Our trip to Virginia.

Touch down in America!!! I must say, I have never been so happy to get off of a plane in my entire life.

Cue story.....

Seriously, that was one. long. trip. back to the U.S.. And not because we were traveling for over 24 hours. But because I made a rookie mistake and forgot to do a "test run" on Steve and the effects of Dramamine on his body. Not thinking that he would have any kind of reaction other than drowsy, I gave him a 1/4 of a tablet like I do to Marvelly before take-off (thank God I didn't give him the whole pill like the bottle said!) and....cue completely crazy four year old for the next 24 hours. I'm talkin'...straight jacket wearin' lunatic. It was baaad. During the ascent he was clutchin' his car seat, shaking his head back and forth and yelling....yell. ing.... 

"it's going down!! it's going down!!"

Oh. my. gawsh! Maybe I can pretend like I don't know him.  

"Mommy, help me!!" 

Dang it, now everyone knows he's with me! Avert your eyes away from the back of the plane people! Maybe I can go hide in the bathroom till it's over. I'm sorry fellow flying patrons! Put on your head phones and try to block out the hysterical screaming if you can! 

Add that to his descent reaction where he was again clutching his car seat, kicking frantically, but this time screaming, 

"Get me outta here!!! Get me outta here!"

And the additional 23 hours in between of him not sleeping and being so jittery he could have been mistaken for a detoxin' drug addict and his first flying experience can pretty much be summed up as nightmarish. 

Thank the sweet Lord that that is over.

Moving on! Literally. =) Steve's first encounter with escalators, which he thought were awesome. As well as the moving sidewalks. Steven had a lot of firsts on this trip.

Mumma got stuck in traffic on her way to pick us up in DC so we had a little extra time after we landed. We headed over to the USO to get a snack and kill some time. I've gotta say....I love being part of the military community. As soon as we walked in those doors we were greeted and loved on. Being Christmas time the gal who was there volunteering directed our kids to the Christmas tree where she gave them each a present, a bag filled with candy and a brand new blueray movie. My heart just about burst. I couldn't help but tear up. Not because of the gift. The plethora of food might have had something to do with it. =) But mostly is was just the outpouring of love and support that was lavished upon us. Even ever so briefly. It touched my heart immensely.

Our first stop with Mimi once she arrived was a pit stop at the most iconic American joint....McDonalds. Nothing screams American like those giant golden arches. We had to introduce Steven to American culture properly with a Happy Meal and giant indoor playground. The girls were stoked and so happy to be back. After we made the additional two hour drive back to Jaclyn's house we were able to settle in for the next month. 

The jet lag only lasted a couple days where we were waking up before the crack of dawn at 5am. The kids did awesome and adjusted really well. We arrived twelve days before Christmas and we had an absolutely wonderful time celebrating and spending time with family over the holidays and the 30+days we were in country.....

Sydaleigh discovered a love for typewriters on this trip. She used Jaclyn's typewriter every single day. She worked on a new story, and typed page after page after page. She loves to write. But she also loves uncommon and different things that you don't see used too much anymore these days. She has an old soul, this girl.

There was a morning, or two or three or four, where everyone (pas moi) enjoyed bacon.

I gotta admit, I don't get it. America and her weird love affair with bacon....but I digress.

We had a list of "must do's" in addition to the relaxing. We had a bunch of appointments to go to, ID cards to renew, many things to take care of, big and small, while we were back.

The guys got some much needed haircuts, where Steve sat in his first barber chair. And me after a much needed eye exam. I wore my spiffy glasses so as to not scare the children with my big eyes. And so I could see, as the world is a lot brighter when your eyes are dilated.

This little lady also had a much needed eye exam...and got herself some glasses! Finally! She's needed them for a while. And she's so lovely in them! Her eyes aren't too bad (yet-sorry Syd but you likely inherited my bad eye genes) so she doesn't have to wear them full time, only to see things at a distance.

And this little lady got bangs! She had been asking to get bangs for a while, and reminded us while we were in VA that she still wanted them. And they look so beautiful on her! She absolutely loves them. They go really well with that spiffy new gold tooth she got! Thankfully this dentist trip only resulted in one crown. That sure beats last year.

Of course we had some shopping to do. Upon seeing Targets giant red ball things outside, the girls ran up to them screaming, "Remember these?! Remember these red balls?! Lets climb on them!"

And, good ole Walmart...I only miss you when I haven't step foot in your door in over a year. Your convenience is your trap! Of course it was even more overwhelming than I remember. On our grocery shopping excursion Isaak told me to go get started on picking out some groceries while he went to get some shampoo or something....upon finding me like 15 minutes later I was still in the first aisle. I just couldn't pick anything out. There is just too much in one place. While at the Food Lion I stood in the cake aisle and counted over thirty, thirty different kinds of cake mixes. Just cake mixes! Why are there so many? I was paralyzed trying to shop most of the time. At one point in Food Lion while I was shopping alone I had to fight back tears because I could just not decide what to buy. I mean, you'd think that after living in America for thirty years it would be easy to readjust, and in some ways it is. But in other ways, it's more challenging. Particularly when it comes to buying food. In Burkina I go shopping about every two days, for two days worth of food at time (for two reasons-things spoil here really fast, and I have no where to store it.) That's it. I leave with one small bag or one small box of items. It's amazing to me how since living in Burkina I have come to appreciate the beauty of having less options. I never thought I'd say that. But, there really is a beauty in simplifying, even something as small as food. We eat very simply in Burkina. Most of the same foods everyday. Not a lot of variations.

When we got up to the register to pay at Walmart and I looked at my cart full of products I had to continuously fight the urge to apologize. I kept wanting to say, "I'm sorry we have so much. We don't normally buy this much stuff." I felt really self conscious. But then I'd remember...no body cares here because everybody shops like this all the time. Just something I'm gonna need to get over.

Different countries, different ways of living. Neither one is right or wrong, but both take time to adjust to initially.

We also ate at some of our favorite restaurants, like Red Robin, the girls favorite. And Moe's.

And frozen yogurt. Mmmm, my fav.

There was LOTS of playing! So so so so much all the time! These kids had the BEST time together! I love this fort they constructed.

And there was plenty of playing outside and tea parties galore.

And night after night of sleepovers with these three girlies!

My Boo-boo's.

Being the super thoughtful people that they are, Jaclyn and Keith waited to get a Christmas tree until after we arrived, so that we could pick it out and decorate it together. So we all went together to help them pick one out. That smell of fresh pine needles...ahhh, smelled so good.

But mostly the kids just ran around playing hide and seek in the maze of trees. They soaked up every minute they could of being outdoors.

 

She's hiding.  

I'm sorry Abby....sometimes I just can't help myself.

I love my sis-in-law. She is the sweetest and puts up with a lot of weird stuff from us. And she is the best aunt to my kids!

The Christmas holidays wouldn't be complete without making lots and lots of cookies and decorating a ginger bread house!

The gingerbread houses needed some superglue before the kids could start...ain't no way those woulda stayed together otherwise.

He's all smiles here, but he was pretty tiffed when he found out he couldn't eat the food we were letting him decorate. "Just for show" food doesn't fly with ole Stevie-boy.

So precise with her decorating! And that is one mambajamba cookie. 

All hands on deck to decorate.

Marvelly would put one piece of candy on the house, and then share two with herself. =)

We got to see a lot of family while in town. Jordan and Becca drove down for a weekend and as always, it was SO great getting to spend time with them and reconnect!

Uncle Jellybeans in the funnest.

While they were in town we drove around to see Chirstmas lights and came upon this scene that puts National Lampoons Christmas to shame! This house was exploding with lights! I don't remember how many lights these two neighboring houses had....but it was a lot!

They even had a room filled with dolls, and, an E.T. head??? Whaaat? If watching Chucky when I was seven years old hadn't destroyed my fondness for dolls, I'd think this was charming.....but I don't.

I LOVE this family. They are wonderful. So fun. So generous. Hilarious and always laughing. I think they might be the only people that we could live with for a month and not be sick of at the end. Ha ha! It was an absolute joy to spend our days with them! Really, there are no words to describe our level of love for them and just how great they are.

"Haaaaaaay!!!!!!"
Sheeew-weee it. was. cold!!! Freezing family pic!

When looking at this picture on the computer Steve asked, "where am I?" Ah!! Your beautiful brown skin doesn't show up too well at night buddy! One of those things about picture taking that you don't think about until you have an interracial family. =)

We followed the crazy house of lights with a drive through the fair grounds that were set up in different Christmas scenes and the lights were all set to music. The wait to drive through was over and hour and by the time we made it home it was 10pm and Steve forced himself to stay awake for every minute of it. Steve's first time seeing crazy Christmas lights and he was not about to miss it! Marvelly on the other hand slept through it all and woke up right at the end when we were driving away. As did Elsie. =)

Isaak and Keith taking full advantage of the unseasonably warm 50 degree day in the winter. These two are buds. I'm glad they have each other. The non-Gerards in the family need to stick together. =)

When I look at this picture the song, "Men, men men men, maaanly men men men, men men men men, maaanly men men men....oooooohoooooh" starts playing in my head. They're all gathered around talking about guns and the joys of shooting stuff. =)   

 However, that doesn't mean girls can't like to shoot stuff too! Get it Syd! You go sweet girl!

Isaak showing Steve what rockets are all about. This was a much needed time for the two of them as well. Since bringing Steven home in April Isaak hasn't had any time off. So while here, without work commitments to attend to, almost everyday Isaak and Steve would go out together, just them, to run errands, do whatever, have lunch, hang out. This trip really allowed the both of them the opportunity to spend a lot of time together, to connect, and further deepen their bond. We are grateful for that.

A pre-Chirstmas get together at Joel's house. Here's Justin explaining to everyone about his gifts he just distributed. If it needs an explanation from my family, well, that's a good indication there's something wrong with it....

Case. in. point- Jordan got raccoon urine, Kelsey scored a rock, I got chair wheels...what the? Steve got a switch blade comb which he threw on the floor! Bah ha!

Isaak got a random cord from Justin's drawer....but the best one of all was Raymond's dirty used shoe filled with Captain Crunch Berries....which he proceeded to eat straight out of the shoe! Siiiick! Best worst presents ever!

  

Here is the beauty that we picked out all decorated and fancy! Sydaleigh was very instrumental in decorating it to its absolute finest. There were so many ornaments on that tree I'm not sure how the branches weren't sagging from the weight of it all. 

Christmas was an extravaganza with eleven of us at Jaclyn's the morning of, and too bad for me I was sick. My poor stomach was unwell for the next five days after that.

We opened gifts and chilled out all morning (I retreated to my bed) and then we headed over to Joel and Abby's house for Christmas with my mom.

This is the first time in years that we have celebrated Christmas with anyone besides our immediate family. In the past, before we moved to a different country, we would celebrate Thanksgiving together and then do Christmas alone with just us. So this was such a nice change!

We love our Aunt Abby.

Marvelly enjoying a nice slice of pumpkin pie with her Mimi. 

Ma mére.

And this would be the gift of diabetes!! Get a load of the size of that thing! I got Jaclyn 2lbs of Reese's for Christmas!!! Bah ha! America is all about goin' big or goin' home. We then found a two pounder Snickers bar...which of course we had to buy as well.

We had the chance to go see Joel at work and spend some time at Justin's dental lab where he and Joel gave us a tour. I was so impressed! I am so proud of my family and all of their accomplishments.

Some other highlights from our trip included...

The Nutcracker ballet! Jaclyn scored us tickets to see the final show of the Nutcracker. It was my first time seeing a ballet as well as the girls- and it was incredible! We ALL loved it! We went with a little group of Jaclyn's friends and their daughters and all the girls were riveted. Marvelly was the best commentator as she talked throughout the entire performance, commenting on all the things happening on stage. "Look Mommy, she's doing the splits!" "Mommy, it's a real show when the curtains move up like this." "Is she wearing clothes?" I'm so happy she even got to be there as she made it back from the doctor right when we were leaving. Poor girl had been sick with a stomach bug the week before and then she came down with a rogue fever two days prior to this. But she was desperate to go and thankfully the medicine had taken effect this time and brought her temperature down low-so I felt comfortable bringing her. And I'm so glad I did.

Because shortly following the show as we were just sitting down to dinner Marvelly's fever came back with vengeance and spiked to 105 degrees. Poor girl was sick with a fever for six days!

These two were sick buddies. They were both sick on and off for a while during our trip. No fun. Even though they still had fun. =)

We made a special visit to Southeaster Truck and Trailer. It was the first time I had been back there since high school. I remember coming down to Virginia when I was a kid to visit family and stopping at the shop to hang out for a bit and see my uncles. This place brings back a lot of memories and it was so cool and surreal to see the next generation of us in these same seats.

Gabe very graciously took the kids out for a drive in a bus they were repairing.

And proceeded to honk the horn with Steve's butt over and over and over again. Clearly obnoxious is not a word we recognize in this family. =)

He then took them each out on a fork lift, to practice their driving skills in the event it is ever necessary for them to make a speedy getaway via fork lift mode of transportation.....and they had a ball! Sydaleigh was a natural. =)

What kid wouldn't love driving around on this?!

Or playing in a massive bus?

As an added bonus, Steve got to pick up a dumpster.  

 

Fun memories. Showing Gabe some love.                                                                                                                                

My kids pretty much adore him. 

 It was so great to reconnect with all the family in town. So much laughter and good times....

There was lots of overdue hugs and conversations. Isaak's Uncle Ray even made a surprise visit near the end of our trip while we was passing through Richmond for work.

So much time spent relaxing and talking and laughing around this table with everyone. And playing games. We introduced everyone to Ticket to Ride, and Tope-La!, two of our favs. Most epic game ever was when Isaak set me back -48 in TTR with one little train. One. little. train! I will have my revenge!

Us and sweet little teeny tiny Olivia, the newest Gerard. Born while we were in town. So happy I got to hold her while she was this small. Gosh I love babies. Me and Isaak both. We are some baby lovin' people, me and that guy.

Mimi. So loved. We just can't get enough of her. =) Not sure if this was before, or after, she fell down the entire flight of stairs. Which, I had to include on here for memories sake. Because it was both terrifying and hilarious all at the same time ( and we will never let her live it down). Thank God, seriously, that she was okay. Also, thank goodness I was not the first one to laugh. That honor goes to Jaclyn. Even though we all quickly followed suit. Which, I blame on the laughing disease. PBA. It's real. The infomercial said so. So we're off the hook because we can't help ourselves!

Gabe and Bobbi Jo even brought over their pet pig. It was truly a farm house!

 Especially if you account for the chickens that the girls dutifully took care of....

And these biggies.....

I'm not a "dog person" but these two have a special place in my heart.

Bo and Bella are just so darn lovable.

*side note*

This would be the christmas tree. The men thought it would be of better use in the fire where the flames reached close to the second story. This is after it burned for a bit. They were all quite amused with themselves. =) 

Back to the highlight reel! There was some bowling action....

All of the kids each won one game. Sadly, I didn't win any as I am a terrible bowler. But I got a couple of great gutter balls. 

Sydaleigh turned 9 on New Year's Eve!!! WHOA!!! We celebrated by going to Jumpology!

This place was big, and awesome!

I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the adults!

There was some crazy jumping happening up in there!

 Isaak trying to jump from one trampoline to the next with only one jump....

I admit, I was a little scared to be standing at the end when he would come barreling down the arena! Luckily he always fell before he made it to the end. The man was having FUN!!

Right up until he was trying to jump as high as he could to reach a punching bag suspended from the ceiling, landed wrong, his ankle POPPED and he went down!

He immediately went to the dr. and was told it was only a bad sprain, but three weeks later it's still swollen and tender, although it does look decidedly better.

Later that evening we rang in the New Year around the table with Jaclyn, Jordan (who drove back down just for the night-bless him!) and Abby....

...playing Cards Against Humanity. Jordan brought it for us to play and it was the first time we had all played it.

And let me just say, it is truly a game for horrible, horrible terribly horrible no good rotten people. And it is also quite possibly the HARDEST I have EVER laughed in my. entire. life. I'm talking laughing so hard I could not breathe and was gasping for air. Jaclyn laughed so hard she gave herself a laughing hangover the next morning and was chair ridden with an ice pack on her head! * Note to self- only ever play this game with family....they are the only ones that will love you unconditionally and not judge you for laughing at terrible things.

Selfie with Jordan right after the ball dropped! So fun to ring in the new year with him!

Early the following morning, New Year's Day, we drove to Baltimore to meet up with Bekah and her parents!!! Oh, my heart! To be able to see one of my most nearest and dearest people on the earth was truly one of the greatest gifts. She has been my constant companion from afar for the past ten years. Where I go she goes, and where she goes I go. She is never far even though the distance couldn't be greater. She is the Ruth to my Naomi ( I will claim the Naomi only since I am technically older. =) ). We've never had the benefit of living close but I have never had a closer friend. And getting to spend even a few hours with her while we were back meant the world to me.

It's a terrible quality picture of a picture but it's the only one I have of the whole gang. These people right here, Lou and Joe, are some of the most courageous God inspiring people I know. They are warriors, life givers, truth speakers, encouragers, and funny to boot. They have prayed over us and stood in our corner for years and I am blessed that in my relationship with Bekah I get the added joy of knowing her parents as well. God is good to give us them.

For our time together we went to the Baltimore harbor area and visited the National Aquarium and then had lunch. The kids haven't been to an aquarium in a couple years so they were really excited, and well, Steve has never been to an aquarium so everything was exciting, and also a bit intimidating for him.

He kept thinking the fish were going to get him. I think Isaak was a little worried about the sharks doing the same thing! I need to frame this picture! Isaak has such a huge fear of sharks and this one looks like his eyes are glowing with his mouth open and his razor sharp teeth exposed with Isaak looking on. He had to steady himself on the ledge because the shark was so intimidating! Ha ha! Kidding.......

Such a fun day. So thankful we were able to connect!

We also got to connect with the Shafto's, friends from Burkina Faso! They are currently back in the States taking a furlough from mission work in Burkina and are working right down the road from Jaclyn's house-what a cool and timely coincidence! We spent a morning talking over breakfast and catching up on life in both countries. Jay and Kathy are so wise and full of years and years of experience on living/doing ministry overseas, raising kids, serving Jesus and they are the kind of people I wish I could just sit with indefinitely to soak up as much wisdom from them as possible. We sure do miss them in the community! But it sure was great to connect with them on American soil.

The kids were equally excited to see Madeleine again, she holds a special spot in their hearts. She was such a good baby sitter and they just adore her.

Me and Isaak were also blessed to go on a short getaway, sans les enfants.

We drove to the Harrisonburg, VA area in the Shenandoah mountains for a little 24 hour getaway. The scenery was incredible. Beautiful mountains surrounded by farm land. My kind of area. It was rainy the whole time, but it didn't spoil the mood...we had a great time.

I love barns too. We passed a lot of them on the road.

This barn made me happy. It's just perfect.

On our way home we took a detour and drove to the Montpelier Plantation, the former home of 4th President James Madison.

The fog in the mountains made everything seem rather dreamlike.

It was a very very enjoyable day away. We walked and talked and ate good food and ended up roaming around Target until closing because we do super cool things like that when we have no kids with us. Grateful to my mom for watching the kiddos for us! They had fun too from what I hear, they visited Gabe's pig, went to Victoria's house, and went to the movies and watched the new Annie.

During the last week and a half we were in the U.S. we had some dr.'s appointments at Walter Reed in Bethesda for Steven. So for a couple days we made the treck back and forth from Richmond to D.C. each morning and back again in the evenings. They were long days.

Steve was in great spirits for a while, right up until they had to start filling up those twelve vials with his blood. His vein ran out after nine. Our eardrums were all grateful...poor kid. Plus side...DC got snow!!

Steve and his first encounter with this weird cold white stuff! He liked it until he touched it and realized it was cold. Then he started crying and was over it.

The girls on the other hand LOVED it! This was the one wish they had when coming to the U.S....they wanted to see snow...and they got it! Yippee!!

On the way home one time we spontaneously decided to pull off 295 as we were driving by Bolling AFB, where we lived for but a few months back in 2012 before we moved to Burkina. This is the first time in 14 years that we have ever gone back and visited a former home. It wasn't home for long, but it was still home, and we made memories here with the girls.

We parked down by the Potomac where we would go almost every afternoon to sit on the banks of the river and watch the planes take off and land from across the water. We would climb down the rocks during low tide and throw pebbles in the river and look at the Washington Monument and walk up and down the sidewalk watching the ferries as they sailed by. Lots of memories packed into such a small amount of time. The girls were so happy to come back and reminisce about everything they did. The playgrounds they played on, the hills they rolled down, the basketball court Sydaleigh first learned to ride her bike on, the house we used to live in. It was really special for them to come back for a few minutes and remember. And this time with their new brother.

It was a bit surreal to be here again, but with Steven this time. Before when we were here, we were on the brink of moving to a new continent, and couldn't fathom all that God had in store for us as we prepared to depart. And to take a moment to come back and reflect on the past two+ years, to remember where we were...to stand on these banks and remember how I'd come out here to clear my mind from the mounting excitement as well as anxiety for what lay ahead, not knowing what our lives were going to look like or how they were going to change. And standing here again and seeing where God has taken us...how much we've changed, to come back here with a son...to be so different yet so much the same. To have seen and experienced all that we have......it was one of the moments where all I could do was just say, "thank you. thank You." I'm glad we came back.

It was good for our hearts.

The whole trip was. We jammed a lot of living into those 34 days and made each and every day count. So many memories. We had immeasurable fun. It had been 14 months since we had last left Burkina's rich red soil. We needed a break. We needed to rest and get re-energized. And we did. The Lord provided above and beyond all of our needs.

To a great vacation home....

I'll close this out with our weirdly awesome super imposed background family 'picture of a picture' from our trip to the National Aquarium.