home

Two months to the day that we arrived back in Canada we were sleeping in our very own home. At long last.
We moved in last week and it's been crazy and busy and awesome and tiring.

We are officially home owners! Our house is great. It's dated and there's a lot to do to make this space feel happy but it's ours and we're here. And that is enough to keep me sane. Most days.

We just got internet today, Jamie's back to work and the boys start school next week. So yeah. Crazy times ahead. If I do recall, I did tell myself that once we moved back to Canada it would be go-go-go right into the foreseeable future. I'm so smart.

Oh! And we have a pool! Well, our town house complex has one. All the benefits with none of the work. That's my kind of pool!

If anyone still reads my blog, thanks for sticking it out during the echoing silence here.
More to come. Oh! And I'm on Instagram now so you can follow me there if you want to see the ins and outs of life here at Casa Crazy Strickland.

August THREE

This post is totally post dated. But the pictures were actually taken on or around the third of August.

Playing at the front door of a house we stayed at in August.

He's on the move. And he doesn't.ever.stop.

Playing on the stairs. Admittedly not the best place for boys to play, but when they're getting along so sweetly, it's hard to interfere.

I'm glad we made happy memories even though it was tough not to be in our own home this past summer.

*every month I take pictures of my boys on the third. see past months here.

Jude, you are FOUR

Dear Jude,

You are four years old! As I type this, you are not quite four. You are lying in bed sleeping beside your older brother. But I thought I would type it up before tomorrow happens and I have a bit of time to reflect before I go to bed.

What a year you've had! We've moved continents, have travelled quite a bit and are currently in limbo while we wait for our home.

You are feisty, independent and you truly march to the beat of your own drum. Seriously. You live in another world and sometimes I'd really like to join you. You have an amazing spirit and I know you are going to do big things some day. I want to help you get there. Sometimes I don't know how, though.

You are running, jumping, shooting, marching, laughing, hugging, squinty-eyed smiling, always moving BOY.

I am so thrilled you came into our family four years and nine months ago. Because you were loved and anticipated from the moment we found out about you.

You can count and recognize letters and numbers and colours and while you don't often sit still for books, you still like to look at them every now and then and will listen to Bible stories if you're upset and need some Mommy-cuddle time. You climb and swim with water wings. You love the park and we have a hard time getting you to leave. You've recently learned how to ride your bike {with training wheels} and my heart soars with pride when I see you pedalling away on your little bike although you tend to give up halfway through wherever we are going.

You adore your big brother and contstantly look to emulate him. Look up to him and emulate the good, but never wish you were him. You are the only you. If you aren't you, no one else will be. Noah has been your built-in playmate for the last 2 years and you've challenged each other, made each other laugh, gotten in trouble with each other and protected each other. I love how you two are such tight friends and brothers and I pray it always stays like that between the both of you.

You love your little brother and although you are often too aggressive with him for my liking, I pray that this is the beginning of a tight, intimate brother-bond that you'll have for life with him. He will look up to you and seek to emulate you. I pray your example is one that inspires him to be fully who God created him to be.

You asked Jesus into your heart just this past month and while I'm not certain you fully know what that means, does anyone ever? You seem to be able to grasp big concepts and always have big, global questions. You truly think outside the box and there doesn't really seem to be any limits {in your mind} of what you can or can't do. I pray that every day you move closer to Jesus and that He becomes your centre, your purpose and your grounding point. He is big enough and full enough and more than enough to satisfy your every craving and desire. 

Happy birthday my beautiful, funny, middle boy! I love you more than I could ever capture in a yearly letter.
You are FOUR!
love,
Mama

Blaise's 10 month letter

Dear Blaise,

You are 10 months old and we've now been in Canada for almost one whole month!
You continue to charm and delight strangers when we're out, and make the rest of us laugh at your antics on the daily.

Right now you're sitting across from me in your high chair munching on pieces of turkey. You initially started swiping at the pieces on your tray before you even tasted them. I guess you didn't think they looked very good. But then I fed you a piece with my fingers and now you're happily munching away.

You've got 3 teeth fully through and one more on the way; two on the top and one on the bottom with its twin about to pop any day now.
This may explain for part of your overly sucky sleep habits as of late {oh hello six nursings last night!} but not fully as you've never been a great sleeper.

You are loving the finger foods and eat most things I give to you - when your feet start kicking we know it's a food you like.

You clearly say "Mama" now and babble and shout and "talk" quite a bit although it depends on your mood.

You started clapping the other day and I die pretty much every time you do it.

Right now we're living with your Auntie Tamsin and Uncle James and their little boy Henry who you love to smile and interact with. He's only 3 months younger than you and I know you guys are going to be best buds.

You are busy, busy, busy; standing, crawling, cruising, pulling stuff, ripping stuff, drooling like crazy and still laughing maniacally when you pull my hair.

I love you, little guy.

Love,
Mama

i'm just here

We've been back in Canada for almost three weeks now. 

It's actually really surreal to be back. In some ways I almost feel like, Did the last two years even happen? because some things are just exactly like how they used to be whether it's relationships or places or people. But in other ways I feel such a disconnect that reminds me {quite loudly} that I've spent the last two years of my life living and loving in Africa. 

It's been busy and full and tiring and fun and lots of time at parks and splash pads and full of trips to the mall and shops that are full of lovely, pretty things that remind me how easy it is for me to fall into

I want, I need, I must have. 

We've been living with friends and it's been good but I am longing for our own home. Somewhere to settle. Somewhere to love and make memories and turn into a building that welcomes others in to join in on our loud, messy, love-filled life. 

And on that note, we did find and buy our very first home! {More to come on our house, what we thought it might be, what we ended up getting and my hopes for the different spaces in it.} We get possession mid-August and I am all over Pinterest and Apartment Therapy and tons of other design blogs getting ideas and plans to turn into a place that encourages creativity and soul-refreshment and joy-filled living.

I haven't journalled and I obviously haven't been blogging so there's a lot inside my head. I just need time and space for it all to come out. There's a lot to process and I'm not going to lie; most evenings I just want to watch a tv show and go to bed. It's exhausting. But we'll figure out how to make the last two years mesh into the life we find ourselves in to make our new normal. Thanks for still following along here despite the quietness.

**all pictures except for the first two were taken by my very talented sister

July THREE

We're back! Life is crazy but good.

I took this one of the boys in the grocery store yesterday. A bonus shot with Jamie in it.

And today Erin {my sister-in-law} took this one of the boys in the food court at the mall. Classic.

Sorry it's been so quiet around here. It's good to be back in Canada, but I'm struggling to "keep up" so am just trying to focus on the most important things {which would be people} these days.
I'll find my groove, I promise.

I take pictures of my boys on the third of each month. See past months here.

tomorrow...we fly!

I'm not sure if one is ever truly "ready" for any big life change; getting married, having a baby, moving to another country. You can read all the books and take all the classes and make your "to-do" list and talk all you want about it but I've never met a person who said, "Oh yes. This big life change is going exactly as I planned it. I knew it would exactly this way." Because life just isn't predictable or controllable that way.

We've been counting down the days since May as a way to help us all see how little time we have left here. Literally crossing off the days as we go. And yet here I sit in our living room with our bags almost entirely packed and I still think to myself, "We're leaving Uganda tomorrow! Crazy!"

I've said from the beginning that time was going to fly by and yet I'm still shocked that we're here. It's the day before we leave and close this chapter of our lives together. And I'm ready and excited and yet...it's still surreal. I have no doubt in my mind that that there will be some grieving that won't happen until I'm back in Canada and re-adjusting back to Canadian culture.

We'll board a plane tomorrow morning and leave this place we've called home for almost two years. This house that has been home to Jamie and I longer than any other home we've lived in since being married. {How crazy is that?}

So I've done everything I needed to do. The rest is an adventure and we'll just see what happens as we get there.

9 month letter

Dear Blaise,

You are 9 months. If I had to pick one word to describe your current phase it would be Busy. With a capital B. Scratch that, it would be BUSY! All in caps. With an exclamation point at the end.

Seriously. You are non-stop. You are crawling, cruising, screeching, laughing, hitting, scratching, mouthing, clinging. All the time. You head straight for cords, electrical outlets and electronics of all kinds. Almost as if you had a radar for them. You delight me and frustrate me.

Your favourite food? Breastmilk. My attempts to feed you solid food are not going as I planned, but at times I have to admit it's incredibly convenient when we go out and I don't have to really bring anything except myself. Most mornings you aren't super interested in food and I think this may have to do with the fact that you cut your first tooth last week. Our nights of many, many wake-ups and nursings are explained with the confirmation that you are indeed teething. Once we get back to Canada {we leave in 2 days!} I'll probably try and help you get more on this solid food train. But for now I'm just going with the flow and offering you food several times a day. Usually you'll take a few bites and then bat away the spoon or chunk of food I'm offering. And usually it makes a big mess. And usually I take a few deep breaths and try not to freak out. You're just a baby, afterall.

But you are obsessed with my hair. You'll crawl up behind me if I'm sitting on the ground, grab hold of my shirt or shoulder and then grab a fistful of hair and YANK as hard as you can. And then I yelp and you laugh an evil baby laugh.

You still love being around most people and will let them hold you. We went to the Life Ministry office {where Daddy's worked here in Uganda} for a good-bye lunch and you happily sat and played with several of the staff right until Mommy stood up to give a speech at which point you wailed like someone had hurt you.

You say "Mama!" Or often it just sounds like "MOM". You say it as you crawl to me or if someone else is holding you and you want me or if you see me coming to pick you up out of your crib. It's very cute and endearing. Your first word!

The other day your love of music was confirmed as you were being held by Daddy and he was singing out loud to a song and you joined in! We even got it on video. I wonder if you'll be our musical child?

In a few short days you will experience Canada for the first time. You will be held by your Aunties and Uncles and Nana and Popi for the first time. You will be reunited with your Gramma & Grandpa and another Uncle once again. You will never be lacking in arms to hold you and people to interact with.

You've now spent {almost} as much time out of the womb as you did in {since you were two weeks and two days over due!} and it feels like you've always been a part of our family. I'm so glad you were born. I'm so glad you're our little Ugandan baby and I can't wait to do the next 9 months of your life {and more!} as we start the Canadian chapter of your life.

I love you little man,

xo
Mama

See Blaise grow!

one week left ramblings

In exactly one week, I will be checked in at the airport and getting ready to board our flight outta here.

Yeah.

In my mind, it still seems like a lifetime away before we leave. Like it's not really going to happen.

I realized I am a "pre-processor" which to me means that I do a lot of my processing ahead of time. Which would explain why I don't like long, lengthy good-byes. Just say your good-byes, maybe give a good hug and get out of there asap. I've already grieved and accepted that it's a sad thing to leave. And I've probably moved on to being excited about what's to come. So please don't think I'm cold-hearted if I don't shed a tear. It's possible I've shed tears about this exact moment; just a few weeks ago.

Yesterday we sent back two bins {remember these bad boys?} and a bag with the staff team that left to go back to Canada. I am quite proud that I was able to pack up two of those things and it'll be nice not to have to lug them with us {as we'll likely have five others to lug. plus kids. that'd be a lot of luggin'.}.

It's hard to pack with a crawling, mischievous baby. Who doesn't sleep at night. {Still.}

I keep seeing lovely Ugandan things I want to buy and bring back with me. {I love craft markets!}

I can't wait to see and hug all my friends and family.

I am nervous about peoples' expectations of me/our family and the fight against a packed schedule to see and do ALL THE THINGS. {Sometimes I am a "worst-case scenario" kind of person.}

We went swimming yesterday and I need a new bathing suit. So does Blaise. He's not quite as chunky as Noah was at this age as the 12-18 month suit doesn't quite stay up on him. But he definitely loved swimming! So there's that.

Last week I took down all the pictures from the walls. They look so barren now.

Today I will pack some more. And try to remember this:

today we are...

a bit sick and feverish

saying YES to snacking and why do we need three square meals a day anyway?

cuddling and nursing babies back to longer naps

watching movies {Star Wars!} and reading books

doing a bit of packing
cleaning
sorting
purging

solo parenting

looking at houses online

listening to countless facts and stories about Star Wars

hanging laundry

chugging water and occasionally popping Tylenol to combat a nagging headache

today we are taking it easy. because all rules go out the window when some of us are sick and there's only one parent.

today I am leaning into Jesus to be more than what I need.

June THREE

This is insane. It's June! We have just over 2 weeks left in Uganda!

We've been {sorta} packing and planning and some big things have been happening and I'm so excited about them and I'm so excited to see friends and family and give them big hugs and sit and drink large glasses of Canadian milk {oh yes.} and give them all the lovely things I've been buying for them.

Needless to say, we've been busy. And so this blog has been neglected. But it won't always be this way.

Blaise has been sleeping a bit better {as in averaging 1 wake up to nurse per night, not including the one between 10 and 11pm} and napped for a total of 5.5 hours yesterday! Whaaaa?!?
Noah and Jude have helped me do a preliminary sorting of toys and it was relatively pain-free as we decided what toys to leave here/give away and what toys to bring back to Canada. They're excited to move, although every now and then one of them will mention something they'll miss about Uganda like our house or our yard or their friends.

I just realized that our next monthly picture will be in Canada! That makes me both incredibly sad and yet also incredibly nervous/excited.

Oh the things we will do! Oh the places we will go!

I take pictures of my kids every month. Check out past months here.

banana power cookies

I am obsessed with these cookies. 

Yesterday I made a third batch in four days. 
They're chock-full of grains and seeds and nuts and fruits and the best thing is they're sugar-free! Oh and did I mention they're delicious? And good for you? 
AND you could even eat one for breakfast. Or four. Whatevs.
This recipe is incredibly versatile and the original called for brown sugar which I halved and then ended up substituting honey and they still taste fantastic. They have a slightly muffin-y texture which I personally love. You can add or take away the things you like or don't like and they'll probably still turn out fantastic. I've tried it without sunflower seeds and without walnuts and added almonds and extra raisins. You could add nutmeg and ginger if you wanted to. I've done it with or without the milk powder {it just adds a bit more protein to the cookie}. So versatile. My favourite kind of recipe.

Banana Power Cookies
adapted from Cooking Melangery

Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. oats
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 c. honey
1/3 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 c. golden raisins
1 c. dried cranberries
1 c. walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp. milk powder
4 tbsp. flax seeds
4 tbsp. sunflower seeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets. In a bowl, stir together the flour, coconut, oats, baking soda, flax seeds, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream the honey and butter with a wooden spoon until fluffy. Add the bananas and eggs and beat with a fork until blended. Stir in the flour mixture, about 1/2 c. at a time, then stir in the raisins, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and walnuts {or whatever you're including in your cookies}. Spoon the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet(s), spacing the cookies about 2” apart. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet(s) on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to the rack and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Depending on how big you make your cookies, you can get 24-30 cookies out of this recipe.

lately...

In my ears
The Oh Hellos - Through the Deep, Dark Valley

I've been listening to this album on repeat. Over and over and over again and I can't get enough of it. Usually my life and my days are so full of noise that I don't have time right away to listen to lyrics {this isn't ideal, but it's my current state of reality} but I enjoy the musical-ness of it. After listening to this album for probably the seventh time in a row, some of the lyrics stuck out and sunk in and I realized that they are likely Christians. Which is pretty cool. I like it when people who love Jesus make great art/music.

Such great music.

And how amazing is this one:

In my heart & in my house
Pizza night

We'd already done one pizza night and it ended up being on Mother's Day with me working pretty hard to make enough pizza from scratch to feed 14 adults. I had a few helpers, but it was a bit lonely and not very much fun although I do enjoy serving people and loving them by feeding them.
Last night, though, we made pizza night a team event and I had tons of cheese graters, veggie choppers, and pizza dough mixers. The music was playing and I took the opportunity to grill one of our interns on his love life. Because I can. Ha!
I looked around at our team enjoying pizza and as I continued to roll out the dough I smiled deeply and felt incredibly satisfied. This is what I want and this is what I envision when I say I love to host people. I love having people in my home and eating together. This is, I think, the ultimate goal of hospitality. Not rushing around doing it all on my own, but the loving each other, the talking and laughing with each other and the eating and preparing together.

On my Kindle
Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist {on sale for $3.99 today!}

This book is delicious and inspiring and hopeful and exciting.
I've been reading it and wanting to shout "YES!" at so many moments, but I don't because there's usually a sleeping baby within earshot.
It's a collection of essays about life and faith and celebrating the two with friends around your table with amazing food. And how we all should do it. Here are a few quotes:

"Life at the table is life at its best to me, and the spiritual significance of what and how we eat, and with whom and where, is new and profound to me every day."

"Get comfortable with people in your home, with the mess and the chaos. Focus on making people comfortable, on creating a space protected from the rush and chaos of daily life, a space full of laughter and safety and soul."

"I want my kids to learn firsthand and up close that different isn't bad, but instead that different is exciting and wonderful and worth taking the time to understand. I want them to see themselves as bit players in a huge, sweeping, beautiful play, not as the main characters in the drama of our living room. I want my kids to taste and smell and experience the biggest possible world, because every bite of it, every taste and texture and flavor is delicious."

So good, right? Ugh. So good.

Oh did I tell you I ate grasshoppers? I was influenced by my own child. We had fried grasshoppers one night but I was putting Blaise down for bed. The next afternoon there were some left over and Jude picked one up and said, "Can I eat it?" and I said, "Sure!" and he seemed hesitant so I encouraged him to try one. He said, "Can I stick my tongue on it?" and I told him that he could and when he licked it, his eyes lit up and he said they tasted salty and then promptly stuck the whole thing in his mouth and went back to eat a few more. Then he handed me one and asked if I would eat one.
People. It's a grasshopper. It's gross looking. I could see the eyes! But I couldn't say that I wasn't willing to try something to Jude when he had just shown me that he was willing to try something new. So I popped one in. It wasn't bad. Kinda like popcorn. I was expecting a spurt or something disgusting. But it was fine. Then I even ate one again so Jamie could get it on camera. Because I'm awesome like that.

8 month letter

Dear Blaise,

Happy 8 months! Time is just flying by and I continue to be surprised by how old you are. Already.
Developmentally you are really taking on the world! In the past 2 months you've conquered sitting, crawling, pulling yourself up, standing on your own for a second {a few times} and I'm pretty sure you'll be cruising in the next week or two.

You are moving on from purees and can now eat mushy, lumpy food. Your current favourites are applesauce and butternut squash and you're not so much a fan of any "cereal" {so far rice and oatmeal} that I've made yet. But you certainly enjoy eating toast and yogurt so we've been doing a bit of that in the morning.
Oh and you like blowing raspberries when I'm trying to feed you. Which is awesome. And messy. And to commemorate your 8 month birthday, you fed yourself for the first time. With what food, you ask? Chapati. You are truly Ugandan. {And the third child. Obvs.}

No teeth yet. But there are two on the top and two on the bottom that are just ready to break through any day now.

I laughed at you a couple weeks ago as you sat on the ground, spotted an ant and started jabbing your finger at it, trying to touch it or grab it until it found the line of the tile and disappeared from your sight.

You are down to two naps a day getting up around 7am and going to bed for the night around 6:30 or 7pm. Nighttime sleep is still disjointed. But whatevs. You will sleep through the night eventually. I'm tired, but honestly? I'm over it. Moving on.

You are now babbling and will say "mah mah mum mum" if upset and sometimes "dah dah dah dah". It's cute. I like to think you are saying "Mum".

You giggle at funny things like me pushing the kiddie table along the ground or slapping the couch or Noah jumping up and down. Your brothers can ALWAYS make you smile.

You love being held by Ugandans. We think you prefer the darker skin colour. I'm not sure if that sounds racist or weird or something, but you adore our house helper {a familiar face}, our friend Uncle James who is an older Ugandan man {you rejected my arms for his!} and our night guard, Ronald. You also really love the two boys {Kevin & Roden} who have been coming here every day to help their mother with the cooking for the students' dinner. They will wave at you and make funny faces and you always stare and eventually smile at them.

Oh Blaise. I could cuddle and kiss you all day long. You are so squishy and cuddly and I just love you from the very depth of my being. You are rough and tumble and adorable and charming. You will tilt your head and smile at me from across the room and my heart melts in a nanosecond.

I am so glad you are a part of our family and I love you more each day.
You are deeply and fantastically loved. Never doubt that for a minute.

love,
Mama.

Watch Blaise grow!

10 things that living overseas has taught me

Usually I write my best blog posts when I'm lying in bed. In my head. And then I'm too lazy to write them down on paper. And then I forget them. Sigh.
But I've been reflecting a lot on these past two years and a few things have come to mind that I didn't actually realize until recently.
So here's 10 things that living overseas has taught me:

1. I don't use as many paper products as I used to.
Paper towels and napkins are just more expensive here and it's so much easier to use a dish towel or other hand towel to mop up messes and throw it into the wash instead of using up pricier paper towels. I've also ordered about 24 cloth napkins made out of the traditional fabric here, kikoy. So I'm excited to be able to bring those back with us and use them in Canada. {But I still am using disposable diapers. *gasp* I know. I'm killing the environment. Sigh. I'm doing what I can, folks. I'm doing what I can.}

2. The value of living a slower paced life. 
It took me awhile to adjust to how slow life is and how long it takes to get things done. But I really do love it and enjoy it. It's probably not going to be replicated in Canada, but I am definitely taking this idea back to implement in a way that will work for our life in Canada. I am not for cramming schedules and packing in as many activities and extra curriculars into our lives. My kids will be better off for spending more time as a family and less time running around to every extra activity that will supposedly boost their *insert whathaveyou here*. End Rant.

3. How to drive with less road rage.
It's true. Okay so I didn't really have road rage per se, but I used to get so angry at bad drivers. Now I drive with a couple million of them. So I just laugh. Once I was driving along a straight-away and a guy parked on my side of the road but in the opposite direction pulls out right out in front of me and I slam on the breaks. Then he proceeds to shake his hand at me and give me a bad look and all I can do is laugh at him and shake my hand back. Honestly. Bad drivers. I laugh in the face of bad drivers! Ha ha ha ha! {Lion King quote anyone?}

4. How to give thanks for the hard things.
It's easy to give thanks for the beautiful sunshine and the gorgeous view and the sweet times of family cohesion, but what about sickness and power outages and screaming kids and friends and family who are hurting on the other side of the world? I definitely don't have this one down. But I've grown a lot in this area of my life and I find myself giving thanks

5. A closeness with my husband and kids that I likely would not have had otherwise.
Of course I would have been close with my family if we had stayed in Canada. But doing life through birthdays and holidays and the every days with just us has really been such a precious experience. We've been able to form traditions that are uniquely ours. We've been able to leisurely enjoy Christmas and Easter without frantically zipping around from family to family to family to make sure we see everyone and do everything. And I have loved it. I will treasure these past two years in my heart and memories.

6. Taking a Sabbath doesn't mean going to a church building.
It's no secret that we've not been the most faithful church goers during these last 2 years. But somehow we've found a way to connect with other Jesus followers and be fed from the Word whether it's through listening to sermons or reading books or just through our quiet times. I'm not going to lie, I have missed our church family back in Guelph. A lot. And I am really looking forward to getting back into a church when we go back, but I've learned that it's not the building that's important but the attitude of the heart and the gathering of believers.

7. True community and friendship often require work. Especially if you're living overseas.
For our first year here, I drove 30 minutes each way every Thursday to visit Kelly and her boys. And I would do it all over again. It was worth getting pulled over almost every time I drove to her house. {Not because I'm a bad driver. Just because...well, they like to pull people over and get bribes here.} So yeah. It was work, but it was completely worth it.

8. I don't need very much to live and live well.
I brought over 3 pots and a few pans and a couple good knives. I bought a few other things here. My fridge is a glorified bar fridge. My oven is teeny tiny. I don't have half of what I had in my kitchen in Canada. And I'm perfectly content. You better believe I'll be doing a subsequent purge of the {few} things I have stored back in Canada when we get back. It's refreshing for me and my family when we have less things. Good things, but less things. I am also feeling particularly passionate about seriously purging the amount of toys and books the boys have. The more they have, the more bored and overwhelmed they become. When we purge and organize here, they play more happily.

9. Always make more food than you think you'll need. you never know who's going to show up for dinner.
Yup.
I already knew it in my heart/head, but I love hosting and feeding people. I really enjoy having people in our house and we've done a LOT of it these past two years. Whether it's visitors from Canada or Ugandan friends or other expats, we've had some good times in this house with others. It's confirmed for me that this is something that I want to continue upon returning to Canada.

10. To yearn for my heavenly home.
When we live in our home culture, it's easy to be comfortable. But when we live in a culture where we don't look like everyone else and we don't speak the language, when we stand out as foreigners, it's uncomfortable. And sometimes just "going back home" isn't what we truly want either. We discover what we should have been cultivating inside ourselves all along; a yearning for heaven. A yearning to be home and be known fully and loved fully. And ultimately that won't be found in Canada or America or Uganda or anywhere else.
This has been a tough lesson for me, and one that I haven't particularly enjoyed, but it's been the most important of them all. And I'm glad.