Our last week in Atlanta was filled with saying good-byes to all the friends we have made in Atlanta. Tim hung out with his Muslim friends one last time. We shared a couple of meals with our friends
Ken and Lori who made our boys some cute bags full of toys and snacks for the drive AND sent 2 frozen meals home with us to make our transition easier. We also hung out one last time with our refugee family. This was especially difficult for us. We are their
first American friends....and they are our first (of hopefully many) refugee friends that we will make. They will be moving out of Clarkston in the next couple of months
to be closer to Khaled's job which is currently over an hour drive away.
The last evening in Atlanta, we spent at a fiesta to celebrate the birthdays of 2 little ones who lived in our apartment complex. The boys loved hitting the piñatas and collecting all the candy. In fact, we are still trying to eat through all that candy...
Joel finished off the evening with a nice dive into the cement on the walk home. He still has a scar from that one!
Our last good-byes were to the other students and families of GFM. We ate breakfast all together, and they were all so generous in helping us clean the
apartment and pack our cars up. With that many people, it took no time at all! We miss everyone terribly, but our so thankful for the time we got to spend there...
Our drive back was thankfully uneventful, and we had the help of Tim's mom. Our friends from home made sure our house was clean, stocked with necessities, and ready for our return. Have I mentioned before how lucky we are?? The first week back was a whirlwind of seeing family and friends and unpacking/organizing all of our stuff. And then....we had little Josiah on June 4th. The c-section
went as planned (and when I went in that morning, I was already having contractions 2-3 min apart!) and he was perfect. I feel like I have recovered quicker with this one....thank goodness! Joel and Caleb don't really give me too much of a chance to slow down! My mom spent the first week of Josiah's life with us - helping me with the boys and keeping my house spotless :) Thank you mom!
We are so glad to be back, but the transition has been difficult in some areas. Tim especially has had a hard time transitioning from most of his day studying and discussing the Bible to working full-time again. Add to that, the responsibilities of a house and now a home with 3 little boys....Atlanta seemed quite relaxed! Caleb has also had a rough time adjusting to all the changes. He seems to be getting a little better, but he has been throwing more temper tantrums and is more sad and/or frustrated than normal. Please continue praying for us as we seek out what God has in store next for our family.
