R.I.P. 2020

2020. A year that will go down in infamy. In February, fresh off celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV win, we found ourselves in Sarasota, FL enjoying another respite from the winter of Kansas City. At the time, there was merely a handful of COVID cases clear on the opposite side of the country in Washington state. Then literally just a few hours after our plane left Florida, the first cases outside of Washington were reported…in Sarasota. A few weeks later, the kids came home for spring break and then were told to stay home for the rest of the semester.

Thanks be to God that spring was coming and winter was going away. Thankfully also this virus only rarely affected children. Still, what words could we add that fully capture the disruption that all have experienced from the lockdowns and lifestyle limitations in this long year?

We strive to not forget the many blessings that we experienced:

We finished the basement renovation! We now enjoy Star Wars in all its 4k glory.

We refinished our driveway and front walk!

And in a moment of wondering if we’d ever get to safely interact with other humans again, we looked into buying my (Marshall’s) dream: an RV. In a moment of sanity, we rented one instead! We went to one of the last bastions of freedom in this country, South Dakota, and had a blast. And, we took our beloved old dog Virginia with us! She happily stayed behind and protected our house on wheels while we biked and hiked and jeeped throughout the Badlands and the Black Hills.

Aimee took her cooking skills to another level. Homemade pasta, ragu sauces, pizza, and yummy baked breads are now frequently on the menu. Not to forget the daily morning ritual of pour-over coffee with home-roasted beans from around the world.

Andy attended Kanakuk for the first time! He spent two weeks at K-West and loved it. The rest of us spent two days at the Lawrence Welk Resort. Woot woot. 😂

And what a year for Impact Foundation. Illustrating the redemptive nature of what Aimee and Jeff and Steve have built, their clients opened the floodgates of generosity to help this hurting world during the early days of the pandemic, reaching Impact’s year goal by the end of April. And it didn’t stop there, marking 2020 as a breakout year for the team. Thank you Lord!

Lastly, we are so thankful for nearly one whole extra year with our sweet old dog, Virginia. “Good Girl”, as we fondly remember her, passed on November 17. What a gift she was! Please scroll down to see our tribute to her. 

As always, see the sidebar or click here for more photos from 2020.

Cheers and blessings,

Marshall, Aimee, Andy, Liam and Reagan

Goodbye Sweet Virginia

 

Virginia, 2005- 2020

Virginia, aka “Good Girl”, “Puppy”, “Pooper”, "Thumper", and "Gray Lady", left us on 11/17/2020 at the ripe old age of 15-1/2 years. She was a survivor. Having started life on the streets of downtown KC, I (Marshall) found her and her labrador brothers late one workday in an empty lot. She was the only black one and the only female, and she first endeared herself to us when, trailing her brothers down an alley, she managed to knock them all over like a bowling ball when all except her stopped at our beckoning. We found homes for the brothers, but Virginia was to be ours.

Nothing would keep her down. She had so much energy that Aimee started running again to tire her out each day. She was the perfect running companion for hundreds of miles, and it always made me feel better knowing how she would put herself between my wife and danger.

In the early years, she chewed everything, from the vintage heirloom sofa to the baseboard on the wall. When I had foot surgery, she napped with me, resting her head on my belly. Then came our children, and she graciously accepted them one by one into our ‘pack’. In fact, I’m pretty sure that is when she made my wife her fave.

Each day she was unsatisfied until the last of us were back in the house safely. And this was tough, because we travelled a lot. Whether we were gone 5 weeks or 5 minutes, she always welcomed us home with a smile.

In her prime, she was svelte. An athlete, just like my wife. Everyone commented on how beautiful she was, even after she “retired" from running. She and I grew old and gray and arthritic together.

In 15-1/2 years, she never ever left a morsel of food in her bowl. Not even on her last day. She did leave plenty drips of water all over the kitchen floor.

We miss you dearly, Virginia. You reflected more perfectly than any broken human the attributes of God—unconditional love, loyalty, faithfulness and joy. You were His gift to us. I wish we could know what God’s eternal plan is for pets, but if you are with Him, I am confident he greeted your arrival with “Well done, Good Girl. Well done."

2019 with the Minnichs

Growing up. Looking back, this is how 2019 feels. Which will sound funny if we read this again next year or 10 years from now. 

Our oldest child is still but 12, although he just received his first smartphone. Our dog is still going strong at age 14 although she doesn’t do stairs anymore. Aimee and Marshall are knocking on 40 and 50, respectively. And we had enough things go wrong with our house to bring us to our knees and feel a little too much like adult homeowners. 

After a banner year like 2018, 2019 was still one for the record books. 

It began with an escape to Orlando from a dreadful Kansas City winter. There we spent a couple days at Disney, several afternoons at the pool, and had a great visit with Brooke and Pete.

March brought March Madness and the unbelievably redemptive run to a national championship by our beloved UVa!

A little later, Marshall and Aimee joined John and Sooki on a dream trip to the Masters in Augusta. We were blessed with great weather, pimento cheese sandwiches, legendary hospitality, and the luxurious landscape of Augusta National.

Then the rains came. Our basement flooded and there began house renovations that are still ongoing as we write this. New roof, new basement, siding repairs…from top to bottom, inside to out, our home has been in disarray. It looks like we might finally be able to have our living room back in about a week!

In June we had a fun visit from Paw Paw and Betsy, followed soon after by an epic three week road trip out west, culminating with the Morsman’s in Red Lodge, MT. 

There were also a few smaller trips here and there, like to Dallas for The Gathering and to Philly for the Army-Navy game (Aimee and Liam). Aimee travels a bunch for work but enjoys occasionally taking the kids with her one at a time. It is great education for them.

The kids are thriving in many ways. All three are playing club soccer and have enjoyed multiple league and tournament championships. We are really proud of how they courageously faced tryouts and have worked hard on improving their skills. Andy also decided to take on basketball and cross-country!

Marshall has been kept busy by the renovations, and Aimee continues to grow Impact Foundation with Jeff and Steve and the wonderful staff they’ve assembled.

Click here for more photos from our adventures. As we close out 2019, we pray God’s blessings on all who have blessed us during the year. Cheers to 2020! 

-Marshall, Aimee, Andy, Liam & Reagan

2018 with the Minnichs

2018 was a year of much travel again. Aimee’s job continues to take her many places, including Ethiopia in February and, as we’ll note in a minute, Switzerland in July. She was able to take Andy with her on one trip to Dallas, and Liam went with her on a trip to Seattle. During spring break, we all went with her on business to Albuquerque and had fun exploring Sandia Peak, the cave dwellings of Bandelier, and the town of Santa Fe.

Back home then for a couple months, it was time to replace our back deck and add a patio. What a relief this was—the previous deck was about to fall over.

Thanks to our friends Ray and Linda, we were able to journey to the Rockies in June. Even our 13 yr old dog Virginia went with us! From the Hedenbergs' cabin we were able to take many hikes and explore Keystone, Breckenridge, and Rocky Mountain National Park. We also saw many moose for the first time!

But the showpiece blessing of our year was yet to come. In July we embarked on a month-long journey that included St. Moritz and Wengen in Switzerland, followed by Vicenza and Spello in Italy. These two countries still dazzle and amaze; we cannot wait to return again.

Back home in late August, Andy returned to playing for his TOCA soccer team and all three kids were excited to rejoin their classmates at KCC. This year we are in grades 1, 2 and 5.

September brought a return trip to the Gathering in Miami, although this year just Aimee and Marshall attended as a celebration of our 15th anniversary.

Finally, November brought a wonderful visit from Carol (Mommom) and the six of us spent Thanksgiving together at a rental on historic Main Street in St. Charles, MO. 

As 2018 is wrapping up, we cannot help but be thankful for God's showering of blessings on us. Besides all that we’ve mentioned above, we are in good health and surrounded by wonderful friends and family and community. 

Click here for more photos from our adventures. And may you and yours be filled with joy and peace this Christmas season!

-Marshall, Aimee, Andy, Liam and Reagan

2017 in Review

"How come we get to go so many places?" Reagan, age 5 in October 2017.

For a family who spent lots of years not going anywhere, we were surprised by all the travel that 2017 brought us. As a family we saw Nicaragua/Honduras in February, Houston, Atlanta, San Diego, Colorado and Chicago. When adding in all the work travel, we sure logged a lot of miles.

Marshall spent much of the year back and forth between Atlanta working on the finishing touches for Mercedes Benz Stadium. He missed most of the summer in KC, but we managed to sneak in a family trip to hang out with him and see the sites in downtown Atlanta. The aquarium and Olympic park were highlights.

September brought us to Southern California for the Gathering. The kids loved making new friends from all over the country in the kids program while the adults learned from great teachers and reconnected with old friends. The two little ones had never seen the ocean so they LOVED playing in the waves even though it was super cold.

Everyone is enjoying school - well some are enjoying and some are tolerating. With Reagan in kindergarten now, all three kids are at Kansas City Christian. Mom is enjoying just one school drop-off and keeping up with just one schedule. Reagan wakes up excited to see Mrs. Friesen and her friends at school every day. Liam delights in telling us what he's learning every day. Andy, who keeps his thoughts close to the vest, most enjoys his classmates and PE.

You can check out more photos here. Overall, 2017 was a lot of work but also a great year FULL of life and joy.

2016 Family Update

We just finished a wonderful Christmas and finally have time to reflect on the year past. Thankful for so many blessings, we find it difficult to write a succinct summary.

A few travel highlights:

• We took a short trip to a lake near Tulsa this summer for fishing and swimming at the beach. Thanks to the Bressee's for generously sharing their lake house with us. 
• Aimee and the kids went to Houston to visit the Carter's in their new home. We enjoyed lots of swimming, a trip to the space center, and other air conditioning-based activities. Houston is HOT!
• Labor Day weekend found us in the Flint Hills again. Liam's big wish for his sixth birthday was a horse back ride through the ranch so he and mom enjoyed the two hour ride. 
• We spent a lovely Thanksgiving staying at a home on the Katy trail. After a 9 mile bike ride/run on Thanksgiving, we spent Friday exploring St. Louis, the arch, and the Christmas festival in downtown St. Charles. Truly lovely.

The kids are all doing well in school, thriving in their own ways. Reagan has found her way in pre-K and loves learning her letter sounds. Liam is a great reader and can make his way through most early-reader books. Andy gets along well in school, especially in Bible and Math. Social Studies is his favorite. We're grateful for the kids' awesome teachers: Mrs. Belz and Mrs. Smith for Reagan, Mrs. Sabates and Mrs. McEachen for Liam, and Mrs. Mong for Andy.

Both boys want to be football players when they grow up (which may be difficult because mom and dad won't let them play tackle football). Reagan spends most days pretending to be a princess and thinks she wants to be an artist or the person who is in charge of an office when she grows up.

Aimee is enjoying the start of Impact Foundation. In their first full year, they moved more than $23m into investments that pursue social/spiritual good while making profit. She and her co-founder Jeff were part of the 2016 nonprofit class of Praxis Labs where they made new friends and gained great insight from mentors.

Marshall and Aimee enjoyed several days without the kids in Naples, Florida (thanks Bev for taking great care of the kids while they were gone). Of course, Aimee had to work for 4 of the 5 days they were gone but still managed to squeeze in several hours on the beach.

Marshall and the team at HOK are still moving along with Mercedes Benz Stadium where the Atlanta Falcons will be playing games starting later this year. He's finding out first hand that getting older stinks, as he is still gingerly recovering from a low-back injury.

Altogether, there's so much for us to be thankful for, including fires in the fireplace, great neighbors, the backyard trampoline, and looking forward to a Houston/Honduras/Nicaragua trip in a few weeks.

Click here for a roundup of our photos from 2016.

Peace out 2016!

2015 Update

2015 was a big year for us. We started out the year with Aimee having left a great, secure job that she loved to follow the Lord’s leading without knowing where that would take us. Marshall was self-employed and we lived in Prairie Village.

We ended the year with Aimee having launched a new foundation, Marshall working full time in architecture, and the family living in Lenexa.

Here are some highlights of the in-between time:

• The ROYALS!
• Marshall and Andy camped at Stockton Lake in April
• Andy had his first season of team soccer. He thrived at the positions of goalie and mid-fielder
• Marshall joined Aimee for a work trip to San Francisco in May
• We were very fortunate to take two trips to Darrin and Jill’s fabulous house at Beaver Lake
• The family took a fun trip to the Flint Hills where we hiked, rode horses, and enjoyed doing chores on the ranch.
• Liam finally got to go camping with the boys at Shalom

Reagan started preschool at the same school Andy attended and where Liam now goes. She was not so sure about it at first. In fact, she proclaimed every single day for over a month, “I’m not going to school today.” But she’s a trooper and has finally found her groove, making friends and learning to glue.

Liam LOVES school too. He loves to read, create pictures, and don superhero costumes. He hopes to be a ninja or a knight when he grows up. I guess he’s living up to his name’s meaning, “Strong Protector”. He and Reagan are best buds and spend most of their time playing together when they’re not fighting.

Andy enjoys second grade. Math is his favorite along with recess and PE. As long as the weather is remotely passable, he’s outside playing in the neighborhood with some of the 8 kids his age who live on our block. He’s a sweet big brother unless he’s feeling feisty and picking on his siblings. Andy wants to be an engineer or builder when he grows up.

Marshall and Aimee are doing well. Work is busy. Aimee loves her new venture and things are going well. See her website for a full update: Impactfoundation.org. Marshall is working on the Atlanta Falcons project for HOK (see pics here). He is especially grateful for the great people he works with everyday. The giant crane pictured below is helping construction go faster in Atlanta.