Happy Mother's Day

It should come as no surprise that if our family had to pick one place that is the most special, we would choose Mt. Nebo State Park.

So we worked extra hard to get everything but the last bits of house cleaning

 so we could celebrate Mother's Day on top of Mt. Nebo.

We hiked.

Told stories of God's faithfulness over the last two years in America.

Played Dutch Blitz.

Huddled around the fire pit

 and watched the sun go down while we sang hymns from the village.

Happy Mother's Day to me.

Looking back

I'm sitting in the Brisbane airport, thinking about the hard, but meaningful last week.  Having all four kids under one roof meant breakfasts spent discussing our personalities through the lens of the Enneagram.  And Benjamin introduced us to the spot-on Enneagram songs (here is Aaron's type if you want to hear a sample).

As a family, we make an incredible team when we use our strengths to complement each other's weaknesses:

Aaron - 5

Joanna - 9

Sarah - 2

Benjamin - 8

Olivia - 3

Katherine - 4

One of our goals was to pack slow and steady, allowing time for Nerf gun wars and coffee breaks so that we could continue to give each other grace and make good decisions.  Amidst the crazy work of packing and weighing suitcases, we made a visit to Murry's Dinner Playhouse for an early birthday present to me.

We finished reading "The Horse and His Boy".  Sarah does great voices, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy hearing her read.

At the end of a very long day of packing we enjoyed celebrating my cousin as he performed his senior piano recital.  These Schalchlins are some of my very favorite people!

Saturday, we got the treat of spending a coffee break with Aaron's brother.  We haven't seen him in four years!

And I can't remember the last time these three were in the same room together, so it was a special Mother's Day gift, too.

These two spunky brothers, still goofing off together.

Still comparing their hair loss (Aaron is definitely winning).

My cousin, Samuel, showed up Saturday afternoon to help us scrape even more paint.  We finished that exhausting day with The Game of Things and a run to Sonic for half-price shakes after 8:00.

So as I'm fighting heavy eyelids here in the airport, remembering to walk on the left side of the aisle, and ordering a flat white on the other side of the world, I'm grateful for the hard things that we've experienced during the packing and moving process.  Those emotions of grief and loss as well as the emotions of joy and the sound of laughter mean that we've put down roots and loved people well. 

Steadfast Love

And what specifically is it in knowing God that gives David life and strength?  "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you"(v. 3).  It is God's steadfast love that does so.  The Hebrew word is hesed:  God's covenant loyalty, his refusal to give up on those whom he has taken to himself.  ~Devotional Psalter, Psalm 63

As our family of four flies across the ocean today, I'm wearing this bracelet as a sweet reminder and as a balm for the grief of leaving.

A handful of pearls

"Life is a collection of a million billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous, glowing pearls.  And strung together, built upon one another, lined up through the days and years, they make a life, a person.  It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies."  

~Shauna Niequist, "Cold Tangerines"

Leading up to our departure, we found it important to continue with as much "normal" as possible.  To take the time and effort to string those beautiful memories together.  So, when I needed to pick up the Anatomy and Physiology curriculum from my friend, Ann, we decided to meet halfway at Morningside Bagels.

We also enjoyed getting to know our race buddy and her family a little better over curried chicken and chalk art on the sidewalk.

We're also so thankful for friends who are willing to "guinea pig sit" for the next two years.  So, to make the transition a little sweeter, and just because we love any excuse for a celebration, we had a double May birthday party (completed by Sarah's strawberry cheesecake) on Taco Tuesday with some of our favorite people.

Biking Buddy

"I had thought that we became a family the day we were married.  What I have found, though, is that the web starts as just one fine filament on that day and spins and spins around us as life presents itself to us day by day.  And on some days, the strands spin around us double-time, spinning us like a top and binding us like rubber cement."  ~Shauna Niequist, "Cold Tangerines"

We are definitely spinning like tops these days.  Thankfully, we've learned that our differences work to make us stronger together.  We even exercise differently!  This cute little park nearby has become a haven for us in the last few weeks.  With honeysuckle blossoming extravagantly, and goslings waddling around the trails, we're soaking up the beauty and the safe, smooth place to exercise together.

May Adventures

Now that we have a deadline, the work around the house and yard has ramped up to hyper drive!

Aaron discovered yet another layer of wallpaper in the kitchen, but only in the small area behind the stove.

Our nature-loving girl, Katherine, has really enjoyed helping outside.  Especially when we moved the gardenia bushes from the back yard to the side of the house.  I'm no green thumb, and my gardenias just weren't getting enough sunshine underneath our majestic oak trees.

One of my favorite things about having naked walls in the kitchen is that everybody who walks through our door gets a Sharpie to sign our walls.  The heart of our home, this kitchen where we spend so much time, is now covered in blessings and signatures of family and friends.  Soon, beadboard will hide all of the preparation and love.

This triple threat is remedying the mistake of painting latex paint over oil in the back entryway.  The painters will come after we leave next week, but we want to have everything as ready as possible when they prepare our house for the four college guys who will be renting our house for the next two years.

Piano Recital

We have been so very blessed to enjoy Mrs. Stanley as a music teacher for our kids each time we come back to America.  When we overseas, my kids are stuck with me!

Olivia and Katherine just showcased all they have learned at a recent piano recital.  I'm so proud of the many hours they have practiced with a metronome and the joy that music brings our family.

Body Pump

When I started attending Body Pump classes at the gym more than a year ago, I had no idea how much the classes and the people would change my life.  Not only did I find myself growing stronger physically, but I met a whole new circle of people who became my friends and my encouragers.

Then Olivia started going with me, and our relationship blossomed.  Only ten minutes in the van each way gave us twenty minutes of uninterrupted time to talk, and the shared experience of pushing ourselves physically pulled our hearts a little bit closer, too.  That girl has pushed me to keep lifting a little bit more!  (We got our fabulous matching shirts here.)

We are grieving the loss of this new family we've discovered.  Fellow classmates who have taught us about endurance and perseverance.  Instructors who have helped bring me out of some really bad habits (like popping copious amounts of ibuprofen) and strengthened my body for our return to the Solomon Islands.

I'm so grateful for these people and for the technology to stay in touch across the Pacific Ocean.

Spent

"Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.  But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in." 

~C.S. Lewis

I'm feeling a little bit like my irises in the backyard:  spent.  We're moving back to the Solomon Islands in less than two weeks, and it's easy to look only for myself.  Echoing Matthew 6:33, this quote encourages me to look for Christ.

Arkansas Symphony Youth Ensembles

We didn't think we'd still be around for Katherine's spring youth orchestra concert with one of our favorite conductors.  When I dropped her off for the rehearsal, I got attacked with hugs from several of the Conway students who perform in these ensembles.  This world of music still delights me.

What a gift to watch Katherine lead her cello section and to give her the opportunity to taste what it's like to be a small part of a mighty group working toward the same goal.

I looked down at my phone in between selections and saw that one of the orchestra teachers who mentored me in my first job had texted me this:

"Hey, I'm two rows behind you on the end!  Your daughter plays wonderfully.  Looks like you!"

During the intermission, I found Christie and hugged her neck.  She sure put up with a lot from me during my first few years of teaching orchestra.  

This concert is extra special because the most advanced orchestra joins the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for a "side by side" concert.  Each student gets to share a stand with a professional musician.  My cello teacher still performs with the ASO, so after the concert, I ran towards the stage to tell him thank you and goodbye.

The auditorium was filled with people who have impacted my life:  family, students, teachers who instructed me as a student and who have walked next to me as a teacher.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples.  I will sing praises to you among the nations.  For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let your glory be over all the earth.  Psalm 57:9-11

 

"In the midst of difficulty, the Holy Spirit delights to bring us into this settled place of contentment: as long as God is exalted, all is well.  As long as he is known and lifted up and honored, my own welfare need not worry me too much....This is why David begins this psalm by asking for personal mercy but ends it by asking for divine glory."  ~Devotional Psalter

Winter Storm Xyler changed Sarah's travel plans this weekend.  We began getting texts and phone calls from her Saturday afternoon when she landed in Chicago after two eight hour flights.  Thankfully, Aaron's aunt and uncle responded quickly and generously by opening their home and providing taxi service so Sarah didn't get stranded in Houston when she missed her connecting flight to Little Rock. The end result:  we didn't get to see Sarah until Sunday morning, and she added an extra shot of espresso to her caramel Frappuccino to help combat jet lag .  So thankful for he unexpected gift of hugging her neck again.

Happy Birthday, Papa

Papa celebrated eighty-one years of life this week, 

and we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in celebration of a life well lived.

We discovered "The Game of Things" for Papa's birthday present, and we look forward to laughing and making even more memories together.

A Concert for Gran

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor, it is attained in the way of righteousness."  

Proverbs 16:31

Earlier this week, we hit the road to say goodbye to Aaron's ninety-two year old grandmother. I really, REALLY don't like the goodbye part of moving back overseas.

Gran Choate is always so gracious to give us her afternoon and to allow our kids to perform on their instruments for her.  I have vivid memories of my mom taking me to visit my great-grandmothers, and I'm so grateful for the time I spent with them.  

My kids have been blessed to know most of their great-grandparents, and as long as we have the opportunity to cultivate relationships with them, we will!