We made it!

Hi everyone!
We made it! We had long flights, but the kids were good, and we had no troubles. We came with 10 suitcases, and were so surprised that they all made it here. Typically, several get left behind as the planes are too weighted down. Bill met us in Johannesburg (where we stayed overnight before flying into the Congo) and was able to talk his way back to the luggage claim area (before we went through customs), so he was able to help us with all the luggage. I was so happy for that, as I did not know how I was going to handle all that luggage by myself.

When we got to the hotel in Johannesburg, the kids and I crashed, as we had not slept at all on the 10 hour flight from London to Jo'Burg. Unfortunately, it was about 8:30 in the morning, so we should have tried to stay awake, but we couldn't. Jensen was so crabby. She just sat on the bed and cried and said she did not want to be there. I asked her where she wanted to be and she said, "Arizona". It was sad, but I knew that it was the fatigue and jet lag setting in. She is doing well now, and both kids seem to be adapting remarkably well.

Kami, our dog, made it too, without any problems. She was scared when she got here, but has settled down well, and has found a favorite spot on the couch looking out the window.

Our second piece of luck (after getting all our luggge) came in the form of a house. Housing is a huge problem here, and there are never enough houses for everyone that are up to US standards. They were working on a house for us, and we knew it would be at least 3 weeks before it was done. We were going to have to stay in a hotel and then an apartment while our house was being completed. However, they did say there was a house available to move into temporarily, while we waited for our house to be done. When we all went to look at the temporary house, we all loved it, and decided to stay at that house permanently. It is plenty big (3 bedrooms, an office, family room, and 3 bathrooms). The bathrooms are funny because one just has a toilet, but no sink, one has a toilet and sink, and one has toilet, sink, and shower. And then there is one little room with just a shower in it, but nothing else. One of the toilets leaks, and we have not been able to get all the lights to work in the house, but we'll get it taken care of. The yard is beautiful with a lovely garden. Bill had seen the house before and had thought it was too small for our family, but I think it will be perfect! It could use some paint and repairs, but if we wanted a perfect house, it would have been months! This way, Kami is able to stay with us too! She was not going to be able to stay with us at the hotel or apartment, so she was going to stay with some friends of ours. This was not a bad option, but certainly not the best, as we would just have to go visit her everday at their house. Now she is with us, and it makes our family complete!

We cannot get the internet to work at our house yet, so we are at the hotel using the internet. Hopefully we'll get it going in the next few days.

The kids have already made friends with a 10 year old little girl here from Texas. She just moved here about 6 weeks ago. They will be going to the same school.

I've already had my first illness--less than 24 hours after arriving here. I got some type of stomach virus, so spent my first full day here vomiting. I could not move off the couch all day. Today, I'm still not great, but doing better. I'm keeping food down today, so that's good. I've been taking activated charcoal and acidophilus and I think that's helping.

I guess that's all for now. Check back soon. Once I have internet at the house, I'll be able to update more frequently.

Laurie