A busy weekend and a busy week coming up...

So, as I shared in my previous post we had a busy Saturday between Christmas on the Square and the Christmas parade. Sunday didn't hold out on the busyness but it was a good thing!! Some dear friends of ours threw Nema Grace and I a baby shower!! We are so blessed by this because we are starting over with all the baby gear we had from Zeke. Well, with the exception of a few small items. We got a lot of great things and are truly thankful for the love that is already felt for our little angel. Here are a few pics...

Opening presents.

Our wonderful friends Hillary and Amanda who threw the shower. Hillary's mom, Tracy, also helped but Hillary's Dad is in the hospital so she wasn't able to be there.

My mom, Arnett's mom, and me.

My sister and I.

Speaking of our baby girl, we hit 32 weeks last Friday. I had an appointment last Thursday and I am happy to report, all is well. We are measuring right on schedule and everything else looked good. Praise the Lord!!! Here's a pic of Nema and I at 32 weeks 2 days...

We also got our Christmas tree put up. Zeke loved putting on the ornaments and loves looking at the lights. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep his hands off the ornaments now that they are on the tree!! ;~) Here's a pic of Zeke helping with the tree..

The finished tree

This week Arnett and I will head back to Virginia to where we lived at the 8 weeks before we went to Mali. We'll be attending a debriefing conference for workers returning from a 2-3 year mission overseas. We are excited about this opportunity and about seeing a fellow neighbor that we served with in Mali. However, they don't offer childcare at the conference, so we are having to leave Zeke behind. We know he'll be in GREAT hands, as he'll be staying with his Mimi and Papa a few days and then going to his Nana and Papa's. I'm the one who's a little nervous. Zeke's had a hard time lately dealing with transition and has been extra clingy. Please join us in praying for him as we leave him behind for a few days. This will be the longest we have  ever been away from him!! Please also pray for safe travels as we make the long drive to Virginia. Pray that the conference will be a sweet time of reflection, refreshment, and renewal. Even though, we've been home  3 months, we are still in a period of transition. Pray that the conference will help us deal with this transition.

Speaking of our transition, one of the areas we are having the hardest time getting back into the swing of is going to Church. This has been a great source of discouragement, frustration, and sadness for me. While living overseas one of the things we desired the most was to be able to go to a worship service in our heart language. We so looked forward to getting back to the States and being able to go to church again. We both have this great desire to go to church and Sunday School but to also get Zeke involved. However, since we got home we have constantly struggled with this area. First, there's the inevitable we are not going to make it on time because we just can't seem to get it together in the morning!! Second, Zeke hates church, well maybe not church per se but he HATES the nursery at church. Pretty much every time we pull into the parking lot he immediately says, "NO! NO! NO!!" I have been going into the nursery with Zeke and he'll do okay. One Sunday I was even able to sneak out for church and Sunday School! I thought, we are getting somewhere!! However, that lasted about 1 week!! Now, he won't let me out of his sight and I have to sit in there the whole time or some poor nursery worker has to walk around with him outside. Yesterday morning, we were determined to go but by the time we go to church Arnett and I were so stressed I think we could have both cried (after church I did cry!!). We decided to just take him into church with us yesterday, but I mean let's face it, our son is 2 1/2 he can't sit quiet and still for 5 minutes let alone 45 minutes (cause you know we are at least 15 minutes late every Sunday!!). So, we sit there for 45 minutes on egg shells trying to keep him quiet and entertained. We may get a piece or two of the message but not what we want. Honestly, I'm at the point I just want to quit going all together but the hard part is I just have this strong desire to go!! Then at the back of my mind is the fact that in less than 2 months we're going to add another child to the mix. How in the world are we ever going to be able to go to church again?? As you can probably tell I'm just beyond frustrated at the moment. Yesterday morning was a rough morning. We really wanted to go to Sunday School but we decided against it and just came on home. Will you please pray for us in this area. Pray that God will show us His desire for our family. Maybe, we are to do home church for a while. Maybe, we're to keep pressing forward, I don't know, I just know that I want what God wants and pray that He'll give us some help in this area. Pray for Zeke that he'll learn to love the nursery and his Sunday School class. Thank you so much for continuing on with us in this journey. Until next time...

It's a small, small world...

So, yesterday Zeke and I went downtown to our county's annual "Christmas on the Square" event. It's an annual craft, food, home baked goods sale they have the first weekend in December. The highlight of Zeke's morning was getting his first pop gun. He loves it and I'm beginning to think I should have bought 2 to have spare when the first one wears out!! :~)

As we were walking around we passed a booth selling "Pure African Shea Butter". My first thought...run, I've seen my fair share of pure African shea butter!! For some reason I didn't stop and talk to the gentlemen selling the stuff. However, God in His divineness set up an appointment later on for us! Last night, we took Zeke to the Christmas parade, which he absolutely loved!!! Well, as we're sitting there Arnett says, "look that man has a djenba (an African drum)". Then I proceeded to tell him about the shea butter!! Well, the man was working on packing up all his goods and Arnett finally says, "I'm going over there to talk to him!" So, he ventured across the street and could immediately tell this guy wasn't from America!! So, he asked the man where he was from and the man replied, "Senegal". Then Arnett proceeded to tell the man that Zeke was born in Senegal and we just moved back from Mali! I knew all along that there were West Africans in America but I never dreamed in a million years we'd run across one in our little small town!! Just goes to show you how small the world truly is!!! I know this seems like such a small thing but it really did make my night. It also makes me realize the importance of seizing every opportunity! I should have stopped and talked to the man yesterday morning but I didn't. Thankfully, God gave us the opportunity again. Praise Him that He's a God of chances!!!

Until next time...

A lot going on lately...

 

Forgive me for not blogging a lot since we got home. My desire is to keep this blog up and going but lately it's been put on the very back burner. I will admit I used to get frustrated with other bloggers who blogged a lot while they were overseas and then when they moved back home they seemed to drop off the face of the earth. Well, guess what, I've become one of those bloggers!! Like I said, please forgive me!

Since my last post almost 2 months ago it seems like a lot has happened but I can't remember a lot of it. I'm going to blame that on the baby sucking all my brain cells!! Zeke has a pony that his Papa got him. Her name is Tia but he calls her "Ti". He would ride her all day long, everyday if we'd let him. To say he loves her and loves to ride is an understatement. Here's some pics of the two of them...

 

 

To get in the mood for Halloween, we went to some friend's house and carved pumpkins. Zeke enjoyed but I will admit that I think Arnett had more fun than Zeke did!!! Zeke's a super smart little boy and now anytime we see pumpkins the first thing he says is "Pump, Cut". He remembers cutting the pumpkins. Here's a few pics...

The final product.

With the candle glowing.

Zeke also has a love for helping me in the kitchen. He knows when I get the mixer out I'm going to be making a cake (or frosting). As soon as he sees it he says, "cake! help!" Here are a few pics of him helping me make some chocolate frosting...

We also took Zeke trick or treating for the first time. He was a cow and the cutest cow ever!! Once he figured out what trick or treating was all about, he loved it!! I mean what kid wouldn't?  Go up to a house, knock, say "trick or treat", and get candy!! It was so much fun getting to see him experience it for the first time. I forgot the camera the night of trick or treating but I did manage to get a few pictures of him in his costume...

Another first is Zeke went to the fair for the first time. Another thing he absolutely loved!! I think he would have stayed a ridden rides all night long!! My mom has the pics of that night, so I don't have any to share. Maybe on my next post I'll post a few from that night!!

Zeke also got a new pair of boots and a new hat. He loves them as well. He wears them with pretty much anything. Here's a few pics...

 

Getting ready to drive the tractor. Another one of his favorite things to do!!

Zeke's getting really big as you can see. He's got such an imagination and we love to watch him play and pretend. He loves pretending he's feeding a ton of different animals. He's officially given up nap time which is not something I'm very happy about. He still needs a nap but refuses to lay down and sleep. He will however, fall asleep in the car if we are out and about in the afternoon.

We have begun working on potty training and he was doing really well! However, this past week Arnett's parent's river house was completed and they moved out. So, as we entered yet another transition he has had some set backs this week. We're hoping that he'll get back in the swing of things soon and be 100% potty trained by the time Nema Grace arrives.

Speaking of Nema Grace, she is doing well. Very active and healthy. We are now at 31 weeks and 2 days, so only 8 weeks 5 days to go. All of my appointments have been going well. I'm measuring right on schedule and her heart beat has been strong at every appointment. We are currently going to the doctor every 2 weeks and at the end of December we'll start going every week. It seems like it's going by fast but at the same time it doesn't.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We spent Thursday at my grandma's sister's house in Madison. We had a crowd and some really good food!! This past Saturday we had a lot of Arnett's Dad's family over and had some more good food!!

As I mentioned earlier, the renovations on Arnett's parent's river house are complete and they were able to move into their river house. With them moving out it meant that we had to move all of our stuff in. So, we spent the weekend and week before Thanksgiving moving in and unpacking boxes. We're pretty much all unpacked and settled in. We have a few more things to do but we're getting there.

A couple of weeks ago we moved Zeke out of his pack-n-play into a toddler bed. He did so well adjusting to the new bed. I was so worried and he did GREAT!! We didn't have any nights fighting with him to stay in the bed...Praise the Lord!! Since we've moved all of our stuff in, we put his bunk bed set together. We had intended to keep him in the toddler bed for a little while longer but once he saw the new bed, he was done with the toddler bed. So, he's now officially in a "Big Boy" bed!! We can't believe how fast he's growing up!!

We have had a busy past month and a half. We have been so blessed and are so thankful for all the ways God has been providing for us. As we gear up for the holidays and gear up for another big transition, we ask that you pray for us. Zeke has done so well but he doesn't handle transitions all that well and honestly, we tend to get worn down while he's having trouble adjusting. Pray that God will give us all the strength we need. Pray that Zeke will adjust well to all the upcoming transitions. Until next time...

Our precious angels....

After 2 weeks of waiting to hear back from my doctor, I finally got the call that he would love to see me (the nurse's exact words!). So, I went in for my first visit with just the doctor's nurse (standard office procedure to get all my history) on September 26th. All went well at that appointment. Then a week later we had an appointment to get an ultrasound and meet with the doctor. I am happy to report, Praise the Lord, all was well with our little angel! She was measuring right on schedule and all her arms, legs, fingers, and toes are accounted for. The blood that was causing us some stress a couple of months ago is now gone and everything is well. Once again, PRAISE THE LORD!!! Today, I hit the 24 week mark, only 16 more weeks to go!! I know January will be here before I know it!! We are so excited and can't wait to meet our little one.

Several people have asked about her name. Yes, we do have a name picked out for her. Before we knew she was a girl, Arnett and I were laying in bed one night discussing names. Arnett's comment to me was, "Well, her middle name has to be Grace!" I was like, "That's fine with me!" So, then we started the hunt for a first name. I don't remember which one of us said this but as soon as it was said, we knew that was the name for our little girl (even though we still didn't know if she was a she or a he!!). The Bambara word for grace is "Neema" (pronounced like Emma with an 'N' on the front). So, our little girl's name is going to be Nema Grace (we're changing the spelling since the 'e's' in the Bambara version are actually upper case capital "E's"). Yes, technically, her name is going to be "Grace Grace" but it has only been by God's grace that we have gotten this far in our pregnancy, in our lives and this name is so perfect for her and all that we've experienced already with her!!

Mommy and Nema Grace at 22 weeks.

Zeke is doing much better. He's so loves being outside, helping his papa feed the horses and goats, and being with his Daddy on the tractor. The other day, Zeke was with his Daddy and when they came in for supper, he looked like he had been in a fist fight! Thankfully, it wasn't anything more than dirt. He's definitely all boy and keeps us on our toes...

I know it's far away but the close up one, the flash washed some of the dirt out!!

 

He's the cutest little boy ever!!!

We thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf. Until next time...

A hard week...

Well, after our week of playtime we had a really hard week. On September 26th my Papa Jim went to be with Jesus. Up until this point in my life I had all 4 of my grandparents living. I am so thankful for the fact that God gave me 29 years with this wonderful man. I'm also extremely thankful that we were home when it happened. Looking back, I  knew that when I came home in June/July that it probably would be the last time I saw my papa. However, despite knowing that in July when I left, I truly feel that if we would not have been home when it happened I would not have been able to truly grieve his passing. I tend to not be an emotional person and I think if I would have been all the way in Africa  that I would have been too detached from the situation to truly grasp what had happened and to grieve the way I would have needed. Thankfully, God knows me best and knew exactly what I needed. We were able to spend Sunday afternoon before my papa's passing at his house and tell him goodbye. It was a hard week but one that I am so thankful God allowed me to be home for!! I also am very well aware of the fact that if it weren't for all the problems we had had in the beginning of my pregnancy than we would still be in Africa today. Once again, God knows best and cares for all the details of our lives!! Praise Him!!

 

My Grandma and Papa at his 80th birthday party, July 2010. July 2011 they celebrated 58 years of marriage!! What a blessing!

 

November 2010, we surprised our grandparents by not telling them we were coming home. This is his "surprise face" upon seeing Zeke for the first time and me for the first time in almost 2 years. This is probably my most favorite picture of him!! Love his facial expression!

He was the world's BEST hugger!!!

 

July 2011.

Another post coming up shortly....stayed tuned....

We're still here!

Don't give up on us yet!! I still have every intention of keeping up with our blog. We have just been so busy the past few weeks. I can't believe it but we've been home a month as of today!! Part of me feels like we just got here but then part of me feels like it's been way longer than a month. So, what has been going on...

Well, after my last post on September 12th, Arnett spent that entire week working in hay. He enjoyed it but realized he jumped into work way too fast!! We've had a hard time transitioning and appreciate your continued prayers in this area. We decided the week of September 19th we would just take it easy. We toyed around with the idea of going to the beach for a few days but realized Zeke too was having a hard time and thought a trip right now might be too much for him. So, we stayed at home and played all week. A dear friend of our family purchased Zeke an AMAZING swing set and so Arnett, Zeke, and I (mainly Arnett) put it together this week. It was nice to not have a schedule or have to worry about being anywhere. It took Arnett a few days to get the swing set put together but he finally got it done. Zeke LOVES it. He enjoys the slide and the red horse swing the most. He loves picking up little sticks, climbing on the red horse swing and shooting squirrels! Our dog, Molly, has an obsession with barking at the many squirrels in the yard and Zeke has caught onto that really quick!! Here's some pics of the construction of the swing set and Zeke enjoying it...

Arnett and Zeke working on putting the swing set together.

 

Zeke, ready to play!!

 

Molly, supervising the construction!!

Zeke's favorite new phrase is, "I wanna do!!" Here he is helping his Daddy.

The finished product! Arnett did a GREAT job!!

Arnett showing Zeke how to climb up to get to the slide.

  

Zeke's not too sure about going down the slide...

He got over his fear really quick!!

Papa pushing him on the red horse swing.

 

"Mom, this is so much fun!!"

Ok, now this post has gotten a little long. To keep things clear, I'll start our next week with a new post. Until next time...

Transitioning...

Well, we've been home for 5 days now. The first 4 were busy, busy, busy. Thursday we spent at Arnett's parents, resting and visiting with his family. Friday, we spent the day at my parent's. Saturday, Arnett helped his Daddy in the hay field, while I went to my aunt and uncle's for my cousin's birthday party, and then Arnett met me at my Grandparent's house for my aunt's birthday party. Sunday, we went to church and then visited with friends. It was a busy weekend and definitely not a true picture of what our lives will be like now that we are back home.

Today, though, we got a dose of reality. Arnett got up early this morning and headed to work. His parents also headed off to work today. So, Zeke and I were home alone. It was weird! For the past 3 years Arnett and I have been together pretty much 24/7. For 27  months, the three of us have been together pretty much 24/7. For Zeke and I to be all alone with out Arnett this morning was a hard reality. Arnett left for work this morning and told me, "It feels like I'm moving away!" Now, I know this may seem just absolutely ridiculous! People go to work everyday and are apart from their spouses and children. But like I said, for 3 years our normal was being together ALL the time!! Thankfully, Arnett wasn't working too far away, so Zeke and I were able to take him lunch and have a picnic lunch together. Zeke and I did find stuff to do around the house to fill up our morning. We watched T.V., we did some laundry, and Zeke went swimming! Here's some shots of him enjoying the pool:

 

Zeke seems to be adjusting well and for that we say a big THANK YOU to our heavenly Father! His burn is also healing well and seems to be on the mends! Another, Thank You Lord! Our little sweet pea also seems to be doing well. She's moving lots and lots. Once again, Praise to our heavenly Father. Things to be praying for:

1. Transitioning to life here in America. Pray that we will transition well.
2. Our family time is going to be drastically reduced. Pray that we will find new ways to spend time together and to make the most of the time we have.
3. Pray for the health of our two precious children.
4. Pray that I'll be able to get into my doctor and soon. Since I'm halfway through with my pregnancy, the doctor won't see me until he reviews my records and makes sure I'm not a high risk patient. I sent my records in last Tuesday, called on Thursday, and still don't know if he'll see me or not. The waiting isn't fun!

Until next time...

Home Sweet Home...

After 24+ hours of travel we finally made it home!! Praise God for providing such smooth, event-less travels!! Zeke did so WELL!! Praise God that he is such an amazing little traveler!

The first flight was a 5 hour flight and he slept 3 hours!! Then he slept over half of the second flight, which was a 9 hour flight. Praise God that the first 2 flights everyone one had their own individual t.v in the back of the seat in front of them, so Zeke was entertained by a movie on the two longest flights!! We also made it through customs with all our luggage and without any problems!! Praise the Lord!!

After hugs and kisses at the airport by our parents, we collected our bags, and then ate some good BBQ at Sticky Fingers. We then, loaded up and headed to Arnett's parents, where we'll be staying. We finally got home about 8:30 last night. Zeke fell asleep on the way home and was ticked when he got woken up by the tuck door opening and the light coming on. We quickly changed his diaper, his clothes, and got his bed set up. He cried until we laid him down in his bed and then he was out again!! Arnett and I fell into bed about 10:30 and man ol' man did it feel good to be in OUR bed again!! We slept like babies!!

Thank you all for your prayers!! God answered them in a mighty way!!

Zeke also wanted to let you all know that he's getting a baby sister!! We're all thrilled and can't wait to meet her!!

Until next time...

Leaving on a jet plane...

So hard to believe that 2 years and 8 months ago we boarded a plane in Florida with a one way ticket to Africa. We didn't know what the future held but we were excited, scared, and sad. Excited to see what the Lord would do in our lives, scared of the unknowns. and sad to be leaving our families behind. Today, we're headed in the opposite direction with another one way ticket. We pretty much have the exact same emotions excited, scared, and sad. Excited to see our family, friends and to see what the Lord has for us in the future.  Scared because we know that we are not the same people we were 2 years and 8 months ago. We've lived in a completely different culture with a completely different lifestyle and we've changed. I'm not exactly sure how our new selves will fit into American culture and to be honest, I don't want to change, I like the new woman God has transformed me into and I don't want to loose that. I don't want to get caught up in the materialism that plagues American culture. We're sad, to once again be leaving our family behind. We've made lifelong connections with a lot of the people here and we're going to miss them greatly! As we make this journey and start a new chapter of our lives, will you please remember to pray for the following:

1. Safe , on time flights. Zeke to do well on the flights and that we all may get a few hours of sleep. The trip will take us 24 hours to make!
2. Smooth adjustments as we get back into life in America. Reverse culture shock is more than likely on the horizon for us, pray we will deal well with the shock that comes.
3. Pray that we will not forget all that God has taught us these past 2 years. That we won't get caught up in the "American dream" and loose sight of what's really important.
4. Pray for our health. Zeke's burn is still healing and he's not able to wear shoes yet. Pray for him to remain infection free. Pray for the little one coming, that God will watch over him/her.
5. Pray for the work we are leaving behind. The work is great and the workers are very, very few. Pray for someone(s) to come take our place in working with the Bambara.

I'll update more once we get home and get settled. Until next time...

An eventful day...

Today, we went out to D-village to tell them our leave date had gotten moved up and to say our goodbyes. We were not looking forward to saying our goodbye's in this particular village because we spent so much time there. We got up and headed out this morning. When we got there we greeted the chief, our village "parents", and our friends. Then we sat down to tell them our news. When we sat down to talk with them, a pot of Malian tea was started and the talking began. The Malian's are very big on their tea. They boil it on these little burners, in these little pots. Here's what it looks like:

They cook EVERYTHING with fire in the village, so it is very common to see children with severe burns in the villages. One of my biggest fears in the village is that Zeke will get burnt by any of the number of fires going. Thankfully, we have gone 2 years without any incident, until today, when one my biggest fears became a reality. Zeke was running around and tripped over the little burner which was blazing hot and had a full pot of boiling tea on top. The boiling tea spilt on his leg along with the hot coals. Praise God, it's not as bad as it could have been. He does have a few 2nd degree burns but we escaped a trip to the doctor...AGAIN!! Here's a few pics of his foot and leg:

 

I am happy to report that after the initial shock, he calmed down and is running around playing again. Here's a few pics I took when we got home:

 

We are very thankful that God protected Zeke from a really, really bad burn!! He is so good to us!! Please pray that it stays infection free and will heal quickly!! Until next time...