This Is Us

Wow y'all. Aside from feeling a little guilty that I might have been taken as begging for comments, your responses just made my day(s)!! Thank you. Thank you so much. I loved it.

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With the start of a new year, I thought perhaps an introductory post might be in order. I don't think I've ever actually written an introduction to my family, as such, although if you've read here for any length of time, I would guess you've gotten to know us quite well along the way. Off the top of my head, I can think of several posts that would give you a little background, such as the series of posts on how my husband and I met, and my introductory posts to the Treasure In Heaven series here and here.

But without further ado, let me tell you a little about us.

Soon after we got married, a friend inspired me to try to get a family picture every year over the time of our

anniversary -- it doesn't have to be anything

great, just a simple snapshot will do. Well,

I have a picture from every year, but we'll just say

that "over the time of our anniversary" has

become a very broad term. This year's photo

was taken on the very last day of 2018. 

Starting with the oldest child... 

Isaac Christopher was born to us a little less than one month before our first wedding anniversary. We basically know very little about marriage without him in the equation. Isaac is 16 years old, has his driver's license, and is set to graduate this year, completing 12 grades in 11 years. With his blonde hair and blue eyes, most people assume he takes after his father. The truth is, in personality Isaac is the most like his mother... albeit with a healthy dose of his father's upbringing, which is not a bad thing at all. Isaac has a tender heart, loves any kind of game and would like to teach school some day. 

Jasmine Annette is our second born. Arriving one year and nine months after her brother, the two of them have always been close.  If Isaac is the most like his mother, than Jasmine is even more her father's daughter. I am continually amazed at the way the two of them think alike. Jasmine will be 15 next month and does everything she puts her hand to with all of her heart. She loves painting and drawing and about every other creative outlet you can imagine. She's fulfilled my girlhood dream of learning to play the piano and enjoys cooking and teaching her younger sisters much more than I do. In spite of us joking that we never like the same things, the two of us are best of friends.

Jennifer Lynn is our rainbow baby. Joining our family 4 years after her older sister, Jennifer was a much longed and prayed for baby. I don't think I've ever talked here about my miscarriage between Jasmine and Jennifer but those years had their share of tears in them for me. Jennifer is 10 years old and has held the drama card in our family for every one of those years. You will never be left in doubt as to what this child is thinking. On the other hand, you will probably never fail to be charmed either nor fail to be astonished by her creativity and imagination. I have never seen a child who possesses quite Jennifer's ability to create vivid, enthralling play out of whatever materials are available for use. While I struggle often to identify with her completely different personality, I love to watch her vibrant creativity and her passion for reading. 

Lillian Bethany came to our family 17 months after her longed for sister. I will never forget calling my midwife (who knew all about my tears before Jennifer) and confessing that I was crying again but for an entirely different reason. She laughed and told me that God certainly has a sense of humor. She could imagine Him saying, "Make up your mind, honey!" Lillian was born into probably the hardest years of our marriage. But this is about her. Lillian is 9 years old, loves making lists and hates washing dishes. She is our only child who is shy and quiet like my family, although she can easily hold her own when no strangers are around. Lillian is a protective little mother hen and does great with young children. She does not like to be pushed but she does love to be hugged and held and cuddled. Lillian has a hilarious sense of humor and writes the best funny stories. 

And then, there is Charles Elmer, the little tag along who came 3 and a half years behind Lillian. I still feel bad sometimes that we didn't have the second part to his duo like we did the rest of his siblings but life happens and that's just how the years played out. Charles is small for his age and definitely treated as the baby of the family, poor thing. He is the most touchy - feely child I've had and still comes around often  to spontaneously give a hug and kiss and to say "I like you!" Charles loves stories. And every story that he hears then gets translated into his play and acted out with his Fisher Price people and cars and trucks. He has the Eicher gene for memorizing and can rattle off countless snippets -- from Bible stories to Adventures in Odyssey to Hank The Cowdog -- all with impeccable precision in wording and voice inflection. I love nothing more than to listen to Charles and Isaac doing the voices in a story and Charles setting his older brother straight on some minor mispronunciation. 

And then, of course, there are the parents. We are definitely an 'opposites attract' couple, although I would say 17 and a half years of marriage have certainly made us rub off on each other a good bit. 

Chris manages his brother's tire shop and is a handy man to have around with his previous years of experience in carpentry, cabinets and countertops. He built the house we live in almost single handedly. Oh, he had some help, of course, but he hired out very little of the work. Chris loves nothing more than to pull off a good surprise and his favorite thing is to keep his family wondering what idea he'll come up with next. While his opinionated nature often portrays a false harshness, Chris has the biggest, most unbiased heart you will ever find. 

And.... I'm the mom of the bunch. I cook and clean and do laundry (Do I ever do laundry!). I'm quiet and a home body and a loner. I like using my creativity and making something from nothing puts a sparkle in my eye. Give me a good book and I won't be worth a thing for the rest of the day; ask me to play some strategy game like Chess and I will soundly refuse. If you want to know any other bits about me, I shared 39 of them once. 

This is us. We have strengths and we have weaknesses; we mess up and sometimes we get it right. All in all, I like us a lot. 

Vacation 2017

This post is mostly providing myself with a little picture diary of our trip. All I had for a camera was my cell phone, so I definitely have no spectacular photography to show off! Chris is a master trip planner and he did a super good job lining up all the details for our trip ahead of time and adjusting our days as we went to make it all go smoothly.

Day 1 - Travel 12 hours to friends in Leon, Iowa. Discover a new era in travel where mom sits in the front seat the whole 12 hours (in fact, the entire trip)!! Read Miss Buncle's Book aloud from start to finish because every time you stop someone begs for more. Eat supper with Arlyn and Sue Kauffman and family and spend the night at Marvin and Rosanna Kauffman's place.

Our rig for the week

Day 2 - Enjoy breakfast and stimulating conversations. Depart for DeSmet, South Dakota. Arrive Monday evening and run into church friends who were traveling nearly the same path we were! (No picture to prove it but it happened) Visit downtown DeSmet and the graveyard.

Windmills that signal the west... We had fun looking for gravestones of the Ingalls family and other people in Laura's books.

Day 3 - Tour Laura's houses and school. Surveyor's house and DeSmet school are original buildings. Visit homestead and enjoy all the hands on activities.

Comparison pic from three years ago when we were in DeSmet

Day 4 - Head toward Mt Rushmore. Visit the Badlands. Take a small hike because Miss Drama isn't feeling well. Arrive at Mt Rushmore. Enjoy supper in motel room by our chef. (Who knew you could have chicken and mashed potatoes in your motel room?) Drive up to Mt Rushmore to see the lights.

Gorgeous sunflower fields enroute

Terrible pictures but it was really cool in the dark!

Day 5 - Visit Mt Rushmore. Amazing, amazing place. Switch up planned activities for the sake of the sickly and drive through Custer Park. Totally worth it for the breathtaking scenery!

We saw buffalo, prairie dogs, antelope amazing rocks and scenery and drove through tiny tunnels...

Day 6 - Head to Rapid City, South Dakota "The City of Presidents" and walk through 12 blocks, I believe it was, meeting all the Presidents. Fun!

On to Storybook Island where we saw "The Three Men In The Tub", "The Cat In The Hat", "The Pumpkin Shell" and lots of other fun storybook scenes/characters.

Drive on to Deadwood and watch a shooting reenactment. Leave Charles and I at the motel while the rest tour the town and take in the evening's activities - including the mock trial of Jack McCall and Jennifer helping serve on the jury. They had a grand time!

Day 7 - Traveling, with stops along the Oregon Trail ---

Oregon Trail Ruts. Amazing to see the path made through the rocks by so many wagons passing through!

Register Cliff. Landmark on the travelers way with thousands of names carved in it's side.

Chimney Rock. A spectacular landmark that could be seen for two days when traveling by wagon. Amazing.

These flowers were everywhere.

I want some.

Day 8 - Head to Kalona, Iowa and spend the evening/night with Elam and Loretta Stoltzfoos. Lovely time.

Day 9 - Leave at 6:00 for New Bloomfield, Missouri to be near the center of totality and view the eclipse. I have no good pictures of the eclipse, sadly. The experience was absolutely amazing and one that is hard to describe with words or pictures!

Watching the people was almost as interesting as the eclipse. The man on the lower right amused me greatly.

This is how we travelled -

racing games on the laptop and Play House/School/Hospital on the iPad were main activities with Adventures In Odyssey, a biography of Ulysses Grant on CD and various other books, games and snacks in between.

Arrive home at 12:15 a.m.

Day 10 - First Day Of School! No picture to prove that either but it was and now vacation is over and it's back to school and a new schedule.

The End

Are Vacations Overrated?

I'm  not sure why I always feel the need to get defensive about Vacations. Probably because I'm still trying to decide if Vacations are overrated. I'm talking -- take off for a week, travel to far away places, sight see and sleep in motel kind of vacations. I grew up without them and turned out pretty well, I'd say. My husband managed to become an amazing man in spite of no Vacations as well. I've always held tightly to the idea that it's really the little things that create some of the best memories -- playing Whistle Wink or Wave with my siblings in the gathering twilight, sitting around the popcorn bowl on a Sunday evening, talking at the supper table long after the food has disappeared, riding on the back of the truck down bumpy roads for a picnic at the White River...

I married a man who shares my ideas of making memories with little things. But, he is also a man who loves history and stories and giving his children opportunities to travel and make that history and those stories come to life. Our biggest venture to date has been the trip we took three years ago to see all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's little houses. This year, the solar eclipse on August 21 was the catalyst for another big adventure. Chris always vowed he wouldn't miss a chance to see a solar eclipse, so plans began to take a vacation over that time. What started as a small, weekend trip turned into a nine day excursion and returning home late the night before school started!

There were many moments in the past nine plus days when I really felt Vacations are highly overrated. Packing up a family of seven for nine days away from home is not for the faint of heart. We did not take a motor home nor a maxi van. In fact, we rented a vehicle that turned out to have less space than our mini van. Lets just say my minimalist and organizational skills were stretched a good bit and, to be honest, I had a hard time mustering up much excitement about the whole thing. Children have no respect for the hard work a Vacation takes. They wake up all groggy in the morning and look expectantly at their parents and ask, "Where are we going today?" They ask thoughtless questions like - "Is this all we're doing?" "Why do we have to walk so far??" "Do we have to eat chicken again?"

It was four nights into our trip, driving up to Mt Rushmore in the dark with the lights of the town blinking brightly in the distance, when I squeezed Chris' hand and whispered, "Maybe it really is worth it all."

I don't know if I can explain what prompted that feeling. The children were mimicking favorite stories and there was a level of camaraderie and closeness that just squeezed my mother heart. I had watched my oldest swing the youngest up onto his shoulders when short little legs got tired; seen the big girl give the younger sisters the best seats; observed the close bond the five of them share. Do not get me wrong here. I'd heard plenty of, "Make him stop!" "It's my turn!" "Why do you always have to....?" kinds of stuff, too. We don't have angels for children, trust me. The Drama Queen had totally frustrated me with her 'when I don't feel good I'm dying' routine; the fifteen year old had not acted the way I thought a fifteen year old should act..... but in the dark, closeness of the vehicle with the glow of the lights in the distance and someone wondering how many of them were street lights and how many were buildings and how it would look if it were only street lights.... Somehow with the sharing of laughter and stories and memories, I felt the irreplaceable bond of family and how special it is to share the big moments of adventure together.

I believe there is a balance between thinking we must have Vacations and always staying home because it would be terrible to "waste" all that money. I'm reminded of John Piper's practical questions about money, particularly this one: Is it an occasional, expensive nonessential that would say an extraordinary 'I love you'? This trip was certainly occasional, expensive and nonessential but I'm embracing the experience as the extraordinary 'I Love You' that it was.

Vacations are definitely overrated but they are also so much fun! I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend quality family time enjoying some of the amazing sights of this world God created and watching history come alive before our eyes.

All that being said.......

Just call me Duffy.

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Pictures coming soon... sometime after I emerge from the piles of laundry and back to school adjustments...

Sentiments From A Busy Weekend

After a busy weekend spent hosting family, I am left with piles of dirty laundry, bleary eyes from lack of sleep, tired children who overslept this morning and came home from school in various stages of complete meltdown and a heart full of warm, sentimental feelings. 

For some reason, in the quiet left after the hubbub of activities and meal prep and chatter, I am left with a deep impression to cherish the moment.

We only have today. Truly. Are my petty grievances and annoyances really worth it? Are my to do list and my appearance and my house really that important? 

I'm not promised unlimited time with these people that I love. Am I loving them well? Do they know that I love them?

I'm not promised another chance to make good memories. Am I making the most of the opportunities I have? Am I taking notice of the gift of today? Am I placing importance on the most valuable things?

Someday these little people will be the big people. Someday today will be the past; the heritage my children look back on. My time here is short and fleeting.

What I do today is important. It might not seem like much in the moment but it is a whole string of todays that make up the future. What I do today will matter.

I might not get another chance to stop and listen. I might not get another chance to do something special. I might not get another chance to say I love you.

Don't take today, and the people who are in it, for granted.

Sisters By Choice

Sisters are one of life's sweetest gifts. And then there are sister-in-laws; sisters by choice, if you will. I am privileged to have four of them, three of whom live in Ohio.

This past weekend I spent time with the Ohio three over the Thanksgiving holidays. It hit me one evening as we sat together what a unique gift we four have been given.

We all grew up in different communities; several of us in different states. We have no blood relation to each other; we may not have even struck up a friendship had we met each other in a crowd. Our one common choice that brought us together was the decision to marry a son of Marvin and Janice Eicher. Our husbands had no sisters, so here we are, thrown into the role of sisters and the daughters that our mother-in-law never had.

We spent yesterday shopping together, along with our mother-in-law and the two oldest grandaughters. Sisters will always have the edge on the whole sister thing, since they grew up with you and know all your quirks inside and out. But sisters by choice are a pretty good lot to have too, at least mine are!

What a fun day yesterday was. We laughed together, exclaimed over each other's treasures and gave The Shoppers (you know, the ones who are always the last to make it to the check out line?) a hard time about always keeping the rest waiting. We disagreed on our taste in pictures and fabric and love of books. We told stories and made memories and learned to know each other just a little better.  At the end of the day we went home to the bond we all share -- a brother we call husband.

Those three will probably never know me quite like my sisters do. They didn't grow up with me and they don't know all the stories surrounding my childhood without having them repeated. I'll probably never be quite as free to be completely transparent with them as I am with my sisters. But we share a special bond that has formed a friendship and I am thankful for each one of my sisters by choice!

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Quote of the day:
      I'm sitting on a chair, waiting for ... cough cough ... The Shoppers, when an older gentleman joins me on the chair to my left and says, "What are you doing sitting here? This is where the men sit!"

On Needing Each Other

Two long days of traveling and four days away total and I'm home again. Home to little arms squeezing my neck; home to piles of laundry and an empty fridge; home to fill the role of wife and mother once again.

It's hard to find words for the past four days. The short version is that my dad had open heart surgery on Monday to replace a valve. My siblings and I were all gathered for the occasion and he is doing well. The long version is full of many more emotions and feelings and details.

For some reason I've found it the easiest to remain silent on the subject. It's been a little much to process - heart surgery less than three months into a new marriage and a new chapter in our family's history. Quite frankly, I wasn't sure I could handle the sympathy and the questions and the pity. I don't understand either what God has in mind but I'll be fine, thank you very much or something along those lines.

But that isn't quite fair, because when you're sitting calmly in a waiting room with the knowledge that a surgeon's knife is splitting your father's breast bone, you are keenly aware that it's the prayers of all those people you didn't feel like talking to that are holding you up and carrying you along. And during that horribly long hour between the time the surgeon comes to tell you they are taking your father back into surgery and the time he returns to tell you all is well, it is - again - the prayers of many that allow you to find rest even when the knot in your stomach almost convinces you to get rid of that free continental breakfast.

We need each other, we do. Some of us think we would rather do it on our own and some of us try to find our strength in numbers. The truth is, none of us can make it on our own and most of all, we all need Him. Sometimes He is enough in the quiet corners of our own bedroom as we clutch His promises and find peace in trusting His sovereignty. Sometimes He shows himself in skin with hugs and food and text messages saying "I'm praying". Sometimes He even appears in the questions and the sympathy that we think we don't want because we need Him and we need each other.

I don't know what other surprises God has for my story. I do know that I am happy to trust it all to someone who sees a much bigger picture than I do. I can testify to the fact that when I am in the midst of hard, the 'something different' I claim to have in my life does make a difference and I am convinced part of that comes from the multitude of fellow believers who lift me up and carry me on even when I go silent and think I would rather just do it myself.

"It is Good"

   "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells toll; it tolls for thee."

                             -- John Donne

You readers are special to me.

Did you know?

You are a

'piece of my continent'.

You have laughed with me,

cried with me,

encouraged me,

disagreed with me,

prayed for me,

advised me,

and taught me many things.

Some of you have taken the time to leave me comments or write me emails;

You have blessed me.

Some of you have come to me in person 

and said things like,

 "I love reading your blog!"

I always squirm and blush 

and don't know what to say,

but you have blessed me too!

Saturday was a beautiful, special day.

Your prayers were a part of that,
and I thank you.

Yes, there were emotions
of every kind.

But at the end of the day,
my heart felt happy
and I could say with sincerity,
"It is good."

I think they agree with me! 😊

Beneath The Surface

If only I had more children, maybe I could just keep on posting about birthdays and not need to write about anything else.....

It's trying to be Springtime in Ohio. I have to remind myself that every year I wonder if it will ever stay warm again and it always does, eventually. We're entering the last months of school, so there's the usual flurry of privilege trips and Track and Field day to prepare for and other year end activities cropping up right and left. Work is picking up on the House On The Hill - plumbing is mostly done, insulation done in the walls, drywall hanging coming up shortly. Our summer keeps looking busier and crazier all the time and it hasn't even begun yet!

That's a picture of the surface.

It would be easy to stick with painting surface pictures. After all, I don't owe the world wide web anything, much less pictures of life under the surface. Then again, maybe that's not the point. Maybe I owe it to myself to be honest and paint the pictures under the surface. Maybe that is part of the tension, the learning to hold it all together in my hand and experiencing true joy. But let me explain...

There are big changes coming into my family this summer. There are changes happening to the home place - renovations, paint; out with the old, in with the new. There are things to be done, decisions to be made. My dad is getting married!

My emotions run the gauntlet as time drags us onward. I feel the joy of new life; new beginnings, new stories, new hope. I feel the peace of sovereign planning; the turning of loneliness to companionship, emptiness to fulfillment. 

At the same time, I feel sorrow for what is past. There is pain in the closing of doors and these changes and adjustments easily stir the pain and the sorrow. We are not only turning a page and beginning a new chapter in our story, we are closing a book and beginning a new sequel in this series.

I'm tempted to take a deep breath and hold it for about 6 months. I know everything is going to be okay. In fact, I'm pretty confident everything is going to be more than okay! I just don't feel like dealing with the emotions and the chaos that seem to make up the path from here to the okay.

The other day I came across this quote, "There is a tension that God is asking me to acknowledge and accept - the tension between ideals and realities. True joy is found by living somewhere between the ideal life and daily realities. That is where Jesus meets me, where His Holy Spirit empowers me, and where I learn to live..." --Sally Clarkson

It is easy for me to either wallow in the emotion and chaos of the now or to take a deep breath and try to make it through to the 'okay' on the other side. Thing is, I would really like to have the true joy part and I don't seem to be finding it by doing either one of those.

Joy and peace are nice, I want to camp there and live happily ever after. But sorrow and pain are real, they must be acknowledged and felt in this old world. If true joy is found in the tension of holding all this together in my hand, then I want to learn to hold it well. I want Jesus to meet me, I want His Holy Spirit to empower me.

I cannot make it on my own.

Now The Party Is Over

We are home after a week of being gone. It was a good week. Not everything went exactly as planned - needing to have your van hauled the last hour of the way after hitting a deer will do that to plans - but I reckon the Lord knew best, after all.

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have. Totally missed the Dutch Blitz game played with gigantic cards on the floor (I have the sore muscles to prove that I was a 'runner' as pathetic as that is to admit!) and plenty of other memorable activities but I'll share some that I have.

One day before the whole gang had gathered, our little family took an excursion to Little Rock. We toured the Clinton Presidential Library...

And felt the need to pose with the flowers blooming in December...

Some people needed instructions on how to stand...

Certain ones thought that picture was hilarious, not sure this one was so much better...

It was fun, at any rate.

We also hiked across the Big Dam Bridge

It turned out to be a gorgeous day after a rain storm in the forenoon!

Once all the Gingrich's had gathered, we enjoyed sister time while our thoughtful sister-in-law and oldest nieces did fun activities with all the children. There was a hike and playing with mamma's old dishes at grandpa's house... 

There was jump roping...

And ping pong...

And an introduction to a new Christmas Eve tradition...

Then there was Christmas day with carefully laid tables...

And delicious food...

And wonderful company to share it with...

There were White Elephant gifts...

And all the hilarity to go with them...

There were games...

And laughter, and talking, and singing...

And then it was time to leave and head back to the real world where responsibilities loom and the daily grind awaits and warm memories linger. Yes, the party is over but not forgotten.