Jess and the kids come back today and I'm SOOO excited! Not that I don't enjoy my summer monk-like existence, but I'm really looking forward to being with the kids and having all five of us together again. Once nice thing about living abroad and being segregated from everyone we know is that the five of us get a lot of 'family unit' time. I miss that.

This year is not quite as complicated as this time last year, but it's close. Last year they were getting off the plane in a strange country, eat strange food, move into a new house, to attend a new school, and meet new friends. This year, the country and the food are the same, but the house, school and friends will change.

There is a lot of anxiety.

Of course we can overcome it, but it's hard to do that when we're separated. Together, all things become much more manageable!