Capital City Trip

June 10, 2017

Here’s just a few random pictures from our trip to the capital city. I usually don’t like trips because they are usually just chaotic, but this one was different. I asked God to change my perspective during it, and He did just that. A lot the work came with adjusting my expectations vs actual reality. […]

Weighing In

August 22, 2015

So, I’m not going to write a birth story since I’d rather not revisit the insanity of it all. I’ll just say that it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I wish that my water hadn’t broken early. I definitely got a taste of the curse. Only by the grace of God and […]

Overwhelming Thankfulness

July 2, 2015

I’m sure our journey will seem more and more profound as time passes, but even now, it strikes me as miraculous. Some days I’m even overwhelmed with the thought of what God has done in our lives. Sometimes I can just sit and savor one or two notes of the symphony that’s before me. Our […]

What should I say?

January 2, 2015

So, I haven’t blogged for a while. It’s not because I haven’t had time. It’s not because I didn’t have anything to say. It’s not because there’s been nothing going on. It’s because I’ve had no clue how to put it all into words. But, I believe with all of my heart that God wants […]

California, land of rest and sweat

October 15, 2014

Rest. This is the first time since we started training a few years ago that my brain has been able to rest. There’s extra space or something. Maybe it’s the 45 minute drive to get to a good grocery store. Maybe it’s the quiet mornings without the frantic hustle and bustle to make breakfast and […]

Travlin’ across ‘Merica

October 9, 2014

Our drive from MI to CA was daunting to say the least. I myself have never made the complete journey. I remember my dad driving our moving truck out there with a friend back in 1990 and probably in 1995 when we returned to MI after seminary was over. But, golly gee, it’s not very […]

Language and Violin

October 8, 2014

I can’t believe that last month marked 5 years since we got married. God has been good to us! We were in Michigan at the time working on adoption stuff, but we did give each other some pretty neat presents. Payton worked with a friend of ours who is a jeweler to make me a […]

Around Campus

October 30, 2012

Outside: The trees have all turned and it’s a joy to walk around with the scent of leaves in the air and campfires burning. Fishing has been a dud in the past few weeks—too much warm weather, I’m told. Bring on the cold! I want to stock the freezer with white bass before heavy winter. […]

Roach, Missouri

August 17, 2012

We wrapped things up in Colorado Springs, …enjoying time with friends (Bird Dog, Putt-Putt, and Coldstone!) …picked all the produce we could from the garden (tomatoes, snap peas, lettuce, zucchini) …had a picnic by the creek …had our last yerba mate drinks in Manitou (so many good memories) …and finished up Payton’s softball season We […]

Summer Fun

July 24, 2012

Even though we have been on quite a sharp learning curve this summer, Payton and I have been able to enjoy all sorts of things. I’ve learned that “fun” can mean something different with each phase of life and can find many forms. Here are some of the things we’ve enjoyed. During “Car Week”, we […]