New Pains Come With The Exercise

The snow has melted, it is cold outside but inside the fire is warm. There is just a week before Christmas. The Christmas tree is full of memories from all the ornaments from over the years, some branches are bowing with the weight of them.  The Advent calendar is counting down the days until Christmas. The manger scene's are in place. Mixed nuts are on the table. Christmas movies are on hold at the Library. The kids arrived home, back from college. Going to put the Gingerbread house together tonight and I made some cookies.We remember a special birthday this time of year, the birth of a Savior.

Reflecting back to the last 8 months, they have gone quickly. This furlough has seen many changes. Growing and stretching in new ways. New pains come with the exercise.

We had a nice Thanksgiving with family. It was hard not having our two oldest kids with us, it seems strange. We had a yummy dinner with all the fixings. Mack's mom cooked the Turkey and all that goes with it. In the evening we (30+) walk across the bridge from Cincinnati into Kentucky and stop and White Castle (ick). Then we turn around and walk back. It's been a tradition well since before I came into the family. I did ask one time, why do we walk across the bridge? My mother-in-law said well it's free. Having 7 children of her own, they had to find cheap/free things to do. Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same if we didn't trek across the bridge. We had the opportunity to go to the Ark Encounter over Thanksgiving. Our last furlough, I heard they where going to build the Ark, I was so excited. I thought, well on our next furlough the Ark should be completed. We enjoyed the day with Mack's parents coming with us. I've read many times about Noah building the Ark. The dimensions of the Ark, the calling of the animals, the one door. I think about what they ate and what they feed the animals, I also think about water. How did they get water? What about light? How about the air circulation? Waste, human waste and animal waste as well. On the Ark they showed how the Ark was built with all this in mind. It was truly amazing. The Ark was ahead of it's time if you think about it. Something else caught my attention was the clay water tanks to water and feed the animals. Then I realized, necessity is the mother of invention, if you need it, you will find a way to make it or rig something up to meet the need at hand. Being in Ghana you see the need of something to hold water, whether it is a bucket or jug or to a bigger storage tank. In the States you forget about that because you always have water and we don't think of storing it. In Ghana, that is always on your mind. You hope to always have water, but you better have a reserve, a holding tank of water for those times there is no water, due to the dry season or they shut off the water pipes. If you get a chance to see the Ark, I recommend it. This time of year the Christmas lights where lit all around the Ark, it was so pretty. They also have an ice skating rink.

  

                                                                    

 

Nehemiah had his 12 birthday at the end of November. He had a friend and a cousin come over to spend the night.

It is now 2019!! Joseph had his 17th birthday the 3rd. Joseph had his friend Joe come over for the evening. Macks birthday is on the 18th.

As the new year begins our focus turns to Ghana. We need to start focusing on what we need to take back to Ghana. Each furlough it gets harder to go back. Not that I don't want to go back, that's not it. It just gets harder to pack and unpack. I know what faces me upon my return. Being finally settled here, now it's time to uproot once again and be unsettled for a couple more months over there, as we settle back into a routine. Not Looking forward to our piece of a vehicle that bumps along the roads. You have to laugh to keep from crying. However, I can't wait t get a hold of the little boy (Matthew) and mush his chubby cheeks. I can't wait to see the girls, Prince, Linda and Koasi. To get back to the Deaf School and the students. To see our dog and get some new puppies. I am looking forward to it, it's just a big job to go back and leave two of kids here, an ocean away.  It kind of stinks, to leave them. I feel like I'm abandoning them. It's been nice to have them here for Christmas break, although it makes it that much harder to leave. Did I say it stinks?