Well, we arrive at Heathrow around noonish and figured we'd find our gate and then get something to eat. We soon discover that our gate is hidden this maze they call an airport. We walked for what seemed like forever, up and down multiple escalators (big pain as Judah is still not sure about those moving stairs!), through a few eating areas, did I mention it was REALLY crowded, too? Yes, super, crowded. Anyway, we start entering an older, less impressive section of the airport and eventually find our gate in what must be the ugly step-sister gate of all gates! We were there an hour before boarding began but the area was totally empty. Felt a bit strange.
There was one little deli shop near our area but it didn't have anything we wanted so we walked all the way back through the maze to one of the main eating areas and bought ourselves some sandwiches and drinks. Heading back through the maze was really when my bad mood hit! I think I was just extremely tired and didn't like having to walk so much and through so many people, with two, at this point, very energetic little boys all just to get a bite to eat which ended up being edible but that was it. Plus, I was super bummed to have lost the cardigan that I had just bought a couple of days before. I realized it after I went through the security check in Heathrow. It is somewhere in that airport--maybe someone found it and is being blessed by it--oh well!
Well, we make it back to the gate as the boarding time began. They take our boarding passes and we wait in a little area for the buses to be ready to take us to our plane. We board the plane, I fall asleep almost immediately--praise God for Luke, he was my hero for taking care of the boys on that flight!
Arrival
We land in Lisbon after our 2 1/2 hour flight, go through customs with no problems, locate our luggage and trunks fairly easily and start taking loads outside where our teammates where waiting. I didn't get to see them until our last load (someone had to stay with our stuff and the boys while the loads were being taken outside) but when I finally make it out our reception was lovely; Jenni and her girls were jumping up in down as we all made it outside--so fun!
Here is a picture of us just outside the doors of the Lisbon airport:
Of course, I'm looking horribly HUGE as I always do during my pregnancies! Totally worth it, of course, just not so pleasant! I always look forward to loosing all my baby weight after giving birth. :)
Well, a forty-five minute drive and we arrive at our house to drop off our trunks and take a look at our "new" home! It is cute, little older home just a minutes drive from The Haven. Since we didn't have any appliances (no fridge, stove or anything) or any furniture for that matter, we had planned on staying at The Haven for a week or so until we were able to make those purchases.
After looking at our house for a few minutes, we head over to Vineyard side of The Haven. On the door was this adorable picture the little girls of our team leaders had drawn:
What a fun little welcome sign!
How we've been doing
We've been here now for four full days and are feeling great! The first few nights were a little rough with the boys dealing with jet lag but last night (and I think the night before) they slept through the night with no problems, Praise God!
Yesterday, we went to an appliance store and purchased a fridge and stove for the kitchen--YEA!! Today I look forward purchasing our beds! I imagine that we will be able to move into our house by Friday. We don't have any furniture other than beds at this point but we trust God will provide for those things in his time.
Next up will be a post with pics of our house! The view from our back patio is really amazing. :)
Blessings to you all! I will be back on in a day or two!
Janice:)
There was one little deli shop near our area but it didn't have anything we wanted so we walked all the way back through the maze to one of the main eating areas and bought ourselves some sandwiches and drinks. Heading back through the maze was really when my bad mood hit! I think I was just extremely tired and didn't like having to walk so much and through so many people, with two, at this point, very energetic little boys all just to get a bite to eat which ended up being edible but that was it. Plus, I was super bummed to have lost the cardigan that I had just bought a couple of days before. I realized it after I went through the security check in Heathrow. It is somewhere in that airport--maybe someone found it and is being blessed by it--oh well!
Well, we make it back to the gate as the boarding time began. They take our boarding passes and we wait in a little area for the buses to be ready to take us to our plane. We board the plane, I fall asleep almost immediately--praise God for Luke, he was my hero for taking care of the boys on that flight!
Arrival
We land in Lisbon after our 2 1/2 hour flight, go through customs with no problems, locate our luggage and trunks fairly easily and start taking loads outside where our teammates where waiting. I didn't get to see them until our last load (someone had to stay with our stuff and the boys while the loads were being taken outside) but when I finally make it out our reception was lovely; Jenni and her girls were jumping up in down as we all made it outside--so fun!
Here is a picture of us just outside the doors of the Lisbon airport:
Of course, I'm looking horribly HUGE as I always do during my pregnancies! Totally worth it, of course, just not so pleasant! I always look forward to loosing all my baby weight after giving birth. :)
Well, a forty-five minute drive and we arrive at our house to drop off our trunks and take a look at our "new" home! It is cute, little older home just a minutes drive from The Haven. Since we didn't have any appliances (no fridge, stove or anything) or any furniture for that matter, we had planned on staying at The Haven for a week or so until we were able to make those purchases.
After looking at our house for a few minutes, we head over to Vineyard side of The Haven. On the door was this adorable picture the little girls of our team leaders had drawn:
How we've been doing
We've been here now for four full days and are feeling great! The first few nights were a little rough with the boys dealing with jet lag but last night (and I think the night before) they slept through the night with no problems, Praise God!
Yesterday, we went to an appliance store and purchased a fridge and stove for the kitchen--YEA!! Today I look forward purchasing our beds! I imagine that we will be able to move into our house by Friday. We don't have any furniture other than beds at this point but we trust God will provide for those things in his time.
Next up will be a post with pics of our house! The view from our back patio is really amazing. :)
Blessings to you all! I will be back on in a day or two!
Janice:)
What a marathon - well done for surviving the trip and coming out the end with a smile, albeit of relief, ;-)
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
Hi Janice! So glad to hear you arrived safely in Portugal. Hope everything will go smoothly getting the house ready. Take care!
ReplyDeletewow! What a journey! Praying through all the details for your family! You are ADORABLE pregnant! And don't tell yourself anything else! Mommies are supposed to be healthy when full of baby...you should've seen me at 60lbs gained with my last baby...sheesh, talk about a bit of extra weight to lose! You look GREAT, Janice! Praying for you as you settle in. Big hugs to the whole family!
ReplyDeleteYou & your family are sooo CUTE!!!! I love following your journey, & what an adventure it has been so far! Janice, Blessings to you & yours!
ReplyDeleteI love this! All of it! What an adventure getting to Portugal. When I heard about bed bugs I thought, "What? Not at The Haven." So glad they were on the plane instead. :) So glad you guys are there. Miss you guys and Portugal and The Robinson's. You are going to have so much fun. LIFE all around. Proud of you guys.
ReplyDeletePS - With being pregnant and through all the flight turmoil with only one "bad mood", or flesh moment, I think that's pretty good.
You are adorable Janice!! Great pics and cannot wait to see the pics from outside the back patio. Quite a trip you had and loved the "ugly step-sister gate of all gates" reference, lol! I can hear you saying it :) Rest up and praying for you!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome home! I'm praying that your new home will be thoroughly furnished in no time and that you'll fall in love with your new life and surroundings. What a wonderful experience for all of you, but especially your children. Do you know, yet, whether you're carrying a boy or girl? You look adorable pregnant. Those extra pounds are for the baby's health and very important, so don't beat yourself up! You're doing the best thing for your baby and that's what's important. You did remarkably well for such a long trip and being pregnant too. A moment or two of feeling like you were completely frazzled is nothing to worry about. Who wouldn't be frazzled at that point?! Thank you for your posts. I'm sad that I didn't get to know you better before this, but what a joy for me to learn about you now, my Sister in Christ! You and your family are on my daily prayer list so be sure that you mention prayer needs when you make a blog entry so that I can get to work on it right away. :-)
ReplyDeleteLynn Brookside