Footings

July 10, 2011

Do you know what "footings" are? Well, I didn't but I do now. They are heavy-duty concrete that a house is built upon. The Bible says to " build one's house upon a rock"...I would guess concrete will sufice. So the day after the steam shovel and the bulldozer dug a big hole the cement mixer was there to pour the concrete footings. It is now possible to actually see where the house will stand. It may not look like much yet but it is exciting. This week, Lord willing, the walls of the basement will be poured. After that we will need to wait for a couple of weeks for the concrete to dry completely.

In meantime we have been looking at siding, roofs, windows, flooring and stone. The best way for us to choose is to drive by other houses looking for something we like. We decided we should probably do our slow drive-bys in other neighborhoods so our future neighbors don't think we are of weirdos casing their neighborhood. We'd hate to alienate them before we even move in!

We have decided that building this house will be fun and a new experience...but we are keeping our perspective. It is just a house...it is not our life...

So, the important things in our life take precedence. My sister (JoAnna) and brother-in-law (Darrell) came into town last Friday. They brought with them our cousin Rachel Anderson who attended Lake Ann camp with Nina and Kati. We dropped the girls at camp Monday morning then the four adults wandered along the coast of Lake Michigan. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. We stayed in an 1800s era bed and breakfast where we truly felt transported back to a by-gone time and place. For anyone coming this way I would recommend a stay at the Petosky Terrace Inn. Wonderful pizza too.

Yesterday Mike and I and Mike's son headed back up north to pick up Nina and Kati at camp. They had a great time and are already talking about going back next summer. What a great feeling to know your kids loved spending a week getting closer to the Lord while playing games and sharing experiences with dozens of other kids their age.

The weather was great again yesterday, so on our way back from camp we took a 2 hour tubing trip down the Platt River enjoying the beauty and wonder of God's creation!

Today we continued our quest to find a home church in Byron Center. We visited Woodward Baptist this morning for their Sunday morning service then returned at 5 PM for Sunday evening Bible study. Someone once told me that finding a new church is like choosing a new family...it must be done thoughtfully and carefully. So, pray for us...that God will direct us to where He wants us to be.

Moving a little dirt...

Well, I guess you can say the building of our house has finally begun. We stopped by the property on Tuesday morning (June 28). Our hearts gave a little flutter when we saw a bulldozer sitting there beside a huge pile of dirt. This is stage one and what they call "scraping the surface". We figured things would really be rolling along now.

But, later in the day we discovered...there had been a delay. It seems the inspector who has to sign off on the building permit neglected to tell our builder, when he talked to him on Thursday, that he would be leaving on vacation Monday morning. So until the inspector is back, no hole can be dug. They were able to stake out the house....that means putting little stakes all over the property showing where the house begins and ends...but the real digging cannot begin until next week. So, we wait.

In the meantime life goes on. We had a nice, but short visit with Sange and her family on Sunday as they came thru on their way home from northern MI. That is one of the cool things about MI...it is on the way to other places. Because of that we fully expect to have frequent guests stopping by on their way somewhere or other. (HINT)

Today I woke up thinking it was Friday, the day that my sister and brother-in-law were coming to visit....I stripped Nina's bed and threw the sheets into the washing machine before I realized I was a day ahead...it is only Thursday. So we piled into the car and headed to the girls swim meet.

I'm hoping this blog will get more exciting...don't give up on us yet. I mean, how exciting can digging a hole in the ground...even a big hole....be?

Life on a Lesser Slant

Hello to all of you who care about what is going on in our life. It has been nearly a year since I last blogged. During that time we returned to Illinois, which I guess we should call "Life on the Level". (Any of you who have been to corn and bean country know what I mean). We were surprised to find that being back in Charleston, Illinois required some adjustment. We were surprised because we were returning home and thought we would automatically just feel "at home". After the initial feelings of being a bit at a loss faded in a few weeks, we did get back into the swing of things.

The start of the school year helped to bring a sense of normalcy back to our life. Nina opted to try a year at Charleston High School where she enjoyed being on swim team, doing some shot putting for the track team, joined the marching and pep band and participated in the school musical "Oklahoma!" This along with taking Drivers Ed made for a busy and exciting year... she also managed to keep a straight A average in all of her subjects the entire year.

Kati returned to Charleston Christian Academy for sixth grade. She participated in basketball
and soccer and got very involved in Olympic style weight-lifting, even going to meets in Columbus, St Louis, and Chicago to compete. Kati had begun taking guitar lessons while in Portugal and asked to continue with that instrument instead of returning to piano lessons as Nina chose to do.

Mike was asked to return to EIU in his capacity of Student Teacher Coordinator and also taught a high school history class at CCA for the first sememster of the year. This kept him very busy...a little too busy.

All of us were actively involved in our church (CCC) Mike and I helping with AWANA and hosting a home group Bible study. The girls were busy with AWANA and youth group.

Then...one day last fall...I happened to look around at our life and realized that while our days were busy and our lives were full, there was something missing. I think it really started when my great niece, Lauren, was born. I realized that all my sisters had grandchildren right there in Charleston and were enjoying being a part of their lives. All of our "grands" were somewhere else and we saw them only a couple times a year. Mike and I started to discuss this aspect of our life and a seed was planted.

We began to discuss our feelings with our adult kids, exploring different alternatives. After some debate, we came to the conclusion that the most practical thing to do would be for us to move to MI (where the majority of the adult kids and grands live) with the goal being to eventually get all or most of them living there too.

The first of the year we put our house on the market. It sold May 1 and by May 31, we were on our way to MI.

We are at present living in a two bedroom apartment in Kentwood, MI. We have a house plan and a builder and a wooded lot. Our builder tells us they should be able to break ground next week and the hope is that our new home will be done in 3-4 months.

I'm inviting anyone who is interested in following our progress to check into our blog periodically as I plan to update it as the building process moves along. Nina has promised to post pictures for me and Mike wants all the imput he can get on what "doorknobs to pick."

The only picture I have at the moment is an empty lot...but hey...you have to start somewhere.

July 20,2010

Sorry about the delay in blogging...life got in the way!

To catch you up in a nutshell...well, can't really do that, there was just too much packed into those weeks since school in Portugal ended until now. But I will try to give a brief overview which of course will not do our travels justice but I think it is the best I can do for now.

After the GLCA school year ended Mike and the girls and I headed off to London. We spent five days riding double-decker buses all around that great city. Covent Gardens, Bourough Market, Picadilly Square, The Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and much, much more...it is all there...we stayed in a quaint little B&B that served us a hearty daily breakfast that included baked beans, meat, eggs, ceral, toast, tomatoes and mushrooms. That kept us going strong until well after lunch time.

One of our highlights was to see the musical "Oliver" live in one of the royal theaters. It was great!

After London we flew to France where our friend and co-worker from Portugal, Meredith, met us. We stayed for a week at a Marriot timeshare and rode the train into Paris 5 days out of the 7 we were there. Paris...what to say...of course, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. We also visited the Rodin museum and Rue Cler (Where we found the best ice cream (actually gelati). Another favorite was the cafe lined square where the artists display their work. We bought a couple of small pictures...but passed on the larger one we really liked the best. One day Meredith offered to take the girls to Euro-Disney so Mike and I actually got to spend a romantic day in Paris on our own.

When we left our Marriot location we headed west toward Verdun to visit with some missionary friend...the Marshalls, who have lived there for about twenty years. We had a wonder 3 days with them.. the night we arrived they were hosting a World Cup party since France was playing...too bad they lost! The next day, Don Marshall, who is a history buff as well as a dedicated church planter, took us on a tour around the area where many French battles were fought during the Revolution, WWI and WWII. It was very interesting and quite sobering. Much destruction took place on the French soil. On Sunday, three churches including the one the Marshalls began, met together for a service and potluck and fun day. We got to meet lots of wonderful French people.

Some of the highlights of our visit to this French countryside were the red poppies growing wild everywhere, whole fields of them....what a sight! And, the little French villages each with a large (but sadly empty) cathedral at the center of town. France is mostly a secular country now. These little villages dot the whole countryside...even the farmers live in the village so there are vast areas where there are no buildings, just the fields stretching for miles...it is quite beautiful.

Before flying back to Portugal we spent one more afternoon walking around Paris, making sure we didn't miss anything. It really was an amazing 10 days in France!

On June 17 we flew out of Portugal...our home for 10 months...and headed back to the USA.

The transition to being home has not been easy. I don't think any of us realized how hard the adjustment would be. We are all trying to "find our groove" as Nina said the other day. Eventually we will get a rythem going...but, of course, none of us will ever be quite the same...nor do we want to be. We want to use this opportunity we have had too grow and learn...and we want to be ready as God puts another such opportunities out there and invites us to go or stay.

Thanks to all of you who shares this journey to Portugal with us. We hope you had a great time too.

Mike, Nancy and the girls

May 21, 2010

One more week of school at GLCA. Have we really been here for a whole year? It is now warm with blazing sunshine during the day and a cool breeze blowing most evenings... much like the weather we enjoyed when we arrived in Portugal last August. Flowers are blooming everywhere...we have forgotten the cold and damp of the winter past.


As the school year winds down we feel a wave of mixed emotions. We are excited about going home. We look forward to lots of hugs from our dear little grandbabies and lots of good conversation with our adult kids and sisters and brothers. Yes, some of you will have to hear more stories about Portugal. Just promise to tell us to be quiet when you have had enough. Of course, we feel some sadness too, because we have made good friends here and will miss many things about our adopted country not the least being the great bread!


A busy couple of months are coming up once school ends on May 28. On May 30, we leave Lisbon for a week in England. Our next stop will be France where we will stay in Paris to explore that city for a week. After Paris, we will rent a car and go on a driving tour of the countryside areas of France for a couple of days. We are anxious to get home but since we are here in Europe we felt it was wise to take advantage and see as much as we could.


Once this tour is over we will head back to Portugal on June 15 and prepare to leave Portugal for the US on June 17.


Once we are back in the USA our summer schedule begins...Mike and I plan to fly to DC to meet Jamie's parents who live in MD. I'm hoping I may be able to shop for a dress to wear to the wedding while we are in DC even though we will only be there for the weekend. Then on July 5 we need to have Nina and Kati up in MI to go to church camp at Lake Ann. We are hoping Lisa will bless us with a new little grand daughter while we are there.


Once back in Charleston we will have a little time to relax before we fly out to CO for Alex and Jamie's mountain top wedding on July 31. After that wonderful event, we will head home and hopefully be able to get to OH for Sange to give birth to our new little grandson. So many blessings!


School starts for the girls and for Mike in mid August...what will I do with my time? Once I have a chance to catch my breath I will be looking for ministry opportunities stateside...one thing this year has made me realize is that I want to be active for the Lord...I've spent too many years sitting on the sidelines...now I want to be a cheerleader for my Savior.

Thursday night Nina and I (Mike)experienced another slice of Portuguese culture. In typical Portuguese fashion, the bullfights did not start until 10 PM. We arrived without tickets hoping for some good seats to be available. As you can tell from the pictures, they were not. Last row at the top and surrounded by nervous smokers. I hung my clothes outside when we got home. That was about the only bad part. The pageantry and color of the opening ceremony, the "dancing of the horses" and the pomposity of the matadors was great. The horses are the real stars of the show as they dance sideways just out of the reach of the bull's horns as it charges. They also "charge" the bull and then feint and dodge at the last minute is a sort of animal world game of "chicken". Really fun to watch, but the most fun is when the team of "intellectually challenged" guys in green caps come out to humiliate the bull by making it stand still. In precise single file, they get the bull to charge and the first guy in line tries to jump on the bull's head and cover its eyes. The second guy jumps on to assist and so on until the last one has no place to hold except the tail. They all let go at the same time and run except the the guy with the tail who gets 'chased' by the bull for a bit, lets go, and then, in true macho fashion, walks away with his back to the bull. Cheers all around as the winners parade around the ring basking the adulation of the crowd who applaud and throw flowers and clothing parts to the heroes who, graciously, toss the clothing back and keep only the flowers.

The whole thing is repeated 6 times before closing about 1 AM. We went home tired, smelly, and looking forward new adventures to come. Who knew it would come so soon.

Last night we learned that Spain is not the only place where one can experience "running with the bulls". While visiting friends across the Tagus River (on the non-city side), we discovered that in this smallish town was a 100 plus year old tradition of a week long festival featuring bulls running through the streets. Feeling our environmentally procured Latin blood rising to the macho challenge, we said, "Let's go!". So we did. The crowd was large and we had to strain to see, but see we did. A bull came chasing people into the city square. A couple of quick thoughts came to me right away. One, this is a really big bull! Remember we were quite far from the action at the fight. Two, at the fight the bull's horns are blunted to minimize the damage should they actually make contact with something soft and vulnerable like your body. This bull's horns looked like it had been to the factory where they make spears and knives and know how to sharpen things to a needle-like point. Contemplating these issues and being totally sober, which most of the "runners" clearly were not, took a few minutes which allowed the bull to move on down the street before I could put myself in a place where it could actually chase me. As fate would have it, that was an opportunity forever lost, as that was the last bull of the night. I have been thinking about going back there tonight but it is raining today and I don't want to get wet. Think I'll read some Hemingway instead.

Mike

Changes in the air

Greetings from Mike,

One of the things we have enjoyed immensely here in Portugal is the fantastic view we enjoy from both school and our house. I especially enjoy watching the innumerable planes land and take off below us at Lisbon International Airport. The origins and destinations read like the index of an atlas and stir images of exotic locations and fascinating cultures. What a different week this has been! Very few flights in or out as northern European airspace has been shut down due to the volcano in Iceland. Who would have thought? Actually some of our missionary family here have been hosting people in their homes who are either stuck here or have found their way here to use Lisbon as a way out of Europe. Lisbon has maintained and even added flights to the US to help people get in and out of the EU.

Another change in the air is more personal as we have solidified our exit plans as well. We have considered the possibility of spending another year here but have reached the conclusion that there is not need for our abilities and have been looking for other options and places of ministry. We plan, Lord willing, to leave here May 30 and fly to London (assuming no volcano issues) for a few days before crossing the Channel to spend a week in and around Paris. After a few more days of "touring" we will return to Lisbon on June 15th to pack up and head for the USA on June 17th. All this planning has indeed "turned our hearts toward home". Emotionally we are ready! We both will see an increase in our duties as one of our key colleagues is leaving in early May. Pray for us that we will finish strong in the tasks set before us at GLCA.

Along with this, has come the apparent opportunity for me to rejoin the staff at EIU. I am pleased with this and look forward to the associated challenges.

We had an exciting week highlighted by Kati's hamster having several "blessed" events that was a complete surprise to all of us. Apparently the "hamster-sitter" was not as careful as she needed to be during spring break. Kati had some classic statements like wailing "We never should have let them get married!" (a school event several weeks ago). Needless to say there was a lot of excitment. Unfortunately (sort of) none of the litter has survived the first week.

The Portuguese country side is a spectacular blend of spring greens, olive trees, orange blossom aromas, and wild flowers... We are really enjoying that part of the environment here as well as the fellowship of our extended "family". Only a few more weeks to go...

Mike for all