Busy Trip, Full Hearts

August 2022 Newsletter

The scene: We are home! We’re exhausted from jet lag, but eager to unpack our suitcases. There is a general sense of calm in our home after weeks of upheaval. The children run outside and there are silly giggles because of the overgrown lawn. We feel we need a break, but also feel restored just to be at home again.

This is what it felt like to arrive home after six weeks on home assignment. Our time in the US filled our hearts. It’s a blessing for us to connect with many of you throughout our trip. We are also glad to be home and sliding into our daily rhythms and reconnecting with our life in Carlisle.

While in the US, we had a family reunion with Leon’s side of the family. It had been 9 years since all of us were in the same country (and state)! Our children enjoyed meeting their cousins for the first time, although you couldn’t tell it was their first time meeting—they were instant friends! We went on holiday together to rural Missouri. The children experienced fishing, swimming, canoeing, and hiking. There would never be enough time to build those relationships, but we look forward to the next time we’re together again.

A few days after we returned, we celebrated Ellis’s 5th birthday! It was a very busy Sunday, but our extroverted, high energy, laid-back boy took it all in stride. He sure enjoyed his red birthday cake too!

As we write having been back for 3 weeks from the US, it is hard to know where the time has gone. We have been busy settling back into life in the UK. While away, our electric went out for 4-5 days, so we needed to clean up the fridge and freezer. We had friends watch our allotment while away, but there were still things to be done once returning. All it needed was a little weeding, planting, and pruning. We are enjoying lots of food from the allotment these days.

It has been great to see our friends again after our long absence. At the end of July, we celebrated Leon’s 40th birthday with about two dozen friends. (We had already celebrated all the Hedding July and August birthdays while together in the US, so this was a second party.) The weather was threatening, but it never rained and we had lovely fellowship with our friends around an outdoor fire pit.