It’s hard to believe but we are going to be wrapping up our third week here in North Carolina on Monday! We’ve been busy working hard at painting, cleaning, getting the air conditioner installed, having a water filter installed, visiting family, and so much more!
Roger has been busier than we anticipated with this years fire season, but the locals are saying that it’s the driest year they’ve had in a while. So hence, there are more fires. We’ve had to adjust our schedules somewhat as Roger leaves for work around 9:00am, but hasn’t been getting home until after 7:00pm. We make it work. Roger and I often have time for a walk in the morning, and we just eat supper later so that we can all eat together as a family.
Updates from the past week:
Last Wednesday (6/29), Emma had a flare-up of Lyme’s disease. At least that’s what I think it was as it happens every once in awhile. It’s the same symptoms, and it doesn’t often last long. She gets a low grade fever, a bad headache, joint pain and sometimes throws up from the headache. She was down for the count last Wednesday, and it’s hard when your child doesn’t feel well. She was pretty miserable and tired for the day, but seems to have bounced back again.
Last Thursday, the three younger kids and I made a trip out to Roger’s work. It was fun to see the airplanes, his office and get a taste of what happens there.
Last Friday, (7/1) we traveled to South Carolina to visit some of Roger’s family. It’s just under a four hour trip, and we thought that Roger would be able to get off around 5:00pm. Surprise - he was able to get home just after seven! We had planned on leaving on Friday night, and we decided to go ahead and still leave on Friday night. It would be a late night, but then we would have all day Saturday to spend with family. On our way, we did stop at Buccy’s- anyone familiar with that chain? It’s a gas station that boasts to have 100 pumps and the cleanest bathrooms! We were all in awe of how larger the convenience store was and yes, the bathroom were clean!
We spent the day on Saturday with some of Roger’s family. Three of his sisters who live in Canada had come down for a visit as well as two cousins. It was a full day of sunshine, food and talking! The boys spent the day swimming for a while, then running around to the front yard for a game of baseball with their cousin, Landon, and then back to the pool with some eating in between! Emma enjoyed swimming with two of her cousins, Charity and Karis. Travis ended up with a pretty bad sunburn and Garett had gotten some sun too. Chandler tends to just turn browner, Wyatt didn’t get a sunburn, and Emma just a little. I always seem to forget to put the sunscreen on Travis, and he burns first and then tans the rest of the summer. It was a good day, and I know that Roger was happy to have been able to spend some time with three of his sisters, parents and his brother, Nate. Some of his family we haven’t seen in several years, so it as good to re-connect.
On Sunday we went to pick up Garett’s car. Yes, he has a car but not a driver’s license! My brother-in-law, Josh, sold Garett a car and the car was in South Carolina parked at Josh’s parents house. I accidentally typed in the wrong address so when the gps told us we had arrived we were actually still 40 minutes away! It messed up the schedule of the day a bit, and I felt badly about inconveniencing Josh’s mom, but with the price of gas, we needed to accomplish as much as possible in one long trip! Josh’s mom, Debbie, is also a friend of mine, so I would’ve loved to have visited a while longer, but we needed to keep going. She gave us some duck eggs to try, and the kids were excited about trying those. We talked a little bit about the challenges of finding a church “home”, and how both hard it is to sometimes feel connected with people. It was a short visit, but we are thankful to have Garett’s car picked up. It had been a tight squeeze in the mini van until we picked up the car as Roger’s brother had given us a grill. We were excited about that, so we definitely wanted to squeeze it in, and we did! But it was a tight squeeze!
Sunday afternoon found us in Newton, NC as we visited my aunt and uncle there. It’s been a few years since I had been to their home, and it was a fun afternoon of swimming, fellowship and of course, eating! A few of Lisa’s grandkids, my second cousins, came over and the kids enjoyed the time together in the pool. We had thought about staying overnight, but after two nights away from home, we were all ready to get back to our house. And since Monday would be the 4th of July, we decided to head on home. It’s about 3.5 hours from my Aunt Lisa’s to our house, so we got started back home around five pm. The boys were so excited about the little dirt bike my Aunt had given them. It wasn’t running, but the boys were optimistic that they could figure out the problem and get it running again. Roger managed to squeeze it in the mini van along with the grill and three of the kids. Garett’s car also had three dining room chairs in it, so Roger adjusted those so that two kids could ride with him. My aunt had a couch that she wanted to give to us, but Roger said that there was no way that was going to fit too! We already looked like we were moving with the way the vehicles were packed! Travis made the comment on the way home that it felt like Christmas! He said, “We got dining room chairs, a grill, and a mini bike! This is so cool!” It didn’t matter to the boys that the dirt bike wasn’t working, they were excited about the prospect of figuring out the problem!
This 4th of July was probably one of the most boring in my life, but it is what it is! We are not familiar enough with the area to know what events might be happening, and we do not know anyone in our immediate area. We spent the day working on house projects and reminiscing of past 4th of July holidays. Next year, will be different, Lord willing. The boys spent most of the day puttering around with the dirt bike. The drained the fuel, cleaned the carborator, cleaned the fuel lines, checked everything over and by the end of the day, it was running! Roger did give them some directions, but for the most part Chandler, Wyatt and Travis figured it out themselves. They are excited to have another little dirt bike around here, and it’s a good place to have one. Even Emma is learning to ride the little dirt bike. We have a Coleman mini bike and now this one that is smaller. The boys have plans to save their money and buy a “real dirt bike”. A few years ago, a dear friend of ours gave money towards the boys buying a dirt bike, and they were able to purchase the Coleman mini bike. It’s given them hours of fun as well as hours of work as they’ve fixed the chain, replaced the pull start and a bunch of other things. It’s fun to see them excited about these things, and it’s good to know how to fix your own junk, I mean, stuff!
The boys have been working for our neighbors for the past week and one-half. It started out with just Garett working, but after a day, Chandler went down to ask if he could work too. After both boys working for a few days, the neighbor asked if the other brothers wanted work also. Travis was so excited that he could hardly contain himself at the thought of a “real job”, and Wyatt is anxious to get out of his cast so that he can start working! They’ve picked corn, squash, bagged wheat, picked blueberries, weeded gardens, and a bunch of other things. The neighbor has been good to them as they get fed lunch, snacks and drinks while they’re employed. What a blessing for the boys to be able to have a job! It’s hot, sweaty and hard work, just the right kind for growing boys. We are so thankful for each one that prayed with us that the boys would be able to find a job. God is so good!
We’ve officially enrolled our children in a Christian school in the area. It was a matter of much prayer and discussion, but we’ve moved forward with paying the admissions fee and having the academic testing done. Whew! We’ve committed to this year. Please, please continue to pray with us and for us as the boys and Emma adjust to a new school. Academics are BIG down here, and I was a little (okay, a lot) concerned about how the testing would go. Some of my kids are not great test takers, we have one child with a diagnosed learning challenge, and two more that are probably borderline. I sent out a few text messages on Wednesday asking a few of my close friends to pray for the kids testing on Thursday morning. The kids arrived for their testing at 9;00am on Thursday morning. The secretary had already told me that the test was on the computer and that the kids should bring a book to read as they’d have to wait for their siblings. It was a long morning of testing about 2.5 hours! However, they all survived and the first thing they said when getting into the van was, “I’m hungry!” “That was soooo long!” “I dont think I ever want to do that again!” “Where can we go for a snack?” Alrighty then! The administrator had told us that he would call us sometime Thursday to let us know how the kids had done on the testing. It was a long day of waiting, but all we could do was pray and leave it in God’s hands. Around 6:00pm, the administrator called me to discuss the testing. While some of the kids have lower scores than we would’ve liked, the school is confident about placing each of our children into their anticipated grade level class this fall- THANK YOU, JESUS! Whew! So now we begin the process of being the new family in a new school, but God goes ahead of us and before us just like He has all along. I am going to be a TA at the school, and what exactly that looks like, I have no idea! I just know that I want to be a blessing, serve, and this is a great opportunity to get connected in the school and stay involved with our children’s education. Lots of learning curves ahead of us, so please continue to pray!
We’ve been in desperate need of some rain, and the farmers around here have been concerned about their crops. It’s been a matter of much prayer in our household as we’ve taken time here and there throughout the day to stop and pray for rain (and school). Last night we got almost an inch of rain, so we are rejoicing in God’s goodness! We do need more rain, but we did get enough to stave off the imminent danger of failed crops. Please continue to pray for more rain. At this point in time, we will just deal with the nasty mosquitos that are likely to come as we get more rain- we just need rain!
We’ve learned a lot in our 17 days here. It’s a different culture than where we came from, and its going to be a huge help for the boys and Emma to take Spanish language lessons at the Christian school. We have eaten more pork meat since moving here as pork is the cheapest meat. You can find a Mexican restaurant anywhere…we could go to a different one every week for the next 52 weeks probably! People have been friendly and pleasant to deal with (mostly!). Almost every town has a recreation center that includes a baseball field, play ground, tennis courts, basketball, and a walking trail. We’ve been given an abundance of squash from our neighbors, but also sweet corn and potatoes so we’ve been having a lot of those. We COULD buy all part of the pig at the grocery store and chicken gizzards and chicken feet too, but I’ve chosen to leave those for others that might enjoy that type of meal!
Through it all, God has been good and faithful. We are settling in and adjusting. It’s not been without it’s challenges, but God continues to direct and provide. We just need to rest in WHO He is and WHAT He will continue to do. Thank you for your prayers! My specific prayer list would be as follows: 1) For our family as we continue to adjust and adapt. 2) For more rain 3) I need to find a doctor that will look at Wyatt’s hand and decide if it has healed. 4) For the school year (spiritual growth, academics, relationships, etc).
Many, Many Thanks!
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