End of the May Days

 God's job is to fix and change.  Our job is to depend, serve, and equip.  This is the work of grace.  And it's more restful than you can imagine.  

~Jeff Van Vonderen, "Families Where Grace is in Place"

As May gasped its last few breaths, several of us gathered at my grandma's house to help with yard work.  She still lives on Lake Conway, the site of many of my happy adventures with my grandparents since the early 1980's.

My dad and my cousin joined us and took the lunch break to mow and prune and enjoy some barbecue from our favorite place, Whole Hog Cafe.

May evenings are light enough and still cool enough to break out the firepit and make s'mores.  Katherine is an expert marshmallow toaster.

We borrowed some equipment from my mom and tackled our own yard.  How in the world do things grow so unwieldly so very quickly?  Katherine was also the expert hedge and bush trimmer.

My poor gardenias aren't doing well.  Again.  I only got a handful of blooms again this year.  

Memorial Day also fell within the last few days of May.  We attended the short ceremony at the cemetery again this year, and I bumped into a friend, Mr. Briggler, who I've known since junior high when his son sang in choir with Aaron and me.

"Depend, serve, and equip".  That's where we are right now.

Independence Day

Exhausted from our trip, we celebrated America's Day of Independence with sparklers and an early bedtime.

But by July 7th, we had rested enough to tackle making cassava pudding in honor of Solomon Islands Independence Day.

The girls did all of the shopping and the work to assemble the pudding.  

In America, frozen, grated cassava and canned coconut milk make the process go a lot more quickly.  

Even if the final product doesn't taste nearly as good, we're still grateful for the opportunity to make and eat a little taste of home.

First Week in June

Last week began with Memorial Day.  We weren't traveling to a church over the weekend, so we had time to make a beautiful torte for brunch and to top it with pastry stars.  Since we returned to America, we've been slowly reading our way through "The Mission of the Body of Christ" during breakfast.

I love our hometown.  The local cemetery, where my veteran uncle is buried, held a short memorial service on Monday morning to commemorate veterans.  I'm so grateful to belong to a community whose mayor shared about how important it is to focus on the Lord and on service to each other.

Our family pulled out the badminton set and discovered how rusty we are as we lodged both birdies and rackets in the pecan tree above us.

Olivia had all four of her wisdom teeth removed (we're still working our way down that long list of medical needs), and she is recovering beautifully.

I started "Same Page Summer 2021" for my daily Bible reading and got my fingerprints taken as the last step in renewing my Arkansas teacher's license.

Reconnecting with old friends continues to be a source of joy for us.

Sarah Kate is a former cello student, and she has a handsome new baby.

Catching up with her and snuggling her son brought much delight to my afternoon!

We also got a surprise text from a friend we've known since middle school.  He was in town briefly and reached out to spend a few minutes with us.  It's so much fun to look back and see how God is working in each of our lives, weaving our stories for His good and His glory.

Fourth of July Celebrations from Across the Pacific

Not many Americans live in the Solomon Islands right now, but that didn't stop our celebrations of American Independence Day!

We decided to splurge and make a trifle to go along with the hamburgers and hot dogs.

While we waited for it to get dark enough for fire-swingers, the kids had a pushup contest.

Watching the 4th of July fire-swingers technique fascinates me.  Some swing with their whole bodies, some hold their core still while only swinging the arm.

However the sparks fly, these third culture kids enjoy the tradition year after year.

Fourth of July (aka Not Independence Day)

We decided that celebrating America's birthday as expats was worth a splurge.  So, for the first time ever, I bought frozen strawberries in the Solomon Islands to make one of my favorite desserts.

The Americans in our SITAG family gathered on July 4th to enjoy food and fellowship and fire-swinging, but we daily celebrate our dependence on each other and on the Lord.

"I was carefully designed by the Creator to live in a dependent, obedient, and worshipful relationship with Him and in humble interdependent relationships with other human beings....The pursuit of independence always leaves me addicited to a list of things that I've look to for hope, life, strength, and rest."  ~Paul Tripp 

Memorial Day

Dedicated to the men and women who serve our country, especially those in our family...

A Nation's Strength

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not gold, but only man can make

A people great and strong;

Men who, for truth and honor's sake,

Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly -- 

They build a nation's pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

Maybe it wasn't a traditional Independence Day celebration, but we did enjoy Sarah's famous red velvet cobbler with homemade cream cheese ice cream.

And we did spend time with special friends.

Our quiet, stay-at-home, celebration, where the mamas could sit and visit or capture memories from behind the camera, was exactly what our family needed.

It was still light outside when our festivities were over, but our hearts were full of gratitude for sweet friendship and for our home country.

Family Reunion, Part 2

Some of my siblings needed to leave on Monday afternoon, so we gathered around and took precious pictures to capture this moment.

My maternal grandmother spent the morning with us. 

Four generations of first born ladies.  I love that my kids have great-grandparents around and can build good relationships with them!

My grandmother has nineteen grandchildren, and six of them crowded around her for pictures at my parents' home.

Once again, we shared food, conversation, laughter, and games,

very aware that this slice of time was precious.

Tuesday we jumped into Independence day with both feet.

We don't take for granted being able to celebrate the Fourth of July in America.

I have great memories of attending Pops on the River as a child, and my kids wanted to be able to share the experience.

Being in the audience instead of on the stage still feels funny, even though it's been fifteen years since we earned our living as musicians. 

We got to hug our cello teacher's neck and be reminded that I began lessons with him thirty years ago.

We sang along with almost every piece the orchestra played (and apologized to the people in front of us that three cellists were sitting behind them - turns out they were music teachers!).  The Arkansas Symphony even played the entire 1812 Overture, complete with the gorgeous cello beginning.

On Wednesday, one more sibling left, and the last one pulled out early Thursday morning.

Making memories to tide us over until the next time...