new years eve in pictures

- star wars episode VI; the boys watched it {and loved it} for the first time!

- roasting hot dogs!

- handsome. oh and the baby's pretty cute, too.

- homemade hummus and pita chips. {so good! and apparently Jude's favourite!}

- s'mores pre-marshmallow. the boys first time having them. shockingly they weren't that keen on them. I think they were too stickity-messy. Oh well. Oh and Jude burnt his hand on the bbq. It's not a real bbq until someone gets burnt. Or something.

No more pictures were taken after this, but that doesn't mean we stopped having fun! No sir, our celebrations included about a 15 minute discussion on what movie to watch once the boys were in bed {Anger Management was decided upon and enjoyed} and then a lively game of Wizard that took us until 2:30am. We almost missed midnight! We could see a lot of fireworks from our hill and decided to wake up Noah and Jude to see them. It was sweet and they loved it.
And in classic Ugandan style, power went out about 5 minutes after midnight and we spent the last 16 hours without power. It's how we roll here. Bringing in the new year with no power.

Blaise was up at 6:30am but thankfully went back to sleep until 9, but Noah and Jude were up and at 'em by 7am. Coffee, anyone?

starting the new year right

Last year from October 2011 to sometime in March 2012 I was off Facebook. Such a good decision. As this year ends and a new one begins, I'm going to be off Facebook for the month of January. I'm probably not going to blog as much either {not that I have been as of late}. It'll mostly be some photo updates and the occasional entry if I'm so inspired.
I'd like to start this new year on the right foot, and for me that means taking a step back from social media {specifically Facebook} and just focusing on living. Right here. Right now.
You're welcome to email me as I'll still be checking email or just leave a comment here!
Wishing you a very lovely new year!

goodbyes and hellos

i was thinking about the new year. how you say goodbye to one year and hello to another in a second.

and then it occurred to me that we've had quite a few of those this past year.

goodbye to diapers and hello to underpants {and a few accidents}.

goodbye to our house and guelph and hello to living with family in toronto.

goodbye to canada, family and everything familiar and hello to a new life in uganda in a new house with a new team {and a new-to-us car}.

goodbye to friends in canada and hello to making new friends in uganda.

lots of goodbyes.

but lots of hellos as well.

and as it stands now, we've only 18 months left here in uganda.

it seems like a long time, but also i know it'll fly by and that makes me a bit sad.

my friend kelly told me about how she asks God for a word for the next year {an idea she got from her} and i thought about that and i really liked it.

so i've been thinking and praying about it.

i think next year's word will be embrace. 

webster's dictionary defines embrace as to love or cherish and to take or receive gladly and eagerly or to accept willingly.

i want to embrace life here in uganda.

i want to embrace opportunities as they come up.

i want to embrace my calling as a wife and mother.

to embrace is to accept and not resist.

i'm moving forward from 2011 and embracing 2012, whatever it may hold.