2020

Dear friends, It has been a while since we have published an update on the house, the adoption, and life in general. As I write we (the world) are all under quarantine, a shelter-in-place order, due to the pandemic known as COVID-19 or the coronavirus. I'm attempting to work multiple jobs from home, while Randy continues to go to school during the week to provide lunches for the students in our community. But we've discovered that there is a lot that home remodeling, adoption, and life in general can teach us about how to quarentine. For example, today is the final day that our drywall crew will be at the house. Which is what they have been saying for the past three weeks. Just one more day... Home remodeling always takes longer than you think it will. And so does a quarentine. Every day the news is the same: we need more time. But you know what. The extra time in the home remodeling has been worth it. Because we've taken the time to do things right t...

October was a busy month, filled with new adventures! I took on two part-time jobs, starting on the same day! One of those positions came with the title, “Wilmington Yearly Meeting Coordinator”. Coordinator does describe some of what I do – coordinating meetings for the Quakers in Ohio and Tennessee. But “informer” and “encourager” feel like more important roles as I get started. Like most U.S. denominations, the Quakers have experienced a series of splits in the church over our position on gay marriage. Some Friends (as Quakers are affectionately called) believe we must declare a position one way or another. Other Friends believe that each congregation should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to perform a marriage in their church. Regardless of the denomination, regardless of whether they side “for” or “against”, churches have been filled with pain and loss and distrust. And we’ve realized we don’t really know one another. Which is where I come in!  My ...

July was a month of goodbyes for me. Some goodbyes were harder than others. Some were expected and others came out of the blue. Some I handled well and others not so much.  Goodbyes are never easy. They often come with regret, with longing for the past, with wondering if you've made the right decision.  One goodbye that Randy and I have been discussing for a while now is letting go of the motorhome we inherited when his mother died in November of 2017. While it is sad to let that piece of her legacy go, that sense of adventure and exploration and discovery, it was a necessary next step.  The money we got from selling the motorhome will help us continue progressing in the adoption process, and show that we are committed to providing a stable environment for the boys. (The adoption lady wasn't impressed that we have had 6 different addresses in the 5 years we have been together, and many more months with no address at all. And while it was an incredibly fun and...

I was very much looking forward to our trip to Wyoming. Between my junior and senior years in college I spent the summer at Yellowstone National Park in the northwest corner of the state. It was by far the most foundational summer of my life. My parents probably thought I'd "gone prodigal" (to steal a phrase from Greg Laurie) because I wasn't much interested in hearing from home. But it was the first time I'd ever been immersed in a culture so different from the one I had grown up in. And I couldn't get enough of it. When you are surrounded by people who have always been where you have been and have grown up the way you have grown up, no one thinks to ask who you are. They assume they know. They assume you are just like them. And you can start to assume you are too. But these people I spent the summer with were people from every state and multiple countries and a variety of backgrounds and they all wanted to know: who are you? what do you like? ...

If you’ve ever looked at a U.S. map, you know that we had to drive through Nevada to get to California from Utah , but we were on a mission for the first time in weeks: to get to our oldest granddaughter’s graduation. (You know Trinitie already. She was on Leg 1 of this journey with us, giving a thumbs-up while Randy changed our flat tire.) So we blazed through Nevada in one day, only stopping for a good night’s rest (perhaps the best of the entire trip so far!) alongside the beautiful Walker Lake, (which appears to be free to campers all along its perimeter... yay!). It was such an honor to see Trinitie walk with her class, receive her handshake and diploma, and toss her mortar-board into the air. It brought back a flood of memories of my own high school graduation day, 20 years ago (20 years!). I remember my dad handing me my diploma (not too many people get to experience that huge honor!), my valedictorian speech (it had something to do with snowflakes--I got the ide...

We finally arrived in New Vienna, Ohio, on Tuesday, April 17. 17 days after leaving Mexico. It was a quiet homecoming. Dad was in town, bringing home his combine which had been in the shop. And Mom was napping. But Jovi's joyous face held all of Randy's and my attention. She was dumped off by a stranger here 12 years ago, and she's delighted to call it home ever since. It was obvious by her galloping across the lawn that she remembered, from her paws to her soul, that this was her happy place. We unloaded a few things, started a load of laundry, took a walk down the lane and soon were greeted by my parents. Later that evening my older brother and his family joined us. And just like when we spent time with my younger brother in Texas, we were delighted to have children around (though we are still adjusting to the fact that they can understand us when we speak!). Even though it has been busy, the week has been relaxing. And I see why Randy has so longed to move h...

On Easter Sunday, Randy and I said our goodbyes to the kids and staff at Sonshine Hacienda. We went to the early morning church service (in English), and then said our goodbyes to the kids before they left for the later Spanish service. A couple of the girls were crying, but nothing serious. And then I hugged my 9-year-old boy, who for the past 6 months has been asking if we will adopt him. As he snuggled into my arms for what could be the last time, he broke down into full-blown sobs. It absolutely wrecked me. There was nothing I could do but say “Te amo mijo”, I love you my son, and put him on the bus with 24 other kids we may or may not see again.  Our plan was to leave while the kids were at church. But nothing really went according to plan that day. They got out of church early, and packing and cleaning was taking us longer than we’d planned, so when they ran into the hacienda a few hours later we were still there. We sat down and had lunch with them and thankfu...