it!) We spent the morning at church and came back home to let Zoe get her nap in. After she woke up, she got into her Father's Day outfit...here it is:

Adorable, right? Her gift to her Daddy was a football jersey (that's what the rest of the world calls soccer, apparently) so she dressed the part. She almost looked like a little boy, so we had to put a barrette in her hair to make her a little more "girly." Nate loved it. 

That night, we went to a beautiful little restaurant on the water (we had a gift certificate!) and had the most wonderful time. We got there in time to watch the sun go down and with quite a bit of breeze in the air, it was so nice. Zoe sat and watched the ocean and ate her pretzel sticks until it got dark and after that she sat and watched the little girl at the table next to us. It was a perfect end to a fantastic weekend!!

happy birthday to nate!

So, the love of my life turned 26 on Thursday. The day started with his favorite breakfast—breakfast casserole and the first presents of the day. For years, Nate has been wanting Converse Chuck Taylors…and he finally got them, along with some brand new socks (this guy did not own a sock without a hole). 

For my birthday, my parents got me one of those insulated cups with a straw and Nate has been so jealous ever since, so one of the gifts from my parents to him was his very own insulated cup with straw!! He was super excited.

Later that afternoon, our good friends and neighbors were so sweet and watched Zoe while we went to a movie. We saw Prometheus and had our favorite caramel popcorn and soda at the theater. When we got home, he opened the rest of his gifts. He got a new shirt, a new book, lots of candy and snacks, and a movie from my parents. For dinner, Nate requested Creole Chicken Pasta and we had a marathon of Parks & Rec. Lots of fun!

The next day, we went out to dinner with some friends here to celebrate and Zoe & I cooked a funfetti birthday cake to share at dinner. His birthday isn’t quite over…he is still awaiting a big gift from his parents in the mail which should arrive shortly. It won’t be a surprise, but he is super pumped about it!

The past few days have been a much needed break and relaxation from the events of earlier this week…more to come on that soon! But for now, happy birthday to my most amazing husband who I love with all my heart!!

the countdown has begun...

That is the countdown to our Stateside Assignment!! We are at less than 6 months now. Since we got our four volunteers in January, we have been going-going-going absolutely non-stop. And since they left almost 2 weeks ago, we have had a chance to reflect back, look ahead, and catch our breath. It's weird and exciting that we will be spending our first Thanksgiving and Christmas in 3 years at HOME! We are looking forward to family, friends, our church home, shopping, cold weather, Chick-Fil-A, Olive Garden, Taco Bell (well, I could go on and on with places to eat so I better stop there). We have soooo much to look forward to. We have both made resolutions to get in shape so that we can eat-eat-eat when we get home. Nate is lifting his weights and I am back on my Jillian Michaels workout! (I'll be honest and say my motivation partly came when I asked the guy at the market for a head of lettuce--a big one--and he responded "big, like you.") Rude.

I know my blog posts have been few and far between, but one of my resolutions is to get back to posting more regularly! (Yes, I know I have said that before) But I'm going to try really hard this time! The students take their finals next week and go home for break until October, so I will have more time to stick to my goals. For now, I will leave you with a few recent pictures of Zoe...these have also been few and far between. Let's just say she has not been in the best of moods for the past several weeks. She had 6 teeth all coming in at the same time (staggered at different stages of growth for the past few weeks) and a cold to boot! Thankfully, we are all healthy and happy again!

(this was one of the bad days...)

(this was a better day...showing off her new teeth)

way behind...

It's been waaay too long, I know! But Nate is out of town and Zoe is asleep so I figured I better update now while I've got some time. We have been staying pretty busy here lately and it will be more of the same for about another month until our volunteers leave, the students begin finals, and we get a minute to breathe!

Nate has been preaching quite a bit. He had the privilege to preach on Easter Sunday and did a FANTASTIC job. All the glory to God! He is still teaching his classes on campus--basketball and ultimate frisbee and those are going well. He is beginning a new ministry next week based on the Secret Church model of David Platt, which he is super excited about. He is beginning a new bible study with bible study leaders to pour into them and disciple them. And on top of all that, he is preaching the next two weeks at church and doing a series on relationships. He's a busy guy...

I had the opportunity to teach a bible study last week on marriage with some of the students. It was so much fun and I learned so much just in preparation. God's desires for marriage and families has become one of my passions lately as the Lord molds me into the wife and mother He wants me to be...so teaching on marriage came at the perfect time!

We had the opportunity to go to the children's hospital on the Saturday before Easter to do a little party for the kiddos. They are so sweet and we had a great time singing songs, coloring, snacking, making crafts, and talking about the Easter story. We also visited last Saturday because we received a VERY special package from my BFF Jenny Graves and her church. They made mission dolls and shipped them all the way to us. The children at the hospital (most suffering with cancer) absolutely LOVED them. The little girls tied the dolls to their backs like they see their mothers do all the time. So precious! So, so thankful for Jenny and her church family. They put smiles on these precious faces!

Zoe is growing more and more. She is getting to be such a big girl. Her favorite thing is playing video games with her daddy! She is talking more and more...she calls herself a "good girl" and she loves asking for "crackers."

riding in style

She's got expensive taste and she's already working on her daddy...

never met a stranger...

We made a trip to Orca this weekend. That is our closest thing to Walmart here in Dar, although there is a store called Game that is now owned by Walmart...but trust me it's nothing like it!! Anyway, we are walking the aisles and Zoe is having a grand time now that she can actually walk. Well, she walks up to this little girl and just takes her hand and walks away with her family. I did the typical mom thing to get her back and said "Ok, bye bye Zoe!" and waved and started to walk the other way. She just waved back and kept right on going with the other family.

It seems to be pretty typical these days. We went to a different church this morning which by the grace of God has a nursery (usually I fight and struggle with Zoe on my lap through our church services!) Anyway, we dropped her off no problem. We come back after the service to pick her up and the lady walks her over to the door; we reach our arms out to take her and she turns back to the lady and clings to her!! I have to pry her from this lady who is no doubt loving the fact that Zoe prefers her over her own mother and father. I guess I should just be happy that she likes to be around other people and is wonderful at making new friends!

date night

We had a MUCH needed date night this week. It was just dinner, but it long overdue time with my best friend! The wonderful Placke family took Zoe for us and she had a great time hanging out and eating pancakes. When we came to pick her up she was sitting and watching Discovery Channel, learning about alligators and sharks and she smelled like syrup...

my valetines...

I'm a tad late on this post, but I couldn't let it go without writing just a wee bit about our Valentine's day festivities. I had planned a special get-a-way for me and Nate, but it got pushed back just a little, which didn't really bother us at all. After all, it's just an arbitrary day to remember the ones you love! (On a side note...I don't get people that boycott Valentine's Day...yes, you should show love every day, but what's wrong with putting a day aside so it doesn't get lost in the busy-ness of life??) Nate brought home 2 bouquets...one for me and one for Zoe!

Anyhow, so Nate took his two valentines out for a fancy dinner on the 14th. Zoe was an angel (which is not always the case, believe it or not) and she sat and enjoyed dinner with us--all the while showing all the people at surrounding tables all her new tricks (waving, blowing kisses, etc.) Never a dull moment with that child!

And then this past Thursday, we finally got our night away! Ever since we first moved to Tanzania and saw a movie at was was then THE movie theater in Dar...we were enamored by the advertisements for "The Colosseum" that played before the movie started. It's this fancy-shmancy hotel with a state of the art gym and a nice pool, and plush rooms (with a/c!). So, we splurged and stayed the night. Our sweet friend Webber stayed at our house with Zoe so we could have the night away. It was fabulous...we layed by the pool and read, Nate got to watch football (soccer, that is) on the nice flat screen at the foot of the bed, we played games, had an amazing dinner, and ate ice cream in bed while we watched some awkward dumb show on MTV...(btw, when did MTV cease to be cool and start playing dumb crap all.the.time?!) Anyway, we had a wonderful time and thank you, Webber for hanging with Zoe all night!

Zoe is 1 !!!

I know, I know...I'm a bit late on this post (and everything else that has been going on). Things are a bit crazy. But first things first...my baby girl has turned ONE year old. Our 4 Hands-On Volunteers got here the day before Zoe's birthday. So, to celebrate we took her to a restaurant here in Dar where they sang "Happy Birthday" to her. It sort of freaked her out..I posted the video on Facebook. But she was happy because she got to spend her birthday with four new friends (who are fantastic, by the way). She had such a fun-filled day, that she sort of had a melt down just about the time we were going to give her the birthday cupcake. Sooo...we decided to wait until her party, because she wouldn't have been too impressed at that point.
So that Saturday, we invited our friends over to the house for Mexican food and birthday cake! Yum! Nathan's mom had sent some decorations for the top of Zoe's cake (pictures below). So we had a grand time and Zoe loved being the center of attention (as always). But we sure missed all our family and friends back home and we are excited that we will be home for Zoe's second birthday to celebrate with them! Thankfully we got to skype with both my parents and Nate's parents for them to wish Zoe a happy birthday!

Now that Zoe is 1...she is no longer drinking formula! She has switched to whole milk and seems to be doing fine! She is taking steps (I think 5 is the most I've seen) but would much rather crawl to where she is going. She has started talking like crazy...not many actual words, but she babbles to herself all day long and she certainly seems to know what she is talking about! She is eating everything now...she loves her snacks, and is always quite interested in what Mommy and Daddy are eating and drinking!

what's NOT new?

Seriously...if you ask me what's new with us lately, that is how I would respond. When it rains, it pours...I'm starting to learn what that really means. After spending over 2 years in Africa, I've {tried} to get get adjusted to the extremely slow pace of life...It's hard for me--see, I'm a planner at heart. I absolutely love to have a schedule, to know what's going on a week from Thursday and to write it all in my cute little planner and stick that cute little planner in the fabulous purse that my husband just bought me (if he reads this, he will get on to me because I haven't gotten it out of the shopping bag yet...I can't help it...It's a disease). Anyway, we are trying our best to learn that here in Tanzania nothing goes as planned. We have been in our new house for 2 months now and where is Zoe still sleeping? Our bathroom in her pack and play...Ugh, it sort of makes me cringe just thinking about how much time it takes to get stuff done around here. Her room has been "being worked on" for 2 months now...we are waiting on the last piece of the puzzle--her air conditioner to be put in (correctly). It's always "tomorrow.." or "later.."  But I digress...

All of the sudden, things have been happening non-stop. It's exciting and exhausting and scary! It's something I'm just not used to on this side of the world. We had such a nice, relaxing, slow Christmas and then BOOM! It's been non-stop since...On New Years Day, we left to go to a meeting in Nairobi. A two-day drive with a sick baby and when we arrived we decided it wasn't just a little cold. She started throwing up, could not hold anything down and refused to drink or eat. So we took her to the doctor (and believe me, I was thanking the Lord that we were in Nairobi with a great pediatrician)! He advised that we check her into the hopital because she was beginning to get dehydrated and they wanted to run some tests because she now had a rash.  We took her right away and they took her blood to run tests, hooked up an IV to her little hand, and she just layed so still in my arms...she didn't even have the strength to keep her eyes open. I won't go into too much detail, because it makes me sad to think about. But the Lord gave us grace through the night..Zoe slept well (although me and Nate didn't since we were sharing a twin bed!) and in the morning she was feeling much better. The doctor said it was a bad virus and she would be back to normal soon. Ahhh, praise God for that!

After that, we had a great meeting and after doing some shopping and eating at KFC (yes, that is right...Nairobi now has a KFC...and it was good!) Oh, and Planet Yoghurt! I know I've mentioned this a million times...but i.love.nairobi. We made our two-day trek back to Dar and tried to continue getting our new house in order. But...no rest for the weary. This Wednesday, our Hands On volunteers arrive. Two guys and two girls from the States are coming for about 4 months to help us with our ministry here. SO EXCITED about this. So we have been tirelessly shopping, setting up and cleaning their apartments, and planning what this semester is going to look like for our team of 7 (8 including Zoe!)

Let's see...what else? Oh, Chester (our Ridgeback) is a daddy! A proud daddy at that--10 puppies! Molly (his wife) went into labor Saturday night around 10:30 pm (wonderful timing since Nate was preaching at church the next morning). She had 6 puppies by 1:45 am and had calmed down a bit and was letting them nurse...we thought that was it, so we went to bed. Only to wake up to find 4 more! They are real precious though and Molly is a good mom. We introduced Chester to the pups today. Nate had him on a leash and let him get close, he was just smelling around and watching them squirm...well, I guess he got a little too close and Molly gave a little growl and showed her teeth and he backed off rather quickly!! So he likes to be near them and lays on the back porch with them, but he knows better than to get too close. It was pretty cool watching them be born. She knew exactly what to do...made sure she licked all the yucky stuff off so they could breathe, licked them to get their blood pumping, chewed off the umbilical cord (i know, gross). But it reminded me just how amazing our God is... every aspect of His creation perfectly planned. Zoe loves to watch Molly with the pups and wants to get down and play with them...I can't imagine 10 puppies and Zoe running around the yard in about 8 weeks...wreaking havoc...aye aye aye

Oh....and speaking of Zoe. My precious little girl is about to be 1! Ahhh...it's almost unbelievable that an entire year has gone by. Her birthday is Thursday. And her birthday party is Saturday...I think if I wasn't so crazy busy, I might get depressed that the extent of the party will be mexican(ish) food, cake, and party plates (which cost more than I care to share with you...I had to convince Nate to get them). I think about what her first birthday might look like in America...family, friends, gifts, one of Vanessa's extravagant cakes, balloons, ice sculptures (ok, just kidding about that). I could drive myself into some serious jealousy looking at pictures on facebook or ideas on pinterest that just aren't gonna happen in Tanzania. But I look around and remind myself how incredibly blessed we are...I mean look at this sweet little girl...yeah, who needs an ice sculpture?

Did I mention she is starting to walk? She isn't quite there yet. She takes one or two steps by herself, then plops down...maybe because she is scared, but personally I think it because she can crawl herself across the room in no time flat and she is way too busy and active to take the time to slowly and carefully walk. I'm not pushing her...I know once she starts walking for real, I'll never catch up!