A Day in the Life - Quarantine

The first call to prayer goes out about 4:20am, an hour before sunrise. We have 3 mosques in view of our hotel window and instead of all calling together they take turns. 

About 7am the doorbell rings and we find breakfast waiting at the door. This happens for lunch and dinner too. We can choose between a Western, Asian or Kids Menu.

During the day we have been having a Marvel movie marathon. We wanted to watch them all in order but man, there are 19 movies and we can’t do that even being locked in for 4 days.

We have also played cards, exercised, read, practiced math and Indonesian.

Someone did not want her picture taken.


So far, we are doing good to make it to 7 pm before falling fast asleep. Tonight the kids have made a goal of 8pm. Jet lag has definitely hit us hard. But we have high hopes of good sleep tonight. We have great accountability for no day sleeping around here.

Time to go

When you have this much luggage you need help getting it to the airport!

Finally on a plane!  I had to pinch myself!

All of our bags made it!!!

The view from our quarantine hotel.

One last visit - ESVA

Bruce loves to fish and he was able to go while we were on the Shore.

Lillian loves to bake and we all enjoy that! We got in a few fall favorites before we head to the equator.

Our trip did not end like we wanted.  Covid caused us to have to say goodbye at a distance and leave early but we enjoyed the time we did have together.

A little shopping before we got on the road.

Thankful we got some time with Jon and Rach before we left.

One last visit - Ocala

The weather was amazing for our short weekend trip to Ocala, FL.  We were able to do one of our very favorite things, kayak on Silver Springs.

Everyone needs a "hood ornament" on their kayak.





The boys were able to share in Kids Worship.

We were so happy to be able to worship with FBC one more time.  We miss y'all!!

Soccer boys

The boys wanted to play soccer so we waited til the last minute and then signed them up.  They are playing on a team together and it was so fun to watch them play today.  They are catching on quick and know what they are learning will come in handy when we get to our new country.

16 years

Today we celebrate 16 years of marriage.  It was such a blessing to watch God provide for each special part of today.  He spoils us!

Celebrate

One of THE best things about our delay has been celebrating with family.  We are not usually around for birthdays but we've celebrated quite a few over the past few months.  We love you Grace.

Back to School

The kids started school today in Shreveport, LA.  Although it was not our plan we are thankful for God's provision of a house and schools for the kids to attend.  We are trusting Him to continue to provide our every need.

Isaac turns 10

Our baby is now double digits. We had a fun day with family. He requested cinnamon buns for breakfast and shrimp and ribs for dinner with an ice cream cake to finish it off.

Friends in town

We had such a great time catching up with some friends from CA.  God is so good to orchestrate just what we need in each moment.

Summer bowling fun

The cousins went bowling and it was quite the adventure.


If you got a strike you got a pic.

Husky Branch Falls

Today was an unexpected vacation day.  We were supposed to be headed home today but they offered us another night at a discount and we were not ready to go.  Our last hike was an easy one.  We hiked almost 5 miles but it was flat.  The fall was not magnificent but nice.  We hiked on a little further and were able to hang out in the river and play. 

We finished out the day by driving through Cades Cove.  The views were spectacular and we saw a mama bear and her 3 cubs.

Anakeesta

Today we stayed in Gatlinburg and enjoyed time with friends.  We took a visit to Anakeesta and enjoyed the views and the mountain coaster.

The kids watched this guy make candy through the window from start to finish.  Someone even ran them out a handful of candy for their perseverance. 

Baskins Creek Falls

Today, we knew exactly where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do and guess what, there was no parking anywhere close to where we wanted to be.  We were on Roaring Fork Road, though, so we just decided to drive until we could find somewhere to park and just hike that.  We found a spot at Grapeyard Ridge Trail.  It's a 14 mile trail so we agreed to hike out for one hour and then turn back.

It started with this, Bales cemetery.  There were graves from the early 1900s.  The trail was not consistently steep although there were spots.  Before we reached the hour mark we came to the sign you see below.  Remember, I don't like to hike just to hike, I want to see a fall or a view so I was very disappointed until we reached this point.  BASKINS FALLS?!?! Does it really say FALLS?  God really spoils us.  Not only did we get to enjoy these falls, we hiked alone the whole way there and back.  We were the only people at the falls for a bit then 3 other people came.  But compared to the day before when we shared the falls with about 100 other people it was such a treat.  A gentle reminder that God's plans are so much better than ours.  Such a timely lesson for all of us.

Lillian built this really cool tower of rocks and then we learned that it is prohibited since it messes with the salamanders and their eggs.  We did not do it again!!!