Marmi and Papa came to visit us our last month in N.C.! They arrived the end of April, stayed for a week, and then we eight Joneses left our happy furlough home the end of May.
It was a WONDERFUL year for all the kids in school, and the Lord really answered prayers for friends for Isaac. He had a number of fun, sweet friends by the end of the school year. I got to go as a chaperone on the last field trip of the year to see him "in action" with them firsthand. My job was to stay relatively far away and keep my mouth shut so I didn't embarrass him. ;) I wasn't perfect at it, but I tried . . . mostly.
It was surprisingly hard for me to leave our beautiful area of N.C. I have so enjoyed our year there! We attended a precious church and had a really special community group. I have a couple of close friends in the area, and I never got tired of the quiet house, grocery shopping, easy meal prep and clothes dryers in the First World. I would watch British movies while folding the laundry - the height of fun. :) But I know it's time to get back to our beautiful life in PNG and let someone else fold my laundry while I go back to work in the Clinic lab. I love that job even more than folding clean clothes with the Brits!
Gavin, Isaac and all the kids except Seth are very ready to return. Seth would prefer to live in Texas. :) He and my sister's son are good friends, and he really likes Grandpadad and Grandma's house. However, Seth is almost invariably happy wherever he is, singing in operatic tones at the top of his lungs all over the house and yard. It's hilarious! Right now we're in CA with Marmi and Papa again, and the three boys are LOVING the Legos in the toy chest. Marcie is still recovering from the nasty tummy bug she and Gracie had; meanwhile, Gracie has returned to normal and taken over the backyard playhouse and evicted the boys. :) She is quite the little mama in her tiny cottage! Isaac is doing chores around the house trying to earn money for a virtual reality thingamabob he wants to take back to Ukarumpa to play with his friends there.
In a week we move on to Oregon, where we'll celebrate Marmi and Papa's 50th wedding anniversary with a family reunion! Then we fly to Australia the next day (July 14th) and on up to PNG and HOME on the 19th, Lord willing!
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| A helicopter flight with their favorite pilot! |
Photos from a hike up Crowder's Mountain, west of Charlotte
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| The two Marcies |
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| Climbing "Pride Rock," where they pretended to be lion cubs |
