Days 11 and 12

Lots has happened in the past two days! Yesterday morning, before leaving Ohio, we had breakfast/lunch at a popular chain in the South called Bob Evans. It was really cute and super yummy! We enjoyed our time...

Coen is getting so big, right before my eyes. He now sits quite well in a high chair and is pretty much eating 100% table food. I do feed him a fruit or veggie from a baby food jar, just to make sure that he's getting all those good things, but out of necessity he's moved towards table food a little earlier than I would have done if we weren't on the road. It's much easier though not to have to lug so much stuff around! And he is getting the hang of chewing and swallowing pretty quick! This morning he had eggs, apples, and potatoes. And loved it. I love this age where they will pretty much eat anything you stick in their mouth!

Then we were on our way, just outside Dayton. And guess what? Flat tire #2 !! Yes, that's right. We had our 2nd flat tire. Even with our new vehicle. Weird! This time we knew exactly what to do and within about 20 minutes we were actually on our way. It helped that we knew where the spare was and the guy didn't have to hunt for it, like last time, since it's hidden underneath the car. Unfortunately we're pro's at this by now! And thankfully we were right outside an airport, where we had to go again and exchange for our 3rd van. We have another van, which is blue this time. And just as nice. I was just glad all this happened during the day, and not in the middle of the night, like last time!

Pretty soon, we were on our way and not even that much out of our way. Our next stop was to stay with Erin and Joe Penberthy, who live in Indianapolis, Indiana. Joe and Gus went to Seminary together and they have now been living here, where Joe is an assistant pastor, for about 3 years. They are one of the sweetest couples I know and we had such a great time staying with them!

Erin is an amazing decorator. She has exquisite taste and puts things together with such foresight and an amazing attention to detail. I was amazed at her house and had to take pictures of some of my favorite spots!

Here is over her fireplace...

And this red suitcase with milk glass vases, which is on top of the TV.

This little assembly of cuteness is right by her kitchen sink. I love it!

Love how she puts all these together...

And this is on her stove. How cute is she? I wouldn't have ever even thought to do something like this!

This is where she puts her bananas. On a scale. That is Vintage. And Pink. So cute!

And this is the dessert she made for us. Pioneer woman apple dumplings. Can I just say they were one of the best desserts we've ever had. I'm definitely going to be making this again. Especially considering that it has Mountain Dew somewhere in it. So yummy!!

Oh and did I mention that she has a 4 week old newborn? Wow. She was quite the hostess and allowed us to descend upon her with the newborn, Jaxon. He was so precious and I got to hold him a few times. He even fell asleep on my chest.

He's such a cutie!!

Here is the whole clan!

Their two boys bonded with Cael. We've had mostly girls that Cael has played with, so he is always excited to play with boys his age. And they had so many toys and a huge backyard. Cael was in heaven and actually cried when we told him he had to leave!

But alas all good things must come to and end! Fortunately for us we went from one good thing to another! We drove just down the road to have lunch with Kirby and Sally Meyers. Gus worked with both of them while he worked at Grace and while Kirby attended seminary, back in the 90's. They planted a church in Indiana 8 years ago and it was great to catch up with them. We enjoyed our time talking about Spain and what everyone has been up to! Here is one of their 3 boys, whom they are in the process of adopting right now.

And now I write from a little city just outside Chicago. Tomorrow morning we'll get up and head straight to the city, where we hope to spend the day. I'm really excited, since I've heard so much about Chicago and can't wait to explore the city! We just lost an hour, or gained it, I guess, since we moved from Eastern time to Central time. This is something we've become accustomed to, actually, since we've been moving in between these two time zones for the past week. The boys seem to do fine and not really even notice. I personally like when we move to Eastern, since I think adjusting to being an hour ahead is easier. Meals come before you are even hungry. The boys sleep in "late." And time just seems to fly by! All the opposite happens upon moving back or gaining an hour. We're starving for dinner at 3 pm. The boys get up at 5:45 am. All those sorts of things. But nothing too major. And within a day, everyone seems to even out. And I know people who have to adjust to 9 to 12 hour differences. So I'm not complaining at all! Spain is 9 hours ahead, so adjusting to time zones is just part of a missionarie's life!!

Our schedule for the next few weeks is as follows...

Tomorrow night, we'll leave Chicago and drive about 8 hours to Omaha, Nebraska.

We'll stay there for up to a week, where Gus has a few different meetings with various pastors.

Then we'll drive to Washington State, where we have a presentation and a chance to meet with a church in Yakima. After that weekend, we'll go to Seattle and Spokane for a few days.

Then drive to Colorado to be a part of a church that is having a missionary emphasis weekend. After that, if nothing else comes up, we'll be heading home, probably around the 30th or 31st of October.

As you can imagine, there is a lot more long stretches of driving ahead of us. And many more places and people to see. Please keep us in prayer. For health and safety. That relationships would be built because of Spain. And that through all of this, we would keep the proper focus and perspective about why we are doing this trip: for Spain, the gospel, and God's glory!

We appreciate your prayers! And your comments! It all makes being on the road and so far away not feel so...well... so far away I guess :)