The Trip

We finally made it to Macedonia after a long but wonderful time in the states. We went to church with my mom and dad, got loved on and prayed for by the precious people at their church, climbed into the church bus, and we were off.

We hit McDonald's one last time (no more McDonald's in Macedonia. Boo.), and the kids got their last Happy Meal toy for a while.

 Then we hit the Charlotte airport with great force. 

Thomas' face and shirt say it all.

We said our final goodbyes to Granna and Poppa, and Kate and I cried all the way through security. We were those people that made a scene at every turn. With insane amounts of luggage (12 suitcases, five carry-ons, five pieces of hand luggage, and a carseat), two preschoolers, an infant, and a stroller, it felt like the whole world was staring. First with checking in that much luggage, and then crying through security, we got lots of "Oh!"'s and "Poor thing." Once we were through security and were trying to gather our stuff back up for the trek across the airport, one lady said "You guys deserve a medal. You are the family of the year." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have an audience. I do appreciate her encouragement though.

The kids did great on the flights, and they even did good in the airport. Airports tend to be way boring for kids. You can only look around the stores and watch the planes take off for so long. 

That is where the moving sidewalks come in very handy. If you can find one of those, you can run the kids around and around until they are good and worn out--which makes for good sleeping on the planes.

 But the planes are super exciting for the kids. On the giant planes, they have their own TV filled with games and movies. They have their own neat blanket and headphones that they get to take out of the hermetically sealed plastic bags like it's the best present ever. You would think the bathroom was Disneyland. The meals are exciting... at first, and then you pull out the goldfish you packed in one of the 10 carry-ons you have. They love that a very smiley lady keeps bringing by drinks. They fit perfectly in the seat. In fact, they have room to curl up and sleep, right there... in one seat. Amazing! And when all of that excitement wears off, there is always spending time looking out the window. The world becomes miniature and the kids thought it was fascinating. It was fun to show them the beautiful snow-capped mountains of Europe. Kate commented that the mountains looked like an ice-cream sundae. The clouds are puffy and beautiful. Every bounce of turbulence made them giggle like they were on a roller-coaster.   They had a blast on the trip, and stayed pretty happy most of the time. God is good!!!

And now that we are here, they are super happy. Because of some hold-ups in looking for an apartment, we have been hanging out in a town about 2 hours away from our town.  Our team here has loved on all of us, and it has been wonderful to be reunited with them.  

 We LOVE these guys!!!

Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for the trip. Keep praying as we are still far from being settled.