Rod at Coronado

They say that weddings and funerals bring family together more than most events in our lives.  It is sad, but true.  Dean, Dan, and I all wanted to be there for Sarah at the memorial service for Rod, earlier this month.   

It was a perfect day and exactly what he had asked for.  Rod grew up on Coronado Island and it was a place very special to him.  Soon after he found out that he had terminal cancer, he contacted one of his surfing buddies and asked him to take his yacht for a "paddle out" for him. His family and special friends came together from near and far for a memorial for him.

When they grew up on the beaches of Coronado, there was only a ferry to get back and forth to the mainland. As kids and teenagers, the ocean was their playground and surfing was second nature.  Oh, how I wish I could have seen Rod in his surfing days as they talked about how good he was. Now the island has a bridge to connect it to San Diego and tourism has developed so it is not the same quiet island that they grew up on, but still a beautiful place. 

We were so happy to be together as an extended family since we are pretty spread out, too. 

We left from the dock at the Coronado Yacht Club, a very beautiful place. 

Tony and Janet were so kind to take us around the island on their spacious  yacht, showing us the places where they had surfed and played. 

Sweet siblings together for their mama; Brady, Jesse, and Briana Joy! I love this photo of them. 

Sarah enjoyed the time with Brady, since he flew in from out of state and her other two kids live near her. She is so thankful  to have Briana and Jesse with her everyday during this hard time.

Nothing like the comfort of a son.

Us four siblings rarely all  get together, too. 

We stopped the boat at a spot where they had surfed a lot and shared stories and memories with each other that we had of Rod.  It was such a sweet time.  He was loved by everyone.  I shared that I had never ever seen him angry or mean.  He was always such a kind and thoughtful guy and loved Sarah so very much.  His buddies had some funny stories for all of us, too.

I love this picture of beautiful Sarah, just taking it all in.  There were so many wonderful memories of him shared mixed in with tears because he left us all just too soon. 

We are so comforted to know that he made a decision in Oregon to trust Christ personally with his life and that we will see him again.  He wanted his friends to know that, so Mike shared with them about how they can  make a personal decision to trust Christ with their lives. 

Flowers from each of us were placed in the ocean for Rod.

And a photo of the group who all thought so much of Rod, some even coming from out of state. 

Celebrating his life was a bittersweet day for all of us.  

Thank you again, Tony and Janet for making this special celebration possible.

Please continue to pray for Sarah, and her kids as they adjust to life without Rod and grieve not having him in their lives anymore. We all look forward to reuniting with Rod again someday. 

One last visit with RK and KK

It has certainly been pretty quiet here at this blog sight lately.  Our last few weeks in the USA were crazy busy, just as they are most of the times when we transition between countries.  Then as soon as we arrived back to Thailand, we landed with feet running.  Mike went with Jon and Marisa and one of their supporting churches to do a project with our kids home and island work in southern Thailand. So that Marisa could get some time with the team, I took on "Nina" duties and stayed with the Foltz-4 for four days. It was a good way for me to make up for the months away from them.

Those goodbyes with the grandchildren in the USA are always the hardest.  Ruby Kay and Ellie Faye (ages 3) will change a lot during these next nine months when we won't see them and Lola Mae and Kennedy even more as they grow from age 1 to almost 2.

Before we left in mid September, we were able to squeeze in one last (one day) visit with Seilers. Kennedy was almost 10 months, such a fun and hug-gable age.

I love seeing my babies with their babies. 

I will savor every memory and photo, until we meet again. (even the ones with windblown hair), because every time we are together is special and worth the trip.  Missing you all  so much already!

Rod and Sarah

On August 14, we received a shocking phone call that Rod- our brother in law had gone home to be with Jesus after a short battle with lung cancer. I hurt so badly for Sarah, my sister that she will not have him as a loving and life companion anymore.  Mike and I  went out the next week to spend time with her and it was such a sad/happy week to spend that time together.

Mike was able to help her with lots of "guy" jobs around their home, since Rod had been ill for several months and unable to do a lot.

With my sis living in Arizona and us in Thailand, I had not been able to visit her for a long time.  It was so good to just enter her world and visit Briana at work.

Jesse, Allison, and Sadie live near by and they get to see each other often.  We were thrilled to meet this little doll baby, Sadie, for the first time.

Mike and Jesse have always had a special relationship, sharing the same birthday and having parties together whenever they could.

This Saturday is Rod's memorial service on Coronado Island in California.  He was a surfer and his buddies culturally have a "paddle out" in their surf community. Sarah has asked Mike to share at the memorial about Rod's life and his decision to trust Christ personally with his life and the assurance we have knowing he is in heaven.  Rod would want his buddies to know this and see them in heaven again, so please pray that Mike can communicate effectively with the group at the service, the things that Rod would want them to know. Tomorrow we fly out to California and spend 5 days there before our return to Thailand.

hard good-byes and sweet hello's

I know that when I eventually get my new USA phone number memorized and the musty smell in the cabin finally fades away- that it must be about time to return to Thailand.

We have now moved beds 24 times and have just 6 more to go. Our 2 month trip to the USA has turned into almost 3 months, requiring a lot of flexibility as our schedule has changed weekly. These last two weeks in Iowa have been a bit of a rest, (the familiar is a welcome break)- but I am looking forward to not living out of a suitcase once we return to our real home in Thailand.

In case, it sounds like I'm complaining- I'm not!  God has been so good to us all along the way and we have been so blessed as we've crossed back and forth through our girls area and enjoyed some time with them off and on. Our ministry partners along the way have also been so encouraging to us and we are grateful for the times with each of you that we've been able to see.

One wonderful aspect to our life is that although we live half way around the world, we have 4 grand-kids on each side of the globe and as hard as the good-byes are, the hello's give us something to look forward to.

These four are at ages where they will change a whole lot before we see them again in 9 months.
Ruby Kay and Ellie Faye are 3 now. Lola Mae (12 months) and Kennedy (10 months) seem to change weekly.

Spending time with Lori and her team on campus at SMU in Dallas was a treat for us and we were so encouraged by her new community and ministry already.

One day while we were there was their "day with the Lord" and we participated "Lori-style".

Happy Anniversary, Michael and Bethany!

I bought RK her first pet fish.  They were so much fun while they lasted! (sad face) 

Nothing runs like a Deere!

One pastor friend starting calling us "Where's Waldo".  We plan to enjoy these last two days of Iowa fall coolness (the weather has been glorious to us) and friends, before stopping in Oklahoma as we deliver a van to Texas and then on to California for a memorial service and church visit- before crossing the Pacific to Thailand! His mercies are new every morning and we are grateful for each day as we walk with Him. 

Sweet Bell Peppers

We are having a little break in our schedule here in Iowa and as I was looking through some of my photos, I realized I never shared about our visit to a bell pepper farm in Canada.

We actually stopped here our first full day after arriving from Thailand.  The owners of the farm were hosting Laya her first few days and after we dropped her off, they gave us a tour. 

The Iowa farm girl in me is always fascinated with farms and how things grow. 

But this was no small scale country farm.  It was a huge operation and very impressive.

It is their family business, all the children are involved in some aspect, and they all live there  on the farm acreage with their own families.

The place is huge and the pepper plants stretched on and on.

Their specialty is the red and yellow bell peppers.

Greenhouse Delight Foods is a pretty amazing farm and family business that was so fun to visit.

Thank you for the interesting tour and we look forward to letting you taste some of our Thai peppers on your next visit!

HBD One Year Old Lola Mae

We got to eat breakfast with Lola Mae on her 1 year birthday before leaving town that day. That was 3 weeks ago but I still want to document it for our memory.

I can't believe that this little doll baby is already one year old.

An all time favorite breakfast stop when in Fayetteville is Rick's Bakery! 

This was her first time to eat a donut and she got her very own. 

She had no trouble deciding what to do with it.

Sweet one year old!

She enjoyed her gifts too.

Daddy and Mommy picking out her smash cake for later in the day.

Happy Birthday Lola Mae!  Papa and Nina love you so so much!