tradition...TRADITION

holidays are meant to be spent having good times. celebration and fellowship with friends and most importantly family. my family has its traditions that have been going on for as long as i can remember.

the biggest traditions i can remember are christmas eve night we (my mom, dad, and sister) would venture to my mom's parents house and do our "christmas celebration" the night before. one gift i remember getting as a child was a siren radio. this thing was nothing extravagant. it could tune into the radio, blast a siren, and was a flashlight. i don't know why i particularly remember that present more than others.

the other traditions i remember involve my immediate family. we would wake up to stockings filled with candy and possibly toothbrushes. i always found it weird as a kid to get the poison and the antidote in the same package. my sister and i would usually be the first ones up but we always seemed to follow the unwritten rule to wait for our parents before opening the presents (i don't know of any family that allows their kids to begin opening presents the moment they wake). we would have a breakfast that consisted of all the breakfast meats, eggs, biscuits, and of course coffee. i didn't drink it as a kid though (actually i don't remember the season of my life when i began drinking coffee every morning). we would then move into the living room where we would read the christmas story out of luke and then begin singing christmas hymns...thats right i didn't say carols, i said hymns. this was my dad's grooming. i think it is safe to admit that my sister and i weren't to fond of this particular tradition.

the amount of songs we would sing changed every year. my dad actually had the old baptist hymnals that carried EVERY christmas song imaginable, so we couldn't escape with excuses of not knowing the words. the moment we were able to pressure him into only singing one more song, we usually gave that one all we had, you know, in order to honor him.

looking back, i grasp, not really the value of singing christmas songs, i don't think my dad was doing it so that we could improve our singing capabilities. rather, i see now something that a dad, a father, longs to build within his family unit...a tradition.

a tradition that can be identified by his marking; that can be labeled as "what we do." everyone has theirs, and i love mine as a little lowrie/brister boy growing up. i found myself in that moment this year.

we had our first real, lowrie, family christmas, just me, liz and the boys. i woke up, and thought to myself, "oh my gosh, what am i going to do?" i found myself cleaning up spills, taming zealousness, and helping liz clean up after breakfast and knew that we needed our tradition. dutch is 6! titus is 4! they need something to hold onto for the rest of their life that would cement inside that they were ours for the holidays. traditions do this very thing...the sense of belonging. it's all a working progress. all my have their unique individuality that they bring to the tree.

in a time of questioning and redefining; concern about what we have always done and whether or not should we change it up for the sake of change, i hope that the sense of tradition is never altered. those traditions are what we build on and will continue to build on whether or not we keep them or not. traditions are these sacred icons and for most of us they are our dna. removing that tradition would be like removing a pound of flesh. i think there is a good time for new traditions. i carry the value of tradition because my dad never relented on singing those christmas hymns even when we may have damaged his sense of self worth (for the record it was mostly stephanie who didn't want to sing). because of that i am so eager to continue on a tradition...but a new one, with my family.

alaska in august

i have the privilege of being married to an alaskan. well, technically she was born in montana, but she lived her life in the biggest state in the union. i'm from the biggest state "in the lower 48," as they say, so with this marriage we hold a heritage of BIG desires. i love going to alaska and visiting my family there. they are some of the most generous people i have ever known. liz's parents are truly like my very own. they know me and what i like and every time i visit they never disappoint to shower me with many blessings.

i try and go fishing every time i visit. they also have a hand full of thrift stores that i seem to find at least one or two t-shirts every time i go. this year we were able to take a camping trip into the remote town of  liz's upbringing. liz and i stayed in tents with finn while dutch and titus got to sleep with grammy and papa in the camper they own. we had such a blast hiking around and taking the 4-wheelers into the mountains. titus loves destruction so riding the polaris ranger plowing through fields and mowing down small trees brought a big grin to his face. i think finn is a little too young still to camp, judging by the inability to walk around and sleep soundly without mommy present.

in addition to the blessings this family gives, they have a large family with kids around titus and dutch's age. this proved to be such a treat for dutch who actually has never had a sleep over at someone's house but showed us it is possible as he slept twice at his cousins house. we ventured into the alaska state fair and enjoyed the fair-like atmosphere from a culture not to far removed from my own, being a texas boy and all.

liz has two brothers and one sister who are always ready to fill in the gap of time lost with us. every time we go they pick right back up where we left it as though we live there. liz's mom never ceases to ask me what i want to eat while i am there. i know i can get the best salmon, crab, and some other wonderful gamey meat for meals.

although alaska is wonderful year around my favorite season is the summer time because of the long days and the lush green scenery. much like belgium, it stays cool and has that fresh rain smell.

we had a wonderful moment of hiking in a famous mountain pass called hatchers pass. because bears aren't up in the mountains for the winter yet there was much discussion about precautionary measures. this meant...i get to where a gun! even though i am a texas boy guns were never my thing. not that i am gun-rights enthusiast i still just never got into them. so when i am wearing a holster up against my chest i feel fierce and manly. thankfully i never needed to use.

i still haven't been able to cross off the list the two most desirable things to see, the northern lights and a bear...obviously from a distance.

if you ever get a chance to go to akaska for whatever reason...take it.

titus got some swords at the fair

mom and dad in belgium

this summer was such a wonderful experience for our family. we had been planning this for well over 6 months to have my parents come to our house here in belgium and for us to go visit liz's family in alaska.

before i begin, in the spring my dad had suffered a severe bicycling accident that would require major surgeries and rehabilitation. it put strain on the planning of their visit to our house here. he would be required to miss a lot of work. thankfully, he had put in the vacation spots for the days they were here at the beginning of the year so the trip wasn't effected by the need for many days off of work. however, due to his weeks of needed rest and rehabilitation he was forced to use vacation days and sick leave while not working. this meant that he had to take a short, unpaid leave while on vacation here in belgium. not cool.

still, it was cheaper for them to fly here, even while taking unpaid leave, then for my whole family (2 adults, 2 kids, and infant) to dallas. weird, i know. i wish flying was cheaper, as do most people who fly i am sure.

this was a huge trip for my dad. he had never been out of the united states. this required him to get a passport for the first time in his life. over 50 years without needing a passport! maybe that is not as big of a deal as i think it is but it sure seems amazing considering how much people move around these days.

there was so much anticipation. if you follow me on twitter, then you could attest to the many tweets concerning numbers and countdowns, we were so excited for them to be here. we had it all planned out, going to give them the belgian experience of the trains and food. the morning of their arrival we left the house around 7:30 on the train to go get them. we got to the airport and then it started to rain as we were headed home on the train. as soon as we got to the rhode train station i ran to my house to get the car. need less to say, it was not a great welcome to belgium experience. mom and dad were very tired and dad was hurting a little from soreness in his body due to the bicycling accident.

over the next two weeks we had so much fun. we visited our key spots, went downtown, visited the seaside, rode numerous trains, played in the parks, experienced el grecco, and had wonderful chats about life and things that are changing in the dallas area. i was so grateful for their presence in our house. for my dad it was also his first time to be able to hold and play with finn, our youngest.

liz and i got to celebrate our anniversary (month later) in amsterdam...WITHOUT KIDS!!! i was so excited to travel with my bride to amsterdam and get a wonderful 2 days with her all to myself.

next to the last night i had such a major breakdown. going down to my parents room i told them everything i felt. at times in my life over here i feel like i am hurting them because they are denied the times to be had with grand children; especially if you know my mom who loves them so much. i hate that. i told them i was sorry and really do wish it was different. my mom and dad both are confident i am doing what the lord is calling me to do over here in belgium. that is so pleasing to know and comforting.

i look forward to our next adventure together. hopefully they can make traveling to belgium an annual experience.

love you mom and dad.

giving thanks

happy thanksgiving to all of you "uh-mericans!" this is such a great day with lots of tradition for many families. it reveals the truth of the value of tradition. not just doing the same thing over and over because you have to but because you WANT to.

consider it a blessing to have a day set aside specifically for giving thanks. may the door swing wide open for our next great holiday.

i now officially give everyone permission to start the christmas music, the decorating and weight gain.

love you all

the lowries

lets call it dash

there is a wonderful new addition to the lowrie household. no, i am not talking about a little soul...yet.

it so fun and exciting to see god provide something right before your very eyes. this whole process of provision has been an adventure that will forever mark my heart.

it was a big deal. when liz and i moved here there was so much shifting that took place. even the very week when we moved liz had to change job posts, we weren't able to move into the location we originally thought was available for us and so many little detailed changes took place which far too many really to get into at this time.

a huge reality was not having a vehicle to commute daily to the things that were going on around us. thankfully we moved into a situation where our team was very understanding and able to accommodate us in our transportation needs (GO TEAM 9TH HOUR!!!).

soon enough we found our groove and those little cultural shortcuts that made life much, much easier. the bus became my friend with my boys as we would take it every morning to dutch's first school. similarly, the train was liz's friend as she rode it over and over until she figured the belgian system. it really become fun for me as the boys' faces would light up at every train riding opportunity.

there is no cool way to spin it...i have a station wagon

when the school dutch was attending informed us that they would not be continuing the next year we had very little options. we, along with our team's kids, put dutch into another school that is not too far away but still required a good walk. dutch became good at a little pedal-less bike that he rode as i pushed tites in the stroller every morning to to school. this routine was working well in the months that were temperature friendly. however, once the winter began to settle in we had to take our transportation to another level...i got a bike and a little kid trailer to pull them. we tucked it with blankets and i packed them both in very tightly with coats and hats. me, i had quite a few rides where i was glad my boys couldn't hear my frustrations venting. it was a good time for me as i poured out my feelings on needing a vehicle. well, god heard...per usual.

we saved and saved every penny we could. we asked and asked everyone we knew to ask for help. i didn't want to borrow money for a car. i have taken that road before and i was not in a place financially to rely on the payment being there. call it lack of faith, call it extreme faith, call it whatever you want but i kind of took pride in the suffering.

the tape deck was essential for iPod usage

anyway, we finally came up with an amount that would get us something decent. maybe not brand spanking new, but decent to last us and get us from point a to point b. i had been giving guitar lessons to a young man in the youth group and this was raising some money. his father who is originally from iran, was always asking me about a car and telling me that i needed to get a bmw 520 series. that sounded nice, but not realistic.

one day after many, many, many emails to many individuals i found a car online that was a bmw and looked ok for our budget. we called and set an appointment up to go look at it. i knew nothing about bmw's much less the belgian system of buying cars (there are some things that are slightly different). i called my best belgian friend, jon vandeput, and the guy who always told me to get bmw's, ahmed. they both came with me to look at this car. it turned out to be a bust. on the way back home as i was taking ahmed home he turned to me and said, "zach, do you really want to buy a car?" i was taken back a little because i wasn't sure what he thought we WERE JUST DOING. i emphatically replied, YES!" we went to a garage in a little town close to waterloo called braine l'alleud (bren-lah-luh). we walked into this little lot area that was hidden off the main road and there were quite a few cars being sold there. i held in my deck of cards the trump card that was going to get me the deal i needed...a middle eastern man. ahmed, was gold i tell you, GOLD!

we walked into this place and everyone knew him by name and he was like their long time family member who didn't come around unless he needed something. as we walked around looking for a car in my price range of 2500 euros (about $3000) i found this gem. i asked ahmed about it and he said, "is this the one?" i said nervously, "i don't know." it was a lot of money that i had saved for a long time and i didn't want to throw it away. ahmed said let me take care of it. the dealer said it was 2000 euros but with passed inspection. i could over hear ahmed telling the guy to come down and make a better price. the guy came down to 1850 but without inspection. ahmed, again, i could tell, was looking the guy in the eye and very emphatically told him to "come on!" the guy said ok with inspection 1850.

YES!!! it happened, i got it! i was so pumped and came home to tell the family the good news. after a couple of weeks of back and forth (it didn't pass inspection the first time but ahmed told them to fix the problem and they did) i finally took the boys to the garage and drove home in our very own car.

on the way there i was asking the boys, because they too shared the excitement, "what shall we name our car?" dutch replied, "mcqueen" (after the character in the disney cars movie). i didn't think it was a good name. he then changed his mind and said, "no, lets call it dash!"

perfect.

where am i

high school is the big time, and one reason for this is because you have a locker that is like your personal apartment...obviously much, much, much smaller. i can recall on many occasions going on a break from school for christmas or spring break and many of these breaks where full of doing so much of nothing. upon my return from break there was always a reality check once i visited my locker and had to pause as to remember the combination, or even the routine of classes and their appropriate period. in retrospect i see this as a good measure of the level fun i had from the break of a strict routine. not that i had a break from routine to no routine but that i was able to switch the routine up.

this last trip to the states was much like that...

my family was able to go to dallas for a few days to visit my parents and then we ventured off to southern california to visit liz' family. while in california we went to the popular sites: disneyland, sea world, and the san diego zoo. this was such a great trip and it was very refreshing. my sister-in-law lives in dana point, which is about a 45-50 minute drive north of san diego. it was full of walks for me as she lives within walking distance to the ocean. i was able to go sit for hours seaside amongst the waves crashing against the rocks. one of the most enjoyable places for me to be is on the rocks and watching the waves crash against them. i can imagine how incredibly boring this may seem to others. i have contemplated the simplicity of this oceanic entertainment before and every time i walk away in awe of god's glorious ideas in addition to how incredibly simplistic my view of god really is. the moments are etched into my mind and are as sure as the waters cover this earth; i will never forget them.

upon my return here in belgium i experienced this very similar reality that had occurred upon return from a long break back to school. my mind raced as i scrambled to think about what i was to tell the officer at customs. as i got my luggage and began walking out of the terminal i was hurriedly trying to remember what greetings to use. i had to take the train back home and i, for the life of me, could not remember what the train process was like. even when i was on the train headed back home i completely blanked out as to the order of stops from brussels central to waterloo. i stood there looking at every stop as to make sure i didn't miss my stop. walking into my apartment i had forgotten how small it was and the fact that i cannot go down to the store and ask for something in my native tongue. isn't this weird?!?! my mind. went. blank.

all of this, i can only attribute to the amazing time i had. i truly forgot a few times that i even lived in belgium. the only regret i have is the limited amount of time to enjoy with close friends. there were many necks that didn't get hugs and hands that didn't get a high five. nevertheless the brilliance of these particular relationships is that the next time i am around them we will be enjoying each others company as though not a single second has gone by without hanging around them.