A Daily Process

Fall and the Holidays of 2022 Photo Highlights!

2023-01-04T02:54:00.005-07:00

While the past year or so has been full, and I have so pictures and stories to share, putting them on the blog never seems to make it up into the "Top 25 Things I Need To Do Today" list! I am realizing though, as the kids get older, that I do want them to have a repository you might say, of memories...a place they can go to check that fading thought about when we did what thing and where.

So, here is my attempt to do a quick update on the Fall of 2022 and thru the holidays!

Once school gets going, the harvest time hits. It can be harder and more expensive to get all the good fruits and veggies in the winter time, so we take a few days to do all the bazaar shopping and then cooking and canning we can do to ensure we have good food all winter long.

First batch of spaghetti sauce, yum!

Taking the kids out on coffee dates, especially Sissi, is something we try to prioritize. Getting them to open up and share their thoughts and dreams and keep those communication lines open when they're teens is so important.

Gwangi has been leading a Role Playing Group (RPG) this year and here he is, planning out his story...this is all the rooms and scenarios the characters will encounter as they "Choose Their Own Adventure" through the story he's created as the Game Master (GM).

Getting in one last hike with friends before the weather starts to turn cold. We finally made it out to the waterfall at Belogorka.

Picnic lunch is always a favorite.

It was kind of late in the year, so not much water flowing, but we'll try again next season to do it earlier.

Me and my girl.

Indy, Gwangi, Vera, and Sissi.

Kids with their friends.

A birthday care package is always fun to get!

We try to make it to the Philharmonia a couple of times a season to see some of our dear friends play in the Manas Presidential Chamber Orchestra.

It's SAT Season!

We had some major issues with the mother of our landlords (who live and work in Moscow) and for about a week or so were seriously considering whether or not we would have to move. It all started over a chair...this is our replacement, a gift from a friend in our time of need!

Senior Photo time for Gwangi!

My favorite of his Senior Photos!

Indy's brother was able to come and visit and check out Bishkek.

It was a fabulous couple of days with him and we're so grateful he came. It can get awfully lonely living here when we don't see close friends and family for years at a time.

Part of Gwangi's RPG group, being silly.

He has also started painting Star Wars mini-figures for the Legion game. He is so amazingly detailed in his work.

Just a few more of his painted guys. They literally start off in pieces and a solid grey color. He has to assemble, prime, paint, and base them.

Playing a round of Legion with his dad.

These guys are ready for a battle.

Just had to throw in one of a dozen pictures I had of Clara sunbathing.

Indy was busy all of the way through the middle of November with clients for our business, Taigan Expeditions. This was a horse trek he took in November to the Shar Waterfall, the highest waterfall in all of Central Asia.

Ordering felt ornaments for our Christmas Tree from some local artisans we are working with in the Naryn region.

Sissi and I were able to go to Vienna for a few days for an Inspire Women's Conference. So beautiful and right when the Christmas Markets were opening.

Doing a fun photo shoot in Vienna with my girl.

Came back from Vienna and it was Thanksgiving and we always put up the tree the weekend of Thanksgiving...

And this year, we put up a 2nd tree. First time ever!

And we decorated the banisters. Super fun.

Then, it was our 25th Wedding Anniversary and so we took 2 nights and went away to the Jannat Resort down by Teple Kluch. Here we are, relaxing and talking in their Winter Conservatory. Loved the idea and will have to incorporate it in our long term retirement house.

Following that, my 48th birthday and flowers from Indy.

With a 2nd tree, you have to have a 2nd tree skirt, so I took my family movie time, podcast time, and some free evenings to do my first ever crocheted color work project and make a tree skirt. It turned out great.

And, of course, the kids are still doing school work through all of this.

And multi media presentations on occasion so they'll be ready for some public speaking, Power Points, etc, in college and the working world.

Then, Christmas Break hits and older brother and a friend come back to visit Kyrgyzstan.

Indy got flowers for Sissi before going to take her SAT that had been delayed because the tests hadn't made it to Kyrgyzstan in time.

We decorated the outside tree once Krypto arrive in country.

Sissi had a Winter Formal to attend with her friends from Hope Academy. She went with her friend Paul, who plays Prince John to her Maid Marion in the upcoming Spring Drama - Robin Hood and the Heroes of Sherwood Forest.

A one shot Murder Mystery RPG that Krypto created for Christmas Break.

Getting our sushi fix while Krypto is in town. Hard to believe in a land locked country but all of that sushi is less than $20.

Another gathering of friends for a game and movie night over Christmas Break.

Dog and cat treats for the holiday.

Earrings that Sissi got for Christmas.

Fun story is she really wanted them when we were in Vienna, but by the time she was ready to buy them, we couldn't find them for sale anywhere. Our friend that we traveled with picked them up for her after we came back to Bishkek.

Cuddling up under the blankets on Christmas morning.

Some dried flowers that I picked out for Sissi.

Some jewelry that she had picked out while we were in Vienna.

It was the Christmas of Star Wars Legion for Gwangi. He'll be busy painting until his birthday in May.

Love that Vera was laying her head on Krypto as he was opening gifts. She missed her boy!

Marvel Champions card game for Krypto.

More books, cause you can never have too many books.

These are solitaire RPG game guides.

More Legion.

Sissi and I got matching purses from SiRo. Handmade right here in KG!

Some solitaire games for Indy.

And, a character created for Indy by Gwangi on Hero Forge for him to use in their ongoing RPG.

Some fun DVDs to watch.

Christmas time means The Nutcracker!

At the Bishkek Opera House to see The Nutcracker.

Lovely performance.

Out with friends after the show, walking through the downtown area.

Coffee and dessert after The Nutcracker.

My boys!

Christmas Ski Trip to Karakol with friends.

I often am not in pictures, so trying to do the selfie thing a bit more.

Sissi decided to learn how to snowboard this year. So glad we had friends along who could give her some lessons.

Holding a friend upside down on his snowboard is always a great photo op, right?!

All (most of?) the teens together.

Hanging out together after a long day of skiing.

We got to meet with some friends that live in Karakol all but one of the days we were there. It was great to brainstorm and talk business and encourage one another in our work.

Getting out on the blue runs.

Taking a break after a particularly step section. It's hard to see it in the picture, but they had just come down a difficult area.

I got to ride up with Krypto and Ian a couple of times. Love these guys!

Family photo on New Year's Day, after going to church.

Krypto is maintaining a 4.0 (Dean's List) at Liberty University and is still in the Honors Program, AFROTC, and writing up a storm. He's got another 18 credit semester coming up with Historical Methodology, Health, Theology II (Honors), Inspirational Writing, Russian II, Speech and Communication (Honors), and Air Force ROTC.
You can check out his short stories on the Royal Road website.

New snow this morning, the 4th of January It's definitely a Winter Wonderland here in Bishkek.

School Plan for the 2022/2023 School Year

2022-08-17T04:04:00.001-06:00

It is hard to believe that this is my 2nd to last year of homeschooling! And, that after 8 years of Timeline Tuesday, that will be no more...all 3 of my children have gone through all four years of the Tapestry of Grace curriculum at the Dialectic/Rhetoric level and completed a timeline of major events and people from the beginning of time to present day. So very cool!

This blog has followed me through most of my homeschooling years and I know this past year I have not blogged at all. I might keep it up with pictures of life and travel, but, we'll see... I've been working hard on priorities this past year and not overcommitting and sometimes, working on the blog, is just one too many things to add to my "to do list". For now, enjoy the updates!

Printing and working on scheduling our soon to begin school year.

First day of school will be Monday, 22 August 2022.

I always make a new sign for the year and get them their favorite candy and some new writing utensils for the school year.

Nathan's last sign while at home!

My girl, a junior in high school this year.

Gwangi, senior in high school.

All of us together.

And because Vera just has to get in the pictures...

And because we can't not include Clara, even though she shouldn't be on the table...

This school year, we are back around to Year 1 of the Tapestry of Grace curriculum for our 4th time. I have Gwangi as a 12th grader/Senior and Sissi is an 11th grader/Junior. Over at Liberty University, we have Krypto as a Sophomore and we'll start off with sharing his course load for the Fall Semester of 2022.

Krypto - Sophomore in College at Liberty University

Krypto is taking 18 credit hours this semester, which is a full load all by itself. Add to that a couple of his classes are Honors classes, his 1 credit AFROTC class actually takes 3.5 hours of classroom time, required PT (physical training) three mornings a week plus some extra personal working out time, and Liberty requires every undergrad to perform 20 hours a semester of community service and you can see he's a busy guy!

After completing his freshman year he is still on the Dean's List and has maintained his 4.0 GPA. He is majoring in History and has two minors; Creative Writing and Military Leadership. He will be living in Commons 1 on the 8th floor, the Honors Floor, this upcoming year. He has his same roommate from last year and a wonderful group of friends that he hangs out with. He'll also be GM'ing (game mastering) a RPG (role playing group) weekly that has 8 members in it and he continues to work on writing his books and hopes to publish something new in the coming year.

His classes this upcoming semester are as follows:

Research 201 - 3 credits
Information Technology 103 - 1 credit
Theology 201- 2 credits
Geography 200 - 3 credits
Modern American Military History 380 - 3 credits
Evangelism 101 - 2 credits
Russian 101 - 3 credits
AIRS 210 and Leadership Lab - 1 credit

Krypto's Fall 2022 Schedule

Gwangi - 12th grader/Senior in high school

Gwangi is starting his last year of homeschool with us. That means all the scholarship applications and prep for college have begun. He applied this summer and has been accepted at Liberty University and will be majoring in Computer Science starting in August of 2023!

During his free time he loves to paint and play with miniature figures from the game Star Wars Legion and he also has a RPG group here in Bishkek that has about 3 or 4 players. We're going to miss him so much when he heads off to college in a year!

Gwangi's acceptance to Liberty University from this June.

His classes for this upcoming school year are as follows:

Calculus with Math U See
Accounting and Stewardship with Math U See
Advanced Biology - Anatomy and Physiology w/ Lab with Apologia
History, Literature, Art History, Government, Philosophy, and Bible with Tapestry of Grace
Biblical Archaeology with Master Books
AP Computer Science with The Potter's School
Analytical Grammar Review Sheets

Most of Gwangi's books on the floor, ready to go for Monday morning.

Sissi - 11th grader/Junior in high school

This is Sissi's last year of homeschool with a sibling at home and she is a bit concerned about being "lonely" next year. SO, this year we moved a few things around so that she and Gwangi could do a couple of classes together. Praying that it makes it more fun for them both and that her final year at home we can find some other homeschoolers to hang out with here in Bishkek...definitely a prayer request for this coming year!

Sissi's desire at this time is to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and work overseas. She will be doing a 4 year ungrad/BSN and then applying to 4 year DNP programs that have specialization in psychiatric health like Johns Hopkins and Duke. She has done a pre-application to Liberty University (they won't let us know about final acceptance until we have a transcript completed through her Junior year) and is looking at some other schools as well.

Her classes for the coming school year include:

Pre-Calculus with Math U See
Advanced Biology - Anatomy and Physiology w/ Lab with Apologia
History, Literature, Art History, Government, Philosophy, and Bible with Tapestry of Grace
Biblical Archaeology with Master Books
Introduction to Nursing with The Potter's School
Analytical Grammar Review Sheets
Guitar and Aikido lessons

Sissi's books and bag, ready to go for next Monday morning.

First Day of School - 2021/2022 School Year

2021-08-24T12:46:00.010-06:00

Back to school 2021-2022!

How can I do this post with any less than 3 students...well, I can't, so here we go with student #1, our college freshman, Krypto!

He was super gracious enough to use the sign I printed for him and send me a "1st Day of College" photo. I LOVE this kid! So awesome in every way!

Here is a list of his classes this fall semester:

English 101 - Composition and Rhetoric

English 215 - English Literature I

History 201 - History of Europe to 1648

Bible 105 - Old Testament Survey - Honors Course

Religion 105 - Intro to Biblical Worldview and Contemporary Moral Issues - Honors Course

University 101 - Foundational Skills

Inquiry 101 - Research Skills

AFROTC 110 - Heritage and Values I

AFROTC 001 - Leadership Laboratory

He also sent me a photo of his lunch...his first Flames Pass swipe to eat at Hey Cow! which is the local burger place, in the Montview Student Union (aka, it's not the dining hall).

If you are interested in sending him mail or packages, here is his mailing address.

It will be good for the whole four years he is at Liberty as they don't change their Flames Box number.

Caleb Stamp

1971 University Blvd.

Flames Box 162709

Lynchburg, VA 24515

This morning, we started school with our Junior and our Sophomore in high school!

Gwangi is our junior, our 11th grader.

He is studying the following courses -

Tapestry of Grace, Year 4 (the 20th Century) as a Rhetoric student. We'll cover History, Literature, Geography, Worldview, Philosophy, and Government in detail.

Apologia Physics

Math U See Pre-Calculus

Analytical Grammar review and Wordly Wise

The Potter's School - Website design and customization - HTML and CSS

Udemy computer coding courses

Homeschool Psychology

Russian review for our return to Kyrgyzstan

Sissi is our sophomore, our 10th grader.

She will be studying the following this year -

Tapestry of Grace, Year 4 (the 20th Century) as a Rhetoric student. We'll cover History, Literature, Geography, Worldview, Philosophy, and Government in detail.

Apologia Chemistry

Math U See Algebra 2

Analytical Grammar and Wordly Wise

Russian and Japanese

The Potter's School - Psychology and Counseling from a Biblical Worldview

Guitar

Yep! We love school and it's going to be a great year!

Freshman drop off week at Liberty

2021-08-24T12:23:00.002-06:00

This past week we dropped Krypto off at Liberty University for his freshman year.

It was an incredibly exciting time for all of us and we had a bunch of fun experiencing all that LU has to offer.

The kids, in the car and all packed up for the drive north.

The Liberty Parents group on Facebook had a Tetris Challenge about packing our cars to take the kids to college....here is the back of our 2002 Chrysler Town and Country...it's still hanging in there after 225K+ miles. She's a real trooper.

And, we used the car top carrier. Indy and Gwangi shared the red suitcase for the week. Sissi and I shared the purple one. The blue one is Krypto's that he uses as an airline carryon and then one of his new duffle bags that he'll use to move himself each year. The glory of the duffle bag, as opposed to the plastic bins we usually use on airlines, is that they can fold down and don't take up much space during the school year. Since we won't be here next year to move him out and then back in again in the fall, bringing plastic bins wasn't a good idea and he can keep the duffle bags with him in his room at school.

We took a day to do a bit of sight seeing in the area. We went to the Caverns at Natural Bridge.

They have an extensive network of underground caves that were really neat to walk through.

My family, about 300 ft. underground.

Going on the tour and hearing about the history of these caves, discovered in the late 1800's.

My new LU freshman.

My Gwangi.

Indy and I, photo credit to Sissi.

Then, we enjoyed our picnic lunch and headed over to the Natural Bridge State Park.

It's a lovely area that was surveyed by George Washington and then later owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Family selfie.

And then a wonderful family asked us to take their photo and they took ours in return...much better.

The Natural Bridge. They still have Virginia Highway 11 that runs across the top of the rock formation.

Taking a break on the hike.

Lovely flowers along the way.

Lace Falls. We couldn't get any closer, but it was really pretty and the water running over the rocks did look like a lace pattern. Too bad the photo can't show that motion that we can see with our eyes.

A surveying emblem from George Washington.

A "Love" sign out in front of Natural Bridge State Park Visitor's Center.

Then, we drove up to Lexington for the night and enjoyed some time wandering around VMI and Washington and Lee and the downtown area. We met a cool bookstore owner of "The Historian's Books" and ate at a local place that was excellent called Macado's.

Here we are, at Macado's, and they are advertising for Washington and Lee...a school that Sissi is now interested in attending.

The next day was move-in!

We drove up amidst so many other cars, but with these red bins, they had us unloaded and moving toward the elevators in a matter of minutes.

After 2 hours, this was what we accomplished.

And this...just hoping his closet stays this neat and organized. I kind of have a thing about closets ;)!

Meeting the roommate's family and talking about shared interests and experiences.

Krypto's roommate grew up in Russia, so that is super cool.

Krypto's bookshelf that he purchased with some of his graduation money.

Krypto's roommate's sister and Sissi are the same age, so they got to spend some time getting to know each other.

Krypto with his roommate, Aidan.

The boys' room.

Another photo of the two guys.

The sink area in their room, which is across from their closets.

Their bathroom. Nice, huh...they have their own bathroom.

All clean and organized and ready for the year.

After walking around campus to pick up textbooks and find all of Krypto's classrooms, we attended the Air Force ROTC in-processing briefing.

The parents walked out for a bit, for a Q&A session, and the candidates (students) started their training and then we were able to rejoin them for pizza. At that point, Krypto had already connected with his wingmen and they were making plans for how to get to the PT field the next morning at 0530.

Last photo with the family before we left Krypto on Wednesday night.

The rain was moving in, for sure.

At the hotel....do you think this ice cream sandwich helped me to feel a bit better when I felt the tears welling up in my eyes?!

The next morning we had a coffee meeting with a local pastor, so we spent some time looking around the off campus amenities, ie. Walmart. They had quite the LU Spirit Gear section.

And then there were four of us.

I started a new family WhatsApp chat so we wouldn't spam Krypto with our conversations...it's called the Fab Four, lol!

Super neat local coffee shop where we met the pastor. Hoping that Krypto will make some amazing connections there and we'll be back in a month to visit.

Coming home, I got some special cards from a friend who runs an Etsy shop, 5 Sparrows Studio.

We sent Krypto his first mail at LU.

And, we put a Liberty Flames license plate holder on the car from Indy's mom that will eventually be with Krypto up at school.

On Saturday we took a day trip up to Liberty, so we could see our newly graduated CADET (no longer a candidate with AFROTC) and meet up with our long time friends, the Weltons, who were also moving their girls back into Liberty.

Family photo. Might not be by the famous doors in Wittenberg this time, but we love this family bunches!

Walk through the bookstore while waiting for Krypto to pick up one final textbook that came in separately from his other books.

A sign on the wall in the bookstore.

Next up to get his book.

This line....ahhhh!

And walking back to the dorm, we had to take pictures by the LU sign.

With each kid...

#3, too.

And then all three together!

This year is the 50th Anniversary of Liberty University.

Yes, it was founded in 1971.

These signs are all over the university.

Each of the buildings has one as well.

And, they have the return of the LU rock that people can write on and paint.

This is Krypto's dorm. He lives in Commons 2, on the 2nd floor which is the Honors floor. Should be nice and quiet and academic since they are all honors students, right?!

Another view of his dorm.

The elevators inside his dorm.

Sitting on his floor, playing a game of Unmatched before we head on out.

Gwangi got to connect with Aidan about computer stuff.

They both have a shared love of all things computers.

Sissi's #14 birthday

2021-08-24T11:46:00.004-06:00

And, our youngest is now 14!

This year, since we were in the US, she wanted a retro roller skating party with her Youth Group friends. It was really a fun time for them all and we're so thankful for our friends at United Family Church in Lewisville that made Sissi's birthday such a special day.

The roller skating derby group.

Some of the girls.

Skating around the rink.

Then, they all came back over to the house and Sissi changed into her new dress that she had wanted for her birthday and we enjoyed Red Velvet cupcakes and snacks galore while opening up presents.

Blowing out the candles on her cupcakes.

My sweet girl!

All the friends, enjoying cupcakes and snacks.

Opening the cards and the presents.

We bought her a couple of dresses she wanted and a necklace with her name on it.

A personalized mug from her friend, Morgan.

Fire pit and time for S'mores.

Then, on her actual birthday, we went to Carowinds down on the NC/SC border.

So, so many fun roller coasters.

There were really no lines, the park was so empty on a Monday when everyone is heading back to school. We walked onto pretty every ride we wanted to ride.

Is it possible to do too many roller coasters...well, when you do 6 in about 2 hours, your tummy really tells you it's time to take a break.

So, we did some of the more fair and carnival type rides.

I used to love this ride at the fair in Iowa when I was growing up.

Indy, loving the old truck.

Another one of the crazy roller coasters. All of the themes were really cool.

Krypto and Sissi coming off the ride.

Indy went on this one with Krypto and Sissi. I stayed off and took the pictures and videos.

When the rain hit and most of the rides were closed, we got Sweet Frog.

And then, just as we were getting ready to leave, they reopened the Fury 325 and so Krypto and Sissi got another chance for a super fun roller coaster ride.

It was our first time and we loved it. Carowinds, we'll definitely recommend you and we'll be back.

Just some of the beautiful magnolias in the park....

because I love flowers and I couldn't resist not sharing.

Family gathering for Grandma Stamp's funeral

2021-08-24T10:18:00.002-06:00

About a month ago Indy's mother passed away after a rather short fight with lung cancer. We were able to have Indy and Gwangi return from a road trip to Florida and then we repacked and the five of us (and the pets) started driving north to Indiana for the funeral. Several family members were able to come to Valparaiso as well and it was such a blessing to be able to be together.

A painting of a photo of Indy's mom when she graduated from her nurse's training.

Family photos and her diploma from school.

Our nephew reading from the Bible during the ceremony.

Indy was able to read as well.

And so was our niece.

Indy and his brother.

One of our nieces, who shared a birthday, today - 24 August, with Grandma Stamp.

Family photo.

Both of the families together following the ceremony for Grandma Stamp.

Grandma Stamp's twin sisters, Eva and Neva.

Flowers that were received.

More flowers and food after the time at church.

We all came back to Jon and Maria's house for some time to talk and share a meal together.

So thankful for the opportunity to be with one another and go through pictures.

A trip to TN, MO, and AR

2021-08-24T09:42:00.005-06:00

A couple of months ago Isabel contacted us about a surprise birthday party for my dad over the 4th of July weekend. We started making plans and were able to fit in a visit to Grandma Jackie in Nashville and a day trip to Silver Dollar City in Branson as well. Then, we arrived in Searcy, Arkansas and it definitely surprised my dad!

Family visit with Grandma Jackie in Nashville!

We had to leave Krypto behind because he was working at Sonic for the summer.

Then, we drove over to Branson and visited Silver Dollar City for a day!

Sissi loves, loves roller coasters so she spent a good portion of the day on those. Sometimes she rode with Indy, sometimes with me, and sometimes with a stranger.

The new Mystic River Falls was excellent.

Krypto would have loved the Time Traveler. Sissi and Indy did it together once and then she rode it again with another "single rider".

Very cool theming throughout the ride.

Sissi has always wanted to get into LARP'ing - Live Action Role Playing.

She loves hats and costumes and dresses up pretty regularly.

Then, we made it to Arkansas. Here is Isabel, working at the grill and preparing food for my dad's birthday party.

Good, old- fashioned bbq birthday foods.

Dad and Isabel in their new home in Arkansas.

Indy and Gwangi in Arkansas.

My dad's birthday cake.

My brother, Ben, and Lynsey were able to come up and visit for the birthday party.

It was so great to see them!

The birthday gift that we brought for my dad.

Some of the guests at the birthday party.

Family, all together.

Isabel set up for Indy and Sissi to go out with them on a horseback ride.

They loved it and have missed being in the saddle in Kyrgyzstan.

That night, they did fireworks in the back yard.

And then, it was time to head out. Our van was having trouble and so Dad and Isabel graciously allowed us to borrow their truck to drive back to North Carolina for some events that we just couldn't move around and they got our van fixed and then drove it back out to North Carolina for us. Such a sweet gift and kindness that we were so thankful for...we appreciate and love you guys, so much!

Myrtle Beach and Bluffton, SC

2021-06-28T16:59:00.002-06:00

Indy and I had some meetings in the Myrtle Beach area and so we took Gwangi with us for some special one-on-one time and then kept going south to visit our friends down in Bluffton, by Hilton Head. The beach was amazing, and I fell in love with it all over again. I am so torn, my first love is truly the mountains, but sometimes the beach and the waves and the peace and the quiet of a walk on the sand brings calm to my soul.

Dinner out...so, so good! Thankful for Trip Advisor and reading some reviews on our drive down.

Dinner came with homemade hushpuppies and cinnamon rolls. Can't beat that.

The restaurant we went to...it was the 2nd place I called from the Top 10 Seafood Restaurants in Myrtle Beach Google Search I did...the first one was totally booked. Thankful we got in here.

Definitely worth it when you eat locally.

There was a neat area behind the restaurant with turtles and alligators.

And they seemed to live well together...

in fact the turtles were hitching rides on the back of the alligator.

Yep, that is the alligator peeking at me from the water. We were pretty close, but there was a fence between us.

Beach at sunset in Myrtle Beach.

Time with hubby and our #2.

So gorgeous and quiet, just not a lot of people out at all.

Another picture of the three of us.

I loved the sunset and water tonight. It was amazing.

What a cool house.

Then, we transitioned to the south side of the state and this is the pier down in Bluffton, by Hilton Head.

Lovely flowers.

And, we went to a bird sanctuary on Pinckney Island.

With my friend, Sarah.

Sarah and I...

And Indy, taking the picture, while Luke is taking the picture of Indy, taking our picture.

Walking along Hilton Head beach before heading back up to North Carolina.

It was sunrise today and I loved it just as much. Not a lot of people and so quiet.

We brought Gwangi and Krypto's two friends back up with us for a few days of boys and game time.

We took all the kids and visited Krypto at his job at Sonic Drive-In.

And, the games...all week they played ALL the games!

Boys and their board games (and there were RPGs and computer based games played, also)

And, then the parents and two younger brothers showed up and we enjoyed S'mores!

Two hiking trips to Hanging Rock State Park

2021-06-28T16:44:00.006-06:00

About 30 minutes from our house in Kernersville is Hanging Rock State Park and we love to head over that way to get in a hike and see some waterfalls (I think there are 4 or 5 in the park). The first set of pictures is just our family, and then, we had friends visit and we took them, also!

Krypto's high school graduation

2021-06-28T15:24:00.005-06:00

A great way to start off a graduation week is to get your driver's license...so excited that the COVID-19 restrictions finally lifted...since March of 2020 they hadn't been doing the driving portion of the licensing exam, so Krypto had passed his written and eye exam but had been waiting for his driving test to get his actual license.

Here's our boy...all decked out and ready for his graduation!

Grandma Stamp has been ill and can't drive anymore, so she gave her 2004 Ford Focus to Caleb to drive. What an awesome gift!

Scrapbook table all set up and ready for people to sign.

We also set up a table with the original art work for Krypto's novels. We had a few copies of the books for sale, as well.

The gift table, with the "Granny Spiked My Ripple" afghan that I made for his dorm room this fall.

Food!!!

I had a homeschool friend of mine make these specialty LU cookies. They turned out great!

With Noah, a friend from church.

With Ian, best friends for years in Kyrgyzstan, and now in the US and together again!

With Uncle Tony, the kids' godfather.

Kyrpto speaking outside and also on Zoom since we had so many people who couldn't show up.

Guests in the backyard.

More guests.

Indy did the main speaking and then Uncle Chris Clinchard spoke and led the final prayer over Krypto.

Enjoying our time together afterward.

Yummy food!

Hanging out in the kitchen and talking.

Mingling and signing scrapbooks and looking at Krypto's books.

With Adam and Gabe McDuffee, friends from church.

Later, the next day, opening gift cards.

So excited about his new LU hat.

Game time with Uncle Tony and Ian.

Family game time.

S'mores in the backyard.

Kids with my dad and Isabel who came to visit from Arkansas.

Photo with Tony before they wall had to head out.

The kids went with Tony up to DC and were able to visit the Marine Corps Museum, finally.

And, get some super cook ice cream.

That weekend a lifelong friend had another graduation party since their son and Krypto were graduating at the same time. So thankful that they included us.

Indy and Krypto talking.

Cake!

Group photo.

Hanging out and talking as the sun goes down.

Krypto's #18 and Gwangi's #16

2021-06-28T14:57:00.000-06:00

The boys' birthdays are just under a month apart and this spring just flew right on by.

Here are their birthday pictures...Krypto turned 18 and Gwangi turned 16. We are so excited for both of them and can hardly believe how fast they have grown up.

We always let the kids pick all their meals on their birthday. Krypto asked for chocolate chip pecan pancakes for breakfast.

Super yummy way to start the day. Can't believe this may possibly be one of the last birthdays that we'll be together, on the actual birthday day. Going to college is cool, but I'm bummed we'll not be together on the 6th of April from here on out...

I had to get full use out of my birthday candles, so we put whipped cream and candles on his pancakes.

He asked for a nice boxed glass/crystal chess set that he can take with him to college; so I got to work and found one on eBay, still in the box.

He also asked for the board game Cosmic Encounters. It has proven to be quite the hit with the family and his friends.

We bought a turtle ice cream cake, from a local bakery. They call it the Kernersville Krunch. Again, super tasty and we highly recommend Whit's Frozen Custard if you're looking for something like this.

Family game time!

The next day we found out that Krypto had received the Valedictorian Scholarship, full tuition, to Liberty University and we could financially have him attend. Huge weight lifted and a super amazing Happy Birthday gift!

Then, Indy and Krypto took a drive up to Lynchburg that weekend to meet up with his new roommate. It was a fun trip and the guys made a great first connection. It's going to be a wonderful year for him at Liberty.

A couple of weeks later it was Gwangi's 16th birthday! It was also Mother's Day and so every few years he and I share our special day. He wanted a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. This one we got at Baskin Robbins as mint chocolate chip wasn't a flavor that Whit's had in stock that week.

A visit with some friends for Gwangi's birthday. We got to eat outside and be together, perfect weather.

The table, all set up for a rousing game of Star Wars Armada.

Gwangi, opening a card from one of his friends.

Of course, it was Star Wars themed.

A new RPG system for his birthday.

Game time!

They had a great time, playing as teams since the game is really only two player.

More fun.

The ships for this game are so cool and detailed.

For Mother's Day and Gwangi's birthday we went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch.

That night, on the way home from Youth Group, we picked up some more cookie dough cake from Walmart because we just couldn't let the day, or the candles, go to waste.

Family Photos April 2021 and the OBX

2021-06-28T14:30:00.003-06:00

We have a most wonderful friend who owns a home out in the Outer Banks (OBX). He has let us stay there before, and we were so thrilled to be able to visit again. If you need a great place to stay in Avon, NC, be sure to look at renting Revival House!

While we were out there, we were celebrating Krypto's 18th birthday and upcoming graduation. I wanted to commemorate the time with some family photos of the five of us, at one of our favorite places. Enjoy!

Some winter time fun

2021-02-09T16:43:00.004-07:00

This is just a way for me to get out all of the random pictures I have collected from the past couple of months...I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of us all and some of the ways we spend our free time.

Gwangi still loves his Legos and he brought back a bunch of them from KG and has been slowly putting them all back together. He saves all his instruction booklets for just this kind of thing.

Sissi and I have spent some of our free time learning how to do water color painting. Definitely some fun mother and daughter time each week.

Sissi needed a desk, so we picked one up on Amazon, but we of course had to put it together. Miss Clara had to sit right in the middle of the project.

I just love her face and expressions!

This is where Sissi was doing her school work before hand.

This is her new desk and school area.

This is how we repurposed her dormer window nook. Super comfy and all set up for cuddling and reading.

Gwangi and more of his Lego sets.

The Etsy necklace that we ordered for Sissi after her bunny, Winnie, passed away over Christmas back in Kyrgyzstan.

Road trippin' down to South Carolina and doing school in the van.

We went down to meet up with the boys' friend, Levi.

Indy and I just had Sissi for the weekend, so we did a few special outings. One outing was getting all the sushi!

When we went back down to pick up the boys we spent a couple of hours with our friends having a picnic lunch.

I spent some of my Christmas money to get a Mickey head waffle iron on sale at Hobby Lobby. It's going to be a family favorite, for sure!

The boys spent 30 hours online over 2 weeks learning all the "driver's ed" stuff.

It was rough, as we weren't planning on having to do this, but instead just going into the DMV when they are 18 and getting a license, but due to COVID, the DMV isn't doing the driving test right now and so driver's ed is mandatory now.

My sweet girl, all finished with her school work for the day.

Our precious kitty, Clara.

Our adorable puppy, Vera.

We ordered some author copies of Krypto's book to have on hand so that we can give a copy here or there to a friend.

Getting out for a hike on a lovely January day.

We met up with our friends, the Weltons, and their dog.

Couldn't keep going on the path, see how it's under water?

While out we were searching for a couple of letterboxes. We got to introduce our friends to the really neat activity of searching for them and adding them to our notebook.

Group photo!

Emily and I, after finding our 2nd letterbox.

This is our old, and original, letterbox "stamp" that we made back in '08 or '09. It's an eraser that we carved the "S" and the "prop and wings" into.

Just a fun "screen shot" I tool from the Liberty University Parents group. I'm so glad I've been able to join and start to hear and see all the information/traffic. It's going to be a great experience up there for the kids.

Started our annual tradition of the "14 days of Valentines" where we put hearts on their doors with things that we love about them. This year Sissi and Krtypo have added quite a few by themselves to everyone's doors.

For a few days we had my dad and Isabel visiting and also my brother, Ben, and Lynsey. Some good food, fellowships, and games were how we spent our free time together.

The kiddos with Ben and Lynsey before they left.

Indy and I with them.

The fireplace/mantle all cleaned up from Christmas.

Another fun outing with Dad and Isabel...bowling.

We think it might have been the first time they can remember going? We might have gone 10 plus years ago back in Colorado, but none of them can really remember ever bowling.

Dad and Isabel.

The kids.

Indy, all ready to set a new record!

Christmas 2020

2021-02-09T12:40:00.006-07:00

We tend to start our decorating and baking and family gatherings for Christmas just as soon as the turkey is off the table from Thanksgiving. This year was no different. We were taking treats to neighbors and having friends over all through the month of December and it was so fun!

Our packages of cookies and treats that we made for our neighbors and friends.

Look at all the yummy goodness! We ended up going through a couple of baking days to get everyone covered.

The outside of our house this year! Love it!

Our living room with the fireplace and tree all decorated for Christmas.

The kids putting on the ornaments.

Visit from our friends, the Weltons. We can't go a year without seeing each other, can we!?

Game night!

A few rounds of Taboo is definitely fun with this group!

Selfie on the stairs before heading out to see some Christmas lights.

Traveling around the local neighborhoods to see the Christmas lights.

Then, we got on the road to Indiana and stopped in Virginia to see Terry and Monique and their family.

Then, a stop in Kentucky to see more friends and get some cases of Ale8!

Southeastern Indiana was a visit with the Faughns.

Then, we were in Valparaiso, and Krypto got to go with his cousin to get some running shoes. His first pair to ever be fitted, just for him. I think it worked to invest in some better shoes because he runs most every day now!

He probably tried on (and ran around with) about a dozen pairs of shoes.

Lots of customized time and experience in this room.

We did a bunch of baking over the holidays...when you're cooking for 12-13 people most days, you always double the recipe.

We also got our fill of relaxing and watching all the Hallmark movies.

And the boys caught up on their Sci Fi and old Western films and played lots of videos games together.

Family time in the living room.

Our boys, looking out the window and wishing for a bit more Indiana winter.

The tree!

Yes, we got him the traditional college pennant for Liberty University.

Star Wars is still his favorite, so a Disney pin and Wii game.

A Disney pin for this guy, also...it's a compilation of some of the Disney villians.

Ahhh, sweetness, Eeyore for Christmas.

She also wanted some Liberty merchandise, so she got some earrings and a hair scrunchie.

History books and plaid shirts for this guy.

Sissi found some cool things for her cousins. These were gifts she picked out for Penny.

More Star Wars Armada for this kiddo.

Books we found for him in Asheville at the used book store. He loves to read!

More RPG stuff...GURPS and Star Wars.

Miniature rules for Indy.

Sissi for this sweater for Lara.

And, more Armada...

She loves to be eco-friendly, so now she can travel with her own bamboo utensils and not use the disposable ones.

A cute shirt that Sissi found for Ruth.

Woohoo! The special dinner!

All the yummy goodness - Carrot Souffle, Brussel Sprouts, Mashed Potatoes.

Indy and I purchased this game for Jon and Maria. We didn't get a chance to play it together, but it sure looks fun.

All the boy cousins together.

And, the girls!

Sissi playing guitar for grandma.

Gwangi, Krypto, and Indy got in some Armada gaming sessions over the next week.

And, Sissi and I did some more baking.

Lots of fun for Christmas and New Years! We were so excited to be back in the US and all together for this one. Not sure if that will be the case for several more years.

Our visit to Korner's Folly for my birthday

2021-02-09T12:15:00.001-07:00

For my birthday this year I really wanted a fun, historical kind of outing...and we found that by visiting Korner's Folly in Kernersville, not even 10 minutes from our new home. It was lovingly decorated by volunteers for the holidays and tours were timed every 20 minutes to go through the house because of COVID restrictions. We felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. I won't tell you all the stories about the house, but you should definitely go and check it out if you live locally. We really enjoyed our family visit.

Our visit to Liberty University

2021-02-09T11:40:00.007-07:00

In mid November we took a weekend and traveled to Liberty University for their "College for a Weekend" (CFAW) program. Krypto had already been accepted but we wanted to be on the campus for more than just a 2 hour tour (like we did when we were back in the US in 2017) to see if this really was the school for him (and hopefully for Gwangi and Sissi as well). By the end of the weekend, they were all sure, Liberty is where they want to go to school, and we're thrilled that they all want to attend school together and support each other while we're back and living in Kyrgyzstan.

We definitely enjoyed our time in the gift shop...we didn't buy much gear because we were still trying to figure out if this was "the place". Next time though, we'll purchase all the merchandise.

We spent most of Thursday with the ROTC detachment. They were amazing and very welcoming. Kyrpto was able to attend two classes and the Leadership Lab, meeting many of the students, including the Cadet Wing Commander. He's pretty sure he'll join ROTC, at this point he's just waiting to hear back about whether or not they'll provide a scholarship for him to attend school. That would be such a blessing!

Sitting in the Leadership Lab.

I think they told us they have 120 students in ROTC at Liberty University. It was a much larger group than we expected.

We took a quick walk over to the History Department and chatted with them for a few minutes. We didn't get to meet everyone during the time they had a table out in the hallway as that overlapped with the Honors Department meeting and so we prioritized going there...and we're glad we did, we jumped on the Honors application process, once he was sure he wanted to join the program, and we found out he was accepted in mid December.

Krypto is pretty sure he wants to major in History and minor in Creative Writing and continue writing novels as an adult, possibly teaching as well.

Dinner out with our friends, Madison and Kylee Welton at a local Mexican restaurant.

We spent lots of time walking around campus with them, hearing their stories and experiences and getting the full CFAW experience even though the kids couldn't stay in the dorms due to COVID.

A visit to the Scriptorium to see Bibles from as long ago as the 1500 and 1600's.

Up to the top of the tower to look out over the campus and the city of Lynchburg, VA.

Two super cute girls...not getting near the edge. I think this was a replay from our trip up the Eiffel Tower together back in December of '18.

We got to meet up with another friend...from all the way back in our MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) days at Cornerstone Assembly up in Bowie, MD.

Walking around the library and finding all the good study spots.

Convocation was held virtually, in large classrooms all over campus.

We got to see Lee Strobel being interviewed and that was super cool.

I think by this point in the weekend he was pretty well convinced about attending and so we took the requisite picture of him in front of the LU sign in center campus.

We got to try out skiing at the Snowflex facilities!

The lodge there is decorated in a warm and comfy kind of way.

Doing the LU sign with our hands...and having so much fun with our friends.

Going up the moving walkway to also try out the snow tubing.

Another place we checked out was down by the lake/river area where they had a bonfire. We were a bit late because we had spent some time with our friends over dinner, and most everyone was already leaving by the time we arrived, but we still got to see the location and we'll be back again.

The next morning we did a hike with a group of students and parents up the hill that has the LU monogram on it...it reminded me of Colorado School of Mines. I went to CU Boulder, but had lots of friends at Mines (we had a cross town agreement with their ROTC detachment) and I remember many a night with the lit up school monogram on the hill in Golden, CO.

By this point we had bought a few things to represent!

Marching band...sigh...I remember my marching band days! Loved them!

Doing all the dorm tours! Krypto has already done his dorm selection and he'll be in Commons 2, on the 2nd floor, with the rest of the Honors students.

The food selections at Liberty were great. Now, I hear they ramp things up a bit during CFAW, but even still, they have some great food there!

We love these kids! So thrilled we could visit.

Meeting up with another TCK (Third Culture Kid) friend from Turkey! I cannot wait for our kids to be at Liberty and spending time with so many of their "people".

Gotta love the blue jello cups!

Ahhh, leaving campus on a game day, and we see a storm trooper. It's always good to know that even in college the kids like to dress up and Star Wars is always a hit.

We got a house...and a cat!

2021-02-07T20:54:00.001-07:00

We definitely do things big!

As we were making plans to come back to the US for the year we made all kinds of inquiries but could NOT find a house to rent in our price range...even looking in different cities around the state of North Carolina. The rental market right now is just really tight! So, with interest rates being so low we got a long time friend involved and found a house to buy. Now, it wasn't quite that simple. We had late and middle of the night WhatsApp calls to video tour houses, she put in so much leg work checking out houses for us while we were sleeping and it was her work day. She truly went above and beyond to find us the house that would fit our budget and be a good rental for us while we're living overseas. Thank you, Tina, we love it! And, truly, the Lord hit this one out of the ballpark...when all the paperwork was said and done, we were $2.50 from the LOW end of our budgeted mortgage/rental price range...really, He does GREAT things!

Us, outside our new house on closing day!

Flowers and donuts for the wonderful people that made this a reality.

Our new house in Kernersville.

Making the Home Depot run to brighten up the front yard a bit.

Paint chips!

Sissi decided on this bright orange for her room. It's called Japanese Koi.

The boys went with Atlantis Blue.

We redid the accent walls in the living room with a teal color.

Our bedroom became a Provence Blue.

Sweet Vera, making the kitchen her new home.

Doing the citizenship thing and taking our kids with us to see the voting process.

We had a horizontal crack in our garage, but here, it is already sealed and painted.

Then, they put up reinforcement beams. That wall isn't going anywhere.

So glad we got this done quickly, right after we moved in.

Beautiful glassware, from my Grandma Marquis, that my Aunt Vana gave to me for our new home.

I love this kitchen! Biggest and best I've ever had!

Oh, yes, definitely one of the selling points for this house.

Sissi's room. Looks so cute!

At night, with her lights on...Bohemian and chic.

One of the best rooms in the house, the Four Seasons room. So much light with all the glass windows and it has a split system so it can be heated or air conditioned depending on the season. It's where Krypto spends most of his time.

The breakfast nook, that we turned into a bit of a parlor. We're just waiting on some antiques from my Grandma Marquis to arrive to finish the room.

The living room. I Love, Love our Kyrgyz rug and wall hanging in this room and how the teal on the walls brings out the colors in the shyrdak.

This would have been the formal living room, but we only have the one set of furniture, so it's my office school room area. Super spacious and lots of light.

Dining Room.

The boys in their room. They still have the bunkbeds that we bought when I found out I was pregnant with a second boy and we made plans for them to share a room.

Again, lots of natural light. We love that about this house.

Vera, she loves hanging out to see if I will drop anything in the kitchen.

And, then, we added Clara, our new cat from the Humane Society.

She fits in perfectly. Within hours we were all hooked!

And the two of them get along great.

She loves the sun, and to be around people...she really is a very social cat and we love that about her.

Not even in the house a week and we have company!

Game night!

Because friends and family are important we try to see everyone and do all the things!

Sweet Clara, after getting her surgery to be spayed.

She took it easy for the next day.

And then, she was back to her playful self.

I love that they're friends and get along. Our Vera and Clara are the best! We couldn't ask for better pets!

Catching up with family and friends

2021-02-07T20:25:00.001-07:00

You will see so many of my posts this year are about catching up with family and friends in the US. It really is a big priority for us since we're usually gone for 3+ years at a time living overseas. We try to see everyone, but it doesn't always happen, and that does make us sad, it really does. We love you all so much and know that we're trying to fit it all in!

Family outing with the Indiana Stamps was to a neat Amish town about an hour or so away from Valparaiso.

The kids had a good time playing together.

Cousins!

We all love our history!

Super cool oven in the kitchen of the main house.

Then, we started heading south to North Carolina, but not before stopping in for a couple of nights in Kentucky to see friends who used to live in Kyrgyzstan with us.

Friends, exchanging birthday gifts. These girls have shared their birthday celebrations with each other since 2015. Love how even though they are apart, when they get back together there is a sweetness!

Game time together!

Again, these boys have been friends since 2015. We are so glad our families are connected in an incredible way.

Breakfast together before we hit the road.

Sissi was super patient...6 weeks post birthday and she finally got her guitar.

The boys are out with the other guys from church, in the meadow. Throwing knives, doing archery, shooting guns...you know, just a fun Fire on the Mountain kind of weekend.

So, so thankful for the beginnings of these kinds of relationships. Praying they all grow this year, together!

Our last couple of weeks in Kyrgyzstan...for a year

2021-02-07T20:08:00.002-07:00

I think everyone knows that we have been in the US for the past couple of months...but I'm taking some time this week to update the blog and post some pictures of our last few weeks and memories in Kyrgyzstan, so that we have these photos to tide us over until we can return later this year.

The kids have such a great group of friends in KG. These kids play together, create RPG characters together, and make lots of fun memories together. We are so thankful for their friendship.

I'm going to miss our rotisserie chickens at the bazaar. So very tasty and fresh.

One of the bazaars that I frequent weekly to get our produce. Love this place and these people.

We will definitely miss the amazing restaurants in Bishkek. So much variety and such reasonable prices.

Date nights....why are we better about that in Bishkek? We need to get some on the calendar here in the US.

We miss this sweet bunny, so much! Poor Winnie passed away over Christmas and so we'll never get another set of cuddles and lovin' while Sissi works on her art projects.

Ahhh, the Korean food. We love it!

Praise and Worship with friends!

The Georgian food...do you see a theme here?!

Our back patio, an area for rest and quiet and shared meals together.

This yard with its trees and hammock brings back some memories.

And, again, the friends.

Hikes and God's amazing creation.

We love getting out as often as we can to hike and spend time outside of the city.

Family and friend time!

Krypto

Gwangi

Sissi

Waterfalls

Our precious puppy, Vera.

Friends that make good food...buffalo wings!

More precious cuddles from Winnie.

Moving all of our stuff out of the rooms. Packing and moving is never an easy thing.

Having Winnie go to a friends' house for the year. Who knew this was our last goodbye, it brings tears to my eyes to even write this.

All ready to go, the day before we are ready to leave.

Running over to the vet clinic to get our final paperwork for Vera to fly.

Final dinner out and enjoying the local entertainment.

Eating with friends!

She has no idea what is coming (27 hours in her kennel and flying half way around the world), but she looks comfy.

One last look at our sweet yard.

The Porter showed up over an hour late to take us to the airport with all kinds of stuff in the back of his truck...it was a stressful way to start our day.

We made it...on the flight and we're ready to go!

The airport in Istanbul was empty.

We're going to Chicago!

Jet lag!

Sissi's 13th Birthday

2020-08-30T09:45:00.004-06:00

We tend to do birthdays big in this house! And 13 is one of the bigger ones, for sure. We tend to schedule a weekend away with a parent and take some time to talk about life and being older and dating and relationships and all the stuff. This was our last kiddo to do this with!

One of the projects we were going to do on our weekend away called for playdoh...but I couldn't find any locally because of shipping issues due to quarantine. So, I found an online recipe and made some.

My hands were multi-colored throughout most of the weekend.

We stayed at our friends' guesthouse, Southside. If you are ever in Bishkek, it's worth a visit.

We also got to put together some puzzles to talk about how the Bible is our guidebook regarding all things...if you don't have the guidebook (or with a puzzle, the box top), it's pretty hard to build the puzzle, isn't it?!

That first night, we went over to Sierra. Yummy drinks and dinner.

We listened to the lessons in our room and worked through the log book together.

At night, we watched some fun movies and ate rather strange desserts...this time we chose nacho chips and Kit Kat ice cream.

Together, they were pretty amazing.

Breakfast at the guest house. It never fails to fill you up!

Lunch out was at Social Coffee so we could get Sissi's favorite for dessert...Red Velvet Cake!

I even brought the Disney Birthday Plate with me!

Yummy cake!

Woohoo! 13!

Cutting the cake while we waited.

Opening presents is always fun.

The boys wrote her a nice card and gave her cash. Her plan is to collect all her gift money and buy a guitar when we get back to the US.

They even drew a guitar and a butterfly on the front.

Daddy and I found her Disney "Hidden Mickey" Figment pins. The whole set...I had to buy them on eBay from different sellers, but it was fun searching for them all.

NASA shirt. This girl loves her some NASA.

Photo with her brothers.

Photo with her "grandparents" overseas...Dave and Debbie Weller.

Group photo.

Then, she wanted to go and get some make up...I had told her to wait until 13...she did.

Dinner out for the end of the weekend was a special meal at La Maison, a French restaurant in town.

Super fancy, but very reasonably priced. Can hardly believe I got Filet Mignon with a Blue Cheese sauce for less than $10.

And fancy water in a wine bottle.

Our appetizer...bruschetta with pesto!

My Filet Mignon with Blue Cheese sauce.

Sissi ordered mussels and she loved them!

Plate of empties.

Such a lovely view in the garden.

And, her final gift of the weekend...an INTP shirt. Yep, this girl is unique in every way possible!

Happy birthday to my special girl. I love you forever and am so glad that we have such an amazing relationship that is growing into a friendship that I know I will treasure as you enter adulthood.

I also believe that the Lord will bless you in some pretty incredible ways in the coming years.

Family and Senior Photos

2020-08-30T08:52:00.004-06:00

It's been several years since we've had family pictures taken, and this year, with a Senior in high school, we had yet another reason to get some updated photos done.

Enter Alexey. He was hired by the Hyatt this past Christmas for the Holiday Bazaar and he took a great picture of our family in just a few moments.

I knew after I saw the above picture that he was going to be the guy to do our next set of photos.

Enjoy and let us know which ones you like...I'm still deciding which pictures to print and hang on the wall in our new home.

Back to School 2020-2021 and a BIG Announcement

2020-07-27T02:23:00.001-06:00

What can I say, we're getting ready to start back to school next week!

It's the year of quarantine, the year of COVID-19, and all kinds of craziness in schedules and life for everyone. .. and for us, it's the year of our last, first day of school with Krypto at home!

It's true, this year Krypto will be a senior in high school...the 12th grade, the last year I'll be his primary teacher and care giver. It's emotional and hard and exciting and fun and scary all at the same time.

We have another big announcement to make - this year, all three of the kids will be in high school.

You read that correctly. After much thought, prayer, and consideration, along with talking to some specialists, we're going to do a hybrid 8th/9th grade year for Sissi and she'll be graduating from high school a year early.

The past two years she has been bored in school and quite honestly, she's been keeping pace with the boys in language study, she took Health last year (a high school level course), and most importantly, she's been engaged and involved in our Tapestry of Grace History and Literature discussions with older brothers who are doing the Rhetoric level work. She is ready, she's asking for it, and she is super interested in pursuing college and the rest of her life. This way, she gets there one year faster and they will ALL be in college one year together as well. It's another "hard and exciting and fun and scary all at the same time" part of my life! I'm super excited for her but also sad I'll be losing her a year earlier than we had originally thought.

We're calling this year a hybrid year because other than math, she is on target for all 9th grade courses. SO, she began her math book (Algebra, normally an 8th grade course in our house) a month ago and has been working 6 days or more a week to get ahead. She will be taking Algebra AND Geometry this school year. If she follows this plan, she'll finish with Algebra in February sometime and then will start Geometry and work through next summer to finish it up; this will put her on target to take Algebra II as a 10th grader, Pre-Calculus as an 11th grader, and Calculus as a 12th grader. Please pray for her to keep up her enthusiasm and excitement once we add in all the other high school level classes this year. We have discussed, that should she not complete the required work, or fall behind, then this year will revert to an 8th grade year and she will be a 9th grader again next year. She's onboard and knows the ramifications and assures us she is up to the challenge.

Without further ado...here is our 2020-2021 Falconshire Classical Academy plan...with a few explanations along the way.

Our 12th grader, Krypto

Class of 2021

He'll be studying Tapestry of Grace, Year 3 (19th Century), History, Literature, Geography, Worldview, Philosophy, Government, and Art History

He'll also be taking AP U.S. History with The Potter's School as he's decided he wants to major in History and minor in Creative Writing. We want him to have an opportunity to have another History teacher (other than Indy and I) and to earn college credit so that he can spend more time on the upper division courses in college that he is so excited about taking.

Math-U-See Calculus

Math-U-See Stewardship

Apologia Advanced Biology Anatomy and Physiology with the Virtual Homeschool Group

Constitutional Literacy from HSLDA

Analytical Grammar weekly reviews

Russian review and Visual Latin II

He's also working on writing his fourth novel, editing his third for publication this year around Christmas, and this summer he published his second book, "The Sword of Thunder", on Amazon.

He took his SAT last December and scored a 1440, so we're thankful that is high enough that he doesn't need to retake it.

He's already been accepted at Liberty University and has an outstanding application at Taylor University that we should hear about any day. There are a few other schools he is looking at and we have a pending application in with AFROTC. The big push this year is scholarship applications.

Our 10th grader, Gwangi

Class of 2023

He's also studying Tapestry of Grace, Year 3 (19th Century), History, Literature, Geography, Worldview, Philosophy, Government, and Art History

Math-U-See Algebra II

Apologia Chemistry, 2nd edition, with the Virtual Homeschool Group

Constitutional Literacy from HSLDA

Analytical Grammar weekly reviews and Wordly Wise daily

Russian review

The Potter's School - Java Computer Programming

PSAT prep with Khan Academy and taking the test this year (should we find a testing site that is open?) - last year he got an 1140 on the PSAT 8/9 which was a full 90 points higher than Krypto had scored on his 8/9 exam as a 9th grader. We're so proud of these kiddos and all their hard work!

Our 8th/9th grader, Sissi

Class of 2024 or 2025

She'll also be studying Tapestry of Grace, Year 3 (19th Century), History, Literature, Geography, Worldview, Philosophy, Government, and Art History

Math-U-See Algebra

Math-U-See Geometry

Apologia Biology, 2nd edition, with the Virtual Homeschool Group

Constitutional Literacy from HSLDA

Analytical Grammar completed in a year and Wordly Wise daily

Russian review and Visual Latin II

PSAT prep with Khan Academy and taking the test this year, maybe?

Guitar...we'll have to find someone to give lessons when we get back to the US, but she has been enjoying playing and taking lessons with a friend since May of this year.

That about sums it up. What are you up to this year, anything fun or new to share?

I'll post again in a week or two once we start the school year and have all of our official "Back to School" pictures for posting. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer!

Camping and some horse trekking with friends

2020-06-30T04:37:00.000-06:00

For Ian's graduation trip, he wanted to spend some time out camping and riding horses with our boys. So, this past week they all did that. It was quite a fun trip and we started it off with some white water rafting in Chong Kemin, all together!

We got to meet up with our usual rafting guides. They were able to use their new raft and some of their new suits with us. Also, just like us, they've been a bit short on clients with the borders being closed so they were super excited about us coming and rafting with them. We might try to go again in a few weeks.

At the end of the trip.

The whole group.

Excited to be back on land after a terrific trip.

Clementa (who has a broken foot right now) drove along and took pictures as we went down the Kemin and then the Chui rivers and did our rafting trip.

This is one of my favorite shots that she took.

Getting ready to start our trek.

As everyone was getting ready to get in the boat.

That night, the girls went back to Bishkek and the boys spent the night in Chong Kemin and got ready to start their horse trek the next day. Up and over the mountains from the forest and down to the lake by Balykchy.

Camping spot for the first night.

Camping spot the second night.

They definitely had some wind problems at night...and during their trek, some hail and lightning storms as they were going up and over the pass.

Some beautiful views, some scary weather, special time together as friends, and meeting new people that live in Chong Kemin and that shepherd in the mountains between Chong Kemin and Balykchy. Definitely a good trip and a time for making memories!

Ian's Graduation

2020-06-30T04:10:00.000-06:00

You've probably seen lots of photos of Krypto's friend, Ian, on the blog. He's kind of an adopted big brother to our kids and Indy and I would be lying if we didn't say that the thought of him graduating and moving away didn't bring some tears to our eyes as well.

Since we are all finally out of quarantine, he was able to have a delayed graduation celebration, yahoo! Some good mutual friends hosted the gathering at their house and Ian asked Indy to be the guest speaker. It was an amazing ceremony and I definitely took some "notes" on some things I need to do next year for Krypto's graduation...yep, just one more year and we'll have our very own college graduate!

The kids, playing a bit before everything got started and while the meat was being cooked on the grill.

Group shot...but not all the kids made it into the picture.

The Graduate!

A memory book and place for cards and gifts.

We all brought some photos and wrote up memories for Ian to remember his time with us all here in Kyrgyzstan.

People also wrote down advice for him on paper so he could keep it for the future.

Dinner time! Largest gathering we have been to in months.

Potluck style!

Lots of food. I brought some of Ian's favorites - Buffalo Chicken Dip, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Fruit Salad.

All ready to go.

Indy speaking.

He had some wonderful things to say and we thought ahead to print off the speech and put it with his gifts as we know that sometimes on these "big days" it all becomes a blur. This way, he can go back and read it later.

Ian speaking.

His mom got a turn as well.

And his dad.

Receiving his diploma.

And the moving of the tassle.

From one side to the other side.

Another mutual friend came up and prayed over Ian and his future.

Family and group picture time after the ceremony.

More game time before the sun goes down.

Time to clean up and head on home. It was a great night, a wonderful celebration of Ian, and an amazing time with friends.

Family Hike and a Trip to the Water Park

2020-06-30T03:11:00.000-06:00

After 10+ weeks of a "shelter in place" order here in Kyrgyzstan, by the first week of June we were finally able to start getting out and about...further than about a 1.5 km from our home.

We took the time and one week went on a hike and then the next week visited a local water park. Both trips were with friends...friends we hadn't seen in months because of the lockdown. We loved our time together and are so grateful for good health and a beautiful landscape to explore.

This is the view crossing the bridge at Tepli Kluch. A favorite hike of friends here in Bishkek.

I won't write about every picture, so just enjoy the vistas and views!

We sure do!

Picnic lunch time.

Can't go on a hike without your trusty Bernese Mountain Dog, Vera.

Then, like I said, the following week we made the trip to Ala Too Water Park and it was empty...we had the place to ourselves. Super fun and it was clean and we weren't worried at all.

A few friends joined us on our outing.

Krypto with two of his good friends here, Josh and Ian.

Sissi...she says this place reminds her of Great Wolf Lodge :)!