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."