Week #54 - "boogie woogie woogie"
9/19/2025
Chris - “Speed-Community”
Happy weekend! Annapolis has continued to bless us with cooler temperatures, and our work/ school rhythms are beginning to hit a more comfortable stride. Ellis and I have been keeping very busy with boat show work, and we (the whole family) have also found time to take on two small deck jobs. I have been enjoying learning new skills in the electrical field, and the school-age kids are being schooled… I would assume they are learning things as well. Our living situation is working out well so far. If you missed the update on that, we are being hosted by a family from Annapolis, in their own house… with them. Even though this not a cultural norm, in the USA, it is working out pretty smoothly, due to our host’s incredible heart for hospitality, and probably a little bit of practice at flexibility on our part.
One of the goals that we have for this current, temporary home, is to not wait to engage with the place, and community, where God has placed us. Too many times, on our travels, we have held back, thinking that we would only be around a short time. When we view ourselves as “just passing through,” it is easy to say no to opportunities to develop deeper connections. Why would you invest the time to build friendships, find new church homes, or engage with work happening in a town if you are “just passing through?” But the lifestyle that we are pursuing is just that; a pattern of “passing through” places. Coming in and out of people’s lives, and in and out of communities. If we never engage, we will be alone. And, we have found that when we DO engage with these new areas, we have found that rather than being trivial, or shallow, the roots we put down in each new place have yielded unexpected, and much needed, fruit! Deep friendships, real lessons learned, real provision and help, and real community. So we are diving in. I have joined a local men’s bible study, we have been attending church, Crystal has joined a local CrossFit community, we have made new friends, we have connected with old friends, we have been attending a bible study in the house where we are staying, and we have been living with some total strangers… well, they are not TOTAL strangers anymore, but you get what I am saying. Already I am feeling connected and a part of this place. Even though I am only planning on being here for another month or so, we have places to give, and people that know about us, and know a bit of our story. It is a game changer to know that, if you feel disconnected, the answer is to GO CONNECT. Go find your people. They are out there. Whether you are in a new place, or if you have never left your hometown, you can find community. So many people that I have met are lonely; busy people, with families, and jobs, and even churches. They are lonely because they are not engaged. They are not known, and it feels too scary to start. I hope that my family, that my children, will become fluent in connection. That they will walk into new situations, and know that they bring value to people around them, and that they are surrounded by valuable people that have a lot to offer. I do not know all the things that God has in store for us here in Annapolis, but I am going to do my best to go find it. You should do the same, wherever you are.
~Chris
Crystal-”Hot Flash”
Summer is gone. It’s kind of wild to look back and remember all the sweat and oppressive heat of the summer and realize it’s only whiny memories now. There were a lot of good times with friends and at the beach, and a lot was accomplished, too. But now, fall is on us. Here in Maryland, the trees are starting to hint at shedding their summer flourish. It’s in the transitions that we find how short the seasons really are. I remember early motherhood, feeling like the hours were stretching on, like I may never sleep enough or eat a hot meal or get to use both hands at once again. And now my baby is 9 and in fourth grade and could basically run a house if she needed to. The summer was kind of like that, wondering if the swell in my hands and feet would ever dissipate and the soggy feeling of being in my own sweat from just existing would ever air out. And now it’s done. Then again, summer break was lots of work and hustle, too, so it almost felt like we never started the break part. Being here, in a home, on a school schedule feels more like a break than our school break felt. Either way, summer has come and gone.
Anyway, transition gives me a great sense of gratitude and a little bit of urgency. Urgency to take every day for all its worth. Gratitude that even though I have failed at something Every. Single. Day. It is still adding up to a beautiful life. God makes it good and invites us to more still.
Chris and Ellis got to play the worship for a community group that our host family leads every other Thursday, last night. One of the songs they chose to play was “New Wine”. There is a line that says, “I lay down my old flame, to carry your new fire today”. That line made me question what little ember am I trying too hard to keep burning instead of laying it down and letting it snuff so that I can pick up, and be enveloped in His refining blaze. My old flames are known as “tentative” and “anxiety”. I asked God to replace them with true humility and real faith. He has been talking to me, this week, about owning my joy and stepping into true character. I often shrink to “accommodate” but in reality, the shrinking just creates a void and a lack in the room or relationship. We were made to be vibrant, fully alive and overflowing.
What is holding you back from burning wild and bright? What makes you shrink instead of stepping into fullness?
~Crystal
Ellis-”With Great Responsibility…”
This week has been pretty much the same as last but I’m learning a lot of really cool (and sorta scary!) stuff. Last year I was always just put on the grunt work, like carrying cables and panels and moving stuff around but this year the boss man has been giving me a lot more wiring projects too. It’s something that really interests me and it’s pretty fun, but that’s where the scary part comes in: I think technically, they’re supposed to be hiring real, certified electricians to be doing these jobs. So far, we have been totally capable and everything has been working great but Dad and I are both feeling the gravity of the consequences if something doesn’t get done just right—I don’t really want to have to learn how to be a firefighter too! But we’re playing it real safe, trying to make sure we do things right, and testing everything and so far everything has worked great. Electricity is still basically black magic to me but I’m learning a lot and I think it’s a really useful skill to have.
~Ellis
Conrad-“Another Hand in the Pot”
This week we have had a lot more work and routine. We have a pretty set school day morning schedule; we wake up, have a little quiet time, do a workout, eat breakfast, do school and finish around lunch. Often, after lunch, we help our host with some yard work or other projects around the property. Ellis and Dad usually leave for work during the morning workout and get back just before dinner. Sundays are our new temporary sabbath because the boat show will require us to work most Saturdays. Here are a few big things have changed since last week; we have had a few little side jobs and we went on a day sail with some friends from last year, here in Annapolis. Also, I started working with Ellis and Dad on the electrical crew for the boat show.
So far I have only had two days working on the electrical crew and I'm not working quite as regularly as the others. My first day was on Monday and I mostly spent the day testing lights, measuring and marking big heavy cables, and stripping wire ends for some breaker boxes Dad was building. On Friday, which was my second day, we were moving a bunch of stuff to get ready for a truck that is going to transport all of the equipment, and there is a lot of equipment, up to Annapolis- which is like thirty minutes away from where we were working. Dad was still working on the breaker boxes but at that point he was just attaching the stands which is one of the last steps. I also helped with a couple of the side projects. Both happened to be porch deck jobs, so I got quite a bit of practice prying up deck boards and pulling nails.
~Conrad
Oliver-”Iron Jib”
Last year in Annapolis, we stayed at a rental house owned by some cool people, Steve and Nancy. While we were there, we got to sail a lot with them on their boat. This year, they heard we had come to Annapolis and, and knew we were looking for work. So, they hired us to replace a bunch of their deck, clean their grill, and carefully re-string some blinds. We finished that up over a few days of casual work. After that, they invited us to go sailing again. We obviously accepted, and on Sunday, right after church, we left the dock. There were eleven of us altogether, all seven of us, Steve and Nancy, and also two of their friends. Unfortunately, there was very little wind, we sailed whenever we could, and motored the rest of the way. To Posy and Jasper's delight, they got to steer almost the entire time. I am so glad I got to go, it was super fun, but if we go again, I really hope there is more wind.
Aside from all of that, Conrad started working with Ellis and Dad, everybody but Mom, Jasper, and me got sick, and Mom has a knack for making both really awesome food, excruciating work-outs. Have a great week!
I am selling custom paintings 9” x 11” for $30 dollars a piece, or two paintings for $45, free shipping. If you would like to buy some, please leave a request in the comments.
~Oliver
Jasper-”A+”
This blog has been dedicated to telling you how I have been doing during this school year. And so we begin…
WORKOUTS. Every morning our mom gets us up at 7:00 for an early morning workout. Recently the workouts have been more mentally hard than physically hard. Mom says I’m crushing it. A+
READING COMPREHENSION. I start every school day with some reading comprehension. This normally consists of a short story and some questions about it. I have only gotten a few questions wrong. A
WRITING. Writing is not hard, but sometimes it’s difficult to come up with something that fits well with what you are doing. I have been working in a book called “Show Don’t Tell” and each day I read a new sensory sentence and then I try to add to it. It’s to build up my story telling abilities and hand writing. I’m going pretty well A+
READING. Reading has been a pretty big part of my life. I have been reading for 7-8 years now and I don't think I have ever not enjoyed it. This month I’m reading a book called “Gregor The Overlander”. Once I have read 20 pages each day, I then take notes about what I’ve read. At the end of the Month I will be designing the front cover and remaking the synopsis. Then again with another book. I have enjoyed this book and this activity and I think I have done well. A+
MATH. I have been doing my math on a site called Khan Academy which is a free math course online. I am 1 grade ahead of schedule so I’m doing 8th grade math. I have finished 40% of 8th grade. And I’d say I’m doing pretty well for the 3rd week of school. A+
We do some science and social studies every day , and I’m definitely not the worst at them, I know where places are, most of the time. So, A+
And I have been taking a weekly online class on photography. Each week I watch another video on specific parts of photography. This week's blog pictures are actually taken by myself. A
And that is all that I’ve got here. Thanks for reading! J-dog.
~Jasper
Posy-”Oysters”
At the larva stage the oysters can not go vertically but they can go horizontally. They float on the surface of water not doing much until they grow what is called a foot and go to the sea or bay bottom and use their foot to move around and are now called spat. Then once they have found another oyster or hard thing they attach. Oysters when undisturbed live up to 25 to 30 years. At the adult stage which is technically three years, they can clean up to 30 to 50 gallons per day. They are basically living water makers except they poop strings of what is called pseudo feces and they also don't filter out salt. They are very important for salt water ecosystems because they filter out mud, algae, and more. One of the main ecosystems that needs more oysters is the Chesapeake Bay. There used to be billions, maybe trillions of oysters but the population died down since the 1800’s because of global warming, run off pollutants, over-eating oysters, and sicknesses like; MSX and Dermo; both of which are not harmful to humans. But there is a local oyster recovery center. They basically give cages to people that have access to a dock in the Chesapeake Bay and then you grow oysters in your backyard or what they take the oysters after nine months you can find out more on their website it's called oyster recovery partnership. But they also make sure that no restaurant throws away shells because like I said oysters like to attach to other oysters also known as shells. The inside of an oyster is more complex than you would think there is the adductor muscle that holds the two shells together and there's something called a hinge it is literally a hinge that open and closes the two shells. Inside there is the heart which is a tiny orange blob right up close to its stomach which is right next to the gills. Behind that is called the lips so that’s the basics. Sorry that I got so nerdy but thanks for sticking with it.
~Posy