And We're Off!

Remember the paper chain link countdown we had to track the number of days left until we left on furlough?

It's gone!

Above you can see Trinity holding the last link. We took that picture eight days ago, shortly before heading out the door to start our journey to the U.S.


Here we are later that day. Mike took this picture as we stood outside of the Houston International airport, waiting to get picked up to "officially" start our furlough by seeing family and friends. I asked him to take the picture to record our son's first time in the United States!

It was past his bedtime, but part of me was certain the baby stayed awake that night just to see what all this talk of the U.S. was about.

Now we've spent a week visiting family in Texas, and are thoroughly enjoying our time back in the U.S. As usual, we're feeling the differences that exist between the two countries we consider home, and are noticing all the changes that have taken place in the U.S. recently. When Mike went to the grocery store for the first time on our trip to pick up a few things, he had three different people ask him if he needed help (most likely due to the expression on his face from taking in the overwhelming amount of selection and choices for nearly every item). I stepped into a store here for the first time on Black Friday - wow! was about all I could say for the first hour :).

We're looking forward to some quality family time in the coming weeks, and the chance to relax and unwind. Our girls are keeping track of where they hear English and Spanish spoken, as well as the states we plan to visit on the trip. As Mike says, "Playing America" is lots of fun!