Summer of Goodbyes

Hopefully this is the last goodbye for a while. My last post was at the beginning of the day (8/21) that they left. Here's the last couple of hours before Claire and I took them to LAX.

Sarah was out with her friends for most of the day and then they all came back to hang out with her while she packed up the last of her stuff. One of the mom's had some pizzas delivered.

Sarah with Danielle's mom (in blue), Danielle, Natasha and Kim.

Pic of everyone before we headed to LAX.

A few of Sarah's friends came with us to the airport to see her off.

All of us trying to cram in the elevator - 4 suitcases, 8 teenagers, 3 adults. We were a bit over capacity and the doors wouldn't shut.

Claire and I got to go through security with Sam and Sarah and see them off at the gate. It was a pretty tearful goodbye. They arrived in London safely and I've gotten to talk to them via AIM and webcam pretty much every day. They are slowly adjusting to London and all of the changes.

After Sam and Sarah left, Claire and I packed up the remainder of the house. I had packed all of Sam and Sarah's things that were being shipped to London while they were still here and boxed up all of the things that Brigitte wanted to keep for them when they were older so the remainder of the stuff we went through and gave out to friends, donated or sold in an estate sale this past Saturday.

This was Claire's first true American Garage/Estate sale (she's British and lives in NY). I kept hearing her tell her friends that she was having a car boot sale which as she explained was what they called them in England. I think they are slightly different though because that describes an English person that has stuff to sell in the "boot" of their car. A garage is significantly larger than a car "boot" but I guess conceptually its the same.

So its been one unexpected, crazy, memorable summer. Brigitte's house is completely cleared out and ready for new neighbors to move in on the 15th.

Well the Christian cliche says that when one door closes, another door opens...

Less than 4 days - The Day Is Actually Here

So kind of a random title for a post but I think I started a post (just with the title) obviously 4 days ago.

Anyways sorry for the lack of posts but between July 29th and August 4th Sam, Sarah and I took a roadtrip to Oregon to visit Gail, Troy and the kids with stops up and back to see my parents, my grandfather, cousin, Mike, and San Francisco (Sarah had never been before). We took a ton of pictures which I sent out through Kodak Gallery as there were really too many for the blog. If you didn't get them and want to see them, let me know, and I'll send you the link.

Since we returned, I've been focused on getting Sam and Sarah packed and prepared (physically and emotionally) to move to London to live with their dad. Four days ago I started this post - I think when the reality that they were moving really set in and the large part they have played in my life the last two years and especially the last two months. They have taught me so much and shown so much maturity in dealing with all of these life changes and given me a great trial run at raising teenagers.

Anyways tonight is the night that they head to London - 12 hours. Its been a sad few days for all of us. Please join me in praying that Sam and Sarah will be safe, strong and comforted in all these changes and for Dan, their dad, that he will have wisdom, strength and patience in this new change in his life.

Some pics from a little going away party we had for them with some of the adults that had been close to them and Brigitte. I let them each bring 3 friends and didn't really get any pictures of the adults.

Sarah's friends (Danielle, Natasha, Andie) - can you believe they are only 14?

Sam and his friends being boys.

Natasha and Andie got Sarah a going away present - Tiffany bracelet engraved with each of their initials of their first names.