The Countdown...

The countdown is on…only TWO days until we are hugging Papa Donavon, Nana Becky and Aunt TC at the DSM Airport!!

Thankfully, Matt made it safely back home from Ukraine this morning.  He left Hannover on Wednesday and headed to the Ukraine to meet with various customers with the goal of learning more about the farming operations in Eastern Europe.  Since arriving home, Matt has shared with me some fascinating and yet very troubling information re: his stay in this very impoverished area of the world.  Many of the wages consist of solely the produce from the farms an employee works on. Thus many people were selling sugar by the side of the road.  The farmers shared many stories re: the dissolution from the Soviet Union just 20-years ago and how the political liberalization impacted their farming operations.

Once Matt got settled back in we celebrated his birthday!!  The girls were excited to give him their gifts and have him try the heart-shaped strawberry cake we baked him yesterday.  But honestly, I think his best birthday gift was the Cyclones HUGE victory last night!!  And to Matt’s delight, the game was being shown here via Skye television at 11AM.  Even though he knew the outcome of the game, the girls and I could hear him yelling and cheering all the way from the third floor!! It was so much fun being able to talk and email with friends at our time around 10:30AM because they were still up celebrating the huge victory in the USA at 3:30AM Saturday morning!

The girls wanted to throw Matt a "Spiderman" party:)!

And now for packing for the USA!!!!!  I have the clothes we want to take organized and set out, but now for the process of elimination.  Since I will be traveling with the girls alone over to the USA, I am only taking two carry-ons, one large backpack and one large piece of luggage.  Thus, I cannot take all that I would like to take but only the items we really “need.”  And, I must remember, what we do not have with us we can always buy in “land of the familiar.”  Then, when Matt comes over he will bring with him two empty suitcases for all of our Christmas gifts:)!! 

The guest room is the "packing headquarters!"

So, I may not Blog again until I am on American soil.  We leave Tuesday morning at 8AM for the Frankfurt Airport.   Our flight leaves at Noon from Frankfurt and we will arrive in Des Moines at 6:30PM.  So, it looks as though our entire travel time is only 6 ½ hours, but really it will be a total of 13 ½ hours!  If I can just get us through Customs (in Chicago) and get on our connecting flight we will be on the home stretch…

Please pray for safe travels for us!  We will see so many of you very soon!