Apr. 14, 2008
What does she do over there??
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I know this must be a burning question in all your minds! Cyber-silence and blog-inactivity seem to mark my life lately. All of you know that after Samuel was born in November, we continued to entertain, on more than off, through mid-December. Our hospitality efforts culminated in a farewell party for our dear nanny of two years, JoAnna. Many tears were shed as she departed from our family on December 13th, but we know that the Lord has wonderful plans for her and we simply can't be selfish and have to share her with her family back in Oregon;) We miss her greatly, but talk often and enjoy watching her put to work and ministry the skills she picked up living with us. Is great to see how the Lord perfectly equipped her to come to us two years ago and now to go home and care for her family as she shifts into the next season of her life. The week after Jo left, Darren also traveled for a week to Italy. I must say that was a challenge. It had only been a scant three weeks since Sammy's arrival via C-section, and I was easily exhausted and rather sore. Thank goodness for Christmas break!!! Good books, simple dinners (prepared by my oldest children) and lots of time spent horizontal helped the recovery greatly. January began yet another season in our lives. Not only was I the sole teacher in our little school, but Darren began working on a task given by the President to the Sec. of State to monitor the Roadmap to Peace. We chuckle that this is certainly a dubious honor! It's fun to be part of history (whether it succeeds or not, aside). I do have to admit that any busyness I thought we had before is NOTHING compared to the fast pace of life now. If Darren gets home for dinner by 9pm, we're thrilled-11pm is more the norm. Whenever the general is in town (the one who works directly for Condi) Darren has to stay in J-lem for the duration of his visit. Occasionally, I plan to slip up and spend the night in the hotel with my sweety. Although he's very busy, we're usually able to catch a late dinner. We've been able to pull this off once so far, with hopes of future getaways. January also brought a wonderful visit with Grace's best friend from the States, Katy(aliveagain13). We were able to surprise Grace and they had a WONDERFUL time together for the four weeks Katie had with us. We're so grateful to Kate's parents for the trust they put in us to send their precious girl all this way!!! (You can "meet" her delightful family by hopping over to "My dear friend Sheila" 's link on the sidebar.) We have lots of pictures to prove the fun we had and one day I'll fix a slide show to prove it;) The pictures are uploaded to Shutterfly, just awaiting my attention! The day before Katy left, February 13th, Cindy was in the car accident. (This was one day after Darren's grandfather died, so Darren was on a very brief trip home for the funeral.) Once again, life turned on a dime and the next three and a half weeks were spent caring for this dear family and overseeing meals, schooling, etc... Of course, I was not alone in these efforts and am grateful for all the help and for the opportunity to serve and love Cindy in this way. The day Cindy's family left for the States, my mom and sister-in-law arrived for a 10 day visit. We had a great time touring this fantastic country. The Garrett's nanny and now close friend, Renee, blessed us all by hanging with my little peeps during all my jaunts around the country side so we were able to see much of Israel in a short time. Thanks to dear Short (another homeschoolblogger buddy) for her amazing tour of Jaffa! Oh, and in the middle of all the touring (literally) we stopped for a day to throw a nice- sized party here at the house with 40 of our dearest friends, to celebrate young Samuel's baptism. A pastor from the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland did the honors and it was great time. Somehow, all the details fell into place and there was more than enough food! Once again, dear Miss Short blessed us-this time with an amazing Topsy-turvy cake. And once again, a slide show will one day grant you, my dear patient readers, an insider's view. After Mom and Whitney left, we began school again in earnest. This was the first time since Jo left that I could really focus fully on the task of educating my precious children. Not that we hadn't been doing school all along, but records were behind and my older ones needed my checks and balances on a more regular basis. So here we are! We did have a run of strep throat among the boys in my family (Sam excluded), but all the antibiotics have been finished and everyone is recovered. The last bit of news is that Caleb was in a bike accident yesterday evening and broke his two front teeth in jagged halves. Aside from a sore little body, he's doing well today. An emergency visit to the pediatric dentist revealed only 2nd degree breaks (not to the root, thank goodness). Today, we'll be heading to the doctor for a check up, just to make sure he avoided a concussion. Oh, and sweet Dogberry will be taking a trip today to the vet to become a doggie eunic. He's blissfully unaware although I feel slightly guilty...like I'm leading a lamb to slaughter:) Oh well, I just hope he doesn't bark an octive higher on my account!! He does have a little medical issue that makes him at higher risk for cancer unless he's fixed, so this is for the best. Anyway, consider yourselves caught up! I think I've hit all the highlights and am working towards posting pictures here shortly, but now you all know why I've been rather quiet as a mouse over here. I'll write a separate post to update you on Cindy, but do keep praying for the Lord's healing hand. We're greatly thankful to Him for her recovery thus far, but the path ahead is long and steep and only He knows where it will lead. Thanks for putting up with my rambling writing style this morning. Please know that I appreciate and love each of you! Thankful to Him for all of you, Maggie |
Comments
Apr. 14, 2008 - WOW
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Posted by Nancy Apr. 15, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by Apr. 22, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by Apr. 25, 2008 - Maggie,
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