24 Bags? Check!

Saturday morning came awfully early as I waited until late the night before to pack for Kenya. Trav dropped me at the airport, I was checked in and ready to go. Now, I will admit there are times when I really do have "blonde moments" and I chose this particular morning to let me hair color shine. I was at the airport 2 hours early and I missed my flight. How? Because I was sitting at the wrong gate! When it was time for my plane to leave I realized everyone who was boarding was going to Hawaii and I literally ran geographics through my head saying, " How can they stop in Atlanta on their way there?" Oh man. Thankfully, I caught a flight that left shortly after!


5 hours later I touched down in Atlanta. I'm sure people laughed as I ran to catch my hotel shuttle while dragging two 50lb suitcases and two carry on bags behind me! Arriving at the hotel to meet the team I saw a familiar redhead and heard a friendly voice; Scarlet, our team leader. Although I have not seen her in two years, that day it felt like it had only been a week. The rest of the team greeted me warmly, making me feel right at home. I am amazed at how on trips like this you have an instant bond with each other. You are all there for the same purpose and no matter what your background is or where you are from there is an incredible bond from the start. Here is a glimpse at our team. That way when you see pics or hear stories you will know who is who!

Joel: An ER physician from Albany, GA and Scarlet's husband. He has been going on medical mission trips for over 10 years. 
Scarlet: Pharmacist from Albany who takes on more than most people can handle yet always wears a smile! 
Pastor Earl: From a small Lutheran Church in Tifton, GA this was his first mission trip. 
Delana: A retired registered nurse from Albany, GA with a heart of service still. This would also be her first medical missions trip!
Katelyn: My roomie =) A pharm student at UGA and a heart of gold. She had been to Jamaica and Peru on mission trips but this would be her first where she would use her passion, knowledge, and skills to touch others.
Brenton: Pre-med at UGA and a desire to learn already. He as well had been on trips before and was anxious to shadow Joel, soaking up all he could.


A mixed group of people with one common goal: to be a light and show God's love to the people outside of Atemo. 


That night we went out to eat for our last supper. And did we ever eat. I haven't been so full in a long time. They sure know how to cook in the south. My mashed sweet potatoes and Oreo cheesecake was to die for! Plus, I was introduced to sweet tea. ( not without a little ridiculing that the California girl had never heard of it ;) The next morning we took our last shower for....what was it Katelyn, 3 days? Pastor Earl led a beautiful church service in the meeting room at the hotel and than we got to our packing party. Scarlet was given special permission for each of us to take three suitcases totalling 24 bags. All full of medicine and supplies for the clinics. Sorted, weighed, tagged, each one was carefully prepped for the trip. I am pretty sure we had to use all of the hotels baggage carts to get them to the shuttle.

Packing party!

One stuffed hotel room as we sorted and packed!

We had to take some non-medicine stuff to pass out ;) 

I think we had 6 of these things.

Before we knew it we were at the airport ( in the Delta lounge thanks to Scarlet and Joel!) ready to go! I was bursting with excitement inside. I knew I would never sleep so I popped a Tylenol PM, watched a tv show, and drifted into a fairly nice airplane sleep. 

With the kind KLM crew who helped ensure we could each take 3 bags

Coming Back Home

I have been home from Kenya for almost 3 days now but it feels like my trip was a lifetime ago. I have a camera full of pictures to edit, stories to write down, and things to share but I find myself unable to do any of them without coming to tears. Why? Because I miss it. I miss being there so much already my heart aches. While this may sound crazy and you may not understand, Kenya is my second home. 

This medical mission was a blessing in my life. Two years ago I fell in love and wasn't sure if I would ever make it back. Than a phone call came one day at a time when I was down about my purpose and God's plan, leading me back to be His healing hand once again. This time it was harder to leave. This time I really got to know the people who walk amongst the red clay roads, spend all day with backs aching as they tend to their crops, who carry jugs of water ( muddy water) for miles back home, and who have the brightest eyes and biggest smiles you will ever see. This time people became like family to me. Relationships were built that will last a lifetime. This time I saw a glimpse of my purpose in life; to be God's healing hand in the villages surrounding Atemo. 

I became a nurse for many reasons. First, I felt called. Led by the Lord into this field. Second, I truly love to care for others. But I now know that there was something more. That back when I was 17 and debating with my Dad about my future, God was already stirring inside me feelings about being a nurse because He knew one day I would use these gifts, these talents, and His love to reach the people in Kenya. No matter where my nursing career takes me. No matter what area of the hospital I will work in. I will always serve in Kenya as well. It's my calling. And someway, somehow I know God will continue to lead me back there throughout my life.

I have so many stories to share and so many pictures to show. I promise I will get to them as many have been asking to see how our clinics went. In the meantime, pray for this reverse culture shock I am going through. I didn't realize what I funk I was in until Trav told me I had been down ever since I returned. The hardest part about being there was not having Trav with me. The hardest part about being home is that he can't possibly understand what I saw, what I experienced, or how I feel. It's frustrating for both of us as I want so badly for him to know how things were and he wants to be at the same place I am. And of course, I don't want to be down. Yet there is a massive Kenyan sized hole inside me and I now need to pray about how I can serve from here. 

The one picture I have edited I will share about. This little babe came into my exam room on the last day of clinic in the village of Dago. After taking him from his mom I snuggled him through my exams on the family.  I didn't want to let him go and as I gave him a final squeeze I told my translator I was going to put him in my suitcase and take him home with me. I wasn't expecting the response I got. The mom looked at me and said, "Yes, please." After they left the room I sat down in slight shock. How could a mother be so quick to give her child to a mazungo? Ruth, my translator, filled me in on the life of these women. They work all day to tend to the crops, laundry, children, you name it while the men head into town, taking with them the crops that should be saved in case the family needs to trade for something and spend it on drinking and who knows what else. The women are left with the labor, often finding that they can't come up with enough food everyday to feed their whole family. Their families that are so large because they are forbidden to use any form of birth control. The men will not allow it so these 27 year old moms have 6 children and the burden of not being able to provide for them. On top of that many take on family member's children when the parents die of  AIDS and other diseases. So when she heard my comment to her it meant her child could finally be cared for in the way he needed. My heart broke.

Another prayer request is for next fall. I have been asked to come back. But this time, Trav will come too. As we pray over this we know that if it is in His plan for us to work side by side serving Him in Kenya things such as timing, funding for the trip, time off of work will fall into place. I am already excited at the possibility of serving with my husband and introducing him to a place I call home.

Celebrating the Bachelorette

With the wedding less than a month away, the final celebrations are taking place! Teri's bachelorette night was one to remember. And yes, we remember it all unlike the ever great movie The Hangover. 

A group of her close friends and us sister in laws headed out to Sgt. Peppers Dualing Piano bar in Long Beach. Heaping pile of nachos, loaded quesadillas, a blue moon or two, and some fun in store for the bride to be led to a great night out! The pianists had some fun embarrassing our Teri....but so did her friends! :-) Hey, that's what bachelorette parties are all about!

While what happens at the bachelorette party stays at the bachelorette party exists, here are some photos from the evening!

 Being sung to ...kinda... by some very awkward men

 Lovely group of gals

 Crazy face

 Hardeman ladies

 Her friends got her good

 Present time!

Weekend in AZ

A few weekends ago I headed out to Arizona to see the fam & pick up supplies collected for Kenya. The hardest thing about these trips is that they are just too short! I was blessed to have been able to see everyone out there & spend some time at each home. But I am definitely ready for a trip to AZ (and STL) where I can stay for a week and simply enjoy that time with family without being rushed!

I started out at my parents house. The day I got there was the day before the Royal Wedding. I was planning on staying up all night to watch it but than my mom surprised me by letting me know she was taking Friday off work & was going to stay up all night with me! ( She wouldn't normally do that but she has lots of vacation days to use up). To say this was a lifelong memory in the making is an understatement. What a fun night with my mom! We ate my dad's buttery popcorn, guzzled our coffee, and curled up on the couch as we watched history in the making....live. It was fun watching all the guests come in, feeling the anticipation for Will & Kate's arrival, critiquing hats, and more. We were troopers and made it all the way through to the balcony smooches! I am so thankful my mom and I had that time together. It's something I will hold close to my heart forever.

We had to hit the Anthem outlets but somehow my mom and I found ourselves in all the kids stores. Of course, this led to some plug-ins on more grandchildren....at least I know when we do have kids I can shop somewhere with great deals! My parents took me to eat at their "Ricardos." They hadn't found a good Mexican restaurant until recently and it was gooood. Nestled in the middle of the desert ( literally) it was secluded and open and had the perfect evening breeze blowing through the patio. I am looking forward to more trips here. Afterwards, we went to see their new house. Yes, they bought a place where they will move into in June. I love it. Absolutely love it. It is so perfect for them and I can already envision our kids eating my mom's 4th of July sundaes on their patio! 

Saturday was busy. It started off with Parker's soccer game. For being only 5 he has some serious talent. Kristel is already the "soccer mom" as she cheers louder than I think people do at professional games! It was fun surprising Park and seeing how much he has improved since the last game I saw. I will say he is tougher than I am out there getting right in the middle of things and taking some blows as goalie! We met up with Kody after his t-ball game for some breakfast. I headed over to Kristel's to pick up her straightener and play with all the kids for a bit. Oh how I wish I could have stayed for a few days!

At lunch time I headed down to Gilbert to see the Ermelings. They were just getting back from Tessa's soccer game! We had a fun afternoon with some Target shopping, toe nail painting, Littlest Pet Shop playing, and lots of snuggles. That night Lyns directed the younger version of "Godspell" at her school. Lexi sang in the chorus so Tess, Ryan, & I were able to watch the whole show. For junior highers they did great! ( Plus, they had the best director around!) The girls and I went for frozen yogurt after where we piled high our toppings and quick ate them before their parents saw ;) Again, too short of a time down in Gilbert. Time to head back!

I'm glad I was able to spend time with everyone even if it was short! And, I have to brag for just a minute because that's what aunts to best....

My niece Lexi is a natural born ballerina. Really, it's in her blood. I have been to watch her rehearsals where she is dancing with girls 3-4 years older than she is. I see how the teachers look at her different and how people comment on how good she really is for being only 9. I know without a doubt in my mind she is going to go far. But the best thing is, she loves it. It's this inner joy that comes out when she dances. There is always a smile on her face, not forced, just pure joy. My sister just sent me this picture which captured a moment showing just that. I wish I could see her dance in Sleeping Beauty but I know she will be wonderful!

( Lexi is the one on the far right!)

My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. For the first time ever I am not with him to celebrate it. The hardest part about their move is missing out on birthdays, holidays, and the upcoming Mother's & Father's Days. More than anything I wish I could give my dad a giant birthday hug right now and make him a feast for dinner. But, a phone call will have to do until I head out there next time. I never really do cards for birthdays but I started thinking about all the reasons why my dad is so awesome. All the sacrifices he has made over the years, his kindness, and what I love most about him. I thought it would be fitting to make my own birthday card on here about my one of a kind dad. 

My Dad...

...is truly a one of a kind. There is no one like him and I am awfully blessed to have him as my dad.

...has all the attributes of the fruits of the spirit. All of them. They are so hard for me to take on but I glance at him and all I see is love, patience, gentleness, kindness, peace, self-control, goodness, & faithfulness.

...give the best hugs you will ever have. In fact, to this day if I am around him you will most likely find me wrapped up in a bear hug from him

...lets me call him 18 times a day for reasons such as, " Had to tell you something quick!" or " Guess what?" or simply to say "Hi". Never once has he sounded annoyed by the multiple calls.

...used to let me tottle around behind him throughout the house as he fixed things. He taught me which tools were which and never seem irritated when I got in the way. ( Which I am sure I did many, many times)

...makes the best waffles you will ever have. I used to love waking up on Saturday mornings to the smell of freshly made waffles drifting up the stairs towards me. He still makes them when I come visit. Now he needs to give Trav his secret recipe!

...called me his " legally blonde" in his speech at our wedding. But aside from all the pink, the blondeness, and silliness he still pushed me to do the best I could in school. ;)

....speaking of school, he knew long before I did that I was meant to be a nurse. He never once let me give up but kept pushing me till I reached my goal. Hearing his voice when I told him I passed my boards will be something I remember forever for we traveled that road together.....and was it ever a battle!

...texts me to say," how is my favorite nurse today" 

...taught me how to throw a football with a perfect spiral. And taught me how to shoot a basket which earned lots of practice time at the LHS gym together. Because of him I will rarely miss a free throw shot leading him to tell Trav that we should settle our disagreements on the free throw line ;)

...surprised me at my wedding with lighting up our whole ball room with pink lights. I had no idea until they opened the doors for us to go in.

...has always let me cry or vent whenever needed. While he may be used to all the drama from 4 daughters growing up, there is still something about his calm presence that just makes everything better.

...is a rock. A man of faith and head of the household, I grew up praying I would be blessed with a man like my dad. He set the bar high for us girls when choosing a husband & we all wanted someone like our dad.

...served in Vietnam. He will play it off like it was nothing big but words can't say how proud I am to share with others what he did for our country. He is brave and admirable. His stories are incredible & I could listen to them for hours.

...has never said " I want..." Never. In all of my 25 years of living I have never heard those words come out of his mouth. On birthdays and Christmases we always ask him what he wants. The same reply every year is, " I don't want anything. I have everything I need." A gift to him is having our whole family sitting around the table, laughing and talking over one another as we reminisce. He doesn't need the "stuff" or the "things".

...took me to football games with him at an early age and patiently explained the game to me. From 3rd grade to just recently, Friday nights were spent at LHS games, arms raised as we cheered the team on. Because we shared this, football easily became my favorite sport to watch & I love sharing it with my dad.

...is the most thoughtful person I know. He is always thinking of others. His acts of kindness are not to get praise nor would he boast about them. From slipping packs of gum into my purse before I set out on a plane ride or on a drive, or making sure my favorite soda and coffee is at his house when I come visit is just a few of the many little gestures he does to show he cares. They are never overlooked, Dad. Thank you for everything.

...can make me cry by looking at me wrong. I never wanted to disappoint him. He never yelled growing up but that tone or that look where you knew you screwed up was enough to do me in.

...never had a son but is the best dad to daughters you could ever imagine. While he taught me sports, he always would sit down to play "Little People" or house. He would blow dry my hair for me to make it straight because I hated my rat's nest of curls on my head.

...has sacrificed so much for all of us. He gave up a lot of his time to drive us to sporting events, late night play rehearsals, friends houses and he never missed a game, a concert, a show, or anything.

...watched the real people Batman with me on Saturday mornings. I thought it was the coolest thing.

...rubbed my back every night before I fell asleep from age 2 to...well, some nights in high school! Between him and my mom they would switch off coming into my room to pray with me and than he would scratch my back till I fell asleep. I owe you about 100000 back rubs, Dad!

...always challenged me to be different and not settle for something that is easy. In 4th grade we had the mission projects. I wanted to do a gold mine. Not as easy as buying a mission kit from Michel's. But, my dad helped me build the coolest gold mine and while I am sure at times he wished it was a mission not a build from scratch gold mine, he never showed it to me!

...loves me even when I am moody., sarcastic, and impossible to deal with. He is a constant encourager, motivator, and a huge support. 

...is one of my best friends.

Dad, 

I wish more than anything I was celebrating in person with you today. But I am sending one ginormous hug through this blog to you. While I know I am not good at saying what I feel I will always say this. It meant something at age 5 and now at 25 it still comes from the bottom of my heart.

" I love you super duper bunches, whole lots of love!" 

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Emma ( #4....aka the favorite ;)

'Cuz You've Had a Bad Day...

Whenever I hear this song I picture my four year old nephew, Vander, singing it in this sweet voice with a great set of lungs. He doesn't know all the words but that one catchy phrase comes out crystal clear. Yesterday, while this song was playing through my head...well, while it was my theme song for the day...I was wishing I had Vander to sing it because it would have brought a smile to my face!

Do you ever just have a truly bad day? Where you wake up and you know from the start things will go wrong? I knew I was doomed when I made my cup of coffee, opened the fridge door, and saw we were out of coffee creamer. Now sure, I could have run to the store on any given day but we were in a rush to get to my aunt's house to meet the movers. I didn't even have time for a Starbucks run. Doomed. Yes, coffee does make my day better. That probably sounds awful but really, you don't want to be with me if I am missing it. ( Just ask my husband!)

The day snowballed. One thing after another went wrong. By 7:30 I was done with the day. My head hurt, I really could find anything positive to say, and poor Trav had to listen to my sarcasm whether he wanted to or not. It was one of those days where you want so badly to crawl into bed, pull the covers over your face, close your eyes, and wake up a new, fresh day. I would have done that in the car driving to Irvine if I could have!

But, as I look back on certain things throughout the day I can't help but laugh now. ( by no means was I laughing yesterday!) Here are a few laughable moments:

* My aunt's garage had been filled with mice. We realized this while the movers were moving our stuff out and the floor, our fridge, our dressers, everything was covered in mice poop. Nope, not laughing at that. I'm still disgusted. But while I was sweeping up all the poop and cleaning her garage for her I thought I caught a glimpse of a mouse and screamed! Loudly. My poor aunt was so startled until we realized it was a leaf blowing through the garage. Did I laugh than? Nope, just scowled to myself. ;)

* We rented a storage unit that we had before. While the movers were loading up to bring their next load in, I decided to go check out the unit we had. I went in to find that the light doesn't work in the unit...in fact, it will never work for some weird reason the facility gave us. Why that made me mad, I don't know. But as I was standing there fuming at how much we are paying for a unit that has a light not working, one of the movers came in with a load of boxes. I heard this thud and an, " Ow. woah, I can't see!" He had run straight into the back wall of the unit in the dark! Poor guy....I'm chuckling now just remembering it! Maybe it was good I wasn't in a laughing mood in front of him!

* I had to leave while they were unloading into our unit in Trav's car to run and get more cash because we were going to owe them more. I was flustered and ticked while in a hurry for who knows why. I pulled into this wannabe Circle K parking lot and got out of the car. Oh, but I left the car on and it started rolling forward as I was getting out of the door causing me to trip while staring in disbelief at how the car was still moving. As it hit the curb I jumped back in and jammed it in park. We won't tell Trav this one! 

* I was at the gas station down in Orange filling up after driving back from Irvine. I had to go inside to pay and when I came out there was a man collecting money for a homeless shelter. I dropped a dollar in and was about to keep walking when he said, " Mam, I hope you have a blessed day & a great Mother's Day!" Do you know what I did? Besides scowling, I turned to walk away ticked that this man thought I either had a child or was expecting. I than mumbled to myself I would never wear the outfit I had on again. Way to kill doing something nice. As I drove home the verse, " whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me" was trying to run through my head but I was pushing it aside with thoughts of, " Seriously, just because I am wearing a t-shirt does NOT mean I look like I am pregnant." Oh man, what in the world was I thinking....he meant no harm!

* In the afternoon I was already done for the day. Wanting to start a new one. I thought it would be great to lay by the pool and just relax, soaking in the sun. Except I talked on the phone the whole time which is fine but I layed facing the sun with one arm holding my phone to my ear and the other resting across my forehead to block the sun from my eyes. ( Oh yes, I lost my sunglasses yesterday too) I don't need to explain the tan line I have across my forehead nor my reaction when I saw it later last night. ;)

Here is a video of that song. 

Thankfully, today is a new & beautiful day. And yes, I have already had my coffee =)

Lazy Day

Since we had been going hard on the tourism our first few days, we decided to relax some on Saturday. And by relax I mean, sleep, eat, eat some more, sleep, eat again, basketball games, and some more eating. Yes, we ate our way through Saturday and it was simply wonderful.

We were referred to Portage Bay Cafe, an organic restaurant that looked heavenly online. We mapped it out on the computer and saw it was just 2 miles away. Perfect for a morning walk! We set out with the intention of walking up an appetite so that we could truly indulge ourselves in the toppings bar. We followed our directions exactly but where it told us the cafe was, there was none. Just a traffic light and a dead end. Odd. We must have missed something. We back tracked a little. Than a little more. Finally we gave up and decided to ask a gas station where to go. They had no clue. Weird, right? If the restaurant was in this area you would think they would know. Well, of course they didn't because Portage Bay Cafe was by the actual Portage Bay. Where were were? The opposite side of town....4 miles away. Awesome.

So we turned around and set off back to where we came from. But along the way we saw some great scenery that we wouldn't have if we hadn't gotten lost.

As soon as we walked through the front doors of the cafe we knew it was going to be good. Walking for four miles was well worth it when my bananas foster french toast arrived and I sealed the deal with a trip to the toppings bar. Scrumptious.

As if we hadn't had enough to eat we hopped on the bus and headed uptown to find a cupcake place we were referred to. ( If you haven't notice we take our referrals pretty seriously. Especially when they are about cupcakes & french toast!) Trophy Cupcakes was quiant, cute, and oh so delicious! While Trav stuck with plain vanilla that he claims is the best vanilla he ever had, I tried chocolate peanut butter and was amazed at how heavenly it was despite my lack of love for chocolate. We debated getting two more to eat but opted out of it.

To work off all the food we were indulging in we took off to go find Gasworks Park. (yes, another referral ) Although it looked as if the sky was going to open up on us, I am so glad we made the trek because the views of the city were breathtaking. And, well, they filmed a scene from 10 Things I Hate About You there which made it even cooler.

We headed back to the hotel for a nap, some reading, and yes, some more Cake Boss. Since the final four for March Madness were on that night we decided to go grab Subway and eat in to watch the games. It was a fun, lazy day filled with lots of delicious new foods, great scenery, and adventure ;)

If you watched American Idol last week you will remember this song by Bruno Mars. Basically it is fitting for my husband ( especially considering for Lent this year he gave up laziness ;). However, if you know the Hardeman pup, Nike, than it's even more fitting for this pair.