Gatorland!

We are just about to start the long journey home to Illinois, but before we left I had to take advantage of internet to post some photos and catch up before I leave for Albania on Wednesday!  We had a bit of a break in our schedule and enjoyed a few days with my dear friend, Jan, at her mom and dad's home in Jacksonville.   On Sunday morning, we shared in an adult Sunday School class.

Mr. and Mrs. Graves

 Sunday afternoon we drove over to the fort at St. Augustine.  Since I know there are friends who visit this blog because of our connection through raising children with limb differences, I wanted to mention something we learned as a result of this visit.  The fort is operated by the National Park Service.  Apparently if you are an individual who has a permanent disability that impairs your ability to enjoy one or more major life activities, you can qualify for a free, lifetime pass to all national parks in the United States.  We were really confused when we were trying to pay for tickets as the park ranger tried to explain that we didn't need to.  Eventually we figured out what he was trying to say when he handed us a card for Reni and told us that we were being admitted for free!  While we saved $21 that day, we will be saving more in the future as we anticipate visiting more parks on our travels!

Monday Jan's mom and sister took us to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens on their family passes.  It was a fantastic zoo -- so pretty, and Ellie was thrilled to get to hold and feed birds in their aviary.

Jan's nephews and niece (whom I felt like I already knew from seeing the beautiful portraits she's captured).  It was a treat to get to know Jan's family better and see where she grew up!  They were all so welcoming and hospitable!  I hope that we can visit again!

From Jacksonville, we made our way down to Gainesville for the Global Impact Celebration (GIC) at the Family Church.  This was our second visit for a GIC (the first time was 8 years ago) and it was neat to recognize faces from our previous visit.

(Above, bottom right) We saw the Maverick, Steve Saint's flying car!

One afternoon we had some free time and paid a visit to the Natural History Museum.

Ellie made friends at a luncheon with another lady, Mrs. Scott, who shared her same first name.

The children's minister was thoughtful to arrange for the same ladies to take care of the kids Wednesday thru Sunday.  I think it definitely made the long weekend easier for them and allowed us to really enjoy all of the special events set up for the weekend.  Below Reni smiles with one of the ladies who took great care of him!

On Saturday afternoon, before small group, I was so excited to meet ladies from the Family Church who are traveling over to Albania on a team next week to facilitate a ladies retreat for the women of Vlashaj!  I don't know if I've shared on here just what a blessing this team is going to be, not only for the ladies of Vlashaj, but for opening so many doors for our family as we get acquainted with the community, our future home.  I hope to share more about what we'll be doing in the days ahead.  To say I'm excited is to put it mildly!

A very sweet, hospitable couple hosted us at their home.  Ms. Karen shared some special lavender oil on Ellie's feet to help her relax before bed.  I think Ellie's hooked!

Coming up next:  visits in Ft. Myers, Lakeland, Mt. Dora and Blountstown!  Thanks to everyone who has been praying for our vehicle!  The mechanic we consulted in Ft. Myers suggested we continue what we've been doing to for shifting gears until we could get it back home on Monday.  Just two more days to go!

Thanks also for praying for our family!  The kids have been amazing, enjoying the adventure of seeing new places and making new friends.  We really sense God's help in this! Thank you!