After spending the first part of our day in Bayfield in town for Apple Fest, we drove out to Erickson’s Orchard, the same orchard we visit every year. Ella liked the big pumpkins, but she LOVED picking apples. Fortunately, apples trees hang low enough that she was able to pick her very own. We had to keep an eye on her, though, so she wouldn’t try to take a bite out of each. In these pictures you can see her little apple dress from my Aunt Jean. Isn’t it perfect?
We love Apple Fest!
Tomorrow I’ll post pictures of Miss Ella in her Halloween costume!
Sometimes…okay, many times…I catch myself in awe of the amazing ways that God is creating a path for our family to get to Africa. The desire to work and teach abroad was first placed on my heart when I was really little. Then I met Pete, and he had the same desire. We got married, started dreaming of kids, and at about that same time, we felt like there may be others who would one day join our adventure. We didn’t really know what that would look like, but we prayed and waited.
We’ve met lots of friends along this path of medicine who have a heart to serve in Africa at some point, but it’s not all that common to meet others who have a dream of moving all their earthly belongings and small children halfway around the world for who knows how long. Let’s face it, that’s a pretty big commitment. We knew we couldn’t just ask anyone to go with us. It would definitely have to be something God would need to orchestrate.
And orchestrate he did. Meet the Horns. Eli, Krista, Caleb, and Kai.
Pete first connected with Eli at the residency while Eli was interviewing for the program. I remember Pete coming home and mentioning something about his great guy he hoped would get matched in Duluth (meaning that he’d do his three years of residency here). Early in Eli’s first year in Duluth and Pete’s second, the guys reconnected and we got the families together. It didn’t take long for us to realize that there was something more between our families than a shared interest in Africa. As we prayed and spent more time together, we felt like God was bringing our families together as a team to live and work together over seas.
Ella and Eli were fast friends, just like Eli and Pete, as seen at Apple Fest in the fall of 2011.
Soon after Apple Fest, Krista and I discovered that we were both pregnant! Sam and Caleb were born just a few weeks apart in May 2012.
In the early spring of 2012, we spent a weekend with two of our mentors, Bruce & Kate, at their home in Grand Marais. Bruce & Kate have been living and working in Kenya for more than 20 years. They raised their children there while working at a local hospital. They’ve been instrumental in guiding us to the mission field.
These kids adore each other! Caleb follows Ella wherever she goes, saying her name over and over. And Ella is completely taken with baby Kai (short for Hezekiah). Clearly, so is Sam.
We feel incredibly blessed to be on this path with the Horns. We dream of our kids growing up together, learning Swahili, running in the grass with neighbors a half a world away from here. I will have another mama who understands the challenges of living thousands of miles away from our families and who will challenge me as a wife, mama, and woman after God’s heart. Pete and Eli will work side by side in the hospital, together understanding the challenges of teaching and doing medicine, and will grow together as fathers and husbands. The feelings of loneliness on the mission field, which is completely reasonable while experiencing life in another culture, will be considerably less because we will be together. I can. not. wait.
The really exciting news? This week, after a lot of prayers, emails, phone calls, and chats, we made the decision of which sending organization we would like to work with as we move to Africa. We have begun the application process, which will probably take until early summer. Once we move a little further along on the process, we’ll share which organization it is and what it means for the future.
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My dear friends, I want to thank each of you for your incredible support and kind words following the post I wrote earlier this week. It was not an easy post to write, and I had no idea what would happen as I published it. The response has been astounding. Many of you shared it on Facebook and with friends, and some have sent encouraging comments and emails. Yes, there were hurtful comments about my sensitivity, faith, and even our future plans for Sam, but I understand these were not from regular readers or those who know us and our hearts. On Tuesday night, such comments were eating at me, hurting my heart. Pete was working an overnight then, so I crawled in to cuddle with Ella, needed the comfort of being physically close to one of my babies. Before falling asleep, I spent a while talking with God, asking that he would remove the horrible feelings I was carrying. I asked that, instead, I would be able to focus on the beautiful words of those in similar situations that I wrote of in the post. When I woke in the morning, it felt as if the cloud had been lifted. God clearly heard my prayer and quieted my heart. Since then, more encouraging messages have come in. I am so blessed to be able to share this journey with each of you.
Thank you. Thank you for reading and praying for us and loving our family, even though there are so many of you we have never met. I am humbled to be able to share this journey with such incredible people.
Today I write from a little hotel in Bayfield, Wisconsin. I was almost afraid to pull out my computer when we got here. The last time I was sitting in this very place, I was writing and writing and writing, but the content was far different than this. It was here, all the way back in April, that I spent four consecutive days working on my grad thesis. This visit is far different.
While I was here, surrounded by mounds of snow in April, I chatted with the manager about why I was visiting. She mentioned it to the owner of the property who had spoken with Pete when he was here in March to study for his family medicine boards. Just before checking out, an envelope was delivered to my door with a certificate for two nights at the hotel in September. So now we’re here, together, with the kids. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate what we’ve accomplished in the last year.
We arrived in town late yesterday afternoon, just in time to fire up the grill to make burgers and yams. After the kids were tucked into bed, Pete and I stayed up late watching Netflix together, catching up on shows we haven’t had a chance to see in a long time.
After a quiet morning, we headed into town to our favorite cafe here, Big Water Coffee Roasters. The shop is owned by friends of ours, Danielle & Jon Ewalt. It’s been fun to see the shop grow and change over the last few years. They have such a great eye for quality and have beautiful character in their space. If you’re ever in Bayfield, definitely stop in!
We have countless pictures with this little guy over the last seven or eight years.
We stopped in at the used book shop. I bought Ella the first chapter book we’re going to read together – Little House on the Prairie. We read the first chapter before nap time this afternoon. We’ll keep working on listening to a book without pictures. I like knowing it will help develop her imagination.
Little man is so cool in Daddy’s shades. He fell asleep right after this.
We love any time we can get in Bayfield. It’s especially nice right now since there aren’t any crowds for Apple Fest or summer visitors. Town was pretty quiet today. Such a treat.
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A few weeks ago, we went to the annual Johnson Family Pig Roast. I’ve lost track of how many years it’s been since it started. More than 15. My aunt and uncle put it on at their house every August and invite friends and family to eat & swim & sing crazy karaoke. Here are a few pictures from the afternoon.
My mom with Sammy, the little water baby
Ella with my cousin Alex
Mr Blue Eyes
Ella really loves my grandma. That makes me very happy.
On Wednesday I made this little apron during Ella’s nap. Yes, I could have been doing school work, but I had been thinking about making this baby for weeks and didn’t want to put it off any longer. Such a lovely way to spend a quiet nap time!
hanging slightly crooked
I’ve made quite a few of these aprons through the last year. I’ve got the pattern down now, so they don’t take long. It’s fun to look for different fabrics to put together to fit the person who will be getting it. I won’t say who this one is for since it’s a gift that hasn’t been gifted yet.
pocket detail
I originally created the pattern from a vintage apron my Aunt Jean found for me at a garage sale. I would have just kept using that apron, but it was getting pretty worn. I basically put the apron down on newspaper and cut the same shape for the pattern. Over time I’ve made a few changes, including adding the pocket frill in the photo above. I like the character it adds.
back view
I made mini versions of these aprons for Ella’s birthday and for my nieces Hailey and Malena at Christmas last year. They’re pretty adorable when they’re that small! I’ll try to find pictures of those and post them before long. Coming soon: our Apple Fest adventure!
Mama loves to make her pie. It’s true. I love to bake. Pie is my latest adventure. I started after we went to Apple Fest in Bayfield, Wisconsin and returned with bags of fresh, tart apples. I inherited an incredible, yet simple, recipe for crust and apple pie from my mom and have put a couple variations together in the last few months. For Thanksgiving I made apple-blackberry. The flavors together are delicious.
This little addition isn’t an apple pie at all, however. This is a Christmas pie of pear and fresh cranberries. I made a few mini pies to give to friends. It’s dangerous around this house to make a full, 9-inch pie when you know you have to taste a little to make sure it turned out okay. What do you do with the rest of the pie? Hence, I make little pies. They’re super cute and far less tempting. I have to say, though, that Pete is a huge help in the kitchen when it comes to taste tests.
As for this particular pie, I probably won’t do it again unless I can find a better pear. The texture just isn’t as good as an apple. It was a good experiment!
So I haven’t had a chance to post an update lately or get any new pictures on. Pete has been studying like a mad man for his upcoming boards (October 16… prayers please!) so I haven’t had much computer time. Instead, Ella and I have been out and about, trying to make the house a nice, quiet study spot for Pete. Last week we visited Grandma & Grandpa Scott in Pequot, Great-Grandma & Grandpa Scott in St. Cloud, Great-Grandpa & Grandma Johnson in Wadena, and spent some time with Jenny & Hailey and Becky & Malena (my sisters with their little girls). We also went to Bayfield, Wisconsin for Apple Fest on Sunday and got some fabulous pics of Ella at the orchard. Today, we headed west to visit Megan & Micah (a friend from elementary school and her little boy) in Waconia after a morning of exploring and leaf-gazing. The line-up for Tuesday is coffee with Shauna and the Science Museum in St. Paul with Jessica & Westin before packing up and driving to Marshield, Wisconsin for a couple days at Grandma & Grandpa Olsen’s house. As I write this, I realize how busy we’ve been the last week! Lots of adventures. We’ll post pics as soon as I have enough time on the computer, but I’m not committing to anything before Pete takes his test. At that time we’ll be heading to Duluth for a three-week rotation, so I’ll have more time to post.
