Last Year's Corn

This picture shows why eating corn with Ella is so special for us. This is a picture of Ella eating corn one year ago. As you will notice, she has a full head of hair. Eating corn together is one of our last memories of something that we did as a family before Ella's accident. So when we eat corn together, it's more than just a meal -- it's a celebration of God's kindness!

First Sweet Corn

Our time in Iowa is coming to an end. There is one thing we will probably miss the most - and that's enjoying Iowa's finest - sweet corn on the cob, fresh from the field.

This afternoon a wonderful church member named Joyce brought over a bunch of ears for us. Ella (with a little help from Daddy) husked, cleaned, cut, and cooked the corn, giving us a perfect side for our burgers. It was our first taste of fresh-picked corn this year. And it was YUMMY! Ella loved it. Dave and I had just started eating after getting Ella's plate ready, when we heard "I want more!" Sure enough, she had already finished her whole cob! I think we may have an addict on our hands....

Brothers and Sisters

So Ella has been obsessed with brothers and sisters lately.

First, there was the kitty litter commercial with all of the cats that are invited over to the other cat's house. At the end, one of the cats says loudly "Hey, That's my sister!" This has become a favorite phrase of Ella's - she'll repeat the expression at any given opportunity.

Then there was the fair. The calf she befriended had two sisters nearby. She said "They're brother and sister!" I said, "No, they're sisters because they are both girls." So of course she had to talk about that for a while.

And then today we were playing with all of her Noah's Ark animals - matching up the pairs. Once we had them all matched up I asked her to tell me which of the two of each animal was the mommy and which was the daddy. She proceeded to go through each kind and say "this is the brother and this is the sister!" So apparently now they aren't mommies and daddies, but brothers and sisters.

You think she's trying to tell us something?

At The Fair

This weekend the annual county fair was being hosted in our town. It wasn't advertised very well and I didn't even know it was going on until Dave asked yesterday if I wanted to go that evening. Needless to say, like everything else in this town, there wasn't much that was exciting. We had gone 2 years ago and there was at least a fairway with a few rides and carnival games. This year, those were gone and in their place were a few inflatables for the kids to jump around on. It was definitely kind of pathetic. But hey, there were some exciting things for a 3 year old, and we just so happen to have one of those!

So down we wandered, on the pleasant 80-degree evening, down to the county fairgrounds. First, we ate some pork buns (of course) in a pole barn. Then we went to visit the animals. The first building we went into had the bunnies, hens, roosters, ducks, sheep, and pigs. So we spent lots of time talking to all of them. One of the little sheep was coughing and Ella enjoyed watching his little body spasm with each labored cough. She kept wanting to go back to the "coughing sheep" all evening.



Next we made our way into the building with the larger animals. Huge black steer were in pens on either side of a 6-foot aisle, and Ella hurried through - a little bit afraid of them. The horses were next, and she loved looking at them. Then we walked down an aisle that had cows tied to the walls on either side. There was a little one there that a young boy told us Ella could pet if she wanted to. Of course she did and then asked (as she does with ANY animal) "What's his name?" It was Justine. And Justine's two (much larger) sisters were next to her. Ella thought it was pretty neat that they were sisters.



Next we made our way to a building that someone said had trains in the basement - so we went in to check it out. It was a pretty neat place! There was a rather large basement with a huge miniature train system. It was something we never had known had existed the whole time living here. Ella thought it was a pretty cool place - and I think Dave enjoyed it almost as much! So it was a fun evening - watching Ella's exitement was fun anyway - we even went back again today for one last look at the animals and trains.

Moving On

There are only 25 days left until M-Day. The big move. We will be packing up and moving to a new city, new state, and new way of life. Dave will be trading in his role as head pastor for a small-town church for the role of resident chaplain in a major health facility in a somewhat large city. I will be trading in my role as stay-at-home-mom/pastor's wife for the role of working-mom/Dave's wife. We will be leaving a lifestyle of financial comfort and begin a lifestyle of strict-budgeting and penny-pinching. I am excited. I am ready to move on.



We have lived in this small town for 3 years and 10 months now. It is the only home Ella knows. It has never really felt like "home" to me. We have been through hot and humid summers, colorful fall days, cold and white winters, and beautiful springs. We have had joy and we have had pain. We have experienced small-town life to the fullest. The time spent here has been a true blessing to us. We have learned a lot about ourselves, about people, and about the God we serve. We will be sad as we say goodbye, but happy as we look forward to the year ahead in our new home.



I have come to the realization that this life will contain many new homes over the years. I wonder if any will really ever feel like "home." Maybe none will. Maybe that's how it is supposed to be. For this world is not my home. It is only a temporary journey. But I hope that as I have the opportunity to live among different people and different communities, I may be used by God to serve his purpose, and that He will always be by my side until I finally make it to the home that I long for.

Through Our Window

Welcome to my (well, "our") new blog!

My hope for this site is that it will be a place to post snippets of our everyday life and adventures. Living away from so many friends and family is hard at times. So I hope to be able to give you all a small glimpse - a look into our window - to let you see how and what we are doing.

But I also hope to be able to look out that window as well - to be able to reflect on our daily occurances. I know that God uses the everyday things - the joys, the pains, and the new experiences - to grow us and shape us to become stronger in our faith and to be a witness to the world around us. I hope you enjoy your visit and that some of what you see will make you smile!