We're here!!!

Hello!
Our flights yesterday went well. When we checked in at the kiosk in London, we couldn't get it to bring up the Amsterdam to Entebbe part of the flight. So we saw someone at the counter and she gave us seats 7A and 7B. We boarded that flight, and to our surprise...we were in the World Business Class section!! Not really sure how we finnagled that, but we were happy to be able to fully recline with our feet up for the 10 hours. (We were actually too nervous to open the blanket or touch anything until the flight took off because we were sure of that someone was going to come and move us.)
Liz, her brother Matthias, and her sister Sheila picked us up from the airport and drove us to their house in Luzira (a town about 20 minutes outside of Kampala). Matthias was nice and drove slow for us on the windy roads so that we wouldn't get sick. He told us he liked to sing, and the next thing we knew, he was putting on a concert for us, singing Kenny Rogers covers...I love how there is no pretending to be shy here about talent.
Liz's family is wonderful! Everyone is smiley, chatty, loving, and wanting to feed us constantly. Mountain Dew just found it's way here two months ago and it's the new thing...we are trying to avoid it as much as possible, which is a bit hard to do since they are so excited about it. Her family is totally spoiling us by giving us our own bedroom, while in the room next to us, 3 of the sisters are sleeping together with just a curtain covering the doorway.
This morning we had our first African shower experience...I had to ask Liz to give me a tutorial at first, as I wasn't really sure where to begin. There is a small basin (wide enough to just put both feet in it and at most ankle deep) on the floor that you fill with water, and sponge bathe from there. Next to that, is a hole in the ground that you go to the bathroom in, and in the corner is a sink where you can wash your hands, brush your teeth, etc.
We spent the day driving around...I am loving just looking out the window and seeing what life looks like. Lots of people get around by foot, bicycle, scooter, taxis (which look like minivans with about 20 people inside), and then some by car. Bicycles are often used just to lighten the load...they walk along side of it while holding a huge pile of things on top to push home.
Ryan got a guitar today! We met the guy who made it, took a look around his factory (a small tin hut), and plan on playing it this evening.
We are going to go watch the fireworks to bring in the New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!
p.s. my nose ring seems to be getting a little infected since being here...please pray that it gets better soon as I have no idea what to do for it!...thanks!

1/2 way to Africa!

We arrived in London yesterday afternoon after a 10 hour flight...and tomorrow we'll fly 10 more hours to Uganda! We are excited, to say the least. Today was great toting around London. The sky was blue, yet the wind was chilly.
Highlights:

-The changing of the guards...we actually arrived about 2 minutes too late to see the guards change at Buckingham Palace, but we were able to see them change at all of the smaller guard stations. Lots of stomping, pomp and circumstance. One girl got a little too close while taking a picture (she tried linking arms with the guard--a big no no)...the guard yelled, stomped his foot, and hit his bayonette a few times...I wasn't so sure about getting a photo after that, but Emma (Liz's brother who we are staying with) insisted we go up. (All pictures to follow our return).

-Big Ben (I got a picture for you Big Ben!)

-Westminster Abbey

-The British Museum (we did a great guided tour with London Walks).

-And, one of our favorite spots was a great restaurant in the basement near Covent Gardens...nice and cozy!

Well, dinner calls us now...more when we return to Arizona!

Almost there...

Our bags are packed! Ryan and I are each bringing a backpack for our personal clothes, and then 2 suitcases each of things to leave there. It's a little intimidating to think of lugging all that around, but thankfully someone is picking us up in London, and also in Uganda, so we won't have to be the total Americans on public transportation with a gagillion bags. I probably won't have much internet access while I'm there...so ta ta for now...see you January 13th!

Gifts for Uganda!

So, I've been slowly collecting gifts to bring over with us to Uganda. The problem I'm having though is that I am naturally drawn to everything African looking, and well, I don't necessarily think they are needing me to bring them something from the States that looks African, when they can get that right where they are...and probably much more beautiful looking...and not made in China.
I was absolutely appalled when I was at Target looking for a Baptism card to bring Charlene and all of the cards that had babies on them were white babies. Hello, this is the year 2008 (almost 2009), why is this sort of thing acceptable? I live in a community that is largely Catholic Latino, at least give me Latino babies on the cards!

Glad yesterday is over...

Ryan had an endoscopy yesterday morning, so I went with him to be his designated driver home. He has different reactions to the anesthesia every time. When he had one done when we were in Boston, he became Mr. Funny Man and wouldn't stop singing Jason Mraz, trying to get every word in during the "rap" sections...the nurses and I were laughing until we almost peed our pants.
Last year's endoscopy left him very very sick.
And this year, he became Mr. Well-Informed. The nurse told me that Ryan told her all about why she needed to do certain biopsies and how they are done. She asked if he was a medical student, and he just replied with "I get these done all the time." The best part, is that Ryan doesn't recall any of this conversation, nor does he really know why or how to do the biopsies.
As for the need for the endoscopy, Ryan has something called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE) and Barrett's Esophagus, so he needs to get regular endoscopies to monitor how his esophagus is doing. Nothing to worry about, but feel free to pray about!

So, as for the title of this blog...I couldn't seem to get anywhere with anything yesterday, no matter how hard I tried. While I was waiting in the doctor's office with Ryan, I tried sewing some mittens for a Christmas gift. After I finished the last stitch, I tried them on only to find that I had made two left handed mittens!

While Ryan was sleeping at home, I decided to run some errands on the other side of town that I had been procrastinating, only to get to the store and find out that it's closed on Mondays!

I decided to head home to check on my patient, but instead of being a caregiver, I fell asleep for 3 hours.

Walgreens pharmacy informed me that NONE of Ryan's prescriptions that the doctor wrote will be covered by insurance.

And, when I finally started making dinner at 9:30pm, I discovered that the ground beef had gone bad.

Today has been much better though so far. It's rainy and cool (60s) here, which has the same sort of feeling as a snow day (although not nearly as pretty). I stayed in my pajamas until 10:30am, and even then I just put on some yoga pants and a shirt that I thought looked presentable for going out and about. We are heading over to Papa David's tonight for Christmas with him...I'm looking forward to spending time with family for the holidays, and it all starts today!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

p.s. for anyone wondering, the previous post is NOT a photo of me, although I do hope I look that beautiful when I'm pregnant some day. :)

7 months

Beautiful.

Christmas Craftin'!

A little glimpse of what I've been up to lately...

Coasters


Stationary Wrap




Mittens made from recycled wool sweaters...

A little remodeling...

The master bathroom shower has always been on the "needing to replace" list. And, we decided to just go for it this winter. Unfortunately I forgot to take a "before" photo, which I'm a little sad about. But here's the final product (it still needs to be washed, but we have to wait for the grout to dry)...

Winterhaven!

Winterhaven is a neighborhood in Tucson that likes to take Christmas decorating to the next level. Here were a few of my favorites...

Christmas lights in time with the music:


The 12 days of Christmas all in one yard!

12 drummers drumming...


11 pipers piping...


10 Lords a leaping...


9 Ladies dancing...


8 Maids a Milking (MY FAVORITE!)


7 Swans a Swimming...


6 Geese a laying...


5 golden rings...


4 Calling birds...


3 French hens...


2 Turtle Doves...


And a partridge in a pear tree!


Where else besides Winterhaven could someone have Santa buried in the sand in their front yard without seeming a bit crazy?


Snow, skiing, ice skating...this person must not really be from Tucson... (please note the oversized barbie doll behind the white picket fence on ice skates)...

Visitors!

Last weekend our friends Will and Orla visited from Boston! It's a fun treat to have people we know so well from somewhere else come visit where we live now. It was also a great reason to stop and be still over the weekend and just live in the moment with friends.

We went to the DeGrazia Art Gallery, one of my favorite places in Tucson. I've probably posted photos here before from there, but I love it so much that I'm going to post them again. :)

Outside the gallery, what also used to be Ted DeGrazia's home:


Outside the Chapel:


Inside the sanctuary:


We hiked the phoneline trail in Sabino Canyon. I never knew the leaves changed color in AZ, but we learned they do!...beautiful golden leaves decorated the taller trees in the canyon.

It's True!

For my birthday, Ryan took me to get my nose pierced! I've been wanting to get it pierced for several years now, but just never quite had the courage to do so. The guy who did my piercing told me that if I've ever had my eyebrows waxed, then I've experienced far worse pain that what it would feel like to get my nose pierced...such a lie...it hurt big time!

Pacing as my jewelry was getting sterilized...


I feel like piercing and tattoo parlors have such a bad rap for being dirty, but it's just not true. I actually would dare to say that this place was cleaner than most dentist/doctors offices...not sure what that says about my dentist/doctor, but it's true. Everything was super sterile, I wasn't allowed to touch anything, everyone used gloves, etc. I was very impressed with the cleanliness.

Before...


After...


I must admit, I love having my nose pierced! Walking around the grocery store, doing laundry, etc...I don't know what it is...but I'm enjoying it. The funny thing, is though, is that NO ONE says anything about it. At first I thought that it was because a.) they didn't like it, or b.) what do you say anyway? But, I'm realizing (through people telling me) is it's because it's not very noticeable...a good thing in my opinion. I didn't want anything big, just a little sparkle, and I think I succeeded in getting just that.

The Great Cover Up!

There is an annual 3-day musical happening in Tucson every year called The Great Cover Up where local Tucson bands take the stage covering other mainstream acts. Ryanhood is participating for the first time this year...their disguise? Flight of the Conchords! I've included a youtube video of one of their performances...if you haven't heard/seen them before, have fun...they're fun...



In preparation for this event taking place tomorrow night, Ryan has been growing a beard, and we bought a wig to try to get the hair looking just right. In the picture online, the wig looked PERFECT for Ryan's character, however once we got it...it looked like a total clown wig. So, to the Hair Tree we went to try to get it cut/straightened/real curled/etc.


This morning when he tried on the wig though, he thought it still needed some trimming. So, it was my turn to cut away. The one thing that I didn't take into consideration when I offered to cut it, was that Ryan comes from a beauty salon family. (His mom owns a salon, his grandma used to cut hair, etc.) I was quickly getting requests for jagged cuts as to not make it look to straight...to thin it out...and to put layers in it...I did my best. :) It was fun, and the wig looks rockin' now!



If you are in Tucson and want to come...Saturday night (Dec. 13)...10pm (please note the time change)...Club Congress.

200!

Well folks, this is my 200th blog post since it's conception in March of 2006. I originally had thought that I'd do something fun and list my 200 favorites...but to be honest all I have time for is a short post. :) A couple of friends have had this video on their blogs, and well, I like it...so I wanted to share it with all of you!

Hike!

Ryan and I went for a hike last week on the Finger Rock trail in the Catalina Mountains. It's a beautiful place to hike at sunset. We got off to a bit of a late start so we didn't get to hike as far as we had hoped to...yet the view was still breathtaking.

Happy Birthday Vitale!

Today was Vitale's first birthday! Having Vitale and all of his family in our life has been such a joy! I have been wanting to go to Africa ever since I can remember, and I am soo excited that we'll be heading there in a few weeks!! But, Ryan brought to my attention today how cool it is that God has brought Africa to us by means of having wonderful friendships with people from there all around us. It's true, if it weren't for God sending Liz to my doorstep (literally) 5 years ago, we wouldn't be going to Uganda this month. And if it weren't for God urging us to the ESL camp this summer (that we were so on the edge of not attending), we wouldn't have met our friends from Congo! It's been a gift to be apart of their vibrant community, and we got to see an even bigger picture of that today at Vitale's birthday party! The church community that Bienvenue, Elodie, and Vitale are a part of was having a house warming party today for a place they were just able to purchase to hold community gatherings, ESL classes, etc in...and it just so happened to coincide with Vitale's birthday, so they threw a party in celebration...this was the first traditional American birthday party that any of them have ever been to! Bagimba, the pastor the church, is from Burundi and just came to the States 18 months ago as a refugee...he has accomplished sooo much in such a short period of time, it humbles me. He has started this entire church which now has over 100 people, mostly consisting of refugees in Tucson...it just goes to show what a need there was in Tucson for such a gathering place.

Here is a video of some of the music that was sung at the party...


Prayers for Vitale...


Birthday cake...


Piñata...


Onlookers...


Candy Gatherers...


Presents and Vitale's acceptance speech (he was a man of few words)...


Sound asleep...


While at the party, I saw some great ways to carry babies...can't wait to have some vibrant colored fabric and a baby on my back!

Happy Baby Shower Melissa!

On Saturday Melissa's sister, Valorie, and I had a baby shower for Melissa at our house. It was a wonderful gathering of girlfriends sharing in tea, food, crafts, laughs, and hugs. We are so excited to have Baby Giambelluca join our community of friends and family in Tucson!

Thanksgiving!

Sorry I am a little slow with blogging lately. We have been thoroughly enjoying our time at home in Tucson. This afternoon we are planning to have lunch at one of our favorite little spots downtown and then go for a hike in the Catalinas.

We had a wonderful full day of thanksgiving last Thursday! I ran a 5k cross country race in the morning with Ryan's Uncle Terry. It had rained earlier that morning so the typical water pit and hay bale lain course was also covered in mud and rain-filled washes...it was a sloppy adventure...luckily our car wasn't clean so we could get in without any worries of dirtying it any more. :)


After the race we went over to Grandmo and Grandpo Green's for brunch! Ryan has a lot of cousins on that side of the family, so it was fun to be able to see a lot of them and have a non-turkey meal to start out the day.

Lori hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at her house with Grammie, Sara, and us. Having just a small group was really nice to get to chat with everyone and have some meaningful time as we shared what we were all thankful for.

And then in the evening we went to Chris and Melissa's to celebrate with friends!

Matt and Abby making the mashed potatoes...


Ben carving the ham...


Elodie and Vitale...


Marie...


Filling plates...


A wonderful celebration with friends!