Five...Four...Three... Counting Down to Takeoff (we hope).

A rare snow in coastal Northern California.

 Celebrations and Leave-takings

So, we had this picture in our heads that spending Christmas with family for the first time in 5 years would be absolutely grand... and it was. We had amazing times with both sides of our family - making tons of memories with trips to the snow, work and play together, the world's smallest Christmas tree, and re-introducing our kids to traditions that our entire extended-family enjoys. 

That said, through these special times, we've been reminded that we are leaving soon*. We've got stacks of packages for friends in PNG still to be sorted into our bags, and things still arriving each day. (But not for long -  Amazon let us know that even their timely deliveries will miss our departure date.) We've said good-bye (for a couple of years at least) to so many of you all that we have run out of creative ways to say "See you later." 

And so, it is with somewhat familiar bitter-sweet feelings that we find ourselves playing our last games of ping-pong, drinking our hot cocoas, and catching a few precious minutes of meaningful conversation over languishing dish-water with our nearest and dearest. Whole, warm, full and thankful for this time. Ready to go and yet not ready to say goodbye. 

Rain, mud, and cold do not stop the soccer bros.

Fickle Fickle COVID

Well, here we are 2 years into a world-wide pandemic and still no clear path to worry-free travel plans. We think that we are ready for travel on Monday, January 3. We hope that we all test negative on Sunday morning. We are avoiding public places for the most part... but uncertainty is the name of the game these days. We covet all of your prayers for flights to remain uncancelled, for paperwork to remain valid, and for smooth sailing all the way to Goroka. At best, it will be 55 hours of tight quarters, seats that double as floatation devices, and the slow descent into the worst of all traveler's maladies: smelling like sweaty zombie pit funk.

Oh, and pray that Elias can sleep on the plane.

We love you all. Thanks for your continued care and love.

Nate for us 5

* I was trying to think of some good, picturesque language to bring life to that thought, but nothing really fit within the flow of that paragraph. Here are a few ideas that crossed my mind - vote for which one you think would fit best:

1. Like that stubborn sock that keeps slipping below shoe line and bunching up at your toes, reminders that we leave soon do try their best to spoil the joy of the moment.
2. Remembering that we are leaving Noah behind sometimes comes on like cold, winter wind, opportunistically invading the gap between pants and jacket and reaching for your shoulder blades.