Alki Beach

Mikaelyn and I on Alki

Being her silly self!

Hangin' out on Daddy's shoulders

She is SUCH a little HAM!

This is just ONE of the reasons that I love her SO much!!

Anthony, Mikaelyn and I headed to Alki last night just to get out of the house and enjoy the mild weather we were having. It was a busy week for all of us and it was nice to have some downtime this weekend. But, Mikaelyn gets super antsy if she stays in the house too long, so since she was SUCH a good girl yesterday...including eating 7 pieces of broccoli (that means she ASKED for more than what I originally gave her on her plate), we took her out to Alki beach to go for a walk. We did some dreaming while looking at all of the beautiful condo's available on Alki beach and got some YUMMY ice cream after walking on the logs on the beach. It was a beautiful night and we had a good time being in the fresh air and just being together!

Mikaelyn, as always hammed it up for the camer a bit and I think I got some totally CLASSIC shots of her! I just adore her! ;o)

Memorial Day Weekend

Showing off all the shells she found

Loving spending time with Daddy

Our little photog Mikaelyn took this for us

Pink sandals (what else would you expect) with all her pretty shells!

Daddy swinging on the rope swing...

And pushing Mikaelyn on the swing...this FREAKED me out, but I kept my cool!

My sweets...they're too cute!

Silly girl with her Daddy

We're too cool!

I was NOT happy about this...but it's still cute!

A little family photo! :o)

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping (FAR too early) and we got to spend some good family time together! Mikaelyn LOVES when the 3 of us are able to get out of the house together (not to mention that I love it as well) and this was no exception. We went to Golden Gardens in Seattle and walked along the water, picked up lots of shells and cool rocks and Anthony attempted to play on a rope swing we found at the end of the beach. Of course Mikaelyn wanted to get in on it as well which freaked me out a bit, but it all turned out well and it was a great time!

After the beach, we went to our favorite dining spot, Cafe Veloce for some dinner and a little wine. All in all, it was a great day and it's that kind of day that reminds me just how blessed I am to be where I am, even if everything isn't always perfect, God has blessed me immensely!

A Gorgeous Weekend!

What a beautiful weekend we experienced in Washington! It was sunny, warm and Mikaelyn and I took full advantage of it! On Saturday we walked to Downtown Kirkland from home, which is only about a 15 minute walk, hung out at the lake for a little bit, then slowly walked home. This took significantly longer since of course she wasn't up for the walk home (which is mostly uphill as well). But once we got home, we packed a picnic and DROVE down to a different part of the waterfront. We had Mikaelyn's first picnic which she completely enjoyed and was very sweet for the rest of the evening!

Mikaelyn loving being in the water...which is still VERY cold!

Here she is scolding the water for getting her capri jeans wet, she was yelling jiberish to it! :o)

On Sunday after church, Anthony was out and about watching the basketball game and hanging with some friends on the water (yes, I was jealous), so again Mikaelyn and I decided to drive to Kirkland and go walking along the water. This always seems like a great idea when we first talk about it, but then miss "pushing boundaries" always seems to find something (many things) to complain about, therefore making it not the best of times. But, we did have a good time in the long run and although there were some tantrums thrown and some attitude heard, we were able to enjoy being together and being outside!

Showing off her flower that she found

Walking along the water

Balancing by the water...about 2 seconds before she took a spill and cut up her knee...needless to say, we had to make a short venture back to the car to puts some bandaid's on...but all better!

Stopping to pose by the beautiful (and very large) pink tulips

It was a great weekend and I look forward to this summer when we can be outside more often and for longer stretches of time. We also look forward to our next picnic WITH Daddy when he's not working!

And one last picture of all my little babies PASSED OUT Sunday evening after a full weekend of sun & fun! It completely wore them out! Wore me out too apparently as I woke up with some sort of flu bug this morning and have been in bed all day. Oh well, I have to say the weekend was worth it! I'm a lucky girl to have such a beautiful, smart and incredible little girl! I love you Mikaelyn!!

Mikaelyn, Sophie and Asha all asleep at 7:45pm after a very long, but fun weekend!

Happy Mothers Day!

To all the Mommy's out there, I hope you're day is filled with kind people, obedient children and ready to serve men! You all deserve it, not only today, but EVERY day! Love to you all!

The reason why this day is so special for me! I'm a very lucky Mama!!

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...

Have you ever read that book?! I remember it from when I was a little girl and although I don't necessarily remember everything that was IN the book, the title seems to work just perfectly for some of those less than perfect days.
Yesterday was one of those days for me. It seemed that nothing went right for me, old issues came up and I literally felt like I was drowning in bad stuff, a.k.a. CRAP! Half way through the day I went home from work and just cried to Anthony that I didn't understand why everything was happening...then only a few hours later, something else happened that just put it over the top, and all I could say was, REALLY?! I mean, REALLY?!
I felt last night as if I was being punished for something. But, I remembered that God is a loving God and He is only trying to teach me something with these difficult times and I'm praying that I will be open to His words so He can direct me in where I need to go. I can only do what I can do and to stress about difficult times will only end up hurting me in the end rather than helping me.
So today, I'm determined to have a positive attitude and to keep on doing what I can to make things better, to fix the issues and work through the tough times. I need to remember how much I have and focus on the good in my life rather than wallow in the bad.
God is good and I trust that for whatever reason I am going through tough times, I will come out on top in the end because I will lean on the one and only thing that can get me through everything, JESUS!

Feeling Nostalgic

Have you ever felt like you wish you could go back and relive something all over again? Would you do it differently? Would you do it exactly the same?

Although I know it is impossible to go back and change anything that has happened in the past, I am feeling very nostalgic today. I'm missing my time in Uganda, missing the relationships I formed, missing the love I felt and missing the lessons I learned. I feel like it was ages ago that I was there and to be honest, I don't like that feeling at all. When I said I left my heart in Uganda...I truly did. I feel a bit lost and a bit out of sorts being back in the U.S. and now being back at my home in the monotony of my life, dealing with things that are so meaningless and useless, it's really quite the culture shock.

I found something in Uganda that I truly never felt I would find, feel or understand. I knew that my heart was pulled to Uganda last May when my now dear friend Lucy came to Westminster to talk about Uganda...I had no idea that a year later it would shock my heart to the core. I had no idea I would fall in love the way I have. I had no idea the Lord would use the people, places and things there to make me desire so much more in my own life and that of those around me.

Am I alone in this? Absolutely not. The Lord was powerful in Uganda and I believe, touched all 8 people on my team, all in different ways. God is creative in the ways He works in our hearts and even though I went with an open heart and unhindered soul, I had NO IDEA He would fulfill me in such a way that I feel like a completely different person.

So, what can I do about it now that I'm back?! Well, that's a very good question that I am still trying to wrestle with. In the last 10 days that I've been back, my emotions have been on a roller coaster, my life has been flipped upside down. I've cried from joy, I've cried from heartbreak, I've cried from love, I've cried from pain. I don't know where the path ahead of me is going, I don't know how I'm going to get there, and I don't know who is going to be there in the end, but I DO know that the Lord is paving that for me and I am trusting that He will protect and guide me, because I KNOW that He is the only one that has the power to do such a thing.

So, today, I feel nostalgic...I'm not sure what the future holds and that is hard to swallow...so I trust...and keep trusting...and pray...and keep praying!

My Team, from Left:

Tami, Ben, Gretchen, Me, Ivan, Ray, Leslie & Dominick

I left my Heart in Uganda

Back from Uganda and somewhat back to reality...at least to the reality of the U.S.
I'm at my parents in Michigan this week. Recovering and recooperating after a very long journey. I'm feeling surprisingly well...wasn't great last night, but compared to what I'm sure others are feeling, I'm doing pretty good.
I have to be honest...I wasn't ready to come home and wasn't very happy that I had to leave when I did. I felt such a strong connection there that leaving absolutely broke my heart. I can hardly wait to go back and am HOPING that I can figure out how I can get there ASAP. The Lord did amazing things in Uganda and it was humbling to be a part of His work.
It's hard to write at this moment, without breaking down in tears. Soon I will write about my adventures, about the people I met, the lessons I learned, the heart break I felt, the love I found and the joy I experienced. For now, I just wanted to say that I'm home, I'm healthy, I'm safe and although I'm sad that I'm not there, I KNOW that I will be back and that brings me comfort.
God is so good and although I don't always understand His timing and the obstacles He puts in front of me, I am learning more and more about Faith and love each day.
More to come in the future. Thank you all so much for your prayers, I truly felt them and know that this trip was a gift from God, and wouldn't have been possible without all your support!
This Mzungu is out...