Getting settled

Wow, all of those prayers were needed and we truly believe they were heard. Traveling with two small children across an ocean is no small thing. Still, we made it and had some really good moments.

We had a wonderful time with Dan's twin brothers Jeff & Will in NYC. Elijah kept asking them “what are you?” trying to figure out who was who. It only took a few minutes for him to remember which one was Jeff and which was Will. It was great to visit with them and get some sleep before our long flight.

An early morning walk through Brooklyn.

Breakfast at a bagel shop.

Robbins boys!!

Photo shoot at Jeff's house.

Driving to the airport. Elijah LOVED the busy city.

Although Dan and I got less than an hour of sleep each, Lazzy slept a good bit. Elijah on the other hand slept a total of 3 hours at the very beginning of our long flight. He then stayed awake for 11 hours, fighting sleep like a disease. While landing in Johanessburg, Eli finally gave up and dozed off. At that point, Dan and I wanted to SCREAM.

Saying our goodbyes and waiting in the airport.

The first few hours were quiet as all the boys slept. Good thing I got a quick 30 minute nap. I had no idea it would be my only chance to sleep.

Our flight to Zimbabwe was quiet. Elijah's body was ready to sleep hard as it was 3:45am St. Louis time. He stayed asleep until we landed in Bulawayo when he freaked out. The airport looked like a four car garage but with high ceilings. There were probably 12 people working there. No joke. Of course, things took for. ev. er. Elijah continued to freak out and Dan had to discipline him out on the runway. That was probably the most frustrating moment of our entire trip although thinking about it now, it makes me laugh. How many kids will be able to say “yeah, my dad spanked me on an airport runway in Africa”.

Elijah stopped his fit and had another long nap on the truck ride home. After being transferred to his bed, he stayed asleep for 3 more hours. He was plum tuckered out.

So far, Zimbabwe is much like Malawi. There are more paved roads and the city of Bulawayo is much bigger but everything looks so familiar. We are settling into our house nicely. It's decked out in 50's décor and has two sitting rooms!!

We lose power almost every day due to actual power cuts. It's kind of nice because we have a schedule. These are the times we are without power:

Monday: 6am-2pm

Tuesday: 2pm-10pm

Wednesday: Power all day!! Hooray!!

Thursday: 2pm-10pm

Friday: 6am-2pm

Saturday: 2pm-10pm

Sunday: 6am-12am

Basically, we are without power for a meal or two every day besides Wednesdays. Again, knowing when the power will go out is half the battle. I am totally fine as long as I'm prepared. The biggest challenge will be on the days when we have no power at night and then again the next moring. Basically Thursday-Sunday. Oh well. Enough about the electricity. We'll be fine :)

Blogging will be sporatic, at least posts about our time in Zimbabwe. I will probably have internet access about twice a week. I've actually been having internet withdrawl since we got here. I didn't realize how much time I spent just checking my email and the weather. It's been nice to be without it although I do miss connecting with the rest of the world.