Home.

Ah, after 3 1/2 days on the road we are home. HOME! It is so nice. I wouldn't say I'm a homebody but when I'm gone for a while there is nowhere I'd rather be than home. And we are being welcomed by a cold spell from the South. Does it get any better than this?!

For all of you picture lovers out there I'll go ahead and warn you that this post will have no pictures. I have spent the past 24 hours (almost) unpacking, doing laundry and cleaning out my dusty house (even with the windows and doors shut the dust still manages to find its way into the house.)

Even though we traveled for 3 1/2 days to get back (most days we were on the road 8-10 hours) we were able to stop each day and have a decent lunch. One day we even stopped at a restaurant/juice place that we used to love going to (before we moved). They have a mini-zoo behind the restaurant so we were excited for Karis to see the animals. I hit the restroom first while Jonathan took her around to see the animals. When I came out of the bathroom Karis was ecstatic. She came running, jumping and skipping towards me yelling at the top of her lungs (in English) "Mom! Guess what I saw?!!! I saw a chicken!!! I saw a chicken!!! hahahaha! I saw a chicken!!" No, not a "hey mom, I saw a peakock!" or "I saw some monkeys" or even "I saw some parrots, goats, turtles and horses." No folks, she was excited about a chicken. If that does not make you smile then you must know that while some children in the U.S. may not see chickens often my child sees them quite frequently. Chickens are everywhere. As you walk through the neighborhood they're on the side of the streets looking for bugs. As you drive to town you often have to stop to let a mama hen and her chickies finish crossing the road. When you're traveling it is pretty much impossible to go to a gas station and not see chickens running around everywhere (people buy them as chicks and let them run around and fend for themselves 'til the family decides it's time to have them for supper. How they keep their chickens and the neighbor's chickens separated is beyond me.) So while I'm at a loss as to why my child found the sight of a chicken so exciting it did add a bit of entertainment to my day.

It was wonderful (wonderful!) to have my in-laws in the backseat for the trip home. They got their ears talked off for 3 1/2 days straight and did a wonderful job of keeping my 3 1/2 year old entertained. Mom taught her a few songs like "My High Silk Hat" and one about the lady riding on the back of a crocodile. So until she put down her foot and told Karis she needed a break we heard about every ten minutes "Vovo, can you teach me about my high silk hat?" Or "Vovo, can you tell me about that lady and the crocodile?"

The most entertaining thing though was Karis listening to us play Grandfather's Grocery Store and trying to play as well. It's that game where one person begins by saying "My Grandfather owns a grocery store and in it he sells something that begins with the letter (S)" and then the rest of us try to figure out what item is sold in a grocery store that begins with that letter. Karis got a little better at it but most of the time it would go like this.....

Karis: My faaaaver wants to be a grocer and he wants to buy the number B.
Me: Bananas?
Karis: No
Mom: Bubble gum?
Karis: No
Dad: Broccoli?
Karis: No
Jonathan: Popcorn?
Karis: Yes! You got it dad! Now it's your turn!

So Jonathan would take a turn.

Jonathan: My faaaver owns a grocery store and in it he sells something that begins with the letter S.
Mom: Sausage?
Jonathan: Nope.
Dad: Squash?
Jonathan: Nope.
Me: Sardines?
Jonathan: Nope.
Karis: Bananas?
Jonathan: Yes! Now it's your turn Karis!

And so it went. Even after hearing Karis begin the game about 231 times it was hard not to laugh every time. What can I say, we find her cute.