THE wedding

I am so mad at myself because i only took like 4 pictures during this wedding that I was so excited about! But there were other photographers and i just wanted to enjoy every second not behind a camera. But for your viewing enjoyment, here are the few I did manage to take. At least you get to see Neema in her precious flower girl dress and there is one shot of the BEAUTIFUL Grace.....

Sweet Elizabeth is getting married next month!

Booty Bride!!

WE ARE HOME

Just letting everyone know we made it back safely! It was an awesome journey. Long but good. Neema did great. We both got about 7 hours of sleep on our 13 hour flight. She had a great time sitting on top of all the luggage and having me push her around the airport. She played with her computer during the layovers and charmed all airport employees. :)

My dad met us at the gate as he flew in from Charleston on the same day. Then we were greeted by my mama, sister, and three cutest Auburn girls ever! We went straight to Chick fil a for a lemonade in a styrofoam cup with ICE and a straw!

We arrived home to balloons all over the yard and a big banner! And lots and lots of goodies all over the house from great friends. In preperation of her arrival, my mama has set up an old playroom into Neema's room with her very own miniature bed, a pink chair with her name, a wall hanging, and some other odds and ends furniture. SO CUTE!! I cant get over it.

Tonight is Grace's wedding and we are so incredibly grateful that we are here to witness our precious friend say forever to her foxy fiance. :) This is a gift that we will forever be thanking God for letting us be a part of!

And while these things definitely do not define my happiness, i have to say things like instant hot water, fast internet, washing machine, ice, paper towels in bathrooms, etc. are very nice to have for a change. I just really really appreciate these things now. :)

Ok off to get ready for the Big Event!

update

So....believe it or not our flight has been canceled. There is talk that there is a plane that is leaving here on Wednesday but I don't know if we will be able to get on it. And I'm not even sure if it will actually come as there are still no flights arriving or departing Amsterdam today (Sunday). The website is giving as little information as possible and KLM here in Tanzania have just turned their phones OFF. No one is answering any of the numbers. So that's fun. We are looking at a few more options but at this point I really have no idea when we will be rescheduled. I have to admit my heart is breaking a little because one of my best friends in the whole world is getting married on Saturday and we have been fighting to get home for this pretty much since she got engaged in September. And everyday that we sit here this little dream seems to be slipping away....but we will hold on to hope because God has brought this far....

While this is a slight setback, I still have much to be thankful for this week! We rented this house!!!! Hallelujah. Just in time. God is good. He is able. We have had so much fun with our loved ones this week. Great couple of nights with the TAWV kids having farewell party and celebrating their Easter break from school. Dinner with Neema's uncle Calvin. Girls night out with my sisters here in Arusha. Someone is hiring my house girl which is such a praise because I didn't want to leave her jobless (she has 3 children of her own). I found my car title which I have been looking for for months and was going to be really expensive and time consuming to replace. And mostly just having a blast with Neema. Watching her mimick things I do... "mama im packing, cooking, checking my facebook." Wanting to brush her hair like me, etc. She is just so fun to be around and every morning I can't wait for her to wake up and come curl in bed with me. Yes I have a lot to be thankful for.

I'll let you know as soon as I know anything. Stay tuned.....I should really write a book about this last year...but im afraid I might deter people from adoption or international travel! Ha! What a crazy ride. But ill take crazy ride over tip-toeing through life anyday!

God Bless all of you today.

Neema takes on America!

PRAISE GOD!!! PRAISE GOD!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!

"I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods." Psalm 135:5

Neema and I will be boarding a plane headed to America next Sunday. I can't believe it! I will write later about our fabulous trip to Dar Es Salaam and add some pictures but for now I just wanted everyone to know that there is NO greater King! I just give every oz. of GLORY to God because He opened the door for Neema to be approved to travel on visitor visa. This is very rare for adopted children out of Tanzania and I just feel so blessed.

We arrive to Atlanta on KLM flight at 2:20pm Monday, April 19th. I think there are a few people gathering to greet us at the airport and I just wanted to welcome all of you blog readers to come out if you can. You have been such a part of this journey with us and it would bless my heart to see your faces when we walk through the gate. Some of you I have never even met, but I feel so connected to you through your emails and comments.

Neema absolutely can't wait. I'm not even sure she understands what America is except she knows she gets to fly on a plane and see her Bibi and Babu. I guess that is excitement enough!!

More to come soon. This week is going to be CRAZY trying to get everything accomplished and squared away with TAWV stuff, renting this house, finding home for a dog, saying goodbyes, etc. But looking forward to some American internet when I get home and then ill be able to post so much more with pictures and maybe some videos. Happy Days to come....

Thank you all SO MUCH for just being with us. I can't even believe it. We will see you so very soon! We love you!

Easter!!

On Saturday Neema and I went over to our good friends, Hannah and Zac's house where we iced Easter cookies, dyed Easter eggs, and had an Easter egg hunt! All new to Neema she was in Heaven with all these exciting activities. It is so fun to introduce Neema to these traditions and hope she will have sweet memories of our first Easter together!

After cookie eating and egg dying, I put Neema down for a nap and then we all went out and hid Easter eggs! Fortunately, mama thought ahead while she was here and stocked us up on Easter goodies like plastic eggs and pink grass that you could never find here. While she napped we watched the movie Blindside. (if you have not seen it, you MUST...it was so good!) When she woke up she had a blast looking for all the little plastic eggs.

I love Easter. I love all the colors and the spirit of spring and renewal. I love that we have something so much bigger to celebrate. The death and resurrection of our glorious King! I went to get Neema's hair did for Easter and they had the crucifixion story on swahili at the salon. At first I wondered if I should let Neema watch it, but in the end I thought well this is what happened and the earlier she can understand it than why not? In the car on the way home she kept talking about how the people were hitting Jesus and taking his clothes...I often tell her things that are way over her head but I think she also can comprehend more than we think kids can. She has heard so many times that Jesus died on the cross for her, but after Easter I think she is able to put a few more of the pieces together.

Neema in her little Easter dress brought from Aunt Kiki (Kathryn) and her Easter basket! We woke up at 5am and went to a sunrise service at the home of some Missionaries who have been living here for 50 years!!!! It was a special morning as many fellow long term Arushans were there. It was a beautiful service and everyone brought a breakfast food. Afterward we went to our home church for praise and worship followed by a lovely brunch at one of the Lodges here in Arusha with some other adoptive mamas and friends. The kids ran around tons of green grass and looked for candy hidden in bushes while we relaxed on big comfy couches and soaked in the wonderful day of our Lord's Resurrection! He is ALIVE!

Hope you all had a beautiful Easter Weekend!