Snips, And Snails And………

The crazy and ”professional” camera crew at St. Simon Island.

Me taking a picture of the camera crew….and they taking a picture of us!

 

Our flight back to Papua was uneventful, other then FOREVER.  We left for the airport on Tuesday morning at 7:15 and arrived home Friday afternoon at 2:30.  We were very grateful to Malinda and Steve who hosted us the night prior to leaving the States: complete with our own personal firework show and redneck pickup ride.  Also to Darron’s parents who once again endured that last week of packing….which is just grueling and not fun.  And to the Elliott's who looked after our animals, home and picked us up at the airport this side of the world.

I’ll just share a snip of what this week has been about:  ADJUSTMENT!  Mainly getting our body time clocks reset.  For me: all the firsts.  The first: batch of granola, batch of bread, trip to Abe, trip to the pasar (market), grinding wheat.  Now it is time to do it all over again.  As these boys keep growing and eating and the “firsts” are almost all gone.  Andrew is only 1/2 an inch from passing Darron.  They say boys are made of snips and snails…….whatever “snips” are they sure eat a lot and expand quickly!!!! : )  Loving having children taller then me.  Thursday and Friday were Red Letter days, meaning that on the calendar the numbers are red and they are holidays.  So Thursday we took a boat to the “Middle Beach” with the Elliott family.  There Joy told us about the “Cone Shell” which are very abundant in Papua.  If you pick one up and the “live” creature inside brushes against you, 8 seconds later and you are dead.  I think this is important information for us to know.  Perhaps that is the “snail” part of my title. Let’s pull it all together moment!!!! : )

We’ve enjoyed catching up with friends and still have many more that we long to connect with.  School starts in 9  days.  Most mothers here are on the count down, knowing they will get a “break”.  I’m feeling the pressure of that is when my work will really begin, as I will continue to teach Jacob and Nathaniel at home.  However, we did get lot’s of neat curriculum in the States and I am curious to learn with the boys and I am optimistic that great learning will happen in the Boyd home school this year!

A huge task facing me this past week and the week to come is sorting through and pricing all of our friends stuff that they left behind (The Stumph Family).  John decided to take a job flying commercially in the States so they will not be returning to Papua.  For me, this is a first to have to sort through another missionaries belongings.  I have mourned Wendy, as I have come across things she made or things I remember seeing her with.  Fortunately, Joy has been helping me.  She tells me that they have had to sell so many peoples things through the years.  The mission community is so fluid.  I have only just begun to understand how much so.

Can you fill in the blank from the nursery rhyme?  What are little boys made of?

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails!!!!

One day after returning home we picked up a little male golden puppy.  Our male Golden retriever is the father.  The plan is that we will keep the puppy a week or two and then we will be giving this little squirmy bundle of love to the previous owner’s family (of our dogs).  He is adorable….but he is a puppy and I will be happy when his new family is ready to take him home. 

It was so wonderful to connect with so many of you on furlough.  There are still so many of you that we didn’t get to see……and for that, what a loss to us.  Thanks for reading and praying.  Who knows what our third year in Papua will bring?  One thing for sure, it will be full of boy adventures and I really don’t think that the nursery rhyme knows what little boys are made of.