spain.

so we went to spain. it was glorious.

see?
it's been so long since i last blogged that i almost didn't know where to start. i hadn't meant to take this long, but the day before we left to come back to uganda i got slammed with a brutal head cold/flu thing that was going around. and i was pretty much bed-ridden until yesterday. absolutely brutal.
but i'm on the mend.
so...
spain. our flight route was uganda to kenya to amsterdam to spain. and then a bus ride to our destination in nerja. but it.was.so.worth.it.
our schedule was light and we spent afternoons walking around through the cobblestone streets and the mornings and evenings in soul-lifting sessions. {more posts to come as i process through the things i learned.}
lunch on the beach? awesome.

and while we had a rough go at the beginning with the boys in their classes/childcare, they had fabulous teachers and enjoyed playing with new friends.
after the conference was over our family took a train to madrid for a few days before flying home.

it was ridiculously cold in madrid. in nerja it would sometimes get up to 16 degrees in the afternoons reminding me of a warm, autumn day. but madrid? *shiver* it was -2 degrees. we had to buy scarves and hats and mitts for the boys it was so cold {and we certainly didn't bring those things with us to uganda!}. we did a bit of sight seeing and ate at mcdonalds and our last night there we bought a baguette, a huge hunk of delicious cheese and hunkered down in the warmth of our hotel room and demolished the entire thing. so. stinkin. good.
speaking our hotel, it was amazing. the staff were wonderful, the rate was cheap and the boys even got a little gift on our arrival. i highly recommend the novotel hotel in madrid, spain. and i know that the next time i go somewhere and need a hotel, i'll be checking to see if there's a novotel hotel in the area. we were also on the bus line and it only took us one bus to get into the heart of the city.

we're home now and i'm on the mend so i promise not to be a stranger and neglect this blog for so long again {if i can help it!}.

5 months

here we are. 5 months in. it feels like forever ago since we got on the plane in chicago and headed to london and then arrived here in kampala. tired, but excited. ready to start a new kind of life here.
and so I find myself tired. and not really too excited. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of adjustment phase and I'm okay with that because I'm still confident that this is where God wants our family, regardless of what I'm feeling right now.
I am missing home. my friends. my family. the familiar. but we've been brought here for such a time as this and so I am desperately trying to seize each moment instead of yearning for ones to come.

we leave for Spain in 5 days and I could not be more ready. ready for refreshment. ready for a change. ready to be with co-workers who are doing exactly what we're doing but in different places.
I am so ready for this:

granted it will be around 12 degrees and feel absolutely freezing compared to the weather we have here, but still. jeans! scarves! jackets! shoes!
sometimes you just need a change. 5 months in, bring on the change!

jinja

we've been in jinja since thursday on a little getaway with our friend & coworker archie, who's joined us from canada.

jinja is located on the nile river and some of the places we've been to are absolutely gorgeous.

we went on a sunset cruise of the nile and we were the only ones on it! there were snacks a-plenty and even a barbecue on board for us all to enjoy to some eclectic tunes {kid rock, bob marley, coldplay, garth brooks...yeah. it was epic.}. 

we sat back and enjoyed the ride.

and then jude threw his nalgene bottle into the nile.

awesome.

and our captain even turned around and fished it out of the water!

we've done lots of swimming and watched some christmas cartoons. we've eaten some yummy food {tonight we tried banana fritters - so good.} and there have been been some kids for the boys to play with here.

i am looking forward to getting back "home" and wonder at this homebody i've become.

homebody and yet...traveller still. it's interesting.

we've been reading our christmas story books and opening our advent envelopes {although today's was "Do a craft with Mom." and that was a bit of a fail as i didn't properly read the instructions. oh well.} and can't wait to get back to our house to go through all the goodies that archie brought from home for us.

so very thankful.

oh! also, our boys have slept in the same bed for the last couple nights here. the nights have not been super smooth, but they could have been worse. needless to say, both boys took 2+ hour naps today.

it's so good for all of us to continue to learn to be flexible. i'm just thankful they are used to sharing a room {which i 100% recommend}. 

happy saturday!

sunny days...

so remember this and this?

we're house sitting just steps away from that beach.

until next Friday.

call me if you want to come visit. 

we won't have internet {or time to check. we'll be at the beach!}.

there and back

I love road trips.

I always have.

Before we had kids, Jamie and I drove across Canada, down through the states to Florida and also to visit friends in South Carolina. We've driven to Chicago with Noah and we've done shorter trips with both boys. 

We really wanted to visit our friends in South Carolina and spend some time with them as whenever they come up to Canada, their time is mainly spoken for by their family (as it should be).

So we left last Monday. In the past, we've just taken a day or so to travel, but this time we decided to try driving through the night.
We left at 8pm and this was Jude

And this was Noah

Oh my boys. So so so different from each other.

Anyway, I didn't pack the little DVD player this time (partially by accident) and no one missed it or asked for it. Love it. (We don't use it much anyway.)

The boys did great on the drive down and were cute and funny whenever we'd stop for gas - all of a sudden they'd wake up and squint from the ridiculously bright lights and point out trucks or whatever they happened to see.

We got to Florence, South Carolina at 11:30am and unpacked and settled in.

It was a great 5 days with our dear friends, having many conversations and laughs in the evenings after the kids were in bed and breaking up fights watching the kids play during the day. (In all seriousness, Noah and Leah played great together, it was my wild child, Jude who kept terrorizing poor baby Steven. *insert Mommy lesson of choosing to teach and instruct your child, rather than be embarrassed and ashamed of them* *also insert a heaping helping of humble pie - it's hard to be the Mother of a "hitter"*)

We also went to the beach and while it started off with a brutal nauseous migraine for me, the wonder-drug ibuprofin kicked in about halfway through our day and I was able to enjoy our time there. 

It's always so refreshing to spend time with good friends and for a short time to be able to "do life" together. {Now if only we could get them to move to Uganda with us!}

Our trip home started a little earlier with us leaving at around 5:30pm and getting back to Toronto at 8:30pm yesterday morning but I think we all had a much more rough time. I couldn't sleep until 2am or so just being kinda stiff and uncomfortable and the boys slept for most of it, but Noah was awake from around midnight 'til 2am (that and he didn't fall asleep until 9:30pm made for a tired boy tonight at 6pm when he was about ready to fall asleep in his dinner!). Also, at 3am Noah woke up and asked for sunglasses because the street lights and car lights in oncoming traffic were hurting his eyes. So there he sat, with my big purple sunglasses on and his fuzzy green neck pillow. This kid cracks me up.

All in all, it was wonderful. We got a taste of summer weather, time to spend with lovely friends and a fun family vacation. 

Perfection as far as I'm concerned.

vakay

a few days ago, jamie and i decided we'd take our vacation next week.
and by vacation i mean, drive 15 hours to see our good friends in south carolina.
we're pretty excited.
both boys do really well in the car and our friends have kids roughly the same age as ours. should be fun!

also, two words;

the shopping.

i have to say, i do love to shop. my sister doesn't. my mom doesn't. but i most definitely do.
and here's a few things i'm keeping my eye out for while i'm in the us of a;

raincoats for me and the boys
adorable crocs for jude {i'm thinking of these - in navy}
size 4 shorts for noah
size 4 tees for noah
more of my favourite gap tees {see them here in share the love}
{vanilla coke}
possibly skirts/capris that are suitable for ugands
a bathing suit
possibly a pretty dress for paris {oh did i not mention jamie and i are going to paris for a couple days in june? well. we are. you may freak out with me in 3...2...1...}
good {but stylish and cute} walking shoes

any suggestions/recommendations? {aka, this is your turn to share the love!}
{also, it's going to be hot. like, i get to wear shorts and capris and flops, hot! i'm pumped.}

It was good.

Um, more to come I promise, but I had a freaking awesome time this past week in Manchester.

And I am over the moon for my bestie, Tam and her new hubby and so thrilled that I was able to be there for their beautiful wedding.

Also, I was ON MY OWN - as in, no kids or hubs. It felt VERY different, but it was good for my soul. I am glad to be back with my babies and my man, but it was kind of like I remembered a part of who I am apart from everyone else. And THAT was a good thing to remember.

On getting there (and back)

We went {read: DROVE} to Quebec last week for our final week of vacation.

That's about a 9-10 hr drive.

{It's at this moment I am realizing the beauty and convenience of diapers.}

Things I learned {or have learned over the past 3 years of traveling with kids}:

Leaving early is usually a good thing. {So is Gravol, for that matter.}

Maybe your kids will sleep, maybe they won't. But hopefully they'll be groggy and QUIET.

and so darned cute!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wearing your pajamas {or having your kids wear theirs, for that matter} while on a road trip.

Roadtripping is fun {except on the way back when everyone is slowly going crazy - 1,2,3,4,5,6, split! - Sharon, Lois and Bram, anyone?} and allows you to take in the sights and make some fun stops you might not have if you had flown or taken the train.

And when all else fails, remember to bring some form of entertainment. In my Dad's days he said it was new comic books dolled out by his Mom and Dad. Today, it's this:

More Quebec thoughts and pictures to come!