Blessings

William's first day of Kindergarten

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Isabel's first day of Pre-K

We have had a big change in our lives this week!  Even though Isabel is only away from us from 9:00-1:00… both children go to school every day!  William loves kindergarten.  He jumps out of bed each morning and wants to know what special classes he will have that day.  He has a full schedule with PE, Art, Music, Computers, Library, and Spanish each week in addition to the daily kindergarten routine.  I SO wanted William to have this experience since I taught this same program at OCS more than 10 years ago.  Isabel has only had two days of school so far, but she is confidently jumping out of the car in the morning carpool line – ready to be a big girl and go to school.  And now I get to be on the other side of things as the one who can volunteer in their classrooms and help with room mom duties, as well as join a weekly Bible study and reconnect with old friends.  These are the blessings of Home Ministry Assignment.  We are back in the US for this year, and while there are definitely blessings there is also a down-side of things.  We had to leave our home, work, and daily routine of the last 5 years to come back to a year of a more chaotic life.  Chaotic because HMA is a different kind of work for Robert that requires a lot of travel for the whole family.  While we enjoy connecting with our partnering churches and many supportive friends, it’s 5 years worth of connecting all done in one year!  But, God is good and we always leave a church or home so encouraged and excited about our calling to Japan.  We get excited when we can tell the stories of how God is building His church in Japan.

By the way, one huge blessing was  moving into a completely furnished house (down to sheets and towels and food in the fridge).  We rented a house here in Maitland but had no idea how we would gather all the things we would need.  By the time we arrived on August 7th, the house was not only “move-in ready” but beautifully decorated – thanks to some wonderful friends from Orangewood Presbyterian Church.  We are so grateful!  Our children’s rooms are adorable…

Yes, she's asleep!

William's room came with a foosball table!