There's no place like home.

Our plane touched down to the breathtaking (literally, at 14,000 ft.), freezing runway in El Alto, Bolivia at 2:50 am.  Moses had woken up about 30 mins before and was exercising his lungs to the consternation of a plane full of sleepy passengers.  We tumbled out of the plane and lined up at customs.  As usual, Mo was grouchy, Jubilee was ashen and Natty was fine.  After picking up our 10 suitcases, we rolled out into the night where our friend Leo was waiting with our truck to drive us home.  The air was crisp and I was more than ready to start the descent to our house and our beds.  We were soon winding through the dark, pot-holed streets.  Out of one open doorway I spied the vulgar red fluorescent light of a brothel and took a sec to pray for our missionary friends whose lives are spent bringing hope to the women who are trapped there.  45 minutes later, we arrived to the welcome sight of our tall, brick house, the top of Natty's eucalyptus tree peeking over the wall.  The dogs welcomed us with big, wagging tails, while the kids and I stumbled upstairs and collapsed into bed.  The next two days we unpacked bags, organized belongings and went shopping for food- 2 supermarkets, one produce market, one organic chicken store and the local market got us started for meals.  One-stop shopping definitely is not a thing here.  I kept marveling at the strangeness of everything, but how familiar and homey it has become to us.  All of the stuff that makes this developing world unique and sometimes annoying, has also become our normal.  The U.S. is mostly comfortable and definitely plush but has become somewhat unknown and intimidating.  I am so thankful that we have a house here- a place that has our touches, our memories, our design inside and out.  There is always a bitter-sweetness about leaving behind loved ones and friends in the states, but there's no place like home.

America the beautiful

Well, look at how quickly 6 months passed since last I wrote!  And, we are back in the U.S. again, getting rather close to packing a million suitcases full of stuff that we wonder if we should have bought.  This time we won't be back in the states for 2 years, so we're trying to figure out what's a must for returning.  The same process happens every time we are back: (Me in a store) "I need these shoes/curtains/plates/picture frames!  Let me shop around and make sure I'm getting the best deal...  Argh!  I'm so tired of going everywhere trying to find the best deal- I'll just buy these right in front of me.  Wait, do I really need these picture frames??  They might be cheaper and better made and cuter and easier to find, but I bet if I tried really hard I could get them in La Paz.  What do I do????"  Seriously, why is it like this every. single. time.  The struggle is real.

This feels like the craziest trip we've had yet.  Now that we are on a school schedule, our longest time back is about 7 weeks- which is barely enough to get a couple weeks in with parents and trips to see supporters and churches.  That doesn't include much time for fund-raising or relaxing...two very important goals we always have coming into our stateside travel.  Although our kids are a bit more independent than last time, they are also more easily upset by making friends and spending time with family and then having to say good-bye to them. 

And, there are more doctors visits now that we've reached an age where all the kids need to see the dentist and eye doctor, not to mention the random doctor's visits Scotty and I need.  Thankfully, the kids are champs on roadtrips and have 2 10-hour trips and 2 5-hour trips under their belts.  The last 9 hour trip will be Monday!  We've been through 8 states so far!

Summer highlights for Miser kids:

ice water- hands down, this has been the most exciting thing.  Ice in everyone's dispensers!  Free ice waters in restaurants! ("You mean, they just give you as much as you want??)  Crunch crunch all day long.

Swimming!  Pools, beaches, lakes, even one Great Lake

Bikes- Natty learned to ride a bike in about 2 hours. 

New friends- oh, so many sweet kids in all our journeys.

Treats!  We've relaxed our sweets rules a bit for this trip. 

Grandparents- don't we wish we had more time together?

Sandwiches- the cheese variety! the soft, sliced bread! PICKLES!

Summer highlights for Miser adults:

Time to work out

Warm weather

Family

Seeing old friends

Reconnecting with so many precious, faithful supporters- we feel so blessed and cared for.

Starbucks

Shopping!  (A blessing and a curse.  See above.)

So, less than 2 weeks to go before we board a plane Bolivia-bound.  We will be so happy to be back in our home, not living out of suitcases.  But, we are incredibly grateful for these amazing experiences in the homeland.