35,000 words…

Well, I arrived back in Texas after spending 12 amazing days in Milan. For those of you who had not heard, we received an anonymous gift that allowed me to go back to Italy to follow up with our many friends there, as well as take care of some logistical things (like enrolling Jake in school for next year and start looking for a place for us to live). I feel so blessed. The trip could not have gone any better. I had lunch and dinner with different friends every day. It was such an encouragement for me to see how God is working in different ways in every one of these people! There is still much work to be done in Milan, but I left there with a renewed sense of assurance that God is truly blessing the seeds that have been planted there over the last three years.

Since there is no possible way that I could tell you all about the trip I figured I would let these photos speak for themselves. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here are about 35,000 words for your enjoyment!

Jason’s road trip

Jason decided to accompany his brother, Joel, on his road trip to Los Angeles, CA.  Joel is moving to Pasadena, where he will be starting his first semester at Fuller Theological Seminary in just a few days, and we are not sure when we will get to see him again.

It turned out to be quite a road trip.  They drove non-stop to the Grand Canyon and hiked around.  They also hiked in the Red Rock state park in Sedona, Arizona.  They even drove through Las Vegas before reaching their final destination.  Check out the fun video montage of the trip:

Family Vacation at Holly Lake Ranch

We had a very fun and relaxing week with Kal, Lucy and Hunter at a small resort near Holly Lake in east Texas.  It was an all-inclusive deal, so we were able to do all kinds of things…putt-putt, archery, canoeing, etc.

Trip to Washington DC

We traveled to Richmond, VA for a week of training and debriefing with dozens of other missionary families.  Following our week at the training center we decided to spend a few days sight-seeing in our nation’s capital along with Jason’s parents.  We saw and did A LOT, and both Jake and Julia did so well.

Our 10th Anniversary!

Can you believe that 10 years have already gone by?!? As Jason likes to say, “We’ve now been happily married for 8 years…10 years in all!” (hehe) Seriously though, we are glad that God has brought us this far. It hasn’t always been easy, and sometimes it has been downright hard. However, we have been extremely blessed and we thank God for putting the two of us together and allowing us to become a foursome

We decided to celebrate this milestone by taking a vacation with some of our dearest friends, Dave and Mary Ann Hutchison. We actually met them 10 years ago while we were both honeymooning in Cancun, Mexico. We left Jake and Julia with Gramps, Gram-Gram, and Uncle Hunter, and we spent a week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It was amazing…a much needed time away with each other. Check out the fun video montage of our trip: