2019 was such a pivotal year for Jeff and I, Mom and each of my children and their families, I decided to do a blog posting to summarize the year!
This was Christmas 2018 in Galena.....our last time all together in Kansas......
Jeff was once again invited to do the Winter Bible Conference at Antioch, Conway, Jan. 13-15, 2019. Always a great time with wonderful folks!
Mom rode down with Jeff and I and Bev came from Texas to join us at the conference. Kaye and Rob hosted us their pretty home!
The next week, Jeff and I (and Aaron and Jenae Polok and Wes and Derenda Shoemaker) went on the 2019 Church Leaders Cruise on a Carnival Ship for 5 days (Jan. 19-24). That was fun!
The Sunday after returning from the cruise, Jeff made public his retirement plans to our church family😢.....August 18th, 2019 completing 10 years of service as their Senior Pastor and that we would be moving to Conway, AR. Much more about that later in this posting.
Andy & Carman felt the call to a new ministry at the end of 2018....The Mount Church in Keller, TX.
The family's last Sunday at Metro, Centerton was the middle of January.
Andy's first day as the Senior Teaching Pastor was Jan. 28th. Their Centerton house was put on the market and they bought a home in Ft. Worth (about 20 minutes from the church). The family would stay in Arkansas and Andy stayed in the church parsonage with a couple of the interns til the middle of February while all the loose ends were tied up and they were able to move their possessions.
On the same day that Andy began his new position, Jonathan also started a new job, which was one where he could work from home, so that opened up an opportunity to live wherever they chose. I'll talk more about that shortly.
I kept the Swart kids for a few days while Mom and Dad and baby Mack were in Texas. This would be the last time to worship with us at FBC, Galena
I also spent several days in Arkansas helping Carman out with the kids while she packed up their belongings.
The first of 2019, Saylor got fitted for a helmet. Thankfully after several months, it did the trick and her head looks great now!
💖We did our annual Valentines outing with the grandkids at a hotel in Rogers in February💖
Saylor and Avi were in Tennessee so not able to join us. But I did have Rachel mail them some of her cute cookies!
Andy & Carman bought this pretty home in Ft. Worth and made the move the end of February.
On March 9th, Jeff gave us a scare with heart pains! He ended up having one stent done. Rachel was so sweet to drive the long drive from Ft. Smith to check on her Daddy!
To read more details about our January, February and March, click here:
2019 brought a lot of sadness to the Boore and Brunk families.....Uncle Wayne passed away in March (Dad's brother)
In April, Mom's sister, Aunt Mildred died and in May, Mom's brother, Uncle Harry passed away.
And then in November, Aunt Betty (Mom's sister-in-law) died. Mom is the only living sibling now on the Brunk side. 😢
For Mom's 90th Birthday on April 5th, Kaye, Bev and I hosted a birthday dinner for her at the lakehouse in Bella Vista. We were thrilled that over 40 family and close friends drove the distance and came! God has been so good to allow our Mother to live a long life in fairly good health!
To read more about the event, click here: Mom's 90th party
The week after the birthday party, I kept the McCrary children as Jonathan and Rachel had bought a very pretty home in Little Rock and Rachel had a lot of packing to do! This was their last Sunday to go to church at FBC, Galena with DeDe and Papa.
We were thrilled that once Jeff retired, we would be 45 minutes from their new home in the Otter Creek subdivision of west Little Rock. They chose this area as it also put them much closer to Jonathan's parents, siblings and other relatives.
April is a BIG month for birthdays! Saylor turned 1 year old on April 22nd! 💝
She is a doll baby!
Ellie Kate turned 7 on April 23rd 💖
She's a delight!
Lainey Bug turned 9 on April 26th. Our "first" grandbaby is growing up way too fast!
Love you, Laine!💕
And on April 27th, this little guy turned 2!💙
Gideon makes us smile - we love you too Buddy!
The McCrary's moved into their new home the end of April. We were thrilled for them!
For more details in April, click here: April
The first of May, we attended the BMAA National Meeting in Rogers, AR.
Jeff served as President for 2018-2019 (and was re-elected for 2019-2020)
It was great to have several family members attend the meeting and see a lot of old friends!
May 19th, this handsome boy turned 7!💙
Our first grandson and we enjoy him so much!
Our pretty teenage granddaughter, Avi, attended her first formal in the Spring. Beautiful!💖💖
May 19th - Mom's last Sunday at FBC, Galena
That week, Bev came from Texas and Kaye from Arkansas.....we all went to Uncle Harry's funeral and then packed up all of Mom's belongings to move her to Arkansas.
She has lived in Kansas all 90 years of her life, so this was a huge transition for her!
We moved her on May 24th. Josh and his family were enroute from Tennessee to NWA to visit Michelle's family, so we stopped along our travels to say hello.
We are so grateful to those who helped in Kansas and those who helped in Arkansas to move Mom into this nice Senior Adult Living Facility (3 bedroom/2 bath cottage)
Bev and Kaye did great getting Mom's place all decorated.
Don and Bev stayed with Mom and Jeff and I stayed with Rachel and her family that weekend (and we went to church with them)
On Memorial Day, Josh and his family were heading home, so we once again made arrangements to meet them and Rachel's family joined us for lunch in North Little Rock.
Always love having the grandkids together!
After lunch, Jeff and I headed to Texas - our first visit to Andy and Carman's since they moved. It was pretty cool that we although we lived in Kansas, we saw all our kids/grandkids in Arkansas and Texas on the same day.
For more about our month of May, click here:
On June 9th, MacArthur Joshua turned 1 year old!
He keeps us all on our toes, but is sure a cutie!💙
💕Josh and Michelle celebrated their 4th anniversary on June 25th💕
After our visit in Conway over Memorial Day and a meeting with a builder, we made a huge decision to build a house for our retirement (we planned to rent, but we could build cheaper than renting!)
The footing was poured on July 3rd.....and completed on November 26th. We were thankful to get pictures of the progress from my sister, Kaye.
Back in Kansas......we began the big job of packing up 10 years of living!
June was a full, full month with VBS, Galena Days, etc.
💕Jonathan and Rachel celebrated their 7th anniversary on July 6th💕
💕Andy and Carman celebrated their 14th anniversary on July 9th💕
Also in July, Jeff returned to the Dominican Republic with a missions team from FBC
He celebrated his 66th birthday preaching in the D.R. on July 15
While he was on the trip, I took a break from the packing to visit Mom in Conway (and was blessed to see Rachel and the kids) and see with my own eyes the progress on the house.
Avi started high school on August 1st -- a freshman!!
The end of August, Laine began 4th grade (homeschool)
And Ellie began 2nd grade (homeschool)
During the summer, Rachel resumed homeschooling Copeland.....1st grade
And Eisley who is in kindergarten
Shep also started preschool (which is held at their church)
And our days in Galena are winding down.......lots of bittersweet moments!
Jeff had to part with 2 of his beloved possessions....his cat Tiger (a sweet gal in our church "adopted" him)
And his Yukon -- it carried him almost 300,000 miles over the 17 years he owned it with very little mechanical problems! Definitely a blessing from God! Our associate pastor, Aaron Polok (who is now pastor) at FBC bought it from him, so it's still being used in ministry.
On August 17th, this great group of men came to the house and loaded all our possessions into 2 big trucks.
This home, owned by the church, served us well for 10 years. We will always treasure the many memories we made while living within her walls! 😍
Sunday, August 18th -- Farewell Sunday
The church gave us a wonderful going away service/dinner, etc.
And such a surprise!! A cruise to Alaska!💗💗 Thank you, Thank you, FBC!!!
Rachel came from Little Rock, Mom from Conway and Bev from Texas for the day.
We also had many other family and friends come to the service along with many of our church family. We felt so honored and so loved!
We were so appreciative of being recognized in the Kansas State Paper
For more details of that day, click here:
Early on Monday morning, August 19th, we headed to Arkansas. So appreciative of Aaron Polok driving the 2nd truck and Jenae and Gabe following and then helping unload the trucks into 2 storage units on the hottest day of the year!! We love the Poloks and pray often for them as they now lead FBC as Pastor and Wife! 💓
We were so very appreciative of Mom allowing us to stay with her for 3-1/2 months while our home was being completed. Thank you, Mom!
This was the progress on August 20th....
We had only been in Arkansas a couple of weeks, when Josh called and asked if we could come and stay a few days to help them out. We gladly said YES!
We had a fun visit with our Tennessee Swart family. We celebrated Josh's 42nd birthday with a roast dinner while there.
So cute!
Hopefully, we will be going back to Nashville soon!
Back home......Kaye, Mom and I met Rachel and family one day for lunch. Always a treat to see them!
On September 8th, Jeff, Mom and I joined Antioch Baptist Church, Conway. We sure enjoy worshipping there! Also love our Sunday School class and our Wednesday Home Group! We have many friends at Antioch from when we were members here many years ago (1996-2003) so it has felt like coming home! Thank you to all who have made us feel so welcomed!💗
For more details of our summer, click here: Summer 2019
Now I'm caught up on my previous postings.....the remainder of this posting is "new" stuff:
Eisley Elizabeth turned 5 on September 23rd. Jeff and I sure had a fun day of taking her, by herself, to eat and to a play place. We love our Eisley! 💟
The end of September, we were blessed to spend several days at Kaye and Rob's lakehouse in Bella Vista and for Jeff to preach at Bethel Baptist, Bentonville! Thanks Mike for inviting him!
In October, Jeff, Mom and I made a trip to Tyler, TX for Jeff to speak at the BMA Seminary. We loved spending time with Bev and Don and with Shannan and her children and Nathan and Shawna and their children (and meeting sweet Hosanna who was adopted from China!) and Don's mother, Peggy Ferrell.
Also in October, Rachel hosted a delicious and fun joint birthday dinner/party for Eisley and Kipling (who turned 1 shortly after). Jonathan's family all attended and Jeff, Mom and I
Kipling Edward turned 1 on Oct. 23rd -- he loves to smile 😍
He is named (Edward) after my Dad so is very special to us!
The week of the dinner, I went over to help Rachel get ready and then I brought Gideon home for a couple of nights/days to help Mom out. He was so good and really seemed to enjoy being an only kid!
The 2nd week in November, we once again headed to Texas for Ellie's baptism
That morning at church:
So proud of her!
💗💗
We stayed a week as Andy & Carman had events both weekends that they needed grandparents to babysit. We enjoyed our time there!
Some miscellaneous fall pictures of the grandkids -- in no particular order:
Saylor Faye looks twice her age!!
Shep turned 4 on November 23rd! We love you, Buddy!💙
Avi turned 15 on Dec. 9th! We love you, Avi!!💖
THANKSGIVING 2019
Since we were not in our home yet, Rachel hosted all the family (huge thanks, Rachel and Jonathan!)
Everyone came to town Tuesday and that night she threw a birthday party for Shep and Avi!
Wednesday morning, Nov. 27th, Jeff and I closed on our house!
Happy day for us 💖
That afternoon, the kids came over to Conway to see the house and eat dinner together
First pictures of our children/grandchildren in our home
Then we all went to my sister Kaye & Rob's home for some family pictures:
These cousins were sure enjoying being together again!😍
Our family of 18!
Papa and DeDe with their 10 "Grand" blessings!! 💖
So very thankful for our 3 kids!
Josh, Michelle, Avi and Saylor
Andy, Carman, Laine, Ellie, Shep and Mack
These were actually family pictures they took in Texas
Rachel, Jonathan, Copeland, Eisley, Gideon and Kipling
Pictures taken in Arkansas at a different time
We moved into our new home on December 2nd. We hired movers and Rachel also helped (and graciously put up my Christmas tree--thank you, Rachel Ann!).
I didn't do a lot of Christmas decorating.
Kaye did come over the week before Christmas and decorated my walls, etc. with my normal decor, which I was so very grateful!
Kaye did come over the week before Christmas and decorated my walls, etc. with my normal decor, which I was so very grateful!
Once I get some curtains up and the rest of my decor done, I will then post more pictures of the inside of the house.
Our 2019 Christmas card
The McCrary kids were our first overnight guests. They spent a Friday night in early December with us so Mom and Dad could attend a Christmas party.
We took the kids to Antioch to tour "Bethlehem." They loved it!
Copeland was chosen to play King Darius 💙
During the month of December, Jeff and I enjoyed going to our S.S. Class party at the beautiful home of David and Lisa Martin and then to our Small Group dinner at the delightful home of Paul and Glo Jensen! And we loved the Christmas program at our church, Antioch! I'll not post pics since this blog has become sooooo long already!
The weekend before Christmas, Josh and family, Rachel and family and Mom gathered at our house for a roast meal.
Loved having all of them here. We did miss Andy's family who wasn't able to come to Arkansas for Christmas this year.
After Rachel's family went home, we exchanged gifts with Josh's family and they spent the night. They left Sunday morning to head to NWA to Michelle's folks.
Jeff and I celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary on Dec. 22nd. We enjoyed a good night in Little Rock with a delicious meal and overnight stay at the Residence Inn.
A couple of nights before Christmas after Kaye & I spent all day decorating, Mom treated us to a meal in downtown Conway next to the pretty tree there. We then drove around to see the lights. It was an enjoyable night.
Christmas eve afternoon, Rachel's family came back to our home for a meal and sweet Christmas gift exchange. Mom also joined us.
As they were heading home, we again went back downtown so they could see the big tree.
We enjoyed going over to Rachel and Jonathan's Christmas afternoon to see the gifts the kids got that morning. A blessing of living close!
Loved this collage Rachel posted....oh, Gideon!! 💙
Was texted these precious pictures of Saylor on Christmas Day 💓
On Friday after Christmas, we headed to Texas to celebrate Christmas with Andy's family
We went to church with them on Sunday (which was my 66th birthday). It was so sweet to have our friends, the Cox family, come and worship with us that day!
On Monday, we went to Six Flags -- it was A&C's children's first time to go
We had a fun day, although it was SO crowded and the lines were SO long!!
I think the girls only rode 4 or 5 rides as a result!
Jeff and I personally like Silver Dollar City much better at Christmas time! More lights and much prettier but we made some sweet memories with our Swart family!
The next day, I went with Carman and these 3 kiddos to once again see Frozen 2
Wanted to get this picture (as I first saw the original Frozen with Carman and Laine, who was probably 3 at the time)💗
Fun to ring in the New Year (on London time) with this crew! (Coffee and warm Wassail)
We returned to Arkansas on New Year's Day.....we met our good friends, Hollis and Gilda Stanbery for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Chico, on the way home.
Josh and his family passed back thru Conway on Jan. 2nd, as they were returning to Tennessee, so we enjoyed lunch and a short visit with them!
And the first week of January 2020, Jeff was once again honored to do the Senior Adult conference at Antioch. I didn't get a picture of him, but was extra glad to have Bev come from Texas and join us at the conference and for a fun visit with Mom and I (we attended the movie, Little Women, had dinner here at the house, played games, etc.). Kaye & Rob were gone on an anniversary trip so wasn't in the picture 😊
And now we are fully in 2020!! WOW -- time does fly!
I completed the task of getting all my decor down and put away on the 9th. We have just a few boxes still in the garage to try to find a place for but over all, we feel we are settled into our new home and life here and loving it!
So very grateful for God's grace, provision, leading and blessing upon blessing in our lives in 2019!
Praying we will honor Him in all that we do in 2020!!
So very grateful for God's grace, provision, leading and blessing upon blessing in our lives in 2019!
Praying we will honor Him in all that we do in 2020!!
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