The Holidays in a Box

Last night we both got home after a rather long day at work and were looking forward to relaxing when we got our second knock on the door. The first knock was a plastic bag salesman. He came in the middle of cooking dinner... perfect timing. And about a hour after the first knock came the second. Initially, we thought Plastic Bag man was back for more. Thankfully, we were wrong. Since we were in the middle of dinner and we thought it was another salesman we dragged our feet in opening the door. When Joe finally did open the door what he saw was no salesman but our glorious mail carrier. He was just about to get back on his bike when Joe popped his head out. Thank you Lord for split seconds.

Turns out we had a rather hefty sized packed from our wonderful brother and sister-in-law, Chris and Kai. We had no idea what was inside so we tore into it with great excitement and curiosity. Like two children on Christmas day. The first item out of the box was a book. At that moment it became clear this box was indeed a care package. Kellyn could have stopped there; it was enough to know that the box was stuffed with little treasures, most of which can only be found in the States and it was stuffed full of love (cute line, huh?). Of coarse we didn't stop there. Within minuets the surrounding floor was covered with all kinds of treats. We won't name everything in the box, but here is a sample: pumpkin pie mix, taco seasoning, Christmas stockings, packages of thank you cards, salami, sharpie pens, books, DVD's, games, pictures and notes from them, and lots more.

We couldn't believe our eyes. All we could do was look at each other, laugh, and say "this is crazy." We truly feel blessed by their generous and thoughtful gift. THANK YOU CHRIS, KAI, OLIVIA, ANNA, AND MARY!!!

And thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send us a card, an email, or given us a call. It truly does mean so much us. Life is really good here and we aren't planning on rushing home anytime soon. However, we miss our friends and family as well as those "comfortable" things back home that we often take for granted.