Made it to magnificent Montana

I paused for a precious few seconds yesterday after I slipped back into my shoes, packed my laptop back in its case, put my liquids back in my backpack, and gathered the kids and the carryons. I wanted to take in the view. We had made it -- packed all of our bags at an exact weight one last time, made it to an airport in time, gotten all of us (and all of our stuff) through security, and were on our way to our gate. That scene had played out so many times the last six months, and now we are just a minvan ride (and one more border crossing) away from home.

I won't miss the security lines -- although we are complete pros at it (kids, too). I won't miss my panic at takeoff, landing and turbulence when flying. And I won't miss the jetlag (which is still plaguing me and John a bit, although thankfully the kids seem OK. Maybe we just are really, really tired?).

And I am SO eager to be home. I can't recall ever feeling a calling for home this strong -- real home, not our (fabulous) "France home" or "Ely home", not even our parents wonderful homes... just our home. We should get there Sunday night.

But in time, I think I will miss the thrill of travel, the delight in discovering a new place, the challenge of living in another culture. And we continue to miss our France friends, and the old friends in England we reconnected with. Jack has had three emails from classmates updating him on the end-of-year school events...it would have been nice to have been a part of those.

Well, the kids are calling to go outside, so I should sign off for now. Again, I have no idea where I put my camera cord, but pictures should be posted soon. Thanks again for following us on this journey. It is so good to be here in Montana with John's parents, and nice to be almost home, too.