Sep 10, 2010

Visiting my grandparents' burial place in MN


It has been a long time since I've updated my blog. I needed some time to heal and reflect--to keep my happenings here at home between the two of us--to keep them sacred. I am doing remarkably well. Over the winter, my coordination and my communication skills improved daily, and now I only notice that I have glitches in both areas when I am fatigued. All of the MRI's that I have had since the surgery have shown that the tumor is not growing back, and Andrew is positive that it won't, so I'm clinging to his faith.

We are loving our new neighborhood in Iowa. Samantha is in public school this year, and is doing fabulously. She joined orchestra, and also is in a smaller group called "Silver Strings." She's soooo confident and outgoing (as those who know her know) which has helped to make the adjustment easier.

Makaela is doing fabulously in our homeschool. We are using the Sonlight Curriculum like last year, and it's so nice to snuggle on the couch and read all those awesome books!!! We are studying the Eastern Hemisphere this year, which is perfect since we will be moving to India sometime next year. It's been an adjustment for both of us to have Sam gone, but we have gotten into our own groove and now we are thriving. She's still playing the violin and piano. Her orchestra starts up in October, which she is super excited about--mostly because she gets to meet other 4th graders. ;-)

Andrew is enjoying his work like he never has before. He has a team he is leading who will be transferring to India next year. I can't say too much about what he is doing, but I can say that he is loving his work, and enjoying this new team of engineers he is leading. We are soooo excited about the move to India for so many reasons....like the food, the history, the elephants, the monkeys, the orphanages we get to work at, the achritecture, Sanscrit, Hindi, the food...honestly, I think it's all about the food.



Jan 12, 2010



"Reckon it nothing but joy...whenever you find yourself hedged in by the various trials, be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance." (James 1:2-3)

"Success in life comes not from holding a good hand, but in playing a poor hand well." Denis Waitley


We are back to normal, and I am homeschooling the girls again, and Andrew is back at work. We may have an opportunity to travel abroad again with John Deere in a year or so. We are all looking forward to that. Samantha and Makaela miss the adventure and the challenges of living in another country, and Samantha is looking forward to learning a third language. I am still working on Portuguese... :-)

The girls have also been enjoying all of the snow we've been blessed with this winter. They spend several hours every day after school outside sledding, walking the neighbors dogs, and playing with their rabbits. They are not so sure what all the complaining about winter is all about as they are having such a great time!

Thank you for your support and prayers! :-) Love and hugs!