A Whole New World

We arrived in Atlanta Friday afternoon. Just in time for midtown traffic. Yeah, welcome 'home'!

We have done quite a lot in our first few days, in addition to fighting jet lag. Here are a few highlights, plus some observations.

Saturday we had an open house with about 60 people in attendance. Yeah, less than 24 hours after arriving here. Call us crazy. It was totally overwhelming, but also a lot of fun.

We visited our church on Sunday. After three years. Some familiar faces, but so many we'd never seen before. It was big. And slightly familiar. We are grateful to those who welcomed us so warmly.

We had Mexican food after church. At the restaurant we went to often when we lived here. And for the most part, it felt like old times. With friends. The kind of friends where you just pick up where you left off. That was nice.

We began homeschool on Monday. I am quickly reaching a new level of respect for all the homeschool parents out there. Wow.

We went to Target. Overload! The cereal aisle alone had our heads spinning.

There is nature trail just across the street from Zack's brother's house. We love that we can walk about 3 minutes and be in the woods!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I joined Zack in the 40 club. So far, 40 feels good. I'm in better shape than I was at 30 or even 20.

Zack and the boys took me for a manicure/pedicure. What a treat! I felt so pampered and spoiled.

We went to the mall. It was big. The music was loud. The people were friendly.

We had Indian food for dinner. It was spicy. And it was awesome.

Plus, a cake from American Cookie Company. So many calories. So yummy. I have zero willpower around those cakes.

More to come!

This week's roller coaster ride

What should have been a week of ever-increasing excitement instead became one of mounting tension and uncertainty.

For months, we've been planning that we would travel to the states on November 13. We had tickets, and were excited. The boys started a countdown around day 100. 

One problem: our tickets were with Lufthansa. And in case you didn't know, their cabin crew union decided to strike beginning last Friday.

That was the beginning of the problems. The airline would then only cancel flights one day at a time, and only one day prior. They would not give full refunds unless the flight was cancelled. 

All that to say, we had to wait until today to officially get notice that our flights were in fact cancelled. We got that email around 9:45 this morning.

We then had to wait until around 3:00 our time for the travel agent in Pennsylvania to open so he could rebook us on a different flight.

And as long as this week was, today seemed like an eternity. We watched as rates went up and flights filled. And we wondered if our hopes of traveling as planned might be dwindling away.

But just before 3:00 I left to get the boys from school. And as we walked in the door around 3:25, I heard Zack in the phone.

But more importantly, I saw the smile on his face.

So despite the craziness and uncertainty of the week, we are in fact headed to Georgia tomorrow.

Back soon with more on our American Adventure!

The empty fridge - surely that means it's time to travel!

The last SIX days...

We are definitely in countdown mode, as we prepare to go 'home' for the holidays!

I kicked off our Saturday morning by introducing our boys to Neil Diamond. They thought I was a bit crazy, but it was fun singing America!

We are about two-thirds of the way through our packing. I'm struggling a bit as I look at the forecast and see the really warm temps, knowing that we'd already packed away our summer clothes! But we'll manage - or we'll shop a bit!

So I apologize that we aren't totally engaged on the blog right now. We are busy finishing up things here before saying 'see you soon' to everyone on this side of the ocean.

But we'll be back soon, with observations on our first time back in the states as a family in more than three years!