MOM & DAD'S VISIT

Mom and Dad
The best birthday present was to go to the airport and know that my mom and dad were going to be coming out any minute. I have been looking forward to it for months and now it was finally here. Travis was able to go in and help them with the bags cause he had his pilot uniform on, it was great for him to be able to help them with their bags and get them though quickly so they could get out to me faster. I loved seeing moms smiling face as she came out to meet me. I was glad to know that it was still possible for her to be smiling after such a long flight and her back was doing fine. With her back having been out recently we were really praying that the flight wouldn’t put her back down. I also loved seeing my daddy with his suit jacket on, I don’t know how he does it I always choose the most comfy close I have to travel in and he seems to do the opposite, but he sure does look nice.
The Next day it was my birthday, Travis’s birthday and Christmas all in the same day. Mom spoiled us with so many goodies they hardly all fit in the bags. It truly did feel like Christmas as we pulled it all out of the bags.
Mom also brought dance shoes, leotards (which had been donated by Steps of Faith) and colorful dance spots for my little ballerinas. A few of them had leotards from dress up but it was so fun to see how excited they were to get real leotards and shoes. One of the little girls was so excited about her shoes that she kept asking her mom if she could just carry them with her the whole day, and even sleep with them at night. It was so adorable!!!


Shopping in Kampala
Daddy headed up to Gulu (a town in Northern Uganda) with Timothy a friend of his who is from the area and is operating several development projects. Mom, Travis and I spent the day in Kampala showing her around the city and then taking her to a craft market and that is when the fun began. Ever since I have been here I really have NO drive to shop, Travis and I will be in Kampala picking up things like dog food and such and I will be ready to go way before Travis, however, with mommy at my side I was ready to go. We shopped and shopped and bargained and bargained some more and it was great. It was mostly little gift for mom to take home for people but it was just so much fun. Thank you mom for the great time!!!! Sorry Travis for having to wait around for us

The Haven
Poor mom has barely seen anything in Uganda, we took her to Kampala and she has seen a little bit of Entebbe but other than that she hasn’t really seen much. So when dad got back from Gulu we decided to take a little trip to Jinja. A few months ago I had found this really neat eco friendly lodge that is right on the Nile near some rapids. We had seen it when we were rafting the Nile and it was truly a beautiful place. I addition to its great spot on the Nile it is also in an area all to its own away from the hustle and bustle of Jinja. There are several different options for accommodations ranging from cute little bandas (huts) which share a community bathroom to the nicest of all a Honey moon sweet with a perfect view of the Nile and the rapids from almost the entire banda and a great big tub. Since the place wasn’t very busy the owner said that we could just choose what we wanted when we got there. Well we got lucky and when we got there Travis and I ended up being blessed with the Honeymoon sweet. The place was so beautiful that almost every moment we were there we were just soaking up the scenery and the nature. In the evening we went on a little boat ride up the Nile seeing many beautiful birds and also enjoying being surrounded by local fishermen, women gathering water, people washing clothes children splashing in the water and more. I will definitely upload some pictures from the trip when we get home. The trip up and down were quite eventful with some basket shopping, a random purchase of really cheap chairs to go on the porch, fitting back in the car with the random purchase of really cheap chairs to go on the porch, being pulled over by the police (we were speeding, ooops), paying for the speeding ticket, and checking out the fields and fields of sugar cane and tea.

Leaving mom and dad
It is a normal thing to take someone to the airport when they have been visiting your home for a while and it is time for them to return to their home but it is strange to say your goodbyes and then go in through the airport security and them stay. Something just isn’t quite right with that, it should go the other way around they should be going in through the security and you should be staying. Well we decided to put a little twist on the normal farewell that you usually encounter as you take someone to the airport. We decided to leave too and leave before them as well. Travis and I headed to Nairobi and mom and dad headed back to Georgia. Love you mom and dad.