Family Update

There is a reason we call him among other names..."big face"




Julie taught David to read last fall and he has really taken off and is doing so well. Since then Jonathan has wanted to learn and Julie told him she would teach him this fall. He did not want to wait. Between his own initiative and David's tutoring, Jonathan is teaching himself to read and is doing quite well. Here is a picture of a very common occurrence in our home...the boys combing over a nature book and memorizing all of the zoological information inside as David helps Jonathan read and access the "vital" information on the pages.


Our three little ones hanging out in the rocking chair.


Little girl is starting to grow up...adorable indeed!


Climbing the neighbor's tree. We love our neighborhood!!!

Reality Check

Ever since joining the Marines at 18, running has been a part of my life. Although never a great runner, I have been a strong runner and have loved the challenge of competing against my fellow Marines at the various levels of physical training we would be required to do. In order to excel at my Physical Fitness Tests, which were considered in my promotions, I would go out and run on my own. Some of my favorite runs were the hard runs up various hills, and specifically a hill called "KT or Kansas Tower" on the Marine base in Hawaii. This was the highest point on the base, not counting the rifle range, and from it you can see much of the windward side of Oahu. This hill would separate the runners from the pretenders by seeing who could make it up the whole way without stopping? I loved this hill and I loved the challenge of getting to the top without stopping. I loved the challenge of racing against the guys in my unit to be the first to the top and I sometimes was. It definitely fueled my competitive fire.

Here is the view from the ocean...


And here is the view from Kansas Tower looking out over the golf course into the Pacific Ocean. (I don't know the gentlemen in the picture, sorry...)


Well, that was 12 years ago, and here in St. Louis I am beginning to face the reality that everyone faces as they grow older. I have mapped out a 3 mile run here in South Hampton where I live that starts at my house and goes out and around Francis Park and then back to our home. I have now run the course four times and I still have not been able to complete the 3 mile run without stopping, yet...

I will get to the point soon when this run is really no problem. However that day has not yet come and it is definitely taking longer than it ever has before. Tonight, talking to Julie I realized I am getting older. Being 34 is different than being 24. Although in my mind I am still that 20 year old Marine running up Kansas Tower, my body is telling me something different. I must be patient and allow my 34 year old body to adjust and adapt to what I am asking of it. This is a hard reality to accept.

One of the things I do love about running is the pain and discomfort is causes me, as strange as that sounds. I find that when I am hurting and uncomfortable I am much more focused and fervent in my conversation with God. Recently my prayer has been, "Oh God, please give me self control the next time I want to stuff my face with dessert and help me to remember the price I am paying now for that dessert I just had and the one in the near future." But as this fades and running gets easier, I hope and plan to pray for my sharpness of mind and spirit and also for the neighborhoods and the streets that I am running. Julie and I really want to bloom where God plants us, and we want to be a blessing as God has blessed us.

Physical exercise has always been helpful and a beneficial component of my spiritual life. Moreover, Francis park is such a beautiful park to run around and the neighborhoods of South Hampton are beautiful neighborhoods. We really are blessed here on Gresham and want to live life to the fullest today. Even as we look to buying a home in the near future, we do not do so without considering God's desire for us here. We love being neighbors and learning to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the second greatest commandment after all, right? That was my prayer tonight as I closed up my run, "Father, teach me to love as You love." That is who we are as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ. We are God's ambassadors of love. In spite of my pain and discomfort from the run, this truth was the greater reality check.

Life in the Village

The Zilkie family is in its final week at our home after almost 8 years of living here in Caledonia, Michigan. Julie and I closed on this home on September 21st, 2001 and drove our Ryder truck here with all of our stuff on Saturday, September 29th. When we moved in we were 9 months married and Julie had just found out she was pregnant with David a week earlier. Evidently babies and moving are the norm for us. This cute little 100 year old home has been very good to us.

We have brought home 5 newborn babies into this home as Julie and I learned how to be parents and adjusted to their presence in our lives and their accumulative needs. We have had many of our friends over to this home many times, being blessed by Julie's hospitality and culinary skills in the dessert genre. Rare will we Zilkies have dessert unless we are having company so of course I love to have people over!

We birthed our primary ministry at Kentwood Community in this house, inviting the attendees over to our home in the early years and, as the ministry grew, we held monthly meetings in our home for the ministry leaders. In addition, we often invited members of our ministry over just to enjoy spending time together, share a meal together, and invite our young children into our social life and world. For a period there in 04 and 05 we played many a game of Settlers of Catan here in our home. Honestly we were quite obsessive, packing up our two kids in the evening and switching host homes among the couples we were playing with.

We have grown in friendship with our neighbors across the street. It has been neat to watch their family grow, as they brought home Sophia from Korea to be their daughter just over two years ago. It has been such a blessing to have neighbors that share our passionate faith for Jesus. Julie and Brenda really connected over the years, and Julie will miss her dearly. She is one of the kindest, most generous women we know. And our boys will have to find new friends, and Sam especially has set the bar high for them in this area! We saw Mr. Fischer sadly and graciously watch his wife go home to be with the Lord. We often sent our kids over to be with Mrs. Stack during the day, giving Julie a welcome break. I have enjoyed our conversations with Dave over the years and it has been incredible to see their miracle son Luke be born at 24 weeks last year and now is a fully healthy 15 month old boy. We watched the Butlers next door celebrate anniversaries 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63 now well into their 80s...and still going. Old Ollie always has a story to tell and it has been a privilege to listen to him and laugh with him as he remembers his younger years. He was a Marine who served on a spy/recon plane in the Pacific in World War II and they are still so proud of the service they gave to our country. Being a Marine myself, it is always a pleasure to hear his stories, no matter how many times I may have heard them before.

Conversely, the house on our other side has seen much more different activity as sweet Mary our elderly neighbor when we moved in, lost her second husband shortly after we arrived. After that the Gunns move in with their young family only to move out in turmoil 2 1/2 years later. Forclosed, the house stood vacant for almost 3 years until a bright young man and wonderful neighbor Cody moved in last summer and has been returning the home to its previous glory.

Several years ago we hosted a neighborhood party and met our wonderful friends the Baezs. We have enjoyed a neat friendship with them these past several years and will miss them and especially Rick's laid back and humorous ways. Julie and Shamra teamed together for the past two years to plant a garden, of which we greatly enjoyed the bountiful harvest they received for their work. I know Julie was so blessed to have someone who would "mentor" her in gardening as it seemed rather daunting to her at first.

And we can't forget our local librarians! Boy, do we have some great history with them. I'm specifically thinking of the time Julie checked out a book titled, "Marriage to a Difficult Man" and then sent me to pick it up. It was truly the autobiography of Jonathan and Elizabeth Edwards, and Julie was reading it upon recommendation and had no idea of the actual title of the book. However, it created quite the stir at the library as you can imagine!! Julie was so blessed by her friendship with the ladies at the library, where they supplied her countless "Tuesday evening chats", knitting tips, fresh farm eggs, and just good conversations. They will be so missed!

Julie and I have taken many, many walks with our growing family around our village neighborhood, contemplating the challenges and opportunities of life. We would talk and pray and discuss whatever was before us and feel unified and at peace once we came to a collective decision. I have fought the war against the moles in my back yard steadfastly, even courageuosly, but to no avail...I lost. I leave humbled, knowing that the ugly, "bat without wings"looking creatures bested me time and again.

Now in our final week in our home, we are thankful for the many years, many blessings, and great friends God has blessed us with during our time here in Caledonia. During my trip to St. Louis last week we found a home to live in temporarily as we move there next week. I pray that our time in that home and the one to follow will be as meaningful and special as the years we have lived here in this home, among these great and wonderful people.