What's Not To Love?

Today I've been home from Uganda for a week.

And this is the first time I've blogged. 

In my defense, I came last Tuesday night after about twenty-three hours of not sleeping and left again on Thursday to go see Libby at theater camp. I didn't REALLY come home until Saturday, still jet-lagged and craving only two things: my own bed and time with my babies. Turns out they missed us more than just a little, and they needed some time with mom and dad minus computer distractions. 

But really, it's more than that. Last week, my heart stretched in about ten new directions. 

I'm still sorting through all that I experienced. And when I do blog about it, I want it to be as true of a reflection of what I saw and heard and felt as possible; I want to do it justice. 

So please be patient with me. It's coming....soon. I promise. 

But for now, let's take a little glimpse into our time in Africa. 

This was taken at the start of our flight...while we were still excited about sitting in the same place for twelve or so hours. 

I loved the craziness that is the Kampala streets and traffic. If nothing else, it's always interesting. 

I have been craving roadside chipote since about an hour after leaving Uganda. ((I may or may not have spelled chipote correctly....you can't exactly count on spell check for that one.) 

I made so many new little friends, and their images are burned into my memory. 

I could have sat forever on our patio, enjoying the AMAZING, beautiful weather. It was eighty degrees, breezy, humidity free, and perfect. 

I loved riding around in this ole' beauty, big windows, three sunroofs, and refrigerator included. 

These two precious pies we stayed with were all kinds of adorable. Thanks, Grace and Sophie, for being so welcoming to us. Your parents were pretty darn cool too. 

I am still in awe of seeing this...in the middle of the road. Oh, Ugandan life, you are so entertaining.....

.....and so breath-taking.

About the only things I didn't enjoy about our trip were hauling these heavy things around......

....and sleeping under a mosquito net. 

Again, thank you for your patience. God is so good, and He did some great things while we were in Africa. 

And I promise to be back with more very, very soon. 

Overwhelmed

OK, so I know I promised a funny, albeit embarrassing post before we left. Will you still love me if I promise to post it when we get back? I'm just not feeling it tonight. 

Instead, tonight I'm feeling only one thing: OVERWHELMED. 

That sounds bad; that word often carries such negative connotations. In this instance, however, it's a good thing. 

My heart is so, so full. I have blessed beyond measure with the out pour of love and support from my friends and family. People I haven't spoken to in years have come out of the woodwork to support and encourage us. And every time that I've felt the edges of doubt starting to creep in, someone has called, or texted, or facebooked, or e-mailed, or left a blog comment, or shown up at my door. And with each new message and word of encouragement, God is confirming that this is the right thing. This is His plan for us right now. And while I completely realize that in the big scheme of things the work I do and the difference I make in Uganda will be extremely minimal, I still know that this is the only option I have; I have been called to go and to do whatever it is that I can to make a difference with what I have. 

My biggest source of concern and nervousness? 

My girls, of course. 

Oh, how I love these babies. And while I know they'll be well taken care of, it's just hard. I've been away from them before, but five days has been my limit. This will be more than double that. And it's scary. I could be consumed with a long series of 'what if' questions. But I'm choosing to trust God. If He has called us to go, then He has also called our girls to be prepared to have parents who will go. 'They will be fine' is playing on repeat in my head. 

Instead of focusing on how much I will miss them and the chaotic life we often lead here, I am focusing on this: 

There's that verse again.....the one that calls to me in my sleep and never really leaves the forefront of my thoughts. I am ready to give and to use until I simply can't give or use any more. I've been asked a LOT of questions lately in regards to our trip, but the one that has stood out the most is WHY? Why would we go to Africa to serve this children and these people a world away? 

Simple. If those were my babies, I'd want someone to come. I'd want them to drop everything, and sacrifice, and sell a ton of t-shirts, and paint canvases until they can't paint canvases any more, and rearrange everything, and leave their own children and the comfort of their cushy beds and comfy, air-conditioned homes, get a ton of shots, fly across the ocean, and come. 

Although we won't know for sure what we'll be doing until we get there, we're hoping the following will be on the agenda: 

-a visit to more than one of the children's prisons and time to serve there

-attending church  (I am so stinkin' excited about this. Church in Africa? Sign me up yesterday.)

-a day trip to Jinja, where we'll get to see the Nile River

-serving in a children's school. This one is especially exciting to me seeing as how summer school ended today, meaning that I may have taught for the very last time today. How could will it be if instead my last time to teach is in AFRICA? 

-loving on as many precious babies as is physically possible

Oh, and did you know that next Tuesday, the day we will arrive in Uganda, Lee and I will celebrate our anniversary? Yes, I'm serious. What a better way to celebrate our time together than in serving. 

This verse is on our fridge. And although I look at it every day, it stood out to me tonight. 

I am so ready to see what I do not know. 

Five. More. Days.

I can't believe it's almost here. 

Literally. 

I honestly can't believe it. 

I've been dreaming about going to Africa for so long that it's hard to accept the fact that it's staring me in the face. 

I'm packing, I'm preparing, I'm praying, but it still hasn't quite hit me that I'll be using these shiny new babies in five days: 

What has hit me, however, is how much I'm going to miss my babies. 

If you know me in real life, you know I'm not a homebody in any sense of the word. I am always on the go and can only recall being homesick twice in my whole life. But, that was before I had babies. 

I know they'll be completely fine and very well taken care of (by this I mean one step shy of spoiled rotten), but there's just something about knowing that we won't be together as a family for TWO WEEKS that makes me have a big ole knot in my chest. I can't stop kissing them. I can't stop videoing them. I can't stop obsessing over packing their bags just right so that they will be as happy as possible while we are gone. And, I know this will sound funny, but I'm praying not to miss them. By this I mean I am asking God to let me miss them but not to let me miss them to the extent that I can't focus on the work I am trying to do in Uganda. 

I've read and researched until I simply can't read or research any more. I feel as though I'm as prepared as I can be. But can we ever really be prepared to witness the kinds of hurt and poverty that exist around the world? 

I've had several people ask me if I'm scared to go. Scared? No. I am completely confident that God will take care of us and that our needs will be met. However, my biggest fear is in regards to my heart. I am confident that I won't be the same after seeing first-hand the lifestyle, the joys, and the sorrows of those in Uganda. How could I be? No part of me expects this to be easy, and the long term effects of this experience have me a little on edge. Change is never easy, especially when our hearts are concerned. 

People have also asked me for specific prayer requests. 

Here are a few in case you're interested: 

- Safe travel. This may sound simple enough, but we'll be traveling for four days during our trip (two days there and two days back). This will include about eight flight changes and two very long layovers. Please pray that all goes smoothly. 

- The weather. Today there was a very deadly mudslide in north-eastern Uganda. Please pray for the families who were hurt and for those who are missing. Please pray that the weather won't interfere with us serving others. 

-Service opportunities. Please pray that we will have many opportunities to serve. We are aching to be used and are ready to give of ourselves to help others in whatever ways are needed. 

With that being said, I took a big ole package to the post office today, so if you've ordered a t-shirt or a canvas, be watching your mailbox. 

AND, once your shirt comes in, how about you take a picture of yourself in your new shirt and send it my way? Nothing would make me happier than to come home to an inbox flooded with photos. E-mail your pic. to me at mccallald@yahoo.com or tag me on facebook, and I'll share your pic. on the blog. Sounds like a plan to me. 

My hopes are to post once more before we leave...I have a post in the works. One that has nothing to do with Africa but is full of embarrassing pics of yours truly. I will do my best to get it up and going before we ship out. As for blogging while we're gone, that is to be determined.

 I promise to try my best. Fingers crossed.

 It feels like the best Christmas ever is just around the corner, and I'm the six-year-old who's waiting for her very own pink pony. Not sure I've ever been this excited about anything in my whole thirty-two years........

AWE- to the -SOME

Today was terrible. I dropped everything, forgot everything, and messed everything up. I was literally in tears by nine o'clock this morning. And then I remembered what today was.....

Today is the day we celebrate going to Africa and being supported by some awesome people and one awesome toy company. It also happens to be the day that this little blog of mine reached 400, 000 views. How is that even possible? Wow. 

You may have noticed my new sponsor button from North American Bear Company. 

Let me just tell you about how wonderful they are. 

Well, you may recall last year when they sent my kiddos some of the most adorable toys EVER. 

And then I got an e-mail from them last week saying they wanted to send my kiddos some more super cute goodies and do something to help us raise funds for our upcoming trip to Uganda. 

HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!?

Take a look at the goodies that arrived on our doorstep today. 

This adorable kitty is supposed to be for Hollyn....good luck with that, right? 

And can I just TELL you how excited Libby is about having a friend over to make these tutus? Oh my stars, she is BEGGING already. 

Here are a few of my personal favorite things on their site: 

They have the best selection, and I LOVE how wholesome all of their products are. Their catalog reminds me of the kinds of toys I played with when I was a little girl. And while they did bless my kiddos TWICE with goodies, these opinions are 100% mine. I honestly cannot sing their praises enough. 

Okay, so here's the skinny: 

NORTH AMERICAN BEAR COMPANY WANTS TO GIVE $75 IN CREDIT TO ONE OF MY LOVELY READERS!

Do you even know what you could do towards Christmas at your house with $75 credit from their adorable company? Or the baby gifts you could stock up on? Or the summer fun you could bring to your homestead? 

I'm kinda jealous that I can't enter this one.....

Here's how you can enter: 

( You can choose ANY or ALL of these ways...pick whichever one or ones that catch your eye. Just please leave a SEPARATE comment for each thing you do; one comment equals one entry.)

- Check out North American Bear Company's website and tell me how you'd spend your dinero if you win.

-Make a donation of $1 or more towards our Africa trip. Seriously, EVERY $1 makes a difference. And are still several hundred dollars shy of our fundraising goal. I will be THRILLED with ever $1 that is donated. You can use the paypal button on my sidebar, it's as simple as that. 

- If you've ALREADY donated or bought a shirt or a canvas or some hair ties (which I just got another batch of, by the way), then leave a comment telling me what you did. 

-Follow my blog or remind me that you already do. 

-Like my blog on facebook or remind me that you already do. 

- SHARE about this giveaway any way you so choose (Twitter, facebook, pinterest, instagram, whatever your heart desires). Just leave a comment for EACH way you share. 

That's a LOT of ways you can enter to win. Libby will choose a winner on Friday afternoon. 

So get those entries in, good luck to all of you, THANK YOU in advance, and NORTH AMERICAN BEAR COMPANY--- thanks for turning my frown upside down today. 

Bittersweetness At Its Best

Today I did something I never thought I'd do; 

I packed up all my teaching goodies to give to a friend. 

There's no telling how many hours I've spent compiling all this material on everything from Of Mice and Men to Hamlet. I feel like I'm handing over the past nine or so years of my life in four milk crates and two boxes. 

The funny part? 

I'm so happy to do it even though part of me just wants to cry. 

Moving on and letting go is never easy, but I can say with confidence that I'm not supposed to teach any more. 

With that in mind, holding on this stuff when someone else could use would be nothing more than selfish, right? 

And for those of you who are wondering what exactly is up next for me.....great question. If you know for sure, please share. I know what I'd LIKE to do, but I'm waiting on a 'for sure' and a 'you're hired'. When I know, you'll know. Promise. 

Until then, I'll just focus on the smile that my friend is sure to have when I hand over my teaching treasures on Saturday. 

Here's hoping your Thursday is the best one yet. And if you've ordered a t-shirt, my order has been placed, and they should be in soon. Get excited. 

Tying It All Up

Today Libby and I would like to introduce you to our newest (and almost last) fundraising endeavor for our upcoming trip to Uganda to serve with Sixty Feet. 

We are selling these little numbers: 

They are super soft, super stretchy, and super in style, if that's your thing. 

The best part? If you have hair like mine that creases if I even look at it funny, these hairbands are NO CREASE!

I've also been told they help you not get headaches like some hairbands are known to cause. 

And Libby wants me to add that they make cute bracelets as well. 

If you're not up and up on these, they are all the rage among high school and college girls here in Mississippi.

And might I add that they sell for $3 EACH in Oxford? 

Seriously. 

We can surely beat that offer. 

We would like to propose a bag of FIVE bands for $7.00. 

Each bag has a random assortment of colors, but if there's a certain color you're looking for, let me know, and I'll see what I can do. 

You can pay via paypal or stick some dinero in the mail. If you need my address, just email me at mccallald@yahoo.com. Once you've paid, I'll stick a bag in the mail to you. 

Thanks again for your OVERWHELMING support as we try to help others!

A Great Night's Sleep...NOT

Once upon a time there was a super cute baby. 

Only this baby wasn't such a baby any more. 

So, this baby turned big girl got a brand new bed. 

She was so excited that the moment she'd be waiting for had finally come!

"My big dirl bed is here, Mama!" she said with glee. 

Her mom....and her sister....and her daddy all tucked her in for a good night's sleep. 

But sleep she did not. 

Instead she played Barbies until after 10:30. 

The End

Here's hoping for a better night's sleep for the wee one tonight. 

And don't forget: 

TODAY is the LAST day to place an order for one of our Africa shirts! 

See my sidebar for details, 

and THANK YOU in advance!