So thankful!

When we got home in March I had no idea we would get to be home for Thanksgiving! In fact I had prepared myself to miss the holidays again. To be at home with family, both our families, was a gift. (As was the meal. Thank you Hubbel and Hudson for your frozen gluten free pie crust! :)

The annual pumpkin toss began with the selecting of pumpkins.

 Then, the warm ups before the the toss.

 After the competition. This picture was not their idea :)

 This picture was very much his idea :)

And, for the record, Aggies may not always win, but they sure are cute.

With Thanksgiving barely behind us, Clay and I are off again! This time....

To Prague!

We will be in the city with the Kellers and Wilkins' for the next week. We'll be meeting with different people in the city, looking at housing options, and spending lots of time listening for the Lord to lead us.

It's exciting... and also scary. Sometimes it's hard to believe we're really doing this!

See you soon, Prague!

Recent happenings and we're in Haiti!

Life has gone on as normal the last few months.

Lots of travel, visiting people, getting visa stuff in order, and raising support.

Oh and loving on my new niece :)



We made it to DC and applied for our visas to the Czech Republic!



We owned it, ha :)



All our paperwork Clay has slaved over for months was in order and our interviews went really well. So encouraging. Now we wait 3-4 months for our visas to come in and continue raising support in the meantime.

This week we are blessed to be in Haiti with our dear friends. They are considering a move to this country and asked us to join us on the trip to help with their kids and be a part of this step with their family. We love them and are so excited.

Here we are heading to the airport. Very excited. You will notice the little one is clutching his suitcase, ready to go! :)



We arrived in Haiti ready for an adventure!

This has been our view for the past few days. Lots of touring around trying to soak everything up.



We visited a lookout point above Port Au Prince.



There are reminders everywhere of the earthquake that hit almost 2 years ago. There are tent-cities all through town housing people that lost their homes.

This building was several stories tall before it was crushed down during the quake.



We got a tour of Maxima, the company Daniel would be working for. Such an incredible place that employs over 200 Haitians.




One of Maxima's projects is producing shelters and small homes that can replace the tarp-tents so many people are living in. It's neat to see this company creating jobs for Haitians and providing products for Haitians.



We went up to Ft. Jacques to get another view of the city, holding hands tightly near the steep drop-offs :)



An afternoon getting to know another family who works for Maxima.



The kids making new friends.



Our group! We love this family.

Around and around!

There hasn't been much sitting still this past month.

We've been around and around, and it's been exhausting and fun.

Mom and I got to visit Aunt Barbara and Uncle Orland for Barbara's birthday. It was my first time to see my Auntie in years and years. We were so happy.



Connie came down for a baby shower for Clint and Mel. Notice the mashed potato bar in the foreground. There was never a better idea than that one.



We are loving reconnecting with our dear friends, young and old :)



We spent a fun weekend with the Meadows. Can't get enough of their sweet babies.



We explored Yonder Way Farm (and met these special people ).



I am soaking up time with my kitties.



These friends came to town!!



Michelle and I attended a non-existent farmer's market.



And had a farewell breakfast with them at Snowflake in downtown Tomball.



After our garage sale our room finally had enough space to be whipped into shape. It's so nice to have a little space of our own.



We've spent lots of time in Austin. It's so fun to go downtown and be able to walk places. It makes us miss Europe!



We checked out the bats of Congress Ave. Bridge. It was cool, but all I could think was "Rabies! Rabies, everywhere!"



Look at them swarm over the trees!



I know it's not cool to take pictures of other peoples' kids, but this little guy was just too cute watching the bats.



We love Austin.



More jet-setting to come in the next few weeks. We'll be heading to D.C. soon to apply for our visas! Woohoo!

Transitioned

August 13, 2011

Some words from a month ago:

We've been home for 4 months! It has flown by!

Today we were talking about our time back here in Texas and it caused me to think back over the last few months. I realized something.

I think we are officially 'transitioned'!

I am sure there will still be off days here and there, but for the most part I feel like we have healthily grieved leaving Belgium, readjusted to America, and just overall feel NORMAL again.

It's a really good feeling.

It wasn't until looking back today that I realized how hard those first few months were. How out of sorts and out of place we felt. Kind of lost and overwhelmed. Like we didn't belong anywhere.

Through spending good time with family and friends, good time with the Lord, and the debrief we went through in Colorado, we feel like we're on the right track, and are feeling ready for what's next!

We've had fun catching up with family and friends since being home.




And had a great 5 year anniversary getaway!




It was soooo fun reconnecting with family at WWAC!



And not quite as much fun getting ready for our (hopefully) last garage sale :)

The last month or so!

Blogging happens better for me when I'm out of the country.

Obviously :)

When I am home I like to soak up every bit of every moment and tuck it away, and sometimes the way I feel about it all can't really be expressed with words.

I feel a rendition of John Mayer's "3x5" coming on :) Blogging may continue to be sparse while we're home.

So, in summary, The Last Month or So! :

Building sandcastles in Galveston.



Building sandcastles in Florida.



Having heart-to-heart talks with friends deep in the woods.



Casa Bonita.



Debrief program at MTI in Colorado Springs. And the gorgeous mountains.



New miniature donkey friends.



And a whole lot of this.



And this.



Very very good stuff.

Oh, and P.S.

Clint and Mel are giving me a niece! It's a girl!



AND I'm getting a new sister!



Life is very good.