We're in the USA!!!

We're in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

I still can't hardly believe it! We've been here since June 7th. Yes, I know, I know. We said that we'd be "in the states eating great food on June
17th"...which was true...we wanted to surprise our family and friends - and we DID! It was a lot of fun and worth all the hard work in keeping it a secret.

I can't explain the feeling I felt when we stepped onto American soil...WOW! I felt and still feel so patriotic. As we walked through the airport I was amazed to see how huge everyone is...there were cops everywhere and they were just huge (like giants) compared to the sleek asian bodies we've been used to see for the past year and a half. One of the first things Josiah said when he got off the plane was "Momma, everyone's in Engwish" He was so excited that he could talk to everyone.

I literally had a smile on my face for the rest of the day - I couldn't stop smiling at people - especially black people because it had literally been a year and a half since I had seen a black person. I know people must have thought something had to be wrong with me. I remember riding on the shuttle to another part of the airport and the whole time just studying people's faces. American faces are so diverse! It's was just a really strange feeling...and everyone was so nice!

We half expected everyone to be rude - but everyone was surprisingly very nice. Once we finally got to Sherman, Texas after almost 2 days of traveling we were very tired...of course! But to our suprise we really didn't have bad jetlag - and Jude was on schedule!!! He wasn't backwards - I thought it was going to be so hard to transition Jude to sleeping during the night but I didn't have to do anything!! There are so many things that I have just been loving! I take Josiah to the library about two times a week for a reading program they have there. They have a woman who comes in sings songs and read's books and then they get to play with toys and if you come for weeks you get a free book! It was so weird the first time I brought him (I read about it on the internet). We came in and Josiah was just in awe at all the children. His bashful smile came up and I thought he would never leave my side - but as soon as she started reading the book - he was front and center!

I was so nervous for him...there was a sweet lady next to me trying to make conversation but I couldn't keep my eyes or mind off of Josiah - I explained to her that we had been away for a year and half and she began to study him too. :) IT was like he was experiencing things for the first time. One time we were at the drive through at Chick-fil-A with John's sister and she was placing an order...and Josiah said "Momma...that's silly...what's she doing? I wanna talk to the box too!!!" I feel so funny when I have to explain things like the reason he can not splash water all over the bathroom (no drains in the floors)...by the way - Josiah is LOVING taking baths in a "big" bathtub.

I really feel so pampered here with the air conditioning...oh and the dryers - man, clothes can smell sooo good now! I've always been a fan of downy but man they have improved that stuff...there's even a new joyful expressions or something by gain and our clothes smell like delicious perfumed FRUIT!?!?! Who'd have thought? I have successfully not gained 20 pounds so far...lol...only one pound!!! It sure is hard with things like Blue Bell Ice Cream in everyone's freezer! But you know...with all these great things - my heart longs for Thailand.

The simplicity of life...and the people. I am cherishing every moment of our time here with family and friends but at the same time I find my mind constantly thinking on Thailand. You know, some things are exactly like I thought they would be...and then there are some things that are shockingly not. I pictured that by now we would have churches to go and share with...and be spending time with our friends and family all the time...but you know...neither of these things have happened much! We will be sharing at Liberty Lighthouse two times at the end of the next two months - sharing our vision and hopefully calling out missionaries...but other than that...most people seem very excited to meet us but most pastors/churches don't make it past the idea that we don't belong to an organization. It's ok though...God knows our heart and he will open doors where they should and can be opened.

The other thing is spending time with family and friends - everyone is just soooooo busy with life!!! There is always something going on...which is completely normal...we've been really busy since arriving too - I guess I just pictured spending tons of time with people but I've found that there are sections of time that you can have people and then you usually have spread out that time among different friends. I cherish this time with our family and friends sooo much! We just returned yesterday from going to visit JOhn's Grandparents with John's parents yesterday. It was such a good trip - I wish we could have stayed longer.

Josiah got to fish for the first time...it was amazing to see him experience that for the first time. Jude is doing wonderful - as plump as ever and working on crawling. We went to go see a good Dr. friend of ours last week - and I hate to report that Jude is going to have to have some work done to correct some things that went wrong with his circumcision. He's ok...so nobody freak out. Please be in prayer for complete healing for me also because there have been somethings that have come up with me also. I have applied for Medicaid to help with Jude's needs - please pray that everything goes smoothly with the application.

I have so much more to write but at the moment I believe I've written too much - hope I've kept your attention :) I'll be posting some pictures soon. Thank you for reading! Please keep us in your prayers while we're here - there are many ministry opportunities everyday and we need wisdom. And please keep our finances in your prayers!!! Please feel free to e-mail!