Where did the month of January go? Most of our time was spent getting Kari and Jonathan packed and ready to move to Senegal, and then once that was done, we concentrated on packing ourselves up for our return to Budapest.
Kari and Jonathan took a couple of suitcases and footlockers with them on the plane to tide them over until their crate could arrive in a month or so.
Originally, Kari and Jonathan were not planning to take a crate so soon, but when Kari found out she was expecting our second grandchild August 1st, they decided they better buy and pack some things for the baby, especially after my sister Elizabeth gave Kari a great baby shower!! (Chris and Kate are also expecting and their baby is due July 15.)
Once all the packing and crating was done, they spent their last few days with family-and eating all our favorites that would have to tide us over until we return to the U.S. My dad came to dinner with us one night and brought a fruit bowl. Jonathan LOVES fruit and that boy can flat put it away! He is always careful to make sure everyone has eaten all the fruit they want, and then he quietly pulls the fruit bowl or plate toward him and silently finishes it all off.
We went by to see one of our friends from Marietta First Baptist Church who we lovingly call "the bag lady" because for years she has made bags out of fabric for both Kari and me (and all members of MFBC!) and we love them! Evelyn had 20 bags waiting for us so Kari and I split them and we will share them with friends in Dakar and Budapest. Thank you, Evelyn!
Both Kari and I are pizza fanatics and we agreed that Marietta Pizza Company on the Marietta Square was our favorite place for pizza. Well, I probably prefer the 18"pizza you can get at Sam's Club for $8.97 but the atmosphere isn't as nice!
And then, of course, we had to get in one last walk before they left for Dakar on Jan. 21st!
Going to the airport to send them off was not fun for any of us. Kari doesn't like to fly so she was thrilled to see the headlines in the newspaper that said there were NO U.S. AIRLINE FATALITIES IN 2010. Always good to hear just before you board a plane!
After kissing and hugging them good-bye, Glenn and I stopped by Belk for him to spend the gift card my father gave him for Christmas. I found the cutest little baby outfits at 75% off and couldn't resist buying 5 outfits (4 for a girl and 1 for a boy. Kari and Kate don't know yet what gender they are having but surely between the two of them there will be a girl. If not, I will bring the outfits back with me to Budapest and give them as baby gifts.) I know it is kind of silly to buy baby outfits when I don't even know whether they will have boys or girls, but they were soooo cute...and Glenn knew that I was distraught over saying good-bye to Kari and Jonathan so he wasn't about to say, "No".
I think both Kate and Kari will find out the gender of their babies at their next OBGYN appointments. I'm so excited!!! (In fact, today Glenn and I were in a store and he found me in the baby department!)
Well, after Kari and Jonathan left, the house was quiet and so we began packing all our stuff up to ship to Budapest or to carry in our suitcases. In view of having grandchildren, we went through Chris and Kari's books when they were children to decide what to bring back with us (so that when our grandkids came to visit us here in Budapest, we'd have books to read to them!) Glenn found his favorite book from his childhood, "Brave Cowboy Bill", so we packed it to come to BP. I don't think either of our kids liked it as much as he did, but that's okay. Glenn will enjoy reading it to our grandchildren.
Our last week in the U.S. we tried to watch a movie every night because they were so cheap! The Red Boxes were a new concept since we were last in America, and so convenient because we were at Wal-mart almost every day that last week! You can't beat movies for $1, can you!?!
And, of course, we had to have one more trip to Krispy Kreme, the store with the neon sign that lights up, saying, "HOT DONUTS NOW!" Actually, now that I think of it, our trip to KK was the night we dropped off K & J at the airport! I covered my pain by eating. :-)
These are our footlockers and boxes to be crated and sent to Budapest. They measured 55 cubic feet but when Glenn and I went to the shipping company to "help" them pack it, our stuff went into a big box that was 62 cubic feet so we HAD TO GO TO WAL-MART to buy a few more things to fill it up. The crate has to be full or things will shift and possibly break, right? We picked up lots of styrofoam plates and Solo cups(for all the get-togethers at the Eden House), a couple of good pillows, a foam mattress pad, and a few more toiletries.
My brother drove down from Chattanooga to say good-bye. It was really nice of him to do that, but I wonder if I could ever get him to come to Budapest to visit? I found out that one of his daughters (my niece) came to Europe (Germany, I think) last summer and didn't even come to see us when she was this close!!
Our last day in town, we went to Kohl's to buy a couple of gifts to bring back to some Hungarian friends here, and would you believe it...the couple in line in front of us were Hungarian! Their names are Maria and Imre and they have been living in the States for many, many years but still have a noticeable accent, which is what led me to ask them what nationality they are. That, and they look Hungarian! It was a shame that we didn't meet them earlier in our time in the U.S. rather than our last day! It would have been nice to have visited with them.
And for both my kids, I couldn't help laugh when I saw this tee shirt! When our kids were younger, we had a code number -143- so that our kids would know a message was truly from their mom or dad. For example, if someone showed up at their school claiming that Glenn and I were in a meeting and couldn't pick Kari and Chris up, and that we had sent this person to pick them up, if they didn't give K & C our code, Kari and Chris would know that the message was not true!
After our crate was packed, we cleaned the missionary home and moved in with my Dad for our last week in town. Right down the street from his house was a Little Ceasars Pizza place where they have hot cheese and pepperoni pizzas ready for pick-up at $5 a piece. Of course, I had pizza for my last lunch meal before heading to the airport. What could I do otherwise? This guy was out on the street, dancing and twirling his sign, just beckoning me to pull in! These dancing dudes out on the street twirling their signs was another new thing in our area.
Speaking of new things in our area, there were Goodwill and Thrift stores everywhere and for the most part, they were clean, organized and marketing to the middle class, hard hit by the economic crisis. It was my goal to hit as many of these stores as possible during our 5 months stateside to see if I could find any Polish pottery. Would you believe I found 2 bowls at the second one I went into? And during my last week in the U.S., I went into an "antique" and consignment bazaar and found more Polish pottery! (I didn't buy it though because the pattern wasn't very pretty; it was the same stuff they were selling at TJ Maxx.)
January 31 came all too quickly but we were ready. My sister Karin spoiled me and got me hooked on "no fat, with whip, white chocolate mocha with 4 pumps" at Starbucks so I got to have one last one at the airport. In fact, I drank one and then went and got another! Glenn couldn't believe it, but he was in a mood to cater to my every whim. He didn't worry about "enabling" my addiction because he knew that once I got to Budapest, I'd be going through withdrawal because the Starbucks are far, far, far away from our house. (In case you don't remember, Starbucks arrived in BP just 2-3 weeks before we left for the States, but they are about 45 minutes away by public transport! (Karin, I'm seriously hooked!)
On a slightly related note, I do have to make a trip into town to Starbucks sometime this week because I got a request from a friend in Turkey that I will be seeing next week at a meeting in Malta who has asked me to bring her a Budapest Starbucks mug. So, guess what I will be getting? That's right! A "no fat, with whip, white chocolate mocha with four pumps"! And probably pick up a Budapest Starbucks mug for my pastor's collection!
The day before we left Georgia, it was 65 degrees and sunny. What a disappointment to arrive to this in Budapest! When the Doyles picked us up at the airport, Mary said it had been snowing off and on for the past week. There were 2-3 inches on the ground in our neighborhood, but today the sun came out and melted almost all of it away. I am ready for spring! (However, first I have to lose a few pounds to be able to fit into all the summer clothes I bought in America!)
I'm seriously trying to lose it. This morning I walked with my walking partner, Janet, for an hour and 15 minutes, then Glenn and I walked down to the mall to pick up a few groceries (25 minutes each way), and then when I got home, I went jogging! The last time I jogged was in November with Karin, so I'm pretty proud of myself for jogging 5o minutes with only a 2-3 minute rest in the middle. I'm paying for it tonight!
While we were at the mall, Glenn wanted to check out the elliptical machines to see how much they cost. He really enjoyed using an elliptical machine at Health Place during our first half of our stateside assignment, burning calories off to the tune of 500 an hour! The price on the one he liked best is $500 so we're going to check out Craigslist and Erika's Attic to see if we can find a used one for him. Got to do something to burn off all those pizzas we ate!
Well, we are back, unpacked, and at work once again. To those we didn't get a chance to visit with, we're really sorry! Time just flew by. For those we were able to spend a few minutes with, we thank you for sharing your time and life with us. You are such a blessing to us. Please know we miss all of you and look forward to the next time our paths can cross!
And Pop, thanks for letting us stay with you that last week! It was a great grand finale to a wonderful 5 months in America! See you in August!
6 comments:
Loved your post, Cile! So fun. I'll be emailing you. I live close to Starbucks, and all about supporting Starbucks addictions:) So let's go!
Great post. I almost started to cry thinking about Glenn reading to our child...I have a very clear picture in my head of our child and their cousin on his lap listening to a story...can't wait for that!
Enjoy settling in - lots of love,
Kate
"Glenn found his favorite book from his childhood, "Brave Cowboy Bill", so we packed it to come to BP. I don't think either of our kids liked it as much as he did, but that's okay. Glenn will enjoy reading it to our grandchildren."
Is this the book with the brown cover that may have had a picture on it at one time but has long since faded and packing tape in the spline? That's MY BOOK!
This is an awesome post, Mom! I love that I can hear your voice in it as I read it.
Those baby clothes are too cute! (And kind of making me hope for a girl now!)
I am glad you made it back safe. Colin and I were praying for you two's safe return. There is a couple that goes to our church that are Hungarian. I told Darin it is time to meet them.
Found out that Starbucks was in Budapest on my trip to MKR! What a surprise and a treat! I think I made it twice and got the mug to prove it. Glad you are back home. See you in Turkey next month where we hopefully will be able to get an Istanbul mug!
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