I don’t know if anyone else is reeling from the calendar date and wondering how we got here so quickly, but I am. The past six weeks are a bit of a blur so the expectation of being home the next three weeks (the longest stretch since we moved to Fairfax in August) brings great comfort.

When the present busyness of the holidays seems like a restful, slow-down-and-smell-the-roses period of time, you know you’ve been on a tear.

So in the dark early morning on this 32-degree day in northern Virginia, it’s good to sit by candlelight and reflect on what has filled the days since Nov. 1.

November started off in Hawaii, on the Big Island, again partnering with Living Stones Church. What a joy it is to spend two two-week periods each year with this congregation, for whom our hearts just grow deeper and deeper. We have the utmost respect for the godly leadership of Bill and Pine Barley, who faithfully serve the LSC community with wisdom and truth. They have become such dear friends as well as ministry partners through the years.

*For the third year in a row, we celebrated my birthday with Bill and Pine…and I’m wearing a plumeria lei handmade by Pine.*

Our two weeks were filled again with a variety of great opportunities. The two Friday nights we were there, Rick and Denise Hart (part-time staff for Pine Trees Church, the sister church of Living Stones Church) hosted open “Q & A” nights for the church family. Both nights were filled with a lot of people, yummy food, and thoughtful questions. We loved the format and agreed with the Harts that it was wildly successful.

*Denise Hart (center), organizer and host of the two Q & A nights, stands with some who attended the first Friday night.*

*We’re standing with the three Schenk brothers and their partners at the end of the second Q & A Friday night.*

*Both evenings were very well attended and full of energy.*

“Kahu” Bill offered to spread the net further during this trip by offering for us to preach at and do a marriage seminar for the Mokuaikaua Church, the first Christian church in Hawaii, established in 1820. “Kahu David” readily accepted and it was an honor for us to partner with this “new to us” ministry. We so enjoyed expanding our horizons and connecting with a new group of faithful believers in Kona. Kahu David and his wife Kim have served this church for several decades and we felt immediate kinship with them.

*The Sunday morning outdoor service was packed and it was a privilege to worship with this body of Christ.*

*Pastor David and Kim de Carvalho lead this ministry at Mokuaikaua Church and graced us with these beautiful leis.*

*Kim and her team did a beautiful job of hospitality for the marriage seminar held on a Saturday morning.*

Drayth and DeAnne Sielaff were celebrating their thirtieth anniversary on the island and came to the seminar! We became fast friends after they rescued us by “jumping” our borrowed car when it didn’t start.

We once again had the joy of speaking to the high school youth group on relationships one evening and were delighted by their attentiveness and interaction. Jodi and Christian Coetzee continue to do a great job providing leadership for the LSC youth as well as for the young adults ministry. We spent an evening at their home with about 25 post-high school young people doing a “Q & A” with them on relationships. We were encouraged by the Christ-centeredness of these who are being bombarded daily by so many distortions and deceptions regarding relationships.

*Jodi Coetzee (sans husband Christian, who was ill that night) is knocking it out of the park with the youth programs at LSC.*

*Jaycee Coetzee leads worship for the high school youth group.*

*The young adults Saturday night gathering started with dinner and was followed by a Q & A time on relationships.*

It’s not every day that friends from Boston fly to Kona to hear us speak for the marriage seminar, but when they do, their picture goes in the blog. Keith and Wendy Moore have become dear friends and we had a great time hiking with them after the seminar.

Besides all of the speaking opportunities, we did about 40 hours of counseling and had various meals with “Ohana” friends. There’s never enough time, and all too quickly, two weeks had flown by and we were off to the mainland with full hearts of gratitude for these productive weeks of ministry in such a beautiful setting.

Taking advantage of flying through the Bay Area, we said yes to speaking at Windsor Christian Academy for a Wednesday night parenting talk. It was great to partner again with Lance Wallace and to be hosted by our dear friends, Joy and Randy Hitchcock. We also managed to squeeze in a visit with our dear Rosemary Dougan and had a very sweet time with this 99.5-years-old sage.

*We snuck in a quick visit with Rosemary Dougan before speaking at Windsor Christian Academy.*

*Lance Wallace is the senior pastor of Windsor Christian Church and we so enjoyed working with him for the second year in a row.*

*Randy and Joy Hitchcock arranged the evening at Windsor Christian Academy and we always love being with them.*

Our plan to fly home after our evening in Windsor was redirected to Boston after getting word that our dear friend Patty Benes was in her last stages of bile duct cancer, so on the 17th of November, we spent the day with Patty in her hospice room. It was a very hard day to see this beautiful woman and “chosen sister” of almost 30 years in such pain and so ravaged by this enemy, but we were so thankful we had some sweet time connecting during her periods of lucidity. Four and a half days later she passed into eternity and Paul and I flew up to do her funeral. Patty’s greatest grief was not her own death, but leaving behind her 35-year-old daughter, Kimmie, who has significant disabilities that require 24/7 care. Her death has brought great sorrow to us, though we know she is in the arms of Jesus where she will experience no more pain, tears, or sorrow. That’s deeply comforting.

*Kimmie adores Paul and it was a gift to Patty for her to know they were having good times in her room.*

We flew to Fairfax the night of the 17th and welcomed Lisa to our new home the 18th, where we would have a family reunion over Thanksgiving week.

Let the party begin.

The Garcias completed our numbers when they arrived on Tuesday the 21st and the next week was filled with lots of talking, laughing, playing games, putting together puzzles, taking walks, and eating great food. One of the benefits of living only 2 miles from Derek and Julie is we housed everyone between the two houses for sleeping, but hung out together at one or the other homes during the day. It worked out so well.

These photos tell the story:

*Ana and Rachel made turkey cupcakes for the Thanksgiving dessert table.*

*All twelve of us sat around one long table for Thanksgiving dinner.*

*Between Thanksgiving dinner and dessert, we speedily put together this puzzle of Catalina Island.*

*The kids LOVED playing this vintage game “Skittles” by Carrom . . . which became one of the entries in the “Kids vs. Adults” competition.*

*The all-family football game, played on the green space abutting our property, was won by the adults . . . and it was the ONLY game won by the adults.*

*Croquet anyone? The kids didn’t love it, but we think it might’ve been because of long grass.*

*Farkle . . . also won by the kids . . .*

*S’mores and hot tubbing was enjoyed by all and won by no one. :)*

*My brother Frank and his wife joined us for dessert one night.*

*When the 13-year-old grandson asks you to do a sewing project with him, you say YES!! I’d say that’s a win for the adults. :)*

*We did venture out on one field trip to the National Zoo. The very cold temps and wind kept the crowds down.*

And just like that, the week had evaporated and we’re left with very thankful hearts and sweet memories.

We flew to Boston for Patty’s funeral the same day Garcias flew home to California, and that began a very full week back in our beloved New England.

It was such a privilege to honor Patty in a beautifully-done service and we were so thankful for so many things, not least of which was the timing of it. We felt God’s kindness in orchestrating the events as He did.

This multi-purpose trip included meeting up with a number of friends, speaking for Valley Chapel’s Date Night on Friday the 1st of December, speaking Saturday and Sunday for our Engagement Matters Weekend, cashing in a gift certificate for a night at the Chatham Inn, and going to hear Andrea Bocelli in concert at TD Garden (which ended up being canceled 40 minutes after start time due to illness). We also signed the final papers to close the deal on our home in Bedford, so we are officially no longer residents in Massachusetts.

The days were full and fun and brought some measure of closure to our life in New England.

*Valley Chapel held their date night at a neighboring church after deciding that competing with a youth group nerf event would not be compatible.*

*We were surprised and delighted to have these three couples, with whom we’ve done many family camps, marriage conferences, and life with for over two decades, show up for date night.*

*The team from Valley Chapel who put together the Date Night . . . spearheaded by Ken and Amy Gaudet (far right) and invited by Pastor Bob Howard (next to Amy.)*

*Engagement Matters was hosted again by Matt and Beth Ide (far right) who were joined by an able team and attendees.*

We thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the eleven couples who were considering marriage and were so grateful for the behind-the-scenes friends who made it happen by keeping us well-fed and comfortable.

*We spent one evening at a local restaurant treating our dearly beloved neighbors to a final meal together. How we will miss these friends.*

The answer is now clear as a bell to the question: “How is it December already?” Even I got tired writing about the past six weeks: between the travel (12K alone for the Hawaii ministry), the speaking, counseling, and interacting with so many, the emotional drain of losing one of out dearest friends, and the emotional delight of being together as a family, these weeks have been life-giving and life-draining.

I never thought I’d say it, but the two weeks leading up to Christmas will be more restful than the six weeks up to now.

Not that we’ll be sitting around eating bonbons . . . There are jammies to sew, caramel corn to bake, jam to make, presents to wrap (and buy), gingerbread houses to create, and neighbors to meet . . . but we’ll be home.

And that sounds good.