Home.

We made it. It may have been a little over a week ago and it may be that I have been too tired to even think about posting on our blog...

But we made it. By the grace of God, we traveled over 9,000 miles, 23 hours, and 3 viewings of Frozen on the airplane to arrive back in Minnesota and into the arms of the people we love.

We have so much to be thankful for. We are figuring out this new life one step at a time, but praising God for His unending mercies, faithfulness, and grace.

Learning each day how to live and breath into our new role as parents.

There is a lot to write about, a lot to discover, and a lot of really hilarious things that (as parents) we probably shouldn't be laughing at. (We will be reporting all these missteps and adventures as soon as we have one solid night of uninterrupted sleep).

For now, here is a little glimpse into one of the most precious moments of our lives.

Thank you to all who have been praying, supporting, journeying through this adventure with us. We know that the hard part is just now starting, but are so thankful for the love we have been shown.

It is good to be home.

Guided.

Yesterday we went to a botanical gardens-y type place. They also served wine, so I don't know what that qualifies as, but it was awesome.

And big.

(Side Note: For those just checking in...we (being me and Nosipho) are still in South Africa. Erik and I left for South Africa on February 11th and Erik headed back home to the States on March 12th. Nosipho and I are waiting for her unabridged birth certificate and temporary passport to be able to leave the country. Time of departure? Unknown.)

Back to our adventure. 

The gardens were big enough to need a map to walk around it. And since it seems that we have added a daughter to our family who is strong-willed, independent, and adventurous...she controlled the map. 

At first, I was trying to explain that you have to hold it right side up in order to really know where you are going. After a few minutes, I just gave up and decided to trust her (and the people in yellow shirts that actually knew where we were supposed to go).

I should learn to trust more because even though the map was upside down, she seemed to know exactly where we needed to go.

What looked upside down to me made complete sense to her. 

And though our journey took maybe a bit/way longer than I would have liked, we stumbled upon places that we never would have seen had I been in control of the map. 

Do you see where I'm going with this?

I've been struggling quite a bit with understanding why God isn't making things happen faster here on this end. If it were up to me and my AWESOME navigational skills, we would have been out of South Africa yesterday. 

But I'm starting to see little glimpses of the blessings that come from long journeys. (You would have thought this lesson would have been learned in that whole 3 year journey to adopt Nosipho, yeah? #slowlearner #foolmeonce?)

But even when I'm kicking, screaming, and awkwardly crying to old episodes of Hawaii Five-O by myself after sweet girl is asleep, I'm starting to hear God's voice a bit clearer. 

The map may look upside down, and this path may not have been the one you would have chosen if you were in control...

But the journey will be beautiful.

And I promise, I'll bring you safely to the exit. 

South Africa, Family of Three, and Katy Perry

My plan was to blog in South Africa during our adoption.

No one ever told me that having a 6 year old would not allow for that..easily. 

Touche Parenthood. Touche. 

But, in an effort to bring some news and updates to all of you, I decided to put down my obsession with Candy Crush (post bedtime), grab a glass of wine and go sit outside on the patio of someone's house to capture a few minutes of stolen internet! Boom. This is Africa. 

The last 2+ weeks have been a complete whirlwind. I liken it to the part of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy has not yet figured out that she is in a dream and a house just crushed a witch. Oddly exciting, somewhat confusing. Definitely foreign. 

We arrived in South Africa after a long 37 hours of travel through too many different countries to list. The day following this, we met our daughter. Our beautiful, vivacious, energetic, independent, and amazing daughter. She is beyond anything we could have ever dreamed. God absolutely knew what he was doing when He weaved our family together.

We spent our first week visiting her each day at her orphanage, getting to know each other, and eating a lot of hamburgers and french fries. (Don't criticizes this unless you have a adopted a 6 year old from a foreign country. You literally do whatever it takes.)

Enter Katy Perry. We found our first days of bonding with her to be quite difficult. She didn't really want anything to do with us after Day 1. We tried everything. We were super cool. I mean, pullin' out all the "cool parent" tricks. I was like "Dang, Erik. We are awesome." Nosipho was like, "Not so much."

Who knew that Katy Perry and her Prism album would single handedly open up the door to instant bonding. With 1 (or maybe 500) plays of "Roar" and "Darkhorse", we were a VonTrap family miracle on our car trips to fast food. I'm 100% convinced that Katy would want us on stage with her. We have hand motions. 

After a week, we broke through. We officially took her to our temporary residence to live with us permanently. We spent another week in Durban and on February 27th, she officially became ours according to the courts of South Africa. It was...perfect. 

We headed to Cape Town the day after, where we will be for the next several weeks. Here we will be doing her US Immigration Medical Exams, applying for her Visa and Passport, and rounding up all loose ends to get us to our exit interview in Johannesburg (hopefully by the end of March). 

Erik will leave on March 12th to head back home and back to work. (I may have had a complete emotional breakdown today about being a single parent for 2/3 weeks. I mean, maybe.)

Our time has been sweet. The girl is a riot. A firecracker. I think she wants to be Katy Perry (perhaps Juicy J, we aren't sure). But, she has brought some serious life to this family. She is strong, beautiful, and will definitely change the world. We know it. 

We are proud parents of our sweet daughter, Nosipho (No-See-Po) Ruth Anderson, and would not/could not wish for something different. 

We will try to update you all more than we have, but for now, prayers prayers prayers abundant for bonding, paperwork, the African process, and each steps forward as we learn to parent, love, and grow as a family! 

And, if anyone didn't get tickets to the Katy Perry concert, you are welcome to come over to our home when we are back. Free show. 

Up Up and Away!

Seriously. We can't believe that this day is here.

2 weeks ago, we woke up to a whirlwind of news, emotions, planning, and a lot of crying. Today/yesterday (I don't really know what day it is), we are sitting in the Paris International Airport, eating macaroons (I stress eat), waiting to board a flight that is going to literally change our lives forever.

I'm not a big cryer by nature. I actually have had to pinch myself to cry at times when I'm next to Erik who is a tender-hearted little soul. He makes me look bad. But, my eyes seem to have taken on the characteristics of a leaky faucet...on crack. They don't stop. I'm a disaster. We both are.

I don't really have a lot of words that I can say to let people know how we are feeling. I suppose if you have been there, you know. Excitement, fear, joy, anticipation, anxiety...I don't even know. I'm like a junior high girl's mood ring.

Either way, we wouldn't and couldn't be in this spot without a lot of you! Your prayers, encouragements, support, bags of donated clothes, toys, and cheetos...the list goes on. It is a joy and privilege to be able to share all of this with you. A total joy!

And holy cow. We can't wait to meet our sweet girl. And we can't wait for that first post we get to make introducing our daughter into your lives!

God is amazing. You guys are pretty rockin' too.

So here we go.

Let the Adventures of Noi begin!

Good News Bad News

Good News:
We got our appointments for our ASC Fingerprints from US Immigration! One more step in the adoption process!

Bad News:
We will be in Tennessee at CHIC with 50 of our High School Students on the date that we are scheduled to be fingerprinted.

Boooooo.

Ok...well..."Booooo" to bad timing...not to CHIC.

So, we are asking for all those prayers you have faithfully been sending our way to be directed toward our Rescheduling Request! We have a 2 week window of time from when we get back in town from CHIC to when we are leaving again to head back east to visit Erik's family!

Dang it, you busy life.

Traveling the World...One Plate at a Time.

Hanging out with High School students is the best. Especially when it means you get to try new things.

Me and a few of the wonderful ladies from our High School group have made it a habit to get together for dinner once a month and try out the awesome cultures of food that Modesto has to offer. Surprisingly, there are quite a few!

Anthony Bourdain...move over!!

So far, we've hit up the All-American/Greek pita, Japanese Sushi, and fine Indian cuisine complete with dinner time Bollywood entertainment!

We try to find places that the majority of our circles of friends and family don't go. No chain restaurants allowed.

It is awesome!

There is nothing like sitting around a table and experiencing food and culture that we don't usually partake in or, in most cases, are too scared to try. It is quite the thrill waiting to see what each dish will look like when it comes to the table!
As we eat, we come up with crazy ideas of the next places that we will stumble upon in our travels!

So far on the docket we have Authentic Italian, Thai, and...Russian?

However, the best part...by far....is the great conversations we have, the life experiences that we talk about, and the time we spend just being "world travelers".

Often times, the best part of traveling isn't even the places you go. It is the people you are with and those that you meet in the process.

And these people are some of the world's finest.

Cheers!

S.O.S.

No, friends, this is not a cry for help because our ship is going down.

And no...this is not me about to breakout into Rhianna lyrics (although I should seriously reconsider that option).

Let's just say it is more like a simple equation to my life.

I forgot how much I miss driving in the car by myself. Since we sold our second car, there aren't a lot of moments where it is just me and the road for an extended amount of time. I love the sweet moments that I have with Erik when we do drive around together but let's be honest...I'm somewhat of a free bird. I like to fly alone sometimes. Straight up.

Since today's photo shoots took me from the Central Valley to the Bay Area and then to the Foothills of the Sierras, you could say that I had quite a bit of time to myself. Just me and the 1990 Toyota Corolla. The car of champions.

I discovered as I drove that my most favorite things to do when I'm driving alone can be summed up in the often misused but always important acronym: S.O.S.

So here you have it...

S: Sing
Sing your heart out. Sing at the top of your lungs. Try to figure out songs you don't really know and be okay with being completely out of tune or totally hitting the wrong note because you aren't sure where the song really goes.

But here is the secret to my "alone time singing". I don't do it to songs on the radio or on a CD. That is right, folks. I go "au natural". And it is usually to the tune of Frank Sinatra. Watch out, Ole Blue Eyes. You've got competition.

O: Observe
This part usually results in a lot of swerving and a one to many "close calls" but I find it to be worth it. (Disclaimer: I haven't gotten into an accident yet, so this is subject to change if the situation arises.)

It is good for the soul to look around. And contrary to popular belief, that Ford Taurus in front of you with the 3 old ladies on a day trip driving 25 miles/hour under the speed limit really isn't worth the road rage.

I think that we miss out on a lot. You never know when you are going to see something really incredible...or maybe not so incredible...but just refreshing.

Today, I observed about 200 cows, one of which was chewing the fence on the side of the road. Maybe not incredible, but it definitely made me smile.

S: Stop
We are busy people. I get that. I am seriously busy ALL OF THE TIME. But that doesn't mean that we don't have time to stop on the side of the road and take in some fresh air and maybe some fresh vision. I often stop when I am driving alone.

This makes Erik really frustrated because usually he is waiting for me to get home or worried about why I am stopping on a dirt road in the middle of no where by myself. Valid.

But today, I stopped...just for a moment. I stopped because I was thankful for the time to do just that. And because a lot of times, in all of my busyness, I forget how much beauty is really all around me.

So don't be afraid to S.O.S. every now and then. 

It is like the Chicken Soup for the Soul of the 21 Century. Promise. 

 

Dreams Really Do Come True

It has seriously been a month...a little more...since we got home from our trip to Ireland and I realized that I didn't say anything about it!

Well...I haven't said anything about anything really! :)

For the sake of not making people look through the exasperating number of pictures on Facebook...and in reflection of the trip of a lifetime...I have decided to make a little post about it!

(Also, in honor of Ellie Gundlach for being so patient with me putting pictures on my blog!)

So...here a few highlights from our trip!

First thing is first...our entire reason for the trip was to go and celebrate the wedding of my dear friend Emma and her now husband Yannic. We felt so honored to be a part of this incredible celebration of two of the most incredible people I have ever known. We made new friends with amazing people from Switzerland and spent some much needed soul time with old friends from many years ago! Honestly, we could have travelled the world and not found a better time anywhere else. It was such a blessing to be with all of these people, laughing, crying, reminiscing, and enjoying life!

 After our time at the wedding, we went into Belfast to see my old stomping grounds while in YWAM! This is the church that we lived at while we served. It was crazy how many flashbacks I had while walking up the street and back down to the City Centre...including walking down to the mailbox with the Teen Squad to mail a letter to Erik confessing my love for him! Wow...

 We also enjoyed some breakfast at Cafe Nero, including those delicious scones! My husband is so good looking!

From Belfast, we headed up to the North Coast! I think (as far as road tripping went) this was our favorite portion of the trip! We toured the Bushmills Whiskey Distillary...a dream come true for Erik...visited the Giant's Causeway...and stayed in Port Rush for an evening of GREAT food and beach walking! 

 From there, we travelled to the South and ventured into Galway! We spent one of the days driving through the Connemara National Park, which felt just like a storybook...or Lord of the Rings...

We stopped by the Kylemore Abbey....crazy beautiful...and the oldest Victorian garden in Ireland!

Our adventures continued and took us to the Cliffs of Moher, where I totally reenacted the beginning of Princess Bride! Ok...not really...but it was completely breathtaking...and super windy!

 We also got to meet up with some great friends of our from Modesto, Larry and Missy Stewart! We had lunch with them in Killarney and caught up on all of our adventures in travelling!

 On our last day in Ireland, we made a special stop at the K Club for Erik! Not only did we get to take in all the greatness of the golf course...but we got to see the Ryder Cup and the whole shrine of pictures that they have to commemorate the event and the golfers! It was like a little paradise for Erik!

Our last evening we stayed with my friend Tom outside of Dublin! He took us for an evening of fish and chips and a walk on the pier! It was the perfect way to end an incredible trip!

To sum it up....

Even these pictures can't tell the full story of our amazing journey! It was truly incredible!