The VISAS never came, and our second 90 day period on our passports is up. We don’t know how long we’ll be here…we don’t know much except that we are together and in God’s hands. If you are not on our prayer team and would like to get monthly updates or weekly updates, just let us know. We flew into Helsinki, Finland and then drove 3 ½ hours north to a college town called Jyvaskyla. This place is strikingly similar to where I grew up: marshes, lakes, and HUNDREDS of trails for walking and Read More
The Colors of Midnight
Photographic moments by Colby Garman Read More
Road Race (Icelandic style)
We finally discovered an Icelandic running website that advertises different races around here, so Friday night we decided to go to an evening race in the outskirts of Reykjavik. Colby and I both wanted to compete which meant the girls were coming with us in the jogging stroller. The 9K race started out on a very narrow trail, so Colby and the kids were literally in last place for the first mile in an effort not to hold any one up. The kids could not understand this, and the whole first mile I Read More
Fourth of July-Iceland style
It was our first Fourth of July not in America (obviously), so it was a little disappointing when I looked at the calendar after I woke up. However, we stumbled upon a little Fourth of July celebration put on by the American Embassy here. Singing "This land is your land, this land is my land," with the folk band, face-painting, balloon animals, bounce houses, and free food was all I needed to put me in the festive spirit. We met some new American friends which was the highlight of the day. Read More
Bustin’ Out…
I've heard a lot about how high depression is here in the winter. They have special things here called "happy lights" that you can sit under that apparently boost your mood. On Tuesday when we went to the pool, I asked if one had to wait till the winter to use these lights. The "summer" here has been hard for me. I keep waiting for it to come. Finally, last Wednesday, I stopped being angry about it, I stopped fighting it, and I just accepted it. This is what you get. 50's...and if we're Read More
June 17th
Sautján Júni. (Soi-tjown Yoo-nie). We kept saying it all day because it has such a ring to it. Basically, June 17th is Icelandic Independence Day. Like 4th of July, minus the fireworks. We started out the day going to one of the suburbs to partake in the festivities. I saw a schedule of events that boasted of games and kids activities, but when we arrived at the Viking Village to participate, they wouldn't let us in to the "fair grounds" unless we paid. BOO. We decided to skip it and Read More
Glaciers, Fairies, and Lunatics
I told Colby last weekend that the only thing I really wanted to do for my birthday was hike on the glacier, Sólheimajökull. The next day at language school, there was a new girl in our class from Germany. At the end of class she asked me if I wanted to hike Sólheimajökull with her on Saturday because she had already scheduled a trip with a guide (and her roomie from Switzerland). Colby looked at me, smiled, and said, "I'll watch the kids!" The weather called for 80% chance of rain, so I was Read More
England trip
Top Ten Highlights of our Need-to-get-out-Iceland-because-we can't-be-here-too-long-on-our-passports-England-trip:10. Traveling with 2 kids, 2 car-seats, one suitcase, and 6 carry-on's through a total of 4 airports and 6 train stations. 9. Discovering that metro stations in London do not have lifts (elevators) and trying to carry all of the above mentioned items up various escalators....Darcy falling down the escalator as Colby and I struggle helplessly to carry all our stuff.8. Accepting Read More
Dear Diary,
Life has never felt so uncertain. Our home back in Virginia is significantly damaged, and we no longer have renters. We can't begin to advertise for new renters until things get fixed, and we don't know how long that will take. In addition to that uncertainty, we still haven't figured out what to do with our car and don't know what the wisest thing is to do. On top of it all, the decision about the VISA has been made, but they are not telling us what it is until it is officially documented. Read More