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 summer internship then his second year of university Thanks to COVID, we had a year with all our kids home more than…

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 some pretty good insight to what life is like here for so many people who live around us.

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 that caused increased restrictions several weeks earlier. We are incredibly grateful that they even got home for this break since the day…

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 incredibly lush green rolling hills at high elevation. Similar to an image you’d think of when you think of tea fields in…

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 me they always made a habit of getting away as a family every time the kids come back, no matter what. So…

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 more it feels like so much of this life is that in-between time. The already-but-not-yet time. Yes, this day is about waiting…

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 – it’s not the same. Still different – but a different different than a year ago. Last week I was moving things…

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 stairs onto the tarmac at the Bujumbura airport on what i remember as a hot, humid, Sunday evening. Our first month was…

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 in warm places and cold places. Birthday’s at home and traveling. But this is now the third year she’s celebrated her birthday…

or Our SD is now one-year PT One year ago today, we had a violent attack inside our house. A word like ‘anniversary’ doesn’t quite fit, as it feels like it has an underlying sense of celebration. But today is a marker in time no matter how it’s referred to, and I can’t think of…

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 – or “Pancakes-For-Supper-Day” as it’s also known) It’s called Ash Wednesday because in many churches there is a service in which ashes…

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 the country during a military coup d’état and we didn’t know it?” There is the bizarre: “Did someone just knock on our…

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 course, this task has been made harder by individuals and groups who for reasons incomprehensible to me, seem to ignore, minimize, or…

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 desk, wrestling with one idea: CONTENTMENT. But I’ve never shared it anywhere. I’d like to change that now. Starting this Thursday I’ll…

We are anxious to get back to Burundi. We are feeling anxious about getting back to Burundi. There are two distinct implications of that word. One feels like an anticipatory excitement. “I’m so anxious for you to meet our new baby”. The other feels like dread that has been dragged from an expected future into…

So this is quite a bit late on account of what our month or so has looked like. However, we had such a great family getaway – and it was so beautiful that I have to share some of these pictures. Since it was now almost two months ago.. I don’t have a lot to…

I am sitting in my mom’s hospital room where she has been sitting up, eating, getting out of bed, having a conversation with me, and was able to walk (with assistance) down the hall. About a week ago she could do none of those things. About a week before that the doctor told us as…

The blog has been quiet as of late, as life kind of sideswiped us there for a few weeks (oh 2020, you’re the gift that just keeps on giving). I’ll update that soon, but in the meantime… I have shared my daughter and fake daughter’s blog – BOARDING PASSES & BOOK BAGS here before but…

A lot can happen in seven months. On February 22 the BBC reported that Australia was burning, Megan and Henry (Harry??) were leaving, and the following was written about a strange new virus that seemed to be spreading: Outside China 1,152 cases of the virus have been confirmed in 26 countries with eight deaths, including…

My daughter and my fake daughter just posted some poems on their blog that they wrote for school on the topic “Where I”m From.” As Third Culture Kids, the answers are complex and layered, and they both do a beautiful job of allowing us who grew up differently, an understanding of what their life experience…

Well, our youngest turned nine. This birthday marks just the second time she’s been in Canada on the day of her birth. We’ve been in Canada for over 4 months now, meaning this is the second-longest length of time (and 3rd time ever) that little A has been here. Being born in France, and having…

So Micah turned 14 yesterday. We were all together. We were in one place. We were not currently packing or unpacking bags. We weren’t getting on a plane, didn’t just get off one, or have immediate plans to get on one. That in itself sets this birthday for him apart from quite a few that…