Hiking Through Life

The best is yet to come!! I love you!!

Every so often we are blessed with house guests. This summer Augustine Tawiah (Dean of the Ghana Bible College where Tammie and I taught earlier this year) and his wife Lynn (a Memphis native), are multi-tasking. Augustine is taking a statistics course at the University of Memphis and Lynn is taking a teachers orientation and team-building course (she teaches at the American International School in Accra, Ghana.) These two dear friends show the Lord in all they do and I always learn so much from each of them. They never stay long enough. Another Ghanaian friend Gabriel (minister and elder at the 1000-member congregation in Kumasi) who Tammie and met in February, also visited us last week. What a gentle, precious soul he is and such a godly man. I feel humbled in his presence and his prayers of praise and thanksgiving will bless me for many years to come. God never ceases to amaze me with His goodness especially when he gives us brothers and sisters in Him. No matter how far apar...

I may be prejudiced, but is this photo cute or what?? Adelaide is as pretty as her Mama, but she sure seems to have Sam's glint in her eye! I can't wait to see her next month.

OK, I admit it. This was a real extravagance. But my granddaughter LOVES to have her nails done. So there you are. Thank goodness there's a hobby shop next door so big brother Ian could be spared the spa experience!!

It's been a busy week! But I wouldn't have missed it for the world. We left Virginia and headed to our house via Sam's and Mama Frances'. They got to meet their little cousin Adelaide and play in the playhouse their Momma did with Mama Frances. Then on to our house for a much too short visit. I sure will miss those young uns! I love being a grandmother! With their little cousin Adelaide in Indiana... With Mama Frances in Crockett County... At the Zoo...

It's going to be hard to leave this little guy tomorrow! But it's been a GREAT two plus weeks with my daughter and her family! We welcomed little Jess into the family and we've just been enjoying each other's company. I have so much respect for the wonderful father my son-in-law is and the tenderness he shows my daughter and their children. I enjoy spending time with all of them: Jason and his computer knowledge always ramps my own skills up several notches! Suzannah and her creative interests as well as her sweetness show me the full bloom of the child I remember. Suzannah is also a wonderful mother and a "home-maker" in the truest sense of the word. Talking with Ian and learning almost as much about Star Wars as I did from my son Sam many years ago was a real treat. Ian is just the quintessential big brother and is a real help to his Mom with the younger children. He reminds me so much of Suzannah when she was that age. Evelynn never stops moving!...

It's been quite a couple of days! And baby Jess came home just 25 hours after his birth. Suz is also doing great and is happy to be back home with the other two youngins. He's just cute as a peach and is already holding up his head for several moments at a time. We got out Ian's baby album tonight and it's remarkable how much Jess looks like Ian in those photos. Note in the photo to the right that Ian and Evelynn are wearing "big brother" and big sister" t-shirts we ordered for them. If you've been reading Jason and Suzannah's blog www.jasuz.com you know the doctor told them today that Jess probably has congenital cataracts like what both Jason and Evelynn have. He has an appointment on Thursday with the same pediatric opthamologist that Evelynn sees to determine the best course of action (surgery for sure but when is the issue). While it was disappointing news, they have much experience dealing with cataracts and Jess will get the best care pos...

Howdy Folks! It's been an exciting day!! Jess Samuel Landry Foster was born at 1359 (that's 1:59 PM for you landlubbers!) weighing in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and 18 1/2 inches. I think he looks a lot like Ian did when he was born. Suzannah's midwife friend Aimee got here about 2 AM and actually "caught" the baby. The doctor was very laid back and seemed to appreciate Aimee's involvement. Thanks for all your prayers. The docs will check Jess' eyes tomorrow sometime. Please be in prayer that he has healthy eyes. Here are the first few photos (from the picture happy grandmother: ME!!)

It's been raining all day today. We thought maybe the new baby boy would make his grand debut but still no baby. Suzannah is getting a bit frustrated, but we've had a good day. It was Missions Day at Fairfax Church of Christ. Graham Kervin, part of the mission team to the Czech Republic (where Christi the daughter of our friends Judy and David Shockley is also a mission team member) came to us via webcast and led the communion devotional. It was really special sharing that time with someone several thousands miles away. Graham could also see the Fairfax audience and so his parents stood and waved to him. I also got to see several friends there this morning, Kahlil Jahshan, Becky Duckworth, Lynn Belnap and others. We had a long lunch (and web-surfing) at Panera Bread then came home for an afternoon of movie-watching. I watched "Dr. Zhivago" (which, by the way I saw in the theatre when it came out in 1965) and now I'm watching "Charlotte's Web" with th...

Here's a picture of Ian and Evelynn wearing the African clothing I got them in Ghana earlier this year.