Handfuls of Blessings

I. LOVE. MY. LIFE.  Having my family with me all day.  Serving our Lord in a foreign country.  Knowing people from all over the world.  I am so blessed. But life isn't all a bed of roses.  One of the recent thorns in my life has been our internet.  Whenever I want to sit down and blog, then internet is SO slow, that I am not able to accomplish anything.  So, you, my readers, will just have to bear with me as I try to figure out how to be more up-to-date with the postings. To try to finish up the year, I am just going to do a photo recap of the past few months. The fair came to town. Yes, we held this snake. Skyler, another teen in our household. Keith left on his birthday, so we just did cupcakes. My daughter made me an amazing dessert for my birthday! Keith began the village ministry in September. October 9 was our Independence Service. A visitor to our compound. No more single digit kids in o...

I am sorry for my long period of silence.  This has not been intentional.  In fact, I have lost track of how many times I have attempted to post.  We have even tried switching to a different internet company.  The U factor is at work against me (U=Uganda).  I was surprised when I logged in today and found that a portion of a previous attempt was saved.  So I will fill in the missing pieces (such as all the pictures that didn't save), post this one, and if it finally goes through - then I can write a current posting.  This was written the middle of July. Landing in Uganda - What a Welcome Feeling. One of the big adjustments we make when returning to Uganda is the undependability of everything.  I actually started writing this post after one week of being here.  Due to terrible internet service, it took me until Thursday to finish it.  But then when I tried to preview it before sending it out, all the work vanished except for 3 sent...

Furlough is coming to an end, but we are blessed by the many memories we have made. At one of the homes we stayed at, we were able to enjoy some paddle boats while trying to spot a red-headed snake that would periodically poke his head up. The race is on! A stop at Lambert's Cafe is a given on the furlough trail.  Who needs to order a meal with the delicious throwed rolls and free sides? We ended up having enough leftovers for lunch the next day. It is always nice to find an outdoor park to enjoy, and this particular one was beautiful - complete with a miniature Statue of Liberty. Wow - our children have really grown, right? Sight and Sound Theaters is another stop we love to make on the furlough trail.  We were treated to a personal behind-the-scenes tour by one of the workers there. Amazing special effects! Life carries on with milestones.  Skyler is thrilled to have passed his sister in height and will probably pass me up by Christmas.  S...

Is it possible?  How can we be old enough to have a college graduate? Graduating Class of 2017 We rejoice with Shane in his accomplishment of finishing 4 years of college.  It has not been easy for him, particularly the first year having to adjust to American culture, but he persevered.  We surprised everyone by flying Stanley in for the graduation, and many tears were shed when he had to leave. I love our family. Having Pastor Bob Ross preach the commencement exercises was special for Keith and I since he was the vice-president of the college we graduated from and is now a supporting pastor. Pastor Adam, Pastor Ross, Daniel (Shane's cousin) and Shane We have seen growth in Shane's life and are thrilled with the next step God has prepared for him.   Well done, Shane!

This was the first time in 22 years of motherhood for me to be away from all of my children on Mother's Day.  Keith and I were blessed by the generosity of an Alaskan church to fly both of us to Alaska for a meeting that just happened to be on Mother's Day.  However, my children had many surprises awaiting for me when we returned, and I enjoyed each one.  In return, I thought I would write this post as a letter to them, my six blessings: Dear Children, I have been blessed.  So abundantly!  I love each one of you so much!  As I look back on the past 22 years of wearing the title "Mom," I smile.  I laugh.  We have made precious memories together.   Remember -- - The child who emptied the whole bookshelf into the laundry basket - The one who rinsed his toothbrush in the diaper pail - The one who was actually named Seaton - The fearless 4-year old warrior who proudly showed me the snake he had killed with a rock - The ba...

As our departure draws near, we have reached our last birthday celebration in the States.   We celebrated Shiloh's 15th birthday in Kansas. What fun to be able to include my nephew in our celebration as we went out to eat at Zaxby's (love their chicken wings), went bowling, and then stopped for ice cream at Dairy Queen.   We are very blessed to have Shiloh as a part of our family, and we are grateful that God has granted us wisdom in taking care of his diabetes.  When he was diagnosed in Uganda, the doctor looked us in the eye and said, "People who get diabetes in Uganda die." We love you, Shiloh, and pray that you will always seek the Lord's direction for your life.

What brings March Gladness?  Each month brings us closer to our departure when we get to go home.  At the writing of this...16 more meetings and just 85 more days. We all agree . . . Keith is the best preacher! We are privileged to spend time with other special missionaries. Keith and I were interviewed on a Christian radio station. We have been in several mission conferences this month which are opportunities to spend more time with the church members enjoying fun activities with them. Our children hiked to the highest point in Alabama. The boys went fishing, and Shiloh caught an eel! They did catch some fish, too. Each furlough someone invites the kids to ride horses, which they love. We enjoyed eating some Louisianna crawfish. The boys had opportunity to get some gun practice in. We have made some family stops, too.  It has taken a while, but we have finally made our rounds in getting all of my family visited.  They are r...