Trip to US part 3 Happy Birthday, Ma

When we got in to Seattle, we went to my parents' house. Christmas is also my mother's birthday. Two years ago we tried to arrive early enough to actually see Mom on Christmas day. This time we made it. 

She was in good spirits and so-so health. During the January visit she was in the hospital three times. But she keeps plugging. She is fragile on one hand and resilient on the other.

She is the best teacher I ever had. She taught me all the books of the Bible and the names of the bones in the body. Believe me when I say I still keep learning from her.

Trip to US part 2 Some Place Ya Got Here

Bellevue is the city of my youth. I can tell you it never looked like this when I was a kid. Our first time to drive through town revealed several buildings serving Microsoft and a Neiman Marcus next to the Louis Vuitton store. "Upscale" is kind of a weak word for it. Not that we shopped there.

But we did get some things while we were in town. Part of a missionary visit is shopping for things that you can get for way less in this country: clothes, home school books, hard-to-get items, and so on. While shopping you have to remember it all has to fit into a suitcase with tight airline weight restrictions.

Trip to US part 1 Snow Does Not Stop Us.

We're going to catch up on things in December, January, February, and also March. The week before we left for Seattle in December we had a snow that shut down Heathrow Airport for several days. There was some question of whether we would fly, but December 25 came, and we flew on schedule. We were even upgraded to business class, a nice Christmas present from British Airlines.

Here a lone passenger waits for the train to leave in the gathering snow.