Since leaving Wichita last week, we made our way to Illinois where we have made several stops.
First Stop: Peoria, IL
We were VERY excited to reunite with the Carrigans!! Hard to believe a year has passed since our families were together -- especially since we lived in close community from July 2011-June 2012 during Dean and Marc's fellowship training.
AND we got to meet baby Isaac at long last!!
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| All the kiddos |
The kids were fast friends and played GREAT together while the adults enjoyed catching up and sharing from our hearts how God is leading us. Truly a sweet time!!
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Second Stop: Downtown Chicago
The French visa process has definitely been a new experience for us. It has been far more involved than any previous visa application, AND it required appearance IN PERSON to submit the application. We were assigned to the consulate in Chicago which is a blessing since we were coming to Illinois for training at TEAM anyway -- so we made our appointments for the Friday before our TEAM training started.
Actually there have been MANY blessings throughout this visa process:
--church member fluent in French to help us complete application (several parts required in French)
--friend who is a notary and was able to notarized all required documents (since bank refused to notarize anything that was not in English)
--replacement marriage certificate received within an hour of requesting (truly an amazing story -- ask us to share it with you sometime)
--Priceline hotel at a GREAT price that was 0.3 miles from the French consulate
And these are just the highlights! Thank you to ALL who have been (and continue) praying for our visas. We repeatedly saw how God was answering your prayers by overcoming obstacles. Our applications were successfully submitted -- hopefully next week we will learn if they have been approved so please keep praying!
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| Gracie enjoying the downtown view from our hotel room |
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| G's preferred mode of travel while downtown |
After the consulate appointments -- which were VERY efficient and ended earlier than expected -- we took Gracie to nearby Millennium Park as a reward for her excellent behavior.
At first she was bummed because this "park" did not consist of the "playground" she had been imaging. But thankfully there was a Family Fun Festival complete with a tent full of crafts and games -- and she quickly changed her tune!
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| Decorating a "link" for a paper chain |
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| Watching her link be added to the chain |
Once her craft attention span reached its limited, we wander over to a fountain so she could cool off -- with nearly every other kid in Chicago (so it seemed)!
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| Playing in the water |
Although we don't consider ourselves "big city" folks, we enjoyed our 24-hour adventure downtown.
TEAM Headquarters
After completing our visa task -- and before the 24-hours was up on our fixed rate spot in a downtown Chicago self-park garage -- we headed for TEAM headquarters which will serve as our "home" for the next 9 days.
Gracie has truly taken all of this transition very well. Several times a day she asks, "Where are we going next?" Since arriving at TEAM, she seems quite satisfied to stay put. Our training, however, did not start until a few days after our arrival, so we found some fun, free, family activities to fill our time...
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| Collecting eggs |
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| So proud -- NONE cracked!! |
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| Watching the bee-keepers |
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| Loving on a little lamb |
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| Helping "Mr. Farmer" scrub the water tank |
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| Visiting the horses |
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| Trying her hand at the plow |
Willowbrook Wildlife Center -- an education and animal rehabilitation center
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| Saying "Hi" to a bunny |
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| Butterfly Garden |
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| Exploring the different exhibits |
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| Bobcat |
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| Paw print stamps |
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| Deer print |
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| Yes, this is a RAT!! G's comment: "He's SOOOO Cute!" |
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| Admiring the dove |
Both of these activities were perfect fits for Gracie -- and us! It is particularly fun to watch as she discovers new places, people and things...we are thankful for her extroverted, adventurous spirit!
Refreshed in the midwest,
DD&G
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