Keeping Up With The Joneses - June 2024

End of school year update!

God is SO good to us. The first semester here was hard, hard, hard. We missed Isaac desperately. We were adjusting to so much all at once and not extending grace like we receive it from our Triune God. Multiple schools, classes, assignments and teachers, all in the midst of huge transition, and two stressed-out parents who are not able to keep on top of it all either! I was discombobulated by the lack of rest - after all, hadn't that been why we were coming home on furlough? There was LESS physical rest (although I started sleeping better gradually and continue to heal in that way, praise God). If anything, we were so much MORE overwhelmed by the demands of school and various doctor and therapy appointments. We were trying to tick off the list of things that needed to be done, as soon as possible, with a view to healing our kids, our marriage, ourselves, and our family. But there was no rest, no restoration; just striving to be "faithful." And to what end? Our souls were in more turmoil despite our best efforts to "do better." All the good stuff wasn't the best stuff. Sitting at Jesus's feet and just being His is the best, and no grades or successful therapies are worth that. So we've slowed down. We are doing the things that absolutely need to be done and trusting Him to guide us in HIS best for us. We are coming to Him for healing in the quietness of soul that is already ours in Christ. We don't do it perfectly, by any means! But we are His, and He is ours, and His banner over us is LOVE. 

Seth won three awards, including Principal's honor roll and the Honorable Character medal for his homeroom. He was so pleased his big brother and grandparents could join in! 

Look at Seth trying not to smile! 

Celebrating afterwards at Chipotle. We love having Isaac back home again for the summer.

Will giving a "wet willy" to the statue at the Dallas Baptist University Joan and Andy Horner Ballpark

Seth is the most devoted to baseball games.

Isaac and friends Colton and Meagan 💕 at the Boyce College Spring Fling

(He's such a delight! His darling girlfriend took this photo.)

Marcie in her homemade astronaut costume for school, "Ellen Ochoa"

Look! Zero gravity!

David loves making slings after his Biblical namesake. They are SO fast and dangerous!

David doing bushcraft stuff in the woods by our house

Beaver teeth marks!

David and Gracie in a Black Hawk Helicopter at the Fort Worth Air Show

They really are best friends!

"Heart Care Chapel" (my name for it) at Focus on the Family, Branson MO.
We're celebrating 25 years of marriage this summer!

Celebrating my dad's retirement! 55 years of faithful teaching - including us three kids in Colombia, South America, where we were missionaries in the 70's, 80's and 90's. It was such fun to have Aunt Cynthia and our newest family member, adorable baby Hannah, with us! 

At Dallas Baptist University, after serving 20 years as adjunct professor. We three kids are alumni!

Our new baby niece, Hannah!

 We’re just THRILLED to welcome Hannah Claire to our family! Well done, God, Courtney and Kenneth (in that order). She’s such a delight, just like her big sister. ❤️

Gavin's drone footage totality of the eclipse in Dallas

 There really are no words to describe it. We're awestruck and so very grateful God cleared the clouds and that Gavin's parents were here to enjoy it with us! What a show!

https://youtu.be/i5oDqFHoKGE?si=fXVg0XkpjreyCPq1

Spring Break with Isaac at college; longer update

 We got to go visit Isaac at Boyce College in Louisville for our kids' Spring Break! Such a blessing!!

It wasn't Isaac's break, so we didn't get to see him as much as we would have liked, but we got to hang out with him between his work schedule and classes and at Chapel! He also had Friday off for a trip to the Ark with us. 💕 

I am so grateful my parents were brave enough to join us in our travels! It was so special, a real gift from our Heavenly Father to all be together. And as an aside, my favorite part about the Ark was the centrality of Christ. There may be lots of disagreements over theories, but the real question is "What will you do with Jesus Christ?" 

Can you tell Will has a hard time not being goofy in photos??

This sign was hilarious as it's actually very true in our house. David loves to sit on her to make her laugh.

At the petting zoo. Sadly, most of the animals were hiding from the cold and rain - but pretty appropriate weather for an Ark encounter, wasn't it?!

At the Zoo in Louisville, and a throwback to the Aquarium in Dallas:

Not during Spring Break but more than worth including: Mother/Daughter/Grandmother tea at the kids' school with my dear momma, my baby sister, and her miracle daughter Elo (praying her next screening for ganglioneuroblastoma is clear and that the tumor continues to shrink!). 💗

Okay, update on the kids: Will LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his occupational therapy and is on the waiting list for physical and speech therapy. The physical therapy will help him with large motor skills and balance, and the speech therapy will be tailored to helping him engage in reciprocal conversation and interact more comfortably with people he doesn't know. (He's very into hugs once he realizes people are friends!) He's also brilliant, witty, and has an incredible memory. He (and Seth) are the quickest to apologize for hurting someone's feelings, too. His Bible knowledge and connection-making abilities in spiritual/biblical conversations are amazing. He also has a beautiful, compassionate heart for lost people coming to Christ. 

Seth is thriving, albeit a little more sad than normal on occasion because he's homesick. He did so well plugging through his comprehensive testing (required by our school in PNG) this week despite his slower processing speed. He also had a great report card and has made friends left and right at school. He is goofy and charming and impish and oh-so-kind. His favorite place to be is with his cousins and my sister and her husband and their dogs - the dogs are very important. He told me last night that if something happened to me he would want Katie to be his mom. 😍 He is obsessed with helicopters and WWII airplanes and can recreate them down to the small details in both LEGO and by drawing! And this was the kid who struggled to hold a pencil for so long. Thank you, Lord!

David still has six forts in the woods behind our house. His hiking boots and bushcraft machete and "It is Finished" cap complete his outfit most days. He is slated for the comprehensive testing next week, and he's dreading that as well as the homework/classwork that will be on top of it. (It took Seth all day both days to finish what he needed to.) We appreciate prayer for him if you're one of those precious people who prays for our family! He almost certainly has dyslexia or something like it, and struggles to read or write comfortably. He is left-handed - which may account for some of his differences - and so smart. He is hilariously goofy despite his quietness.He has a bajillion friends, including on our street. He can also walk up to a new kid, put out his hand and say, "Hi, I'm David." It's such a gift - one that Gracie is a little jealous of!

Gracie is doing so well with her math accommodations at school, loves her special ed teacher and her friends at school and on our street, but is definitely struggling with anxiety and missing Isaac. Please pray for her sweet heart, that she would experience our Triune God's tenderness in her moments of fear that she's not doing everything "right." She is so easy for people to overlook because she's quiet (although goofy!), and she really hates disappointing anyone. She also really wants people to see her and listen to her when she's trying to speak, but her voice and body are so tiny. She adores reading! I think it's almost her favorite thing - surpassed only by goofing around with David. Thankfully they are in class together, which gives her courage and encouragement throughout the day. Big brother - who is so much taller than her! - is always around to help protect. 

Marcie is doing so much better than she was some months ago. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING. We're trying to get her into equine therapy for calming and encouragement. We pray she continues to appropriate the truths of Scripture as we - and her Creator - walk with her through her valleys.  She misses her rescued dog, Cooper, to the point of tears many nights. She is also missing her childhood, realizing she can't return to the time before our gardener was killed in clan warfare and our friend of 18 years hadn't yet been caught stealing from us. [Our last few months in PNG were difficult for the kids, too.] She also can't return to the primary campus on our mission center - she'll be at the secondary campus instead. On the upside, she is a gifted artist in multiple mediums - her non-artistic mom is super impressed! She also loves her tumbling class. Please pray for her in the area of friendship. Her strong personality (inherited) adds an extra layer of challenge. I see my own faults at her age in glaring clarity and want to go back and apologize to all my teachers and friends (and enemies!). She's so far beyond me at that age, praise God. 😅 Thankfully, He refines and uses our strong personalities for our good and His glory, and is infinitely patient with His children! 

I need to get going so I can actually parent these wonderful kiddos! 

Oh, quickly:

- Isaac is absolutely thriving too, PTL. Pray for wisdom and time management for him as his life is so full! He has wonderful friends and professors and an amazing church home. 

- I'm LOVING my new pastoral counselor! She's a total gift from God at just the right time, has a child on the autism spectrum and so much wisdom and experience in marriage and motherhood and ministry.

- Gavin is just the bomb.com. Amazing husband and father, everyone's hero in helping fix everything, it seems! He loves us so much because he loves the Lord so much. 💗 We're endlessly grateful for his patience as he lives and serves here, for now, for the sake of his family. 

In His grip,

Carrie 

Big Creek, CA after New Year

 We have had the blessing of being supported in prayer and gifts by this wonderful little church in Big Creek, CA. You might have heard of it in the terrible Creek Fire of September 2020. Many of the houses burned, including those of the music leader and the pastor. Their testimony is incredible, truly. God is so faithful. He is so good to give us a lovely and awesome place to be over the holidays, a place I always "crave" visiting for its beauty and grandeur and peace. 

Isaac when we arrived. The lit-up Christmas tree was a surprise!
It's directly in front of the General Store at the entrance to the town.

Just taking a little "breather" from the kids late afternoon.

We were welcomed at the little Inn at Big Creek, above and behind the General Store.
SO QUAINT and COZY! And you can't beat the views! (One of my favorite things in PNG is a small "painting" of the General Store, a framed notecard I bought back in 2008.)

Getting ready to war with one another in the snow. Marcie and Isaac are hunkered down inside.

David and Gracie sledded a LOT. Here they're taking a break from building a snowman, I believe. 

Will's favorite thing to do in the snow was eat it! He would two-fist it while he walked around the yard. He loves glasses of ice always, with just a bit of water, so it's not really a surprise that snow would be such a delight for his palate. 😄 It was very fresh and then snowed another 6-8 inches one night!

A snowy walk at dusk around silent Camp Sierra, just below Big Creek, with Gavin's parents.

My mother-in-love is so beautiful I had to put this photo in . 

Enjoying icicles from the eaves. We had several in our fridge before our stay was done. 😄

Blurry, but very representative of the kind of horsing-around these kiddos get up to with big brother Isaac. Will just said, when he saw me putting this picture in the blog, "Oh, Isaac! I miss him so much!" We all do, but we couldn't be happier about how welcoming and wonderful Boyce College has been for him - truly family in Christ and in practice! He is humbled and grateful as he begins his second semester.

Last look at a beautiful place. See you before too long (minus snow next time!), Lord willing, Big Creek and Camp Sierra!
MUCH LOVE to the Body of Christ there! We are blessed and refreshed through you all.

Making All Things New

 

My favorite photo from summer in Oregon

Thank you to everyone who prayed over those requests (and in general) that I posted a few weeks ago! The Lord has graciously answered each one in personal, tender and powerful ways. 

1) Will is much less agitated. We found the right medication formulation, it seems, and he's just so much happier and able to be who he really is! We're still in queue for his therapies but happy to wait until the new year. 

2) David is much less homesick due to great friends in our neighborhood and lots of forts in the nearby woods. (Their fort Christmas party is today. I baked cookies for it last night, at David's request. 😊) He also decided he wants to take one of his teachers back to Papua New Guinea with us because she's just so great! He and Seth have both said they really enjoy school now.

3) Seth's teacher woes have worked out beautifully. The teacher he was struggling to understand and please is now his favorite. He's figured out that she really does mean so well and cares about him. He got a great report card!

4) Marcie is doing MUCH better, although we know there are highs and lows. She has a precious relationship with her dad, and that really seems to help her weather the storms of life and emotions. Reminds me of the need we have for our Father through all the ups and downs on this journey to Heaven!

5) Gracie continues to be the most homesick (and sick, with colds - her tiny little ear, nose, and throat passages just keep getting infections!). But she's VERY happy to have her biggest brother at home goofing around with her and her other big brother David always looking out for her and making her laugh.

6) Isaac is doing fabulous! It's such a blessing to have him here! "Out of 10, you would be 80 billion!" Seth just said. The Lord has just been so good to Isaac (and us!), providing for him for college in amazing ways. 

7) Gavin is beautifully devoted to this family. I'm unendingly grateful for who he is.

I, too, am doing much better than I was earlier this summer and fall. My body and brain is calming down, praise God. It seems I was in high alert all the time, and that was exhausting! Until very recently, it felt that something was just wrong. 

I realize that Christmas will never be like it was when I was a little girl (My family had great Christmases in Colombia!). When we're children, it's, "Everything is magical, and 'Santa' is coming!" 

Now that we're adults, seeing the world around us - in PNG or America - it's, "Everything is broken, and Jesus is coming!" 

The latter hope is TRUE, and more beautiful by far. 

Waiting in hope, 

Carrie

You can't see it really well, but the manger with star above is cut into the throne. 
One of Gavin's ornaments, per my request. 

A wish come true! Going to Bolder - a climbing park - thanks to a generous Christmas gift!

Getting their tutorial in the ropes course climbing.

Hugs for Grandma (from Will and his cousin) at the Arboretum! 

Zoo Lights with Aunt Naomi! 💗 Will is not a fan of cold and stayed home.

The Christmas music and art night for the kids' school. Good thing Isaac is strong and Gracie is small!