goodbye america.

tomorrow we're off to swaziland. it's been so busy trying to pull this trip together and there is a very long journey ahead of us (21 hour flight and 6 hour bus ride) but i know the second that i step onto the carepoint all of the crazy will be worth it. chad and i have never traveled internationally together, my passport has been untouched for far too long and i've missed these faces so much the past two years. i'm ready.

please remember us in prayer. we'll be back august 16th and don't be surprised if shortly after i write about having smuggled back a swazi child (or two) to raise as my own.

ready.

although made up of miles of to-do lists, far too many functions, and an all around busyness, july proved to be a fairly introspective month for me. i took an unintentional break from the internet and blogging and it proved to be a really good thing. i was able to reevaluate my purpose in a lot of areas (something i try to do often), and discovered much about myself and what i think my next steps in life are going to be.

stay tuned... life could (will) get (even more) interesting.

and on tuesday i get to travel back to one of my favorite places on the earth, swaziland. a country full of the most beautiful people i've ever known. while i've somewhat gotten caught up in the monotony and paperwork that comes with planning a trip like this for 31 people, my heart is still so full and ready to be poured out and my empty arms are ready to hold some swazi babies and never set them down.

a few little polies from my last trip.

picturassss.

a few pictures from last week's trip.

(thanks to my beautiful and talented student sabrina)

the amazing people who make my job so. much. fun.

i've been so sick this past week, mexico put me on my death bed. but i'm ready to rejoin the human race, so here's hoping this nasty cough goes away soon.

home, never to be the same again.

my favorite work trip to date.

it's good to be home (and clean) but so much of me is still in mexico.

transitioning back into "normal" life is never easy for me, and neither is explaining the ways that i've changed on trips to those who weren't there transforming along with me. every trip i take really does change me and this time around was no exception. i'm so in love with the life i've been given and the people who have been placed in my path.

students that make me laugh harder than ever. the cutest little ninos in the world. witnessing miracles. lots of prayer. lots of fish tacos. a beautiful house built in four days. mexican ice cream. no showers. off-roading in the back of pickup trucks on sand dunes. whales off the shore. bonfires and fireworks. sleeping on the beach. the encouragement that i needed. karaoke and a dance party. the countryside of baja. not taking enough pictures. tears for my seniors. my students and our volunteers feeling so much like family, and so much love.

1. border crossing.

2. my diet for the past six days.

3. best shopping place.

4. the sweetest girl in the world.

5. the amazing sand dunes.

6. my students cracking me up.

south of the border.

rolling sand dunes and beautiful mexican children and the worlds best fish tacos and seeing my students work hard to build up another house.

i remember upon arrival last year i felt like i was coming home.

see you in the morning, san quintin.

and see you all again friday, friends.

back in 'nam.

one of my favorite things about being a woman is that throughout a single day i probably feel every (or close to every) emotion there is. for reals. and i love it.

well tonight the reigning emotion is nostalgia, with my summer spent in vietnam taking over most of my thoughts. so i went on a little trip back to asia via my journal and the hundreds of photos i have from that summer (thankfully i traveled with a talented photographer).

i've been laughing. i've been sobbing. i'm a mess,

but my heart is so full right now.

1. the sweetest littles at the orphanage for disabled children in saigon.

2. the lanterns of hoi an.

3. our sunrise swims in da nang.

4. lychee everywhere.

5. some of my polaroids from the trip.

(little mowgli, playing frogger on my way to work, the best slide i've ever seen, and my favorite english class.)