My 32nd birthday.

I am glad we had a chance to celebrate my birthday early this year, because sadly, the actual day of my birthday turned out to be a bust. But thanks to Isaak's early planning, Saturday the 16th was a lovely affair. Isaak arranged to take me out to dinner, and our two dear friends Seth and Rebecca stayed at the house to watch the girls.

We ate dinner at Verdoyant and I enjoyed their delicious ravioli a la ricotta. Afterwards we swung by Bingo to pick up some ice cream to have a treat back at the house with the girls. We were home before 8pm, which suited me fine because our friends were back at the house with the girls and I wanted the chance to hang out.

So we arrived back at home, and for some strange reason all the doors were open. When I walked inside it's super quiet, no one's around, and I see all these hand made paper garlands strung around the house. Honestly, my first thought was that we seriously have the coolest friends ever because I thought they made crafts with the girls while we were gone! Ha! But then all of a sudden, the next thing I saw was Rhyan's body flying across the air doing a cart wheel in front of me and everyone jumped out and yelled surprise. 

I was stunned. What a fun surprise.  There was cupcakes, cake, ice cream, cookies, muffins...oh man, so much food. It was lovely. What a blessing to have such great people to celebrate in our lives. The girls apparently were SO excited after we left and Seth and Rebecca told them their was going to be a party for me tonight. Sydaleigh was ecstatic and said, "We've never done anything like this for my mom before!" What charming little girls I have. Oh, how they delight in blessing me.

Africa birthday candles....only spell "Birhday". Which is totally fitting since Africans absolutely can not make the "th" sound. So why the heck would they bother including the "th"?! They wouldn't! Ha ha! Africa is so cool. I like it here so much. =)

I gotta pause and say, that after 32 years living, I think this is up there on the list of one of the most flattering picture of me anyone's ever taken. For reals. I don't care if that's vain. It only sounds vain because y'all be mega jealous of my glamor shot. I mean, I really think my half squat is such a super flattering pose and my mid sucking in air face right before I blow out the candles really accentuates my cheek bones quite nicely. If only we all had friends who were as gifted in capturing these truly beautiful candid moments of our lives. That's a framer for sure! =)

Moving along-Sydaleigh decorated me a cake. It's the beach. Because she knows how much I adore the beach. The yellow is the sun. The orange is the sand. The blue is the water. And of course I ate some of that along with all the other delicious food everyone brought. I was so spoiled and loved, I couldn't have asked for more. Family, friends, food....it was all beyond great.

And then came the part where I woke up sick. Three hours after I laid down that night I woke up horribly ill.

Ugh, you know that feeling where you wake up and you just have that terribly "off" feeling where you're laying there and know that at some point, whatever is in your stomach is not going to be there for much longer. That was that. I hate being sick. I'm much much much more used to it now than I ever was. Maybe at some point in my life I will go longer than three weeks without contracting something. This season in my life is not one of them. =) So for all the next day I was down and out, spending the whole day on the couch, not even able to roll over without a wave of nausea assaulting me. But then I felt bad that I was on the couch sick all day (yup, I'm one of those people that feels guilty when I get sick because I can't contribute to anyone or anything) so I forced myself to get up and make dinner while the family was gone at frisbee. And then I tidied up the living room, because I figured if I'm gonna be sick, at least my living room won't be a disaster on top of it.

Thankfully whatever I had was gone in 24 hours. But then 48 hours later, on the day of my birthday, the day that my sweet Marvelly had been counting towards the entire month of November in eager anticipation...Sydaleigh came home from school sick. Poor girl. She could not even hold in one bit of cracker without throwing it up for over 24 hours. She was way sicker than I was. I feel like it has become a tradition for someone to be sick on my birthday now.

So, much to Marvelly's chagrin, we postponed our family celebration until the following night. It was unfortunate for the girls, but it worked out well because we had company in town that week, and that day was the final qualifier World Cup game for Burkina, so Isaak took our company out to watch the game. And while Syd slept in my bed, me and Marvi girl still had some ice cream together. And then the following day we sang happy birthday after dinner and Isaak and the girls gave me a gift, and on the gift was a card from Sydaleigh that read, "Look, I'm sorry I'm sick, but I have to say, Happy Birthday." And Marvelly drew me a picture of the earth with Mommy and Daddy inside it. And it was wonderful and made me so happy. And I love all the little ways that I was loved and celebrated this year by my family.

It was a great way to turn 32. =)

The urgency of orphan care

I was reading this week from two different sources about the need to raise awareness for the importance of adoption. To speak up. Be a voice for the voiceless. To advocate on behalf of the vulnerable. All of which I fully agree and believe in.

And yet, I feel like I've been sitting quiet.
Not doing anything.
Not saying anything.
Just keeping everything all tucked away inside.

So I was praying this morning about all that. Asking for words. For boldness. For opportunities to be used by Him. To muster up courage. To be an instrument to bring forth insight and truth. To love more like Jesus. To be open to His leading today.

And then I went to the orphanage this morning. And I felt like I was seeing everything for the first time. I felt raw. My heart threatening to splinter into a million pieces, like it has so many times before. Every child I looked at, I saw into them a little deeper. Their pain and sickness and circumstances just assaulting me.

So many little friends that I love were sick. One little man was just noticeably shrinking away. Growing steadily smaller each week I come. One little guy with a developing misshapen head, for an unknown reason. Another attached to an IV. Two laying on the floor sleeping. Another new baby that arrived last week, and she was the smallest baby I've ever held. She might have been 2 pounds. Her head was the size of my fist. She should still have been in the womb, she was just so small. Again, the smallest baby I have ever seen in person and held. But there she was, breathing and living, in her smallness.

Spared. Spared from a life of who knows what. Spared from starvation.Violence. Further neglect and abandonment. Exploitation. Slavery. Only God knows.

But yet, the sad reality is that children die in orphanages. They die waiting for families. They die, before they ever have the chance to experience the fullness of redemption. I looked around the room and listened to Christa tell me about some kids we know and love who have not yet been matched to a family. I looked around the room at the children who were sick. And I thought....what if they don't make it?

What if they perish before anyone comes to claim them? What if they die here, never knowing the love of a real family? I've seen it happen. To be spared only to die in wait. To die waiting on a forever family to step forward. To die waiting for all the bureaucratic adoption red tape to get ironed out. To die waiting for a birth family to come back and reclaim them like they said they would. To die waiting, because they are stuck in the belly of abandonment where the rules don't apply to them because of a unique set of circumstances. To die because the only health care afforded to them is atrocious. To die from a lack of proper diagnosis, or lack of treatment.

It is a hard reality. But believe me it is reality.

I live in a land that toes the line between life and death on a daily basis.

And I knew after we moved here that it would not be long before my sheltered heart encountered death in a way it never has before.

In reality, we all live in a world that toes the line between life and death. The difference is that, in the States, it's hidden much better. Suffering happens in hospitals. In neat and tidy sterile environments. With well trained doctors, fancy machines and stockpiles of medicine.

In Burkina, suffering isn't contained to a hospital bed.

It is everywhere.

You need not look far to find the face of the dying.

I have witnessed death here. Not on the same scale that many other people have, but once you look into the eyes of just one person dying, particularly that of a child....it stays with you forever.

And it is unspeakably hard.

It was unspeakably hard to look into the eyes of Cerrill, a one year old boy who had become so emaciated from sickness that I could see every single bone in his chest and rib cage. It was unspeakably hard to sit and watch while he threw up the water meant to help dehydrate him. It was unspeakably hard to sit and watch his breathing quicken and his rail thin limbs lay limp and lifeless at his side. To look into his eyes...and know you are looking into the eyes of someone who will soon see death. To sit beside him and rub his tummy and stroke his feet knowing that's the only comfort I could bring him. It was unspeakably hard knowing that every effort was made to save him, but due to Burkina's pitiful healthcare there is nothing the doctors could do, not even diagnose what was killing him. It was unspeakably hard knowing all I could do was sit beside him and pray silently for Jesus to take him soon. To come in His swift mercy and end his suffering. To reclaim the savage and cruel grasp of death on this boy's life and use it to bring new life to his broken body.

It is unspeakably hard to sit and watch a one year old boy dying right in front of you and not know why. To feel the hope of healing here on earth slip away.

It is unspeakably hard to say goodbye to babies who have barely begun to live. I have said goodbye to four, and chances are, I will inevitably say goodbye to more.

There are no words for that kind of helplessness, for that kind of pain.

There are days when I shake my fists and ask,"Why?! She was just a baby! Why?! He was in perfect health just days before! Why?!" Why. Why. Why.

Because we live in a broken world. And pain and sickness and suffering and death are a part of that brokenness.

Suffering in this life is inevitable. We will all experience it to some degree at some point. But suffering here is on a scale of which I've never seen. And there are many other countries all over the world like Burkina Faso where poverty and desperation is running rampant and deep suffering is a daily certainty.

Most of the people I see here will never know another life. Not on this side of heaven anyway. But for my friends in the orphanage, for kids in foster care, for all the children around the world sitting in wait....they have the opportunity to experience something different. They have been given an opportunity to change their fate. To live a fuller life. To know the love of a family. To walk with the Lord in the plan He has for them. To be world changers. Revolutionaries. Eternity advocates. Proponents of justice.

If they get the chance.

There are kids, lots of kids, in every corner of this world, in need of a family. But yet many of them sit. And wait. And sit. And wait. Waiting for someone to move on their behalf. To see the value that they possess. But yet so many kids will never know a different life. Because they don't fit a certain criteria. They are too old, or too sick, or too dark, or too light, or not the right gender, or they lack the right eye color, or they have too many problems. We tell ourselves we're too old, or too young, or too busy, or we have other passions worth investing in, or we don't have enough money, a big enough house, the right kind of job, enough experience, or we just don't want to...and on and on it goes. And in the meantime they sit and wait and sit and wait. And some die in the wait. Others succumb to despair and misery. While they wait and hope of a better life that they may never have.

I don't want to see any more children die. I don't want to see anymore kids waste away in the system while they wait for someone to take up their cause.

These aren't trees. Or glaciers. Or animals. Or any other "green" movement. Or whatever else it is that our world places the most value in these days and we in tune follow.

These are people.
These. are. people.
And they have value.
And worth.
And while we argue with ourselves about whether or not we're called to help, children are slowly wasting away in institutions.

But the reality is that He has called us to help. To get involved. To speak up. To freaking care about what happens to the people around us. To stop placing more importance in whether what we eat is organic or not. Or placing the priority of our care in the rate in which the glaciers are melting. He's called us to advocate on behalf of people. To stop turning a blind eye and saying it's someone elses problem. It's our problem. As citizens of this world, what happens in it to our fellow human beings is our problem. And within our reach to do something about it. These children were created in Christ's image and have just as much right to live up to that potential and God given purpose as we do.

Jesus called them out of darkness. He took up their cause. And now it's our turn to take up their cause too. We have been given the privilege and the mandate of partnering up with the God, to work with Him, to walk alongside Him and be used to help a hurting world. To bring light. Offer mercy. And extend love. And it's high time we start taking that seriously and making it a priority. The time to be obedient and take action is now....precious lives hang in the balance.

"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. 

Fight for the rights of widows."

"No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."-Micah 6:8

 

Getting back in my baking groove

Last week Holly sent me a new cupcake recipe via pinterest and as fate would have it I actually had all the ingredients needed to make them!

To.tal. shocker!

That seriously never happens. Not with all these new organic paleo gluten free no dairy recipes going around. I mean seriously, can we stop with all this coconut oil, almond butter, greek yogurt, chestnut flour (what. the. heck. is. that?!), agave nectar and organic chocolate mumbojumbo.

I mean for real? Organic chocolate? Chestnut flour? Raw honey? You're telling me you can't eat regular honey? For real?! It seriously has to be raw?! Get outta my face with that.

If I see one more recipe that calls for buckwheat flour or grapeseed oil I am gonna turn into a crazy person. Just eat normal things people!!

But I digress.

Thankfully this recipe called for all normal ingredients that you could find even in Burkina Faso. HAPPY DAY! I almost cried with joy!

We had company over on Friday for dinner and games, so I figured this was the perfect time to get back into my bakin' groove.

And these bad boys did not disappoint.

Chocolate graham cracker cupcakes with brown sugar marshmallow frosting. Oh my gosh they were the bomb!

I may have heard the words, and I quote, "these are the best cupcakes I've ever had in my life."

True story.

These will definitely be going in the ole recipe book to make again, that's for sure!

our day today

Isaak had the day off work today in honor of Veteran's Day. Even though we live in a foreign country it's nice that Isaak still gets to observe this day in recognition of the service he continues to give his country as well as all the other men and women in our history. (even if he did have to go into work for a little while this afternoon =) )

We started off our morning getting the girls off to school by exactly 6:30am. And then we scooted out the door and drove to Cappuccino to buy some loafs of bread, my new favorite bread buying place. Even if the loaves are $4 they are big enough for me to get at least 28 slices out of each one. I'd say that's pretty darn good.

Some dear new friends of ours Seth and Rebecca came over for breakfast and we feasted on muffins, eggs, crepes, bacon, fruit and sweet potato home potatoes. It was deliciously amazing. Some of my favorite things in life.....good friends and good food. Who could ask for more? It would have been perfect if the girls could have been home, but alas, their school does not recognize Veteran's day.

Later me and Rebecca went out to Nuance Gallery for a little shopping while the guys stayed behind and played video games. I think Isaak has found his kindred spirit in Seth, they're one of a kind those two.

The girls came home and Marvelly told us about how she fell off the monkey bars while hanging upside down during recess today. She landed on her head, and her back, but she said her tummy hurt the worst. She likely got the wind blown out of her. She's got a good bruise on her shoulder to prove it, but other than that, she's fine. Marvelly told me how Sydaleigh was there and started to cry when she got hurt. Those girls sure do love each other. I'm am so grateful that they have each other.

Me, Isaak and Marvelly were able to spend some time together before Syd returned home. Just sweet moments on the couch playing games, being silly.

Later on Isaak took Marvelly out to Festival de Glace for some ice cream while Syd stayed home and finished her homework. Sydaleigh was tired from her day at school and some emotionally charged situations that happened, so she was content to have them bring her back some ice cream to eat at home while she watched Little Women after her hour long homework was complete.

Little Women has quickly become the girls favorite movie. They love the scene where Jo burns Megs hair off with the curling iron, and the kids stick their faces to the window as the sisters are walking by and Jo says, "lovely children" sarcastically.

We all helped out in the kitchen to prepare dinner. We had chicken fajitas with veggies, black beans, and homemade tortillas. Marvelly helped punch and fold the dough while Isaak rolled them out and Sydaleigh took her position in front of the stove flipping tortillas and putting them in the baggie to stay soft. Little Women was playing softly while we ate, and Sydaleigh told me how much she enjoys listening to the soft music, so I went to i-tunes and we found the soundtrack and previewed all the songs while playing a drawing game after dinner.

The girls ended the night with a warm bath and I snuggled up to Marvelly during they nightly story.

Now, me and Isaak are about to sit down and watch Person of Interest, my favorite show.

It was a good day, our day today. A regular ordinarily good day with lots of sweet moments together.

In recognition of Veteran's Day....

Our fathers' God to Thee, Author of Liberty,

To thee we sing, Long may our land be bright

With Freedom's holy light, Protect us by they might

Great God, our King.

Many thanks to my husband and all who serve on this Veteran's Day.

.

Marine Ball #2

We went to the 238th Marine Corps Ball Saturday night and had a lovely time. What a treat to celebrate such a meaningful evening with so many people and recognize all that the Marines do in service of their country. We are one proud military family.

That red dirt road

One of those days....

In about five minutes I am going to put this day behind me. I am going to cozy up on the couch, watch my new favorite show, Person of Interest, and go to my happy place.

And put this day behind me.

The day that had me putting Gloria repeatedly in a time out for pulling my hair out of my scalp and then going around hitting anyone in her path.
The day that had me holding Paul as he painfully coughed up a never ending amount of mucous from his throat that would leave him choking if I laid him down.
The day that one of the workers came and grabbed Paul right out of my arms and laid him down in his crib and closed the door because she was tired of hearing him cry from choking on phlegm.
The day that had all the kids in the orphanage upset and crying all at once because they were all sick with colds.
The day that had me sifting through my flour before I made tortillas to get rid of all the weevils that have invaded my food...only to discover that worms had infested it too. More worms....in my flour this time. My unopened sealed bag of flour....crawling with worms.
The day that had me then sifting through my flour for an hour before I could even make my tortillas, and then still make dinner.

It was just one of those days around here.

Happy place here I come......

Worms...it's whats for dinner.

I had a great idea to cook up some zucchini on Sunday with our dinner, but that idea quickly vanished when I cut into them all and these repulsive little vermin started wiggling their way out of my food!

WORMS!!! Oh. no. you. didn't. just come outta my zucchini! My gag reflex still kicks in when I think about it. That is some kind of nasty right there. Ugh. I can't look at the picture for too long or else the need to vomit starts to tease me and I have to look away.

I've never had worms all up in my food before.....but Africa has been a place of many "firsts" so I guess it was only a matter of time.

Now I've eaten food here with bugs in it before....but I draw the line at worms. Isaak wanted me to salvage some of the zucchini that looked clean...what. the. heck?! Salvage some zucchini?! That had worms in it? You be crAzy! I'm not cookin' up any of that! There could be worm pods or invisible eggs covertly hiding in the rest and then you'd have baby worm eggs hatching inside you! Now I know that my stomach acid would likely kill any worms that I ingested but lets just look at our luck with health since we've been here, mkay?! Those suckers would survive! They would survive and then make my body its host!

That junk was goin' in the garbage.

Gah.

Touché Burkina, touché.

Our trip to the U.S. -Oct. 1st-Oct.21st

Our completely spontaneous 20 day trip back to the United States!!

We arrived at the airport Monday night, September 30th, and proceeded to be in travel mode due to all the time changes and lay overs for nearly 27 hours. We went from Ouaga to Belgium to NYC to Richmond. The girls were so excited to be flying on an airplane they hardly slept a wink. They watched movie after movie on their own little personal t.v.'s in front of their seats (love Brussel's Airline!) and talked ever so loudly (um, we're talking loudest folks on a plane with over 200 other people's voices....my girls were the only ones you could hear!) about the changing landscape outside the windows or the take offs and landings and how it made their stomachs tickle. They were pure joy. Absolutely giddy with delight and eager anticipation to be returning to America. They love flying and traveled so well.

That little package Marvi is holding is a waffle. We are in Belgium. Therefore that makes it a legitimate Belgian waffle in my opinion. Just so I can say we had the real deal while in their country. =)

We slept for a grand total of maybe three hours, catching some zzzz's on the floor in the Brussel's airport while we waited for our next flight. But finally we made it...

What a joyous reunion it was! My mom, Joel, Victoria and Keith all met us at the airport in Richmond. It truly felt so good to be back....except for the stink coming out of Applebee's! Whoa! It's been a long time since I've smelled American food and that was the first whiff I got, and I think I would have preferred the smell of burning sewage compared to that! Ha! Funny the things that you notice after being away for so long.

We drove to Keith and Jaclyn's house where we stayed for the duration of our trip and after getting settled we made a beeline for the grocery store to get some food! Oh glorious food!

Jaclyn made sure to go with us the first time we went to the grocery store because she wanted to see our reaction. You'd think we'd never seen food before! We had these two little old ladies trailing us while we were in there and they kept giggling every time the girls would freak out over food they haven't seen in over a year. I can only imagine what we looked like!

We forgot just how much good food is in one place! We have been so used to our little grocery store that is the size of a small gas station....this was overwhelmingly wonderful. The girls started screaming when they saw strawberries and baby carrots! Ha! I just wanted to hug all the food as I went by. Aside from seeing family....the food was the next best part of being back. Getting to eat seedless grapes, Greek yogurt, chips, strawberries, delicious cheese and soft whole wheat bread everyday for lunch made me more happy than just about anything. Oh, the sweet accessibility of it all.

And getting to walk out with a cart full of food for the price that I would have paid for two bags worth in Burkina wasn't half bad either! And knowing that I could buy yellow bananas and that they would stay fresh and yellow all week and I wouldn't have to go back to the market the following day because they'd gone bad already made me want to do cartwheel's! Ah, fresh chemically enhanced food, how I've missed you!

Less than 48 hours after we arrived in Virginia we packed a weekend bag and headed out of town. Our first stop was to Greensboro, NC to meet up with Matt and Megan! As fate would have it they just happen to still be on the east coast before wrapping up their travels before baby Durkee arrives, and we were all within just a couple hours driving distance from each other, so we made haste to see them. It made our hearts all kinds of happy to see them...I don't think we could have waited over a year for them to come back to Burkina, we miss them too much! God is good to gift us with a visit with them. It was so surreal to be in the US with them, only ever experiencing life in Burkina together, it was definitely a treat to see them on US soil!

We hit up our only two "must eat at while in the U.S." restaurants while we were together....Moe's and Red Robin! The girls were thrilled! As were Matt and Isaak getting to share a very manly beer milkshake. Isaak was quite happy. Only those two...... =)

We also bowled, and Megan whooped us all! I think being pregnant has given her special bowling powers.

These people just make our hearts so happy. We absolutely adore Matt and Megan. Such dear friends, discovered in a far away land, and reunited for a brief 24 hours. Ah, thank you Jesus for such a sweet gift of time spent with them!

Following our time with Matt and Megan we then drove over to Jacksonville, NC and spent a few precious hours with Johnathan and Liza! Love. these. people! I just love thinking about how God brought them into our lives while we were in D.C. for such a brief time but such a deep and lasting friendship resulted.

We only had six hours in Jacksonville so as soon as we arrived me, Liza and the girls hit the beach on Camp Lejeune for some girl time and then we returned back to her home where Johnathan had already returned and we all had an amazing dinner together. The men grilled up some steaks and salmon outside, and we sat and talked of the new lives and careers and ministries we are involved in these days. Although me and Liza already knew all of that....seen as how we email, pray, and update each other nearly every single week. But it's good to say in person too. =)

It's even better to see each other in person. And hug their necks. And hear their voices. Johnathan is soon deploying so we were grateful for the time to see him before he departs, to laugh and talk and for the opportunity to stand together under the night sky and pray over one another. What a blessed six hours those were.

After leaving Jacksonville we drove a short way down the coast to stay at my Mom's house near Wilmington. The girls were super excited to see Grandpa Dave and Itty Bitty. They may have been more excited to see that fat cat more than anyone else on the trip....they love that big ole cat. We were only in Wilmington for one day, so again, we packed in a whole lotta living in that one day! We went to the beach the next morning where the temperature was a blissful 80+ degrees.

The water was still surprisingly warm for this time of year so the girls got to swim and Sydaleigh boogie boarded. Some lady was good enough to blow bubbles for my girls because her own kids weren't interested....where as my kids were like, "BUBBLES!! ATTACK!!!" They chased those bubbles on the beach until it was time to go. There is nothing quite as whimsical and innocent as bubbles....I hope they never outgrow their love for them.

The weather was perfectly warm this weekend that we planned to go to the beach. We are so thankful that we got to bury our feet in the sand and soak up the sea air that we love so much while we were here. It was a lovely treat.

That Saturday also happened to be the weekend of Wilmington's Riverfest, so after we washed off we headed downtown and proceeded to soak up all the crazy that comes out at festivals! I think that was when I experienced my first reverse culture shock. There are no words. I don't even know how to describe that experience. Loads of foods, all kinds of people, weird rides....

Like what the heck is that?! Some kind of big weird robotic animal with tiger fur taped on and wheels attached to the feet. People actually put their kids on it to be dragged around in a circle! What. the. heck. yo?! I'd soon rather put my kid on a live crocodile than sit on that thing!

It was weird to go from hearing French to being surrounded by people with these super thick deep country southern accents "I gawt hurh wite heyah. An anotha at duh howse." My mind was spinning. It was fun though. Lots of fun.

We ended the evening with a boat ride on the river at sunset and then went back to Mimi's for a movie night. Sunday we went to visit my mom's church where we got to see her sing in the choir and then I talked to the pastor's wife who strangely enough sent some people from the company she works with to Burkina Faso a couple years ago to work on the construction of the new US Embassy, that Isaak now works in! Small world!

After church we drove with my mom back to Richmond for some special girl time, which is not complete without a pit stop at McDonald's for some Happy Meals and chocolate chip cookies! Tradition baby!

That night we had a get together over at my mom's apartment and ate pizza (yummy American pizza-so good!!) and hung out with family I haven't seen in too long.

I got to see the goodness that is my cousin Gabe. I have such great memories with him from my childhood...love getting to see girls making memories with him too.

There was lots of precious girl time with more cousins.

And of course time spent obsessing over Mimi's fish, which the girls just couldn't get enough of. My girls pretty much love anything that breathes I think. Cats, dogs, fish, lizards, snails, doesn't matter...they love it all.

After that first non-stop weekend we settled back into the peace of Jaclyn's home and just rested. Jaclyn's home sits out in the country a bit so it was the perfect place to unwind and relax.

 

So we spent the next few days doing just that. Isaak would take out the four wheeler and go riding in the wide open spaces surrounding their property each day, often with the girls.

This is where the girls spent most of their time. Each morning they would run outside in their pj's and flip flops and stay our here for hours swinging, having adventures in the fort, or playing in the playhouse, or frolicking in the fields. It was such a delight to see them so thoroughly enjoy being outside again.

*side note* I got that Aurora dress Sydaleigh is wearing at the Goodwill for $5!! Oh Goodwill how I missed you!

When they weren't outside they busied themselves for hours with all kinds of imaginative play. And lots of Sophia the First shows. For being together for nearly three weeks these three ladies had such a great time together. There were no fights, just small disagreements here and there. They played so well together, the entire time!

And we may have watched, or more accurately had sing-a-longs, to Annie on multiple occasions! That movie is always good!

 We had a bonfire and cooked up some monster sized marshmallows.

Ate yummy food. Visited Aunt Abby at work.

Mom and Abby would come over during the week after they would get off work and hang out for a few hours. We had a wonderful time just sitting around the table laughing and eating soaking up their presence.

Not to mention all the hours Isaak got to spend chilling on the couch playing video games, or us just veggin' and watching t.v.  I don't even know how much Million Dollar Listing we all watched together! Vacation is good for just sittin' around sometimes and not doing a doggawn thing. =) This trip was so perfectly balanced with down time and "go" time. It worked our well for us all.

And, there may have been an excursion, or two, to Target!! If there was a cart big enough for me to do this on....I woulda done it.....whoo hoo!!!!! Target love!!!

They couldn't believe their eyes. They'll take that. and that. and that. and that. Oh man, they could just not even handle it. I just wanted to sit in the aisles and make floor angels! Ha! I gotta say....being here, it felt like comin' home. Somethings are just always good. =) We even scored ourselves some clearance items that we actually needed! When does that ever happen?

And then there was this. I thankfully scored the girls a dental checkup on Thursday right before we were to head out of town that same day. Well, thank goodness for that check up because we discovered that Sydaleigh had 3 cavitites and Marvelly had four, one of which was located in her upper nerves so she would end up needing to have a root canal done.

Five years old and my kid is having a root canal. I definitely lose mommy points for that!

That was kind of a downer, along with the price we were quoted as having to pay for all that dental work. But we didn't stay down for long because as soon as those first dental appointments were done we headed to Williamsburg, VA, walked around, had lunch at the nicest little restaurant and then afterwards we drove to Yorktown to see.....

LIZ!!!! And Todd and their sweet Claire and Grace! Ah! Happiness! We stayed at their house overnight and got to reconnect and catch up and we sat around their table eating yummy food and laughing and it felt like old times and it was so wonderful to see them. The girls picked up right where they left off as if no time had passed between them. They had a sleepover upstairs even though Claire had school in the early morning. To our surprise her and Syd woke up early and sneaked into the closet to play barbies one last time! What good friends! Love this family so much.

After we left Liz's house we spent the day at Busch Gardens! To our benefit it happened to be overcast and a little rainy that day so the park was virtually empty. We had to wait in zero lines!

Neither Sydaleigh nor Marvelly had been on a roller coaster before, and Sydaleigh is now at a height where she can actually ride some big ones! So Isaak rode with Syd on her very first roller coaster which happened to be an enormously tall triple upside down one! It's this yellow one in the above picture, you can see one of the loops. She got off the ride and was grinning from ear to ear....she LOVED it! She said it made her feel like she was going to pee and throw up! Ha!

Marvelly also got to experience her first roller coaster. The park has one coaster just for younger kids, and when we piled into the seats and started to ascend the hill we thought it was going to be really slow.....but man that ride was fast! It was short but fun! It whipped and whirled you all over and Marvelly just laughed and screamed in delight the whole way. She went on that ride five times before we left. My girls definitely love thrill rides!

We also went on some stomach churning rides like the pirate ship and Da Vinci's Glider that just whips you around in a circle. Again, the girls loved them, although my stomach can't tolerate those rides like it used to. Busch Gardens was a blast. And it was free for military and their dependents! Cha-ching!! Such a fun day! We truly enjoyed ourselves.

Later that night Uncle Jellybean and Aunt Becca arrived! They drove down from Delaware to see us for about 36 hours before driving back home. They pulled in late, but the girls were so excited they couldn't sleep and stayed awake and ran downstairs when they heard them arrive at Jaclyn's! Oh they love their aunt and uncle! The energy and joy that they bring is so contagious.

We had a great time with them, even though it wasn't long. Jordan introduced me to "What does the fox say?". We enjoyed our first Mexican food of the trip and stayed up wee late into the night laughing and laughing. I love how much my family laughs. And Becca and Jordan are the sweetest most hilarious couple, so time spent with them is always guaranteed to be good. =)

Jordan and Becca left the following day, Sunday, which is the day me and Isaak celebrated our  
13th anniversary. The girls had spent the night at mom's "department" the night before and were spending the day there having a teddy bear tea party, so me and Isaak set out to have some alone time in honor of all our years together. We went to the movies and watched Rush which Isaak nearly hyperventilated the whole way through....the man loves cars. We ate Thai food, got some frozen yogurt (yum!!!) and walked around an outdoor mall.

*Let it be known, someone should call the fashion police. That is me, on our date day. It was a freezing 50 degrees (it might as well have been -20, we were so cold! We're accustomed to 100 degree days year round!) and windy and raining and I'm out there wearing flip flops, a maxi skirt, a sparkly sweater, and a vinyl raincoat. Clearly I have no idea how to properly dress in the United States anymore.

Our last week in the States was equally as fantastic as the previous ones. 

The girls continued soaking up all the time they had together.

We all went to a children's museum and played with all kinds of contraptions.

Ever since we have come to live in a country that is void all of sorts of entertainment that we were previously used to having....us and the girls have become a lot more aware of just what a blessing it is to have options like this available. We were SO thankful to spend the morning here playing.

Even Isaak got into the spirit and put on a little show for us!

Later than afternoon we met my mom for lunch at a Chinese restaurant and I ate delicious broccoli for the only time on our trip. Mmmm, Chinese food. =)The trip was filled with wonderfully small and subtly precious moments like that. Just being able to meet with my mom for lunch. Sit around a table eating food we haven't tasted in over a year. Talking and laughing about life. All those subtly precious moments.

And this one. Being able to roll down the window while driving and stick your face in the breeze. We can't do this in Burkina, not often anyways. It's both too hot and far too dusty. You'd swallow a gallon of dirt doing this. But we could here. We could roll down the windows and laugh with the pleasure of fresh air. Jaclyn would open up all the doors in her house and just let the fresh air flow in. We'd sit in the living room and kitchen and feel the sweet crisp air dance around us. There is nothing quite as enjoyable as fresh air when you've been living in a land where you feel like you will suffocate just from breathing outside. It meant so much. More subtly precious moments, not to be taken for granted.

Later that evening we took the girls with my mom, Jaclyn, Elsie, Raymond and Kelsey to the movies at this incredible old movie theater in downtown Richmond called The Byrd where a piano man plays an opening number on the weekends and they lift up the red velvet curtain and it's dark and dreamy and the girls felt like they were walking into the Radio City Music Hall during Annie! We watched Monster's University for $2 and reveled in the ambiance of such a dreamy place.

The next two days were spent at the dentist. Sydaleigh's appointment was Wednesday and she had to get three shots in her mouth to numb her up before they could fix her cavities. Isaak accompanied her to the office and upon returning home her whole face was numb (she kept asking when her lips were going to wake up) so we went to a nearby neighbor's pond to go fishing and spend the afternoon doing a peaceful activity.

That was the grand plan anyway. Except when we arrived at this guys house his directions to "just follow the path" down to the water entailed hiking through the muddy woods in our flip flops where there was no visible path. Roaming around in what felt like an aimless direction hoping to somehow find our way out of the woods to where the water might be. And then after we made it down to the water and got the girls set up (and by "we" I only mean Isaak, I just stood around taking pictures. =) ) the girls were easily upset because they couldn't catch any fish.

Our peaceful activity wasn't shaping up to be so peace filled! BUT, the girls did end up excitedly catching some fish, Sydaleigh could eventually feel her face again, we sat on the banks of this pond and looked at cat tails growing along the banks and wild flowers growing in the bush, and we somehow found a path back to the house that only took us two minutes to walk instead of fifteen.

The next day was Marvell'ys turn in the chair. She had to be sedated which meant nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before, and her appointment wasn't until 11am, which of course meant this was the morning she decided to wake up early instead of sleeping in until 10am like she had been and complained of being hungry. 

The sedative took about an hour to kick in, but when it did, oh man! She was out! As she began to get drowsy her whole body would jolt awake and she'd fling her body all over the place before eventually falling into a deep sleep. Me and Isaak kept looking up to each other giggling. After her procedure she woke up and asked why her lips were sleeping. She was so funny. She kept trying to say words, but couldn't, and would get upset. I couldn't leave her side for a few hours because the sedative made her awkwardly drowsy the rest of the day. She got a nice "gold treasure" tooth like Sydaleigh that she proudly showed us all! We were so glad when these days were behind us!

On our last weekend in the States, Isaak received a very special treat....his Grandma and Grandpa drove up from Miami, Florida to spend 48 hours with us before we returned to Burkina. What a wonderful surprise that they could make it to see us!! That turned out to be a very busy weekend, with so many fun memories....

Friday evening me and the girls spent the night at my mom's house one last time. Before we went to her house we got to go shopping together, yay! And then afterwards Victoria joined us at her house and we had ourselves a fun girl's night with Little Cesar's pizza, a movie, Twizzlers, ice cream and mini York Peppermint Patties that we love so much from the gas station. I also had myself a half a bottle of A&W (man I love that stuff, but I can never drink more than half a bottle before I get too full! They should really make like a half bottle size and that would be perfect!)

Saturday we had ourselves a crab boil! We had a blast! Jaclyn's house was just alive with family and friends...

Isaak's grandparents were there along with Liz and Todd and some of my clan. Uncle Joel was there to give his awesome piggy back rides and to teach Marvelly and Elsie how to do "thumb wars". The kinds of stuff uncles are so great for!

 Such a great time! Check out all the steam rising off the food!

It didn't take long for everyone to sit down and dig into that. Crab legs, shrimp, corn, sausage, potatoes, corn bread....

and amazing company. We stuffed ourselves silly and laughed and laughed. And we ended the night playing Catan....which I won. I'd say that was a great day. =)

Sunday we went to a pumpkin patch. But before we left in the morning we first had to swing by a hotel and pick up Isaak's Aunt Marcie, Uncle Ray and Sterling who happened to be driving down from NYC the night before and stopped for a few hours to see us on their way back down to SC. Isaak was thrilled! They joined us at the patch and afterwards at my Uncle Ray's. What a joy to connect with them for a few hours before they had to hit the road again.

We took a hay ride out to the field and it felt like we were back in Nebraska again.

This was a favorite Fall activity of our families when we lived in the midwest.

The girls picked out some special pumpkins and just delighted in the attention and extra company from their family. Uncle Ray taught Sydaleigh the key to spotting a good pumpkin.

And Marvelly stayed close to cousin Raymond, ditching looking for pumpkins to find ladybugs together instead.

Afterwards we went to Uncle Ray's and took part in his annual pumpkin carving competition. There was some stiff competition this year.

However, I think mine turned out pretty rad.....because "Gerads" do rule! If only I hadn't misspelled our family name I know I would have taken first prize! Bah ha!

We stayed until dusk and ate and played and took pictures and the girls found some kittens that they obsessed over the entire time. We heckled and made fun of each other like always. We got in lots of hugs and moments to last us until we return.

And then we drove his grandparents back to their hotel and said goodbye. And then we returned to Jaclyn's for our last night on US soil.

Monday was peaceful. We didn't have to be to the airport until 4:30pm so we had plenty of time to get everything in order. We packed up our things without haste, had time for one last walk, one last four wheel ride, petted Bo and Bella one last time, and then loaded up our stuff and headed to the airport. It was a hard goodbye. My mom rode with us as did Jaclyn and Elsie. We had such a lovely time. Seeing my mom was so good for my heart. And the girl's. They love their Mimi so much and can't wait for her to come and see us in May!! We are counting down the days. =)

And then there's this lady. And this guy. Jaclyn and Keith. The behind the scenes heros and constant companions on this trip. They were so good to open up their home to us last minute. I can not gush enough about her and Keith and Elsie. We had the GREATEST time in their company. They let us use one of their vehicles. Amazing! They invited us without hesitation to stay in their home for the duration of our trip. Amazing! That's almost three weeks living really closely with another family. And let me say....it was beautiful. We got along splendidly. It's not easy being couped up with your own family sometimes, let alone other people for that long. But not once did we ever have any problems. We never once got annoyed with each other. ZERO stress the entire trip. It just....clicked. Me and Jaclyn and Isaak and Keith, we all connected so well and there was just so much joy and laughter and peace abounding the entire time. The Lord just abundantly blessed our time together and we are so grateful.


*And here's the little ditty on how we ended up getting to the States.....

Isaak got a text Friday evening, Sept. 26th, after he had already returned home from work notifying him of the possibility that we may be able to return to the U.S. for some vacation time. The catcher was that we had to leave Monday, and we also wouldn't be able to find out until Monday, due to the fact that the Embassy was already closed for the weekend....as was everyone in Washington D.C. who could actually officially make this happen.

We were told before we arrived to Burkina last August that we were allowed two FEML trips sponsored by the military during our tour in Burkina. However, due to lots of fun military stuff, it has been over a year and we still haven't been approved for the FEML program. We honestly didn't think we'd get to leave Burkina for vacation until next summer, which would have put us two years on the ground here without a break.

Super cool God note....we found out that the General who was in Burkina visiting with us just a few weekends prior personally recommended our family to "the powers that be" way up the Washington chain, to be offered the opportunity to take this gift of "moral leave" before anyone else was offered it. My jaw just about hit the ground when I heard that!

We are SO incredibly thankful for the Lord granting us favor in the eyes of that General to recommend our family for this gift of a trip. It would not have happened otherwise and we praise Him for his provision and care over our family!

So, after a long nail biting weekend, Monday rolled around and at 10am or so Isaak called and said we were leaving on a jet plane that night and needed to be to the airport by 7:30pm! I made all the arrangements with the girls teachers, packed some bags super quick, made sure we had our passports and yellow fever records, hit up the market to bring home some fun souvenirs, picked Isaak up early from work, brought the cat to a friend's, even made dinner, and then left the house in record time to head back to America!

I can not believe we pulled that off with some 10 hours notice! It was crazy and....well, crazy, but also fun and exciting and I'm so happy that we did it! We can do hard things! And crazy things! And fast things!

Gosh....looking back, I still shake my head in bewilderment. Sometimes (and Isaak helps me with this) you just have to seize the moments that God gives you. Before they're gone and you can't get them back again. I will never regret pulling the girls spontaneously out of school for fourteen days. I will never regret dropping everything to spend that time with my family. What a glorious time.

What a glorious, glorious unforgettable time.