Hi everyone,
Thought it would be easier to send to all of you at the same time.  We had a long, very tiring trip, but things went very well.  We left Minneapolis on Tuesday morning and arrived here on Friday morning - your Thursday night. 

The 14 hour flight from Chicago to Seoul was LONG to say the least.  The kids are such good travelers and did great!  I don't think Jayna cried once.  And Brooke was just enjoying all her flights on "Jay Jay the plane".   We were supposed to have an airport hotel in Korea, but once we were there the price was way higher than what the travel agent quoted us ($360 for 12 hours for two very small rooms!)  So we decided to go into town.  I'm glad we did, we had a great time.  When we got to the hotel that night, Harley and I decided to go look for something to eat.  We went to the place right across the street from the hotel.  We walked in and all we saw was this raw looking stuff - I'm thinking it's sushi.  But Harley said no it was meat.  Well everyone there had a good laugh at our ignorance but showed us what to do.  We got a plate of raw meat, and each table was a grill in the middle.  You grilled your own meat and then put it on a lettuce leaf along with some other greens, rolled it up and ate it!  We just watched everyone else and did what they did.   They saw we were having a hard time with the chopsticks, so they found two tiny little forks for us to eat with.  The next day we all had dinner at a place where we sat on the floor with the low table.  The experience was fun, but I can't say that I care for the food very much. We did find a wonderful bakery though.

As we were walking through the streets, everyone LOVED Brooke and Jayna.  They came out of their stores just to see them and talk to them.  I took their picture with some of the Korean shopowner ladies that were holding them.  We then walked down the street, but when we came back that way, one shop owner wanted to give Brooke a present.  She took us into her store and dressed Brooke up in the traditional Korean clothing.  It was so cute!  And that was Brooke's gift.  The people were very sweet and loving.

We arrived very tired and ready to be home.  It is nice to be in a house that we have been coming to for years.  The house is furnished very nicely and it feels like home.  We are checking for some places for Seth and Kierstian.  For now we are all bunking in together.  Scott and Melody even had a crib that Jayna could use.  So everything is coming together very nicely.

Harley goes to Cambodia in a week.  Seth's family, Ben and I are going to go down to Guntur to see everyone and all the kids at the children's home.  Brooke isn't done traveling yet, she is still looking forward to riding on "Thomas the Train."   The girl that will be tutoring Ben came by to meet us.  She is very sweet - it will be a new experience for Ben.  I think he will enjoy it more when Scott's girls get here.  Scott is anxious to get me started on some office work. 

It is 7 in the morning now and we have all been up for 3 hours - Harley for 5 hours.  Last night we tried our hardest to stay awake and keep the kids awake, but we couldn't make it past 7:30.  Jayna was so fun to watch- she was falling asleep sitting up.  It will take a few days to get turned around.  Actually Ben is doing well - he is still sleeping, so he has been sleeping for 12 hours!  Those teen age years are definitely kicking in.  He will be 13 tomorrow.  We arrived here on our 33rd anniversary!

Well, I guess I will close for now.  We are looking forward to hearing from all of you.  Thank you for your prayers!  India seems to be effected very little by the world events, other than people being aware of things going on.  Our prayers are with all of you.

Love from the India Swartout clan