thankful

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. 

The DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING. 

It seems like it was just mid-summer and I was going out of my mind and wondering what it would be like in Tennessee and wondering what were we going to do with Lucy, our dog in Guyana, and wondering if our family would ever fee settled again. 

And now, a few, quick months later, November is nearly over. Tennessee is better than we every hoped, Lucy (hopefully) has a new home, and we are very much settled - but not too settled. 

Having time to sit down and think and read and write again is soothing to my soul. I’m able to cook good meals for our family. In fact, we haven’t eaten out once since we’ve been in Tennessee. We haven’t taken any trips. We stay at home a lot. We play. We build blanket forts. We started kindergarten homeschool. We are still busy with work, Todd with the plane and me with our December video update, the Mission Pilot newsmag, and whatever else I’m helping with. The kids are thriving with the stability of not traveling. Millie is reading (GAH!), doing art everyday, and is learning how to sew on my machine. Sam is so pleasant and can get lost for hours in trains and boats and planes and cars and trucks and tractors. 

So that’s us. Being the Thanksgiving season and all, we’re feeling pretty thankful and blessed. I started doing a daily “what we’re thankful for” post on our Facebook page, but so much was lost in translation that I kinda gave up. That and the kids said the same thing every day and Inspector wasn’t very interested. But this month has been extra full of blessings, I’m pretty sure. Maybe I just notice them more now that we’re settled and my hormone problems have resolved. I feel so blessed to be able to see all the blessings around me. 

Of all the things I’m most thankful for throughout this last year, here is a very small sampling:

+ Resolving my hormone problem (since that was making everything in my life worse)

+ The Godly women God has placed in my life, especially my older, wiser cousins

+ The lovely, cozy home we are currently blessed with

+ Our friends in Guyana who make life there better

+ Our reading curriculum “Express Readers” that we are so very fond of

There is really so much this list is silly. Most of what I’m most thankful for can’t even be described so easily. Most of all, I’m thankful for being so very blessed with a wonderful husband and Papa to my kids. I’m thankful for my kids and all the many lessons they teach me. I’m thankful for the love and grace and mercy and forgiveness of Jesus. 

I’m so thankful. 

Read More

Tennessee and healing

Well. We’ve called Tennessee (temporary) home for a month and I half now. Life has actually resumed a sort of normalcy, and we are doing well here.

Tennessee is beautiful. The fall colors here have been absolutely lovely. Our small home that is a huge blessing is lovely. Everything is lovely. Well, except for the plane... That’s not actually lovely.

Here’s the most recent photo of the plane:

As you can see, we’re all working very hard* on the 180.

(*disclaimer: this photo was staged and no unauthorized personnel have actually mechaniced** on the plane)

Actually, for the past 6 months Inspector has not actually done any mechanicing** either. It’s been a whole lot of inspecting, organizing, part researching, and more paperwork than I ever thought one man can handle. By the end of this week Inspector should be able to answer the 4-million dollar question: Will THIS be OUR plane? Will it make financial sense? Will it be timely? Will it be possible? Get ready for the drumroll.

(**disclaimer: I made these words up)

Meanwhile, back in the trenches, the kids and I - who am I kidding. No trenches. We’re living it up here. For reals: dishwasher. Washer AND dryer. Piano. Internet. Electricity. Clean water. Do I really need to go on? The house we’re staying in comes at no financial expense to us (read: free house). Our blessed donors are still faithfully supporting our still stipend and we’re able to have food every day. Good, wholesome, healthy food. Every day. We really, truly feel blessed beyond measure here.

AND we have a Christmas tree!

I had been trying to think of some clever idea for an “alternative” Christmas tree Sunday morning, when, on our way to see Cousin Lisa, there beside the road is none other than a FREE little fake Christmas tree for the taking. What a blessing! It’s a silly little thing, but fills my heart with love all the same.

Another blessing we’ve experienced here is a huge one that will impact the rest of my life. Here in Tennessee, I found my health. And my sanity (well... kinda).

Most people don’t know that for the past two years I’ve been experiencing some pretty extreme hormonal problems. I won’t go into the gritty details, but let me tell you: it was a rough two years. It was bad enough that I’ve been on medication for it for the last year. I had really been praying that I could get off the meds but every time I tried it was... well, it wasn’t pretty. About three months ago now I started getting pretty bad stomach aches almost every night. I prayed and prayed about the stomach aches and the thought kept coming to me: it’s the soy. I was quick to dismiss the idea because well, it seemed silly.

It’s the soy. That thought just kept coming to me, so finally I decided to see why I kept having that thought. Almost immediately after no soy for 2 days the stomach aches went away. For good measure, I ate some soy just to see what would happen (a stomach ache, if you were wondering). I stayed on the no-soy diet for 2 weeks and then one day, I realized that I was passed the time when my hormones should be going haywire and should be making me insane. I was unmedicated and felt better than I had in years.

Healing had come.

Now it’s been about a full month since I’ve given up soy. Almost everyday I feel almost ridiculous with giddiness for life. I haven’t felt this good since before my hormones got weird (read: pregnancy and children). I am filled with gratitude and joy and a zest for life. I feel healed and whole and blessed.

So very, very blessed.

This week is Thanksgiving week. I have a lot to be thankful for. More than I can count. More than I have words for. I hope that you’re feeling blessed this week too.

I also wanted to share this link with you. I get a lot of questions about to to support our ministry in Guyana. It was a little wonky online, but it’s been fixed. Tax-deductible donations are now actually easy to do online. If you’re interested, here is the link. If you’re not, well that’s OK too.

Read More

little update

Hello, world.

Furlough is over. Todd preached 12 sermons, we went to 2 camp meetings, and Todd spent a week in Michigan attending our organization’s pilot meetings. It was a very busy summer!

Visiting Nana in Colorado

At Fort Vasquez in Colorado 

 Learning about the Pony Express in Nebraska

Millie and Sam are currently outside with Papa helping him rake leaves. It’s a precious sight.

We are in a cozy little house nestled in the gentle hills of southern Tennessee. Fall is all around us and I’ve never experienced a more beautiful season change. I hope the children remember these moments, outside squealing in the leaves.

In case you missed that last bit, we’re in Tennessee. No, there’s not a village called Tennessee in Guyana. We’re back in the US for a bit longer. We came out here to work on a plane that Todd was planning to fly to Guyana when it was rebuilt. He is working on the plane, but we’re still praying about whether or not this is the right plane for us to take to Guyana. A door might be opening for us to purchase the aircraft we wanted (a Cessna 182-P, this plane is a Cessna 180).

 The torn apart Cessna 180

Todd has to inspect every inch of the plane before he can start assembling it 

 But at least he has good help

Captain Anderson and the 180

Meanwhile, we’re in Tennessee.

When we moved to Guyana I gave away all my winter clothes to a mom in the area (Southern Oregon) who’s house had burned down. After all, why would I need a coat in Guyana? The kids outgrew their winter clothes and have been replaced with shorts and t-shirts. Here we are almost 2 years later, buying winter coats again. I’m becoming acquainted with all the thrift stores in the area.

Tennessee is a lovely, beautiful place. I’m happy to be able to experience Fall here. I’m blessed to have a nice, warm home here. I’m even blessed to be able to meet extended family here!

Our dining room/school room 

The kitchen 

The front room

We ask for your continued prayers, that the airplane business would sort itself out quickly and that our time here in Tennessee would be well spent. That is our prayer.

6589ab103711fad88320547d659f26ef972e8c75699df306a6

Read More