We're back!

Just wanted to let you all know that Mikayla and I arrived home safely last night. The trip was tiring but pretty uneventful - except for when we almost ended up going to Jakarta by accident! It was almost time to board, and Kayla needed to run into the bathroom for a sec so we hurried there. When we got back, we had obviously missed an announcement, and there was a group lined up at our gate so we joined the line, showed our passes, and went through. As we were walking across the runway to our plane (things work a little differently in the 3rd world), I became suspicious because no one we were with seemed to be Filipino, and we were going to the Philippines. I started asking around and discovered it was the plane to Jakarta, Indonesia, NOT the one to the Philippines after all! It could have been bad because the plane is "free seating" so there would have been no one to fight with me about a seat assignment and no way to know we were on the wrong plane! Anyway, we headed back to the terminal - only to discover we were now locked out. It all worked itself out in the end, and we did arrive safely - in the PHILIPPINES! :)
Upon our arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to discover several packages awaiting us - and even more pleasantly surprised to discover that the boys had waited for us before opening them! It was so much fun to get Christmas in a box and such an encouragement from home. Thank you so much, O-Hills and Rauschs!

You more observant ones out there may have noticed that Ben is wearing "big-boy underwear". Yes, we are TRYING to potty train him, but we think it is going to be a long process. He is interested and doing ok, but I think he is going through nearly as many underwear as he did diapers. :)

We had an early Christmas with Steve's family on skype this morning, and I thought you might like to see how we manage to share Christmas with our family across the ocean. The kids get to open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa while they watch via video! Skype is great. Notice Ben in his underwear again - that is pretty much his uniform nowadays. :)

I will try to get some pics up soon of our time visiting my sister and her family - so be sure to check back in a couple days for some very cool pics. Thanks for praying for all of us during that time - the surgery and the time went well, and we were so thankful to be able to be there to help them out.

Merry Christmas to all of you!