It's Been a Long Time

It's been a long time since I wrote a post with pictures.

Recently, Pedro and I read out loud a pair of decade-old entries on this blog and not surprisingly came away with mixed emotions of sweet gladness, nostalgia and loss. What we wouldn't give sometimes to return to those moments with our six young children at home! Notwithstanding the craziness/chaos/complete lack of sleep, Pedro declared he would do it all again in a heartbeat, and so would I.

Which leads me to writing this post. We have so many treasured stories on this blog and maybe only we will ever truly appreciate them. But I'm so glad they're recorded because otherwise the precious memories would forever be lost. So today I am going to write a post with pictures about an otherwise unimportant day but a special one because it fulfilled a simple longing for Silas and was a moment worth remembering with him.

The day began with an appointment at the United States Post Office in Fenton, Michigan. It was a "tell me you're an MK without telling me you're an MK" moment since at merely age 10, Silas was applying for his third US passport (and fifth passport in total if you count two from Chile!) All was well until the clerk pointed out to me that the form had to be filled out in BLACK ink rather than the painstakingly neat blue ink I had used as required on legal documents in Chile. Still it was an easy fix and while he waited, Silas was quite fascinated by the selection of greetings cards that he insisted on showing us one by one. 

Having completed the appointment, we proceeded to surprise Silas with his unexpected field trip. Since he had zero recollection of his sole visit to Frankenmuth at less than two years old, Silas on more than one occasion pleaded to visit this location he'd heard his siblings and others talk about. As expected, his excitement was immediate and impressive! However, the very first thing he focused on at our first stop (Bronner's) was not the Christmas decorations. Instead, he was delighted to spot the Irish flag and a greeting in Irish Gaelic before even entering the glittering superstore. This has been his recent passion and he's invested hours into Duolingo study of the language. He also thoroughly enjoyed an Ireland-themed VBS last week. (Thank you, Village Bible Church and Answers in Genesis!)  

Soon enough he was chattering his way through all the aisles, stopping to take pictures with penguin ornaments (because they are Mom-Mom's favorite) and all the green ornaments (because it's his favorite color) and the United States passport ornament (for obvious reasons) and inspecting each of the flags of the world to make sure he recognized every country to his own satisfaction.

Eventually we departed, having purchased just a few small items: a Father's Day gift from Silas to Pedro (later to be revealed as a Christmas ornament in the shape of a grill!) and a guitar ornament for our musician friend Felipe and a home decor item featuring the word "Hope" which holds special meaning for us. We proceeded to drive and park downtown, choosing lunch at the Bavarian Inn which captured Silas' curiosity with its unique decor and the traditional German outfits of its wait staff. There is never a lack of conversation when Silas is around, just sometimes a lack of volume control (ha!) so we fielded many questions and listened to quite a few facts and fancies as we ate together. Lunch was followed by a visit to the downstairs bakery and gift shop and a photo op where Silas was "Chillin' with My Gnomies!"

From there we proceeded to the General Store where Silas dearly hoped to discover something that has long eluded him: a decorative item with his name on it. Strange but true, Silas does not seem to make the "top ten" list of children's names for these purposes! Yet Silas somehow remembered that his brother Alec (with a "c") who often struggles with the same predicament, had purchased a personalized miniature Michigan license plate at this very place and he was eager to share the same happy fate. Fortunately, he did! And he also spent his own money on a full-sized decorative plate of - you guessed it! - the flag of Ireland.

As our time was somewhat short due to evening commitment, thus concluded our tour of Frankenmuth stores but as we walked back to the car a giant globe thrilled our international child who took a picture pointing to his beloved Iquique, Chile. We are so thankful to still have a young one at home who makes us laugh and helps us see the world through his eager and excited eyes. We love you, Silas!