AMERICA...the land of creamy cakes and sizzlin' steaks!

The Lord is so good to us. We began our journey on Monday afternoon in Lilongwe, Malawi (that's Sunday night for those in the states). We were late leaving Lilongwe, and were late connecting in Johannesburg because of all sorts of annoying things. We ended up running about a half a mile to our gate and made it just in time. But, that was after being confused in the airport and then getting stuck in an elevator with a bunch of young guys who were goofing around and playing with the buttons!!!

But, we made it. Our long flight to NY was great. I was soooo worried about it, but it really wasn't that bad. I got about 3 hours of sleep, watched 4 movies and walked a ton! Everyone on the flight was really nice. The flight attendants all made sure I walked a lot and had enough to eat and drink. The Lord was very gracious to us, and we are sooooo thankful! We actually ended up with the bulk head seats, so I had plenty of room to stretch my legs.

We stepped off the place at the NY airport, and it was freezing!! Everyone was in wool coats and hats, but I was in my pajama pants and a t-shirt and just about froze to death! I almost yelled out loud when we started getting close to all the food places and shops. I couldn't believe my eyes!!! Starbucks, McDonalds, Borders, Pete's Coffee, Dunkin' Dough nuts, News stands...etc. It was so overwhelming. I didn't know what to do! We got confused again, and didn't know where our gate was so I grabbed a butterfinger and we made our way to the correct terminal for some McDonalds breakfast.

Once in D.C., we freshened up and had our first taste of Starbucks in 7 months! It was sooo good, especially because it was so cold! We felt like we were truly experiencing winter! I of course had a tall soy chai, and Elijah really liked it too!

We had about 5 hours in D.C., which was annoying but also nice. We needed the time to calm down and freshen up. I took a nap on the floor (ouch!) while Dan read magazines. It was nice to take things slow, but by the time we got on that last plane for Tennessee, I was so ready to be home!

My dad greeted us at security and we got straight in the car. Our bags didn't show up in NY (probably because we were SO late getting checked in while in Johannesburg). We are still waiting for our bags to arrive, but that was the only problem we had, so praise the Lord!!!

Now, we are just relaxing in Nashville. We stopped by Target today to pick up some toiletries while we wait for our bags to arrive. I also had to buy a sweatshirt seeing as how the temps will be around 45-50 degrees this week and all I have are t-shirts! It's been great to be home though and get a good nights rest. Thank you for all of your prayers. The Lord truly protected and blessed us during our travels and we are so thankful.

The good ole 'Meeksarosa'. This is the house I grew up in, and the cute doggies in the front yard. THe little one is new to the family. His name is Finley and he is soooo cute!

Here I am tasting my favorite fried chicken salad (with extra honey mustard dressing) at the Franklin Chop House. For those of you in Malawi, yes....it did taste wonderful! Dan is probably glad that I finally had my salad...poor guy has been hearing about it for over a month now! It's the only thing I've been craving lately!


TARGET! It was overwhelming, fun and tiring to be there. I think I have to pace myself and do little bits of shopping at a time. Otherwise, I might freak out! THere are WAY too many choices and I just don't know what to do. Even the deodorant isle is stressful!