One sure-fire way to *NOT* blog is to say in a post that you foresee "abundant posts in the future".  It’s a little thing called Murphy’s law.  Since I mentioned back on the 18th that I would be posting more frequently, there have been, uh…about 2 posts…  And now we’re rounding the corner on the end of the month.  Hard to believe.

Our time in the States is drawing to a close.  I would describe the time as a relaxing whirlwind of activity.  It wasn’t a hurricane or typhoon of busyness–more like a tropical depression of social activity (in the best way possible of course.)  It could have gotten really crazy, chaotic, and destructive (if we had tried to do TOO much), but instead we just kind of blew in (and very soon out of) town–with most of our sanity still intact.  We did a lot; don’t get me wrong.  We squeezed a cross-country flight and a few road trips into our 6 week hiatus here in the U.S., but we definitely didn’t see everyone we wanted to nor did we do all the things we would have liked.  But we made pretty good use of the time we had.

If we didn’t get to see you, I apologize for that.  If we saw some of you only briefly, sorry bout that, too.  If we were physically present, but mentally checked out, well, that’s pretty normal (no apologies!) That’s just a result of extensive exposure to the radioactive properties of Mandarin Chinese. 

Speaking for myself, I was really blessed by our time and experiences back in our homeland.  I felt that this trip was VERY needed and I appreciated the chance to re-group and reflect on "the journey" we are on.  The encouragement given was gratefully received.  I guess I want to summarize our time here, but it’s a bit difficult to do so.

Here’s a few of the highlights:

• Christa’s doctor visit.  Christa saw a new doctor here who had a potential diagnosis and a treatment for her health issue.  The medication may or may not work, but at least it’s something substantial to start with.  When Christa was leaving the doctor’s office, she asked the receptionist what she owed for the visit.  The receptionist consulted with the doctor and said: "Nothing.  You’re free to go."  Whoah.  No bill or anything.  We were blown away. Our good Father provides…
• Taking the girls to the Magic Kingdom.  Through the eyes of a 5 and 3-year-old it truly is a magical sort of place.
• All the surprise (and planned) visits with family and friends in Washington state and Florida.
• All the prayer, encouragement, gifts, moral support we received here.
• A mini-retreat we took with some good friends (and their families) to Lakeside Bible Camp on Whidby Island.  Games, meals, canoes, fire engines, night hikes, laughs, parks, ferries, etc.  Some great memories were made.
• A solitary drive from Seattle to Bellingham to visit a good friend.  There was some amazing scenery and some nice moments of quiet in that 3 hour period.
• A night away ALONE with my wife.  Our hotel was a few blocks away from the Space Needle.  We cruised the drizzly streets of Seattle and made our own schedule.  Movie at the I-MAX, gourmet pizza, coffee, bookstores, etc.  We came back to our kids VERY relaxed after that.
• Pub night with the Boyz again.  Many things change, but some things (thankfully) stay the same.
• Everyday stuff.  From picking up vehicles and making Home Depot runs to standing in checkout lines at the grocery, I appreciated even the most mundane activities of my culture. (Except traffic!)
• Community.  Just being back within the "body", our community here, was refreshing.

Those were just some of the highlights.  But you get the idea.  Thanks to each of you who made our visit so great.  See you again in a year and a half…

And here’s a little Washington photo album depicting some more of our adventures the last few weeks.