Planes, Trains, Taxis, Subways...all but a Unicycle!

So we pretty much have been on EVERY kind of transportation on this trip...other than the aforementioned unicycle. We have had a blast in NYC and NH...but we are SOOOOO ready to be home. We had fun in NYC shopping, eating and doing all kinds of great things (Bronx Zoo, H&M, SoHo,Times Square, Toys R Us, etc.) and meeting up with friends...oh...and one of the highlights, was our sighting of Alexis Bledel who played the role of Rory, on Gilmore Girls (our fav show of all time!) But for the sake of time, we will just post pics. In fact, if my post doesn't make sense and random words are left out it's only because well, I may have shipped some of my brain and words home with our last shipment. Yes, we have shipped home 2 large...and I mean, large suitcases. The first one from Miami had a bunch of our winter clothes, gifts, etc. from Peru - 60 pounds of stuff. The last we shipped from NH after our Amtrak luggage fiasco - don't ask...ok, well sneak peak. 2 large suitcases, 1 pack and play, 1 large duffel bag, a sling bag, a diaper bag, 2 carryon suitcases...and a 26 pound baby girl. AND...the train we picked from Penn Station to Bellows Falls, VT (across the river from my Grammy's in Walpole, NH) was a carry on train only. We couldn't check our luggage! Picture this: All the above mentioned luggage...and no working elevator...yeah, we went down the escalator. Once on the train a whole other mess...but enough of the trauma...we had a GREAT time in NH with Gigi, Sakari's great Grammy (Caleb's Grammy). Sakari is the first great grandchild...and she loved Gigi! We got to spend time with her in the amazing little town of Walpole, NH - we went to Burdicks chocolate, breakfast at Murray's (for Gilmore Girls fans...think Luke's and you'd be right on!), Ruggles and Hunt and just walked along the common and enjoyed our time with family and the scenery. Sakari got to play with the cars and tracks that her Daddy did growing up...and she loved it! Also while in NH, we got the chance to make a quick trip to have dinner and visit with the amazing Steiger family! They are also an Ethiopia adoptive family of Jordan (Sakari's roommate from the transition home!) with AWAA. We had a BLAST!!!!!!!! It was so fun to get to finally meet them in person...and if Sakari wasn't about to pass out after tons of fun with Sam, Nate, Emma and Jo - we may have moved in with them for the night! We had so much fun getting to know them more and learn that they have family in Prague, Czech Republic. It's only the #1 place on my list of places to visit. Steigers, thanks for a great evening! Hope to do it again soon! Yesterday after a 7 hour train ride from NH to Newark, NJ - we were able to crash in a comfy hotel just minutes from the airport that tonight will take us home!!!! This trip alone has taken us through 9 states and all kinds of new milestones - Sakari has only been home with us for just over 5 months and has already been to 1/5th of the United States...our daughter is a TROOPER and incredibly adaptable...but truly there's no place like home!

Swimming in Miami and NYC tomorrow!!!

Well, tomorrow we leave Miami with clean laundry and caught up on rest (well, mostly). Today we hung out at the pool and it was Sakari's first swim in the big pool - she loved it...and by that I mean, she LOVED it!!! We put her in her floatie and we played and played! She loved the splashing and especially loved it when she hung onto Momma and I swam underneath her and tickled her feet...we did that over and over and over! Notice the swimming pics and then notice the pic where she fell asleep on the bed while drinking her bottle. She was exhausted...in the afternoon I took Toni to the airport as she heads to Panama to facilitate a team there and this evening we had dinner and hung out with our good friend Johanna, who is also our travel agent - she's amazing! Then it was back to the hotel to put Sakari down to sleep and we are packing and watching a movie...as we prepare for Sakari first trip to the Big Apple! We plan to hit places like the Bronx Zoo (supposedly one of the best zoos for kids in the US), Toys R Us in Times Square, Children's museum...but just because are parents doesn't mean that we no longer are doing "our thing"...which entails shopping, going to SoHo and the Village, shopping, eating, shopping, eating...oh, eating at our favorite restaurant in the world - Perilla! We went back in September and we just have to go back - check it out at www.perillanyc.com We will post pics as much as possible while we are in NYC...on the 19th, we meet up with our team that is going to South Africa and get them all together and sent off to Johannesburg. Then on the 20th, we are taking a train up to Walpole, NH to visit my Mom's side of the family and also the Steiger and Laughner families (AWAA Ethiopia adoptive families)...the Steiger's sweet baby girl, Jordan, was one of Sakari's roommates at the transition home! So this post was kinda random and all over the place...welcome to my crazy, tired and slightly scattered world at the moment...after sleep tonight, the brain should be recovered and ready for fun in NYC!

Leaving Peru...

So, the mission trip is coming to a close and it's been a great trip...but we are ready to be back in the US to do laundry and prepare for phase 2 of our summer trips. Next we'll be in Miami for a few days and then Toni (BWV staff) heads to run our Panama trip while we head up to NYC for a couple days of vacation then to meet up with our South Africa team at JFK to get them prepared and sent off. After they head out, we are going to jump on a train and go visit Caleb's Grammy for a couple days in NH and also to meet up with the Steiger's and Laughner's (fellow Ethiopia adoptive families). Pray for us as Becca and Sakari head out on the first flight from Peru to Miami and then Toni, Steve and I are sending off the remaining 6 flights to Miami. Toni and I will be working on this end, but also once we get to Miami to make sure all the 30 something tubs of equipment gets safely to the hotel and all 515 people make their domestic connections...basically a 72 hour day. We are believing that Sakari and Becca will get good rest on their flight and everything down to the last detail will go smoothly! Thanks for your prayers...we will try and post again in the next several days...maybe once we are in NYC...

We are also thinking and praying for our close friends, the Gibson family as they are in Ethiopia dealing with many obstacles, join us in believing for grace, strength and peace as they complete this amazing journey...

More Peru Pics :-)

We had a great day, just hanging out and playing...also today marks the day that Sakari's confidence in walking took off! Something clicked and she wants to walk, turn, pivot and balance all the time! She's also really understanding sentences...like, "Hand Daddy the remote"...she finds it and gives it to us, same goes for Momma saying, "Where's the ball?" and in the midst of our crazy room full of stuff she finds it and starts to play with it. Our play time with her is also getting even more interactive...so fun! In these pics, you'll see that she's wearing Red Sox gear - thanks Uncle Josh and Auntie Val! And the light switches in our room are at her height...and she LOVES it! She also has learned how to climb into the kitchen cabinets and knows how to turn onto her belly and slide off the side of the bed (Momma has been teaching her). Sakari is also really starting to enjoy talking to the kids on the mission trip and already recognizes some of our close friends from the trip - she is a hit to be sure! She loves being on the stage during worship soundcheck and just dances around and sings and laughs and plays! She also enjoys looking out our room window and yelling at the kids who walk by, she's taken a liking to the hotel guy who cleans our rooms every day. And she seriously LOVES Toni! :-)

Llamas and the such...

While we are facilitating the huge Brio mission team here in Lima, Peru - we don't have much time or ability to leave the resort/hotel premises...thankfully the El Pueblo is huge (we even need a golf cart to get around) and they have a tiny mini zoo and petting zoo...monkeys, birds, goats, ostriches and yes, the ever expected llama. We are getting into somewhat of a routine and Sakari is still feeling much better...still some runny nose issues, but she's loving the attention she gets from our friends and the Brio teen girls here. I've posted some pics from our last couple of days at the hotel, with Toni and even Rahel a 15 year old girl who is participating on the trip who was also adopted from Ethiopia just a year ago...the pic of Sakari making an "attitude" face is my fav especially because she totally doesn't have a bad one, the camera just caught a hilarious expression!

Leaving for Peru...

Becca and Sakari are on a plane to Peru...I leave later tomorrow, so far we've seen off 175 or so of our mission trip participants. Got another 360 or so more to get onto flights at all hours of the morning. On our way to Florida for the team training, we got stuck in Houston for 8 hours or so...Sakari did great! I've posted a few pics of our packing and Sakari - she got a little cold the past few days but is doing much better...we are tired but overall all the details have gone extremely well! We had great help this year and now I'm officially sleep typing...Kari and Roger, glad you're having such a great time in Dubai!!! We will do our best to post some pics and such once we are in Peru...things get into a routine there and we should have some down time to post.

There should be pics posted soon from our 13 teams travel, ministry, etc. at www.briomissions.com