The things I miss most about Dereje

It's really hard sometimes realizing that Dereje and I are so far apart! We're in completely different time zones, hemispheres...let alone continents! So...I have decided to dedicate this blog to listing some of the reasons that I love love love my husband-to-be.
1. I love the way he thinks he can wear striped ties with plaid shirts.
2. I love the way if I even have something as simple as the common cold - he still finds a way to diagnose me with words I do not understand.
3. He loves the fact that I can be a complete control freak - and has gotten really good at letting me think I'm in complete control even if I'm not.
4. He's getting close to figuring out that I'm sarcastic pretty much all of the time - and when I'm not being sarcastic he's figured out that I'm just plain tired and might need a nap.
5. And most of all I love my husband-to-be because he is one of the kindest, gentlest, intelligent, handsome man that I have ever known!

I can't wait till we get to be together again! We just have a month and a half left to go!

Along with baby blessings there are also many preparations being made for the wedding!

Right now we're pretty much in baby mode waiting for Megan's baby...but we all also realize that there are lots of things that have to be done for the wedding - and it's probably best to get them done before baby "B" comes into existence! So, as for wedding preparations... a lot is happening. My mom and I went to a tasting for one thing:
It was really neat to taste the food - especially because I'm sure I'm not even going to be able to remember what the food tastes like when we get to the wedding because of all of the excitement - but I'll always have the tasting to remember! One other important wedding preparation that's been going on is getting Ana ready to walk down the aisle!
Ana is practicing her walk everywhere we go...but I'm still pretty sure (and secretly hoping) that when it actually gets to the event she'll forget everything she's practiced and just start spinning circles (which is her normal state of affairs on a daily basis)!

If pregnancy was contagious....

I would likely be with child at this moment. One of Megan's events for my Mom and I today was a "blessing" - This might sound like we were going to spend a little time in a church, or maybe even do a little meditation; but no, in Megan's world this means that she surrounds us by pretty much everyone that she knows who's pregnant and we "bless" the new baby's upcoming entry into the world. This was Megan's Blessing:

Not since the streets of Amsterdam have I seen so many breasts on display and open for business. This Blessing consisted of three main activities. The first was collecting beads from everyone to make Megan a "labor" necklace...She's supposed to wear this necklace during labor to give her strength...I happen to think that by the time she goes into labor she may just want to tear anything associated with labor apart, but who knows, maybe she will find solace in shiny objects.
The second activity consisted of each participant writing a "fear" of motherhood and then burning the fear in the fire.
This was a neat activity especially neat and seemingly cathartic as it was realized that pretty much all mothers, whether they are actual or potential, share the same fears.
Lastly, was the final activity...the painting Megan's belly with Henna!


This activity is going to be the one that keeps on giving...Megan has a Doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and we're all pretty excited to see his reaction!

North Carolina here we come

We made it to North Carolina! Megan is now, officially, allowed to give birth- she's at 39 weeks, and, now that we're here, we're ready for a new little one to play with (and by "play with" I mean nourish into this world- or whatever little kids need when they're just out of the shoot). Megan is ready to POP any day - but according to Eric (who is much more statistically inclined than any of us) she only has a 29.6% chance of giving birth in the next week - I think that there is a better chance that it might snow, but let's not talk to the pregnant lady about numbers!To meet us at the airport was also my beautiful niece/goddaughter! She has grown so much! She can now say "Aunt Manda" and "Uncle Dereje" with ease! She's a handful, but she's also a whole lot of fun!

I'm Home

First and foremost, I should apologize for keeping so quiet since I have been home!  Truth be told, I have been here about a week and I just got around to unpacking my bags tonight!  Ever since I got home I have been in total wedding mode, and have gotten a ton of stuff done!  My wedding dress is bought, my flowers are chosen, the cake is picked out....So all I really have to do is get my groom here!  

Unfortunately, one thing that has welcomed me back to the united states is some weird kind of bug bite...seriously, leave it to me to have to come back from Africa to the United States to end up with some unknown bug bite.  I have no idea who or what the culprit is...but I have ended up with welts all over my body due to some kind of crazy allergic reaction.  Luckily, it's getting better now, but it's the excuse that I'm using for not being able to blog for a little while now!  I promise to keep thinks updated about the wedding as much as I can - and I will certainly post some pictures!  

In the Words of Ozzy Osbourne: "Mama I'm Coming Home"

Dereje and I have decided to make our move back to the states! My move will be much faster than Dereje's…but his will be soon to follow! My move is so fast that I'm happy to announce that I am coming home to Phoenix on SATURDAY!

Dereje is following on Nov 4^th! We're so excited to start our life and to get married on DECEMBER 1^st.

Okay, so I think that I have thrown way too many dates into this blog, but it's just good to have everyone know what the plan is!

We're so excited be close to phoenix and to be close to my family!

We're also excited to be closer to Megan and her family and to be the best Aunt and Uncle we can to our niece and her sibling on the way!

Life Should Consist of Journeys In Every Form!

Take a look at this picture:I'm sure you're thinking: "looks like lots of other pictures you take, in fact, you could be anywhere."

But you would be wrong. This picture was taken atop a beast named Shocka (as in Shocka Khan).

Dereje and I decided to celebrate getting his visa in style…Botswana style (that translates to going on a game drive on the back of an elephant). The ride was just amazing! Dereje and I got to ride together which was a lot of fun...and made us feel better about being up on the biggest elephant we had ever seen because we got to do it together!

A little bit into the ride we started to get a little bit comfortable.We got to feed our guy halfway through the trip…just to remind him that we were friend, not foe!

Dereje even gave our guy some pellets of food (Even though anyone who knows him knows that he hates having animals breath on him…which is a necessity upon feeding an elephant).

We made this adventure with our very good fiends Timmy and Nebu…who are often with us on any of our crazy adventures (basically, Timmy and I drag our men to anything we find remotely amusing). The trip ended on a wonderfully high note with a little bit of champagne and a great breakfast.
At the end, we got to say good bye to our faithful elephant! I think that Dereje's expression says it all…he liked the elephant ride, but wasn't yet ready to adopt our elephant and bring him home to the States…as for me…it was really tough to leave my new "little" Shocka!
p.s. Just for your information…climbing up on the back of an elephant is far from easy…it might have made sense to have a ladder or some kind of stirrup…but I need to remind you that this is Botswana where, instead of a ladder, some guy offers his hand and tries to hoist you up the side of these huge elephants…I'm sure you can imagine how graceful that whole scenario was!