Eight is Great

Blog Post from Fall 2020

Keira woke up to My Little Pony birthday decorations. 

She loves the Ponies, and it was so fun to be in America and find the decor. We have since brought them back with us to use again this year :)

In addition to My Little Pony, she loves unicorns, so we combined the two.

Too bad I didn't get one of Doug wearing "the horn."

We face timed Kylie so she could be a part of the gift-opening.

After ballet, Keira put on her Rainbow Dash pony ears, turned on the ear-lights and ate Chick-fil-a.

Then she got on her Star Wars pajamas to see her cookie cake for the first time.

I think she liked it!

I'm glad she held onto her ears :)

Here are snaps from birthdays 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7

Happy birthday, Keira (a year late).  We're about to celebrate #9! 😀

 

Discovering the Art of Fishing

Blog Post about Fall 2020

I think the only time Caleb has ever gone fishing was when he was in second grade and my dad took the grandchildren fishing.

Keira has never gone fishing.

One of Doug's first employers, Mr. Skaggs,  from 30 years ago asked if we'd like to come out where he was living and fish a few lakes on the property.

We said, "YES!"

September 18, 2020

It was all catch-and-release and SO MUCH FUN! 

It also doesn't hurt that Mr. Skaggs was a fishing instructor at Hardin Simmons University for a few years.

Did you know that was a thing?

He knows ALL the tricks.

Almost every time his line hit the water, he got a bite. It was crazy!

He even showed Keira how to hold her fish closer to the camera to make it look bigger.

And because every little kid likes to drive a golf cart, we checked that off the must-do list, too.

Caleb got really good at catching fish.

Doug got really good at taking the hooks out of their mouths.

And I, apparently, got really good at catching very large sticks!

We had so much fun, and no one wanted to quit, so we went back the next evening to do it all again!

Life in These United States

Blog Post About Fall 2020

We had car trouble on our way back from Nashville, and it was just me and the kids. Doug stayed behind to help Kylie finish getting situated with a bank and other details, and he rented a car to come home later (and stop and see more people on the way home).

Thankfully, I was able to stop in Memphis at our friends and let the kids do school for three hours while we waited for the car to get fixed.

It put us on the road late, and we knew we couldn't make it all the way home, so we decided to take a detour and see my brother. We knew we couldn't stay with them because the day before, they had just moved into their new house.

We got a hotel near them and went to see them the next morning, bringing my sister-in-law some coffee. She had arrived the night before, as well, seeing her house with all of the furnishings for the first time. She was away with family because her father had died the week before, but they have some wonderful friends who moved them in.

We took one of their children home with us for a few days until the rest of them came down for the funeral.

These two responsible boys got all their school work done each day.

September 7, 2020

Many days, Keira chose to do online school in pajamas and roller skates. Her French school was 8 hours ahead of her, so the teacher recorded each of the classes, and then Keira just watched the recordings without participating.

However, about 6 times during the semester, she did get up at 1 or 2am just to talk with her class and join in, but it never became the norm.

September 14, 2020

She was diligent about doing all of her projects though.

During the year, they followed a little pigeon named Emma who traveled all over the world, and every time she went to a different city, they studied all the culture, food, and art of the country that city was in.

The first city Emma visited was New York City. We made a crown, found a bedsheet, borrowed a vacuuming tool and a roll of tape and voilà...Lady Liberty.

September 16, 2020

Here, Keira created her own Keith Haring art. We just did the projects. Took a picture and sent them in.

I helped Keira where I could, but I had the added benefit of being connected with a sweet girl named Lucille who attended the university in town. Her mother is French and her dad is American. Lucille spent the first 14 years of her life in France, and she was a wonderful tutor for Keira, helping her memorize poems and reading to understand.

September 24, 2020

Amongst all of our travels, we kept a full schedule when we were at "home." Karis and Caleb didn't travel with us a lot, so they continued all of their activities with VERY sweet people picking them up and taking them to youth group, ballet, and soccer, but the rest of the time, our schedule gave our kids opportunities to make friends with and spend time with kids in America.
 

Here Comes the Rain Again, Not to Mention, My Tears

Blog Post About Summer 2020

The storms didn't stop.

When we left Memphis to drive to Nashville, we still had a lot of rain.

A LOT!

September 1, 2020

Welcome to Nashville, Kylie!  😂

September 1, 2020

We were privileged to be able to stay at the parents' house of a young lady we knew from our time in Africa. 

After a good night's rest, Doug and I got up the next morning to help Kylie get the things she needed to check into her apartment. Caleb and Karis stayed at the house so they could get some school done, and Keira went to the zoo with the children of the young lady (now married) we knew from our time in Africa.

September 2, 2020

The apartment looked pretty clean at first :)

We had never met these girls before and we didn't know anything about them, but we quickly learned one of them liked Vienna sausages (see cabinet), two of them came with jars of Nutella, one of them really liked microwave mac & cheese, and they all liked junk food a little more than Kylie.

Roommates can be an interesting situation. 

Different beliefs, different hobbies, different schedules-kept can cause tension.

It was a good year of growth...maybe for all of them.

How did this Happen??

Blog Post About Summer 2020

And the day arrives that you never thought possible...

Your firstborn is leaving home for college, and all she are taking is what you gave them for the first 18 years of her life. 

What?!?

August 28, 2020

Compared to what I took to college, she really didn't have that much stuff. 

One day after we left the house, my friend Leah sent this picture of our picture from 2007 that she found. 

It twas perfect timing as I was saying goodbye, and I was so appreciative because all of my children's baby pictures are in boxes, waiting for the day we set up house in America.

2007

We took the long, slow way to Nashville so we could see people along the way.

First stop: Waco

We took the grandparents to eat Middle Eastern food.

August 28, 2020

Then we headed to Dallas where we stayed with some friends who were like grandparents to my children while we lived in Africa. Jan and Lynn are like family. We took vacations together, went on safaris together, and spent many nights eating popcorn and playing Uno.

August 29, 2020

Then next morning, early, we went to get Kylie's car inspected, and then headed towards Arkansas.

We met a family for lunch near Hot Springs, and pretty quickly a storm rolled in.

We were also meeting a family from Jonesboro for dinner, but knew we couldn't make it there and get to Memphis (where we were spending the night) in a decent amount of time, so thankfully, this sweet family agreed to meet us in Memphis for dinner.

I can't tell you how glad I am that they made time for us and that it worked out for us to see the Rainwaters on this trip! We met them in Africa, too, and they are always such great encouragers.

On October 17th, a month and a half after this picture was taken, Greg went to sleep, and he didn't wake up. He was loved by so many and changed a lot of people's lives for the better.  What a privilege it was to know him!

Memphis: August 29, 2020

His and Tammy's beautiful daughter started college just last month (August 2021), and she and her mother have been amazing testimonies of what a life hidden in Christ can be.

Needless to say, we got to our friends' house in Memphis a little late, so we didn't meet their kids until the next morning.

Jessica is a friend from our days in Mississippi, and she and her husband let us stay a couple of days while we saw some other people in Memphis, Caleb and Karis did some online school, and before we made the drive to Nashville.

This is one of her daughters greeting Doug the next morning

August 30, 2020

And getting all the scoop from Caleb while he ate his breakfast.

Her older daughter teamed up with Keira for a reading session in a fun tent.

 

 We are so blessed to know so many people from so many places! They make life a lot more fun!

First day of school (for some)

Blog Post About Summer 2020

Since we all got dressed up for Kylie's birthday, it seemed like a good time to take "Back to School" pictures. Caleb and Karis started four days before this, on the 17th, Keira wouldn't start online with the French School until September, and Kylie's first day of college would be September 8th.

Kylie was actually the only one that had to wear a mask walking into her buildings while the rest of them schooled at home on a computer, but we felt like we needed to take the obligatory 2020 Covid school picture.

Caleb HAD to throw the "smolder" in there.

And we also took the obligatory "social distancing" picture. We hope these pictures don't become the norm for years to come...

August 21, 2020

 

Kylie's 18th 💗

Blog Post About Summer 2020

All good birthdays start with your siblings climbing into bed with you and saying funny things and singing to you, right?

August 21, 2020

I'm sure Kylie didn't mind since this was her last birthday at home for a while.

Her gifts were mainly things she needed for her apartment, but she was thankful for all of them.

And even though she had seen her car a month earlier, who doesn't want a car for her birthday?

I don't think she minded one bit that we just put some ribbon on it and pretended it was a new delivery.

We took Kylie out for breakfast and spent the day celebrating her.