Home Sweet Home

We're finally back in beautiful, green, HOT Oregon. What an adventure! The boys and I boarded our first plane (out of Guatemala City) on July 15th at 8:30pm, just after having a healthy dinner of McDonalds hamburgers (hee...hee...). We arrived at LAX at 12:30am, and I discovered that I had to collect our 3 large checked bags and Solomon's car seat, since Los Angeles is the last port of entry for international flights. I was a little nervous about this, especially since it was just me and 2 sleepy boy. But God delivered to me an angel in the form of a young lady named Brittany. She saw us at the airport in Guatemala, and after briefly getting to know each other and talking about our destinations, she insisted on helping me get my bags and maneuver to our "waiting" area once we got to L.A. I could never have done it without her! She helped me get our bags off the conveyor, and helped me push them (stacked high on the "smart carte") to the United terminal (a nice, refreshing walk in the L.A. air).

Unfortunately, since our next flight was domestic to Portland, the ticket booth didn't open for several hours, and the airport certainly does not comfortable accommodate passengers who have to wait. From about 2-4am, I managed to get the boys to fall back asleep. Then I had to move them to another area, since security opens at 4am. But thankfully, an employee helped me push the cart while I carried both of my sleeping sons to another seating area. They were able to sleep about another hour, before I had to wake them so that we could check in and our last set of tickets. Man, it was so hard to do! My poor, exhausted children! But they were absolute troopers. Neftali only got a little fussy, but when he realized we were getting on another plane, he got excited again. They were well-behaved on the second, shorter flight, and we got into PDX at 10:11am. By this time, I had been up for over 24hrs straight...and wouldn't make it to bed until many hours later.

My sister-in-law picked us up at the airport. Curiously enough, I was craving Taco Bell, and it was near lunch time. So we headed to the nearest "border" on the way to the house. :)

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be back in the beautiful United States of America. The air is cleaner, the water is delicious straight from the faucet, and you can flush the toilet paper down the toilet!!! Just the little things in life!

I will be heading to Springfield, my old home town, tomorrow mid-morning. I am excited to get settled for a little while, while I wait to hear back on a few job prospects. We are so blessed to have the amazing friends that we do, as they have welcomed us home, and helped us begin our transition back to 'normalcy' with such kindness and generosity. Thank you and we love you all!

Please continue to pray that the Lord will direct me as I wait for direction and wisdom in the job search. And remember Emilio as he wraps up caring for his Grandma (and making sure that she continues to received good care) and comes home to join us very soon!