Our trip 'home'

Whew! We made it safely 'home'! :D

Our time on the train, four nights and three days, actually went pretty good! If anyone is looking for some high, concentrated family time, go on a train ride! Overall, the kiddos did really well, despite being cooped-up in a small area for so long. Thankfully, the toys that I had brought along for the ride, kept them occupied for many hours! The first day, I was getting worried, as I thought we were going to run out of new, interesting things for them to do. Yet, every day, I discovered new things in my backpack that I had yet to give them. They really enjoyed everything, although, right now, I think they are quite tired of sticker books!

We are so thankful that the weather was actually pretty cool, so the train was not too hot. Actually, at nights, we were cold! Also, we are thankful that the lady who was in charge of our wagon, was so helpful, nice, and hard-working. She kept everything, especially the bathrooms, so clean! Even Aria didn't mind using the bathroom. She really enjoyed flushing the toilet, which consists of pushing down on a pedal with your foot. It got a little tricky at times, as the train would often stop at different train stations along the way. Well, whenever the train stops, they lock the bathrooms, as the contents from a flushed toilet just end up on the train tracks. Unfortunately, we didn't have a little potty with us. Thankfully, the lady was nice and would unlock the bathroom for Aria if she needed it, just asking us not to flush.

Towards the end of the trip, we were all so ready to get out of the train, especially so we could get showers! Our train ride ended early Tuesday morning, and we got a taxi right away which took us the rest of the way home. We rode in the taxi about 6 hours, up and over many beautiful mountains. Unfortunately, it was a pretty rainy and downcast day, so the view wasn't that great. But, it was so nice seeing the nature!

We were so excited to get back to our apartment! The girls right away ran into their room, threw off their jackets and shoes, and began playing with their toys. Nina just couldn't stop jumping up and down! It was so cute!

Yesterday and today, we've been unpacking, cleaning, trying to catch-up on some sleep (a 6 hour time difference from Germany), getting our phone fixed, trying to get registered, getting groceries, etc. Thank-you so much for thinking about us as we traveled. We really, really appreciate it! We'd also appreciate your thoughts as we get settled back into life here. Please be thinking about our kiddos as well. We can really tell that Aria is getting older, as she is asking more and more questions, and is finding it more and more difficult to be so far from her grandparents and cousins. At night, before they go to bed, the girls are asking Someone to provide them with friends. Please be thinking about that with them as well. Oh, and as always, please keep David in your thoughts as he has soooo much on his mind with all that is involved in this type of work. Thank-you!!!!

I'll do my best to update when I can. Right now, I am using a dial-up connection from our home. It doesn't always work the best, but right now it's connected! I'll try to add a few pictures as well. Have a great day everyone! :D

Whenever the train would stop for at least 15 minutes, David would take the girls outside and let them run around for a bit. Micah and I stayed on the train, as we couldn't leave our coupe unattended. So, Micah and I enjoyed watching the people out of the window.

Occasionally, we would let the girls sit out in the hall way. They thought that was so much fun!

Just being silly...