~Pics from our trip from Argentina to Colombia~

THANK YOU for your CONTINUED prayers for Elijah!  He had a rough night, but seems to be doing a tad better today.  (His asthma is always worse at night!)  Yesterday was RAINY AND COLD which didn't help our house to feel any warmer.  Phillip and I asked God for a sunny day today, so we could open the windows and doors to help our house dry out some.  God answered our prayers and gave us a beautiful Lord's day.  I stayed home with sick little Elijah and kept the windows and top door open to help our carpet dry out.
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Well, here's the pics from our trip from Argentina to Colombia!  Just before we found out that Phillip's passport was expired and I WOULD HAVE TO FLY ALONE (being in 3 different countries flying with 5 children, and 13 suitcases) there was a couple in line with us GLARING at us and Rolling their eyes...because we have 5 children. (You have to understand that in Argentina a lot of people think that life is just about "wining and dining" and that no one should have any children!  (And maybe they think that children hurt the planet! =)
If they have A CHILD...they do it near the VERY end of their "FUN-FILLED LIVES" so that they almost appear to be the child's grandparents instead of the parents! If only they knew what a WONDERFUL life it is and a BLESSING FROM THE LORD to have children!!!)
This couple was STARING at us as if we had just thrown up on their shoe or something!  Our kids were just quietly standing in line and being very GOOD (especially since they had been UP ALL NIGHT!)  So, when I found out that I had to FLY ALONE with our 5 children (with a sweet Mary who had slept all night (WHILE THE REST OF US HAD HAD NO SLEEP) and who WANTED TO BE WALKING AROUND RATHER THAN SITTING)...it was NO SMALL AMOUNT OF PRESSURE on me!
I was DETERMINED to make sure our kids kept quiet and didn't disturb those around...for that same couple (And many others who have the same philosophy) were on our plane!
I must confess that on that plane I wondered why the Lord had chosen me for this VERY ADVENTUROUS LIFE!  =)
God was with us and our kids did GREAT traveling!  Of course My Kimberly, Sarah, and Noah were HUGE helpers!
As you know we made it home safely and God brought my Phillip to us the VERY NEXT EVENING!  YEA!
Here's a few LOTS of pics of our last 2 days in Argentina and our trip home to Colombia!  Enjoy!
~On Monday night before we left for the airport on Tuesday night, "Uncle" Charlie and "Aunt" Jolie took us out for dinner.  It was a very fun restaurant.  An all you can eat buffet with all kinds of yummy food on the buffet...plus shrimp, steaks, chicken, salmon, etc. that you could get grilled too.
Here are the delicious shrimp we ate!  =)~

 ~We had a delicious meal and a fun time together.  Since we were going to have lots of sweet treats from the buffet and ICE CREAM too...We just drank sparkling water which comes in green bottles. =)
Before we left we gave them some gifts from our family!~

 ~Tuesday night at midnight...we were getting ready to leave for the airport.  Here's cute, TIRED, little Mary sitting on top of our luggage.~

 ~We rode with U. Charlie and A. Jolie and Phillip rode with Bro. Yaming with our luggage.  It was a 45 min. ride to the airport...and Mary surrendered on the way.  =)  When we got to the airport we put her in the stroller and she stayed asleep all night!  (Ironically I had asked Phillip during the night, "What are we going to do with Mary on the airplane?  I'm EXHAUSTED and want to S.L.E.E.P....but she will be raring to go!"  Phillip replied, "You sleep and I'll take care of Mary!"  Of course as you know we had to part ways, and Kimberly and I are the ones who took care of Mary. =)~

 ~Our family saying goodbye to U. Charlie and A. Jolie.~

 ~Bro. Yaming (a brother to our good friend Leo), Elijah, Noah, Phillip, and U. Charlie.  Bro. Yaming brought all of our luggage in his van. (He's the one that took Phillip to the airport the second time as well!=)~

 ~Us ladies...minus a sleeping Mary, with A. Jolie.~

 ~Our kid were SO HAPPY to be in the airport...for that meant they were heading somewhere they love!  =)  They are HAPPY to be back in Colombia.  (Colombia is "Home" to some of our kids...That's really all Noah and Elijah remember.)  Here the boys are playing with their new legos (generic brand) that Daddy purchased for them to play with in the airport. (Note Elijah's shoes on the wrong feet. =)~

 ~Here's where we "camped out" for several hours in the airport until our airlines desk opened for us to check in.  It was SO COLD there where we were sitting...you could have hung meat! =)  We had brought apple slices and peanut butter (Which I'm holding up), and empanandas to eat.~

 ~Sarah playing with her new set of legos that makes houses.  Since Sarah loves pink..Phillip looked for some fun pink legos for her, but the store didn't have any.~

 ~Elijah enjoying Sarah's legos.~

 ~After saying a QUICK sad goodbye to Daddy (for we didn't have time for anything else!) here we are on our first airplane going from Argentina to Brazil.  Kimberly mentioned that our blood pressure was probably OFF THE CHARTS about this time!
I would have NEVER made it without Kimberly, Sarah, and Noah's help.  They were troopers.~

 ~Landing in Brazil~

 ~Since we have kids and lots of bags...we always get off the plane LAST letting others go first so as to not keep anyone waiting!  We were gathering our things (THINKING THAT WE HAD PLENTY OF TIME AND NO ONE WAS WAITING FOR US!)   I was trying to ask the stewardess (who spoke Portuguese) for another breakfast since they had thrown out Noah's breakfast while he was sleeping without me realizing it.  She brought me some breakfast for him and 2 jars of baby food (fruit).  Then all of the sudden another stewardess that spoke Spanish told me, "You'd better HURRY...the bus is waiting for Y'ALL to take you to the airport!  I didn't realize that we hadn't pull up to the airport, but a bus was going to shuttle us over there.  And the WHOLE BUS FULL OF PEOPLE were waiting ON US!!!  =(  Talk about pressure!  Here's one of the many planes we passed in the shuttle bus heading to the airport.~

 ~Then after finding out that WE DID NOT HAVE TO COLLECT ALL OF OUR LUGGAGE and go through Customs...[PRAISE THE LORD]...we got to our gate and relaxed!  Only to find out a few minutes later that they had changed our gate.  So we gathered our things and walked down to the NEW gate for the rest of our wait.~

 ~I snapped this pic right before we got on our last plane from Brazil to Colombia...that took 5 hours and 1/2 hours...the longest 5 and 1/2 hours of my life.  ;-) ~

 ~Mary and Elijah fell asleep before we even took off from Brazil.  Mary didn't sleep as long as I wanted her to, but that 45 mins. or so gave me a little rest to "recharge my batteries."~

 ~Kimberly and Noah on our last flight.~

 ~I was so TIRED when I got to Colombia that I didn't take any pictures.  (NOW THAT'S TIRED for me not to take pictures! =)  We found out the next day that Kimberly must have laid down her violin while helping me lift the HEAVY suitcases onto carts...and we FORGOT it in the Bogota airport!  =(  But, they emailed us and told us that they have her violin for us and what office to go to to pick it up.  PRAISE THE LORD that she didn't leave it in one of the other airports and that it WAS NOT STOLEN!  God is GOOD!
Like I told you earlier Pastor Jimmy and Sis. Farly went the 49th mile for us!  They picked us up at the airport, brought us home to a CLEAN house (they said that our house had been covered in a layer of dust!)  She made us a yummy supper, and gave me some money to spend until I could withdraw money.  After they left it hit me how EXHAUSTED I WAS!!!  I was aching all over...but THANKING THE LORD for His help and that we were home safely!
Elijah was SO HAPPY to be home and see his toys again.  He LOVES Noah's cowboy boots and I snapped this picture of him sleeping in them his first night. =) (They are worn out so we left them here.) ~

 ~God worked miracles for Phillip and he got an emergency passport (good for a year) on the very day we left...and got a ticket to fly home to us the very next day!!!  When he rang our doorbell, I started squealing with JOY!  Kimberly told me, "You had better STOP squealing in case it's the guard and NOT DADDY!" =)
When I opened the door, there stood my handsome man...
with this beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand. =)
We are HAPPY to be all together as a family again!  ('scuze the poem!)
Praise the Lord!~

 ~Thank you for your prayers for little Elijah.  I stayed home with him this morning...although my heart was at church with our people!  Phillip and Kimberly said it was a precious service and so GOOD to see everyone again.  They took this picture of this morning's service.~