Another concert

This evening we went to a gospel concert outside on a hillside. It was really good. The weather was perfect. A wonderful evening. Thank you, Lord.

Good Morning!

Good morning! I'm still not able to e-mail anyone so please be patient with me. We're fine and hope you are too. We went to a fiddler concert and it was great! I didn't know I loved fiddling until this concert! I couldn't sit still! We got a CD so we're still listening to these great fiddlers! God loves all kinds of music because He created it all! Thank you, Lord, for fiddlers!

Frustration!

Computers are great...however, when a problem comes up with no way to remedy it, it is very frustrating. I have a problem!!! My mail will not open, nor can I write mail! So this is my only way to communicate to you all, that if I could write to you I would and as soon as I can I will. Thanks for your patience. God loves you all and so do I!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Gene! I hope you have a great day. I'm picturing you going out to play golf and then going out for supper at your favorite restaurant. How close am I? Wish we could join you! Well, have a wonderful, great day. Happy, Happy Birthday!!!

Here They Are!

Shauna, Kaleb, Tim, and Annie are back from Malaysia, just for a visit! Kaleb has grown five inches! It's so good to see them. They'll be going back the first of August. They love their work there. Thank you, Lord, for their safe travels.

What do you see?

Jerry and I were in the U. P. We always see wild life up there so we weren't too surprised to see cars stopped and folks looking off all in the same direction. Some folks were taking pictures. Jerry slowed down and we joined everyone looking to see what we could see. I was actually looking for a bear! But no, it wasn't a bear! There stood a moose! Were we excited! Sorry, I didn't get a picture but you can be sure I have a picture of that moose in my memory bank! What a wonderful, creative God we serve!

Anniversary Reception

Verna, Jerry, Larry, Harold, and Kirt, all friends from many years back. We've known Kirt his entire life! This was taken at the surprise anniversary reception for our good friends Bob and Judy. We saw many, many good old friends this afternoon.
Bob, Judy, Anita, and Jerry . Bob and Jerry are almost the same age and Judy and I are the same age. Jerry has known them since middle school years and I've known them since Jerry and I were first married. Our children grew up together and were good friends. Thank you, Lord, for good friends and good fellowship times over the years.

Old Easter Lily

My Easter Lily finally opened. It looks so different than what it was the first year I got it. It was white then and I think bigger. But it's still beautiful. I call it my old Easter lily.

I have several more to bloom soon. Every year we buy a new one at Easter time and then plant it after it finishes blooming so I'm getting quite a bed of Easter lilies even though they don't look like Easter lilies. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for all the lilies.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Vel! I wish you a very happy day today. You really amaze me...you married my brother! (Just kidding, Bill!) ...you've stayed married to him! (Just kidding, Bill!) ...now you've agreed to take care of our mom, your mother-in-law! Yes, you are amazing! Enjoy today! I hope Bill treats you right!!! Happy, Happy Birthday! Love you lots. Your sister-in-law in Michigan.

July?

Where is the time going? This year is half over!!! I can't believe it. It's true...the older we get the faster time goes. Jerry just came in from getting the newspaper and said he saw a family of wild turkeys by our second driveway! I've been hearing turkeys but haven't seen any. I'm reminded of 9 years ago, our first year in our new house, we had 13 turkeys roosting in our trees right beside our house every night. There were three adults and 11 youngsters. We could almost set our clocks by them coming up our driveway every day at 5:30. They would wander around eating whatever and then about 7:00 they would fly up into the trees on the west side of our house and settle in for the night! It was so fun to watch them. My mom and dad came to visit that fall and they were delightfully entertained by the turkeys! They are very messy but thank goodness we live in the woods so we weren't bothered too much. I marvel at God's creation and praise Him because He is our Creator!

This & that & the other thing!

As much as I love to see deer, especially in my own yard, I must admit when I see my snowball bush between the house and the pole barn with all the leaves eaten off except three, I get a little miffed at whomever ate those leaves!
One day this week we took Larry and Patricia to the airport. They flew to Chicago. We got back in time to meet Larry and Rose at Logans for supper! Larry must have been a very popular name 60 plus years ago!
My Petunias are all blooming but they are a disappointment because I asked for the kind that spread and these don't. They just grow tall! I don't want tall. It's my fault...I didn't buy my plants down the road from us, instead I went to a flower market next to the car wash in town. I told the woman what I wanted but she said they only buy the plants to sell so she didn't know anything about them. Next year I'll buy them from the nursery down the road where I know they grow their own plants.
Big news about my Mom! She's going to move in with Bill & Vel when they move to Colorado! It won't be for several months yet but she's quite excited. They offered to take care of her and she accepted!
Jerry and I went for a ride in the MG this afternoon. That's always fun! And that's a good note to end this on...

Day Lilies

This is from a patch of Day Lilies near the pole barn.
This Day Lily is on the west side of our yard. We have lots and lots of Day Lilies. My Easter Lilies are very close to opening. Thank you, Lord, for the many varieties of Lilies.

Hibiscus

This is the first Hibiscus to bloom. I counted 16 more buds to open, some are almost ready and others are still very tiny. This is too beautiful a plant to keep just for ourselves so I've decided to share it with Jessica. That way we can all enjoy it! So we'll keep it for a few more days and then over it goes to be enjoyed by Jessica and her family for a while. Meantime, I'll fertilize the other Hibiscus and try to get it blooming too.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Miller! 10 years...already! I was there when you were born! Papa stayed here because he was building our log home. Where have the years gone? I sure wish we lived closer. Did you have a fun camping trip with your Daddy's whole family? I'm sure you did. When your mom was a little girl our family camped a lot! We loved it. I hope you have a wonderful day today. Happy, happy birthday! I love you, Miller!

Cutting trees

Jerry and Ted decided to cut a big tree down that was completely dead. In a wind storm if it blew over it'd land right on our house. But, oh boy, did they ever have a time with that tree! First the chain saw gave up on them. Then the tree got caught up in the tree tops. After a lot of hard work and effort they finally got it down. Ted hurt one knee and has a very swollen thumb which is also bleeding. It was a huge job. We'll get it cut into logs for the winter later. Thanks, Ted, for helping with this BIG JOB!

Memorial

This is the memorial to my dad that we made in our back yard. I've put this on before but the red flowers weren't blooming yet. It's nice and with all the luscious green behind it makes it even nicer. I miss you, Dad.

My Friend

I received a phone call telling me that my friend, Shoua, died. She had cancer and a lot of pain, so I suppose it's best but it sure hurts me. She was one of my Hmong friends. She only spoke very little English but we understood each other and there was a bond between us like no other. She lived here in our city with her daughter for many years but has been living in Minneapolis for the past several years with her son. I met her, of course, when she lived here. A few years ago I went to a convention in Minneapolis so I looked her up and we had a wonderful afternoon together. I tried to tell her about Jesus but I have no idea if she knew what I was talking about. I have prayed for her for many years and can only hope God revealed Himself to her. Lord, help me to live so close to You that others see Jesus in me.

This & That

I'm taking a break from doing some tough cleaning. I've got a mess upstairs and downstairs. I go from one job to another, never completing one. I'm still working in the loft, now I've started cleaning the linen closet, my computer room, etc. What's the matter with me? Well, it'll all get done, hopefully sooner rather than later. One of my Hibiscus plants has at least 13 buds on it! The first one should be blooming soon, I can't wait. The other Hibiscus hasn't had a flower on it in two years. My Easter lilies and the day lilies will soon be blooming. We've decided to get a queen size bed for our guest room! We want our guests to be comfortable and sleep well when they come to visit! I believe it's time for another cup of coffee and then back to work again.

Good-bye

I just resigned from a position I've held for several years. I don't even know how many. It's a sad thing for me. But I'm not young any more. I can't take the stress of deadlines or of folks not following through with a promise to write a simple paper about an exciting trip they've taken. So I'm no longer editor of the missions page of our conference paper. I also resigned from the mssions board of our conference. Another sad thing for me. I've been on the board for many years...yet it's time. But nothing excites me more than hearing what God is doing around the world! I praise Him because He is Omnipresent! God is Alive and Well!

Pitt Bulls!

We got a phone call this morning from a neighbor, first time she's ever called us. She asked if Jerry is one of the men who walks mornings and I said yes, he did. Well, she was calling to warn him not to walk today! She didn't know he hasn't walked for atleast a month because he wasn't up to it physically. Two pitt bulls were on her back porch! She had called animal control and they were coming out to get them. She had no idea where they came from or who they belonged to but one was quite aggressive and one appeared to be quite old and exhausted. Her dogs were inside whining and she hoped that would keep the dogs on the porch until animal control arrived. Wow! We never know what to expect next, do we?! Thank you, Lord, for good neighbors!