Sunday, June 04, 2023

Family in town





It's been a lot of loved ones around these parts. This past Thursday, my Dad and Mom drove up from Florida with one of my brother's kiddos: Baylee who is 12 and going into the 7th grade. She is going to spend about 3 weeks with us here. At the end of her visit, her family will come in town, do a family vacation, and then leave the other daughter here for 3 weeks. 

My Aunt Connie and her friend, Pat, came into town and stayed at the Bonnie Blue. I'm sure I'll grab some pictures of that soon.

My Uncle Scott came into town today with his wife, Mariola, very briefly, to see the farm. I forgot to take a picture, but I promise they came!

Friday, June 02, 2023

Azores

Yesterday (Thursday!) we had the opportunity to be military again. 

Back Row: Richard & Mary Kay Steele; Sam Helfrich and daughter Ariyah and son Elijah; and the Browns: Mr. and Mrs. Cindy Brown; then there is myself and JB; The Brown's other son Casey, and then Lindsay (who is married to Sam on the other side but ran over and did the photo!)

Front row: The Helfrich's other son, Isaiah, Melody Steele (the only one of their five children currently living at home), and Meghan (the Browns other daughter -- they have two more older children who weren't there); my little Hannah and Abigail and Sidge (Isaac on the mission trip.)

The ladies of the evening (Ariyah, who just graduated from West Greene), Cindy, me, Mary Kay, and Melody

Mary Kay helped organize this Azorean reunion. All four of these families were stationed in the Azores around the same time (2012-2014). We now ALL live here in East TN. Such a small world:

 

I loved hearing this I LOVE AMERICAN / RURAL MUSIC!

 

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Broken heart & Sin

Sin in this world is so ...

Sinful.

The truth is: I don't see this SIN that much. I see "basic" sin. Of course, Jesus doesn't categorize it that way. 

But I am a human. And I do.

People harming children makes me want to SCREAM. How can Jesus watch this? How can he know it happens? How can we not lose our minds over this?

And yet, it isn't that simple. I know that. Even if you want to help, you cannot always, actually help. Because trauma that has been inflicted on a child is BIG. And the consequences and ramifications of that sin is BIG and you have your own family that can be affected by the trauma inflicted on that child. 

We have had a young girl in our lives who was harmed by sin. By adults that should know better. We've tried to help. Maybe we have. But maybe we haven't. Watching that sin and what it does just tears me to SHREDS. How do my children get to be born into a home where they have loving parents and no trauma .... and someone else, seemingly because of bad luck, is born into a home where abuse occurs?

And because of that abuse, the trauma spreads. And it eeeeks out of them. And more sin occurs? Through seemingly no fault of that child.

How does a mother with ELEVEN children that are "in the system" keep getting pregnant and having MORE children when she cannot take care of the children she has? How does this keep happening and we must simply foot the bill for this? And even worse, there aren't enough homes to care for these children AS IT IS. 

I am angry. I hate sin. I just hate it. My heart has broken this past week.

Thursday, May 25, 2023

2022-2023 comes to a close




Yesterday, Aunt Hannah finished off the “Quad Squad” school year! Third grade is done for Hannah and BFF Genevieve. Fifth grade done for Abigail. Eoin completed 4th. And Theo just upped the ante!