Need a Laugh Today?

My helper, Lou, brought home this pasta from the store the other day. She had called me excitedly from the store, saying that she had found "Italian noodles" for really cheap and did I want some? Sure, I said. When I took a look at the package, I just had to laugh! First of all, it's obviously a badly-done imposter. It says "Macaroni" but clearly, is not macaroni.

However, it is, without a doubt, the best leisure food! Even better: "We like the new taste. We need the quality and we need the best food. Here you will find what you want. Cool fashion and cool taste. Give you the minerable feeling."

Oh, YES! I was afraid I had "lost that minerable feeling." Now all of my problems are solved! All because of some leisure food that cost me $.50. Thanks Lou!

Has Anyone Noticed . . .

That my girls seem to always be wearing their "jammy dresses" in every photo?


Hmmm. I thought so.


It's just not worth the battle to me. We DO get dressed in the morning (in fact I am enjoying getting dressed since I was able to purchase some new-to-me clothing in the States and actually now have some things I am happy to wear that fit me well), but if the girls want to wear their jammies at naptime, I let them. And if they don't manage to get dressed again between naps and supper/bedtime routine because we don't have to go anywhere and no one is coming over, that's fine with me too.

What isn't fine with me is the other habit they tend to fall into: "let's-change-our-clothes-15-times-every-day-and-leave-the-old-ones-on-the-floor" routine. Argh. We're working on that.

I guess someday they'll have to "grow up" and wear something different each day, keeping it on all day. But for now, enjoy the blue Disney jammy dress that is Clara Anne's favorite, and the pink fairy ruffled sleeve jammy dress that is Chloe's favorite; "the one that you buy'd for me in 'Merica" according to Chloe. All too soon, these clothes will be too small, and all I'll have left are the photos of the girls, happily cavorting in their jammy dresses, in every photo.

Climbing on Daddy is an Olympic Sport

At least, according to my girls, it is. I think they could take some medals, don't you think?

Summer's Bountiful Fruit!

With the heat rising in our city (it's been 90-100 degrees in the last few days!), summer's bounty of fruit is available everywhere. Small vendors set up carts on the sides of the street, at busy intersections, outside the bus and train stations, trying to sell their fruit before it spoils. Watermelon vendors come in from the countryside early in the morning with their pickup beds full of watermelons, wrapped in blankets (to protect the fruit amidst lots of jostling). The price of watermelon will continue to drop as the summer goes on. Usually it falls so low that people literally buy a watermelon and eat it rather than drink water--it's a better value!

The abundance and variety of the fruit available is mouth-watering. Today, I did something I rarely do on a Saturday--I took the girls out to buy fruits and vegetables! A long alley leads up to our apartment complex and within the alley are lots of vendors, selling everything from steamed bread to fresh noodles to grilled meat skewers to fresh fruit and vegetables. Usually my helper, Lou, buys the fruit and veggies we need each day on her way to work in the morning. But today, I did it myself!

Saturday is a full day of work for John--it's the day that classes are held at his English training center. And since Lou is off on the weekend, I usually try to have the frig well-stocked by Friday afternoon so I don't have to take all three girls with me to buy stuff. Late last night, though, we made some plans to have a cookout with friends on Sunday, and so suddenly I needed some things. I loaded Christin in the stroller, the girls both took their umbrellas (commonly used here for shade), and we were off!

So, an errand that would have taken me 10 minutes on my bike, alone, took me 1.5 hours with the girls! But we weren't in a hurry. We meandered. We strolled. We looked at things along the way. We stopped at a grassy spot and picked some yellow wildflowers (i.e. flowering weeds). We stopped and talked to some neighbors. A shopworker gave the girls suckers and brought out little stools for them to sit while I went to buy the fruit.

And what fruit there was! Several types of peaches, apricots, cherries, pears, bananas and apples of course, mangos, papayas, watermelon . . . yum yum!

Then, happily enough, there was my favorite fruit ever, in the whole wide world, the mangosteen. Have you met the mangosteen? Let me introduce you . . .

Mangosteens are known throughout South Asia as "The Queen of Fruit" and are prized for their delicate, citrusy flavor. I absolutely love them. The outer rind is hard and thick, but the soft, white, segmented fruit within is such a treat. I was thrilled to see mangosteens appear in our markets last summer on a regular basis. Previously I had only eaten them in Thailand. When we were there for two months having Chloe, John bought me bags and bags of them!

Here is a mangosteen cracked open and ready to eat! Sorry the picture is a bit dark. Delicious!

This year our family has been cherry-eating fools! I have SO enjoyed the fresh Bing cherries this year, partially because here they are reasonably priced and in the States they were always outrageously expensive, or maybe it was just me that could never afford them. Anyway, our whole family loves them, especially Christin. She can put them away! Cherry after ripe cherry, ahh, now that's summer.

My infatuation with the cherry led me to believe that I needed to make a cherry pie from scratch. I had never done it before, but how hard could it be? Thanks to the Pioneer Woman's recipe for "P-P-P-Perfect P-P-Pie Crust", and the Joy of Cooking's Cherry Pie Recipe for the filling, I had fun making this pie! I even decided to do the woven lattice crust! Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was tasty, tasty, tasty!

What do you think? I was pleased and thankful for a good result on the first try--especially since I had to bring it to a friend's house that night! Since then, I read in the Joy of Cooking how easy it is to freeze fruit pies, so I taught Lou how to make pie crust, and to finish the whole process. Now I have two cherry pies in my freezer, ready to be enjoyed long after cherry season is past!

Clara Anne was pretty excited about the pie too! Isn't God good to have created so many wonderfully delicious foods? We are going to be enjoying all of His bounty as the summer goes on. Hope you are enjoying some summer fruits wherever you are!

PB&J, Oh Joy!

These last weeks have been really busy around our house! John, especially, has been trying to keep up with a crazy schedule. And I will admit, when I know that he isn't going to make it home for supper, there have been a few times where PB&J ended up on the menu. But no one seems to mind . . . in fact, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are often requested! And they're even better when you accidently smear some on your face. . .


Make your sisters laugh . . .

And just generally spread the joy all around!

Love that PB&J!

Will Play for Food

Our recent trip to the capital city included a long visit to a new-to-us indoor kids' play area. John had read favorable reviews online and so we decided to check it out! It was a bit smaller in size than we expected, but had so many varied activities that the girls were happily occupied for literally hours. Christin totally skipped her afternoon nap and played steadily the entire afternoon. Enjoy the pictures of our new fun find! Christin is standing on a waterbed-type contraption that had "fish" and other sea creatures floating in the bottom. The top plastic was sturdy and could be jumped on like a trampoline!

And here she is, at her new hobby--walking. Literally most of the afternoon she just walked. Walked here, walked there. Turned around, walked here again. Endless fun for a one year old!

This coconut tree was actually a set of swings. Christin was fascinated with mastering the small step up. The great part about this place (and one of their selling points) is that they have a lot of staff wandering around, supervising and playing with the kids. So if I was with one of my girls in one area, there were plenty of people making sure that Christin didn't get bonked in the head if someone else decided to swing!

And there she goes again.

Whoa! Around and around she goes! This is her classic Christin walking pose. One arm up, the other at her waist. You can see it in all three of these walking photos!

Chloe loved this big boat that you could turn on and it would rock on the waves back and forth. John, Clara Anne, and Chloe took several overseas adventures in it together during the afternoon!

There was an entire art room with tables and chairs, markers, crayons, and colored pencils set out, as well as a bead table to make necklaces and bracelets, as well as Clara Anne's delight--fiberglass windows and structures with pots of paint and brushes all ready to go. Every so often someone would come through and clean it off, but children could paint to their heart's delight!

Smocks were ready and waiting to be used as well.

The girls had a wonderful time in this kitchen!

There was an area with simple computer games to play, too. Fun!

Clara Anne loved the water/sea area!

There was also an entire climbing/jungle gym area, a ball pit, and John's special favorite--the doctor's office. He was the doctor in residence for the day and I think solved many a malady. The girls thought it was great!

We finally left after four hours, not because the girls were done playing, but because the day was moving on and supper, baths and bed still had to happen. Fun times were had by all! We'll definitely go back if we have the opportunity!

Bouncing around BJ

We had to take a trip to the capital city last week to renew Clara Anne's passport. Yes, it has almost been five years since her first passport was issued! She has filled it, added extra pages, and almost filled those. Factor in that the photo is of her when she was only a day old, and it was time for a new one. (Not to mention that the U.S. government required us to get a new one!). So we packed up the family and took the fast train to the capital city, spending a few days there and enjoying some great family time!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that the trip ended up more relaxing and vacation-like than I expected, especially considering that I caught a terrible cold just before we left! We had a wonderful time together as a family, explored several new fun places, and enjoyed some great western food as well.

The first afternoon we were strolling in the area around our hotel, when we found a huge inflatable bounce house set up on the sidewalk. It was free, but you had to go into the adjoining mall to a kid's toy store in order to get tickets to use it.

[Their excellent marketing ploy paid off, by the way. We had no idea there was a toy store there, and it had lots and LOTS of toys imported from America--Legos, Play-Dough, Thomas train stuff, you name it! We ended up buying some play-dough for the girls, and spent a very enjoyable evening with them playing with play-dough and John and I lying on the bed watching the European soccer league! But I digress...]

The girls had a great time in the bounce house. There was climbing . . .
There was jumping . . .

There was laughing . . .

There was trying-to-escape-from-annoying-boys-who-were-chasing-them . . .

And there was sister love.

What more could you ask for?

Getting Acquainted, Part 2

Only 10 days later (ha!), I am finally posting the other pictures of Christin getting acquainted with family members in the States. Sorry for the long wait--Good intentions were met with busy times. Without further ado, take a look at these adorable pics!

The one above is Christin with her Auntie Sarah, John's twin. Christin had never felt grass on her toes before and refused to stand on it. She was happy to sit outside, though, and pick the violets that were growing in my mom's garden! We enjoyed some beautiful weather while we were in Iowa--gorgeous clear skies, green grass, sunshine--ahhhhhh!

Supper on the deck always tastes better than inside at the table. It didn't take long for Christin to figure out that Auntie Sarah had a bowlful of strawberry jello!

Jello mouth!Grandpa and Grandma, and Grandma Ann and Sarah, were delighted that Christin took her first steps while we were in the States! I think it was that lovely, cushy carpet (unknown on our side of the world!) that made her feel comfortable enough to finally strike out on her own! We all enjoyed watching her take tentative steps across my parents' living room floor!My brother Mark and SIL Beth and their girls, Marin and Annika, came to my parents' home to visit as well. I so appreciated them taking the time to visit! Auntie Beth and Christin got to know each other a bit!Fun with Grandma Ann!The Wind ladies posed in the backyard. It was a beautiful day!A little cuddle time before Grandma Ann and Auntie Sarah had to leave.I love this picture. Christin looks perfectly comfortable on Grandpa's lap and is giving her classic Christin look, that sort of knowing smirky look which says "I'm not going to smile for you! I'm keeping my cards close to my vest!"Marin and Annika had such fun walking with Christin! Cousin love!And then, just like that, we are already to the last pictures of Christin with family. The night before we left, I couldn't bear to put Christin to bed. She was happy to walk around and around my parents' living room, hugging her bunny blanket and cuddling with Grandpa and Grandma occasionally. At that point, I figured, who cares about sleep! It was time spent together that really mattered. Above, Grandma and Christin get in some last minute cuddling.

And then, here we are. My flight left at 7am; we wanted to be at the airport by 5:30, with an hour drive time that meant my alarm was set for the very uncivilized hour of 3:45. Wow, the week in America flew by! At the risk of sounding repetitive, I just have to say again how thankful I am that I was able to return, see my Grandma, and let my family get acquainted with Christin. It was only an hour later the morning that I left that my Grandma passed away; I am still marveling at the timing of everything. Truly the Lord had everything worked out perfectly! What a trip!

PS Many people asked me how long it took. . . and the answer is, door-to-door, 28 hours. I left my house at 9am on a Wednesday, arriving at my parent's home at midnight that same day, plus 13 hours of time difference (to my body it felt like 1pm the next day). I took four flights there and four flights back, flying a new route through Seattle on a smaller airline which was cheaper than the bigger airlines. Christin did really well through the traveling and cried very little despite extreme tiredness. We were both glad to be home (in Asia) after that long 28 hours back! So even though that sounds like a long time, on the other hand, think--only 28 hours and I left my house and arrived at my parents', halfway across the world! Times surely have changed from back when people had to take boats that took months to get across the ocean, sometimes not even arriving because of illness without medical care, storms at sea, etc. So my 28 hours wasn't bad at all!

Getting Acquainted with Christin

My recent trip to the States afforded a wonderful opportunity for my family to do what all my Asian friends have already done, long ago: Meet Christin! It was slightly ironic that many random strangers have met my daughter and my family members had not, yet. But that all changed when I flew back, and wow, am I thankful for that time together! My parents had not anticipated meeting Christin until we returned next year for a planned time in the States, and by then she would have almost been two years old. So this was truly a divine opportunity and I cherished each moment of watching Christin interact with my family members!

The night we arrived back at my parent's house, my mom was up waiting for us despite the fact that we walked in the door about midnight. Though we were tired, Christin found some new energy when she saw the toys that Grandma had gotten ready for her!

Smiles on both faces!

You can tell my mom didn't mind at all staying up late to welcome us in!

My dad and I drove the next day to Missouri, where my Grandma was living, and stayed with my Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave. Here Christin is getting a little snuggle time with Grandpa after breakfast! Dad and I worked out a system. Whenever we would arrive somewhere in the car, he would get out, open my door and wait for me to unbuckle Christin and hand her to him. Then he would carry her while I gathered my purse and camera. Christin got used to this new system really quickly and after a few times was going willingly to Grandpa on arrival somewhere. I don't think Grandpa minded a bit, and it sure was helpful to me!

My dad and I had a tradition growing up of him taking me (or my brothers individually) out for breakfast each Saturday morning. I was always so excited for those Saturdays that I got to go with him, even though it meant that I had to get up earlier than usual. There was something so special about having Daddy-daughter time. Though I can't remember any significant conversations or "turning points" happening on a Saturday morning, it was just a great time of being together and enjoying a meal out--fairly rare in my growing up years. Anyway, we were able to continue this tradition by eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel on our way back to Iowa. Christin ate a TON! She ate almost all of my cinnamon apples, a big portion of my hash brown casserole, some egg, some biscuits and gravy, even sampled my sausage. I think she is now a fan of Cracker Barrel and breakfast out!

We then returned to Iowa, where Christin got acquainted with more family members . . . Grandma Ann, Auntie Sarah, Uncle Mark and Auntie Beth, and cousins Marin and Annika!

To be continued tomorrow . . .

A Life Well Lived

It's been a few days now, and I have had a bit of time to think through my Grandma's passing and reflect on her life. Hers was truly a life well-lived. I want to share a few of my memories of Grandma and honor her life and her Lord.

I was blessed to have quite a close relationship with my Grandma. She was only 53 when I was born, so throughout my growing up years she was still quite young, active, and involved in my life. She and my grandpa lived a short 3.5 hour drive from our family, and so I can remember making many trips to their house--for Christmas celebrations, for visits in the summertime, and especially when I would drive back and forth to college, Grandpa and Grandma's house was right on the way. Grandpa and Grandma made an effort to attend lots of my special events growing up--they were there for some of my recitals, the Sound of Music my senior year of high school, my eighth grade and high school graduation, and many more.

I can remember so many times visiting Grandpa and Grandma and getting up early on a summer morning. I would sneak downstairs, crawl into bed with Grandpa and listen to him tell stories about his adventures on the Gunflint Trail while the aroma of frying bacon would drift into the room. Then after breakfast we'd help Grandma wash the dishes and then go outside to play croquet on the lawn or help Grandma in the garden. Grandpa and Grandma lived on a country road and had a lake right across the road complete with a little beach facing their home. It was a beautiful, peaceful place that I loved to visit!

My Grandma was always a welcoming, friendly person. She was faithful in praying for people, and faithful in sending cards and letters to those whom she cared about--which was a lot of people! She would always underline the key words or phrases in the card--a funny trait that I looked for when she'd send me a card. She took very seriously her responsibility to pray for her family. I always knew that she was praying for me, praying for me by name each day.

Now it is amazing to see the fruits of Grandma's prayers. She has three children, all of whom are walking with the Lord, married Christian spouses, and taught their children about the Lord. She has eleven grandchildren, two of whom have already gone to be with the Lord (my brother Dan and my cousin Keri Joy who died tragically at 14 months), and the rest of whom are walking with the Lord. Of those who are married, all married Christian spouses and have children (Grandma's Great-grandchildren) who are now being taught to walk with the Lord. That is quite a legacy! I realize more and more as I grow older how rare and special that is!

My Grandma's influence shaped our family in significant ways. One particular way was through a family tradition that she and my Grandpa started way back in the late 60s. They invited their children (my Dad, my aunt Judy, and my Uncle John) and their spouses to spend a week "Up North" Minnesota in a lakeside cabin. This tradition continued as everyone started having children, and the children started growing up. So as I grew up, it was a given that we would spend the last week of July/first week of August (depending on the year) from Saturday to Saturday at "Lake George," a resort on the lake outside Park Rapids, Minnesota. We always stayed in the same place and did the same things--fished, swam, played sand volleyball, had a bonfire on Monday night, had a family worship service, tried to listen to the Twins on a static-y radio, took naps, read books, watched Grandpa play horseshoes, ate Grandma's yummy cooking, played games, and just generally had a great time. The cousins loved hanging out together, and we all enjoyed eating the bucket of chocolate chip cookies and bucket of chex mix that Grandma made for every cabin. Going "Up North" was a huge part of my growing up years; a tradition that shaped me and our family in great ways.

Now I realize that going up north for a week wasn't the easiest way to have a vacation, especially for my mom and Grandma who had to plan and prepare all the food and do all the packing for the week. But Grandma was immensely organized and had a list that she maintained from year to year. I think basically my Grandpa made sure the fishing tackle was packed and Grandma did everything else! We loved Grandma for it!

Grandma had a real, living, vibrant faith, and it spilled over to people around her. Her Bible was well-worn. For her funeral, my Aunt Judy had found a paper where Grandma wrote out some of her wishes. One of the hymns she requested was "Blessed Assurance." I think it sums up well what was most important to Grandma and her hope for eternal life.

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine!

O, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long!

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Emma Joy Roelofs

April 29, 1923-May 13, 2009

I loved my Grandma. She will be missed.

Some Encouraging Signs

To all of you waiting for more stories from my recent trip, you will have to wait just a bit longer. Tonight I want to just briefly share (before I forget the details) some encouraging signs of the Lord's work that we have been seeing in Clara Anne.

While I was gone, John took the girls on a Sunday afternoon to meet some new friends. Afterwards, Clara Anne asked why they were meeting these new people, and John replied that it was because these friends were also Christians. Clara Anne said, "Daddy, I hope I can be a Christian someday." He talked with her further about it but I'm not clear on the exact details.

Then a few days ago in a taxi, I was alone with the girls and Clara Anne said to me, "Mommy, I want to be a Christian someday." I asked her, "Well, what do you need to do to become a Christian, Clara Anne?" She replied, "I have to trust that Jesus died to save me from my sins." I affirmed her that this was correct, and asked if there was anything else she had to do (wondering if she would get mixed up at this point. Remember the "obey Mommy for the whole long week and then you can go to heaven" line she gave Christin?), and she said "Then I have to fight against sin." I again affirmed that this was certainly true, and reminded her that it was Jesus' power in us that gave us strength to fight.

Last night, as we were putting the girls to bed, as usual we gave the girls an opportunity to pray. Chloe said her usual: "Thank you for this day, Mommy, and Daddy, and Ayi, and Uncle Kevin and Aunt Becky, and Amen." Clara Anne, however, prayed a long and heartfelt prayer. I don't remember all the specifics, but she essentially laid out the gospel. She recounted all of the details, how our hearts were sinful and had darkness in them, but in God there was no darkness at all, only light, but we love the darkness because of our sin, but God hates the darkness and wants us to have light in us (the darkness and light business went on for quite some time). Then she recounted how Jesus had to die for us "on the judgment tree--it was really a cross made of wood because trees are made of wood" and how now if we believed in Jesus then we would be with Him forever. It was a long and remarkably theological prayer; she wasn't being silly (as she has sometimes been in the past) and she seemed to truly take comfort in the things she was saying.

John and I talked briefly about it last night and agreed that, while we wouldn't yet confidently say "Clara Anne became a Christian!", we do see signs of progress in her, evidences that the Spirit is working in her heart. We feel encouraged by the signs!

As well, for the last few months or so, Clara Anne has had occasional times where in the morning she will tell me that Jesus came and talked to her during the night. I have tried not to express doubt or discourage her in any way when she's said these things, but just to treat it as if it were a really normal thing. In fact, if the Lord is truly working in her heart, I hope that she is having times of hearing His voice. This morning she also told me this. I asked her what He said, and at first she couldn't remember, but then she said, "Oh, He told me that He will always be with me if I trust in Him." Well, that sounds pretty good to me! Clara Anne had such evident joy on her face as she told me about her conversation with Jesus, it was wonderful! I certainly am not going to discourage that, but rather rejoice in what I see the Lord doing in her heart!

At some point, perhaps, if she continues to express a hoped-for wish to become a Christian, there will be a point of encouraging her that if she has believed on Jesus, His death and resurrection, for the forgiveness of her sins, surrendering herself and her life to Him, that in fact, she IS a Christian! We hope and pray that this will come soon, but for now we are just so encouraged at what we see happening in her young heart. PTL for His faithful work! May He continue to draw our dear Clara Anne to Himself!

Going Home

I am back in our Asian home again after a whirlwind trip to the US. It almost seems like a dream that I traveled that far and now am back again! Or maybe that's the jet lag talking. . .

It was a wonderful trip. I will try to post some pictures and tell some stories in the upcoming days, when I am feeling a little more on top of things, but for now let me just say how thankful I am that I was able to go. My time with my parents, my Grandma, my mother-in-law and sister-in law, and my brother and his family, was precious beyond words. I am so thankful.

I was able to spend some good time with my Grandma. She was weak and mostly confined to her bed or wheelchair, but she didn't complain about her situation. She expressed how glad she was to see me, to meet Christin, and we got some beautiful pictures together. She also asked several times about John and the girls and was concerned that they would be missing me. . . which they were! It was such a blessing to encourage Grandma with Scripture and pray for her.

And now, my Grandma has gone to her heavenly home. The day that I was leaving the US, we got a phone call around 2am from my Aunt Judy. The hospital had called saying Grandma had taken a turn for the worse. Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave immediately went to be with her, and she recognized them before slipping into a coma about 4am and passing away at 8:15 on Wednesday, May 13. By that point I was just completing the first leg of my four leg journey back to Asia.

I can hardly comprehend that I was able to see my Grandma and spend time with her, and then four days later, she slipped away. Isn't the Lord so gracious to us, always? I am so very, very thankful for the time we had together, brief though it was. I am so thankful that my husband encouraged me to make this trip and for my house helper, Lou, who kept things up at home with help from my dear friends so that I could go and have this last time with my Grandma.

So today I am experiencing afresh the emotions that go along with grief; there is a sense of shock, of unreality, of sadness, and yet of joy and thankfulness for my Grandma who loved the Lord, prayed for me and all our family so faithfully, and now has gone to her eternal reward. For her, I am glad. In His perfect timing, her life on earth is complete and now she has truly gone home. Praise Him for His glorious grace!

An Unexpected Trip

Tomorrow morning I am leaving, with Christin, on a quick trip back to the US. I know, I know, I am almost as surprised as you. But in the last few months my last remaining grandparent, my dad's mother, has been declining in health and now her health situation is not looking good at all. After discussing things with John, we decided it would be worth the time and expense for me to travel back to see my Grandma, probably for the last time on this earth.

At this moment, my feelings are somewhere between nervous (to be traveling alone), excited (to see my family and just to be in America), sad (to think of my Grandma being near the end of her life), and somber, wanting to respect and honor my Grandma for her long life and persevering faith.

All of the details are arranged, and my time will be very full since I will only be back for one week, a big part of which I am spending with my Grandma. My parents are excited to meet Christin for the first time, and hopefully the jet lag will pass quickly or be nonexistent so we can fully enjoy our brief time back.

If you think of it, I'd appreciate any prayers you might lift up for me and Christin. I have four flights there, four flights home, and they are through some airports that I am not as familiar with. As well, of course, it will be me alone with Christin on the way so that will be interesting (read: exhausting). Hopefully she'll be doing a lot of this, even though she won't be in her comfy bed:

So thanks for your prayers. Trusting Him for a safe and meaningful trip!