Swaziland here we come!

We are so excited we were approved to purchase our tickets even though we are still a few dollars short! We have secured tickets for Tuesday, Sept. 16th, yeah. (we will not get final approval until we reach 100% of our budget). We are currently in the middle of a two day garage sale to sell all of our "stuff" we have accumulated, wow! Let the packing begin!

We are sooo close we can almost taste it! It is currently Wed. and Friday is our deadline to have our budget, yet we are still about $200 in monthly support away. We cannot buy our tickets until we have final approval, and cannot get final approval until we have totally raised our budget, so we are in limbo. Ahh, the transition stages of life!!
The teacher in me is having an absolute fit. I like to pretend that I am organized and orderly. So to not have a departure date on the calendar, yet know that it is quickly approaching (we are planning the 16th ish of sept) and I need to have us and our 10 or so suitcases packed and get us moved out of our house, etc. is stretching me. A few times this week I have set off to pack, yet don't make it too far because I am not sure where to start. You should see all of the "to do" listst that I have been creating, even adding things I have already done just to check a task off to feel like I have accomplished something. I know that in the next month, when we are in Swaziland, I will be able to look back and smile, about my anxious, overwhelmed current feelings.

"doe, daddy, doe"

My amazing husband!

Doug is constantly putting me first, a great daddy (with more patience than me, except in the car), and just finished his first tri-athelon!He had a goal of doing at least one while we were home and just did it this past weekend. After a couple months of training for the swim, bike, run he beat his goal and finished in 1 hr. 37 min. The kids and I headed down to Beaver Lake to cheer daddy as he swam in the lake 400 meters, then on to the 14 mile bike and finished it off with a 4.3 mile run, way to go babe!

As you can see the kids were sooo proud and daddy came around with each transition cheering and yelling. Kylea made a sign saying "Go, Dad, Go" and Carsten would shout out "Doe, Daddy, Doe, Yeah".

Enjoying our kids at the beach

Learning to relax, having fun, and make some great memories has been fun this iteneration. As we go around from church to church, Doug meeting with or cooresponding with Pastors, family and friends we have not stopped making our family a priority! I love that about my husband! We both have such a strong conviction about the importance of ministry, yet finding a healthy balance of that with raising a family.

It can be so hard in Swaziland or anywhere to get off balance in those two areas. The needs around us are sooooo extreme and demanding, yet needing to be tended to. Yet we are a young family with kids who need to know that they are a priority to us. There are days that are easier than others, but it is a choice for us that we stand strongly by!! thank you Lord for this opportunity!

22 days, 3,500 miles, and three carseats!

We just completed 22 days on the road. Starting off in Seattle, down to Oregon for two nights then off to Nevada. We stayed one night in Reno and one night in Las Vegas. Then off to Arizona for a few meetings in two different locations (where I had to chance to reconned with two of my cousins)!! From there we headed to San Diego for a Sunday service and to hang out with Doug's brothers family. We had a blast visiting the San Diego Zoo and spending a day on the Coronado Beach (thanks uncle Rick). From there we made our way for a day pit stop to Disneyland to make some memories and see how many princesses we could find!! A few more stops with friends and family up through California as we had meeting and services, and the kids learned to knee board and just have some fun in the water. Then through southern Oregon to again visit family, friends, and great grandma. Then to Auntie Nieces (dougs sis) for some meetings, a service, and more boating, tubing and splashing around.

It was a long trip over 3,500 miles in just over three weeks, with three car seats! We figured we layed our head on 12 different beds, ate out way to much, and made a ton of great memories.
The goal of this trip was 1. to connect with some more churches out of our district and hopefully gain some support, since we are sooo close to our goal. 2. Reconnect and say some good byes to friends and family we probably will not see for at least another 4-5 years. And we can say we did both of those things, yeah!!