Precious Memories

It seems like a long time since I’ve sat down to write something for the blog - although there’s been a hundred times that I’ve had something polished up and ready in my head.  It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday and the pen never hits the paper…

A few weeks ago now, unbeknownst to me, little, sticky fingers typed in YouTube videos on the laptop and then in a rush for bedtime, I set it down on the countertop in the kitchen without thinking twice.  By the next morning, millions of near-microscopic ants had invaded it!  They were in the DVD slot, crawling through the keyboard and “GASP!” in the hard-drive.

Over the next couple of days, as my hard-drive slowly failed, we panicked mostly about the photos that would be lost.  Thankfully, someone was able to remove it and transfer them off before they were lost forever.  But looking back through our memories and experiences from the last few years made me stop and think that sometimes, memories are best when they’re shared.  So here are a few of ours, in words and in (very precious) photos:

Matt comes home every night hot, tired, dirty - and full of excitement for the people he's met, flown and the amazing stories of the work they're doing.  I love that he loves his job, and the excitement of imagining how many people can be impacted by one flight.

The neighbourhood kids have become like part of the family and there is hardly a day when we don't see a collection of them arrive at the gate for some fun.  When I look through nearly 4 years of photos, its fun to see how they've grown and changed, and how we've come to love them like our own.  Our house is a revolving door of good-natured chaos, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Life in MAF, and in Kampala, is always an adventure.  We think up fun things for the kids to do - slip and slide on a old airline banner, costume parties, Canadian Thanksgiving dinner.  We've had fun creating versions of our own traditions, and learning about other peoples', too.  Every time we leave the gate, I'm never sure what to expect and it's exciting to figure things out and explore as the day goes on. Also, the goat in the photo below, travelled to school on a tarp in the trunk of my van, along with 6 rabbits!  Like I said, always an adventure :)

This year, Levi has come into our home and all of our hearts have grown at least 3 extra sizes!  He's sweet, happy, and has us all wrapped around his chubby little fist.

I don't always realise how far we've come in these years.  From so, so homesick to feeling completely at home.  It's makes my heart ache, in a good way, to look at these little faces. Theo the imp, Fred the brave and Charlee the baby snuggler.  I can't wait to look back over many more years with them and continually be so proud of who they are all becoming.

And finally there's me.  Looking back through, I don't make an appearance in too many of these shots.  But I'm always there, in the background, behind the camera or making sure things are running smoothly and everyone is loved and taken care of - from family to friends, visitors and more.  Our house and hearts are full of precious memories, and whether the actual photos are lost or not, we carry them with us and nothing - not even an invasion of ants - can take that away!