Travis made it home safe and sound Sunday morning!  His return didn't go exactly as I'd hoped.  The itenerary we all had said they were supposed to arrive at the airport at 10:30am.  I wanted to be able to get there to see him get off the plane, but not too early because what would I do at the airport with two babies?  I talked to him that morning when he was in Washington DC and he told me he was getting ready to board the plane.  Really?  Are they an hour different from us?  Nope, same time.  Because the itenerary says you aren't leaving there for another hour??  Apparently the itenerary had been messed up all week and they were getting in about an hour earlier that any of us had expected.  So with getting myself and two kids ready to head out of the door, our big arrival moment did not happen.  To make matters worse, I didn't realize how much further away the new airport was and I was unsure of where to park.  However, the most important thing was he is back home safely and is full of interesting, touching, sad, funny, and downright scary stories.  I know I won't be able to fully understand what is going on there until I go, but hearing him talk is helping me understand that by helping one child or family at a time will make a difference.  I get discouraged a lot by thinking that little old me couldn't even begin to make a dent in what is happening a few miles away from my house, much less in other parts of the world.  Every little bit helps someone.

So we have had another incredibly blessed year, huh?  The birth of a brand-new, perfect son.  Our other perfect son morphing from a baby to a little boy.  Continuing growth of our faith.  An ever-growing, awesome group of family and friends.  A trip to Africa to help us realize more that no matter what happens with the stock market, gas prices, or whatever crazy situation is going on, we are more blessed than we could ever imagine or deserve.  A Happy Thanksgiving indeed.   

I had thought about trying to post something on the blog every day while Travis was gone to give everyone an update on how things were going.  He called me Saturday morning when they landed in South Africa and when we hung up he said he'd call me when he got to Zambia.  Cool, right?  Except I (or any of the other spouses for that matter) didn't hear anything for five days!  I went through a wide range of emotions during those five days.  At first I was a little worried, but I thought that their cell phones probably didn't work but they would probably find a way to send word soon.  Hmm, okay, no word yet.  Maybe they're just busy??  But surely they know that we are now worried sick!  By Tuesday night, Kelly and I were starting to get mad!  Of course, I was hoping and praying that they were all okay but we thought for sure that there was some way, any way, that they could send word that they were okay right?  Wednesday morning, she called the organization they were travelling with and asked if there was any way we could get a hold of someone there to check on them.  According to their itenerary, they had already visited Victoria Falls which we figured was a big tourist destination and we thought there may be a good chance for them to contact us there.  But no word still.  Finally at about 3pm that afternoon, we got an email from some random person's Blackberry (thank you Gustav, whoever you are) that they were all fine, were not sick, and they were having an amazing trip.  And oh yeah, no cell phone or internet connection were to be had anywhere.  I guess Horizon got a hold of someone in South Africa, who got a hold of someone in Zambia who was able to relay a message to someone.....long story I guess!  So my blog posts would have gone a little something like that!

I spoke to him on the phone finally yesterday.  They arrived in South Africa and will be there for the rest of the trip.  He wasn't able to tell me much about the trip because they have seen and done so much, but I can tell he has been deeply affected.  He said he saw hundreds of kids with barely any clothes playing in the sewers.  Kids Harry's age roaming the streets by themselves.  He asked me if I could imagine that, and I said I didn't want to.  The good news is, they found the local church that they want to partner with and he said the decision was so very obvious.  He also reported that the food was horrendous and he had lost a bunch of weight.  He had to go up another notch on the belt yesterday and he said his pants are very loose!  You better watch out Uncle Chris!  He was in the Johannesburg airport yesterday when he called and was so excited to be able to buy a Red Bull and a Kit Kat bar as a snack!  He has our camera, so when he gets back next week we will be able to post some pictures and some more of his story.  He also said he wanted to talk about moving up our timeline.  Timeline for what I asked?  For adoption, he replied.  Oh my.....

We have been doing great back here at home.  Last Sunday was probably the hardest day so far.  Elliot managed to fall and hit his head twice at Mom and Dad's house, once on hardwood and once on tile.  Then when we got home for bath time.....Harry pooped in the tub as soon as I put him in!  So unbelievably gross!  Elliot was already in there, so I had to snatch him out, drain the water, clean up, and start over again.  I don't think he did it on purpose because he had been having loose stools all day, but still.  Not fun.  Other than that, they have been well behaved and I have just kept us busy to keep my mind off of things.  My house church friends have been so great to plan lots of stuff for us to do, and one couple even brought us dinner last night!  A group of us gals are heading out tonight for dinner while Mom comes over to watch the boys.  Tomorrow I have a judge's workshop to go to and the boys and I will be going to a party tomorrow night.  Then Sunday morning, Daddy comes home!!  Harry keeps asking if we can go bye bye to "Aprica".  Someday you'll get your chance little buddy!   

As Travis is getting ready to embark on what may be one of the greatest and most fulfilling experiences of his life tomorrow, I have been in a reflective mood about how lucky we are...and trying to be more grateful for it.  I know Travis will see, hear, and be immersed in things in Zambia, Africa that I and no one else reading this could ever imagine.  I am praying for the team's safe return of course, but I also pray that they find the perfect mission for our church and that they are given the power to express to us back home about what they experienced and what we can try to do to help.  And if you all could join us in that...thank you!

Here is a short list of what I have been thankful for lately:

• Now, forever, and always...(you know it was coming) MY BOYS!

These photos were taken last week when we were having just awesome weather.  Harry and Elliot and I walked down to the playground in our neighborhood for probably the last time this year.

Look at Little Mister Show-off Elliot!  Already pulling up on things all by himself!  Walking will not be far behind I'm sure!

• Travis turned 29 yesterday, and now we are the same age!!  I hate being older than him for 6 months out of the year!
• The antibiotics that I was on last week totally kicked my sinus infection's hiney!
• I love my freshly painted living room, kitchen, and laundry room!  Plus, we had the satisfaction of knowing that we did it ourselves and it still looked great!
• The dinner I made for Travis's birthday party turned out really well (or at least, everyone said it did!).
• Not that I want to discuss politics on a blog that is dedicated to my family life, but in case the boys ever get bored enough to go back and read about their lives as babies I want them to know how happy we were with the choice America made for our next president last week.  I think it is so cool that the first president that my kids will remember will be someone that doesn't look like them.  We think soon-to-be President Obama will do great things for our country, and I hope when you are reading this our hopes are reality!
• Our nephew Aiden is turning two tomorrow!  He is such a sweet, funny little guy!  I can't wait until the boys are old enough to ask for sleepovers!
• If the Colts win on Sunday, I think we can say they are on a winning streak!
• Today is my last day of work for almost two weeks...I'm just sad I had to send my hubby to Africa to get a "vacation"!
• Hearing Harry say "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" and "Love you, Mom!" before bedtime Tuesday night.

Just a few things I am thanking the Big Guy Upstairs for lately.  I need to do this more...it makes me realize that on my worst day, someone else for sure has it worse.

We had such a blast last night!  Last night was Harry's first Trick or Treating experience, and he caught on to the idea of it very quickly!  He was reluctant (to put it nicely) about putting on his costume, but after we got outside and got going he was really into it.  He was very polite when getting candy (always said thank you, didn't grab big handfuls when offerered the bowl) and when he said Trick or Treat it came out more like Colby Cheese!!  I also tried to get him to say "yee haw" a couple of times to get into the cowboy spirit.  He usually said "bye yee haw" to whoever gave him the candy really fast together so it sounded a little like "bye y'all"!  Elliot even scored some goldfish and some pretzles at some houses even though he wasn't officially trick or treating.  We wasn't too jazzed about wearing his monkey hat, but he did pretty well with it.   Harry's little Elmo bucket was full after going down one street in our neighborhood.  He insisted on carrying it most of the time--our offers to help were met with "No! It's mine!".  By the time we were headed back home the thing was basically dragging the ground!  He walked most of the way with nary a complaint, so I was really proud of him.  Our little section of the neighborhood had a block party where we combined all of our candy for the kids, had a cookout/pitch-in, and projected a movie on the side of our neighbor's house.  It was so cool, and such a great idea!  Harry was having the best time sitting on a blanket in awe of the gigantic movie with all of the other neighborhood kids.  Thank goodness for the weather, too!  It got a little chilly after the sun went down, but all in all, it was a really great time. 

 We also decided to go ahead and enroll Harry in preschool starting in January, which means that speech will stop at the end of November!  Woo hoo!  We have been thinking that it is time to stop the lessons for a while, but we really like the therapist and Harry loves it when she comes so it was a hard decision to make.  She was really cool with it and said she will give us a few things to work on.  It also means that he won't be going back to Katrina's unless his school is closed or I work extra.  I was so apprehensive about talking to her about it, because with the extra money we will be sending Harry to school, we can only send Elliot one day a week to Katrina's (Mom will watch him the other day a week that I'll work).  I was worried she would say that it wasn't worth the hassle keeping Elliot one day a week.  I underestimated what a caring person she is though, because she was great about it.  She wanted what was best for Harry, and she definitely wanted to watch Elliot.  We are so thankful that we found her to care for our kids when we can't!  So watch out preschool....here comes Harry Noodle!