life through instagram//april

april was an amazing month. we spent a weekend at akagera national park in rwanda. we slept in furnished tents (ahem.. glamping!) and saw tons of monkeys and had a relaxing, wonderful time. the kids were home from boarding school, so we had fun hanging out with them. a team of midland people (and katherine!) came in town, so elise and i tagged along and helped keep the kids in line. i got to see my girl from when we went to kimisagara the first time, december 2011. here's a link to the story.. i'll be sharing more about her soon. kids went back to boarding school, then we went to tanzania for our final "roomie trip" it was incredible. zanzibar has such a different feel to it, and we had an amazing time. perfect last trip for our time winding down here together. 

sunflowers from our drive to akagera // pretty rug from our tent

bus rides always fascinate me with how beautiful this place is // lunch at the library in kigali with a beautiful view

reading on the coffee porch with bernie // made my great grandmother's spaghetti

ange and brigite dancing in the kitchen // visiting kimisagara orphange in kigali with a medical team. met this cute girl who liked to make as many faces as i do:)

cutie from kimisagara. i think we all would have taken him home // rice sacks in kigali when we were buying supplies

tried to teach brigite to swim one afternoon. she tried to teach me to hand wash rwandan style. i'm not sure what was funnier. // tanzania bound!

zanzibar is known for their beautiful, old carved wood made into anything from frames to spice boxes // they're also known for all the beautiful doors throughout the little town. 

the roomies and i on the beach after watching/swimming with dolphins // went on a spice tour and found some pretty unusual things. the seeds in this plant were once ground up and used as lipstick.

drinking from a coconut. the guy that got it for us at the top of the crazy tall tree was singing and dancing the whole way up. he only used part of a rice sack tied around his feet to get to the top. // the guys at the spice farm playing a traditional game.

bare feet in grass is always wonderful // beautiful buildings in zanzibar

amazing door in zanzibar // lovely tile, too:)

the best sunset lookout point in zanzibar // hakuna matata = no worries.

checked "lay on the beach in zanzibar" off of my 27 before 28 list // loved these umbrellas so much

went on a dhow cruise // another dhow we passed. beautiful!

my bestie is old.

today, my bestie allison turns the big 2-8. it's kinda nice having her be a little over a month older than me. that way, she can test it out a little and report back on how good/bad/ugly it feels to be that age. also, i can call her old.

since i talk about her an abnormal amount here, i thought it was only necessary to share our story. 

we met when we were five years old. we were in kindergarden together, and since i have the worst memory ever, she likes to say one of us was bullied, and one of us stuck up for the other.. and ever since then, we've been like pb&j. and since she knows my memory is terrible, she likes to say i'm the one who sassed the bully. but, probably nobody believes that anyway.

allison on the left, me on the right.

we grew up together in a small new mexico town. i don't have many memories that don't include allison. we've seen each other through tragic haircuts, bad fashion sense, (see both in the photo above) saved by the bell going off the air, first everything's, big moves, small moves, big stupid dreams, proms, countless midnight snacks, heartache, heartbreak, laughing till we peed ourselves. she's been my number one fan even when i make dumb decisions, date stupid boys or decide to lose my mind, buy a camper and fix it up. (she even helped me, got her hands dirty a time or fifty seven and let me park it at her house). my family moved to texas when i was 9, but we happen to both have amazing parents. they would drive us back and forth on the weekends just so we could hang out. we never lost touch, and she's always been my other half. when we couldn't see each other on weekends (or sneak the phone to call long distance), we were pen pals.. seriously. and we kept most of the letters and still read them together joke about them. but at least we were both geeks and we had each other.

my most favorite thing about our friendship has been that we've grown up together. we've seen so much together and she's had my back through literally anything i've ever been through. she even stayed friends with me that one time i thought bangs would be cute with curly hair. seems like the biggest points of change in our lives, we experienced together. since we lived in different towns, we had each other to vent to about drama, so we always had someone on our side no matter what. when we got our licenses, we got to make the hour and a half drive to the other town. we spent at least an hour on the phone every single day when we got cell phones. and oddly enough, we still haven't run out of things to talk about. we experienced new york, south carolina, denver and europe together for the first time, and realized our love for comedy clubs together. even though it wasn't her first time in africa, i got to witness her here for the first time loving on babies. and got to see that it suited her so well. she's my favorite travel buddy. my favorite person to be mischevious with. my favorite person to craft with, watch jersey shore with and decorate with. she's the one i tell all my secrets to.

today, half a world away, i'm celebrating my bestie. i couldn't ask for a better one. louise, i promise next year we will celebrate together with a chocolate cake, a pinterest worthy birthday party and plenty of wine. i love you, louise laura kelly allison!

**i wish i had more embarrassing photos to put up, but i had to beg for her to send the first one, and all the others are what's on my hard drive from semi-recent years. there's always next year..

hello, may.

drinking water. 

appreciating jesus calling and how it always seems to speak to me year after year. 

watching boy meets world on dvd. thank you, elise:) 

laughing at the movie pitch perfect. oh my gaw. i love it. 

reading lots of pride & prejudice continuation books because i finished the real one and i can't stop thinking about it. oh, and i'm geeky. 

eating GIRL SCOUT cookies. mylanta. 

dreaming about the future. 

waiting 24 more days to meet my mom, sister, kelsi & her mama in italy. beyond ready to see them!

planning to book a one way flight home soon. 

opening a new journal today.

sleeping in the middle of the bed.

remembering that i need to be treasuring this season.

brainstorming ways to keep myself in check of living a simple life back home.

wearing nike shorts and tshirts. 

considering starting my quilt for the like thousandth time. 

making sure i instagram about a billion photos per day of our tanzania trip. annoying, huh? 

feeling a little homesick.

getting ready to start reading the circle maker.

loving sweet emails from sweet friends.

crying over the fact that life is going to look very different pretty soon.

listening to my favorite lost in the trees album on repeat. 

acknowledging the weather is perfect here, and i'm not even a tiny bit excited for the texas summer. 

enjoying journaling even more than usual lately. 

thankful for a change of pace & a little inspiration. 

FOR ONE giveaway day!!

goodness gracious, FOR ONE day was such a success. we are so blown away by your love and support. and also, we thought it was pretty crazy how much you guys eat for lunch:)

thank you to all who prayed, fasted and donated. well OVER TEN THOUSAND one time meals are now covered, and donations keep coming in!!! 

so, we bribed my girl, brigite (with cadbury mini eggs.. thanks, mom!) to be the official name drawer for the giveaway. there might be too many photos, but we just think she's pretty dang cute. (sorry i'm not sorry!)

click here to see who won!!! 

and check out the new no.41 blog while you're there:) thank you again to all who entered! xo.

life through instagram//march

did this month fly by like crazy for anyone else? i feel like february just ended. 

march was a good one. lots of memories made. lots of trips to see the kids at 

boarding school. lots of crafty things started, not as many finished.

we got to go to akagera national park this weekend, it's about a 5 hour 

drive from us. it boarders tanzania, and is a rwandan style safari. we got to tag

along with our neighbor, and we had a blast. we stayed in a tent camp, but it 

was definitely more like glamping in our book. we loved it. we haven't gotten

out of town much this month, and since we've been pretty frustrated 

with the lack of power around here (it's pretty normal now, thank goodness!)

we definitely welcomed the weekend awayand soaked up some nature time.

 it was definitely good for the soul. 

bring it on, april. 

hello, april.

drinking more hot tea. and a little mutzig for good measure. 

appreciating weekends away with the roomies. 

watching "the vampire" movies with brigite. she loves twilight, and i'm more than ok with that.

laughing at ange, brigite and innocent dancing to bolinga last night. 

eating as much indian food as possible. but fasting for 4-1 day today! we would love it if you'd join us. 

dreaming about tanzania. 

waiting for my friend wendy to get here! always feels like home to have a friend here. 

planning to make pizza dough soon. 

opening my last package of texas pecan coffee.. boo. 

sleeping in a tent for two nights this weekend was kinda crazy. we heard so many animals all night long! 

remembering to take my camera along for the ride more these days.

brainstorming quilt ideas.. still. 

wearing more layers than normal. it's been so cold lately! 

considering trying to get a booth at renegade austin this year.

making some really incredible memories.

feeling like i need to get serious about my 27 before 28 list.

getting excited for ACL with the besties.. is it too early for that? 

loving my friend kayla barker's beautiful paintings. she opened a new etsy store that you should totally check out. i love that i'm surrounded by some crazy talented people:)

crying over the fact that i missed girl scout cookie season.. 

listening to mumutashye & other rwandan music with jerome on our moto rides. 

acknowledging that getting out of town this weekend was good for the soul.

enjoying my girl & the noel kids being home on holiday.

thankful that i'm going to america next week..

april fools:) 

thoughts on staying present//march

so, i'd be lying if i told you my thoughts 

have been super present lately.

truth is, they are drifting towards

the future more than i'd like them to.

maybe it's knowing there's a season of change 

on the horizon, or the fact that there's been 

lots more down time than i'm used to.

so i've been starting to think ahead a bit.

my plan is to go back to the 

states in july.

so naturally, my thoughts

are consumed with what's next.

where will i live?

what will my job be?

will i be bold and use my

experience here to follow through

on some other crazy dreams, 

or will life just somehow go

back to "normal"

pretty please pray it won't.

i want to soak this season up.

i don't want to focus on the next thing.

i want to be here.. now.

also,

why do i continue to let my thoughts drift 

to the next season and not thank him for the 

one i'm currently living in? why am i so 

annoyed with things instead of being 

thankful that i'm getting 

an experience of a lifetime that he designed 

specifically with me in mind?

i don't wanna be so far ahead that

i forget to be thankful for right now.

here's to change. 

and staying present.

on another note,

if anyone wants

to plan my life for me,

i'd be totally open to it.

just saying.

thoughts on remembering.

so, my original title for this post was going to be "what the funk" but i knew my grandma would try to charge me a quarter for saying something ugly (she did this when we, her precious grandkids, would tell each other to shut up when were growing up, and we haven't let her live it down yet.. she has the most precious heart ever, and she would actually give us the quarter that we owed her.. what can i say- you can pretty much get away with anything when you're that sweet and your name is billie lou.) anyway, money is tight these days, and i'd rather put that towards half a coke than give it away. (sorry, grandma!)

if you've talked to me recently, it's no secret that i've been in a little funk. i've blamed it on everything- from the power being inconsistently off and on for the past two weeks (those two days it COMPLETELY didn't turn on, i was an absolute joy to be around..) to the lack of mexican food around here.. whatever the excuse, i've used it. my bestie, allison and i had a heart to heart last night and she told me how my family had been on her heart this week and asked how i was doing. (how she knows the deep down messiness of my heart all the way over here is beyond me.)

eight years ago today, we lost my little brother, bryan to prostate cancer. eight years ago, and i'm still typing those words out through tears. you should know, i don't talk about this. not to people i don't know really well, at least. if you were to ask me how many siblings i had, i'd tell you i have an older sister who i love dearly, and then i'd stop so there wouldn't be any awkwardness. then i'd secretly be mad that i didn't acknowledge my brother, and the fact that you didn't randomly know to ask. cause, that's how grief works. or mine does, at least.

can i be honest here: i think the reason why it upsets me so much not to acknowledge him is that it scares me to forget. it scares me that the memories we have are 8 years old and they are fading because he's gone. but, i've decided, today is not about loss. it's about remembering. keeping the memories we have of him alive and being thankful we did have 10 incredible years with him.

i was 9 years old when bryan was born. i had been the baby for 9 full years, and if you'd ask anyone, i was pretty set in my typical last born ways. but when he came along, we all fell in love and strangely enough i was ok with giving up my role as the baby. he made a grand entrance by being airlifted to OKC as soon as he was born for some complications. he was mentally and physically challenged, and the undeniable joy of our family. anyone who knew him automatically loved him.. i'm not even exaggerating when i say that, either. strangers would even comment about how cute or friendly he was and our friends used to joke about coming over just to hang out with him.. and i'm not sure they were really kidding. looking back at that, what an honor to get to be his big sister. holy cow.

today- i'm remembering the way he sounded when he would belly laugh, his sweet hugs, the way he said spida-maaan, the time when he was watching the finale of friends with my group of friends and was bawling with us at the end, the love he had for watching football and the way he would throw his hands up and scream TOUCHDOWN, the baseball games he played, the never ending love for all things sponge bob, the good times, the bad times, the in between times. that boy was the definition of overflowing joy, and i so love the fact that i have some pretty fantastic memories to remember him by. i'm desperately missing being with my family today, but i'm also happy to be sitting here drinking coke with tara right now giggling our heads off over our future, fictional eclectic store we are dreaming of. sometimes it's good to be away, and sometimes those memories flow more freely with a change of pace.

i know it's so much easier to just keep yourself hidden, but i honestly believe in the power of sharing your story. if i've learned anything, it's that loss is different for everyone. and when it comes down to it, even if part of your story isn't loss, we all have junk. but i will tell you one thing i think is the same.. sharing is incredibly freeing. 

lamentations 3:31-33

behind the bag :: hannah

we are so excited to share hannah's story today. she is our very first no.41 campus rep! so far, we have three campus reps - one in mississippi and two arkansas, and we are looking forward to adding new girls to our campus rep program! if you are interested in joining our team, please email tara@no41.org. we would love to have you! 

meet hannah:

Let’s just get this out of the way: Blog introductions are awkward. You don’t know me, and we may never meet. But, I’m not what this is about. My name is Hannah Jarrett and I represent No.41, which is something I really care about. So yes, there’s me, but really this is about the people we get to serve in Africa. And that’s why I’m here.

I am in my second semester of sophomore year at the University of Arkansas. I am a Communication Major who’s learning Chinese and I have a deep passion for travel. As simple as it sounds, I love people because I think everyone has a story.

I am thrilled to be working as a campus representative for No.41. It is my desire to be involved with what God is doing over seas and it is clear that He is using No.41. I’m excited to watch as this project is connected to Arkansas.

My friend Madison Haverty and I will be working to spread the word about No.41 in the community of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

a giveaway and for one day!

we are designating april 1st FOR ONE day! (FOR ONE.. 4-1.. get it?!) since february, 870 students are now getting to eat a hot healthy lunch because of our girls, and because of your amazing support, of course! we want to you to be in on this with us. we invite you to fast with us, pray with us, spread awareness and raise funds with us. the students we feed eat on 25 cents a day, so we are asking that you donate the cost of your lunch that day.. a little goes a long way!

$1 feeds 4 children
$5 feeds 20 children,
and $10 feeds 40 children!

so, you noticed i mentioned a little giveaway, right?! we are so excited to be giving away some of our favorite rwandan items. your lovely little prize pack includes: a No.41 apron, a hand woven basket from a local women's co-op, a ceramic mug from a local men's co-op, pfunda tea from the plantation across the street from our house, kivu Bourbon coffee from lake kivu region in gisenyi, 3 bracelets, and a paper bead necklace.

so, here's what you need to do to enter: click here and 'like' No.41 on facebook. once you have done that, make sure you share 4-1 day with your friends, here. finally, donate the cost of your lunch on april 1st, here. and you're done! make sure you leave a comment below for each of your entries. 

and for you overachievers, for additional entries: follow @no41 on instagram. Follow No.41 on twitter here. follow my blog on bloglovin' here. follow tara's blog on bloglovin' here. again, comment below for each of your entries.

**drawing will be held on april 2nd, and your prize will ship back to the states at the end of april.

we are so excited about FOR ONE day, and hope you're ready to join in on the fun with us!