Fit to Burst
March 2020 Newsletter (Part Two)
Dear Friend,
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Editor's Note: We've had a busy few months, and instead of bogging you down with one enormous newsletter, we thought we'd split our news up amongst 3 separate emails over the next few weeks. If you missed our first instalment, read it here.
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It's a well-known fact that any home improvement project is never as straightforward as you intend. With young children involved, things become more challenging. The front hall of our home had textured wallpaper covering the walls that, over time, had peeled off. Our curious, beautiful children encouraged us to do something about it and began pulling off large chunks of said wallpaper. The only way forward at this point was to continue pulling the paper off. The plan was while Leon was off for the Christmas holidays and on paternity leave that we would remove all the wallpaper and freshen the room with a coat or two of paint.
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Ellis, Asher, & Eva Joy helped strip wallpaper
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Six weeks later, we now have a newly plastered hallway and that fresh coat of paint we dreamed of. As Leon and the children began removing the wallpaper, plaster began falling off the wall in large amounts. Textured wallpaper apparently covers a lot of imperfections! In that six-week period, Leon learned how to plaster a wall (yes, he did this with a newborn at home!). And now we have a much nicer and brighter looking hallway to come home to.
As our family grows, our house increasingly feels smaller and smaller. We feel we need to redecorate/paint the house to get it in a state where we could sell and move to a larger house. That has become our winter and spring project on weekends.
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Asher made us pancakes for lunch!
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Leon and Asher read from the Christmas story during our church's carol service
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Leon has been doing the finance for our church. It has been a great educational experience and a way to bless the church. In December I handed over these responsibilities because of time constraints leading from our growing family and leadership roles in OM.
Before all the DIY and Christmas, I travelled to Oxford with a colleague from the Netherlands for a week of Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) training. This is a product that OM will use to manage our identities across our many IT systems. MIM is a complex product and our needs in OM are complex. We recognise that we need to automate the flow of identity information during the joiners, movers and leavers process as we work to increase capacity to mobilise more workers into missionary work.
The work that I provide in IT for OM can seem distant from the real impact of people's lives. But technology is is getting used more and more for collaboration in OM because of the impact of COVID-19.
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An enormous parsnip from our allotment
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Ellis 'helps' feed Baby Iris
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And now the news we're certain you've been waiting for…
We welcomed Iris Faith into our family on 30 December 2019! After many weeks of hospital appointments and growth scans because of our family history of foetal abnormalities, my doctor advised me to have an induction of labour just before the New Year. We are pleased to share that everything was straightforward, except for a short stay in hospital to get feeding on track when Iris was 5 days old. Our little Iris is such a blessing and beautiful addition to our family. We all enjoy getting to know her as the weeks and months pass by.
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Eva Joy loves having a little sister!
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Iris's first bath
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Prayer Requests
- Pray for us as we adjust to being a family of six versus a family of five. Our day-to-day lives are very full (and blessed!).
- Praise God for the safe arrival of Iris!
- Pray we will finish the decorating (repainting) of our house quickly, and that a new home will be available at the right time.
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God Bless,
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