Multitude Monday - 1000 Gifts: Back to the Backside of the Desert

#290 safe travels on a VERY LOOOOOOONG trip (Lansing - Indianapolis - New York - Casablanca - Niamey - our house in Kouara Kano

#291 all 26 pieces of luggage, 16 carry-ons, two strollers, 8 children and 2 parents arrived, seemingly intact. The one duffle bag that tore held it together until it was pulled off the conveyor belt

#292 a lovely place to call home for the next year - with the sheets already on the beds for when we arrived at 3:30 a.m.

#293 the wave of homesickness that passed as we drove past our old home here in Niamey... so many good memories of our time there

#294 meeting up with wonderful friends-more-like-family at the airport in New York - meaning we got to start all those happy hellos on the US side of the ocean

#295 internet - I've already chatted with a few... (and if you see me on-line, don't hesitate to open up a chat box)

#296 for the first time ever having an open space next to me on a plane ride - Mary Michelle and I actually laid down, snuggled and slept on the flight from Casablanca to Niamey

#297 lots of friendly faces, hugs and handshakes when we landed - one of Victoria's friends she's been waiting to see was there at the airport, too

#298 making the immigration official in Morocco laugh when he questioned me about being Americans with so many kids... I told him we carried American passports but must be Moroccan in spirit... he stamped our passports and hurried us through the next check point...

#299 saying hello to many

#300 getting here in time to say hello and goodbye to one friend: she's heading to Tunisia to work for the next several years

#301 a last carmel mocca frappe in the airport in Indy

#302 a first cold bottled Coca Cola here in Niamey

#303 fans

#304 cold showers

#305 listening to the kids as they search for all their favorite street dogs... and as they begin to come up with new names for the new dogs they see

#306 lizard hatches and littlers chasing baby lizards

#307 Jonathan's first play date - already - with one of his friends he has been begging to see

#308 thunder, lightening and lots of rain our first full night

#309 being able to let our parents know we'd arrived safely, and that we already miss them so very, very much