6 months down!

I dropped Luke off on this day six months ago at the Memphis airport thinking I would see him in just a few weeks! Can ya'll believe February was six months ago?! Half of the year has passed and so much has happened in the world since then. In each of our own little worlds and the world at large! All of it...in His good hands. Three whole seasons will have come and gone from the time Luke left to the time he comes home. So hard to believe! U.S. citizens are still banned from traveling to Greece. I know there is some chance Lord willing for the opportunity to travel to see him sometime this fall but if not, we are over the halfway mark and I'm already counting down to the end of November, hoping that is still his return date! I got to talk to him today on video chat and hopefully tomorrow too. He isn't able to tell me where they are headed next or for how long. And we are never really sure how cell service will be. We have definitely learned some patience as often times video won't work or even just talking on the phone there can be a huge delay. We are typically able to email though no matter what. Luke has been in Alexandroupoli, Greece for the past month. They were allowed off the ship for 7 days. I feel like this should be a food blog because that's the majority of what I have in photos this go round! So glad he was able to venture out a little and try some local eats!

I've started painting some again and took a new wholesale order with Athens Interiors Market in Athens, GA. So fun! It has felt much better lately to accept the not being able to travel and focus more on being intentional with this time. I'm still going to wait a bit before returning to my SLP job but it's been good to get back to painting some again. I had gotten pretty busy with wholesale and mostly commission orders and needed a little break from the routine I had going so I'm very thankful for this time now to pause some and be more creative. I'm learning more about how to find a good balance of the requests of wholesale and commission with finding time to be creative too. I had really put painting what I wanted to on the back burner and realized I've got to find a better way to balance it all! I LOVE creating what others request. There is so much joy in that and I'm so very grateful that those opportunities keep coming! But it had been a while since I took good time to just let loose and paint whatever came to mind. It's been refreshing to have this time lately of playing around with some new mediums and I will be sharing more soon! Follow my Facebook page Staci Kellum Art or my Insta @stacikellumeickmeier for updates. I'll have a few pieces at Art For Jobs at Advance Memphis soon. This year will be all virtual September 22-24th and all proceeds go directly to programs at Advance Memphis. AM empowers adults in South Memphis to break cycles of unemployment, establish economic stability, reconcile relationships and restore dignity through knowledge, resources and skills by the power of Jesus Christ! We heard about AM at our church, Harvest, and started helping provide lunch for one of their programs and Luke then became a small group leader for one of their programs where he was able to meet with a group of men. AM has lots of ways to serve, ya'll check them out!

Thanks for taking a minute to hear what's been happening in our little corner of the word! Though it hasn't quite been the year we expected, it's times like this that we truly grow the most. I'm thankful for a Father who is provider, comforter and teacher. I'm thankful He knows what we need and works all things together for good. I pray that in your corner of the world, when it feels dark and when it's bright, you will know Him and His unfailing love and find peace in Him as alpha and omega, the beginning and end. Who is with us in all the things in the middle!