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Yesterday we celebrated Danny's second birthday. We went to the Sonshine Center for Kid's Club, then we went to the Mall to ride rides and have lunch. Happy Birthday to Danny!

Usually when I go back to the States I gain a few pounds from living large on American food. Portions at American restaurants are just huge compared to places to eat here in the Philippines. So here I am on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii back in April on the way to the States: and here I am on the same beach a few days ago on the way back to the Philippines. Pictures don't lie, it looks like I need to lose the spare tire I acquired in the States. Fortunately that is usually no problem here in the Philippines. We are much more physically active here, and since it is so hot, we do not eat as much. Chris, of course, looks as good as ever.

We spent our last day in the United States in the newest of the United States, Hawaii.

We arrived safely in Iloilo Saturday evening. We went to Victory for church on Sunday and then went to SM for lunch and shopping. Today, Monday, we got our cable TV and Internet turned back on, and also connected our Vonage VOIP phone. We also had our first power outage, lasting about an hour. Life is starting to go back to normal. We are all hit pretty hard with major jet lag. It has never been this tough before. I thought that stopping over in Hawaii would take care of that, but alas we are still feeling the effects of traveling to the other side of the world. Please pray for our family as we adjust. Also pray for health. We are all starting to feel a little sick in various ways, so please do pray. Thankfully we made it home in one piece, with no lost luggage. It is good to be home.

At hotel with Eric and Faith. Danny and Chris are upstairs sleeping. Flight for Iloilo leaves in a few hours.

After enjoying a day in Hawaii, we arrived in Manila last night. Our travels were smooth and uneventful. We will be in Iloilo later today. We are all doing well, but very tired. Our schedule is completely messed up. Pray for strength. To our U.S. friends and family, we miss you all. To our Filipino family, it is good to be home. 

Here we go again. Leaving early tomorrow morning. Please pray for safe, uneventful travels.

I have known Jason Branch (the one standing next to the happy bee) since I was six years old . He and his family have also come to the Philippines twice. On their recent trip to Las Vegas they saw a piece of Filipino culture that made the jump from one side of the Pacific to the other, Jollibee! Jason even tried a burger yum, but he said it tastes better in the Philippines. For those of you who don't know, Jollibee is the Filipino version of McDonalds. It is a 100% Filipino company. For myself, I actually prefer Jollibee over McDo. In just a few more days . . . we leave on Wednesday, and will be back in Iloilo Friday.

July 16 Continental Flight 627 Baltimore to Houston Departs 7:15 AM arrives 9:22 AM Continental Flight 73 Houston to Honolulu Departs 11:25 AM arrives 2:35 PM We overnight in Honolulu (since it was such a good idea the last time). July 17 Continental Flight 1 Honolulu to Guam Departs 2:00 PM arrives 5:40 PM on July 18th July 18th Continental Flight 933 Guam to Manila Departs 7:00 PM arrives 8:40 PM We overnight in Manila July 19 Air Philippines Flight 2P 991 Manila to Iloilo Departs 4:30 PM arrive 5:30 PM As of this posting, we leave in five days.

The last time we were in the United States for the Fourth of July was in 2003. It was great to be celebrating American independence in America. We had dinner with family and then enjoyed fireworks lakeside in Columbia, MD.