No Longer Sola

 

One unusually cool August day in 2017, our little family loaded a truck with our earthly possessions and left everything else behind.  Our home, beloved family, dear friends, our church, our income, health care, our support network and twelve years of preparing for and carrying out pastoral ministry.

​

We left everything we loved, because we found something we loved even more.  Something we loved more than financial security, more than familiarity - even more than we loved our home and our family.  

​

We found the Church.  This is the story of our family as we work to start over, as we struggle to be faithful, as we fail and repent and start over and over again. 

​

A little about us...

​

We homeschool.

We parent children from hard places.

We parent children with disabilities.

We live with chronic illness.

We work to live simply and sustainably.

We strive to live out our faith in everyday life.

​

And most of all we are just trying to learn to repent, to acquire some humility and to be joyful on the way.

​

Meet the Family

Iakavos: Graduated seminary and served for four years as a pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.  Chrismated into the Orthodox Church in 2017.  Loves history, theology and baseball. (Go Cardinals!)

​

Amelia: Holds a degree in Christian Outreach and Confessional Lutheranism.  Also chrismated in 2017.   Loves writing, home making and anything crunchy.

​

Hope: Eighteen years old.  Sweet and sassy. Adopted from Ukraine in 2014 after laying in a crib for nine years, and has come a long way!  Loves to "drop" her toys and watch unsuspecting people pick them up.

​

Jacob: Fifteen years old. A strong survivor.  Also adopted from Ukraine in 2014. He bears a heavy cross due to trauma and multiple disabilities.  Loves building, creating and anything fun outside.

​

Evangelia: Thirteen years old.  Logical and compassionate.  The firstborn of the family, she arrived shortly before our 1st wedding anniversary.  Loves reading, writing, science, art and her beloved dog Olive.

​

Stephen: Ten years old.  Energetic and intensely empathetic.  Born on a little island condo a couple years after Evie and a couple years before Kyrie.  Loves hanging out with friends and any sport he can get his hands on, but most especially baseball.

​

Kyriaki: Eight years old.  Intuitive and wise.  Born six months after the adoption and just as Amelia was going through her initial health crisis, she was a ray of light in a difficult period for our family.  Loves stuffed animals, creating and preparing for her fish tank!

​

Christine: Five years old. Sweet and kind.  Born into the family right after we came into the Church, she is the first "Cradle Orthodox" of the bunch. Loves school work, being a big sister and anything her older siblings are up to.

 

Anthony: Two years old. Affectionate and rambunctious. Our fun little guy arrived during the Covid Pandemic and has been an absolute joy to everyone. Loves dinosaurs, petting ruff ruffs (dogs), and pretty much anything on wheels.