The airplane rides were interesting because the first one was the smallest plane we had ever been on and we were all serperated expept Gwyn and Jesse were together. Damie and Sierra did great sitting alone and even made some friends and the boys got to see the cockpit. The second flight was a big plane and there was not an empty seat and we assume the bottom of the plane was full too because when we got to the DR and we found out our luggage didn't make it with us. But by the end of the day we had all of our stuff! We spent the first 4 nights with Greg and Melynda Burge and The Stones feed us and took us to church. They also took us to see our new house and Restoration Ranch.
This is a picture Denise took during our trip. It was wonderful to step foot on land that we have talked about, dreamed about and prayed about for so long. It is really coming along well! Since Monday, Dec. 8 we have been living in our new home in Bani. Bani is about 1 hour from the Capital where the Stones and Burges live. We have not gotten our container yet, so we have 2 plastic chairs 3 cots and 2 air mattresses. We don't have any appliances, so have a cooler we keep a bag of ice in and 2 lanterns
for when the power is out. We are basically camping.
We are very blessed with a sweet neighbor who has given us some great advice about Bani and given us numbers of trustworthy taxis. We also don't have a washer and our dirty laundry was piling up and we ask her about a laundry mat and she didn't know what we were talking about, but she said we could rent a washing machine. So we did and this is what came.
One side you fill with water and soap, with a hose if you have one, with buckets is how we had to do it and we had plenty of help.
Then you put soap in and it agitates for about 10 min. Then you drain all the water out and fill it with clean water for the rinse. Then you drain that water and put the items in a little container and it spins them - Shay calls it a glorified salad spinner, then you hang them out to dry! It fills a day to do laundry this way, but we don't have a lot of other things to do so it was kind of fun!! We have also been forced to be creative with eating. We have made
sun tea and we warmed our food
on a tin roof.
Everyone but me (Gwyn) was sick the first week we were in our house. We got to know the pharmacy on a first name basis, but everyone is now well. There are about 15 other kids that live on the street and when the power is out everyone goes out side, so the kids have made plenty of friends. This is one of our neighbors
his name is Junior, he is 8 years old and very sweet - his mom is the one that has been so helpful! This is our kids sitting on our front porch, just watching the world go by.
We have this wonderful lemon tree in our back yard! I love lemons and lemonaid. This morning the kids were collecting the lemons and Jesse likes to line them up and count them and then juggle them. Anyway this morning he put one on the back of his neck and said Mom, I know what my hole is for!!! (He has a very deep indention in the back of his neck and I tell him it is to collect my kisses) The lemon just fits in it!!
Christmas was of course a little different this year, but we all had one of the best Christmas's we can remember. This is what we bought with the money Mama & Papa gave us. Yes, that is a real working Barbie sewing machine, it will be so much fun sewing together!!
These are presents from Grandmother and Grammy Sugar!
Little Miss Priss!
They boys got these cool tracks you put together like a puzzle and the car runs along the track.
you make the little person you play with look like you. We also made a Mii for everyone in our family and when we play baseball they all play on our team, it is soo much fun! You don't have a lot of options, but we made one that looks so much like Grandpa, it makes us laugh everytime we see him! 
Shay and I didn't get each other presents for Christmas, we are just happy to be here! But due to our delayed container we were getting tired of cold food and sandwiches. Shay went on a search for a grill, because it is something we didn't bring with us and we would use later. He found the only one in Bani. After a few days of haggaling over the price he came home with it! Now you have to remember we are in the DR, so it came with no screws and missing a side. We are trying to have a new side made and we found an owners manual on line and got the sizes of the screws and Shay found a hardware store and bought them and it is sitting on our sinks in the back yard. 
They were delicious!
Do you see the little jar of water on the grill? When we were in Costa Rica the little grill on campus kept a plastic bag of water hanging in the door way of the kitchen. When we asked what it was for they said to keep away the flies, we thought they were crazy, but it works and here in the DR we see glasses of water in the stores and resturants. So we have started doing it too and it is so funny to see the flies go away instantly!!
This is a picture Denise took during our trip. It was wonderful to step foot on land that we have talked about, dreamed about and prayed about for so long. It is really coming along well! Since Monday, Dec. 8 we have been living in our new home in Bani. Bani is about 1 hour from the Capital where the Stones and Burges live. We have not gotten our container yet, so we have 2 plastic chairs 3 cots and 2 air mattresses. We don't have any appliances, so have a cooler we keep a bag of ice in and 2 lanterns 
for when the power is out. We are basically camping. 
We are very blessed with a sweet neighbor who has given us some great advice about Bani and given us numbers of trustworthy taxis. We also don't have a washer and our dirty laundry was piling up and we ask her about a laundry mat and she didn't know what we were talking about, but she said we could rent a washing machine. So we did and this is what came. 
One side you fill with water and soap, with a hose if you have one, with buckets is how we had to do it and we had plenty of help.
Then you put soap in and it agitates for about 10 min. Then you drain all the water out and fill it with clean water for the rinse. Then you drain that water and put the items in a little container and it spins them - Shay calls it a glorified salad spinner, then you hang them out to dry! It fills a day to do laundry this way, but we don't have a lot of other things to do so it was kind of fun!! We have also been forced to be creative with eating. We have made
sun tea and we warmed our food 
on a tin roof.
his name is Junior, he is 8 years old and very sweet - his mom is the one that has been so helpful! This is our kids sitting on our front porch, just watching the world go by.
