There are THREE new posts down below! Just wanted to make sure you all saw the posts below the huge pictures of Paris and Africa! Tee hee.....I'm bloggin' now!
The other big event in our life is that our 21 year old daughter, Becca is now engaged! Over Valentine's weekend, her boyfriend Ben proposed and she accepted! Ben took Doug and I out for dinner and after three hours of serious talking, we said yes. A date hasn't been set yet, but most likely a wedding will happen this fall. Oh boy...I'm going to need suggestions on frugal weddings! We do not have a lot of money for this and have no idea what to expect, but we are confident we can be creative and that God will supply our needs! We are all eager to start planning! Life is certainly exciting!
Becca graduates from Wheaton College this May 9 with a chemistry major! We are so proud of her hard work! This will be a busy and thrilling year for our firstborn!
Anna comes home on May 2 (just purchased her one way ticket home!)! Exciting!!
Well, I mean well. In fact, I have been sitting here typing for 20 minutes and then...poof! My post disappeared. I was attempting to put a photo of the Eiffel tower in and poof! gone.... I am sorry it has taken me so long to blog about this all....life HAS been busy.
So, I will try again...
I have other big news, but first my trip report.
Traveling to Paris and Africa by myself was certainly an adventure -- from knowing little French, to pulling 70 pounds of luggage up subway stairs, to finding my way down Paris streets to our hotel, to having that first French cafe au lait (ohmyword was that amazing).
I arrived in Paris a whole 14 hours ahead of Anna and by the time she arrived, I was going on about 36 hours of no sleep. I was giddy and punchy. When she stepped off that plane and we met, it was so wonderful. We bawled our heads off. We arrived back to our Latin quarter hotel around 1 am and stayed up chatting and laughing till....I have no idea how late we stayed up. haha
The next four days were spent walking a million miles (note to others: never ever wear new shoes on a trip. I had two pairs of identical shoes along, one new, one older, and nearly ruined my feet with the new ones), saw the Louvre, the Eiffel, the Arc d'triomphe, St. Chapelle, Versailles, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Notre Dame, Orsay Museum, the prison where Marie Antoinette was held before she was beheaded, and much more! We ooohed and ahhhhed the whole time....it was spectacular (and cold!).
We took an inexpensive flight to North Africa and I saw her city (I have to be careful about specifics, sorry). It was an amazing cultural experience. A huge, noisy, warm, bustling city of 3 million beautiful people. Anna is a great nanny and I enjoyed spending my days with her in "her world." She has become a strong, courageous and independent young woman. I am so proud of her and her servant's heart. She took SUCH good care of me while I was sick (see earlier post), getting up with me all night during my agonizing and painful sickness. She told me it confirmed to her how much she wants to be a nurse. She will be excellent!!
There is so much more to say about the trip: the Lord's miraculous protection so many times (when I was nearly killed by a bus in Paris, to avoiding a HUGE protest about Gaza (lots of police and yelling), to keeping us at home when my sickness hit (we had just been talking about where to go next via taxi...I can't even imagine what it would have been like to get hit with food poisoning while out and about). God is faithful and good. I can't begin to cover it all. I also can't seem to post any pictures. Sigh....I will work on that. Any suggestions?
Hi all! Well, my visit here to Anna in Africa is winding down and in a way we didn't expect. I became quite ill on Saturday (not pleasant to go into detail in here, suffice it to say it was either food poisoning or traveler's ick), fainted in the bathroom face first onto the tile floor (thank you Lord for protecting me from serious injury except bruising), and was out of commission for a full 2 days. We are SO thankful we were home here and not out in the city or a taxi or on the train or something else. We are thankful for the Lord's protection and provision and nudging to bring along a prescription for Cipro!! I think I am on the mend, although very weak and still without any appetite (rats!). I leave here Wednesday and arrive home to Michigan on Thursday night. I would be so thankful for your prayers for my health, Anna's heart when I leave, and traveling safety.
Good news! We have set the date for Anna to come home -- May 1 or 2!!!!!!!!! This is so exciting to us! Earlier than we had planned and it is less than 3 months away!!!!!!!! Can you tell I am excited!!! My whole little family will be together once more. The neatest thing is that Anna will be home in time for our oldest daughter, Becca's graduation from Wheaton College (Chemistry major -- we are soooo proud of her!!!). Thank you Lord!!
Well, more again when I arrive home!
Just wanted to post a quick post from Africa, where I am visiting my daughter, Anna. It has been a wonderful and eye-opening experience. We met in Paris (pictures next time) and traveled together to Africa. To see her after 6 months was wonderful and we picked up right where we left off (well, we Skype every day!). I have experienced new sounds, tastes and languages (I do NOT get French at all....sigh....Paris was a bit overwhelming! Pretty, but overwhelming.). This has been an experience of a lifetime and we look forward to Anna's homecoming in 3 months.
Looking forward to catching up with all my bloggy friends soon,
Till next time, Julie

We drove to the other side of our lovely state of Michigan this weekend and visited Dearborn and the Detroit area. My husband was asked to preach by the church we are applying to, and so we all went. It was a wonderful experience and it seemed many neat connections were made. I thought Doug's message was good -- rich, solid and challenging. I long to see him as a pastor and I love the idea of him being my pastor (of course, he has been that in many ways for nearly 25 years -- the first person I go to for counsel, wisdom and encouragement). We are simply trusting God in this... His will be done!
Thanks for your prayers and encouragements,
Till next time, Julie
p.s. We ate at this FANTASTIC Middle Eastern Bakery. Please pop over here to see the yummies we gobbled up. It was a tasty experience, as well as a cultural one!! I would go there every week if we lived there!
I am trying ... really. I think to myself "Today, I will blog." And then I see a chore to do (who wears scarves like that?), or a temari to make, or a paper to correct (I STILL have to correct Jessica's research paper), or a news report to watch (I love FOX news), or....... You get the picture. Oh, and there's this fact -- we have one main computer. That should say it all.
But, look at this.....I am blogging! Pull up a chair and stay by me a bit! I have my 2-hour old coffee sitting here, in my homemade crocheted there-ain't-no-pattern-for these slippers, and the girls are upstairs playing legos. Wow!!! Mom time!
First off, our Christmas was quite fun. Our oldest daughter, Becca is home from college and we enjoy so much seeing her smiling face and hearing all her stories. She is currently running at a local Bed and Breakfast and will come home again Thursday. On Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we all had fun Skyping our second daughter, Anna, who is a nanny in Africa. We opened presents with her over the computer web cam and she opened her presents to us as well. The amazing report of this Christmas is that she did not cry! God is faithful!!! She has been so busy and joyful and content, that she could simply enjoy Christmas, even though she is far from home and hasn't been with us for five full months. Thank you, Lord!!
The day after Christmas (alright, it was the night of Christmas), I started packing! Yes, I am leaving in 2 weeks (Jan. 13) for Africa! I hate to keep gabbing about it, but I am just a little excited about this trip! I have never been to Europe (did I mention that Anna and I are meeting in Paris!!!) nor Africa and it is a thrill to be given this opportunity to go and see Anna. Our two youngest daughters, Jess and Emma are a little sad not to be going to see their sister (as is my hubby), but very gracious and I can see God working in them so wonderfully! So, I am nearly all packed. My suitcase is full of Anna's Christmas presents, plus lots of goodies from home and things she craves but cannot find in Africa (like Reese's Pieces), plus her March birthday presents. It's like one super Care Package.
While I am gone, Doug is going to take a full week off to stay home with the girls and the other days they will go next door to our dear neighbors and surrogate grandparents. What a blessing to have Dave and Betty next door. Such a gift from the Lord!
I do have other things in my life than my trip, however, so that helps me maintain some level of calm and normalcy! haha My Etsy shop is very busy and I am so thankful for the financial provision this brings. To be making a bit of money for the first time in 21 years is astounding to me! I have also begun to lose some weight (15 pounds already) and that is always a thing to rejoice about.
A prayer need: This weekend, Doug and I and the girls are driving to the Detroit area, where Doug will be preaching at a church that is interviewing us for their pastor position. aaaahhhHH!!!!!! I feel twinges of nervousness --- will they like us, will Doug's sermon be powerful, will they like us, will they hire us, can we move to Detroit (it would have to be God's will to move to Detroit at this point in history! tee hee), what will happen? Please pray that we hear from God and receive wisdom for a next step in our lives. Thanks!
Well, there! I did it! I blogged. Now, the next most important thing to do.....go visit my dear bloggy friends and catch up with them (first a new cup of coffee...this one is cold!).
When I really start to think about it, I begin to quake in my shoes a bit. I am going to Africa....in 34 days!! ohmyword. I am so excited to see Anna (our daughter who is there as a nanny for a year) and to travel to a new country and all by myself! This is huge for me.
Here are some highlights of what is to come (for your prayers, please!)
traveling by myself to Paris first (this saved us over $600 from flying round trip to Africa...we are taking a smaller European airline from Paris to Africa for just over $100) and meeting Anna there for four days....ahhhhh....this sounds so luxurious and lavish. We are seeing Paris the "budget way" and are looking forward to the challenge this will be!
traveling on said European airline to Africa.....gulp. We are hoping it is safe, clean and reliable.
spending 11 days in Africa with Anna and her host family there, assisting her with her nannying job, meeting her "people" there and seeing her country. We will also take a short weekend train trip to one of the ancient cities in her country and spend a night in a hotel there.
soaking up time with Anna.....I have missed her so very much. It has been one of the most difficult things I've ever done as a mom -- to let a child go so very far away for so long. She has been there nearly 5 months and we are so thankful for Skype, where we routinely "see" her and chat, sometimes every day! What a blessing technology is!!! She has been doing so well there, growing spiritually and leaning hard into her Savior. The changes I've seen in her are humbling.
I leave January 13 and return January 28. I have never traveled by myself nor do I know any French or the African language. Please pray for grace for me!!
I also feel badly I have neglected my blog and my dear bloggy friends. Can you forgive an overly busy mom? Tee hee. I was convicted in my Bible reading the other night about sowing seeds. I've been a bit too focused on my Etsy shop (which is booming) and a bit scattered with the girls' schooling, Christmas planning, etc. So....I am asking the Lord to help me balance it all. I am looking forward to time in the evenings to "visit" my bloggy friends and re-invest in those important friendships! Thanks for being faithful friends!
Random thoughts on our life in beautiful Michigan (the mitten!), serving the Father, homeschooling with our four amazing daughters, and cuddling Maggie, our adorable pug.
