Pappy took a break from the visiting to play Uno with Katie, Andy and Joe. He loves spending time with his grandkids and didn't want them to leave.
Glen is probably telling Andy some tall tale :)
Leo and his brother, Wade, put together this photo collage of their mom. We all enjoyed pouring through photo albums and finding those special pictures that captured who she was. The service was on Weds, the 30th. It was a sweet time of celebrating her life and spending time with people we rarely see (and some I just met that day). The day after the service, Leo and I went back to Spokane and got to spend the day visiting friends.
We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon spent with the Karl Olson family. Too bad Karl has been working whenever we get to go visit! I think Leo wanted to bring Ruthy home with us :)
Here's Sharon and the whole gang. Hi Sharon!!! Since you are one person who I know reads this blog, I wanted to give you a personal greeting and tell you thank you SO much for such a special afternoon, for sharing your kids with us, for the encouragement and prayers... We really appreciated it and always leave you feeling spurred on to faithfully raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!
After the Olsons, we went to Ken and Lori Smolls. Ken and Lori were with SP in Kenya when we lived there and we hadn't seen them since we left in 2002. It was fun to spend New Year's Eve with them and get caught up on visiting! This is a picture of Anna, a beautiful young lady, who was only 6 the last time we saw her. She spent the evening knitting this scarf and still looked wide awake as we rang in the new year at midnight. I just know I wouldn't want my picture posted from then :) Thanks so much Ken, Lori, Anna, Colin and Elise, for the wonderful hospitality!
Friday morning we stopped by Terri's and she and the kids took us to the airport to head back to Alaska. It was sad to say good-bye as we likely will not see them again until we return from Uganda in 3 or 4 years. On the other hand, this whole trip was a bonus in getting to spend time with loved ones that we hadn't expected to see, so we are truly grateful. Below is an email I sent out to those on our mailing list. It's kind of a tribute to Leo's mom, Eva Lou...Lovin' Eva Lou
Many of you have been praying for Leo's mom, Eva, and her battle with colon cancer. At 6:00 A.M. on Christmas morning we got a phone call from Leo's dad saying that Eva had passed away in her sleep during the night. We had such mixed emotions- rejoicing with her that she was able to spend the day at Home with Jesus as we celebrated His birth and sad for us who are still here missing her.
We have much to be thankful for. Eva's battle with this cancer was relatively short. Our whole family had such a wonderful time with Leo's parents this past summer as we were there on our road trip. Leo and Ned were able to spend about a week with his folks just last month and Leo felt that they had some really good conversations. Leo and I were able to get airline tickets to go to WA for the memorial service on Wednesday. We fly out of Port Alsworth tomorrow (Monday) to catch an early morning flight on Tuesday. Lord-willing, we will be back home on Saturday. My family is blessing us by taking care of our children while Leo and I are away.
While we were visiting this past summer, one morning Eva and I were able to just sit at the kitchen table and have a good, long visit (a treasure at any time, but an especially rare treasure when you have 8 young children!). She basically told me the story of her life. Of course, it was a condensed version, but for me it was such a neat glimpse into who she was. I was struck by how she lived her life "full-throttle". She loved people and loved having adventures. I smile when I think of the adventure she is having now.
The Memorial Service will be at the Nazarene Church in Colfax at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, the 30th (which would have been Leo's parent's 43rd Wedding Anniversary). Leo and I are looking forward to celebrating Eva's life with family and friends. Our personal prayer, and I know Eva would have the same desire, is that loved ones would be drawn into closer relationship with Jesus through her life and death. Thank you for praying with us for this .
I have been thinking a lot about how this world is not really our home. No matter where we live on this old earth, we will never be fully satisfied. Our hearts long for Home. Although Eva has arrived before us, one day soon, we who have a personal relationship with Christ will all be Home together, where we belong!
Many of you have been praying for Leo's mom, Eva, and her battle with colon cancer. At 6:00 A.M. on Christmas morning we got a phone call from Leo's dad saying that Eva had passed away in her sleep during the night. We had such mixed emotions- rejoicing with her that she was able to spend the day at Home with Jesus as we celebrated His birth and sad for us who are still here missing her.
We have much to be thankful for. Eva's battle with this cancer was relatively short. Our whole family had such a wonderful time with Leo's parents this past summer as we were there on our road trip. Leo and Ned were able to spend about a week with his folks just last month and Leo felt that they had some really good conversations. Leo and I were able to get airline tickets to go to WA for the memorial service on Wednesday. We fly out of Port Alsworth tomorrow (Monday) to catch an early morning flight on Tuesday. Lord-willing, we will be back home on Saturday. My family is blessing us by taking care of our children while Leo and I are away.
While we were visiting this past summer, one morning Eva and I were able to just sit at the kitchen table and have a good, long visit (a treasure at any time, but an especially rare treasure when you have 8 young children!). She basically told me the story of her life. Of course, it was a condensed version, but for me it was such a neat glimpse into who she was. I was struck by how she lived her life "full-throttle". She loved people and loved having adventures. I smile when I think of the adventure she is having now.
The Memorial Service will be at the Nazarene Church in Colfax at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, the 30th (which would have been Leo's parent's 43rd Wedding Anniversary). Leo and I are looking forward to celebrating Eva's life with family and friends. Our personal prayer, and I know Eva would have the same desire, is that loved ones would be drawn into closer relationship with Jesus through her life and death. Thank you for praying with us for this .
I have been thinking a lot about how this world is not really our home. No matter where we live on this old earth, we will never be fully satisfied. Our hearts long for Home. Although Eva has arrived before us, one day soon, we who have a personal relationship with Christ will all be Home together, where we belong!
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