Jetlag

We were able to make a quick trip back to Texas for Christmas, although it didn’t exactly work out as we planned.  We had hoped to spend 10 days there, but since we were flying standby (can you say, “CHEAP”?) we had to wait until Christmas day to fly, leaving only 5 days in TX.

We flew from Zurich to New York to Austin.  We actually took advantage of a break in the storms that shut down the US east coast and messed up transportation across Europe.  And we were able to leave our van at a friend’s church, which is near the airport (saving us over $100)… thanks Desmond!

It was a very relaxing trip.  We enjoyed the warm Hill Country weather and got to see Robin’s family.  We were also able to visit my (Jon’s) dad.  And we ate as much Tex-Mex food as possible!

Ryan, Ashton and I were all set to fly back, but more winter storms forced a change in plans.  Because our Sunday services started up again on Jan 2, I had to get back to Germany.  The planned return flight was full, so we were forced to fly from Austin to Dallas to Frankfurt.  And because it was a last-minute change, our checked luggage (including a new guitar I was given for Christmas) didn’t make it.

We had to ride the train to Zurich (to get our van), which included delays and missed connections.  We finally arrived back home after 28 hrs of travel (normally only 24)… in planes, trains and automobiles!

The next morning we had a service.  It was all too much for Ashton, who didn’t get enough sleep on the trip back.  She ended up crashing on the couch in our coffee area after the service.  She grabbed one of the Kids Ministry puppets (a dragon) to use as a pillow.  We just HAD to take a picture of this… what a cutie!