December 26-January 5
We left bright and early the day after Christmas and flew down to Florida. JoAnn and I were going to spend a few days with my parents and my sister and then meet up with Daniel and some of his family at the condo in Boca Grande (which has quickly become one of my favorite places in the States). We were all looking forward to the warmer weather and I was looking forward to seeing my sister and her son, Tyus, for the first time in a year. I wasn't sure how Ty would handle "Baby Joie" since she has gotten big enough to be able to steal his toys, but he did great and we had a great couple days in Tampa with them. Then it was off to the condos, where Daniel enjoyed playing golf with his dad and JoAnn and I took advantage of the pool/beach with Daniel's mom, sisters and soon to be brother-in-law. It was amazing how as soon as we hit the warmer weather all three of us seemed to instantly feel more relaxed. I guess the warmer weather really does make us feel a little more at home now. One more little side note...the new Indianapolis airport has a section when you are going through security that I have decided should be mandatory in every airport in the world. As you get up to the entrance to the line if you have kids, they motion you over to the side where a couple tables, a security guy and a cart are waiting for you. You then have all the time you need to take off shoes, take out bottles, laptops and fold up the stroller. They put it on a cart and go to the nearest metal detector and motion you to go through as they are the ones to put everything through the machine for you. It really was absolutely wonderful and to top it all off, we were traveling with Kristen's fiance and we got through security at least 20 minutes before he did. Okay, so I guess you can't really appreciate it until you have to travel with children, but seriously it was a huge help. So here are a few pictures from our time in FL...
JoAnn and Tyus. Trying to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time was pretty much impossible.
My parents with both of their grandkids.
JoAnn loved going out on the boat in Boca Grande.
JoAnn loved the pool, but the mid to high 70's temperature wasn't quite as warm as the 80+ weather we are used to in the Philippines, so she got a little cold. Actually, really cold. She couldn't stop shaking for about 15 minutes even wrapped up like a burrito and sitting in the sun.
It got a little cold at night too when we would take the golf cart to dinner. So, Daniel was kind enough to share his sweatshirt with JoAnn.
January 5-23
After our time in Florida and the warm weather seemed like it went by way too fast, we flew back to Indiana and experienced some of the coldest weather we have ever experienced. Alright, maybe not ever, but it sure has been many years at least. I can remember a few days where it got well below zero and the windchill was hovering around -30. Those were the days that you had to force me out of the house and it made me all the more anxious to get back to Manila. Despite the weather, this was a fun part of the trip home. Since the holidays were over, it wasn't quite as busy but we were still able to spend some quality time with both of Daniel's sisters, his brothers that live in Indy and his mom was back from Florida for a few days also. I can't remember when, but sometime after we got back to Indiana Daniel was offered a consulting job for a couple weeks. So for about three weeks, we got to see what it was like having Daniel have a 9 to 5 type job. At one point, I remember asking Daniel if it made him miss working in the US or anxious to get back to the Philippines and we both agreed, it made us even more thankful for the job God has given us in the Philippines. One of my favorite things about being a missionary is the fact that family is expected to come first and our schedules are much more flexible. We were also able to see our friends Matt and Britt and their new baby Addison. We had seen them right before Christmas when Britt was pregnant and I was seriously bummed that we were not able to actually see the baby, so when we found out they were going to be back in Indiana for a few days while we were home I was extremely excited.
January 23-26
We had originally planned on returning to Manila in the beginning of January, so I had thought I wouldn't get another chance to go back to Ohio. As it turned out we hadn't really gotten any answers to what was going on with the crazy rash I had and definitely had no answers on how to treat it long term, so we stayed for an extra month, which gave me the chance to go back to Ohio for another weekend at my parents. Daniel stayed in Indiana since he was still working at the time, but it was a great trip for JoAnn and I. We were able to spend a few extra days with my parents and I was able to see a few people I had missed before Christmas. I even was able to stop and see one of our college friends on the drive from Indianapolis to Columbus. They have a cute daughter that had just turned two, so JoAnn had fun playing with her while I was able to catch up with Tanya. On Saturday I was also able to go to a birthday party for the son of a girl I grew up with. Actually, I sort of grew up with her husband too, but only in the sense that I bought all of my soccer gear from him growing up. Anyway here are a couple pictures of the kids...(of course they aren't really my pictures, but ones I stole off of facebook since I forgot to take pictures myself.)
This is JoAnn and Izzy.
And JoAnn playing with Tanner's new toys at his birthday party.
January 26-February 5
Now for the last couple weeks in the US. There really wasn't much happening other than running around getting last minute things that I wanted to bring back and packing. I used to wait until the day before we left to pack anything. I hated packing in parts and forgetting where I put stuff. Plus, I have to admitt that I can pack a suitcase completely to the brim and still manage to get it under weight almost ever time, so it never really stresses me out. Well, as JoAnn gets older, there is way more to pack and this year they cut our weight limit on the bags, so it was going to be a much harder job than before. By the time February 4 (the day before we left) came around I had three and a half bags packed...I was so proud of myself. Anyway this was a chance to spend some more time with family and friends and say goodbye until June, which is the next time we will be coming back since Daniel's sister is getting married. The goodbyes were as hard as ever even though we will be seeing them much sooner than normal. The best part of the goodbyes though, was Daniel's dad who we hadn't seen since we left Florida surprised us by flying in the day before we left so we could say goodbye in person. Then we flew out on the 5th and was given the chance to take advantage of that wonderful special place for families as we went through the security in Indianapolis.
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