Independence and a Zoo, Too

Blog Post About June 2021

The day we arrived back at our base, some of my sweet friends had planned a dinner party for me. These ladies still connect with me every other week over zoom to study the Word together.

One funny thing about that night is that I was having trouble finding out why one of my flights had been cancelled, and before the party I had been on hold with United for TWO HOURS and FIFTEEN MINUTES!  

I really do not like United, but that's a discussion for another day. 

When one of my friends saw me and hugged me, her cheek hit my earbud and disconnected my call. It was actually a blessing because it allowed me to enjoy my friends and stop being concerned with my flight for a little while.

The next day, I got a ride to meet my parents an hour away because they were bringing me a car to use for the rest of my time in America. Some sweet friends had already let me use their car for the first week I was in the States.

Two days later, we took off for Mississippi with Karis driving the whole seven hours.

The next day, we checked her into dance camp where she would stay for the next four weeks, and after one more night of sleep, we headed to a river camp with some friends to spend the Fourth of July. 

We had the best time!

Kylie had a week off as well, and she went to Ohio see a friend she had met at ballet camp years earlier.

Keira and I drove back to Texas to my parents' house on the 5th of July, but instead of taking us 7 hours, it took TEN.  Traffic and weather slowed us down considerably.  It's a good thing Keira is such a good traveler.  She talked to me the WHOLE ten hours ;)

We spent three nights with my parents again, and then headed to Doug's parents for three more nights with them. On the 9th, the weather was amazing, and we decided to go to the zoo.  

Keira has "Kenya" on her birth certificate, but she never got to experience the beauty of the wildlife there because she was so young when we left, so she was soaking it in (AND we got to see the big 5).

The giraffe with her giraffe shirt.

Happy birthday to Caleb today!

 

Arriving and First Week

Blog Post About June 2021

When we arrived in Istanbul, we were all SO tired. It had been a big week and we had such a late flight.

This is Karis and Keira after a small breakfast.

June 20, 2021

When we landed, we were finally in the same time zone as Kylie, but it would be another two weeks before I would see her. 

First, I had to get my cell phone hooked up, and then we had some shopping to do before we started traveling everywhere.

The dance studio that we have been a part of in the past told me Keira could come to their dance camp, so that helped tremendously!

After Karis and I went to Old Navy, Kohls, TJ Maxx, and two Targets, we were worn out and we hadn't found much. Selections were scarce. We decided to just go sit somewhere and order things online.

We also had a few advisor visits at Texas A&M.

After four days, it was time to travel to see my parents. This is how the six of us communicated while we were apart. Three of us in South Texas, one in Tennessee, and two in the Middle East.

June 25, 2021

We stayed three nights with my parents and we also went to church, and then we went to see Doug's parents.

June 29, 2021

We had high hopes of finding better shopping options in their town. 

We went to Target, Old Navy, Kohls, Claire's Boutique, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Ollies, Sam's, and Walmart in a two day span, and I think we found enough to get by :) The tough item to find was good, reasonably priced luggage (I was going to take some things back for a friend, and I needed some extra luggage space)

After three nights with them, we headed back to our base.

A Christmas Whirlwind

Blog Post About Winter 2020

The cards you all sent made the best decorations in 2020! It was such a blessing to be remembered by so many and our plain-looking tree thanks you :)

We went to church for Christmas Eve, and then we came home and Kylie and Karis treated us to our own "food board." We weren't able to have all of our overseas friends come by for the Christmas story and some American food, and they were missed.

On Christmas morning, Keira read us the Messiah's birth story from Luke 2.

I don't have a picture of Caleb because I think I missed him opening the few he had. He had decided to forego most gifts so that he could buy parts for and build his own computer. 

That evening (on the 25th), we all loaded in the car to drive 2.5 hours to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with them and other family member that could make it.

Kylie and my sister-in-law put this "board" together. In reality, these are the kinds of foods we have always eaten and snacked on at Christmas and other times with family...for years. 

I was just thinking the term charcuterie board was something new invented to describe what we had been doing for years. Nope.

The French came up with this in the 15th century. "Chair" means "flesh" and "Cuit" means "cooked." It basically translates as "pork-butcher shop." Their shops also included the pig's internal organs, which I'm thankful has gotten removed from our boards in America.

In French, the one preparing the meat is called a Charcutier.

So just like Solomon in his great wisdom reminds us, "There is nothing new under the sun."

The cousins that were able to make it sat at the "kids' table" for dinner. 

Who doesn't love sitting at the kids' table, right?

Things like this happen at the kids' table :)

This is my son on the right and his cousin (12 days older) on the left.

They decided to try some hot sauce called "Da' Bomb" my dad had around the house.

The sweating, moaning, and pain continued for quite some time (and probably later, if you know what I mean).

When Kylie returned back to college, she found a youtube video showing that the hot sauce these boys tried was the third hottest in this particular hot wing contest.

Yes, these are things that happen at the "kids' table." :)

We only stayed two nights with my parents because we needed to go see the other grandparents and more cousins on the 27th. 

One of the many benefits of the grandparents living in Waco is that we can go see the Chip and Joanna Gaines empire almost anytime we want. We hadn't gone in few years so we drove over to see all of the new additions like this chapel. The crowds were really low because of Christmas, plus there was rain in the forecast.

We also took advantage of other "Waco-things" like the store near the Dr. Pepper museum.

S'mores by the fire was a nice ending to the day.

And the next morning, a few of us got up and went running/walking downtown.

Covid + Christmas made for a very quiet, enjoyable morning.

We knew it was important to see both sides of the family because we are rarely, if ever, in America during Christmas anymore. So even though this was a whirlwind of a trip, it was good!

Holiday Travels to See Family

Blog About Winter 2020

After the weekend of ballet performances, we continued on with school, activities and visiting with people.  We had a friend in from Alaska who had been instrumental in leading me to my relationship with the Lord. It was nice to catch up and hear what the Lord is doing in her life and those around her.

One of the benefits of being in America was also being able to travel to see family, so on Tuesday, Doug, Keira, and I headed over to Doug's parent's to help them decorate for Christmas. Doug worked outside, and Keira and I helped inside.

December 8, 2020

The next day when we were leaving, Keira decided she wanted to spend the night away (for the first time) at her grandparents. We really wanted her to have this opportunity, so even though we were going to drive an hour and a half back home and have to return an hour and a half the next day, we said, "Yes." 

They hung out by the fire.

And she enjoyed riding her grandmother's scooter up and down the driveway.

And of course, the next day, when I returned, she wasn't ready to leave.

 

We reminded her that we were going to Dallas to visit cousins in two days, so she decided it would be best to come "home." 

Two days later my brother and his wife greeted us with hugs, laughter, and a charcuterie board. This was my first to see in person since the item had become such a popular thing in America.  I'm definitely a fan!

The next night, a friend of my brother and sister-in-law came and set up a massive "Grinch" themed party for her kids, my brother's kids, and my kids. We left them all to enjoy it while we went to a restaurant in Flower Mound called 1845: Taste Texas. 

That lady's husband is the drummer for a band my brother is in called The Poor Kings, and they were playing that night outside at 1845.  It was SO cold! The guitar player couldn't tell if his hands were playing the right chords or not because his hands were numb.  The surprising thing was that the outside courtyard had a continuous flow of people eating all night. They weren't deterred by the cold and they seemed to enjoy the music and dancing.

December 11, 2020

With the help of a friend in Texas (the son of the couple who hosted Doug's 50th), Caleb built his own computer, which we have since brought with us overseas. Here he is working at school on his new computer on his last day before Christmas holidays.

December 17, 2020

We heard of a friend of a friend who was in school to be a hairdresser, and she needed clients. Kylie, Karis and I all went. It took longer than usual because her teacher would come and inspect and ask questions, but she did a good job, and it was a lot cheaper than normal :)

December 20, 2020

We were so glad to have Kylie home and excited for Christmas.

Two Nights in Virginia

Blog About Fall 2029

Covid numbers in Texas were a little high for my sister and her family to come down and see us last August, so Keira and I flew to see her in October 2020. Unfortunately, we only had a little time in our schedule, but I'm so glad we made the trip.

We were walking around her quaint town in Virginia when she casually said, "This used to be a hotel and Lafayette apparently stayed here." 

I always forget about the history of colonial America that is at your fingertips in the northeast.

Another happy surprise was walking onto a street that was closed for fall family activities. Keira spontaneously painted a ceramic pumpkin, which the store kept and fired in a kiln. My sister picked it up, and we got it from her a year later (July 2021) when we went back.

October 24, 2020

My brother-in-law let Keira choose a creation she wanted him to make on his 3D printer. 

She chose a My Little Pony, and we also ended up taking home several other 3D printed items for Caleb that my brother-in-law just wanted to experiment with but didn't need to keep anymore.

To bless Keira, one of my nephews wore his hair to dinner Keira-style.

The next day, my sister drove Keira and I into Washington DC to see the Museum of the Bible and the Spy Museum. Both were SO fascinating!

We spent over 4 hours in the Museum of the Bible, and we could have stayed longer; however, we had tickets for the Spy Museum for a certain time, and we needed to get there (because of Covid restrictions).

I never would have imagined finding sarcophagi in Canaan!

This room was really soul-moving. The museum has a Bible for each of the languages it has been translated into. 

I know the lighting is bad, but on the right, there are just empty tan-colored books. One section says "Not Yet Acquired," one says "Portions." But there was another part of the wall (not shown) that represented all of the languages that do not have a translation of the Bible. About 2,200 languages remain without a Bible. About 350 million people, mostly in India, china, sub-Saharan Africa, and Papua New Guinea. (info from 2016)

A costumed museum worker in front of this olive tree talked about life in first century Galilee, and the video presentations were really well-done. Go see the museum, if you get a chance.

October 25, 2020

The Spy Museum was riveting. Keira loved all of the activities, watching videos, and seeing where spy equipment could be hidden. Spy activities during the Cold War was crazy! My sister and I loved reading and learning so much! We stay for close to three hours, but we didn't get to finish the last floor.

Keira really wanted to see more of the museum, so thankfully, a year later, we went back to see my sister and planned for another day in the museum, and it was worth it the second time, too!

James Bond's car was next to the gift shop area.

Some of our favorite stories were things we learned about Russia spying on the US and vice versa.  

Another thing I didn't know...This was Terry Nichols' hat. He was one of the men responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing. I didn't know that Nichols and McVeigh were angry about what had happened at the Davidian compound, and they planned the Oklahoma City bombing on the second anniversary of the raid.

On our drive home, we stopped for Ethiopian food.

The first time I had Ethiopian food was near Washington DC, when my family went to visit my sister in Virginia back in the mid-90's. I learned to love it even more when we lived in Uganda. So this was a special treat, since I hadn't had it since spring 2013!

And I just have to chronicle a school cooking project from one of my other nephews. 

He had to make churros, feed them to his family, and take a picture of them enjoying them.

I'll just leave this here :)

Thank you, Benjamin. They were wonderful!