15 Months Old to 14 Years Old...

*ACTUALLY... I first went to TZ when I was 15 months old and stayed a year, came back to the U.S in 2002, and went back to TZ in February of 2005, I turned 6yrs old that October...and I was there until May of this year (2014:).*

....remembering life in Africa...for the most part, the things that pop up in my head, are the peaceful:

~nice, sun-shiney mornings.

My room is actually on the other side of the house. :)
Or was for a time..and then we switched up and  then back. lol

The sun coming through the round window in my room, cause thats the side of the house that always seemed to have the sun shining on it. {We did move rooms a couple a lot of times, [and houses] but this room was a balcony above the living room, in the house we stayed in the longest and moved back in a second time (realizing it was the best).
*side note..there was no "perfect" house in TZ..every single one had problems with water, electricity, ect. We moved about six times, once being a temporary house, in order to minimize and get ready to leave TZ..whew...* 
I loved how the whole house was set up..just everything about it..almost...lol. The yard and just the whole thing..it was my favorite house there. }
And just the peaceful day..it was most always just nice weather...with a slight breeze. Ah...:)

This is the road from our house. :)

~walks.
In the evening, to the school, to either tell dad something, bring him something, or take the kids to see the rabbits...{lol}

~runs.
(or more like jogs...hehe)
I really only started jogging the last few months we were there, and it was only every now and then...*yeah..I'm not very consistent with anything...:/* ...but I really liked the wind against my face...the dirt road...(that had been graded several years before..so it was pretty smooth) and just the peaceful evening sky...




I realize all this happens in America the Beautiful...but it seemed kinda different in TZ...because  of the different surroundings I guess..for the first several years we lived in Africa, in Kisongo, it was mostly just land..then they started building...{ugh}...and it wasn't quite the most amazing sight after that...but it was still pretty...{depending on the direction you were looking in...haha}

This is the road from the school,
and you can either take the road and make a turn,
or just go up the hill beside it ( > )
and make a shortcut to it. :)

Mt. Meru

If you'll notice the balcony in the full picture of the house, this is it,
with a gorgeous view of the sun..probably around 4-5pm

This is also pretty close to us, you just walk a little from the school.
Thats also Mt. Meru in the back...if you notice the corn from the other pic.

:) Hello

 The past few days consisted of:

school, 

housework,

a singing,

school,

housework,

{yeah, I realize I repeated it..lol}

and just the norm,

Hope y'all have had a good week so far! 

Just a picture to complete this super short/simple post!

Me and my pretty, pretty cuz...Olivia! :)
May 2014

{This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. 

Psalms 118:4}

Quotes to help you through your day: 

"EVERYDAY IS A SECOND CHANCE"

~Life is so much brighter when we focus on what truly matters~

{do not give up...the beginning is always the hardest...}

(And lastly...just a cute/funny something from our beloved cookie monster...

"Sometimes Me Think, 'What is a Friend?' Then me say, 'Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.' " 

Hehe! Have a good rest of the week!!!! :) 

My Favorite Color Is October....

"LISTEN! The wind is rising, the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings,  now for October eves!  -Humbert Wolfe

{She's almost here...just down the road a bit...only nine days...

and then...the wonderful month of October}

~"I'm so glad to live in a world where there are October's" -Anne Of Green Gables~

just thought these were some  pretty pictures to post...:) 

Hit The Road Summer

~

"Wake me up when September ends."

Lol

~

Just for a final touch....

KEEP CALM

Its almost my 

BIRTHDAY MONTH

And yeah, there's me...:) 

The School Also Gave Us One....:)

So, we had THREE parties thrown for us...so sweet!!!
This was specifically from the Andrew Connally School of Preaching...from the employees, teachers, students, ect. :)

I enjoyed helping in the kitchen!

Something sorta like cole slaw...but no mayo or anything.

Arm wrestle!!

Our table..in the front of course...lol 

Food table...btw...the painting in the back: Done by Anita Hochdorf

WATERMELON! 

Yay!

So purty!

Food! And some more AWESOME paintings!

Oh...I LOVE this stuff!

*sitting down...lol*

SODA!

Most of these sitting down are students.

Fixin' my hair...hehe

Everyone but mom...:)

Stuart looks a little hesitant...lol

:)

*eat it up*

Mr. Elly, his family has been with the team since the beginning.
They helped us so much during our very first year...:)
You might remember the pictures of Mary and Miriam..there his daughters. :)

They gave us a plaque.....really sweet. 

Almost the whole family...theres a space back there for Todd and Lauren! Yay!

The employees and us.

The students, employees and us. :)


Thank you all so much!!!

....Thank you!.....

This was the farewell party that the missionaries gave us....*we had THREE farewell parties:)* The remaining missionaries are the Stafford's, Hochdorf's, and the Gaines'!  They were really sweet. 

*So we  brought our camera, but none of us were taking pictures...so,  sweet Mrs. Tiffany, picked the camera up and snapped away! Thank you! I'm so glad she did! *

So...the pictures will say a little more than I can...lol

:)))))))))

Heather and Abby...when the Gaines' first arrived in Tz...six months before this,
Heather and Abby took a picture pretty much exactly like this...same spot...same sides. :)

Naomi and Lily Evans, her family are missionaries in Iringa, about a two day trip from us. :/

Sean Hochdorf, holding Levi Gaines....Levi is so adorable!

L-R Mrs. Gaines, Mrs. Hochdorf and Mrs. Stafford.

Lindsey and Matthew.

The kids table

The group....

Me, Abby, Heather, and Emma Evans!

I'm not gonna name all these people...lol

Mr. Gaines holding the present that the missionaries gave us. 

*unwrapping it*

*From another angle...lol*

It was awesome!

*looking on*

Aw

Us girls held hands during "A Common Love"

Well, you know who we are...

A bunch of us....

First side...."God Bless The Gee's" and "Have a Safe/Good Trip"

*"Talk"....Heather's motto*

She is such a sweet girl!

The whole group..except the visitors.

It was really nice!!! Thank y'all so much!!

{ Living in Africa...it was an awesome opportunity that not many people my age get. Having me spend ten years of my life there was one of the best things my parents ever did for me...and my siblings...:) I  have four more precious siblings, an awesome friend...and just an amazing experience all-together. }