I could spend hours writing about this past month’s whirlwind of activities, fun events, hellos and good-byes, but as they say, pictures are worth a thousand words, and a lot more entertaining as well!
First set of pictures: We spent three weeks in Missouri–a couple of weeks at Grandma Goshert’s house with a week of camping sandwiched in between. In an attempt to give Grandma some peace and quiet each day and maybe a shot at a mid-day siesta, we frequented many local parks. We were able to see some of Josh’s family and had a group birthday party for Aaron, Andrew, Abigail, and myself. At the end of this set are some photos of the kids and Grandma visiting a mining museum in her hometown. We had recently learned about life in the area from around 100 years ago as we listened to a school book in the car. The kids were excited to see relics from their great-grandfather’s era.
So now for the camping, during which we celebrated my 40th birthday. We relaxed, we played hard, and we had a lot of fun–even though it got pretty hot for our Michiganders (which includes two Yoopers)! Swimming in the reservoir lake we camped next to was interesting, because it was about 15′ over “full pool” leaving all the beaches flooded. Even more interesting, I made a no-bake keto cheese cake… in the cooler! AND it turned out! For my birthday, I received a disco light speaker, so we had a little christian dance party at the end of the day. We also got to hike, and swim, and ride bikes. It was a great camping trip!
Good-byes are bittersweet. While we were excited to head on towards JAARS in North Carolina for our training and the eventual reopening of the Solomons, we were also sad to have to say good-bye to family (with lots of hugs for Grandma, the aunts and uncles, and all degrees of cousins). We broke up the drive to North Carolina into two days, and the kids did well, PRAISE THE LORD (and thank you for your prayers for God’s grace)! God also showed His mercy in protecting us as we drove all those miles with no issues or harm. Once we arrived at JAARS, we settled in by unpacking and getting organized. It’s kind of weird to not have as much stuff as we did before, but it sure does make unpacking a breeze! The kids got situated in their rooms, and made new friends all in the first day! By the weekend we were well situated, so Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went on a little hike. It ended up being a very interesting hike with a funny story, but I will save that story for another post!
Oh! And I can’t forget Father’s Day! We all had fun making Josh’s day special. He’s an awesome dad, and we had fun making him breakfast and giving him cards and presents. We played games together in the afternoon. It was a fun day!
That should mostly catch you up on the happenings of your #sigosherts! Stay tuned for more updates on our training and what we are doing with our time as we await our final destination… THE SOLOMON ISLANDS!