there's no place like home

i made it home to texas safely! thanks for all of you who were praying! its always an exhausting trip, but i feel well rested this morning!

straight off the plane mom and dad and i went to see one of my best friends new babies! he was born while i was in ghana...ive even skyped with him...a few days old and already skyping!! gunner is beautiful and i love him so much! what a joy it was for me to be able to finally meet him. its times like these that make living overseas hard, i miss weddings, babies and my friends....but what sweet fellowship when i get home!!

saturday i got to see my sweet sister, whitney and my aunts mandi and pam. i even went straight to the theater yesterday to see the new narnia movie! popcorn and soda and a good ole movie with the parents....so fun!

yall, im freezing here. ive been wearing like 3 shirts and 2 pants....i cannot get warm! i know i said i was really looking forward to being cold, and i am so thankful not to be sweating, but its really cold!!!

cooking breakfast....i was looking for the matches to light the stove. even asked mom where the matches were...haaaa i think i forgot where i was!

my sweet dad. our first christmas coffee together! what sweet times to be home with my family. i am so blessed!!!

my sweet babies kai and oski....im so happy to be with them again. kai wasn't so sure about me at first, but she has come around :)

can i tell yall how fun it is to be able to straighten my hair...im loving no humidity!! i also had my first hot shower in 4 months! so fun. i love being home, but i do miss me some ghana.

i have so many friends to see, i cannot wait to spend this christmas season with people i love...each day is new and from god, and in that i rejoice. i love him with all that i have and im so thankful to him for all the people in my life...

xoxo

tis the season

merry christmas everyone!! im traveling home TOMORROW!!! i am super excited to see my family and friends. there is something so sweet about spending christmas at home. i cannot wait to see my mom and dad, my sister, matt and their boys! i cant wait to eat holiday food. i cannot wait to sleep in my bed and i cannot wait to see the girls! i have SO many friends and family to see...and a few new babies to meet!!! its going to be so much fun to be home for 3 weeks. oh yeah, and one thing i cannot wait for is the COLD WEATHER!!!!! ghana is 5 degrees off the equator, so you can imagine how hot it is here. and its coastal....needless to say i have big texas hair. haaa...

im really going to miss being here too. im going to miss my kids at school, my church family, my sweet sisters here...but this is the season, and im super excited to be headed home in less than 24 hours....wow.

we found a box of christmas goodies and decided to decorate our heads..haaaa

having lattes at our favorite coffee bar

santa in front of our grocery store....while christmas music plays let it snow....haaa

see you soon texas ♥

turkey day

wow, i realized today that this is my 3rd thanksgiving on the african continent! so amazing. i love this place. this was the best thanksgiving here so far! our pastor and his family invited the americans in the church over for turkey....they are american and have been in africa for over 20 years. there were about 15 of us (6 of which were his family). we ate good food and had really sweet fellowship. we had turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, soda, pumpkin pie, ice cream. i mean they did it up right! wow, it was so sweet and beautiful and thoughtful for them to have us over. what a blessing for us.

our pastor and one of his daughters...with the turkey!!

yes, thats thanksgiving blend starbucks coffee beans!!! what a treat!!!

my plate. wow a sister can eat

our famous pose! happy thanksgiving everyone!!

me and the turkey! YUMMMYYY

shari and i

my sweet ems

after we ate and cleaned up we all played catch phrase. what a hoot! it was so fun!!! im thankful for so many things today. im just overwhelmed at the power and faithfulness of god. what an unbelievable god we serve.

this verse was my focus for the day. jesus is it, period. he is all we need.

"whom have i in heaven but you- and earth has nothing i desire besides you- my flesh and my heart may fail but god is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" psalm 73: 25-26

field day

we had our field day on wednesday at AIS. it was so fun! i spent the entire day in the beautiful african sun playing with all the kids. they were on teams, one child from each grade k-12. the kids really worked well together! i have the best job ever.....

dad, the hat is for you. i love you xx

my beautiful class

american, german, dutch, ghanaian, british...what a sweet blend of cultures

team ghana

griselda

griselda

felix

kwegya

hannah

i smell real coffee

oh my goodness have i got a treat for you. today i was given one of the most fun presents EVER! one of my coworkers/parents brought me STARBUCKS COFFEE! complete with real the christmas starbucks cup and sleeve. WOW! i mean, yall when you live here its the little things that you grow to love! she and her husband and their 5 children live here and they both work for the school. they are amazing and thoughtful! she brings back coffee beans and all kinds of goodies from the states. going to their house is so fun! one time when i went there she had made brownies! who'd have thought?!?! so, back to the coffee.....a friend of hers brought her the real throw away starbucks cups and sleeves! what a great idea! it really made me feel so cool this morning having my drip coffee in a starbucks coffee cup! and the cup of coffee she made me was almost as good as my mama's! it had flavored syrup and everything! oh my, i was on cloud 467!!! she straight made my day! and of course, ill be reusing that cup until it falls apart!

oh and for those of you that know a little about africa and coffee beans.....believe it or not they are hard to find here....mainly because they are all exported. but thats another topic entirely....

yay for starbucks coffee and thoughtful friends that know exactly what you need!!

i cry out your name

Lord I worship You
With all that I am
With all that I have

Lord I worship You
With all of my strength
With everything

Let it be a sweet aroma to You
As I sing this song
with the breath You gave me

I cry out Your name
That's why I'm created
Why I'm created
I cry out Your name
As a sign to the ones who don't believe
I cry out Your name
And the rocks will be silent
The rocks will be silent
Cause I cry out Your name
Unashamed

this is my new favorite song. its by kim hill. its amazing. it really ministers to me, so i wanted to share it with you. download it now and join with me in praising the lord! we were created to cry out his name!!!!

little feet

i asked my kids to write a question to god today. here they are.

when am i going to die?

am i going to be a pastor when i grow up?

why am i so mean to my friends?

how do you turn into an angel?

what am i doing tomorrow?

why can't we see you?

why are so many people sick?

who was the 3rd person ever made?

please, can you make the cartoons real?

why isn't there enough food for everybody?

haahaa, love these kids. their questions are so real. they love for jesus is so real. i love my job. i love ghana. i love the lord for being such a faithful father.

i play praise and worship music in my class all the time. we have free time and we sing and play music. today as the music was playing i was looking around at them. they were all singing. all of them. they know the words and many of them had their eyes closed. they were not just singing, they were praising god. one girl had her arms up in the air. i fought back the tears. i adore them.

i don't know what it is about africa, but i've said this so many times. god is so BIG here. i mean the people here have this uninhibited love for jesus. its so real. they love him and they LIVE it. it consumes them. they depend on him, they expect him to provide and he does. amen to that. what an amazing god we serve.