One More Sleep!

Day 39 (June 22)

Our last night in the Miskolc apartment!

“Goodbye, hard foam mattresses and you, faulty water heater.”

Let's try to get some sleep tonight,

We know the hotel will be neater!

Day 40 (First afternoon/night in Budapest)

Today makes Day Forty,

and it will not be a shorty!

To the social worker's office for the final decision,

Let's hope it's all done with precision!

The birth certificate system is down today.

What in the world? Who would have thought?

Kim and I began to pray,

Somehow we got through! For us the Lord fought!

Day 41

First full day at the hotel,

Let's go to the Embassy, then swim!

Two hours crawled by,

so the kids earned ice cream on a whim:)

“Come back tomorrow around 3,

Your embassy work will be done,

Your kids will have passports, birth certificates, and visas,

On Thursday...just have fun!”

Day 42

All day we rode the bus transit,

“Hop On, Hop Off,” they call it.

We saw beautiful Budapest,

We didn't have time to see the rest!

Last day in Europe,

Super early we'll have to get up,

With three kids we're so proud,

Maybe on the plane they won't be too loud!

No more is there just a Bonner Two,

But five with Vivian, Annie Kate, and Matthew!

Thankful for the family and friends

Who will see us tomorrow when our traveling ends:)

If you love history and/or architectural beauty, come to Budapest. If you like to take pictures and see stunning scenery, come to Budapest!

We purchased “Hop On, Hop Off” bus tickets for the day. It takes you all over the city, and buses rotate every fifteen minutes, so if you want to get off and look around, you can take your time! It also includes a boat ride on the Danube River. The kids loved the boat! In a span of just a few weeks, we have ridden in cars, underground metros, buses, boats, vans, and now we we get to experience our kids' first airplane ride with them.

Here are a few pictures from our day:

Our day tomorrow will begin early:

• 3:30 a.m.--Kim and I wake up and get ourselves ready.
• 4:00 a.m.--We wake the kids and get them ready.
• 4:30 a.m.--Our taxi takes us from Hotel Helia to the airport.
• 7:00 a.m.--Our plane travels from Budapest to Vienna, Austria (45-minute flight).
• 10:05 a.m.--Our plane travels from Vienna to Chicago, Illinois (10 hour, 25-minute flight)

U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A

• 1:30 p.m. (7-hour time change) in Chicago—We stand in line to hand the officers the kids' immigrations packets given to us by the embassy in Budapest (expected to take 2 hours)
• 6:00 p.m.--Our plane leaves Chicago and heads to New Orleans, Louisiana, where some of our family will be waiting to hug us and meet Matthew, Annie Kate, and Vivian!
• 9:30 p.m.--We get in our Chrysler Town and Country (I haven't driven a car since May 12) and drive an hour and a half to Petal, MS, to introduce the kids to their home. We'll have to play the sleep schedule by ear since our internal clocks will be all messed up. The kids will want to explore the house and look at everything! From what we've learned, it takes them about a day and a half to settle in to new environments and calm down some. Then the real living begins!

It doesn't seem real that we get to go home tomorrow. Kim and I are a little anxious about the plane rides, because we know the kids will be filled with excitement, anticipation, and lots of questions. So we have our carry-on chock-full of activities and snacks to keep them entertained and engaged.

We are thankful for your prayers that you have continually lifted up for us. On Central Standard Time, our plane actually leaves tonight around midnight, but our day will begin around 8:00 p.m. tonight (Thursday).

Let's do it.