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!

Christmas Letter 2020

 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

700 years before Christ is born, Isaiah tells us His name. His name is Immanuel. God with us.

In a time when we have been quarantined and isolated, His name is still the same. GOD WITH US.

This is our story in 2020. We made plans to finally redo our kitchen and dining area. This reno would also give the front of our house a nice face lift. January and February zipped by! With much excitement, we started to tear down the right side of our house in early March. We had the midsection of the house “secured” with plastic and plywood and about 1/3 of our house GONE when (PSA: Plot twist!) the Pandemic was declared and lockdowns ordered. Would we be able to work? Would we be able to get materials? Now everybody is coming back home and we are missing part of our house!

God with us.

Fortunately, we were able to continue working and surprisingly, 2020 has been our busiest year yet. We had more hands to help and more time since our kids did not have to go to school. Sounds wonderful right? The plot thickens because we quickly tired of working on the house and we were definitely tired of each other.

God with us.

Our favorite contractor, aka Dad, became overwhelmed with paying jobs, so he wasn’t very available to work on our house and tell us what to do. Although Saimon might run Evermon Homes someday, even he will admit (sometimes) he isn’t quite ready to run the remodel project. So the good news is that we hired many of our subs to come get the work done (Or at least get it substantially complete….by Christmas).

This was the kitchen window over the sink

We tore out the kitchen and moved it to the right

And made a new front entrance

Welcome!

And here’s the climax: As I reflect on 2020 and our remodel, I can’t help but think that we have had some demo and reno in our hearts too. I didn’t love it when we tore out sheetrock from the ceiling and old insulation and rat poop fell around us. Just like I don’t love it when the walls I put up are ripped away and the selfish ambition and pride is revealed. We saved some of the original shiplap from the roof and had to carefully pull each piece apart, remove nails, and clean it up. Jeremy hung it in the new breakfast room. It’s not unlike our family this year as we had to learn to talk through some hard things, give space and reaffirm the importance of sticking together always—especially as our kids get older and move on. We still have knot holes and splinters but as we fit together, we have a story to tell--kind of like that wall in our breakfast room.

Looking into the new breakfast room from the back

God with us.

Katerin graduated from UMHB on December 11, and she is looking for a job (get in touch if you know of something!) 

Emily is making it on her own in College Station. 

Marian just moved out to her first apartment and is working full time and starting Fire Fighting training. 

Wes is thriving in his Sophomore year at College of the Ozarks. 

Omar is happy to be the only Evermon at THS this year as a freshman. 

Saimon and Savannah look forward to joining him there next year. 

And all of us adore our two new additions to the family, Cocoa and Hiccup, the cutest boxers you will ever know.

Conclusion: Through the good and bad, and we have had a lot of good this year, God is with us. We hope you recognize His presence in your 2020 too. How have you experienced God with you this past year? His name is the same, from the first time Isaiah told us, to Matthew’s reminder when Jesus was born, today, and tomorrow.

That’s what makes Christmas so merry!

Thanks Uncle Ronnie

Dear Uncle Ronnie & Cindy,

I don’t know how you made it a whole month, but you did. I’m sure it was a month full of questions and companionship you weren’t quite expecting.

I want to say thanks. Thank you for wanting Saimon to come. Thank you for wanting him to stay. Thank you for teaching him how to rake and bail hay, 

how to count and feed cows and chickens, how to install gutters and vinyl siding, how to keep himself from getting kicked by the cows, how to grow watermelons and tomatoes and fruit trees properly, pick and shell purple hull peas, 

inspect and mend fences, get ticks off the dogs and cows, how to peel tomatoes for homemade tomato sauce, and how a rim coated in butter keeps the water from boiling over.

Thanks for letting him drive the trucks, tractors, and the mule. 

Thanks for letting him shoot at crows with the shotgun. 

Thanks for teaching him silly jokes and sayings he laughs at every time he repeats them.  Thanks for introducing him to “Alf” –his new favorite TV show. Thanks for picking up lunch with him right out of the garden. 

Thanks for being patient with him on long drives and longer days.

I’m sure there are many more lessons and memories yet to be told. But Saimon truly loved and enjoyed being with you and helping you work.

And we are so grateful he got to do that.

Lessons from my East African Sister

I found this draft that I had started in April 2018 on my blog. I don't know why I never posted it--probably just got interrupted by the daily busyness and never got back to it. This was written when we shared our home with a family of 7 for 11 months...

I don't know what it's like to be black

I called a friend to ask for prayer and catch up. When I asked her "how are you?" Her answer came slowly and cautiously, "It's been rough the past few weeks." 

Pause.

I waited and then urged her to tell me more. Throughout the rest of our call and the rest of the day I realized...

I don’t know what it’s like to be black. I don’t know what it feels like for race, discrimination and biases to be a huge part of my life. I don’t know what it’s like to experience hurtful comments and emotional injuries to my personhood in every aspect of my life—my neighborhood, my church, my job, my school, my ministry, my travel--because of the color of my skin. I don’t know what it is like to navigate this with my black children.

I know there are many injustices, but I don’t know what it feels like, as a black woman, when racial injustice gets lumped together with all the other sins and nothing changes, nothing is dealt with, and it is dismissed.

I don’t know what it feels like to live uncomfortable. To be on edge and afraid to travel--especially at night. I don’t know what it is like to ignore, to look past it, and fix my face when comments are made and looks are given because I am black. I don't know what it's like to tell one of my kids to "fix your face" when someone has just hurt them.

I don’t know what it’s like to be black.

My friend does. She shared these things. This is just one small glimpse into her world. This may not be every black person's story, but it is hers. And I am undone. She is my friend and I had no idea. I'm so sorry for that.

 

I look at the news and I know I cannot change the world and make all of these painful things go away. So I turn to my friend and ask her, how can I love you?

Reach out, check in, be normal, be a friend.

Talk and ask questions.

Be willing to be uncomfortable.

That’s a start.

Quarantine Week 4

We are at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic week 4 quarantine. My emotions have swung from being grateful everyone has more time at home to grouchy that everyone has more time at home. I have moments of grace—I look for those moments in each day when I wake up and recall what the day before held.

But seconds after I write down what I remember and before I finish my coffee, I am already disgruntled by the big, hard things going on…like dreading school work, hoping to get some office work done before kids show up at my desk, while not knowing what to do with all the other perplexing thoughts crowding my mind. 

It’s the latter that gets me the most.

A few days ago I texted a friend that I was praying God would use this time to help us all work through what we all needed to work through….that we didn’t miss it. The day after that text, all Hell broke loose. Or Heaven? Is this how God was going to answer my prayer?

I believe sometimes it does feel like Hell when God is doing His most important work on us. Uncomfortable. Uncertain. Unlikely. un Un UN! It’s NOT fun!

I am uncomfortable with no control. I am uncomfortable not knowing.

I am uncertain I’ll see change…ever.

If God is answering my prayer, He is choosing an unlikely path. A path I would not have chosen.

So what do I do in the meantime?

Pray.

Meditate on Scripture.

(this week I’ve been staring at Psalm 91)

Take it one day at a time.

And change the ending of those UN words.

I will not underestimate the God who loves me and who daily displays his mercy, power, and grace on us.

I will ask for understanding for myself and those around me where things are unclear.

And I will trust that God is working in a million untold ways to draw us to Himself, make us more like Him, and to remind us He is with us in the trouble.

Another launch

A lot has changed since I wrote this post. And even more has changed since we took this picture...

Dear Wesley,
You have become a person I really like. You know I have always loved you with my whole heart, but now you are a person that I like...a whole lot.  You are a person I really enjoy being with. I love how you make people laugh. I love how you can dance with friends, old ladies, pre-schoolers, or just by yourself and you have fun with it no matter who is around.

When these pictures were taken, you were able to climb out of your little bed and make your way to a cozy place between mom and dad every night. We would wake up to take you back to your room some nights and eventually we would just wake up to the alarm and find you in between us. We thought you would never grow out of it....but you did.

I love how you love adventure. I love how you love experiences. I love how you love your quiet spaces too. Many times I have found drawings or letters written during those quiet times showing what you care about, what you think about, what you wish for. 

I love your patriotic spirit. I love that you care about our Country and the people who serve to keep us free. I love that your passion and interests will grow and take more shape as you go to a school that shares the same values.

9 months

Age 10

Age 14

Age 16

Age 17

almost 18

At this point in your life, at age 18, you are the most delightful person. I was kinda joking kinda not when I told you the first 17 years were just okay, but this year has been so fun. So fun to see you grow and mature. So fun to see you making choices that honor God. So fun to have you home a little longer and have you come and talk to us about your disappointments and hopes.

As you leave, things change. You will hardly be home in 2020 and you will be missed by all of us here. But I am so excited for you. I am so looking forward to the new adventure, new friends, new lessons you will learn. 

You will learn things that you could not have learned under our roof. And I am confident you will continue to be a person I like. A truly delightful person. A person who cares about others and who is cared about. And no matter what, I will love you with my whole heart.