Finally in IdaHome

So, we’ve been traveling for almost a full month now and I’ve essentially neglected you all, unless you’ve been following my sporadic pictures posted on Instagram and Facebook.  Here is a bit of a recap, along with a “Now what?” if you’re as confused as we are…

We landed in Atlanta on September 28, and it was unpleasantly and unexpectedly hot.  Oh well.  We spent a week there, with Matthew’s dad and his wife.  The first half of the week was spent recovering from jet lag and that initial blast of culture shock (Costco, Target, fast food, etc….it was mostly food related).  We did do a couple of fun things, like the Atlanta children’s museum and botanical gardens, but mostly we chilled and spent time with FarFar and CeeCee (what the kids call this set of grandparents).

We drove our newly acquired van next to Little Rock and had a lovely time with Matthew’s sister and her family.  The kids loved seeing their six cousins and they got along like they’ve never been apart.  We also got to experience a bit of fall fun, going along with the cousins’ home school co-op to the pumpkin patch and hay ride outing.  My most memorable moment?  When our kids stood nicely for prayer and then sat down and wondered why everyone else was speaking in unison, staring at the American flag…they had never seen that done before!  Oops…as long as no one thinks they were protesting.  Oh well!

Next up we drove into Texas.  We made an overnight stop in Dallas with an awesome family who had lived in Kinshasa for three months and we were able to swap stories and catch up (we had stayed with them on our big road trip three years ago).

We eventually landed for a few days in Austin with Matthew’s mom and sister.  During our time with them, we ran down to San Antonio to meet with a couple of special families there as well, both of whom we’d gotten to know in Kinshasa, as well.  Austin is a great city, especially if you love food, but it, too, was hot!  We were still waiting to cool off and get to Fall!

After Austin, we made a two-day drive out to Flagstaff, AZ where a lovely condo was waiting for us, courtesy of my parents’ timeshare trade.  We had a private hot tub and the trees were changing and the air was crisp.  Finally, Fall!  The first few days we were gifted with Matthew’s brother’s visit, since he lives a few hours from there.  It was super fun!

We left Flagstaff a day earlier than planned, wanting to break up the long drive north to Idaho.  The stop in Las Vegas was planned, but it happened a night earlier.  We wanted to surprise my parents by showing up half a day early.

And yesterday (Saturday), we finally arrived in Idaho.  We are staying with my parents, who live about fifteen minutes from MAF’s headquarters.  If you remember that we own a house here, you are correct, but since it is primarily an investment property, it is happily rented. We drove by it today and it looks well loved and cared for.  Besides, the kids love hanging out with grandma and grandpa.

We have plans to head over to western WA in early November, where we will be staying with yet another awesome family in Tacoma.  Mid-November we are heading back to Idaho until our planned return to Congo on December 7th.

Now, let me let you all in Idaho and Washington in on a little secret…we aren’t completely busy.  Here’s the thing: people assume that our time is filled with everyone else.  The problem is that everyone else assumes it, too.  And thus, people hesitate to intrude on our plans or overwhelm us, which is sweet, but then we are left without any plans at all because everyone thinks we already have plans!  So, if you’d like to hang out with us, LET US KNOW!  Send us an email or Facebook message.  We even have US phone numbers!  Even if you’ve already said, “Hey, we’d love to see you!”, please email a date that works for you!  Pretty please!  I forget stuff…something about Mom Brain.

So, now you’re mostly caught up on all things Lind and can return to your normal routine.  Unless you live in western WA or in Boise-area, ID…then, you should probably be checking your calendar and sending us an email.  Just saying…