Reunion of Friends & Merry Christmas!

Y'all... Christmas is so soon! 

  We recently were able to be reunited with some friends along our road trip.

These are some good friends and teammates we served with in Bogota and we were able to see them stateside and meet their new baby.  

These sweet friends we have known for 12 years.  They were our first introduction to Colombia and we have all lived in the states together and Colombia together, and we were able to see them while they are stateside.   

These are also some teammates we served with in Bogota we were able to see while they are in the USA.  We met them during training and also spent a month with this couple in Brussels, Belgium.

We are so thankful for these friendships we met on our missionary journey!

This is a picture of our girls with some of our dear friends.  We love this family and they have been great friends and also supporters of ours in many ways while we were on the mission field.

While on our trip, I was also able to visit with other dear friends, but just forgot to get pictures then because our time was so brief.  

I love catching up and seeing old friends!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a great weekend with family and friends.

So thankful Jesus came for all mankind.

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices."

In our weariness of this life, may we all rejoice at the birth of Jesus.

Reflections

Yesterday was reflective for me.  I'm not going to lie, I shed some tears yesterday morning on my drive to bible study thinking about this day last year.

The day before I left Bogota, we had lunch with these people.  These people.  These are our friends.  Friends in Bogota become like family.  The other Americans in this picture were teammates.  The Colombians in this picture saved us in many ways there.  God used them to help us in our journey.  These are Colombians we keep in touch with today, along with a few others, including the 3 girls we came to love.

The next morning, November 14, 2016, I was so nervous for our flight process.  Check-in is so different in Bogota than domestic travel.  Once we were checked-in, immigration was always a little nervous for me when I was traveling without Avery & had the girls with me.  I had to have notarized papers giving me permission to leave the country with them.  Keep in mind the fact that we were traveling on a way ticket and checked 20 bags.  I was nervous the airline wouldn't accept them all, but they did...for a fee :). There was a luggage embargo beginning the next day so this was the maximum number of bags we could check.  The other 10 bags came later through others.  Along with checking 20 bags, Brook and I also had 2 carry ons.  

Whew, we finally made it to our seats.  First class.  Last time that happened!!  It sounds crazy, but on a one way ticket, first class was more affordable since we were checking so many bags.

Colombia.....we are so thankful for all you taught us.  You really are a beautiful country.  

We landed in Atlanta & had customs where Brook & I had to claim all 20 bags, carry them through customs, then drop them off again for checked luggage.  Once we did that, we made our way to the Delta Sky Miles Club because we needed a "free snack", and it was included with our first class ticket!!

Here we are, finally at our gate waiting on our flight to Memphis.  One of the pilots let Brook put on his hat!  It was just Brook and I returning home this day for her to attend a church camp & Isabella stayed behind with Avery to say her goodbyes to church & school friends.

It is honestly hard for me to realize I have spent 365 days in the USA.  That was my goal.  Goal complete!  Now, I think I could go back & visit Colombia.  Maybe in the next year or two that will happen.  In the meantime, we are thankful for visitors we have had from Colombia & for goodies we receive :).

If you ever have the chance to visit  or live outside of the USA, I would encourage you to consider it prayerfully.  I am so glad we said yes to God's call on our lives to live as foreigners, showing the love of Jesus to people.  May we do the same here.  

ECA Fundraiser

We had the opportunity last week to host some friends from Bogota.

My friend, Lauren, and I walking on Beale Street.

We also went to the Civil Rights Museum.

Our friends were hosting a fundraising dinner for El Camino Academy.

Isabella did a great job speaking!

We ended their visit with a visit to the local donut shop.

We loved having friends we met there visit us at our home in Memphis & to catch up on life in Bogota.  We are so, so thankful for these friendships God provided for us while we were living outside the country.

2016 Year in Review

(or otherwise known as picture overload...sorry, not sorry :))

JANUARY 

I finished up Christmas vacation with some shopping with my sister then flew back to Bogota.

We traveled to Bucaramanga for a church visit and of course to see Edwin and Laura. 

Surrounded by Colombians 

Edwin and Avery

FEBRUARY 

Avery traveled to Memphis to speak at our church's mission conference. 

Brook representing Guatemala at the school international day. 

Isabella and her arepas! 

Spirit week at school 

Isabella turned 15 and had a quince party. 

Everything was beautiful and so fun! 

Isabella looked beautiful too!

MARCH 

We took a family vacation to Caragena for Spring Break. 

This was my favorite trip we took in Colombia. 

Easter was spent with these dear friends...the Floyds and Edwin. 

The girls and I took a long weekend trip to Miami.  This included a trip to Chick-Fil-A! 

Brook was able to see her cousin there. 

And I had some time with my brother and sister-in-law.

APRIL 

I threw an "Opening Day Baseball Party".

MAY 

Mother's Day with these 2 special young ladies. 

I was finally able to go on a field trip with Brook! 

Avery and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary for dinner and heard Andres and his mom play with the live band at the restaurant in a beautiful setting in Bogota.

JUNE 

Avery and I saw the Braves and Giants play baseball in Atlanta. 

My sister and I went to Meridian, MS to see Huey Lewis and the News in concert. 

And I got a picture with Huey, my favorite singer! 

Our family went back to Camp Palmer, which we all enjoy. 

My family was able to see the pavilion named after my grandfather.

JULY 

We hosted the most fun night with some dear friends we met through SOS. 

We went to North Carolina for 4th of July and the girls went tubing. 

July 4th at the fire station....safest place to be!

AUGUST 

Eating at Andre Carne de Res, the most famous restaurant in Bogota. 

We came to celebrate the Floyds being in Bogota for one year. 

Brook started 7th grade being homeschooled.

Isabella began 10th grade at a school in Bogota.

SEPTEMBER 

We celebrated Avery and Edwin's birthday & Laura came to Bogota and spent the weekend with us. 

We took a team retreat to Villa de Leyva, Colombia. 

And took some Christmas card photos while there!

OCTOBER 

Brook celebrated her 12th birthday! 

We spent a day with some of our favorite Colombian girls. 

I became a proud great aunt to Campbell! 

Brook and I sneaked away to New York City for a few days to meet up with my parents. 

NOVEMBER

I had a going away dinner with my dear bible study friends. 

Farewell with our team  

Farewell with Brook's friend and her mom

Last day in Bogota with these favorites

Brook and I moved back to the USA! 

Family welcome home 

We spent Thanksgiving in North Carolina and the cousins had fun together.

DECEMBER 

Finally our entire family back in the USA together!

We put a contract on this house. 

Christmas Eve 2016

It was a good year.  And like most years, it was filled with some hard times, but also some fun memories were made.  We look forward to our new beginnings in 2017.