Welcome Home!

Yesterday we welcomed Mike and Brandon home! They spent 11 days in Mexico on a missions trip. Boy, did we miss them! The homecoming party was a grand event. We made a fancy candlelight dinner, decorated with a large banner and balloons, and dressed in our finest clothes! They arrived home at 6pm. The car only made it about half way up the driveway before it was greeted with running, screaming children that couldn't wait for the guys to get home. The mealtime was filled with lots of chatter-questions and stories. After we filled up on Chicken Pot Pie, the guys blessed us with gifts from Mexico. Emily and I both received beautiful jewelry and rolling pins. Ben and Jonny could not have been more pleased with their gifts-machetes! Complete with a leather case and strap, these 18 inch knives are sure to keep the boys entertained for months! The guys also brought home some neat leather items: a belt, coin purse, dog collar, and some bull whips. Mike demonstrated how to crack the whip. It was quite loud!
While visiting some shops in Mexico, they watched (and video taped) a man making wooden tops. In 53 seconds this man created a wooden top on his turning lathe, including painting it! Mike brought home some wooden tops last year and the boys have mastered making them spin. This year they also purchased a handful of tops, they make nice gifts.
After the gift giving frenzy was over, we looked at pictures and watched some videos. The guys got a lot of work done while they were in Mexico. If you would like to read about their time in Mexico you can visit the mission trip blog at:
http://cornerstonemissiontrips.blogspot.com/