Sunday, March 23, 2008

Blog Neglect

I know, I know....I have been neglecting my blog. It has been busy most of the time since we've been home--22 days now. My hope is that sometime soon I'll be able to post some new pictures or interesting updates.

Things we've done since we've been home:

--LOTS of Walmart trips
--A few Taco Bell visits
--Visited with family
--Gone walking on "The Land"
--Watched March Madness games
--Gone through years worth of accumulated papers, pictures, trinkets, junk, clothes, etc.
--Organized, donated, filed, labeled, trashed or boxed up said items
--Managed our rowdy children, one of which has been teething almost the entire time we've been home
--A trip to Oregon for Shawn for a job interview
--A trip to a suburb of Kansas City for a job interview
--Had the stomach flu
--Shawn had a cold
--Chugged Airborne
--Napped
--Laundry---in a REAL sized washer and dryer (woohoo!)
--Dishes---in a REAL sized dishwasher (never thought I'd be so psyched about that)
--Found maternity clothes
--Missed some things about Bahrain
--MIL and I scrapbooked
--Gave Shawn a pedicure
--Celebrated Shawn's big 30th Birthday
--Shawn went camping this evening with his cousin and brother....I imagine I'll be writing a blog post about that one soon

Tune in later!
Upcoming events:

--A second interview near KC
--A visit to my sister's house
--A visit to my brother's house
--Sushi night
--A hair overhaul--I'm going blonde again
--Kai's adoption hearing
--Visiting with my sister-in-law and her little baby girl (whom I haven't met yet!)
--More decisions about work/living arrangments
--Hopefully, more blogging

Life is an adventure!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Back in the States

It's been a long time since I've posted! Somehow blogging has completely fallen by the wayside.

We made our trip home uneventfully (except a short delay in Chicago) and the kids were great! Thanks to everybody who prayed for a safe and pleasant journey for us. It really could probably not have gone any better.

So, now we're in central Missouri with Shawn's parents for the next two months (we think) as we make decisions about work, where to live, further education, etc. It has been an exciting time, though a bit stressful still.

A few days after we got back, Shawn and I took our EMT-Basic exams and passed them. I must say to the National Registry, though, that that test is the strangest test I've ever taken and I'm not sure why I passed it! It was so confusing and Shawn and I both felt it was no representation of what we actually know as EMTs! I guess it doesn't really matter at this point---we're just glad we both passed and are certified now.

Later in our first week, Shawn went to Oregon for a job interview and I will keep you posted on that possibility.

The first weekend we were back, my family came to visit here at the Cherri Orchard. It was a blast to see everybody, but a little overwhelming, too. I wasn't as up for company as I thought I would be after the jet lag and all the adjusments. My hope is that future visits will be a little more lively on my part. Thanks to all of you who made the trip!

This past week has been mostly Shawn and I sorting through our boxes here and trying to pare down our STUFF. How are Americans so good at accumulating STUFF? I also want to send a thanks to my mom who apparently kept all of my school assignments from 1st-4th grade! We have majorly consolidated everything and I'm looking forward to having it all organized. We're getting close!

So for now, we're just settling in! I wanted to let everybody know how things were going and I will post some pictures and more blog posts as events warrant. I hope you guys are all doing well, too. Thanks for all of your support, prayers and love.