Tentative Plans

It's starting. It's here. The time for travels has come.

We enjoyed the holidays with family and friends, have thoroughly enjoyed a little non-traveling time here in Louisiana going to my brother's basketball games and involving the kids in AWANA at church, and have been busy speaking at a few different churches about our work in Brazil.

But, the non-traveling time is over now.

Tuesday I will be on the way to Texas. I'll be spending some time in Longview and the Dallas area. So excited about seeing everyone and also about the conference I'm going to this weekend. It's going to be a replay of my single days...gallavanting all over east Texas all alone...no time constraints because of nap times and such. It'll be so weird, but so fun at the same time. Lots of firsts this furlough. The trip to NYC with Joel without the kids. Now, I'm going on a little trip by myself. So very weird. I'm a little sad (I'll really miss the kids and Joel), but also excited. Normal.

The day after I get back, Joel will be leaving for 10 days. He's got a training to go to in North Carolina.

He'll get home and about 3 days later we'll head on our big trip out west. Through Longview, to Arizona (Phoenix), and then back to the Dallas area on our way home. It'll be a 3-week trip.

We'll be home for Easter weekend and will then head out again on our big 3-week trip out east. We'll be going to Pennsylvania. The kids and I will be hanging out there with some family while Joel goes for another training in Canada for a few days. Fun. He'll get back and we'll spend some more time with the family and then head back. On the way back from PA, we hope to see some more of our friends as we travel.

That'll put us in May. Then we can have a little more time to not travel as we stay put for a little while for my little brother's graduation mid-May. We also plan to get the kids in little league (T-ball)...try to squeeze in as much of the American way of life as we can while we are here.

I plan on spending as much time as I can at my favorite place on Earth during June...the LAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;) SO VERY EXCITED about that. Oh my gosh...it's been 4 years since spending time at my lake (any lake actually). I'm sure we'll spend lots of time speaking at local churches/meetings about our work and lives in Brazil. And we are very grateful for this time here...so many ministry opportunities anywhere you are, but when we are in Brazil we aren't able to spend time with old friends and minister to each other...we are getting in a lot of that while here.

July will bring family reunions, the Watermelon Festival, and then travel back to Boston to spend a little time with Joel's family again. Then...back to Brazil.

Right around the corner when you type it out like that in a few paragraphs. ;) Sad. We miss our friends and lives in Brazil, but it sure is nice being 'home' (my original home that is).

Keep us in your prayers as we travel and minister. That all done and said would just be God doing it through us. For safety and adaptability of the kids (and us :) ). For health.

Also, we've planned all along to get some really good in-depth Portuguese language study for me before we go back to our lives in central Brazil. I never went to a language school like most people do and we just feel like it's a great time for that to really sure up my Portuguese. So, we have looked at many different options over the past few months. Keep us in your prayers as we finalize something for that in the next few weeks.

We'd love to see ALL of you. If you are on our travel route, please get in touch with us to schedule a meet-up. ;) If not, you are welcome in Goldonna. ;) Come on over.

Give us a call or comment or email. And thanks for your prayers. We sure do appreciate it!!