January 2021: Beginnings and Endings

Blog Post About January 2021

My kids wanted to host a New Year's Eve party for their friends in America. 

Now that they're older, it was easy enough. 

They planned, they bought what they needed, they had the party, and they cleaned up.  Doug and I spent all evening in the bedroom reading and watching a movie, and it was a pleasure to go to bed well before midnight.

We started our goodbyes. 

Kylie was leaving on January 9th, and we were leaving soon after. 

We took a family walk with another family we enjoy being with, and had fun being silly together.

January 2, 2021

The morning of my birthday, we all went out for a country breakfast.

For dinner, I was treated to Olive Garden, and year 48 was off to a great start.

 

The six lovely ladies I did Bible study with (and continue to meet with over zoom) kidnapped me for one last night together. They had arranged it with Doug ahead of time, and he had taken care of everything on our end. 

We had such a good time, but I hated that I wasn't feeling better. As you can see I was in my pajamas, ready for bed, far earlier than anyone else. 

These ladies continue to be such a blessing and an encouragement for me.

At 5:30 am on January 9th, Kylie went in to tell Keira and Caleb goodbye before Doug, Karis, and I drove her to the airport.

Sad tears.

At 6:10 am we were saying goodbye again.

In September we said goodbye knowing we would still be in the same country while she was in school.

This time we said goodbye knowing we would be moving back overseas and not sure whether we would see her in May or August during her breaks or if we would have to wait for her to come home next December.

Sad tears.

January 9, 2021

The afternoon Kylie left, Keira and I went to hang out with a friend and put puzzles together.

In the meantime, Doug and Caleb went hunting with our fishing friend, Tim. Caleb had never been hunting before, and Tim was so excited about Caleb possibly getting his first deer.

And HE DID!

January 9, 2021

Caleb brought the shell of the bullet back with him when we left three days later, and when we landed in our country, we went through one last x-ray before leaving the airport, and they confiscated the shell from Caleb.

So much for memories :(

We were SO EXCITED about snow predicted for January 10th! 

And God did not disappoint us.

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!

A Beautiful Welcome!

Jamie drove us to the home we would be staying in for the next 6 months, and it was such a sight for sore eyes! 

(Did you SEE Keira's eyes in the last post?)

We arrived around 1am, and I think we stayed up until 3:30am just looking around, unpacking, and taking it all in.

After that long flight, I was SO glad to see this bed!

June 24, 2020, 1am

A couple of fellowships and some friends chipped in to make our stay so enjoyable!

Keira opened her closet and found new toys all for her.

That morning, when the sun came up, we were able to see the backyard, and I have no words to tell you what all of the grass and trees did for our souls.

June 24, 2020, 9am

It was good to be here, but we were still waiting on the rest of our family, and we knew we were not complete yet.

As a matter of fact, our luggage wasn't complete either.  That must have been a rough flight on everyone and everything.

One suitcase arrived with only ONE wheel, and another was missing TWO!

Covid affected our stay in America, as expected. There were some people we couldn't see. There were some people who didn't feel comfortable seeing us. And all-in-all, it was kind of weird.  But you know all of that, because you experience the same thing, right?

Back in April, when we were quarantining, numbers looked small for our country.

April 13, 2020

But the day we landed in America, the numbers looked different back where the rest of our family was.

June 24, 2020

The numbers were so small compared to America's, but the fear was very real for a lot of people, and it actually still is. The fear of death has paralyzed a lot of people, and they still aren't traveling outside of their homes much. Here it is, a year later, and our numbers are up again. We were put on a "restricted" list August 8, 2020, which means other countries do not want citizens traveling out of this country coming their way.

Hasten the day...

(Shout out to Kylie who turned 19 yesterday!!)

Group One, Now Boarding

The next day, we lined up with all of the weary travelers who had been stuck inside for much of Spring.

June 21, 2020

We hadn't been out much where masks were required, so this was our first experience wearing masks for an extended period of time.

It ended up being over 40 hours!!

We also weren't expecting the full-body-wear the flight attendants had on.

Or the odd feeling of being in an airport with seats blocked off and so few people.

No water fountains.

But a lot of tired.

This particular airline usually gives people a hotel to stay in if the layover is over 6 hours, but not this time. Charter flights and Covid changed all that up.

Our layover was 18 hours.

Our second flight was to Chicago, and then we were delayed getting to Dallas because of rain. 

More time with the mask.

But we finally made it to Texas!

We were three hours late, but our sweet friend Jamie picked us up and had Chick-fil-a in a cooler, keeping it warm for us.

I think this picture says it all...