Pardon Our French

Alma has wanted a goat for a long time. A really long time. This summer seemed like the perfect combination of: A) Alma’s best friend of 5 years just moved away B) the…

One of the strange things about having this blog chronicle our lives for as long as it has – is there’s a post from when Alma was born! This one has been kind…

{NOTE: instead of trying to summarize all the things we’ll miss about this place – I’m just highlighting an almost random smattering of them} Some of the reasons why riding a motorbike (or…

I’ve learned so much living here for the past 6.5 years, that it’s hard to even recall it all. So I won’t try, instead, I’ll highlight just a few things that have become…

There are so many things that I’m going to miss about living here in Kibuye, that I’ve decided to merely highlight a few of them. Burundi Trail Running The part of rural Burundi…

For those of you who don’t get our family newsletter – just wanted to share the news that we are moving in less than a month. If you don’t get the newsletters, and…

To many of you, I’m sure today is the day you commemorate Vincent Van Gogh shooting himself (a few days before he would finally die) or you’re busy today reflecting on the Isolation…

The fact that Susan’s birthday falls merely two days after mine has been interesting. We often get ‘combined’ birthday parties. The fact that she is an amazing cook, and fantastic baker means that…

This day last year I realized I actually made it to 46, I was alive for my birthday, which for the first time in my life was something I accepted was not a…

The grammar may be horrific, but the sentiment is true – having 3 of our 4 kids home again feels pretty good. Yesterday I drove down to Bujumbura to pick up Matea and…

A year ago when George Floyd was murdered, I reflected on how he and I had but a few things in common, and how that is such a problem. Now there is yet…

There are seasons to life. This spring we happen to be in one where the middle two kids go back to Kenya, then shortly after that our oldest headed to Canada for a…

I always told Jonah he should shoot a documentary on the cyclists that transport bananas, charcoal, people, animals and so much more up and down these hills… Well–someone else did. This documentary give…

The day two of our kids were supposed to be flying to Kenya to return to school we were still unsure what would happen. Kenya was in the midst of a COVID spike…

The day before the kids flew back to RVA we had the chance as a family to do a great run/walk/hike up in the tea fields of Burundi. It’s a beautiful area, with…

Normally when the kids come home from Kenya we always make a habit of going away a bit as a family. Someone wiser than me whose kids went through RVA years ago told…

Today is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Between death and resurrection. Between defeat and victory. Every year this day resonates with me a bit more. I think perhaps more and…

One year ago, we were sitting here in this same place. The same physical space, our home here in Kibuye. The same chronological space, most of the way through holy week. Mentally, emotionally…

Six years ago today our family landed in Bujumbura for the first time. We packed up our 13 bags in Edmonton, and about a day and a half later walked down to the…

Seriously – our second child is 17! If I didn’t know us – I’d think we were old. But…I do….and we’re not. So let’s move on. She’s had some eventful birthdays – birthdays…

Yesterday was the day many traditions in the Christian faith refer to as Ash Wednesday. It’s the beginning of the period of Lent leads up to Easter. (Also the day before Shrove Thursday…

It feels like there are frequently times in our lives here where we have to stop and almost double-check if something just happened There is the more surreal: “Did we just drive across…

For almost a year various health agencies around the world have struggled to communicate to the public at large, what needs to be done to help reduce the spread of this virus. Of…

For a LOT of years now I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and reading, and writing on one topic. Early mornings before others get up is usually when I’m sitting at my…

To THIS world? The other day I was listening to something Scotty Smith said – about the ‘weary world rejoicing” in O Holy Night. There is some real truth in there, particularly relevant…