October Joys

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this year's theme is "Every Story is Unique, Every Journey Matters". Volunteering at CARTI gives me a teeny tiny peek into a variety of stories as people come for treatment and encouragement. I got my own shot of encouragement a few weeks ago when a friend sent me a picture of bracelets his daughter was making and selling to raise money for breast cancer research. In case you can't read it, the bracelet on the left has my name on it, and the middle bracelet has BCA for "breast cancer awareness".

October is also when the orchestra concerts begin. The mayor invited the chamber orchestra to play for the city's 150th birthday party downtown. Our family walked the mile (I love living in the older part of town!) and enjoyed the evening while celebrating our hometown.

Summer is starting to wane, but October days are still sunny and warm, and the zinnias and lantana are happy and filled with Monarch butterflies. In a few weeks, we'll have our first freeze, and then we'll close the garden down for the season.

 

Translation Update

Trial copies of Matthew are in the villages, and the Lavukaleve Translation Team is making community checks using these booklets. 

Aaron is meeting at least once a week with the team via Starlink, which still cuts out and freezes but is SO much better than not having any connection at all.

They usually begin about 4:00 p.m. our time, which is 8:00 a.m. their time, and they often work until close to midnight in Arkansas. Slowly, they are combing through Mark, about a chapter every time they meet. I love getting the update the next morning, as Aaron learns more and more about the strengths of the new, younger team members. We appreciate all of the prayers and encouragement as the team moves forward!

 

Family and More Family

All in one weekend, we were treated to an unexpected abundance of extended family. My sister and her son made plans months ago to come to Arkansas, so we organized my dad's side, a Williams cousin gathering, to meet at my grandmother's house: twenty of us, including a cousin from the other side of the family, Siblings #1 (that's me!), #2, and #6 were together. Usually, we only gather for weddings and funerals, so this was a treat!

While we were eating lunch, my dad mentioned he had seen an aunt and a cousin on the other side of the family. At Walmart. That very morning. So a quick round of texts went out, and multiple generations from my mom's side met for supper at Stoby's. Fifteen of us.

After church on Sunday, we invited the dwindling crowd over for lunch. I'm so grateful for soup and crockpots! Another cousin on my mom's side texted me as we were driving home asking if he could come, too, and the answer is always yes! Only eleven met at our house. What a sweet weekend of catching up with family and offering hospitalty in a variety of ways.

 

Happy Birthday, Aaron

"When the gospel is nurtured in the hearts of leaders, they lead with a robust rest in God's sovereignty; his wisdom; his convicting, convincing, and transforming grace; his love for his own church; his faithfulness to his promises; his willingness to intervene; and his timing, which is always right." 

~P.D. Tripp, "Lead"

Of course, the day was quiet. A normal Thursday. He had meetings; I had cello students. This guy made his own birthday cake, and I put some ribs in the crockpot. Nothing like the last two years when we've had the resources to do more celebrating. Just faithfully, steadfastly investing daily in the work God has called him to do. Serving his family, community, and colleagues. Leading with a "robust rest in God's sovereignty".

Cow's Eye Dissection

Katherine didn't have to take Advanced Biology this year, but she wanted to.

We're finally to the "good" part, the dissections. Truly, creation shines with the design and the majesty of the Creator.

 

Conway Coffee Crawl - Days 19 & 20

Remember that Conway Coffee Crawl we began in August? We realized that we had less than 24 hours to complete the card, and we still needed to visit eight different places. So after supper, I pulled out the handy dandy post-it notes and listed each place with their hours of operation. I discovered that we could still get to two of them that evening. 

My orchestra boosters' meeting had been canceled, giving me more time than originally anticipated. Aaron and I struck off for one of the coffee shops, where I thoroughly enjoyed the pecan flat white, decaf, half sweet, extra hot (I have become that person!). After I went to bed, Katherine and Aaron drove to the other shop that stayed open till 10:00. They did school, so their time together wasn't quite as fun, but coffee does always make things better!

The next day was a Tuesday, which is the day Aaron has set aside to work with the Lavukaleve translation team late into the night. We had some flexibility that morning with a later start to the work day. The two of us enjoyed some crepes for breakfast, and got more stamps on our coffee crawl card. The day began to feel like the Amazing Race! We recruited our moms to help, Katherine and my mom went to the cat cafe together. Aaron and his mom took advantage of his upcoming birthday to have a birthday coffee together.

We had to be finished no later than 3:00 because I had cello students arriving and Aaron had a Zoom call waiting for him. We did it! One of our kids asked about a prize, we should be getting a t-shirt for our fully stamped cards. Mostly we just enjoyed each other's company and supported our community and strenghthened our marriage and drank a lot of coffee (thanks to Aaron donating plasma towards our "fun money"!).

Pause

"It is a sacred act to pause. And it has become a radical act to stop, or even to slow down."

 ~Kristi Nelson, "Wake Up Grateful"

We settled into a routine following all of the birthday celebrations. I'm grateful that we usually have the freedom to slow down at times during the day, to press the "pause button" a little bit. In the days after Katherine's birthday, that looked like disposing of the balloons and singing with a helium induced soprano voice.

I also paused when hanging out clothes to dry and spotted what my phone identified as a sickle-bearing bush cricket, more commonly known as a katydid. This little critter was hanging out in my long beans.

Sometimes, instead of pausing, I get stopped in my tracks. Like when I walked out to ride my bike one morning. I found freshly replaced batteries in my headlight, safety gear laid out neatly, and my tires aired up and ready to roll. This is true love. 

 

Real Life Again

Early on Sunday morning, our family began to disperse. Sarah spoke at a church about an hour away, so she hopped out of bed quickly to share a cup of hot coffee with Aaron and me before she left.

I caught this sweet pic of father and daughter on our porch as we marveled at the beauty of a hot air balloon floating low over our neighborhood.

The young adults eventually turned toward each of their homes, and cellotrio was once again left with a very quiet house. Thankfully, we had our weekly youth orchestra rehearsal to redirect our thoughts.

After we got all of the students checked in, Aaron and I found a lovely little trail nestled in the heart of Little Rock. We have hiked along the Allsopp Park South Loop several times, but we had never tried the North Loop. It was adorable and quick, still leaving plenty of time for our much needed coffee and calendar date.

More Birthday Celebrations

The most important part of Katherine's birthday celebrations? When all of her siblings arrived for the weekend. Several months ago, she requested that they all come back to help her transition into adulthood.

Each of them sacrificed time, energy, sleep (looking at you, Kansas City crew!), and money to make the trip to Arkansas. Over the last few months, Katherine painstakingly created a language. She asked Benjamin to craft a D and D one shot that utilized the language, and Saturday morning we gathered with cups of coffee in hand to play together.

Another Apple Torte appeared from our busy kitchen, and more happy birthday songs and more candles and more laughter surrounded our table.

The crowing touch was a trip to Murry's Dinner Playhouse. Katherine requested that we all dress up. She and I had a fun trip to a consignment store to find the perfect dress for her birthday.

Our family has celebrated special days at Murry's before. Aaron and I even visited a couple of times when we were dating.

Waiting in line for half an hour gave us many opportunities to take pictures and to capture memories.

And my senior recital dress from the 90's came in handy!

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." 

~Edith Wharton

I love these people so much. I love watching them grow and flourish as adults. I love watching them "be the light" and also observing as they reflect the light of those around them, magnifying the light's impact.

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

Katherine's birthday was on a Wednesday this year, and she celebrated heartily for several days in a row. 

She made herself two birthday cakes, a chocolate roulade to share with our lunch company (who needed a gluten free option) and an Apple Torte Blackforest Style (a recipe shared by German colleagues) to take to share with the youth group. Thankfully, she saved a couple of pieces of the Apple Torte for her parents :)

Katherine, our creative Enneagram 4, always finds ways to make her surroundings beautiful, whether she is painting or baking or doodling on her biology homework. Her ISFP nature, summed up by the 16Personalities website, shines because "life is a canvas for self expression".

Presence, Patience, and Play

"Three aspects of love stand out as especially helpful for walking the path of love in everyday life: presence, patience, and play."

~Travis West, "The Sabbath Way: Making Room in Your Life for Rest, Connection, and Delight"

We recently had abundant opportunites to "walk the path of love in everyday life" with presence, patience, and play. Katherine shares a birthday with one of Mr. Buck's daughters, and we were invited to help her celebrate at a nearby park. Aaron and I rode our bikes to and from the party, what a fun afternoon hanging out with a bunch of nine-year-olds and their families!

 

Another day, the sweet Davis family took a neighborhood walk and swung by our house to visit for a while. The kiddos played with Katherine's guinea pigs and read books with me.

They also enjoyed Aaron's vintage blocks. And the container from the 1970's. Playing with this young family brought us much joy!