Well, catching up seems to be the theme of our lives now.  If we ever get on top or ahead of the game again…I’ll wonder what happened!    I had good intentions to keep this blog updated this year, but the last several months have just got away from me. 

Jude and I had a quick trip back to Oklahoma in May.  We lost my grandma (father’s mother) at the ripe old age of 92.  She had always been so spunky and lived on her own up until the month before she passed away.  It was a sad trip, but Jude got to meet most of his aunts and uncles for the first time.

This summer we were blessed to be able to go back to Japan as a family.  We had so much fun and it was such a treat to see what the boys actually remembered.  They surprised us with what they retained.  It was so good for us, too, to go back and see all of our Japanese friends and fun places we used to go.  We really miss it there sometimes!  We also took a trip to Saipan (an island near Guam) for a few days as a family vacation.  It is such a beautiful place.  We highly recommend it to everyone! 

We also enjoyed time with grandparents at the end of July and beginning of August which is always a blessing, but especially so this year.  On Sept. 11th, my dad’s 70th birthday, we lost him to a heart attack.  The Lord took him quickly, which is always the way he wanted to go.  He hated hospitals and had already had more than his fair share of time spent in them.  He and my mom had a wonderful last day together doing many of the things he enjoyed doing and within minutes of returning home from the Kansas State Fair, he died.  They had just celebrated their 48th anniversary in Aug. and his death brought an end to his valiant 54 year battle with juvenile diabetes.  My mom seems to be doing well, but it certainly is an adjustment for us all.  We are so grateful that we will see him again someday in heaven.  I really don’t know how people who aren’t Christians deal with the death of losing a loved one when there is no hope of being with them again someday.

The boys are doing well (we currently have the flu bug, so I am at home with sick kids today catching up), and growing so fast.  Levi is a 2nd grader and Luke a kindergartener.  Joel is 4 and Jude is 1.  The energy level of our house is off the charts with 4 boys!  They keep us running and we enjoy it so much.  Parenting certainly is a challenge, but well worth the effort.

We hope all is well with you and yours!  Drop us a line sometime if you get a chance!

Love,

Kara and all the boys