Gracias, ciao, and te amo.

We are going home.

This time, two years ago, we were getting inklings of feelings to begin something new. To trust Him. To start down a different path from anything we've known.

This time, last year, we were adjusting to life with Mike home, a new baby, and preparing for our massive adventure.

And in the past seven months, we've traveled to six countries, become (mostly) fluent in a different language, packed our life into four backpacks, wrangled three rambunctious boys, and managed to keep a man and a woman happily and more in love than ever.

We've rick-shawed on the beach, climbed Machu Picchu, celebrated Argentina's Independence Day with the locals, ranch-handed on a working farm in Chile, drank Mendoza Malbec, cooked fresh chocolate in the Amazon jungle, and eaten guinea pig. We've hiked to a crater lake, overlooked the cliffs of Lima, rode horses through a cloud forest, perused the largest indigenous market in South America, white water rafted through the Ecuador rain forest, and bathed in the medicinal hot springs under a volcano. We've swam in the Caribbean, celebrated three birthdays, antiqued on the streets of Montevideo, watched the snow fall over a mountain lake in Patagonia, sunbathed on the volcanic sand of the Pacific, and eaten more dulce de leche that humanly possible.

We've spent more hours on a bus and on the road than some people do in a lifetime, driven across Argentina twice in three days, visited over 50 different farms, fincas, campos, and chacras in every country, and taken 10 flights totaling over 11,000 miles and nearly 30 hours in the air. We've spent a total of 5 days traveling on busses covering more than 5,600 miles, and countless more hours in taxis, boats, trains, and even on horses.

We made lifelong friends and became closer as a family than we ever thought we could be. I didn't think it possible to be prouder of my boys but I am. I didn't think it possible to respect my husband more but I do. And I always knew that I should trust the Lord more but this trip helped me do just that.

And all because we listened. Listened to the Holy Spirit whisper to us. Listened to God nudge us. And as we sit in the airport, waiting for our flight home, we still hear His voice. Telling us to turn this chapter. Sure, we'll travel more (and are already planning our next trip!) and yes, we'll be back down here soon (more on that later) but for now, we need to rest.  I've loved every second of sharing this adventure with you but we are going to detach from social media for awhile.

When we resurface, we'll be sharing some exciting upcoming news, more pictures than you want of Halloween costumes and various homeschooling crafts, and oh-so-boring boring tidbits of life on a farm.

So for now, gracias, ciao, and te amo.