ladies retreat

Jude McNeal does not adjust to new places well. He has always been this way and for this very reason I was not planning on going to ladies retreat this year. I really, really wanted to go, but just wasn't sure how it would go with Jude there. However, at the last minute someone else who was planning to take a baby had to cancel and on a whim Jude and I went in their place. He traveled pretty well, but sleeping was another story. You would think that the longer we were there the more he would adjust to it, but he just kept getting fussier. Despite all this, I did have a great time. My teammates helped out with Jude alot and I enjoyed lots of great conversations and food that I didn't cook! I'm very thankful for the yearly opportunity to connect with other missionaries in East Africa and to do so in such a beautiful place. Here's a shot of the beautiful trees at Rondo. 

 In much of East Africa trees have been cut to make charcoal and grass for some reason is hard to find. I loved being able to walk around bare foot and Jude loved climbing into flower beds and smelling the flowers.

Not sure what this one is, but Jude tried to eat it!

Here's a shot from the last night of retreat. We played Dirty Santa with all these fabulous gifts from the States. Hot items included cereal, Coffee Mate creamer, and velveeta and rotel. 

I did not get any pictures of Jude's first kiss! Jude went right up to a 14 month old little girl and kissed her on the mouth several times! She seemed a little dazed, but at the end kissed back! Then when we returned he kissed Baylor! It was so cute, but we are going to have to put a stop to this before he starts kissing every girl he meets!

Another highlight of the trip was shopping in Kenya in a real store! Jude even got to ride in a buggy! I came home with 9 boxes of reasonably priced cereal, 2 boxes of real Ritz, 5 rolls of real Oreos, chips that taste like Doritos, and sandwich meat among MANY other things!

The retreat was only 3 days, but with travel we were gone for a total of 6 days. During the trip Carson finished the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen! It was a GREAT surprise to come home to. I'll have to try and get a pic to post. Our kitchen is starting to look like an ad for Ikea! We are exhausted, but glad to be home with Carson (and our beautiful kitchen!).