Arrival in Budapest

When I borded the plane, the flight attendant greeted me with "good morning." It was eight pm.  Ha! My flight to London went well and I had plenty of time to get to my terminal walk around to check out the stores and then head to my gate when it opened. I was a little bummed the free wifi was not working but oh well. Although my flight to Budapest was much shorter it felt three times as long. I tried not to sleep the second flight to help with the jet lag soon to come. I got my luggage from the belt and followed the doreen doors to the exit. I look around for my boss. He is not there. I wait  and patiently look around trying to not look "too much out of place." A guy about my age next to me offered to help and allowed me to use his phone. What a blessing! I had the number saved on my iPad of some missionaries about an hour away from Budapest. I was able to call them and they were able to connect me with the Borders. The Borders are a couple that invited me to go to church with them on Sunday and join them for church after I arrived. The Borders were in town and able to pick me up within 20 minutes. As they walked through the doors, I just felt tears stream down my face. Overwhelmed with God's provision and the way He provided the Ewings and Border's for me. I went home with the Borders for the night until I could contact my boss, Laci. 

Laci and his wife picked me up and felt very bad. They were very apologetic and got the date wrong in their mind and the time,he was thinking 6am versus 6pm. 

By God's grace and goodness, I made it safely here and spent the night with the wonderful Border's that have welcomed and introduced me to so many things here. 

The Border's picked me up for church at Danube International which reminded me of Fellowship church in Arkadelphia. We enjoyed lunch together with their friend Steve who came with us too. Cile Took me to the store, Tesco, which is kinda like the Walmart. It's connected to the mall, how funny is that?! The escalators are like ramps that you can use your buggy on and the tires "catch on" so you don't have to hold on to it as you go down. Cile shared with me how to pronounce things, what words mean and all around the mall and Tesco. I am so thankful. 

Things I have learned:

Shower curtains are not found as a necessity here

Milk (Tej) can be bought unrefridgerated and is kept cold after it is opened. 

Air conditioning is only really used like 2 months out of the year so most homes don't have it.

Windows can open from the top or the side, depending on how you open the handle. 

Pictures on food labels are extremely helpful. 

GF options are available but much more common in US. 

Extended Family Vacation

The Teed’s were very generous and gave us a week to stay in their condo in Keystone, Colorado! We arrived in Keystone on a Monday and decided to plan our week day by day. First on the agenda was bike riding, scoping things out around town, ski lift ride to the mountain and a visit to Breckenridge for some Alpine Slides. 

Wednesday we planned a trip for White Water Rafting on the Colorado River in Buena Vista and enjoyed some delicious food from Mi Casa in Breckenridge. 

Sarah wasn’t feeling to well that night and thought it might be food poisoning. (which would have been a bummer because we all LOVED the restaurant and they were super about Gluten Free options) She was pretty low key Thursday and Friday. Dad and I went mountain biking and went to a BBQ cook off festival in the neighboring town Dillion. Mom and I went shopping at the outlets in Siverthorne. 

Over dinner on Friday we decided to take a visit to the doctor to make sure everything was okay with Sarah because she was still in pain from Wednesday night. Low and behold, she goes in for emergency surgery at 2:00 am for her appendix. It ruptured and had been for awhile. She was very sick. Doctor Lee came back after surgery to give the report that there was 20-30% chance that not all the infection was out and we would potentially need to go to Denver. She was expected to have a fever over 100 for the next three days. We would be in the hospital for 6-10 days. This was not exactly the best news ever. Sarah had orientation for work on Wednesday and needed to get to Belton for nursing school to start on the 20th. 

We took things day by day. Each day, Sarah made progress and began to recover remarkably. Even though we were so far from home we felt the love from home with flowers, prayers and many encouraging texts. We were so thankful for her doctor, the nurses and great staff at Summit Medical Center. The Teed's let us stay in their condo as long as we needed, it was such a blessing!! We were at such a wonderful hospital despite looking it up on google and knowing nothing about it. Sarah never had a fever and as her insides woke up, Dr.Lee planned for surgery to be all stitched up on Thursday. Sarah was discharged on Friday! Woo Hoo!!

The days that Sarah was able to eat, she had nurses that had Celiac and were able to help her pick some meals from room service that were delish! Mom and I ordered some GF pizza and french toast with berries while we were there. Dad and I found a book sale in walking distance from the hospital, fill 2 sacks for $5! I love a good deal ;)

Sarah and I flew home on Saturday from Denver (Thank you Aunt Melba!!) because the drive would have terrible. Sarah and I were a huge fan of the handicapped service at the airport - skipping lines, riding a cart to your gate, it was great! My roommate Katelyn picked us up from the airport and Mrs.Thomas picked up some groceries for us! 

We don't know who the mystery
person is who decorated the
door and made us feel so loved!

Sarah rested after the long day and then it was time to make a cake for Mom’s birthday on Sunday. 

GF Cinnamon Cake with a sparkler candle on top!

Aunt Melba came in town! Mom and Dad drove from Denver in one day on Saturday. Sunday we unpacked and a did a bit of cooking for Sarah to take with her, thanks to Pinterest! I made Potato Soup, White Chicken Chili, Italian Chicken, a foil dinner bag and some smoothie bags. 

After Sarah's doctor appointment on Monday, we packed and headed to Belton. After setting up her room, we headed back. That was one hard, "see you later." She is simply THE BEST! We are continuing to pray for full recovery despite the full load that nursing school brings. 

August Beginnings

Part of the Staley family came for a visit while Karis was at camp and Brother Jaime was in Ukraine on the mission trip. We went shopping at IKEA, Sam Moon and Thrift City! We enjoyed feeding the ducks, going to playground and playing with some bubbles! 

Yummy Brownie Sundaes!

Dad and I made a trip to Jewett and met my wonderful Aunt Ann for a lunch. We got in the Jeep and drove up some hills on the land. She always makes me laugh and gave me a wonderful suitcase for my next big trip!

We fit in a little shooting, hence the headphones.