Hello from....London

Welp, we've had a very difficult start to our journey to Kenya. We were already on the plane in Greensboro when they announced we would be delayed to DC due to weather there. We waited over an hour on the plane, then got off and waited over 2 hours. Then we were going to head and home and start all over the next day, then we were back on the plane before I ever really new what was going on. We are now in London and will have spent 10 hours here. Nothing like some good 'ol quality time in the airport, right? We are all in good spirits and are making the best of it. We are quite sleep deprived and will be so ready to get on the plane and head to Kenya. We will skip sleeping in Mombasa for the night but should still get to Malindi by Saturday afternoon. In Kenya we are 7 hours ahead.

Thanks for all of your prayers and we ask that you continue to pray for travel mercies and safety. I hope to be able to give an update once we are finally there.

Kenya Countdown...TODAY!!!

Wow, I can't believe we are really leaving today. We will be at our final destination by Saturday afternoon. I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee this morning(or two or three) because other than at the airports, coffee will be non-existent for a couple of weeks. Just another reminder of the many luxuries I take for granted here.

I had a wonderful day with Paul yesterday and am really trying not to focus on the part about not seeing him for more than 2 weeks and barely being able to talk to him. He will be very busy while I am gone and we have some awesome friends and family that I know are going to take good care of him and even feed him some home cooked meals.

I am hoping to be able to blog a time or two while in Kenya but the internet is hit or miss. Please know that your prayers are appreciated and I so look forward to sharing about the trip when I get back.
Now since I won't be getting any of my favorite foods for a couple of weeks like Mexican, Japanese, salad and pasta, the big question is what to eat for lunch before we leave??

Kwaheri America, Jambo Kenya!!!

A Special Day

Since I leave for Kenya on Thursday and teacher work days start just a few days after I get back, today was our last day with Mason. Paul and I wanted to do something really fun with him, something very special, as Mason would say. We had decided we would take him to SciWorks. He had never been but we were sure he would love it. About the seventh time he asked "are we at the FIRE works yet?" we were a little concerned things weren't going to go well. Thankfully, he wasn't disappointed when we got there and there were no fireworks.







The otters were Mason's favorite.

We had a hard time explaining to Mason that we couldn't shoot these deer.

He didn't quite make it through the entire planetarium show. I figured he would be done for after falling asleep but...not Mason! He was determined to see the monster truck before we left.


Lindsey I know your blood pressure is probably rising at every picture with Mason touching something. But rest assured mom, we took many, many trips to the bathroom to wash his hands and re-applied hand sanitizer multiple times throughout the day ;)

I don't know who had more fun today...Mason or Paul. And I don't know who is more tired...us or Mason ;) But man are we gonna miss seeing him every single week!

Fresh produce and cute little boys

Going to the Farmer's Market is always more fun when you have two of the cutest boys in the world to share it with.
Meet Landon. This is the ever so popular Mason's little brother, in case you couldn't tell just by looking at him.

I had been dying to spend some time with this little guy. I get to see Mason every week but haven't gotten to see Landon a whole lot. Plus, I didn't want him to start feeling left out or anything silly like that.


Mommy Lindsey and her sweet boys

I don't think we could have done it without Mason's help ;)

One of my very bestest friends in this whole wide world :)

Not gonna lie, this little boy has me wrapped around his finger.

And so does his little brother.

Kenya Countdown...ONE WEEK

Wow, I can't believe we are really leaving in just one week. It has been a super busy week with all of the last minute things to do, buy, pack, etc. I want to have everything packed and ready to go by this weekend so that Paul and I can spend as much time together as possible before I leave. I am going to miss him....A LOT!! Besides the fact that we do almost everything together, we talk all the time. It's going to be hard not having normal communication with him. I'll be able to call him every few days but it will be very brief, because it costs so much to call from there. He will be busy with his high school soccer team starting their season and he will have my sweet Gram and brother looking out for him and making sure he is being fed. He will also have the company of our little Sophie. And I have no doubt that although we will miss each other terribly, God will only use this to strengthen our marriage even more.

I am dreading the plane rides already. Last time I couldn't sleep very well and it was a looong time to be awake anticipating getting to our final destination. We fly from DC to London (7 1/2 hours), from London to Nairobi (8 1/2 hours), Nairobi to Mombasa (1 hour) and then the rest is a really bumpy ride on what you can't even call a road, to Malendi which is where we will stay and work. I will be better prepared with a prescription sleep med this time. The time there is 7 hours ahead so if you count that, I don't even have the energy to calculate how many hours we will spend just traveling to get there. But as soon as we are there and I see the beautiful faces and hear the sweet voices of the Kenyans, that long exhausting travel time is the last thing I am thinking about!

Mason and friends

Today wasn't just any ordinary day with Mason. We both had wonderful company. Amy, who is one of my best friends from college, brought her kids over to play. I had not seen her in months so I'm not sure who was more excited about the play date-me or Mason. Her 2 year old son, Sam, and Mason played very well together while Amy and I laughed and squealed at how cute her 7 month old princess is.
These are two really cool dudes if you can't tell just by looking at them ;)

Sweet, happy girl


Nothing like some good cheese puffs by the pool


Mason was so sweet to Arabella!


Mason slept for two and a half hours today after the big play date. I have to admit, I was wishing I was right there with him. I have got to give a shout out to you moms...kids are a lot of work! Mason is such a great kid and so much fun but I am always so exhausted on Tuesday nights. So on that note, goodnight y'all!

Kenya Wardrobe Preview

As I mentioned before, in order to respect the African culture us ladies have to wear long skirts. I took a trip to Goodwill to pick up a few today and thought you might get a kick out of what I'll be sporting. Don't be jealous, envy is a sin you know.


Keeping it simple with this one

And of course I saved the best for last...

Notice the giraffes and elephants. Very fitting for Kenya of course

I especially love the buttons that go all the way up the front

Thankfully I also have several African conga skirts that I got last time I was there. But I will save those for later because they aren't nearly as funny to blog about.

Now in all seriousness, it will be a huge blessing to some sweet Kenyan ladies who will be very glad and grateful to get these skirts when I am done with them. And just seeing that will be a tremendous blessing to me!

Snacks, snacks and more snacks

Yesterday was our day with Mason. He absolutely amazes me. He is very smart, has an incredible memory and is VERY well articulate for a three year old. But he also is a very good eater, which really makes him fit in well with the Hicks. He had to get here pretty early yesterday morning and had not eaten breakfast yet. Immediately after he ate breakfast he was asking for a snack. And pretty soon after his snack he asked for another snack and by 11:00 Mason had already consumed cheese grits, fruit snacks, a banana, yogurt, oreo cookies, 5 M&Ms (he really likes to count) and some blueberries.





I had a hair appointment yesterday so Paul got to take over for a while, which Mason was pretty excited about. They went to the pool, played the guitar, ate lunch, which of course was followed by several snacks, and he was sound asleep when I got home. Sophie even managed to sneak into bed with Mason to take a little snooze.

I bet you can't guess what Mason asked for when he woke up from his nap???

Weekend Recap

I'd say it was a pretty good weekend for the Hicks. It was so nice just to be home. Friday night we went to a Dash game with some friends.

Saturday Paul and I went to the pool for a few hours and then hung out with some family that night. Sunday was the final World Cup game-Spain vs Netherlands. Paul isn't necessarily a fan of either and I was mostly interested in the food that came along with having some friends over for the game.

My friend Kristen made a dessert pizza for each team...a great excuse to have extra food!


I am glad we were able to have a restful weekend because this week is quite eventful. Paul and I are both helping out with Community Serve, which is local missions work that our church does. Paul will be helping put on a soccer camp for inner city kids that aren't usually able to participate in things like that. I am helping with various projects at a local elementary school. We are thankful that we have summers off and are able to have time to help serve.
On top of Community Serve, Paul is doing 7:00 am workouts with his high school team and then has another soccer camp for 2 and a half hours in the evenings. For his sake I will be praying hard that the clouds stick around this week!

More later, there will be a very excited 3 year old at my door momentarily.

Kenya Countdown

I can't believe I leave for Kenya exactly 3 weeks from today! When I went 2 years ago I felt like I prepared and counted down the days months and months in advance. This time I've been so busy and I guess since I know what to expect, the anticipation hasn't been quite to the degree it was before. Not to mention that it is going to be really, really hard to be away from Paul for more than 2 weeks. BUT, I am really excited and I cannot wait to see the faces of those precious children and hear their voices. I can't wait to see the beautiful culture and be reminded of how content and grateful they are even though they have so little.

Also, for y'all that don't know, my mom is going too. This is a huge deal and step out of her comfort zone but she is soooooo excited and I cannot tell you how it makes me feel to know I am going to share this experience with her. When I got back from my first trip to Kenya, my mom was so interested and wanted to hear every detail. I told her everything I knew to and showed her every single picture but I knew she could never fully grasp it unless she went herself.

I really need to get busy with some last minute preparations. We have to wear long skirts everyday there in order to be respectful of their culture. Last time I went, I left all of the ones I took for the women there to have. So I have quite a few trips to Goodwill to make in the next couple of weeks. I got all of my shots last Friday so that can be checked off the list. I don't mind needles at all-thank GOD-but can I just tell you that it's been almost a week and one of my arms is still sore? No pain, no gain-right? I decided to take Typhoid pills this time, rather than the shot because the pills are good for 5 years instead of just a year. I started taking those this week too. There is a chance they can make you really sick and I wanted to get that good and over with before we start our 2 day journey to Kenya. I will start my Molaria pills a week or two before we leave. Other than that, we just need to shop for snacks, bug spray and whatnot. Our group will have one final meeting when our passports and visas come back.

I thought I was actually going to write a post with no pictures but I just can't do it. I have a little obsession with pictures but besides that, I took over 700 on my first trip and I'd hate not to share a few with you. Here is just a glimse of what I get to see and do in Kenya...

Low key week for the Hicksters

It's probably past time for a new post but I really don't have much exciting to talk about. Paul and I were out of town more than we were home in June and things have slowed down quite a bit, for now anyway. It's been so nice being home and not having anything to do this week. We had a great 4th of July with friends and family.


Other than that, the highlight of our week so far was our day with Mason yesterday. He is so much fun and I just cannot tell you how much I love watching Paul interact with him. He is going to be an amazing dad one day. Don't anyone get excited, this will not be anytime soon. Lord willing of course ;)




Well y'all, I guess I better get busy. Today's to-do list includes laundry, errands, cleaning and most likely an afternoon trip to the pool.