The week in between moving Olivia up to JBU and moving Sarah down to Dallas for grad school,

the older kids made a flying trip to Conway to see extended family,

Katherine and I picked a big load of apples at our favorite orchard,

and I began to sub again for the music teachers in our school district.

 

 

The second half of engagement weekend, we focused on moving Olivia into the dorm 

and spending time together as a family.

We enjoyed the beautiful Natural Falls State Park, which is only minutes away from JBU.

And I witnessed the tearful passing of Benjamin's extra car key from Sarah to Olivia.  

Back to School

 

As students of all ages go back to school, I'm finding and utilizing beautiful resources like "Praying the Word When Your Kids Go Back to School" and "Bible Verses for College Students and Their Families".  Plus a whole bunch of printable prayer pages covering a variety of topics.

Engaged!

 

The weather derailed Benjamin's original plans for proposing to Hannah, 

but he is one of the most flexible and creative people I know.  

We're excited to be adding another daughter to our family!

We've been picking peaches,

trying new breakfast recipes,

learning how to use genealogy software to trace families in Lavukalen,

and getting Olivia out the door to JBU.

Oat Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

adapted from "Breakfast With Beatrice"

1 1/2 cups uncooked quick rolled oats

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup fresh or dried blueberries

1 cup milk

12 cup mashed ripe banana

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Lightly grease 12 regular sized muffin cups (we like to make mini muffins).  In a large bow, thoroughly mix the rolled oats with the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.  Add the blueberries, if using, and stir gently until the berries are evenly distributed in the mixture.  In a small bowl, stir together the milk, banana, oil, and egg until blended.  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened, about 20 strokes.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool 3 minutes; then remove from the muffin tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool or to a basket to serve warm.

Community

One of my biggest joys in living in my hometown again is the opportunity to participate in community.  Time with family is a precious gift, we're soaking up every minute.

"If we are serious about praising God with our lives and not just our words, we will learn to act differently, for it is in our mundane daily living that we show most honestly what we think all life is finally for." 

~Norman Wirzba, "Living the Sabbath"

So many people give to make this community strong, and finding creative ways to say thank you is loads of fun.  We also appreciate the chance to pitch in and come alongside people when life gets tough, like delivering meals to a family that has COVID.

Last weekend, eleven JBU students (including two Choates) chose to take an extra hour of their lives and stop at our house in the midst of a road trip.  Our home was filled with eating sandwiches, singing around the piano, and lots of laughing.  What a treasure.

Prolific Produce

 This time of year, our little raised beds in the back yard are producing bountiful tomatoes and peppers, and the farmers market is full of abundance.  We've been enjoying making the world's longest zucchini noodle...

shelling and freezing purple hull peas...

and buying green beans by the bushel from one of our favorite farmers

in anticipation of munching on delicious green beans this winter.

In less than two weeks, we will launch our third child.  Such a season of transition for each of us as Katherine becomes the only kid at home, Olivia goes off to JBU, Benjamin finishes up his time at JBU, and Sarah leaves for grad school in Dallas.

We want to be wise parents of young adults, and recently a friend suggested I make "The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children" a part of my morning Jesus and Coffee routine.  Thankfully, our library has a copy.  I also found a digital copy of "Doing Life with Your Adult Children: Keep Your Mouth Shut and the Welcome Mat Out", so I checked it out as well.  I'm so very proud of the choices our kids are making, the people they are becoming, and the ways they navigate the consequences of both their wise and unwise decisions.