When On American Soil, We Look Forward To...(#1-20)

1.                the pleasant smells of Christmas (evergreen, sugar cookies, wood fires, spiced cider, and a “roast beast”)

2.                fall leaves in full color

3.                Mint Oreo Blizzards at DQ

4.                playing at a playground with Micah’s cousins (and “like-cousins”)

5.                taking Micah to a baseball game (and splitting an overpriced hotdog)

6.                drinking 20 kinds of Root Beer and savoring all 34 flavors in a Dr. P. (Travis)

7.                exploring a children’s’ museum

8.                gaining 10 pounds (Travis), losing 10 pounds of baby (Andrea)

9.                singing “How Great Thou Art” with multiple congregations

10.            frying brats on a Charcoal grill

11.            Frisbee golf

12.            taking Micah to a fair or circus

13.            sharing a Biggie Frosty between the 3 of us

14.            pumping our own gas and paying at the pump

15.            rollerblading

16.            visiting the Botanical Gardens with my cousin (Andrea)

17.            long, hot, high-water pressure showers

18.            nice crispy bacon!

19.            fulfilling my fatherly role of “inspector” of Micah’s Halloween candy

20.            Subway’s footlong Chicken Bacon Ranch sub

 

When On American Soil, We Look Forward To...(#21-40)

21.            going  strawberry/blueberry picking

22.            a reunion with at least one of the Ethiopian kids who were adopted by our American friends

23.            sledding

24.            You-Tube

25.            a live football game

26.            attending a live concert

27.            microwaves

28.            fresh veggies from a home garden (Andrea)

29.            picnicking at a park

30.            brushing teeth using tap water

31.            roads without pedestrians or animals

32.            riding bikes

33.            going to a water park

34.            playing the cello (Travis)

35.            ringing in the New Year with “Little Smokies” and a cheese tray

36.            going camping

37.            babysitters!

38.            shooting pool with family and like-family (Travis)

39.            the finer ice cream joints like Marble Slab, Cold Stone, etc.

40.            a live hockey game

 

When On American Soil, We Look Forward To...(#41-60)

41.            eating peanut butter fudge ice cream directly from the tub (Travis)

42.            butter burgers, cheese curds and a scoop of the frozen custard flavor of the day…in other words – Culver’s

43.            dutch apple pie with cinnamon ice cream…for breakfast (Travis)

44.            steakhouses

45.            browsing every aisle of a Super-Walmart

46.            jamming out “Living on a Prayer” on the now probably outdated game “Guitar Hero: Rock Band”

47.            a live basketball game

48.            using a debit card

49.            hiking in a State Park

50.            Nandoburgers and homemade pico

51.            eating a fish that we caught

52.            cruise control

53.            going boating

54.            making a snowman

55.            visiting the places we’ve worked in the past (Campus Life, Grand Prairie Municipal Airport, Pizza Hut, etc.)

56.            taking a bubble bath

57.             a day at a zoo

58.            dining at a Thai resturaunt

59.            attending a family/couples camp or retreat

60.            a live soccer game

 

While On American Soil, We Look Forward To...(#61-80)

61.            re-experiencing the Christmas “spirit” everywhere we turn (albeit much of which will feel over-the-top-obnoxious)

62.            pizza delivery

63.            filling up on chips and salsa at a Tex Mex restaurant and doggie bagging our barely-touched meals to cover the next day’s lunch

64.            making a whole meal by simply opening cans and heating things up

65.            dinner-and-a-movie double date with friends

66.            hanging out with some college roommates

67.            attending a stage performance

68.            playing Frisbee in a park

69.            go-karting

70.            swinging on swings

71.            walking/playing at a beach

72.            staying at a hotel with indoor pools (and hot tubs!)

73.            shopping for hiking sandals

74.            riding a train

75.            going snow skiing

76.            flying a kite

77.            riding a rollercoaster (Travis)

78.            contributing to the finishing of Travis’ parents’ building project in Arkansas

79.            going golfing/mini-golfing

80.            listening to Delilah’s sappy radio program

 

While On American Soil, We Look Forward To... (#81-#100)

That’s right, with only 5 weeks to go before we touchdown at O’Hare, we are unveiling our top 100 things that came to our minds when we asked ourselves “What do we look forward to doing on our upcoming furlough?” This is not exhaustive, and not in any exact order of importance. It is not a wish list that we are asking people to fulfill. It is simply us posting our thoughts, revealing some of the things that we miss, things that we maybe took for granted before coming here, and some random fun ones. It will be fun to keep a checklist as to how many of them we can accomplish in the nearly 6 months we will be home.

 

While in America, we look forward to…

81.            mall walking with a two year old (there will be so much to look at)

82.            updating our family and friends photo album

83.            water skiing (Travis)

84.            visiting a pet store

85.            eating venison

86.            going to a wedding

87.            peppermint ice cream with a big mug of hot cocoa

88.            visiting a farm

89.            shooting hoops (Travis)

90.            refrigerated drinking fountains

91.            people watching (without being watched)

92.            Auntie Anne’s Pretzel

93.            water balloon fights

94.            hot water from the tap

95.            giving and getting hugs from more than 100 people that we haven’t seen in over 3 years

96.            taking Micah (and “Bobby”) to see Santa

97.            visiting an apple orchard (with cider and fresh donuts)

98.            eating a real turkey on Thanksgiving and its leftovers for the week that follows

99.            playing soccer in the snow (Andrea)

100.         running through a sprinkler