Family Update and a little about the non profit
What a year this has been! Our family has been doing great since Taylor’s pardon in January of this year. There have been challenges, of course, but overall we feel overwhelmingly blessed.
I’ve been able to continue homeschooling the kids while also working on the nonprofit we started while Taylor was gone — Left Behind and Without — which helps children impacted by incarceration participate in sports, arts, and other extracurricular activities that help them thrive.
The kids are doing wonderful! Our oldest, Elise, is engaged to Ian, who we’ve known and loved since they were both about ten years old. We were in a homeschooling group with his family, and we love them dearly. What a blessing! They’ll be getting married in June of next year — crazy to think about!
Ben is still a fish, swimming about six days a week. He qualified for the Junior Olympics this summer and is determined to go even further. He’s also working toward his Eagle Scout award, but balancing that has been rough.
Fisher, Joe, and Caleb all got skateboards recently and even convinced Taylor to get one too! Most days, you can find them skating all over our cute little town, playing with our new family dog, bouncing on the trampoline, or doing a whole bunch of the things boys love to do. They’re best friends and keep our home lively and full of laughter.
Taylor has jumped back into life with purpose. He started out doing construction and landscaping, and has since returned to teaching courses and recording his Peasants Perspective podcast again — something he started before J6 that had been put on hold. He’s loving being back at it!
Life is good — and God is even better. We are so grateful for all that we’ve learned, and for the love and support that’s been shown to our family through every season.
I wanted to give a quick update on our nonprofit, Left Behind and Without, and share an opportunity for anyone who’d like to help. We’ve been able to meet many needs this year, but we currently have a waiting list of children whose requests are still unmet.
If you’d like to help, you can:
* View our list of current needs: Needs for Kids Impacted by Incarceration
*Donate or sponsor a child directly: https://leftbehindandwithout.org/
Every bit of support helps — whether it’s donating, sponsoring a need, or simply sharing our organization with your friends and family.
Thank you so much for your concern and kindness for our family.
With lots of love, Marie Johnatakis