Pictures from our USA TRIP 2015

We were recently blessed with an opportunity to spend 6 weeks in the States. Words can't describe how amazing and refreshing that time was!!! Here are a FEW (but actually a lot) photos just to give you an idea of all the exciting things we go to experience.

HIGHLANDS, N.C. -- the beautiful land of waterfalls, mountain trails, and best of all my entire extended family to share it with!

My dad went with us on a day trip to Furman University, where I attended college. We stopped here on the side of the road for a picture.

FURMAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS with the kids

FUN BONDING TIME WITH ALL OF THEIR COUSINS

First the posed photo... and then everyone jumped off!!! I could have shared hundreds of photos of the cousins having fun together, but just chose this one to show how much they enjoyed each other!

My dad went on a day hike with our family to enjoy nature's finest beauty that surrounded us in Highlands.

Thankfully, I got a lot of quality time with my brother over this trip as well!

Ironically, the weather was so warm in Tifton that the kids swam almost every day!!! Not exactly the cold winter wonderland we had hoped for when we left our hot Botswana summer! :) 

DISNEY WORLD with my mom

Chill days at our family cabin, near my parents house in Tifton Ga.

I mentioned an accident in the last prayer letter. Anna Catherine had her foot hanging out of this Ranger when my father passed close by a tree. Her foot got stuck between the moving ranger and the tree and needless to say it was NOT PRETTY!!! THANKFULLY, it was only pretty severe soft tissue damage and no bone was broken!!

Fishing with "G-daddy"

Would not be a true South Ga. visit if we didn't shoot some guns too!!! We set up a metal "man" and the kids had target practice. The older guys shot skeet across the pond with a shot gun. 

DOWNTOWN ATLANTA

Took an elevator up one of the tallest buildings in Atlanta so the kids could see the "world" 

My dad treated the kids to a day at the Georgia Aquarium, which they LOVED!

 MORE FAMILY TIME

My cousins and their spouses and children = part of my extended family

All their cousins had matching Christmas pajamas! Cute!! :)

Christmas morning with "MeMar and G'daddy and their two cousins (my sister's children)

 HORSE BACK RIDING at a friend's farm

The actual journey from Botswana to America

Stateside Trip

We recently were super blessed to be able to go to the States for Christmas! Many of you have asked what a trip looks like with three small children when you literally travel across the planet. I decided to blog pictures of our journey!

4 a.m. E.S.T. Sunday 

Leave our home in Botswana and head to the airport.

The sculpture behind us is made with ivory found on elephants in Botswana. It is a centerpiece of our National Airport. Note we are all in shorts as we leave the HOT summer African heat.

Note the few bags for a 6 week trip. When you scroll down, you will see those bags become like the small boy's loaves and fish. They will multiply. When we go to the States, we always have so many things we need to get. We actually keep a "dream list" all year round. With that in mind, we pack as LITTLE as possible. All of our clothes for 6 weeks are only half of one of those bags. The other 2 bags are full of other bags that we will use to bring back all our American goodies!!!

After more than a TWO HOURS WAIT in the airport, we take a 1 hour plane trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. We arrive at:

7:30 a.m. EST November 21 2015

After going through customs to enter a foreign country, we start walking very slowly!! We have a FIVE and a half HOUR layover here in Johannesburg.
We stopped to go to the bathroom and found this sofa outside the bathroom entrances. We decided this was as comfortable as any of a place to perch for over FIVE HOURS. If it were just Percy and I, we would walk through shops, peruse magazines, look at novelties, etc. BUT with a 3 year old "window shopping" can be extremely stressful!!!

We had packed a bag of some snacks and books to keep them entertained for the 5 hour layover. For the first little while, they read so quietly, contently and sweetly! :)




But, soon... exhaustion took over and we took turns laying on the couch and at least trying to get a little rest and leg stretching while we could before boarding the cramped airplane!



1 p.m. EST Leave Johannesburg headed across the Atlantic Ocean

This is the sight that greets us on the screen in front of us. (SIXTEEN hours and 34 minutes that we will be trapped in this tight space!)



THANKFULLY, the kids really enjoyed the movies and t.v. shows. We had a few break downs but we survived.



By the time we get to America, Abi is hysterical. It is now: 

6:00 a.m. E.S.T. Monday November 22nd (The Next day)


Sorry for the blurriness. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take a picture in immigration. The sun is barely up in America and we are surrounded by a sea of humanity all waiting in line to enter the States and Abi just breaks down. Refuses to move another step! Just lays on the floor!

After 26 hours of travel, she is FINISHED!

My mom is a sight for sore eyes there waiting when we get through customs and officially are allowed into American soil! We then get into her car and start the trip to Highlands, N.C., where we will spend the Thanksgiving week surrounded by family. We arrive there at:

11:00 a.m E.S.T.


Note we have now changed into winter clothes as we were greeted with a blast of cold winter air when we stepped out of the airport! Our trip is over and it only took  31 hours!!!!
THE TRIP BACK TO BOTSWANA

I didn't take as many pictures of the actual journey, since I feel you got a visual of that above and we do the whole thing over again, just in reverse.
BUT, the major difference going home is... THE LUGGAGE!!!

Delta allows two 50 lbs. checked bags per person (10 for our family of 5). They also allow 2 small carry ons per person (10 for our family). We took the MAXIUM we could have possibly been allowed!

We had ten 50-52 lb. checked bags. We had actually 12 carry on bags. AND, those carry ons were anywhere from 15lb. -30 lb. each!!! TORTURE trying to carry all those bags across the airport, especially since a 3 year old, 6 year old and an 8 year old aren't much help!!!


TWO VIEWS OF OUR MASS AMOUNTS OF LUGGAGE. SEE HOW IT HAS DOUBLED FROM THE SMALL 3 BAGS WE BROUGHT FROM AFRICA!!! :)

It takes BOTH my parents' cars to get us AND the luggage to the Atlanta airport.

The hardest part of leaving is by far leaving my family, especially because we never know when we will see them again.

Anna Catherine badly damaged her foot in an off road vehicle accident. God turned that for our good. Thanks to her needing a wheelchair, we will able to use her "wheels" to help us carry our mass amounts of luggage! Here are some views of our clan going through the large Atlanta airport trying to get to our gate....down long corridors, up elevators, zipping underground through trains....quite the journey!!!

Surprisinly, although Abi and Caleb's bags were at least 20 lb.s each, they both managed to drag their bags the ENTIRE way. Neither ever complained! Note Percy. He is carrying about 125 lb.!!!! He dragged 2 bags, carried a bag full of books in his right hand, strapped one backpack on his back and two in the front AND draped a bag over a shoulder!!!! MY HERO!!!!!!!!! His hands were blistered and his neck cramped for days after we arrived!

And, then after another grueling trip half way across the ocean, we arrive back in Botswana to find it is ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEN DEGREES!!!! 118 F. OH. MY. GOSH! Between the life sucking heat, the incredible jet lag and the eery darkness (after being used to sleeping in America with street lights, night lights, and hall way lights left on we all found our house so dark)... no one slept until around 5 a.m. the next morning! And so began 4 days of the kids going to bed around 4 a.m. and me forcing them to wake up at 9 a.m. trying to teach their bodies that we were in a different time zone!!!

Despite the difficulties, being able to make this trip literally is the highlight of our year!!! We thank God every time He blesses us with the privilege of visiting the most amazing U.S.A.!!!!