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...