... From the cheering section!

Once upon a time, not too far ago in the past, the Lord gave to John and I one of the cutest baby girls to hold, to nurture and to raise … and we named her “Tiara.”  

She came into our lives with vigor and a love for life.  It seemed as if there was not an adventure that was too high or out of reach for this little girl.  At the age of 9, she was climbing the tallest pine tree around, bringing quite a lot of consternation to the crows that were there nesting.  They just couldn’t quite understand why a little girl was invading their space!  But I think they began to realize they needed to get use to it, because this girl named Tiara was going to continue to reach for new heights every day of her life.  And she has…

From trying her hardest to outplay the French girls on the city volleyball team 

here in France to trying to out-maneuver the guys on the ultimate frisbee field at university, Tiara continued to always reach forward in the area of sports.  But more than her love for sports of all kinds, Tiara continues to press ever forward to knowing her God better and serving Him more completely.  And it’s because of this pursuit … that those around her, including her family, are continually encouraged to do the same. 

This past May, that girl named Tiara - no longer the pigtailed girl of 9 - walked across her university stage to receive her diploma, with honors.  There was no hooting or hollering from her family - just the quiet sense of assurance that goes into knowing that it was not John or I who got her this far.  We had the extreme privilege and honor of watching her grow and stretch ever-forward but in the end, we knew, it was her heavenly Father who carried her all these years.  So as John and I reflect on this past graduation celebration, our hearts burst with pride at all that our daughter has accomplished and we are so excited to see what lies in her future … But two things we remain confident of:  the road ahead will continue to be filled with exciting adventures for her to experience and secondly, that this young woman named Tiara will always have her Heavenly Father leading the way forward, going behind her, remaining at her sides, undergirding her with His strong right hand and hovering above her singing sweet songs of deliverance for her to revel in.  John and I just have the extreme privilege and honor of cheering her on along the way …

You go, baby… we are so proud of you. =)

Tales from an International Dog ... Part 3

There are times in life when one stops in his tracks, looks at a new invention, ponders on what a great idea that it is, and then continues on his way in life making a mental note to himself that he would never be caught dead trying this newfound contraption!  This has been my life experience this past week.  While Robin and Ariana were out in town, they passed the local laundromat and spied this new machine that had been placed right next to the washing machines.

To all dogs, both living and dead, the sight of this new contraption would be enough to scare them to an early grave!  Yes ... your eyes are not deceiving you.   There, placed in a public building, was a washing machine for dogs!  To make it worse, the pictures that were placed on the Dog Shower were that of "happy" dogs... dogs who were content with life and obviously with this new invention.

Now, you might say, "What a great idea!  Think of all the mess that is saved at home by using such a machine."  My friend, I do not want to challenge your practical thoughts, (I am sure that my own masters have been contemplating the same thing).  But, you can be absolutely sure that you will never catch this dog using the services of a public Dog Shower here in France or in any other country... (I'm just saying...)

Me ... (Tzatziki) waiting for the next great adventure... 

just not one that includes a Dog Shower....