The Four of us plus some...

Drew's reflections: "The last 12 months held meaningful and at times turbulent moments. A lot of important and hard things composed the days, weeks and months. Makes me think of the trees we can see from our home. If you were to cut one down, you could look at the rings in the trunk and know a bit about years where there was plenty of water and light. And you could see rings representing years where growth was constrained, a fire came through, or drought. But looking at the outside of the tree standing there, you can’t really tell any of those things. And looking at us from the outside, you probably can’t tell most of those things either except that we look a little older… the white hairs indicate a lot older :-) "

In a year, our immediate family experienced much transition. Our Son attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota, our Daughter began to flourish here in Oregon, and through foster care we nurtured a sibling set ages 2 and 3 years old for 8 months. More to come about fostering in a later post.

While the littles lived with us from October to June, most of our family life took place in our home or with short day trips. Once they moved, we found rejuvenation and healing both hiking and camping in the woods. Our Son's summer break from college with a consistent 4 day work schedule allowed him to join us on woodland adventures. And as the pictures show, our dog Jasmine enjoyed our times too.

Our relationship continues to change as Son is away at college. He's finding his own path, while intimately connected with us. Years ago, at our homeschool co-op in Pennsylvania, I remember a dear friend sharing that parenting her newly adult children wasn't easier, just different. We can testify! Within the past year, Daughter has developed a deeper focus for her future in psychology. Our foster kids provided an up-close experience caring for kids with trauma, helping them use words for big emotions, and navigating self-care for herself. In the winter, she acted in the musicals Hello Dolly and Frozen Jr. with a local non-profit SKIT, and this summer she started running cross country for the local high school. What an amazing surprise and blessing to run and build relationship with Christ-following girls!

On the job front, Drew finished out his work on the Covid response with the state of Oregon and began a new job with the state managing a large federal grant that supports care for eligible families and newborn children for the first couple years of their lives. Until April, Millyellen tutored kids with dyslexia part-time. Then in the best interest of family, she chose to stay home to meet the many needs. This eliminated the painful transition each day for the littles seeing her leave for work.

In January, Drew and Millyellen embraced the Big of Island of Hawai'i for their 20th anniversary, 2 years later than anticipated. If EVER you have opportunity to travel to the Big Island...DO.IT! Whatever biome you'd like to experience, the Big Island has it. One day we had a decision to make: stay on the east side of the island in Hilo which expected 2-4 inches of rain that day, drive up Mauna Kea (13,796 feet) to experience a blizzard, drive to the southernmost tip of the USA to experience constant 27 knots per hour winds, or drive to the west side and paddleboard in Anaeho'omalu Bay with 85-degree weather. All of these options were within an hour and a half drive...incredible! The beaches range from fine white sand to green sand to black sand to pebbles, pumice and rock. On our way to the southernmost tip, we hiked among petroglyphs depicting the history of families and then, we happened upon a beach covered in coral which had unfortunately washed up during a massive storm the week before. What a blessing that two different dear families took care of the littles and our Daughter for the 6 days we needed for our marriage!

We experienced the privilege of spending time with some extended family this year. Millyellen's mother traveled to Oregon in June. While here, she met and snuggled with the littles, shared good conversations with the rest of us, and enjoyed the delights of the Oregon coast. In July, Daughter flew to Pennsylvania to listen to stories from her grandparents and visit with other family members. Just a few days ago, Drew's parents arrived to celebrate a few autumn days with us picking pumpkins and apples, seeing Silver Falls, watching Daughter's XC meet, and giving us an opportunity to eat ice cream from Dreamies Creamery in Dallas, Oregon. Their sheep's milk ice cream is a gift to our dairy free (cow's milk) family!

In each of these pictures, you'll see our smiles in times of love, rejuvenation, fun, and plenty. We appear tall and strong, like the trees near our home. These are the kind of pictures you've shared with us too. None of these pictures illustrate the pain, frustration, prayers, tears, confusion, and helplessness we felt at moments this past year in our times of fire, stunted growth, and drought. You've encountered moments like these as well. When we think and pray for one another, let's remember with grace that we're all in this beautiful, messy, and complex journey together.

We'll rejoice with you to lift up praises to the Lord, as well as, join with you to lift up your sorrows.