Just a quick update for those you have been praying over us so faithfully. Kristi received her work permit!!! Praise God!
All 5 visas have been lodged at the Papua New Guinea Embassy in Washington DC for approval, and we were please to find out this happened last Friday, giving us 2 weeks to get our visas (it usually takes 3 weeks). Yesterday we mailed off our passports to the PNG Embassy to meet our other paperwork. No amount of time is too small for Him!
We can testify that our God is real and true. He has been faithful time and time again throughout this journey to lead and provide for us in unexpected ways. Each time that God moves, our faith grows and our souls are encouraged, and we hope that your faith and souls are benefiting vicariously!
A mere 3 weeks from today we are supposed to board our first of four flights and set off for 2-1/2 days of traveling to Ukarumpa in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. We still have a major hurdle to clear though with our work permits and visas. Please pray now for Kristi's work permit to be approved and for our visas to be expedited! The PNG labor department approved John's work permit almost 2 weeks ago now, but Kristi's has still not shown up. We need both of these in order to submit our visa applications. Our visas will be granted by the PNG embassy here in the U.S., but could still take every minute of the time that we have left stateside.
Fear wants us to be worried about missing our (very expensive...) flights, nervous about missing our orientation course (next one starts in Sept.), and scared about being delayed for reasons unknown. But this isn't an opportunity to be fearful, this is an opportunity to see what God can do. Please join us in prayer now and see what God can do!H
So much has happened since we last wrote! Big things. Good things. God things. First, we have only $137 left of our minimum monthly budget set by Wycliffe! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have stepped along side us in this calling! We are so close to 100% it seems unreal. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were going about our normal lives, oblivious to this uprooting that God had in store. And yet is was about two years ago now that God awoke Nori's heart and then stirred the rest of us. It is truly hard to internalize that serving the people of Papua New Guinea is finally around the next corner.
Since we are so close to completing our partnership team, our supervisors have gone ahead and given us the green light. Last week we bought our plane tickets! We will fly out of Raleigh, NC on May 10th for 28 hours of flying (that includes only 4 hours of layovers!) to Papua New Guinea. That puts our last day in the Charlotte area on April 26th. The goodbyes have begun. We will be out of town most of March, but are relatively free in April, so if you want to get together one last time before we go, give us a shout.
In other news, the Pacific Orientation Course (POC) we were scheduled to attend on the coast in Madang, PNG in May has been canceled due to logistics. But the supervisors in Ukarumpa (the place in the Eastern Highlands that we will ultimately be serving in) have decided to host the POC training there. We are very excited about this news; it answers quite a few things that we have been praying about, and we are pleased to be learning the ropes in our future hometown.
Lastly, we are still waiting to hear back about our work permits. We cannot submit our visa application without these approved and in place. Please cover this with extra prayer this next week, we are hoping to get good news on that front any day now.
If you have not partnered with us yet, don't worry, you are not too late. Please ask the Lord if this is something that He would have you be a part of. We are so humbled and excited over our partnership team that God has called together, and we would still love to take you with us on this journey.
Kids are amazing. Mine all too often open my eyes to truths God is trying to give me... sometimes gently whispered and others like a whack over the head.
I love the snow, and my first reaction today was disappointment. Instead of fluffy shimmering powder covering the ground, there was a thick crust of ice. That is until my dear little ones started exclaiming joy over the beauty of what was outside, and they clamored to get on all their layers of clothing so they could go be a part of it.
How too often am I disappointed by the gifts God has set in front of me because it doesn't meet my preconceived notions of what I wanted? How often do I neglect to stop and consider the good in what He has given me because it looks different than what I think it should?
Today I am choosing to find joy in the ice. God's goodness is everywhere.
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence." Exodus 33:19
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,
when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess,
we have lost our thirst for the waters of life, having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth,
we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push wide our hopes, bring us to where you are- disturb us Lord.
This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ."
I love the lyrics of this song based on the prayer written by Sir Frances Drake in 1577 as he was at sea. Its words convict me. How easy it is for me to get sucked into the the day to day routine of my life. This world tells my head to spend my time dreaming of vacations, to stay inside where it is safe and warm and watch movies all day – to chase after temporary comfort, security, and entertainment. My head tries to dull the eyes of my heart to not see what God is calling me to.
This song makes my heart cry out, "Wake up! Dare to dream, and hope and chase after God. There is an urgency here you have forgotten! Share God's glory, share His glory.... do not rest till all the nations have heard His name! God wants all of you, don't lose sight of His love, His dreams, His plans. He is your Captain."
The world wants us to fall in love with all its wonder; after all, it is the only place we have ever known. And it's a world that puts God in a box and says that He doesn't work, or that He never was. We learn to be more brokenhearted about TV and movie characters (or that our team did not make it to the Super Bowl) than about our neighbors – becoming numb to the true urgency of getting the Gospel to generations of people around the world. We are bombarded with distractions constantly and naturally forget that God is real, that He wants us, and that He really answers prayer.
But our God is more wonderful than all the wonder of this world, and our God can heal our divergent hearts! Our God who can roll away the stone of death, who can speak us into existence, who can part the sea, He is greater than all that. How crazy is it that this daring God invites us to be daring in Him, in His strength, in His power. He wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Him so He can reflect Himself into the world. He wants to remind us that Heaven awaits.
Dare to dream bigger with us. Dare to boldly venture with us. Dare to chase after the lost with us. Take three minutes right now to join us. There are 95 days until we hope to leave but just 37 days left till we need to reach our monthly budget set by Wycliffe. If we don't have 100% in place at that time, we will not be released to go to PNG in time for the May training and may be delayed until September. Let's boldly seek the Lord for 100% of our Wycliffe budget in these 37 days... there's less than $1,100 a month left to go! Let us be brave in asking for big things! Let's pray together to see and reflect God in greater ways. This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ.
This video is about what you can do in 3 minutes to help with Bible translation.
Let's do this together!
As I sit in our temporary home and vacuum seal the bedding we will be shipping in the next week to Papua New Guinea, it hits me again.... this is REAL! I mean, you don't really ship boxes of your things somewhere unless you are going to be there to need them sometime, right? So that must mean we are leaving. In 109 days, really, if our Wycliffe partnership team is complete. When our Wycliffe partnership team is complete. We are only $1,100 away from the monthly minimum budget Wycliffe has established for us. We must be at 100% before we can be released to go.
You see God has done this crazy thing, He is making us fall in love with these people we haven't met, this land we haven't even been to! When I read about them, or watch a film of them I want to reach in the screen and hold their hands, to prepare meals with them laughing over events from our day, to share with them the wonders and the glories of our Savior... I want to do life with them. You know it's God when your heart longs for a thing it can't even put into words. God has filled my heart with His love for these people who are waiting for Him. They are not waiting for me, they are waiting for Him. I humbly get the privilege of being the conduit of His love.
Our partners get that privilege too! Our ministry is only possible through the generous support and prayers of our partners from around the world. God's love flowing through you, through us, to them. It's a beautiful thing to be a part of God's body working together for His glory and purposes.
To those of you out there who have not partnered with us yet, it's not too late! Join us! Be apart of this amazing tapestry God is weaving with all our lives. Help us share Jesus. It's quick and easy to join our Wycliffe team (it only takes about 3 minutes!).
And to help uncover some of the mystery of what we will be doing on the other side of the world; here are two short films that will give you some good insight about Papua New Guinea, Bible translation, and what God has been up to over there!
The first one is about 30 minutes long and is about the Arop people group in PNG and how God used a tragedy to get His Word to more Bibleless people groups faster. We have friends that are on a translation team in this region (they are in the photo at the end). I can't watch this movie without being moved to tears. I hope that it blesses you like it has blessed and changed us.
The other is about 4 minutes long, and will give you a glimpse into some of the work John will be doing – and who he will be working with. Enjoy!
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, and as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
We are so thankful for our church, this community of believers that God has chosen for us to do life with. Our pastors are not perfect, nor do they claim to be, but they love Jesus ardently. They point us again and again back to the Scriptures and not to their own opinions or agendas. They feed His sheep what they need most, Him.
In September we moved from our home 2 blocks away from our church, to live 45 minutes away at JAARS to complete our training. We can make the drive, but it’s not nearly as accessible; and with one car now it means that volunteering and “getting involved” is prohibitive. In this we have already been feeling the pains of separation, ones we know that will greatly increase when we move to the other side of the world. Oh how we will miss worshiping and learning and serving with you all!
When we first joined Wycliffe and started praying over our future partnership team, we were pretty certain it would be comprised of our home church plus our friends and family. Thank the Lord that He had different plans though! We have been overly blessed by Him sending us other church families to love. Not only do we as individuals act as different parts of the body of Christ but different congregations do too!
Our church family in Ohio corporately prayed for us and embraced us the very first Sunday that they met us. Our church family in Hendersonville has welcomed us into their homes and their lives, and made us feel like family from day one. It has been such an honor and encouragement to experience Christ's global Church at work — it is a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of. Praise the Lord that His ways are not our ways and that we now know many more of our brothers and sisters!
We are so thankful for our churches’ support, prayers, and love that we take with us... oh how our hearts will long for you when we are away!
Please take some time today to not only lift up our churches in thanksgiving but your own as well. Oh how God has blessed us :)
Please join me today and take a moment to thank our Father for the relationships He has placed in our lives. Some of you are old and steady friends that have meandered throughout our lives like a trusted brook in a field, others are new bursts of joy like the first flowers of spring. Old or new one thing remains the same, God loves on us through you.
We have experienced such a growth of richness in our relationships this past year, that we are convinced our heart must have grown at least three sizes just to hold it all in. We are so very blessed to have you in our lives and on this journey with us! You mirror pieces of Christ to us that we would never get to see or experience without you in our lives. Your laughter, tears, wisdom, and prayers give us such courage and joy.
So please take this opportunity with me to thank God for the dear people in our lives. Really sit in this, bask in the pure pleasure He gets out of loving on you through someone else. Then take a minute today to thank one of those gifts in the flesh that He has placed in your life.
*note: this is just a small sampling of the people we love... if we put a photo in here of all of you it would crash all our computers for sure :)
We want to take January, this month that sets the stage of a fresh new year, and give it back to our Father and Creator. Let it be an offering of thanksgiving for His steadfast provision and love, and a song of hope of what tomorrow might hold. We invite you to pray alongside of us in January — lean in and drink deep of our Savior. Let's do this together!
"For I have always been mindful of your unfailing love, and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness." -- Psalm 26:3
Merry Christmas everyone!!! We love you all and are so blessed to have done this year with you! Its hard to believe this year is coming to a close. God has packed it full of lovely, weighty, and challenging things. But in it all He has reveled Himself to us again and again. Our hope in this year to come, for all of us, is that He will continue to pursue us in such a manner that there is no question as to what is from Him and what is not. That we also would not just gain a deeper insight into his Love, but that we gain a fuller measure of delight in Him and His glory. We pray he breaks our hearts for His people who are lost and who are living with no hope without their Savior, that we feel His pain over this separation and it spurs us to act.
For our final post of the year we thought you might like to hear from all five of us (in our oun words), as to some of the things God has taught us in 2014.
NORI: age 7
I like reading books to Millie and Banner.
That making clay pots in the creek is a great way to make new friends!
God always loves us no matter what we do.
Sometimes its hard to play with my little sister, but God will help me be kind and gentle when I can't do it on my own.
BANNER: age 5
How to play football. You have to say "hike" to punt then you run to get touchdown, but if someone gets you with two hands you have to run the other way.
I can color in the lines and write my name.
God is always with me! He was with me in Charlotte, He is with me in Waxhaw, and He will be with me in PNG.
MILLIE: age 2.5
How to ride my strider bike!
Cook Mommy food, like jelly sandwiches and cinnamon crackers.
(all lighter than air and with no calories... she is amazing)
Jesus Loves Me!!!
JOHN
That learning a new language was a lot easier when my brain was 20 years younger.
We don't need all of the stuff that we think we need as Americans (but this is surely a universal truth!): Of all the stuff that we still have in storage that we need to go through, I think I've only missed a couple of cables that I haven't been able to find. Giving stuff away was so fun, and living here at JAARS with 10% of our stuff out has been quite refreshing.
So far, my previous experience rebuilding my old motorcycle has not given me any leg up with working on the old jeep we are shipping over. Well, the tires inflate the same way...
Sometimes God's will is clear and sometimes it is not (no matter how much you pray), but in both situations He calls us to trust Him the same. I don't think that God wants or expects us to figure His plan out, He just wants us to be willing to say "yes" to Him, even in the unknown.
Kristi
The relationships we long to have with others really starts with prayer. There is an intimacy in actively praying for another person that cannot be manufactured any other way.
God will ALWAYS call us to something greater than we can accomplish on our own, because it causes us to lean into Him. His purpose is not just what He is asking you to do, but getting a bigger piece of your heart for Himself.
I really have no idea how to hand wash dishes well!
It is that time of year again... our "please pray for us as we move to the other side of the planet" photo magnets are in! So if we have never snail mailed you anything, if you have moved, or if you just want to make sure we know where you are, please email us your current mailing address. According to the response that we had last year, these are surely in high demand (or you all were just really diligent about putting them on your fridge door before we visited), so make sure to reserve yours today!
I know you don't want to miss out on faces like these :)
We have been busy this Fall, lots of training and lots of traveling! (the next post will fill you in more on the traveling)
We arrived home at 11pm Sunday night and crawled into bed, in the morning I went to make the kids breakfast and found a pretty barren kitchen. It was in that moment that it dawned on me that Thanksgiving was in just a few days. I would have to trek out to do grocery shopping if we were going to eat at all, let alone pull off a holiday feast! I toyed with the idea of just ordering pizza and spending the day in our jammies, but with this being the last Thanksgiving we will be celebrating stateside for about 4 years, I landed on cooking it up.
Even with all the shopping and cooking it was a wonderful and restful day. It is a gift just to get to pause life's regular schedule and take time to reflect on the year and thank God for the countless ways He has blessed us. This year has been so full, so new, and overflowing with His mercies. I am so thankful that I get to see our Father's hand at work in my life. I am thankful that through this calling of missions God has given me richer relationships with family, friends, and new friends... and such a deeper appreciation for the quiet gifts of love and friendship that dance throughout my day. So thank you for being a part of our lives, we cherish you deeply!
Millie was helping John wash the endless pile of dirty dishes (we already miss having a dishwasher so much; this has been great preparation for what's next!). What he didn't notice till close to the end was that after she would dry off a plate she would lick it before she set it in the clean stack... needless to say we had to re-wash a few things.
Our Turkey centerpiece made by the lovely Miss Nori Craig.
Banner cleaned up his plate and even went back for more. Note the paper plate, we were tired of washing dishes!
After dinner we went next door for some crazy games with some new delightful friends, the Mathesons, and their sweet family. (keep you eyes out for them in future photos as they are headed to PNG too!)
The missionary lifestyle of instant intimacy followed by uncertainly permanent farewells has already become too real in our time here at JAARS. You find common ground very quickly; enjoy each other for the time God gives you; and then say good-bye with the hope that you might see them again in 3-4 years, but in your heart you know that it might not be until Heaven. In actuality, it's probably not too different than our lives before, but now we realize it.
We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you savored every moment with the ones you love!
October was a pretty jam-packed month, so where do I even start? Well, the faces in the two adjacent pictures here are the many facilitators of our Intercultural Communications Course this month. They are amazing people! Not many people can teach courses on the Theology of Suffering, Dealing with Conflict Biblically, Crisis Management, and Biblical Absolutes (just to name a few more of the things that we tackled); but they did with wisdom, vulnerability, and Grace. We were blessed by them and we are better missionaries (and people!) because of them!
Jack and Linda Henderson continually blessed us with their 60+ years of marriage and missionary work. They were pioneers in every way and truly inspirational!
Serving in worship with Ethan and Ally.
We had the awesome opportunity to join an Indian congregation of believers all month long. They were gracious enough to let us fumble through our American-ness with them and to learn to be comfortable despite our cultural (and language!) differences. These two cuties started playing the drum together behind me during a worship song and stole the attention of many.
"Fieldproofing Your Marriage" was a weekly time that all the spouses looked forward to, and not just because of the coffee, tea, and treats that the Reids loaded us up with.
I think that this exercise was trying to highlight our useful and harmful personality traits during teamwork, but all Kristi will let me remember is that not only did her team beat my team, but they set a new record time for getting it done (which of course, I would be doing if I had won...).
Many of you may have already seen these momentous photos made famous by the Peacock family's blog post which was shared and shared again, but I thought that they were worth sharing one more time. If you think that you might have malaria or if you need stitches for that big gaping wound that just won't go away — Kristi and I can now take care of you!
Yes, it wasn't all intense class time, we laughed a few times at least ;)
What looks like a fun game of cards was actually a very deep intellectual discussion about learning social rules in foreign situations. In this case, Queena and I came from the same country previously and she is trying to give me some social cues without shaming me in front of the others — or something like that (and yes, I'm trying not to give away the game). Dale may or may not be making that gesture because of something I did wrong in his culture... Kristi is laughing because she is winning.
Going to new heights with new friends.
My table facilitator, Phil, teaching the kids about how they used to catch Greenbottle Pufferfish with their bare hands in Indonesia.
This was the first of many flights in a small airplane that are probably in our future. It's a good thing that we only have a family of five because this was a six-seater and neither Kristi nor myself are pilots. Nori and Banner seemed to be thrilled with the whole endeavor, but in many of the pictures Millie looks like she is praying for safety.
It was pretty cool to get to go up in a Helio Courier again. The last time that I had the chance was during a 4th-grade field trip to JAARS and it was the first time that I was ever in a plane. I think that it's safe to say that I had no idea back then what I would be doing now; funny to think about.
Banner and Millie had some great teachers at MK Station during the month, but Mr. Josh was always a favorite.
Pretty much every afternoon the kids would all gather by the "creek" (drainage ditch) by our apartments to play. It didn't take long for them to start a massive pinch pot manufacturing assembly line. They eventually developed an entire business model complete with neighborhood signs to sell their wares.
Some consumers must have complained about their pots breaking, because I noticed that a small kiln is being erected out in the lawn from spare bricks and rocks.
Dipping Dots are no longer the ice cream of the future. This place in Waxhaw made ice cream right in front of us out of raw ingredients and liberal amounts of liquid nitrogen, so cool!
Photo Credits: Many thanks to Dale and Phil for so many of these great photos!!!
Our month long training at JAARS started on Oct 2nd, so we just finished our first full week. As anticipated, there's been lots of homework and reading involved! So what have we been learning? Well, here is a sampling...
strengths finding
spiritual vitality and bible study techniques
cross cultural servanthood
impact awareness
language and cultural acquisition
field proofing our marriage
world view analysis
transitions
Even with all the work, and having to navigate new family routines, our time has been rich in His goodness! We even got a helicopter ride mixed in with all the learning :)
Being here has been such a blessing to us and we are excited to see what our Father has in store for us in the weeks ahead.
Looking forward, this week to come seems to be a hard one, with topics like " The Theology of Suffering". Extra prayers are welcome!
We miss you all dearly!!!!
Breakfast at the Flying Biscuit.
September has come to a close and I have posted nothing on the blog. So sorry... I have had about 20 posts written in my head but this month has been so crazy I'm surprised I really know what end is up! Thank you for giving me grace in this. And here is a sampling of some of the fun things we slipped in with all the crazy moving. I will be trying to post weekly during our ICC training in Waxhaw to keep you updated in October :)
I have started taking cooking classes with my dear friend Jacqui to help me prepare for cooking from scratch in the jungle.
John and I went to Southport, NC for a weekend after our big move to celebrate our 10 year Anniversary
the B&B we stayed in
the cute bikes we got to ride around town
Sweet picture with my man... although I really look super short here, what happened?
Banner and Nori with Lexi and Reni at the Mexico Museum at JAARS
our new friend at the Mexico Museum
One last year at Festival in the Park to get elephant ears (fried dough smothered in butter and cinnamon sugar!)
With the Lyes, checking out our friend Katie's art work
Pumpkin picking with the Lydas!
Nori liked this one
Driving the corn stalk mules. Fortunately they stopped so that Tom could climb on.
how they have grown
it took John 3 hours to find his way out of this kids hay maze ;)
Corn!
Nori: "Hey Mom, look it's like the house we will live in at PNG!"... no really it's not :)
Banner in the corn... I have since found a lot of corn in my dryer!
Millie in the corn
Hiding in the maze
The Lyda-Craig corn pile up
Private apple picking party. You can tell that this was early in the venture because the kids are still carrying the apple bags.
Apples
Apples and a bee
A Family photo...something of a rare find!
Shot with Lizzy and the rooster :)
Looking back over the past 10 years together I noticed a funny thing... we have thousands of photos but very few of the two of us together! Is this a normal thing? Maybe it should be a goal for the next 10 years, to get more photos together :)
Just a little wet from Hurricane Gaston...
This photo was taken about 2 months before we found out we were preg with Nori.. no questions how that happened, do you see how hot my husband is?
And so it begins... from now on most photos of us will have little ones in the shot too :)
We have both changed a lot over the years. Even the way we love each other and love our God has changed. I know my heart is so much more open to serve and to give. God blessed me with a man who is such a good leader, and always gently turning my eyes back to Christ. I am not a girl who would have said yes to PNG 10 years ago... and here we are moving to JAARS in 11 days! And hopefully setting out across the world in about 4 months! I am so excited to see how God changes us and uses us as we serve Him with greater abandon these next 10 years! Please won't you join us on this journey? Let's see how He can change us all as we pour ourselves out for His purposes! We still need people to join our Wycliffe ministry on a monthly basis. It takes less than 5 mins. to join. Please partner with us today, just click the link below!
Philadelphia!!!!!!!
Ready to explore PA!
Uncle Jim would be proud! When this gentleman learned we were from North Carolina he asked Nori if she knew of any battles that where fought during the Revolutionary War there... when she replied "the battle of Kings Mtn. and the battle of Cowpens" and told him of how they where the turning point of the war, you could tell he was surprised! He pulled out his wallet and gave her a colonial $7 bill!
This is the room where a lot of big decisions were made in Independence Hall. We were most excited to see the chair with the rising sun that George Washington sat in during the creation of our Constitution!
At Betsy Ross's house.
Oh the joy that took place as we actually got to meet "Betsy Ross"! She taught us how to cut a perfect five pointed star. Who knew she was still living?!
Giving Daddy the big eyes..."Please can't we keep the kitty?"
Learning all about Benjamin Franklin's printing press.
Finally got in to see the Liberty Bell :)
Proof that John was here too... no we did not buy these glasses!
Ending our time in PA pumping it up with Rocky!
After a long fun day we drove to Baltimore to visit with our Aunt Tina and Uncle Adam :)
Thanks to Capt. Dave who really knows what number of hotdogs this is for Millie! LOL!
With about an hour left on our 15 day (3,126 miles) trip Millie decides this would be the perfect time for her to take her first nap in the car of the whole trip! Banner soon followed, but Nori maintained her perfect nap-free record.
New York City... need I say more?
On the boat ride out to Liberty Island.
John thought it was great fun to try to get photos with Lady Liberty on people's heads.
It was a bit windy, but such a wonderful day... would couldn't have asked for better weather!
Lady Liberty watching over New York City.... In the words of our son, " Look at her, look at her! She is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!"
Up close!
Again with the statue on the head.
We only went through NY on our way to PENN. We got to stay the night, with some new friends, on a working hay farm that dated back to before 1760! This is the view from our bedroom window! This place was stunning!
A school house play room on the farm. Playing with our new friend, sweet little Caroline.
Helping Ms. Gail feed the chickens.
God has blessed us with this country!
More chickens to be fed.
Photo in the hay.
Here is ONE of the hay stacks... that wee little figure in the middle is Nori.
Got to get a family photo with the tractor! Caroline is apart of our bigger family... God's :)
Mr. Jim taking the kids to a some heavy lifting... there is always work to do on a farm!
Visiting with our sweet friends The Costas!!!!! Check out those squishy baby cheeks :) They we the highlight of the City of Boston!
We got to stay and visit with the Ceruls, some of my(Kristi) grandparent's oldest and dearest friends, just outside Boston in Sudbury.
A visit to The Wayside Inn is a must.
You can see in John's eyes what is about to happen here... the next frame he was on the ground;)
Just so pretty here at the grist mill.
At the main house of Wayside Inn... I love Millie's face in this photo!
