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 A week has passed since we left the Himalayas on Nepali Air.  Travelling east to Seattle via Hong Kong and Taipei was the shortest and most comfortable of our trips between Asia and Seattle.  Each step, and stop, was a a sensory upgrade....clean 'western' facilities, food we recognized and sampled, even free wi-fi! The Hong Kong airport is a small city......I felt almost remiss that we weren't going to be shopping for some bargain which Hong Kong is  known for.
We just weren't in the shopping mode, for some reason!




Because of the International Dateline in the Pacific, we arrived in Seattle evening of the morning we left...June 9, 22 hours after we left.   We were welcomed by a beautiful view of Mt. Ranier as we descended, a 'short' mt., only 14,000+. and solitary.





We finally landed at SEA-TAC to a welcoming committee we hadn't expected!  Luckily Matt found me sitting with the luggage cart while Jon was off finding me some Starbucks coffee!  They had missed seeing him at the luggage belt.  So, here we are with Scott and Heather Miller (who brought us our car), Matt, Jana, Ben, Luc and Ian.  What a dear sight!  And good hugs, too!

Grandpa reads to Ian

Spending the first two nights with Jana, Ben and boys, we got lots of lovin' and reminders of why we needed to come home......grandchildren.  A year in their life is a long time.  It felt good to keep hearing how they thought we were the best ever!

The waiters sing Happy Birthday to Matt....Leigh Ann looks on.

And then there are the 'kids!'  Matt's 29th birthday was Sunday and we celebrated by having his traditional birthday dinner at Red Robin.  His friend, Leigh Ann, had graduated with her MA from Seattle University that afternoon....so, we celebrated her achievement also.




Once we learned two grandchildren had events we could attend by Thursday, we decided to stay in Snohomish and give our dentist, doctor and hair salon some long-awaited business.  We also started the Medicare application ....supplemental insurance chosen.  And greeted various friends throughout the week.  Weather was typically 'changeable,' which suited me just fine as I especially like the cool drizzle the Puget Sound Area is famous for....after the heat and humidity of Nepal.

On Thursday we finally saw our grandaughters....Ava, Emma, and Julia.  Here they are posing with their paper umbrellas from Chiang Mai, Thailand....and 'bangles' from Nepal.

Luc is in the middle with the tie.

Thursday evening was Luc's final choir concert at Leschi Elementary.  Their director does 'gospel' and they sing passionately.  She moves to a different school next year, so this was her final program after 14 or more years at Leschi.   What a gift she's been to these children over the years.

With programs done for this week, we headed to our cabin near Leavenworth in the Cascade Mts....about 2 hrs. drive.  Ben and Luc went with us and Jana and Ian  followed after his final school picnic.  We're getting back in the saddle of grandparenthood!

Riversong is the Miller/Bishop cabin by the Chiwawa River

Air travel is almost too quick a transition.  A week later and we're still trying to  absorb the changes.  My first trip alone to the grocery store left my head spinning  recently.  I had to tell myself that I could get some of the items later.....they would still be available.  I'm so used to so little choice in groceries.  It was too much to take in.









With Jana and Ben, Luc and Ian here for the weekend, it was an inspiration to start building a treehouse! Here Ben and Jon have attached the 'anchor' to the selected tree.  A few hours later, with Jana and Marita's help, the platform has been raised (you don't want to see how we did it!).  This is a plan from the internet that they 'tweaked,' so there will be further tweaking to make sure it is safe.  Those long supports aren't in the plan and will be removed.......but additional crossbeams will be needed.  The trees sway in the wind, so anchors need to be in the tree, not the ground.   This will be a work in progress thru the summer.....unless Grandpa keeps at it in the next two weeks.
Soooooo......
I guess this is the end of this blog!  It has been, largely, a travel-log.  Have you gotten a sense of  the family of the world?  People in every country want the same things, work their best to improve their lives,  celebrate and suffer just like we do.  Some places are harder to live in due to geography, politics, economics and religion.  But, that is their 'normal' and we have tried to fit into that as we've lived among them.   Where we couldn't accept, we've tried to initiate dialogue.  We've made and left friends behind in Kabul and Tansen. Jon plans to return to Kabul soon, for a few weeks.  I'm content to stay home, at least for awhile.    July l we will move into our house and face a summer of unpacking and all that goes with it.  Thank you for coming along on this trip around the world, into the mountains.  We trust you've caught of glimpse of God's creation in his people and terrain.  Bless you for sticking with us!!

Blessings,
Marita and Jon