our baby moon

Thanks to our super parents, we got away for a weekend to spend some time together without the kiddos before we head back to Tanzania in a few weeks. We spent 1 night and 2 days in Helen (which is where we spent our 1-year anniversary!) Here is a little flashback from 2008....

And flash forward almost 5 years...

Still so in love with my best friend...even more so!! We had a great time even though it rained the.entire.time. But we didn't let the rain keep us down. We continued our tradition of putt-putt...

We rented some movies and stayed in that night and it was so much fun!! Our hotel room was fabulous with a beautiful view of the river (that we heard raging all weekend). Thanks so my wonderful husband for planning the trip!!

(Don't let this picture fool you...it was pouring)

a month!

Our little jilli bug is already a month old...cannot believe it! The month has just flown by and we have been so busy taking care of things and visiting with family before we get ready to head back in about a month. Nate's grandparents and cousin Anna visited and then my grandparents and my aunt and uncle came up for the weekend! We felt really blessed that our grandparents drove all the way from Illinois and Florida to see us! (More pictures to come from family visits!)

What is jillian up to this month?
-She has been sleeping in pretty long stretches at night to give her mommy some rest!
-She has been SUPER fussy since we brought her home from the hospital. Finally, at her 1 month check-up we found out why...she has reflux--poor baby. The doctor gave her some medicine and we have already noticed such an improvement. We are all so.so.so glad she is feeling better and much happier!
-She has been giving us sweet smiles. Love those SO much.
-She is still in newborn diapers and clothes. Such a tiny little girl.
-She loves, loves, loves to eat. We were so strict with getting Zoe on a schedule, but we are waiting until we get back to Tanzania with Jillian, because it will be such a change for us all.
-She loves being held and rocked by her grandparents...and they love it just as much.
-She has been doing A LOT of shopping to get our crate ready to send ahead.
-She is getting a lot of love from her big sister!!

Here are a few pictures from our first month as a family of four:

we're back...and we've added one more!

I know...it's been quite a while since I've updated the blog! I just have been having so much fun with family and friends during our time here in the states. A friend told me a few weeks ago she was going to delete my blog from her list if I didn't update it soon...so then I knew it had been too long!

I can't start back with anything other than this precious little one...

She's adorable, no?! Jillian Naye was born Friday, March 22nd at 1:37 am. We went in for a scheduled induction on Wednesday night (apparently both my babies just weren't into the idea of leaving my belly). I just had a feeling my labor would go quickly, since Zoe came quite rapidly after they began the induction. No such luck. The first medicine they gave me did next to nothing (that was the first 12 hours). By Thursday morning I had only dilated like 1 cm, so my doctor broke my water and started pitocin. I immediately started having close, strong contractions. So (ugh) they took me off the pitocin to see if my body would continue contractions on it's own. Again, no such luck. Labor stopped all together. So then we waited pretty much the entire day with nothing happening until my doctor came back at the end of the day...only to tell the nurses to start pitocin again. (Of course!) Again, the contractions started pretty quickly and I had them through the night. By about 11 pm, I was exhausted. I was only dilated 2 or 3 cm and I hadn't slept in 24 hours, or eaten in 24 hours, and the pain was pretty unbearable. I finally asked for an epidural and wow! I didn't have any drugs with Zoe so I had no idea what it would be like. It was almost instant relief and I was finally able to rest. Nate said I got a little loopy, but I think it was just exhaustion. It only took about 2 more hours to dilate fully and the nurse told me Jillian was ready to enter the world! The doctor came in and told me there was a woman in the next room who was also ready, but didn't have an epidural...so I was quite happy to wait for her--I understood all too well! Our sweet girl was born at 1:37 am. 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long. Instant love. 

Zoe came that morning to meet her new baby sister...

Every time I look at Nate and my two beautiful girls, I am in awe of how good our God is! We are absolutely loving being a family of four! Thank you all for your sweet encouragement and prayers! You have blessed us so much!

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...