It has been a busy time. Well, when is it not a busy time....but EXTRA busy, it seems. Sadly, a couple of weeks ago, we lost my mom's sister to Alzheimer's, but we were able to celebrate her life last week. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more of her faith as well as come together as an extended family. That's definitely the upside of these types of events. My uncles and aunts came in literally from all over the world, including Baghdad.
We've also been busy attempting to start a garden. We haven't had one for a couple of years as it is no small task. It's been a steep learning curve for me. I thought you could just till up the soil and plant a few seeds. Turns out it isn't that simple. Our first garden was a huge bomb. The soil had too much clay in it, so we essentially just made a swamp. Whenever it rained there were moats in between the beds. I grew frogs that year, not vegetables.
Then we got pigs, so they took over my garden last year. This year we, my husband and I, decided we would make a small garden (maybe 9 x 14), change the location to be in a sunnier spot and then make it bigger slowly over time. That was what I thought we had talked about. Then my husband got out the tractor and tilled a 40 x 40 ft. garden. That was not what we had talked about. He said the tractor made him do it.
So now we are going to plant a very big garden. I guess we'll be feeding the rest of the town as well! Well, that is assuming we get seeds in it....we keep getting distracted by other things.....
This week brings another wild opportunity....we are privileged to have a well-known family, the Wallers, (that is in homeschool circles, I guess!) come in and tell their story. We first met them through a documentary about their family called A Journey Home. That film really moved us. It was all about a father who had a successful job as an executive with Federal Express, but who felt he was missing out on raising his 5 boys. He did the unthinkable, quit his job and came home to be with his family. They moved out to the country where they took up organic farming, lived off the land, and through the sale of their vegetables, their family was provided for.
The next film they were featured in was called Betrothed. This film documented the story of their oldest son, Brayden Waller and his wife, Tali, as they went through the courtship process in a unique style. They wanted their marriage to reflect the heart of God, the Bridegroom, and the Church, the bride. They wanted to show how important it is to be pure and holy, for the Bridegroom, and to be ready for when the Bridegroom comes. Today, marriage is just about the pretty dress, the pictures, the feast, the cake, the honeymoon. But it is a much greater picture of something eternal.
Brayden, Tali, and their four kids, as well as Brayden's sister, Victoria, and her husband, will be coming this week to our house and to our church, to share their love story and the need to be pure before marriage. They are calling it "The Love and Purity Tour", as they are going all over the U.S. and here in Canada to share their message. We will have a full house, but we are excited about it! I'm secretly hoping they'll give us some gardening tips when they come as they are the organic farming experts....
Once again, it is easy for me to get really discontent, really quickly, as my house isn't finished the way I would like to host a family like this, but I realize if I waited until it was all done, I would miss out on these unique opportunities. We're going to kick a few kids out of their beds for a night or two, big deal. They can sleep on the couch. I know some people who build houses with the idea of hosting missionaries and out-of-town guests. They have actual "wings" in their houses for these types of guests. I wish! But, maybe one day. In the meantime, I feel like I just need to stop complaining and be happy with what I have. The Wallers lived with no running water and no electricity when they first started living off the land, so I think my house might even appear to be luxurious!
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