Belated Update on Life

I wrote this post at the beginning of February but somehow missed posting it... working on another one at the moment... We are anticipating new baby Axt's arrival any day now!! 

We are now one month into the year and life has remained busy and full of challenges. Jason’s grandfather passed away the first week of January and we made a last minute, four day trip to North Dakota to be there with the family and say goodbye to Grandpa Axt. It was over 20 below zero a couple days we were there – Nathaniel’s first time to feel such cold and only my second. The land there is beautiful and peaceful though. Sun shining off the white snow and miles and miles of farmland make the sky seem so much larger and the stars brighter than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. When people ask Jason where he is from (New York, North and South Dakota, Ohio, and now TN... J), I always tell him he should say North Dakota because the place just seems to suit him somehow. We decided that in another life we would be farmers...

The next couple weeks of January were spent catching up from the first as well as trying to keep up with a growing “to do” list. Jason had some really busy and long work-weeks and I began trying to get some things done in preparation for Cameroon and the new baby. I think I’ve already begun to enter the “nesting” mode, as I want to plan details, get things in order, and clean out and organize everything in the house. It has been very interesting and challenging to try to “get things done” with a one and a half year old. God is teaching me so much though about choosing to stop and slow down long enough to enjoy the moments with my precious boy. Holding and rocking him, cuddling together on the couch to watch a movie or just watch the fire crackle in the fireplace, playing with toys, reading books, running or dancing around the house, playing piano or guitar and singing... These are all precious minutes with him that I want to enjoy and cherish. Right now he is learning so many new words every day and most of our conversations are him pointing to something and asking “this?”. I then tell him the name of the object and he repeats it over and over again. It’s fascinating to watch him learn language. That’s exactly how I would learn a new language if I wasn’t worried about annoying people – just ask and repeat words back over and over again until they stick.

Last week we had a much-needed vacation! Due to the help of my gracious and wonderful family, Jason and I were able to go away to a cabin in Gatlinburg for a few days – just the two (or three) of us. Nathaniel had a blast with his Aunts and Grandparents and Jason and I enjoyed the privilege of unhurried and uninterrupted time together. We came home mid-week to spend a few days with Nathaniel as a family. The day we got back we got a call that the townhome we own had a busted pipe that had flooded the entire downstairs of the house, as well as the neighbor’s home...

Since that phone call, it feels like everything has become progressively more busy and crazy... Jason’s work schedule, endless meetings and phone calls for major demolition and replacing flooring, new paint, insulation and drywall work etc.

We are praying and striving to stay connected to God and each other and focus on one day at a time in the midst of it all. It feels like we are just surviving in some ways right now, but we know that God has us and won’t let go!