We made it!

There was a lot to do to prepare to leave our home and pack for 7 weeks!  We had several family members and friends stay with us the 2 weeks leading up to the trip, and we just had lots on our schedule, so we felt busy amidst the need to pack and think for what needed to be done before we left.  Thankfully my mom came the 5 days leading up to our departure and she was a tremendous blessing to us!  She served us by playing many hours with the kids, helping me pack, doing our laundry, making us meals, and running errands with me.  It was especially helpful since Chad and I both had to take a trip to the doctor because we got sick right before it was time to go! :(

One way we wanted to prepare to leave was to see if William would sleep without his crib rails so we wouldn't have to haul our pack n play with us.  We turned his baby bed into a toddler bed two days before we left and he loved getting to be a big boy and be like his sissy!  He did really well- he didn't try and get out which was my main concern, although he did fall out of bed the second night!  My mom was sleeping in his room so she just put him back in and he was fine! 

Proud little guy in his big bed at home :)

 

Bye Bye Indy!

Ready to go!

I wrapped little dollar store gifts for the kids to open along the way!

Boarded our plane in Atlanta and waiting for the 15 hours of "fun"!

Although I expected the plane ride to be hard with the kids, it was so challenging to actually experience it! Overall, I guess they did pretty well, they at least slept some, just never at the same time, so Chad and I didn't get a chance to sleep.  And just like the last time I flew to SA with Chad 6 weeks ago, I ended up getting sick towards the end of the flight which was so not fun.  Landing and walking off the plane, I burst into tears, probably from sheer exhaustion and disappointment that I had expected it to be a little easier on my body.

But we were welcomed by a sweet group of new friends at the airport, and we are getting settled in our new "home"!