We met at an (in)RL conference in 2012. We were the “old” ladies in attendance and quickly connected because of the stage of life we are in. We attended the same church until Marina moved to Arkansas. Here are some facts about us and why we are {relatively} empty nesters.
Hi, this is Teresa. I have been married for 27 years to a wonderful man of God. I have two children, Bryant (21) and Rachel (18). I homeschooled both of them for 10 years. Now that Rachel is graduated, I am officially a retired homeschool mom! At this point in our lives, my husband and I thought we’d be empty nesters. Both kids in college and well on their way in life. But, life is funny and things don’t always go the way we plan. Bryant has been living back home for the past year after dropping out of college. He and his girlfriend are expecting our first grandchild. So….instead of our nest decreasing, it has grown. We’ve added the girlfriend and soon our grandson. Rachel is not going to college. She is trying to figure out what to do with her life. With adult children in the home, it can be interesting to be a parent. Thus, we are {relatively} empty nesters because we are no longer actively parenting, but still have kids in our home! I can’t wait to share this stage of life with you and to learn and share and grow. My prayer is that Jesus is at the center of this and that all we do here reflects His glory.
Marina–God’s grace and forgiveness has gotten a lot of exercise in my life, having been raised as a wild child of the 60’s in Southern CA. After losing my mom to cancer as a pre-teen, a life of *sex, drugs & rock & roll*, and the loneliness of being a *different* kind of family, I asked the challenging statement “if there is a God…” and met Jesus after a deep bout of post-abortion depression. In Christ I found the love, forgiveness, and healing that only God, my “Abba Father” can give. I married Mark 6 months and a day after meeting the first time at a Wednesday night Bible Study. After 28 years, 3 great kids and a quiver of grandkids (on earth and in heaven), and lots of bumps, bruises and forgiveness, we would still say “I DO!” We enjoy serving God together through encouraging others, praying with and for Global Workers and Unreached People Groups, and road trips to see our family and friends scattered around the globe. In our spare time we play Backgammon and take walks with our friend, Abbey the Wonder Dog.
{relatively}empty nesting 