249 Days
27 Countries
61,576 Miles Traveled
1 Family Member Added (still developing!)
and we are...
HOME!
We thank God for this time together as a family. All Glory to Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Amen.
God Bless!
Favorite Blog Posts from Trip:
Hayleigh: Kenya http://tsfga.blogspot.com/2013/05/kenya-shoes.html
Sarah: Tanzania http://tsfga.blogspot.com/2013/05/tanzania-maasai-week-week-to-remember.html
Vienna: Guatemala http://tsfga.blogspot.com/2013/03/guatemala-babies-and-buildings.html
Andrew: Austria http://tsfga.blogspot.com/2013/06/austria-vienna.html
Rachel: Baby Announcement http://tsfga.blogspot.com/2013/03/easter-and-new-life.html
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Activities since returning July 30 to Dallas, TX.
Since all the kids had their birthdays while we were on our trip, we had a birthday party Aug 3 at a pool in the area. Aunt Heather, Kelsey, Emma, Aunt Amy, Tula, Maria, Aunt Lynne, Ben + Mimi & Deda were there. The wind was a bit much so we didn't actually get the candles lit....
...but they enjoyed the birthday cupcakes anyway.
Look at that strong H girl!
Mimi and Deda....
Back at Mimi & Deda's house, many of the cousins gather
Something about this picture doesn't look so good....look out Ben!!!!
OUCH!
Aug 9, the girls had a T-Party where all the guys had to clear out...
One of the primary reasons we returned to Dallas was to serve, assist, and perform in "Music Makers" at my parents church. In one week, the kids learn music, choreography & speaking parts, and then perform the musical on Sunday morning for the congregation.
Rachel agreed to be the director this year so as we were traveling around Europe, she was doing all the work she needed to do to make this a successful production. It made the time go by faster for Rachel (though I don't think she thought she would be 30+ weeks pregnant when directing the show!)
Tryouts were after church August 4 and then the kids came each morning M-F and performed at 2 services Sunday August 11. V, H, and their cousin Kelsey helped instruct the kids during the week (as they are now too old to be in the show) while S and Emma were cast as leads. The show was a fantastic success. It is really amazing how well the show went given the amount of time the kids have to learn everything. Aunt Heather assistant directed and the church has asked if Rachel and Heather will team up next year again. Rachel was SO grateful for Heather's help....
We started our drive home August 15 saying our goodbyes to Mimi and Deda...
and then driving north to Wisconsin to visit Aunt Gretchen + cousins Mandy (with husband Chuck) and Samantha (not pictured....along with her husband Patrick and 1 year old son Tristan)
We had dinner with Gretchen Aug 16 and then spent all of Aug 17 with the people above + going to Chuck E Cheese that evening....
The girls and AJ had tons of fun....
On the morning of August 18, we went fishing with Aunt Gretchen...
and AJ stripped naked (see him in the distance with Gretchen heading after him?)
AJ danced the Haka in Lake Michigan (and gave us great photos to bribe him with when he is a teenager, ha!)...
That night we drove to Indianapolis where we stayed overnight at my business partner, Quenton's, house.
Quenton and I worked most of the day August 19 together in Indianapolis and our family headed to Columbus OH for dinner with another business partner (Michael...can't believe we didn't take any pictures!) before heading to Cleveland for the night.
By the time we got to Cleveland, AJ crashed ;)
August 20 had us traveling 3+ hours north to Niagara Falls...
Before we got to Niagara Falls a warning light come on saying "Battery warning: Check Recharging System" I was hoping we would make it home before the car died, but that hope was NOT realized. The car died near Rochester, New York. Fortunately, it died at a service station. We called AAA who sent a tow truck.....
....but not everyone was disappointed. AJ was SO excited to be riding on a tow truck!
On the way to the car repair shop....
4 hours later, we were on our way. This pit stop was a reminder that sometimes that which looks and feels 'not so great' sometimes turns out 'better' in the end. All things in this world from alternators to our bodies age and break down eventually. If the alternator was going to die, it was nice that it did so at this time since we were sitting in a nice gas station when it happened, AAA covered 100% of the tow charges, and we were able to play the sympathy card with pregnant wife + 4 kids + driving home after being gone so long = repair shop moving us to the front of the line. If the alternator had died when we got home it probably would have taken several days to get the car fixed. So, that was just another reminder to give praise to everything, even those things that annoy!
We arrived home 1:45am Wednesday August 21, 2013. Our dear friends the Taylors, Millers, and Searle's cleaned our home and put up signs like this welcoming us home.
The Journey is now complete. Thank you so much for being a part of our journey.
1 Thessalonians 5: 14-18
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
