47 days!

That's how many days until I leave for the good ol' US of A! I'm so pumped to go home. I haven't felt this way...ever. Probably because I've never been away from home for this long. A year is a long time to not see your family and friends. I also think it's been more hard and emotional because there is so much going on within my family...and I'm missing it all-ie: first foster child then adoption of Jasmine, Lauren turning 1, Kendra being pregnant for the first time (missing all sorts of showers for this), Shawn and Kristin getting engaged and married (missing all sorts of fun showers for her). Missing a good friends wedding which I probably would've gone to (Kari and Ray). I guess with all the fun and events I've missed at home I made up for that by doing lots of traveling in Europe. I've realized I can't have the best of both worlds. Speaking of traveling...I'm excited for my next plane ride to Philly then Chicago then Minneapolis! And, I think I'm starting to take traveling for granted. I've had many opportunities to travel, added 8 countries to my list of places I've been to, plus 2 additional countries if you include airports. I still love experiencing cultures, new scenes, people watching, new foods, and taking pics of places I've never been. I admit...I did a lot in the last 10 months, maybe too much. But, I have to take the opportunities when I can...that is a bonus for living in Europe!