Thanksgiving Blessings

Over the last few weeks as we have started to put down roots in Alabama I could not help but to reflect on how blessed we are. I have had the honor and privilege of sharing 33 years of marriage with my soulmate. Several days ago we received our ocean shipment from Russia, and such a flood of emotions came over me as we unwrapped 120+ boxes of memories. Each day as I walk past my table from Sergey Posad I say a little prayer for the artist Irina who recently lost her battle with cancer. Our collection of Father Frosts are more then things as they remind us of wonderful times at our favorite weekend haunt. We discovered many talented artists in Russia during our time there and the pictures below were done right before we left.

We have also had some wonderful opportunities to travel and explore places I had only read about as a child. I believe that living overseas has made us more open and accepting of different cultures. Our kids saw poverty in the streets of Cairo, and as a result have never felt the need for the latest fad fashions and high dollar brands. I think God for this opportunity to travel, and to expose Andy and Ashley to different cultures. We have raised and educated two children who have a strong base in life, and I have come to realize that now our roles in their lives are changing. Gone, and they should be, are the days when we can instruct them, and now we are trusting God to lead them as they travel on this wonderful journey of life.

Our son and his wife Kasey will soon welcome our first grandchild. Things have changed so much since we went through this, and I was just awed when I saw the first ultrasounds of this precious child. It is my belief that we all try to do our best as we are raising our children, and that hopefully each generation raises the bar of excellence as they raise their child. It is also our prayer that Andy and Kasey will train this child to love the Lord and to have a servant's heart. I love the fact that even at the age of 29 we talk to Andy several times a week and we always end our conversations with three simples words "I love you." Kasey has grown her hair really long recently, and just cut it for charity and I was really touched by this. I thank God for the opportunity to be a parent and grandparent!

Ashley, sweet Ashley, who is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and has chosen the perfect profession. Ashley has wanted to be a vet since she was a small child and will reach that goal on May 5, 2009. Vet school has not been easy, but she has not given up and I just know she will be a wonderful vet. I have seen this child endure hours of HS soccer practice with blisters on her feet that would make a grown man cry as giving up is not part of her nature. Last week we had the opportunity to spend some time with her and she was sharing something about her week. Ron complimented her, and said something to the fact that she was a good girl. Ashley reply was something along the lines of "I'm a good girl cause I had parents that raised me this way." Please don't think I am sharing this to pat ourselves on the back, but it was just such a precious moment on this journey of life!

As far work assignment - that is still in the air. We went to Luanda and somethings would have been a lot easier then living in Izhevsk, but at this point in our lives Angola was not for us. Ron and I were chatting a few days ago about the fact that we are assuming that things will work out for the rotional positon and trusting God to deal with it as He sees fit. So for now we are continuing to enjoy our "Garden Leave" as we sit on our back porch and count our blessings.