“Full” is the word I would use to describe this past week. I am so full. I am full of thankfulness for so many things–healthy and happy kids, a temporary home that’s cozy and adequate, reaching another weight-loss milestone, healthy feet that can handle a 3-mile run, a fully funded Wycliffe ministry budget, an opportunity to train at JAARS, and so much more that it would take days to write it all! Of course, my time is full too! Now that we’ve settled in, I’m digging back into home management and all the routines and tasks that come with it, and happy to do it. I’m finishing up with Aaron over the little bit that remains of his 9th grade year. I’m meal planning and grocery shopping, and cooking, and overseeing and completing regular chores. And of course, there’s the laundry (it breeds like bunnies). We’ve also been trying to leave the apartment and get outdoors more and more, especially enjoying South Carolina’s comparatively lessened restrictions on mandatory masks when out and about (we’re only a few miles from the SC border). Below are pictures of some of the fun that we had this week. The first two weeks of July are always super busy and fun for us because we have two kids’ birthdays as well as the Fourth of July to celebrate! Traditionally, the Fourth of July has always been a BIG family holiday for us. This year was no exception, except that most fireworks shows in the area were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Below are pictures of Aaron, Abigail and Andrew heading off to float down a river with the youth group of Covenant Baptist Church of Lancaster, SC. Bonus points if you can find Andrew!
Asher is nearly four and a half years old now, and it is showing! He is a never ending bundle of joy and goofiness (remember “onions“?), and he surprises us daily with what he says and does. I tried to snag these pictures without him knowing so I could still reprove him for putting things in his nose. I don’t think it worked. He had us all laughing!
Here Asher strikes again, while the boys are working on projects. I caught him being silly, and he saw the camera and hammed it up for me. What a goof!
We spent the Fourth of July at Lake Wateree State Park in South Carolina. It was the perfect spot! The tables were all spread out and people stayed in their groups, and even practiced social distancing while waiting in line for the bathroom. We got there early enough that we were allowed in. They were metering incoming guests, and hit a “full” point in the afternoon. The kids stayed in the water for almost the entire time. They had prunes for fingers when we finally left.
Andrew turned 12 on Sunday. We are so amazed by this fun-loving, compassionate, smart, and brave guy! It was so fun to spend the day doing what he wanted to do- playing games as a family and then a family movie.
And finally, a few random pictures that were taken this past week. The first picture is of Aaron looking at all the quarters he’s been “collecting.” He loves to collect things. Most of his “collections” were given away or put away into long-term storage, but he realized he had a bunch of quarters with different states and is now having fun trading dollars for more quarters to complete the collections. The middle picture is of Anna, who is now cast-less. She is our most challenge-ready kid! She will try anything with full effort, and with full confidence that she can accomplish it! In light of that, plus the fact that she is the only kid in the house to have broken any bones (3 fractures now), I bought her a full set of knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards. I told her she must wear all of them when she gets on anything with wheels. Well, she figured she should probably have it all on when she tried a Pogo Stick for the first time. A fellow mom caught it on camera for me. It made me laugh so hard! There’s also a picture of Josh at the GTIS office. I thought you would like to see it. He can work from the apartment, and usually does on Mondays & Fridays, but for the rest of the week he goes over there to work, which gives him some uninterrupted time and the ability to ask questions easier. JAARS, being a North Carolina organization, is required by the Governor’s executive orders to have a policy in place to ensure compliance to his mandatory-masks-in-public rule, thus the bandit look even though he’s by himself in that particular cubicle. He has been enjoying researching and learning about the solar power systems they are in-use at SITAG. And lastly, the picture from the very top of this post, is a screenshot from a Zoom meeting. Josh and I met with fellow SITAG colleagues and had a good conversation about potential training opportunities here in the States as we wait for the Solomon Islands to reopen.
A full week indeed. I hope you all are enjoying your summer! I pray you find ways to be thankFULL, and that you lean into the Lord for peace and purpose during these trying days!
Thanks for sharing! Happy that you are finding good rhthyms and getting outside!