I'm home! I returned from Haiti on Thursday evening and other than picking Sunday up from my mom's on Friday, I have had absolutely nothing to do all this time. (Eh, nothing pressing on the calendar, anyway.) It's been awesome and I definitely plan to give myself a lot of time to settle in after future trips out of town! I didn't realize how much I needed it.

So... it's definitely easy to say Haiti changed my life. If you followed along with my instagram feed, you already got quite a bit of the story of my trip. I experienced an array of emotions while being in Haiti... including gratefulness, disappointment, exhaustion, amazement, and I just overall gained an entirely new perspective on life. Which is obviously to be expected when you visit any 3rd world country.

Since I've been back I've cried a little and felt overwhelmed a lot. There's just so many cliche things you hear your whole life about how much you have and how little others have... but until you see it with your own two eyes, it doesn't seem real. I want this trip to Haiti to change me forever. I don't want to get wrapped up in the drama of TV shows (and dare I say it: social media) anymore, the he-said-she-said of the American life (drama), or even be overwhelmed by my piles of laundry and dirty dishes. I just want to be thankful. I want to slow down and enjoy my life.

For years I have been go-go-going... building a business takes 100% heart, energy, and simply hard work. (Even if it's a business you love.) The same can be said about being a mother, a wife, a home-owner... the list of titles goes on. I know I've had too much on my plate for a long time. American women are constantly asking themselves "How can I balance all of this?" I am no different.

Friends... let me share with you... if you feel like you have too much... that you can't possibly balance all that you have in life (or even if you have figured it out)... then you are blessed. Absolutely blessed beyond measure. If you have access to free, clean drinking water that won't make you sick... you are blessed. If you have a choice of what you want to eat and more than once a day.... oh boy, are you blessed.

I don't want to sound like I am preaching. Honestly, I'm mostly talking to myself here. I was (and still am) just blown away by the things I saw and the people I've met. The pure faith the Haitian believers have, the work they are doing for The Lord every day of their lives, the sacrifices they give up in order to simply share the gospel with the people of their country, the love they have for each other and for The Lord... I was completely overwhelmed with all of it.

I want to go back to Haiti and take all of you with me! The pictures below just don't do the country justice. But I am excited to share them regardless. These are a few images I grabbed as soon as we stepped out of the Port-au-Prince airport and hopped into the truck. We drove from the airport through Port-au-Prince and up to Petionville where the Pastor who hosted us lives. These are "scenes of Haitian streets." I have many, many more images to come from different places around the country, and a lot more words as well. But this is my initial download. :)

I hope you'll come back to read more. And I hope my words came out gently. I love my life but I cannot help but to feel a little bittersweet about it after this trip. I hope I can make different choices in the future that will glorify God and help not just the people around me, but people all over the world. xo!