5Crawfords

We have to check in for our flight to Uganda in about 2 minutes, but I wanted to let you all know that we made it here safely and enjoyed our 24 hours in Amsterdam (now affectionately called "Monster-dam" in our family thanks to Graysen). The boys did fine on the plane, though none of us slept very much - the boys probably slept for 2-3 hours, so not too bad. So when we got here, we took a 2-hour nap in the hotel, before catching the shuttle back to the airport so we could hop on the train into town. We walked around for a little while, then ate some authentic Netherlands' cuisine: McDonalds. We took a boat ride last night from 8-10pm all through the canals around the town - it was really fun. The boys are loving "Europe" and feeling pretty cool that they are on another continent, though no cross-cultural shyness has set in yet! Brodie is into generalizations, for instance: "Mom, look at that man smoking - everyone in Europe smokes!" "Hey, ...

Well, we have 13 bags packed to the gills (yes, that's one extra bag for those who are counting) and we're as ready as we can be. We've had a great week with both sets of parents (my parents parked their RV nearby Alisha's parents' house in the Bay Area) and lots of visits from friends. It's been so fun having all the grandparents together - I think the boys are wondering why we don't just live like this all the time. I'd like to report that we're the picture of perfect calmness and 100% stress-free, but I think you'd all know I was lying! Trying to pack your life into suitcases, while fighting back the emotions of leaving loved-ones is not a task for the faint hearted. So, as two faint-heated people, I'm happy to report that God has intervened and given us the strength to get throu gh! So, now our biggest prayer request is that KLM will allow us to check our bags all the way through to Uganda. Technically, because our connecting flight out ...

This past week, we were in Monument, Colorado (about 10 miles north of Colorado Springs) along with 16 interns for our new staff and intern orientation. We stayed at a homestyle Christian retreat center The Hideaway that was very nice and quiet. The days were long, as we were busy from 7:30am to 11pm almost everyday of the week, but it was an excellent time of preparation and fellowship. We sat in classes on the history of missions, cross-cultural adaptation, God's view on poverty and heard dozens of testimonies of each intern and eMi staff member from the Colorado Springs office. There were bible studies and small groups, as well as role plays and games that gave us a chance to meet and get to know each of the interns that will be heading out to all 5 of the eMi offices around the world. We also got to go rock climbing at a climbing gym, play team building games at New Life Church (you may remember the church shooting that occurred here last month - our activities were in the ...

We've wrapped up our time in Southern California and what a great time it was. We stayed 6 nigh ts each at my sisters Traci Morrow's house in Glendora and then Terri LaBrie's in Arcadia. The boys had so much fun playing with cousins and aunts & uncles. On New Year's Eve the whole family (22 were there) hung out at the LaBrie's in Arcadia playing 'Mafia' - that was definitely a highlight! Then this past Monday thru Wednesday, we spent 3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure. We were joined by Grammy and Papa, and some of the Morrows and LaBries. I can't believe we lasted 3 days at Disneyland. The boys were daredevils, riding any and everything they were allowed to ride according to the Disneyland height restrictions. The 'Tower of Terror' ride in California Adventure was definitely the biggest stretch of their courage, and they showed no signs of weakening. The same cannot be said for their father! As we walked off, I asked if that was s...

That pretty much sums up life for us right now - just entering another new year with nothing really new to speak of...ha! We are very excited for what lies ahead, yet still in awe of all the God has done and continues to do. I know that sounds cliche'd, but it's really the way we feel. Many of you have expressed amazement at our courage or faith in moving our family to Africa, but really, we don't feel like we're doing anything other than trying to obey God's prompting at each step along the way. We've all heard sermons about how you need to find your God-given purpose in life, and that if you truly seek after God's will for your life and allow God to work in you in the meantime, God will bless you and show you His plan for your life. Well, Alisha and I have heard several such messages over the last decade, and each time we would feel so strongly that we wanted that for our lives, but we just felt like God was largley silent, and that we were clearly in a wa...

We've moved on to our next stop in Glendora at my sister Tr aci's family, but what a great week we had in San Diego with A lisha's brother's family and her parents at her brother's house. Her brother has 3 boys too (TJ 10, Tyler 8 & Jake 5) so there was much chaos with dirt bikes, trampoline wars and dart gun fights, but we all had just a great time visiting. We went Sea World, walked the tidepools with the seals in La Jolla, had a grea t Christmas opening a house full of gifts and capped it off with a trip to Legoland on the last day. The boys were in 7th heaven - I think they'd l ive at Uncle Brian and Auntie Shannon's house if they had their choice - it is the perfect setup for boys. We thought Graysen may have slightly fractured his lower left leg after a gnarly fall on the trampoline Christmas Eve, but he seems to be limping around on it ok n ow. Otherwise, we enjoyed the mid-60's weather - a far cry from the 20's and 30's and snow we se...

Thanks to Alisha's brother Brian for laying out our new blog banner! He's the master at Photoshop. This is a picture of Brian and Graysen at Legoland yesterday! ***1 month from today we fly out of SFO for Uganda!! Getting excited.***