I have decided it might be a good idea to post one last blog. I have heard some concern expressed from our dedicated blog readers. They are worried that we 1.Died in Ireland 2. Decided to never return to "the real world." Well this blog will be a quick wrap up of the end of our trip and what we have been up to lately.

After Ireland we headed to gorgeous Iceland for three days. Unfortunately,we did not see much of Iceland. One problem was the expense, surely the most expensive place we visited. Also, there were no rental cars available in the small town we stayed in so it was a big challange to get around. We did spend a lot of time at the library....looking at pictures of Iceland:) Really a beautiful place. For any of you outdoorsy people I would highly recommended you make a camping trip in Iceland one of your life destinations. The natural beauty is unreal not to mention the people are beautiful. I felt like I was walking around with a bunch of life size barbie dolls, single men you will surely LOVE the place!

Chris and I were welcomed back to the USA with a rather troublesome flight to New York City. We had many delays due to weather and our 5 hour flight turned in to an 11 hour flight......my clausterphobia was kicking in (not to mention the little boy directly behind who was projectile vomiting did not help the situation). Not a great flight. However, we had two amazing people waiting for us in Brooklyn. Keegan and Katrina Kiedis. It was so wonderful to have people we love waiting for us as we arrived. We spent a few days being shown around the city with them. They were fantastic guides! This was Chris' first time in NY so we showed him the statue of liberty, we walked the brooklyn bridge, had lunch in central park...it was perfect! Chris and I took a trip over to Darien New York. Its about a 7 hour drive from the city. We had some killer tickets to see my all time favorite band, The Counting Crows. It was a longggggg road trip, but a lot of fun and the concert was incredible. On the way back to Brooklyn we stopped in a little town called Scranton, PA. and had dinner at Poor Richard's Pub. Now for any of you "Office" fans you know how significant this is. Truly a trip highlight.

After a great few days in NY we headed to Sarasota. Our flight arrived in the evening and my mom and dad were there with open arms...ballons and all. The best part is that my mom and I havent seen each other in months and we end up wearing the EXACT same outfit....it was pretty funny. I cant even begin to describe how good it felt to be in my hometown, in my home, in my bed. It was great. No joke I stood in front of my closet for a good 5 minutes just staring at all the clothes. I actually have choices in what to wear now!!

Since returning home we really havent slowed down much. We went to the Keys a few days after returning home. We spent some time with Chris' parents down there and then two weeks after that we headed down again with his extended family. We split our first few weeks between Sarasota and West Palm Beach. It has been hard to get home after being gone for so long and start gearing up to move to West Palm. We have made it a slow process though and thank God we had some time to look for jobs and dont feel incredibly rushed.

I have just accepted a job with Boys Town a large non-profit all over America. I will be a School and Family Support Consultant. I will be based at an elementary school here in West Palm and I will do prevention work with K-1 grade students. I will also work with their parents in the home to teach parenting and discipline skills. I also have an incredible opportunity to supervise a paraprofessional in the school who is doing play therapy with the students. I am excited. I head to Omaha Nebraska the first week in October for 2 weeks of training. I am also working pier diem for Home Health as their social worker/therapist. So life is busy busy...but I love it!!!

Chris is about to begin lifeguarding on Delray Beach. He has worked on this beach before so it is a real blessing that he is able to go back and work with the same people doing something he really enjoys. While on our trip Chris made a big decision to pursue a career in education, so he has signed up for some secondary education classes. I couldnt be more excited for him.

We are also in the process of house hunting. It is an exhausting process, but so exciting at the same time. We are really entering into a special time in our lives. We have learned so much from our around the world adventures. The Lord had a message for me throughout the entire trip......have faith. We tend to have such myopic views of the world around us. We get so caught up in our drama and our lives that we block the Lord from truly guiding and leading us. Throughout our trip I had to to have such faith that God would carry us through. There were so many nights that we didnt know where we would sleep, what we would eat, how we would get around. By getting away from the every day I feel like the Holy Spirit was truly able to do a work in me. He taught me Faith, he taught me what it really means to call my God Jehovah Jireh "God my Provider." I encourage you to take a step back and try to see your world from a different point of view sometime. It really makes a big difference in how you interact with those around you. Most importantly, whatever comes your way I encourage to trust in the Lord who provides, he is good and his love endures FOREVER!

Thank you for going along on this journey with us. The encouraging notes we received along the way made all the difference. It was so nice to know that although we were far away, we had so many people at home thinking about us and cheering us along.

God Bless,

C&A