I had a great day with my family today. Shortly after waking up, my father and I went for coffee and a light breakfast. We enjoyed some light conversation, discussing our upcoming mission to El Salvador on January 11th. He asked me what I am most excited about. I told him that I am really looking forward to spending time with Stacie Carpenter and Mark Giles. After he and I got to the Funk house, we spent some time with Kara and Dan’s kids and worked in the yard a little.
I saw my parents off to the airport around 2PM. There weren’t any tears. They have been talking about getting a home in Arizona to spend their winters. My parents are long on planning, and have lived in their current home since 1981, so I am not expecting anything to change soon. With my parents now safely back in Seattle, I am the only remaining visitor to the Funk house. I got to spend some quality time with Sammy the Saint Bernard. My mother calls him “the wonder horse,” all of the kids call him “bad dog.”
I also got to see my older sister in her element. Kara has a total of five children ages 12 and younger under her charge at all times. I also watched Dan chase his kids all over the yard. My family has been blessed in many ways. One of the greatest of the blessings we’ve received is this man. His dedication to God, my sister, and their children is an example I hope to follow some day with my own wife, with our kids.
My brother-in-law has a rare kind of intelligence. I have heard him on more than one occasion citing the Law of Entropy. If there is a stabilizing force in the universe, it is God. In this house, that stabilizer is Dan’s wife Kara. Somehow she can reach into the chaos minute by minute and spin it all into a beautiful, thriving family.
albaniacalling 