For a Child

Your friends shall be the tall wind,the river and the tree
The sun that laughs and marches, the swallow and the sea
Your prayers shall be the murmur of grasses in the rain
The song of wildwood thrushes that make God glad again

And you shall run and wonder, and you shall dream and sing
Of brave things and bright things, beyond the swallow's wing
And you shall envy no one, nor hurt your heart with sighs,
For I will keep you simple, that God may make you wise.

Elizabeth Heiks (Grossmama)

Here, there, and back again

With great anticipation we took off to reconnect with the sweet spirits and spaces which we left 18 months ago.






There was so much joy. And so much affirmation.

And at times there was very hard work, both physically and emotionally. It felt so satisfying to see work completed, to be held in safe spaces.







We experienced the reverse cultural adaptations that we have read about...shocking cold weather and beverages, changes in mannerisms, houses full of stuff, open and quiet spaces, crazy busy socializing. At times we felt like we were floating on the very top of a space of water, and we just could not quite let ourselves sink in.

There was so much kindness, so much generosity. People fed us, physically and emotionally. We were held in love.




Some of the things we anticipated would be so good were not. Some of the things we thought would be hard were not.




And when the time came we were all five ready to return to the home we have created here. A simple life that has been thoroughly examined, and now will take a fresh start with new routines, new work, new love for our home and for this beautiful country.






While there is lingering sense of uncertainty and a bit of anxiety at times, we feel deeply and snuggly connected to one another.

Josie-love

Two peas in a pod

While she still struggles with some of the painful realities of middle school socialization, Lydia is thriving on her relationships with MCC mentors. These relationships will feed her and inspire her for the rest of her life. We have had fun trying to document all the ways that she and our dear Elizabeth have found similar interests/behaviors. What a gift.




Lydia and Beth...
both play violin
both love reading, especially Narnia
both are messy cooks
both are the fastest at Dutch Blitz
both like being crafty/like having projects
both able to amuse themselves without too much effort
both have American Girl dolls
both believe in fairies
both trip and fall a lot
both have problems listening sometimes
both like to spin
both chew gum loudly
both have highly expressive faces
both like Irish step-dancing