Angela had baby #3!!

Austin Joseih Townsley was born today around 1:15 at 6lbs 15oz. Mommy and Baby are doing GREAT!! It was so nice to get there this afternoon and be able to share such a wonderful moment with them! I was able to take some pictures and soak in a few moments with Austin before Kaitlyn and Bryce arrived to meet their new baby brother. When Kaitlyn arrived she handed her Mommy a birthday card for her new baby brother and not soon after she wanted us all to sing Happy Birthday. Once we were finished she promptly asked where the birthday cake was. So, it looks like Kaitlyn and I will be making birthday cake tomorrow!! I can't wait to see what kind of personality Austin develops and how Kait and Bryce adapt to having someone else to play with. The 3 of them plus, their new baby cousin Michael Clay will definitely be keeping "Team Townsley"(Ang, Jon, Nana, Pop, Ikey, Jenny, Chas & Adam) very busy! Enjoy the pics!!

Our trip re-cap for Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey has asked his listeners to send in their financial vacation horror stories from this summer. I listen to Dave Ramsey about everyday online at work and kept hearing him ask for stories and it finally registered that I HAD A STORY!! Below is exactly what I sent him. I am glad that I was forced to write this up so Dad and I can always have it to look back on because we both have terrible memories!

I tried to write it up like a MasterCard Commercial...

Our 10-day adventure traveling overseas to La Paz, Bolivia began on a beautiful day on July 2, 2008. We were so excited to be traveling to Bolivia to visit one of my college roomates and best friend who had started a children's home in Tacachia, Bolivia. Neither one of us had ever traveled overseas before.

We were set to travel with a local youth group who had already organized a 10-day trip to the children's home for their summer mission trip. (passport, shots, food, etc...$1,460).


-I got a speeding ticket on the way to meet the sheriff so that he could kick our tenant out the day we were leaving. ($150)
-Tenant stole our appliances ($300+)
-Our car needed a new tire before we could drive from High Point to the Raleigh Airport. While we were putting on the tire we found out that the car was overheating ($30) and that we would not be taking that car to the airport. We had to have my Stepmom come and drive us and hour and a half to the airport so that we wouldn't miss our flight. ($21)
-We arrived at the airport to find out that our flight to Miami had been cancelled, not delayed but CANCELLED b/c of weather. That also meant that the next flight to La Paz, Bolivia would not be leaving out of Miami until July 4th. We were going with a youth group of 17 other people that would now not be able to travel to La Paz at all (which they had worked over a year on raising money) and they had to completely change their mission trip to travel to Guatemala instead. No matter what they were going to get somewhere to do some "Jesus Work" according to their mission trip coordinator. (plane tickets - $1,950)

-We had to spend the night in Raleigh, rent a car ($38.16) (which isn't easily done when Dad tried to rent the card with cash, since he decided to leave his wallet at home and not bring a debit card or anything that they would accept, so I had to rent the car w/my debit card which we are so thankful that I brought because that was our only source of emergency money besides the few hundred dollars of cash that we had brought) and stay with a friend until our flight out the next morning @4am to NJ, then to Tampa, then Miami (amazing that the only way we could get to Miami from Raleigh, NC was to take 3 flights) where we would spend another night before we could fly out the next day. (Dinner-$16.90)
-Our air carrier was changed, which changed the weight requirements of our bags. We had to dump out some of the items that we were donating to the children's home and move around other items to evenly distribute them to other bags. ($50+) In total, we had 8 bags for 2 of us.
-We were tagged to be "stripped search" at the airport which took extra time and patience (which we were running short on).
-Spent the night in South Beach Miami after riding a public bus ($3) to get there only to stay in a not so clean, not so cheap hotel. ($101.70) + Taxi ($33.50) + Food/Drinks ($101.59) (Our July 4th day in South Beach on a Scooter -$72.00)
-Arrived at the airport the next day 8 hours before our flight so that we weren't charged extra to keep our other 4 bags in storage ($28) . We found out that our bags could not be checked until 5 hours until our flight and had to sit with our 8 bags until then. Hauling the 8 bags around was a task within itself.
-Arrived in La Paz safely at 5am Saturday morning only to deal with the next 7 days of culture shock including not so great food, cold showers (which only amounted to about 3 the whole trip), hard to find bathrooms which toilet paper could not be flushed and cleanliness.($500+)

-Watched our lives flash before our eyes several times from La Paz to Tacachia, where the children's home is, on a winding mountainous dirt road for 3 hours each way. (FREE)

-On the way home we spent about 10 hours on a plane from La Paz to Miami, which was approximately about 3-4 more hours than we were supposed to.
-We arrived home safely only to find out the next day that Dad got so sick that he had to be rushed to the emergency room where he would find himself off and on for the next 4 days fighting a severe virus that he had gotten from our trip causing him to lose about 10 pounds and not even want to see our pictures or items purchased from our trip without getting sick all over again. ($ 6,534.85 total, only $2,300 out of pocket due to HSA )

Total trip expenses (estimated the best we could) = $7, 152 .85 out of pocket, $11,387.70 Total

Overall, our trip to Bolivia to see Carrie and Korywawanaca Children's Home = PRICELESS.

We learned so much and grew such a huge appreciation for the United States . The United States is so blessed to have what we have, it's amazing that we still find things to complain about! We hopefully did our part in helping the children's home and we are currently trying to help raise $ for the home here in the US.

It will be a long time before we will want to travel overseas again and deal with the airports/luggage/expense, etc...

About a year ago I never would have believed that I would have been able to pay my part in cash to travel 10 days to another country, but because of listening to Dave Ramsey virtually everyday at work and taking control of my financial situation I was able to take this trip without racking up debt!

You can view my blog for some detailed stories that I wrote while we were there and pictures.
www.babblingbowles.blogspot.com

Thank you for the opportunity to share our adventure!

We're Home!

We made it home late last night! Our flight was extremly long and draining, but we were glad just to be back in the USA!

Both Dad and I did not feel good this morning, but this afternoon Dad got so sick that Lorrie had to take him to the Emergency Room and is still there right now. They are doing bloodwork on him to see what is wrong and he will hopefully be getting the results back soon. He has a fever, chills, flu-like symptoms, etc... We are just hoping that he has gotten sick from being in the airplane with other sick people or it could be something from Bolivia. Please keep him in your prayers!

Carrie was such a great tour guide, an awesome children's home director and such an amazing friend! Dad and I had a great experience and I am so glad that we had the chance to take the trip even through all of the extra headaches that we have had to go through!

I will try and post some pictures soon!!

We are Back in La Paz!!

We definitely had a one of a kind experience in Tacachia! There are so many stories that I will have to share later! I am going to make this a short post because we are on our way to dinner and we have to get back and pack for our early flight out in the morning. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel, ask for on time flights and our safety. Please also pray for the possible other 16 children that will be coming to the children´s home shortly. Pray for them to adjust easily to their new environment and for their safety as they travel there. They have been orphaned for many different reasons and most I will explain later.



Here are some pictures of our trip to Tacachia!!



Can´t wait to come back to the U.S.A.!!!

Heading to Tacachia

We had a great day in La Paz yesterday. We were not able to do the double decker bus tour(it broke down..go figure), but we are hoping to do it on Friday. Instead, we went down to the markets and did some shopping. We even went to the witch market, which was not as scary as I had pictured it...it was actually very interesting. I have some pictures from the market that I will post. One funny story is that Dad needed to use the restroom and in some of the public restrooms in La Paz you have to pay to pee!! I thought that was hilarious!

Last night Carrie took us to dinner where we had Llama meat for the first time! It wasn´t too bad! At this same place they had music and dancers to entertain us.

Carrie´s apartment is cute. We did get a chance to take showers this morning and the water was so cold! Dad and I are learning to drink the Coca Tea and it´s really not bad and is supposed to do a lot of good things for your body.

We are walking around downtown right now and will grab some lunch and then begin our way to Tacachia, which I am looking forward to! We won´t be able to get to phones or computers until Friday!

This is a really neat city with lots of culture. They have the cutest little cars here too and the most beautiful babies! It makes one realize how spoiled we are in the US and how much we have that we take for granted!! So, no matter what, always remember how good we have it!!!

Some Pics for You!

We Made It!!

We are in La Paz!! Carrie picked us up this morning at the airport and we went to her apartment and rested to adjust to the altitude. The altitude did have a little more affect on us than we thought...it´s almost like you can´t catch your breath, your heart races and you just have to make yourself relax and breathe deep.

Carrie just took us to eat Trout from Lake Titicaca and it was delicious! We are now waiting for a topless tourbus to pick us up so that we can tour the city. Tonight we are going to a dinner and a local dance show. We will leave for Tacachia tomorrow afternoon about 3pm and we will stay there until Friday. Then we will do some shopping, spend the night and fly out on Saturday.

We will keep you posted!!

Patience is a Virtue!!!

Dad and I had a pretty good day in Miami! We were able to rent a GoCar (is a 3 wheel scooter with a talking GPS and tour guide) for about 2 hours and it was really fun! We grabbed a bite to eat at Jerry's Famous Deli which was really good! Plus, we found out that we are traveling business class to La Paz and are currently sitting in the Admiral's Club eating some cheese and crackers and enjoying complimentary beverages. Business Class also means that we will be sitting on the 3rd row, which I am thankful for!

I think that we have decided that when we travel again there will be no luggage involved! Anything that we would need we would just purchase when we get there! The luggage (all 8 bags) has been the biggest pain in the neck and shoulders, literally! You can't check them overnight or not even until 5 hours before the flight which has made it really difficult for us, especially since we did not plan any of the past 2 days!

It has been fun just to, on a whim, figure out what we are going to do and how we are going to get there and has made these past 2 days go by pretty fast. We are lucky that Carrie has many plans for us over the next 7 days and both Dad and I like not having to think about where we are going, what we are doing or what we will be eating next!

Thanks for your comments! They are fun to read! *Robert- I can't believe that Amy was born in La Paz!! How crazy is that!! I want to hear more about that story and I would love to show her some pictures and talk when I get back!! PS-so glad Reagan is home!!*

Off to La Paz we go........ FINALLY!!!! Can't wait to see you Carrie!!

Wecome to Miami!!

We finally made it to Miami yesterday afternoon after taking 3 flights from RDU. We decided to take a city bus from the airport to South Beach which was incredibly interesting. We spent a total of an hour traveling and met some very nice people and saw some very interesting people! We decided that this one strip of Miami has more car lots than Wendover Ave in Greensboro and we didn't think that that was possible! We ate outside at this wonderful restaurant called Oh Mexico and then went to the Beach, took some pictures and did a little shopping. Dad and I had to buy a shirt to wear today because the only thing that we packed in our overnight bags was long sleeve!!

We are thinking about taking a tour of Miami this morning.. but, I might talk Dad in to just renting some scooters and making up our own tour! We have to be back to the airport around 3pm and our flight leaves for La Paz around 11pm. Please pray for a safe trip and that there are no cancellations this time!

Have a Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Where to begin.........

Wow! I don't even know where to start except to say that our 1 BIG adventure seems to have turned into lots of little adventures. I am writing a little more than I normally would just so that I can look back on here and remember what a day that we have had.

It all began with a nice morning at work, then a phone call about some more tenant issues that I have with my duplex (I won't go into details). On the way to the duplex I got a speeding ticket!! Then I get to the duplex to see that thankfully they have moved out, but they also took MY appliances with them! Then, Dad and I had some car issues, which resulted in Lorrie taking us the the Raleigh Durham Airport. Oh.... you thought that was all, didn't you!!! Well, it gets even more interesting!!! We arrive at the airport to find out that our flight has been cancelled! Not just delayed, but cancelled! The youth group that we were traveling with ended up not being able to go to La Paz at all! The airline was able just to fit Dad and I on a flight to Bolivia on July 4th. It took awhile for us to figure out what to do, but Dad and I decided to get re-routed about 3 times to be able to fly out of Miami to La Paz, Bolivia so that we can go still see Carrie!! YEA!!!

Thankfully, Junior and Libby live in Cary and are letting us crash their guest room for the evening and we will fly out of RDU at 6:45am (July 3rd). We will be spending Thursday night in Miami and fly out around 11pm on July 4th!! Maybe we will see some fireworks as we are flying out!!

"Energy & Persistance Conquer All Things" -Ben Franklin (One of my favorite quotes)

Bolivia, here we come!!

Hola!!

Well, it's hard to believe that we are leaving for Bolivia tomorrow!! My suitcase is all packed and ready to go whether I have everything or not. It's almost like you get to a point where you say if I forget it, I forget it.

The weather in La Paz seems to be averaging about 55 during the day and about 25 at night. The altitude there ranges anywhere from 9,000 to 12,000 ft above sea level, which explains the cool temperatures and some of the beautiful terrain that we will be seeing!! I have been taking a photography class to prepare for the possibility of taking some great pictures!

I am so excited to see Carrie and the children and to experience a different side of the world. This is the furthest that I have traveled so far! I have never left North America!! There is a great website that I used to look up some information on Bolivia and thought it would be helpful to anyone else who might be traveling in the near future, it is www.travel.state.gov.

Thanks for keeping up with us while we are gone!! We will be back in the states on the 12th! Have a great 4th of July!

Adios!!

My life has been full of so many different types of "adventures" and has really shaped the person that I am and am becoming. I am so excited that in less than 6 days that I am approaching an adventure that I will definitely never forget and could possibly change part of me once again!

Carrie Blackburn, one of my best friends and college roomates, began realizing her dream in August 2005 when she began working on her Children's Home project in Bolivia. I have been trying to follow her every step of the way through emails and visits back to the US, but it has always been difficult to truly understand everything that she has been doing and still has left to accomplish. She is absolutely amazing!! Getting a chance to help has been in my mind and on my heart since she began this process and now I can finally take advantage of the opportunity to go see her and the 3 children that have just recently been placed in the home! I have posted a link to her site, check it out!

I was ready to take on this trip all by myself, as usual not realizing the task ahead of me!! It seemed that the second that I mentioned the trip to my Dad, he was right on board. I can't even express how grateful I am he is going and how much more that I will enjoy the trip having him there!! Elizabeth, from Curamericas, is the only reason that Dad and I are actually prepared and able to go to Bolivia. She helped us get our passports, visas, let us coordinate with a youth group from Cary Unitied Methodist Church to travel with. It has all fallen perfectly into place!! Thanks Elizabeth!!

Here is the detailed schedule below of our trip:

American Airlines Flight Information
Depart Wed 7/2: Depart from RDU 5:35 p.m., Arrive in Miami 7:35 p.m., Flight AA1541
Depart from Miami 11:10 p.m., Arrive in El Alto 5:30 a.m., Flight AA0922

Return Sat 7/12: Depart from El Alto 6:45 a.m., Arrive in Miami 3:40 p.m., Flight AA0922
Depart from Miami 8:50 p.m., Arrive at RDU 10:50 p.m., Flight AA1912


Trip Itinerary:
Wed 7/2: Depart RDU afternoon, fly overnight to La Paz

Thurs 7/3: Early morning arrival in La Paz
Rest in hotel (adjust to high altitude)
Lunch at Café Ciudad & Afternoon City Tour of La Paz
Stay overnight in La Paz

Fri 7/4: Travel from La Paz to Tacachia (40 miles = 3 hours)
Orientation & tour of orphanage/community

Sat 7/5 - Wed 7/9: Work Days;

Thurs 7/10: Travel from Tacachia to La Paz in the morning
Spend the afternoon in La Paz – artisan markets, museums, cathedrals, etc.
Cultural Dinner at Huari (folk dancing and local food)
Stay overnight in La Paz

Fri 7/11: Day trip to Lake Titicaca & ruins sites
Stay overnight in La Paz

Sat 7/12: Depart early morning from La Paz

I may only get to post a few times while I am there, but I will do my best to keep everyone updated on our progress!! Hopefully, I will get to post some pictures as well!! I definitely won't have a problem taking any, that's for sure!!

Please keep us, Carrie, the Youth Group and the children in your prayers as we travel and as we get to work at the Children's Home!!!