we made it to our final destination

On Aug 1st we moved to our final country.

It had been 14 months of travel and living in other peoples life. Not to metion living out of our suitcases. We have found a house to live in and are starting the language learning process this week. I have high hopes of actually blogging weekly like I used to do. Here are some pictures we have taken recently

This is a picture of Preston embracing the culture we have moved to. Since he is at the end of the process of potty training he often has to go to the bathroom and there aren't very many public places to do so. He has learned to go everywhere. It didn't bother us so much because we see grown men relieving themselves in public places constantly. We are excited for our new lives here and excited to share with the world what every day life is like for us.

My blessing

We are now in Sunny FL before our return to Asia. It is hard to believe this is the last stop of our 8 month state side tour. We have visited FL, TN, GA, MN, WI, IN, IA, IL. We have met with a lot of people. Preston has been a real trooper. Every state brought new boundaries of do's and dont's as well as new aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents to meet. Tim and I have had stressful moments and some memorable moments as well. I have loved watching Preston interact with all of his relatives. I know every parent says their child is a blessing and we are NO exception. We leave mid Feb. for Asia and are anxiously anticipating our return. Please pr@y for our last couple of weeks in the states and for smooth transition upon our return to Asia. I plan to keep this blog updated more often between now and our return.

leaving MN

We have been in MN for 3 months and are sad to leave on Friday. We know that our time in the states is more than half over. Pete and Missy (the couple we have been staying with) have been AMAZING! They not only let us take over their basement for 3 months, but made us feel at home. We have made many memories and we'll miss seeing Emmett grow older. We will however wait with anticipation for them to come and visit us in Asia this next year.

Our time in Iowa

At the end of Sept we went to Iowa to visit my grandparents. This was only the 2nd time that either grandmother got to meet their great grandson.

our vacation

Some friends at church gave us 3 nights at a cabin in Bayfield WI. We had a great time picking berries, and enjoying the scenery. Preston liked to eat the berries as we went along. I didn't mind, but it was hard to tell him no when it came to picking apples. He wanted to take a bite of every apple he saw. The weather was beautiful and we even had a hot tub to relax in when Preston went to bed for the evening. One day while out and about we even saw three wild black bears. I loved looking out over the water. I couldn't believe that it was a lake, because it looked more like the ocean.

Starting in September

When we arrived in MN, the state fair was in town and we took the opportunity to get out and have some family fun. Here are a few pictures of our time. Preston's favorite part was the butterfly tent.

My baking extravaganza this fall

Being in the states and in MN during t
he end of summer and into fall has been wonderful. It has put me in the mood for baking. I have found a love for cooking and baking so I will share some of my kitchen creations here.

Raspberry Pie: We went to lake superior for 4 days and we got to pick berries while we were there. I then made a fresh raspberry pie.
















Next came the fall inspired sugar cookies. The leaves are my favorite. We also picked a half bushel of apples while on lake superior and I made my first ever apple pie.


......Of course no fall is complete with out pumpkin cheesecake so I used a recipe I got from one of my favorite baking blogs and make cute mini pumpkin cheesecakes.