Texas Bound!

It's 9:35 Monday night and Keith and Lauren are headed home! Can't wait... Their flight was to leave at 7:30 Eastern time, but they sat on the plane for over an hour and a half, waiting to take off. Keith was not happy and Lauren fell asleep!

We've felt very lost without you guys! Can't wait to see you.

Keith - I was sure hoping to see you on our anniversary, but it looks like I may not, since your flight was delayed. I'm sure glad we were married 18 years ago today. It's been a fun time with you, raising our girls. You're such a fine, Christian man and I'm so glad that God chose for us to be together. Looking forward to many more!

Keith and Lauren Back in the US

Last night (Saturday), Keith and Lauren arrived back in the United States from Africa. They said the plane ride was OK, which is great news from Keith since he and plane rides are not the best of friends!

They spent last night in Times Square and were amazed at the amount of people they saw! Today, I got a call before we left for church and Lauren wanted me to guess where they were...they were at the Statue of Liberty! The rest of their day was spent WALKING a lot, seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway, which they said was fantastic and taking a bus tour around the town.

Keith called tonight and said that Lauren fell asleep early...jet lag has set in! We miss them tons and can't wait until Monday night to see them.

Keith and Lauren Arrive in Ghana

Keith and Lauren arrived in Ghana, Africa today after a 15+ hour plane ride through New York - pretty difficult for anyone, much less a 6'5" man! We're already missing them, hating to be separated as a family, especially because Lauren is not feeling well...ALREADY! I knew it would happen, but didn't anticipate it quite this quickly. Keith said it was either the spicy meal (everything there is seasoned with strange spices) or the bumpy car ride (she gets carsick easily!) Either way, her stomach is not agreeing with her. It's 7:35 pm there and they were already heading to bed - don't blame them one bit. I'll be sure to update the blog often on their church work and evangelism.

Ma and Pa Hoppy Go to Mexico!

On Sunday, Keith and I left for a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico...just the two of us! The resort where we are staying is called Valentin Imperial Maya. Although we hated to leave the girls behind, it's been very nice sitting by the beach, swimming, reading, listening to our iPods, watching movies and sleeping! More than anything, it's been nice to spend some quiet, thinking time, observing God's beautiful nature and worshipping Him.

The food here has been interesting! Because it's a 5 star resort, the food is "fancy." They give you very small portions of food with very strange sounding names! We've been to a steak restaurant called Tierra, and a french restaurant called "El Alsace". Very odd food but the apple tart for dessert was the best we've had.

Of course, not all is well with the girls...nothing ever flows just right! Rachel is missing us and Lauren has had fever. Hopefully everything will stay OK with Hannah! We miss you girls so much and can't wait to see you on Friday. Many thanks to the O'Leary's, the Smith's and Jordan Hammack for being with our girls.

Below you'll see some pictures from our first two days here - we'll include more later.