Elizabeth enjoys reading to a dog at the library's "Paws to Read" event.
Jillian sports a "mohawk hat" in Massachusetts!
The girls loved ice skating with Aurora!
Tony's first speaking invitation was at the church where he received Christ.
Our girls in traditional Vietnamese dress for church.
Faith and Joy in the pumpkin patch!
Getting autographs backstage with "Go Fish."
Anna Mei pitches a rubber chicken at a "Chicken Chuckin'" booth at a fall festival.
The fam with our friend, Mickey.After about 8 weeks in the United States, we have returned home to Vietnam. It is a quite Tuesday night in Danang...at least at our house. We arrived home on Sunday night at about 10:30 pm local time. This is the first time I have felt like I could sit at the computer without falling asleep, so I thought I should take advantage and give a brief update about our trip to the US.
First of all, it was a wonderful, blessed trip. We had a great time. It was incredibly busy, but we came home with some lifelong memories.
So, how did we spend our 8 weeks?
...traveling to 12 states
...sharing our work with at least 19 different churches and groups
...keeping 30 medical, dental, and eye exam appointments
...visiting with so many people we love
...obtaining items to bring back to make our house a little more like home
...a week of family vacation and a 2-day session with our board
Predominant emotion now that we are back...Gratitude
It took a small army of people to give us such a wonderful trip! Everywhere we turned we received blessing. Amazing acts of kindness, thoughtfulness, and sacrifice...like
...all those who provided housing for one or seven of us. You made us feel at home.
...rides to and from the airport (we arrived at 10 pm and departed for the airport at 4:30 am, so transporting us definitely meant a labor of love and a loss of sleep!)
...food: hmmm...8 weeks at 3 meals a day for 7 people--that's 168 meals, many of them provided by dear friends. In Kentucky tradition, I must say, "We ate good."
...a van provided to us for the duration of our stay! And it had a working DVD player (happy dance)
...a week at a Florida resort so we could have some family time at the start of the trip
...tickets and invitations to so many wonderful experiences--a "Go Fish" concert, a hayride and huge corn maze, a natural history museum, and a couple of festivals and farms....
gift cards and shopping trips for the girls and me (and my first "mani-pedi").
First time I heard "When will we get there?" Before we ever left the Danang airport, from Elizabeth.
Funniest statement: Also from Elizabeth. I overheard her talking to Anna Mei in the ladies room at the beautiful Hong Kong airport: "I PROMISE. I did NOT touch one thing, and it flushed!"
And, lastly, a story from our return trip under the category of "And not a jury in the world would convict me...."
Many of you know that our family traveled in two groups for some of the flights to and from the US. Here is the background: Coming back, Tony, Anna Mei and Elizabeth had a day of flying from Lexington to San Fransisco, then on to Hong Kong and Saigon the next day. Jillian, Faith, Joy and I left Lexington at 6 am to Chicago, then after a 6-hour layover, on to Hong Kong (where we joined the rest of the family for flights to Saigon and Danang). We were, as my mother would say, "loaded for bear." We took advantage of the 2 suitcase/2 carry-on rules, so we had a total of 28 bags between us. With my 8 large bags checked, we still had 8 carry-ons of various weights. So I was glad that we got a luggage cart when we arrived in Chicago. After breakfast, we discovered that one of the twins had left a small purse on the plane. Not a big loss...nothing in it of value. But, we had about five more hours to fill, so I asked an airline employee if there was a place we might check about it.
Many of you know that our family traveled in two groups for some of the flights to and from the US. Here is the background: Coming back, Tony, Anna Mei and Elizabeth had a day of flying from Lexington to San Fransisco, then on to Hong Kong and Saigon the next day. Jillian, Faith, Joy and I left Lexington at 6 am to Chicago, then after a 6-hour layover, on to Hong Kong (where we joined the rest of the family for flights to Saigon and Danang). We were, as my mother would say, "loaded for bear." We took advantage of the 2 suitcase/2 carry-on rules, so we had a total of 28 bags between us. With my 8 large bags checked, we still had 8 carry-ons of various weights. So I was glad that we got a luggage cart when we arrived in Chicago. After breakfast, we discovered that one of the twins had left a small purse on the plane. Not a big loss...nothing in it of value. But, we had about five more hours to fill, so I asked an airline employee if there was a place we might check about it.
She directed us to "Lost and Found." It was about a 20-minute walk she said, but you have the cart and the girls will enjoy seeing the airport, she assured me with a smile. So off we went. At "Lost and Found", I was told that items didn't arrive there for 2-3 days, but I could check back at the gate where we landed. By the time we headed in that direction, I had a stunning, heart-sinking realization..at some point we had left the secured section of the airport and we would now have to go through the security check all over again. So, off with the jackets, shoes and jewelry, out with the cell phones and computer, run all the bags through the x-ray machinery...you get the picture. My "never-make-a scene" 10-year-old queried, "If you see that lady again, you're not going to say anything are you?" I decided to have a little fun..."You'll know when I see her, Jillian. My top lip will curl at one side. My tired, red eyes will widen as my eyebrows raise in recognition. My knuckles will turn white as I grip the handle of the luggage cart to keep them off of her neck, and a gutteral, emotion-charged greeting will emit from my lips, 'Yooouuuu!'"
Actually, it wasn't so bad. We did enjoy the airport. And they let us keep the cart at security, walking it through separately after unloading. We arrived back at our departure gate without the purse, but no worse for wear. And I have a story that makes me smile...
The Lord has blessed us immeasureably. My heart is peaceful tonight overall, a little sad to say good-bye, but content with fond memories of so many expressions of love.
I wish you the same. Grace and peace!
I wish you the same. Grace and peace!
