this week i...

landed in entebbe airport.
visited an ugandan hospital with noah.
bartered and bought some crafty-type things at a market.
settled into a new home in a new country on a new continent.
learned how to light a gas stove and oven {lighting the oven is scary but worth it.} and baked muffins.
went to a ugandan church and loved it.
walked over 4km on the streets of kampala with kids in tow.
popped popcorn on my gas stove. {it was delicious. i will teach you how to make it in a coming post.}
fell asleep to the sound of rain falling on our tin roof.
wore skirts a lot.
showered by candlelight.
started watching the LOST series from the beginning {again}.
explained a lot of things to my kids.
ate some of the most delicious french fries {chips} with ketchup at a cafe.
read a lot of heart-warming emails from my sweet friends in canada.
thought about the importance of having friends.
talked to people on skype.
worshipped Jesus in the everyday moments.

how was your week? i'd love to hear!

today is funday

...but it's actually wednesday.

noah likes to ask what day it is. pretty much every single day. multiple times a day.
i don't really mind.
sometimes i just tell him straight up what day it is.
sometimes i sing it to him.
sometimes i say it in a funny voice.
he thinks i'm silly.

we went to centre island today with our dear friends, the humphreys.
we got to the island before them so we had some family time in which we enjoyed some good old fashioned swinging

(why yes i did dress my boys in the same outfit. it helps to find them in public places. i know. genius.)

(o hello runny nose!)

and of course...rides, rides, RIDES!

(even though it looks like jude was cowering, he loved every second of it. promise.)

and then once we met up with our friends there were some more rides!

(okay, so noah totally loves rides. he's SO happy!)

and we went on possibly the fastest merry-go-'round known to man. seriously. it was fast.

and apparently i took a lot of pictures. but it was good. because it's been a few days since i picked up my camera and took some pictures. and some turned out pretty good (if i do say so myself).

and it was oh-so-good to hang out with dawn & eric again. we've had some good times and memories with those two and it's sad to say good bye for who knows how long (though i hope no longer than 2 years!). 

and (last sentence i start with "and", i promise) the kids went the entire day with NO NAPS. we didn't get home until 8:40pm so it was a loooong day. but they did really well, all things considered. 

so maybe it was funday and wednesday all at once.

be back soon

don't mind the chaos.
{also in somewhat related news, i hate packing.}

we move {to Toronto} on saturday. 

see ya sometime after that!

on being productive

We've been all about packing, sorting, organizing and preparing for our BIG garage sale happening this Saturday.
As I was going through the office closet I found 8 pillows. EIGHT!
I tossed them downstairs and made a "bed" in the middle of the living room for the boys (Jude is sick and Noah's always happy to have a "movie day") and we chilled at home today.
I got some pricing done and some sorting but the way I work (is this the way it works for everyone?) is that it almost always gets messier before it gets cleaner.
So we're kinda living in chaos and disorder.
I realized something about myself recently - or perhaps I put into words and a distinct thought what I had always felt before - I can handle the mess and disorder but the outcome is that I am prone to feeling overwhelmed and I usually end up doing nothing.
An organized, clean house leads to a productive Vanessa.
And that is a good thing.
Now, to get busy "organizing".

i dream

i dream of:

romance

adventure

sitting at a bay window, cozied up with a good book and a wool blanket

opening up my own bakery

- in Europe somewhere (or the beaches)

singing in front of small but crowded venues

being skinnier

being healthier

being closer to Jesus

adopting 5 (or so) kids

giving birth to a few more, too

living downtown Toronto

travelling across Canada (in one of these) and then down the west coast of North America

running a marathon

peonies, lots of peonies

acting again

summer

owning a piano

the tattoo i never got

reaching out to my neighbours

making friends in uganda

doing something BIG

living on the east coast

living on the west coast

living in new zealand

sailing around the world

having a closet full of beautiful summer dresses

never having to shave my legs again

throwing caution to the wind

i dream.

what do you dream of?

*found this video (03.25.2011) and it fits so perfectly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfDwChOoHI

letting go

Today was a beautiful day.

It was cold. The air had a bite to it that made me wish I had worn my jacket as I left the gym this morning.

It rained off and on today cancelling our plans to go to Strom's Farm with our staff team.

But it was a beautiful day.

I made stew in the slow cooker. Then someone in need came to mind. I called her and asked if she wanted some dinner for tonight. Perfect timing. What a blessing for ME to be able to give to her and her family.

Is it selfish to want to give because of how blessed it feels to give?

We had our staff team over for dinner tonight. I have always loved having people over but I continue to feel more and more comfortable about hosting and hospitality in my home; mess and all. I am not perfect, nor do I want to give off that impression. At some point {not too long ago}, I did want to appear the perfect wife/mother/house keeper.

But I am not.

I have a love of nice, beautiful, lovely, delicious things and so I will always strive to make my home nice, beautiful, lovely and a place of delicious things, but I am learning to let go.

To let go of the crumbs and the dust and the awkward set up and the toys randomly strewn about. To let go of worries and comparisons {the worst} and doubts and fears.

I want to be known. I want to know others.

I want to have a busy, noisy home full of laughter and joy and smiles and memories.

I am taking steps {little steps} to get there.