The day I got married, one of my closest friends looked me in the eye and said "God has many wild and wonderful things ahead for you and Jeremy."

Being called mom by 7 kids is definitely wild. Each day I look for the wonder in it all...and give thanks.

Partnering with my husband in life, parenting, work and serving is definitely wonderful. He is my favorite.



Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Bye-bye Big Blue

Today we said good-bye to our beloved Big Blue. It was time. But we cannot say good-bye without taking a drive down memory lane….

We got Big Blue back in 2012 right before we adopted.

Big Blue welcomed us at the airport when we came home from Colombia with our 4 additional kids.


Big Blue took us to church as a family every Sunday.



We took many trips to see family living a few minutes away, some a few hours away and some out of state.





Big Blue went with us to Pine Cove Family Camp.




Big Blue carried 13 Freshman for Marian’s Homecoming in 2015 and about 12 freshmen for Omar’s Homecoming in 2020.




Paw-paw and neighbors all shared Big Blue to carpool a few years while our kids attended Rosehill Elementary.




Friends piled in Big Blue to go view Christmas Lights one chilly December night—listening to Christmas music, munching on snack bags of Christmas trail mix, and drinking hot cocoa.



Big Blue shuttled students to the airport to head out on a mission trip.



And Big Blue carried Wes and Marian with their photographer, Hannah Clausen, and all their gear to downtown Houston for their Senior photo sessions.



As Big Blue aged, parts started breaking off in the interior, and we just collected the broken pieces under the seats. I was sure to tell the new owner in case he hadn’t noticed.

Gorilla tape kept the interior attached to the side passenger doors and held a few other parts in place too.

As kids became adults, we needed Big Blue less and less for family outings. We used it more for work errands, but errands requiring Big Blue became few and far between.

With it’s broken radio, poor A/C circulation, fabric stains, miscellaneous pieces tucked under the seats… none of the kids are really sad with the news of selling Big Blue. Can’t really blame them.

But Big Blue served us well and it was certainly well used. Big Blue logged nearly 100,000 miles and I’m sure 100,000 memories with us too.

Saying good-bye is not sad at all because unlike Big Blue, the family memories will last.

Love ya Blue!