Well, we finally made it to the US this past Thursday. We arrived at our final destination around 11ish pm. The trip went really well despite the choas we encountered at our "favorite" airport, LAX. Justin got to work on his muscles as he pushed 2 carts full of luggage from the International Terminal to the Southwest terminal while I got to practice my herding skills as I was holding Jack and pushing a cart with our carry-ons. It had to have been at least a half mile walk. The 16.5 hour plane flight from Singapore to LAX was more enjoyable despite the close quarters and lack of sleep. But we made it safely and the triplets have done an excellent job at adjusting to the new time zone and getting over jet lag. Jack hasn't faired quite as well, since he was a little sick leaving Jakarta and started to develop a fever by the time we reached Justin's parents house. That on top of an eczema flare-up as a result of the flying and the dry air of CA has made his adjustment a little more difficult. But overall I really can't complain. Really I just praise God that we got here safely, the flights were good, we didn't loose anything along the way and Jack really didn't get sick/cranky until we had already made it to the US.

We have enjoyed a couple of days here in Alamo and are packing up to head to Houston early tomorrow morning. Highlights of our time here:

1) Justin's face lighting up as he held his CASE of belly flops from the Jelly Belly Factory.

2) The triplets, Justin and John went to Mt. Diablo to go "rock climbing". When the boys returned, Isaac reported to me about the trip saying, "Grandpa got stuck in a rock." So I asked how he got out and Isaac replied, "Alex pushed him from behind and I pulled." I think he will be telling this story for awhile.

It is good to be back!!

Just thought I would write a quick post to let everyone know that we are taking off for the US this morning. We have a long journey ahead, so your prayers for our safety and mine and Justin's sanity would be appreciated. See you in the STATES!!

First we wanted to send a "Happy Father's Day" wish to all the daddies out there, especially our own. We love you and are looking forward to seeing you REAL soon. Here is a little tribute to our favorite dads (some of the pics are a little old but they are some of our favorites):

Happy Father's Day Fishing Grandpa

Happy Father's Day Papaw

Happy Father's Day Daddy and Uncle Davey

Happy Father's Day Uncle Kyle

In other news...we are anticipating our trip home to the states this week and are busily getting the house, our staff and ourselves ready for the trip. In the midst of all the hub-bub, we have had a second car accident (noone was hurt. just the car.), the boys performed their Tutor Time End of the Year Concert at a local mall and we visited the Kite Museum. I hope to give details about all these things soon, but with everything going on to prepare for our trip, you might just have to wait to hear about it in person!

Here are just a couple more cute pics of this "SUPER" Birthday!

We lived in Houston for close to 8 years before we came to Jakarta. Houston is known for car accidents, and it is assumed by many that you will be in one if you live there long enough. I managed to survive all 8 years without being in an accident (that required car repairs). Erin did not, but that is not what I am talking about today.

We took the family to the mall in the car yesterday, Sunday. It felt like there was a lot more traffic on the road than our regular Sunday drive to the Pondok Indah Mall. It is a drive that we have become accustom to since I can drive it on days our driver has off. Traffic was slow in places that it was not normally slow. Finally we came to a point where the traffic quickly stopped for no apparent reason (you Houston highway drivers know about that). We went from 20 kph to 0 kph, but there was plenty of room between us and the car in front of us.

After what seemed like a second, though it was probably not that long, we heard screeching tires followed by the tell-tale sounds of a rear-ending. Unfortunately, it was in unison with the jolt of our car going forward. A small dump truck, probably with bald tires and about 3 tons over its weight limit, hit the back of the Van. Without getting out of the car we decided the truck probably did not have insurance and for sure we did not know enough Bahasa Indoneisa to communicate with the driver. So... we set off on our way to the mall again. When we arrived, we surveyed the damage. The biggest problem: the back door won't open. Everyone in the van was fine.

I talked to the insurance people today. They came by my office to help me out and see the vehicle. It was very obvious we were run into. I filled out the paperwork and told them I managed to get the license plate number (go Erin) of the truck that hit us. He kinda chuckled and said, that won't help. It looks like we will be driving a van with a stuck closed back door until we leave for the US. Sarif took the van by the repair place and they said it would take 10 days to repair.

So I did not even survive 8 months in Jakarta without getting into an accident. Not even close to 8 years. Oh well. The car insurance will take care of things. Luckily the deductible is 100,000 rupiah, $10.

I was combing through our favorite blog sites looking for updates when I realized, "Hey, it has been awhile since I have updated our blog. I better get to work."