celebration.

my last sunday was one of the best days i had in benin!
ashley, mathias and i had returned home very late from our village visits saturday night. we pounded some rice in the dark at the orphanage and then all went home around midnight. my alarm went off way too soon on sunday morning. i'm pretty certain i could have slept under my mosquito net until noon, easily. some kids came to the bureau to walk to church with me and i quickly got ready. sunday mornings are some of my most cherished moments with the kids. i love having them there while i get ready for church and then walking hand in hand with them to church always makes me smile. there was quite a crew on this sunday and we laughed and walked together. love them to pieces.

seraphin. me. augustin.

at church in our African best.

after church, i went over to jon and ashley's apartment to spend a little quality time with ashley up on their roof. we laughed and laughed. it was nice to steal away a few minutes in the sunshine.

the kids and ashley had a fun night planned for me at the orphanage so we all met back there around dinnertime. as i have mentioned before, on everyone's birthday they get to eat off the red "you are special today" plate. the kids were all studying for their big exams the following day and dinner was a little late. ashley came walking in with the special plate for me to eat off of for my dinner! it was such a sweet thought. and the rice we ate was some of my favorite. and the fish was smoked. best meal ever. trust me.

me & augustin.

sweet hubert & hubertine.

they brighten my world.

florent & his maman!

my special plate!!

soda pop i bought for everyone to enjoy.

my table full of some of my favorite people in the world.

femi.

these people have changed my life.

after dinner we all gathered for some group pictures and then i passed out gifts and notes that i had for everyone. i attempted to use a French adjective that started with the letters from each person's name to describe them...but, was failing miserably at finding adequate French adjectives so the notes were a nice mixture of French and English. the kids loved it and of course laughed at my attempt at French! but let's be real, it's the thought that counts...right?

rosaline & me.

mathias enjoying some yummy beignets.

papa jon and his plate of beignets!

after all the fun gift giving and note reading, the kids got their stage set for quite a spectacular performance! they sang and sang and danced and danced. then, some of the boys had put together a little dance routine just for their Tata Jill. augustin was busy trying to get everyone in order and the crowd quieted down when Dossou, Moise, Femi and Hubert came strutting out of the boy's bedroom with matching shirts on, their collars popped, jeans on and sunglasses. the crowd went wild!!! they introduced themselves and then started the best dance routine in the history of dance routines. seriously. we all just laughed and cheered and they never broke character! dancing like stars up there. the best. seriously. the best.

seraphin & me.

me & ashley in our matching African skirts!!

i hugged each of the kids tight, so thankful for the wonderful memories we made together that night! it was well past their bedtime by this point...so i did my nightly TaTa duty of instructing them all to "BROSSER LES DENTS!!! ALLER AU LIT!!!!"