I'm going to gobble them up!

My girls are so sweet! They took the cloths off the clothesline for me, while I was busy with a project, because they saw a storm coming in.

Too sweet!

Very Long Drive, Part IV; The Last Leg

Good morning!

Now we are starting to get excited!

Getting closer! (It's pretty here, isn't it?)

(Scream of delight here) This is our house!

Bro. Sanchez manages to be delighted with us, even though he drove most of the night.

The kitchen

The kid's room

The back yard (the sink has a washboard for washing clothes.)

Backing up the van

Bringing in the boxes!

Ryan went straight out to get some luxury items:
the stove and fridge. I'm very very thankful for these!

And we hooked my old friend, the washing machine up. I'm praying she stays healthy!

Thank you for coming with me! I'm so thankful for all God has done in bringing us to this wonderful place to serve Him, and I can't wait to see what He wants to do here!

Very Long Drive, Part III

The evening of the first day after we crossed the border-this is Tuesday night.

We arrived in Obragon, and took a day to rest with friends. This is Norberto. He taught us Spanish while we were in Tijuana. This is his father's house, and they were such a blessing to us!

I snapped some pics of the kids while we were there.

David REALLY likes what Cheetos taste like in Mexico-Yum! (It's different.)

Becca's having a great time.

Norberto teaching the kids how to make ceviche. ( I know I spelled that wrong; can someone set me straight?)

I thought this was cute, is it "super" or is it "mini"?

More homes we passed.

On the big freeway, every 50-100 miles of road has a toll station. These tolls went from $8 to $20, depending on the state we were going through. Also, each state takes care of its own roads. Some are very good roads, while others are not.

A peek at the ocean!

I am so glad we had none of this activity, beyond the first day on the road. Here, David is pretending to lose his lunch, because Ruth told him he could throw up in her new bucket if he wanted to. (Sweet of her.)

Pretty sunset in Guadalajara.

We did not stop! More pictures coming. This was the last one I took that night. We kept going all night long. My next picture will be a sunrise!

Very Long Drive, Part II

Sunrise through my window-kids are waking up, and wondering where they are.
(This is the beautiful Central Coast)

Arizona was under-represtented on my camera. It did have some beautiful places that we drove through, but this is what I captured. Sorry Arizona. Also, it was hot.

The sunset was beautiful!

At this point, we stopped for the night at a hotel on the border, got up the next morning, packed everyone up and crossed the border. Then I suddenly realized I was not taking pictures-so here is our document processing station, the next morning.

Here is David keeping us safe from the dangerous bears while we were waiting. Elisabeth was not happy with this, as this is her bear. It was not the first, or the last, fight.

Just some of the scenery.

The Road!

Passing some homes.

To Ryan, chili suckers=home. He's a happy man.

More pictures of our trip coming soon!

Very Loooooong Drive; The Start!

Packing the van

Saying "Goodbye" (We all agree that we hate this part!)

I can't believe we came all this way with all this STUFF!

Headed to Santa Maria, our home church, the Lighthouse Baptist Church, for a final Sunday service, and say goodbye to our precious friends there!

EARLY Monday morning!

Hello, LBC!

We're excited!

This one is very excited about getting up at night!

These ones-not so excited...

This picture is out of order, but I didn't get a good one of Bro. Sanchez before this, so I wanted to include him here. He came the whole way with us, helped with so many things, and we are thankful for the friendship of the Sanchez family!

More pictures as soon as I can get them up!

Cause you asked for pictures of Shasta!

Profile shot

What she looks like with her ears up, sleeping in my lap

Action shot! She's grown a lot this week, and her tummy has deflated, but she still loves to play with the rope.

Happy Sunday!

We are excited about going to church this morning! Ryan and Pastor Ismael went out and bought a small pool the other day to baptize two new converts in! What a blessing! (Sorry! about the! overuse of exclamation points! We're just too excited!)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I love you, and I'm so thankful for you and your testimony. Thank you for introducing me to Jesus, thank you for staying faithful, and for showing me at a tender age that He is faithful! Have fun today!

We Are Here!!!

Please pardon my overuse of exclamation points, but I'M JUST A LITTLE BIT EXCITED about the fact that we are here, and making our home in Tizayuca, Hidalgo. Our colonia is a clean, friendly neighborhood, and the kids are enjoying making friends with our next door neighbors.

We spent most of our time getting furniture, unpacking, and getting to know Bro. Ismael and his wife, Paty. I'll put some pictures up later if I can!

Oh, and today we got internet, obviously, but I'm pretty excited about that little development as well!

Update on us!

We made it to the hotel, right on the border of Mexico. Please be in prayer for us tonight and tomorrow as we are planning to cross the border and head down to Obragon in the morning. I'll give updates as often as I can!