It's Official

On Friday we received our temporary visas, good for up to 6 months.  It was the smoothest and quickest process we have yet experienced!  Now after a crazy two days of packing, four days in San Francisco for the visas, we are ready to leave the States.  Our flight leaves Wednesday at 2pm. 

Oh Packing...What to take what to get rid of, and how to get it all to fit! In the end it did.

Amazing these where kept track of for 9 months!

(keys, money and adapters from overseas)

Exploring San Francisco - Alcatraz in the background.

We have had a wonderful nine months in the States!

We experienced Fall:

Selecting, then carving, Pumpkins

Halloween & School at Prospect Point

We experienced new sights:

Izzy the Camel

The Balloon Stampede

 We experienced Holidays with Family:

Thanksgiving with Erin's family

Christmas with cousins!

We experienced snow, both in Walla Walla and elsewhere:

Building snowmen in the front yard.

Whitman and his snowman

Covered by a snow blanket, in Tumalo.  

Snow Angels in Tumalo

Playing with Uncle Ryan at Mt. Hood.

And great time with friends and family:

Saying goodbye to friends around the corner!

Seeing Great-Granny Goose

Seeing friends from long ago;

this family watched Caedmon for us on the day of Whitman's birth!

Playing with friends pictured above December 1, 2010.

So, we now say goodbye to these wonderful experiences and blessings.  We are looking forward to going back overseas, but maybe all for different reasons.  Whitman is excited for cheese rolls sold at Pizza Hut overseas and watching English shows (we made him watch shows in our host country's language while in the states).  Caedmon is excited to see his friends.  John and I are excited to see what He will do next as we continue to work overseas. 

Thank you all for the support and encouragement we received while in the States, it was a rich time that was greatly appreciated!  We hope to see you all again in the years to come or sooner if you're up for a visit!