Almost Home!!

We are sitting in the Chicago airport waiting for our flight home to San Antonio at 8:20pm. We had a little scare this morning when we left. We woke up at 2:50am Turkey time (7:50pm Texas Time) hopped on the bus for an hour bus ride to this tiny little airport. We were scheduled on a 6:45am flight to istanbul. Well, when we got to the airport there was no plane at the gate. They weren't even sure that we would have a plane in time for us to make our connection in Istanbul. While this might seem like a minor diversion, the reality is that Turkish air only flies to the US three days a week and has only one flight on each of those dates. So if we had missed our flight this morning, we would have been stuck in Kayseri until Monday. Needless to say, we were all a little panicked. Fortunately, we boarded our flight at 8:40am and got to Istanbul on time. We were running through the airport to make our next flight, but we made it...it helps that we are used to hiking and running hard. So after going through 7 security checks (and i am not exaggerating) we got on our plane. Thirteen hours later we arrived in Chicago. 

Ben and I slept about 45 minutes each, so not much. I watched 4 movies, responded to countless emails, read 3 articles for school, and read the Text. So at least the plane ride was productive. We are definitely looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight. It will be nice to be in our own bed, with our puppies, and all that comes with being at home. Our experience in Israel and Turkey was amazingly indescribable, but we are so happy to be back on American soil. It is nice to go into the public restrooms and know that you won't have to fight for a "sitter." In Turkey, most of the toilets are glorified holes in the ground. They are ceramic basins in the floor that you squat over (that is why we have lovingly dubbed them "squatters"). Why they are like this, I have know idea, must be a cultural thing. Plus they smell really bad!! I never thought I would be so thankful for an airport bathroom. Anywho, we will be home soon. Thanks again for being loyal readers and commenters. You have blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. We can't wait to share with each of you.