on the other side

hey friends and family!
we really did make it and this really is the first i have been able to access internet! things are just a little slower than we remembered here :D but life is good. we made the 26 hour flights with virtually no problems! dramamine really works for our kids :D the 14 hour flight was actually the easiest! we arrived in bali an hour later than we expected so our ride was not there so we had to scramble to get 3 drivers to drive us and all our belongings to our hotel. but greg did an awesome job of remembering his indonesian and got a good price for it all. i asked gavin what he thought of indonesia as we were standing there and he said, "this isn't the jungle...it looks like california!" so he was a little bummed that he had to wait to see more jungle. (and now it's right across the street!!! here in salatiga) we had two days in bali at a great hotel right on the beach so the kids lived it up between the ocean water and the hotel pool. we slept at weird hours and ate weird food. a milk shake really is shaken milk. gavin once fell asleep at a resturant and the waitress made a bed out of chairs for him and used a tablecloth to cover him...and then we had to carry the sleeping child all the way home...he was OUT! seems everyone loves our kids though...we get a lot of pictures and video cameras in our faces...kind of funny...the kids also love that they don't have to be in car seats here and they wave out the windows saying "ha-low" at everyone and everyone waves back...it's so funny!
we arrived in yojakarta on saturday and got to eat at A&W in the new mall. i was impressed with all the new things they had...something even like a wall mart???? and so many different things as well but so much has come into the country since we left 6 years ago...then we made a 2 hour trip to salatiga and found that our house was not done yet to move into. a bummer...but we are in a nice temporary place for maybe a week or so???? indonesian time is harder to predict exactly when it will be done. but we will get pictures and what not soon...we are just happy to let you know we are actually here. salatiga has changed soooo much. the school is impressive. new buildings and upgrades. many people remember us as we walk around town and the school and it's so much fun to see old faces again. they say that greg looks the same but martha is bigger...they have no boundaries about talking about weight and they think it's a compliment to say this but man...it's not a compliment to me :D so maybe this will be incentive to actually work out and get off this baby weight :D we are walking everywhere so that helps!
what else...mari! she is great...she fits in so well and she is so service minded and just a tangible example of God helping us here...she looks out for all of us and makes life easier for sure!
gavin started school yesterday and loves it...we all woke up at 4:30am so waiting until 7:20 to go to school seemed to last forever but he made it and couldn't wait to get back today. we in turn have been running around trying to get our "needs" from stores and what not...they don't have stores that have everything you need....you have to go to many stores so things just take longer but i really like that about this culture...but right now...i wish it was easier because we dno't have a car and such...
it's super hot...even the locals say it is...and humid...it needs to rain then it will cool down. it hasn't rained in 7 weeks. the custom is to take at least 2 showers a day...the kids like that...and they enjoy the squat pots. i have a good picture to show in the future of that!
the kids seem to really like it here so far. everything is new and fun and exciting with lizards all over our home and huge bugs...but we have only seen one spider so far so i am excited about that! the kids actually pulled a tail off a lizard the other day...lots of screaming! but the tails grow back...we just heard of the glass lizard and when it's tail is pulled off it breaks into many many pieces (like glass) and all the pieces keep moving to distract the prey and it scurries away...we hope we don't run into that one....yidda!
we are having fun catching up with old friends...every night we go to a different house and hang out...good times but we are tired about 4 or 5...we are trying to adjust to the time but it's harder than i remembered! maybe cuz we have kids????
all in all we are doing well...can't wait to be out of our suitcases (they all arrived with us and that is a huge praise in itself!) and that might be a little stressful at times but we are here and that is good....you can ask for healing in Gavin's ear. he got swimmers ear in bali and it is just now starting to get a little better. poor guy. but all the kids are doing great....know that this feels like home and we can't for you all to visit...anytime! we have an extra room even! :D
love and love
we will send out pictures soon i hope!