Happy days friends!! It is hard to believe how long it’s been since we’ve shared an update. As with the previous update, our lives continue to change…including quite some unexpected events and challenges.
Joys and Challenges of 2020
As everyone knows, 2020 was A YEAR!! We are extremely thankful to live in a state and county where we didn’t feel the extreme effects as some places did, yet it was unusual times. Within our family, we’ve endured some challenges that some of you already know about, but we’ll give some brief updates for those who don’t.
April 2020
With the last blog post we shared that we were nearing the end of our home renovation, it still ended up taking longer than we thought. Exactly a year after we moved to Montana, the house was mostly done and we all moved into our separate apartments. It’s been a great transition and fun to see how we’ve all made our little places homes within a home.
May 2020
The first trial came in May, a week after Elisabeth’s birthday. She had been pregnant with their second child and was having quite a rough pregnancy. Unfortunately, 16 weeks in, when she went in for an ultrasound hoping to find out the gender, she instead found out that baby didn’t have a heartbeat. Those were the most devastating words to have ever heard. We cried and grieved, yet rejoiced knowing their little one bypassed this world and is with our Wonderful Creator.
Throughout this time, the ONLY thing that got us through was knowing our Lord and Savior. He is our strength. We have the glorious hope that we will see baby in heaven, singing praises together to our Powerful Father. We don’t know what the baby was, but we still gave baby a name: Evia Azalia – meaning “living one” “spared by the Lord”.
August 2020
It’s not been an easy year in any way but the challenges have brought many blessings. On August 11th, Jonathan nearly cut his hand off during an accident with a sliding compound miter saw. His current movement is limited and adds up to somewhere between 50%-75% of functionality. He is, however, very thankful that he still has a hand to be able to use. Jonathan has a lot more to share about some of the amazing details of the challenges and blessings of this event and will write a separate blog coming up in a few weeks.
October 2020
We’re thankful for God’s gifts of joy amidst the trials. Michael and Bethany welcomed their son, Hezekiah Michael, on October 2 weighing 8 lbs and 1 oz and measuring 21.5 inches tall. Overjoyed for another grandchild/nephew/cousin!
November 2020
Just six weeks after Hezekiah was born, Michael and Bethany were able to move out here to Montana. We all lived together under one roof for about six months. In May 2021, Michael and Bethany bought their first house in town, just a few miles from the FGGD headquarters. We’re so blessed to have the family so close together. Thankful to the Lord that He allowed for this to happen.
At the end of November, the dreaded “bug” came and visited our family. Kent and Willina were the first to get it, a week later Michael, Bethany, and Elisabeth got it, and finally, Shaun and Jonathan got it. Thankfully, Lydia and the kids never got it. It wiped us out for a good month and some of us still have some lingering side effects – even ten months later.
December 2020
It wasn’t long after Michael and Bethany moved that Bethany’s father passed away. It was hard for them to be so far away from her family during this time, but God gave them all the strength to get through. They went back down to California for Christmas to spend time together and for the memorial service.
Joys and Challenges of 2021
Bring on a new year!!
January 2021
In the beginning of this year, Elisabeth worked hard to launch her photography website: www.lfgphotography.com. It has been in the works for quite a while and it’s finally up and running! You can view and purchase art prints on her website, so be sure to check it out.
April 2021
We were blessed with another addition to the family. After a great pregnancy, with no complications, Shaun and Elisabeth welcomed little Nathan Josiah on April 4, Resurrection Sunday. He weighed 7 lbs and 2 oz and was 20.25 inches tall. A small baby compared to his big brother Asher. They chose his name because it means “God gave” and “God healed”. It has been so fun to see the brothers interact and love each other.
June – September 2021
It’s crazy how things can just change in an instant. After some interesting turn of events, Shaun had a CT scan that indicated a golf ball sized tumor in his brain. He was life-flighted to Seattle for surgery, which was successful in the removal of 100% of the tumor. After he came back home for recovery, we found out that the tumor was cancerous. He ended up undergoing radiation therapy for six weeks back in Seattle, this time the family could be with him. Jonathan and Lydia came out to help them as well, as the treatment turned out to be much harder on Shaun than anyone expected. God is faithful and he finally had his last treatment on September 17th. Lord willing, the hard part is over. Shaun will need regular check-ups and MRIs for the rest of his life, but for now, he can rest and recover.
Once again, there are too many details worth mentioning that would make this blog too long, so we’ll also have another blog coming with all the incredible ways God worked through these challenges.
August 2021
Early August, Lydia’s dad passed away.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)
When Opa was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it was hard on him and all of us. He knew his mind was not functioning as it was before. He couldn’t express himself very well, although he wanted to. At the end, the only way he communicated was by singing of his Lord and Savior.
The nurses wanted to quiet him with medication, but that didn’t work. He kept on singing the Dutch hymn “Jezus is bij mij” (Jesus is with me) until the last night before he passed away.
He was not ashamed and meds could not keep him from praising his Lord. That gave him strength and helped him get through his final days on earth.
We will miss Opa; his laughter, his little jokes, his concern for others, his spiritual encouragement, and his saying: “we leven maar bij de dag” (we just live day by day).
We know he is where he wanted to be for so long, with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, praising his Maker in perfect words and song.
Even in Montana, there is wildfire season. Last year was pretty bad with smoke from neighboring areas, but this year it hit close to home. Very close to home. In fact, while Jonathan, Lydia, Shaun, Elisabeth, and the kids were in Seattle, Kent and Willina (and Olive the dog) had to evacuate for a good week. The Lord allowed the firefighters to do an amazing job and the fire never destroyed any buildings. It ‘touched’ the road and cleared out some trees and underbrush, but absolutely no damage. It was difficult to be so far away from home while there was such uncertainty of whether we would have a home to come back to, but God is good and we know He will always take care of us…even without a house.
Final Thoughts
We want to end this update with a few thoughts and challenges. First of all, we are extremely thankful that throughout all of these trials, our God is sovereign and is in complete control of every single detail. Some answers have come and we have seen how God works for His children up close, but there are still a lot of questions we may never know the answer to. One thing is for sure though, our trust in the Lord and dependence upon Him has grown immensely over this time.
Second, do not take a single second for granted. We never know what the day will hold. Having come close to losing a husband/father/son/best friend at such a young age, is not something you could ever prepare for, but you CAN cherish every moment you have with your loved ones. Take the time to tell them you love them, play with them, even when it doesn’t seem convenient…stop and listen and look into the eyes of the ones you love so dearly. God was gracious in allowing Shaun to remain on this earth a little longer. Our Lord is not through with him yet.
Be Prepared
We have seen a lot of hardship amongst family and friends these past years, and we think and pray for you all often! The only reason we all can keep going is because of our loving, merciful, gracious, and holy Creator! This world is not going to get any better, the time of Christ’s return is near.
“Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44)
Lastly, we urge you dear friends, if you do not know Him, you need to strongly consider His gift of salvation! Do not go another day without knowing where you will spend the rest of eternity. We can not stress this enough. We would love to share more about that gift with you, so please don’t hesitate to come talk to us!
P.S. FGGD Updates
As you can see, it has been a little crazy around here. We very much desire to spend more time making products and devoting time to the business, but right now that’s limited. We do what we can with the time the Lord has blessed us with. If the Lord wills, we will be able to slowly get some more products coming (as Shaun continues to recover, he has big plans!). Until then, please do follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and browse around our current stock. The more stock we clear, the more we’ll be able to replenish.
Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts, prayers, cards, gifts, and friendship through all the challenges these years have brought! You make our days brighter!
Love you guys!! Miss you and wish we could have remained living near each other. Thanks for the updates! You are in our prayers!