Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

Internet Service Again!

No, we are not stuck at the truck pulls in Pennsylvania! :)  We just have not had access to internet for the past while.  We are in Fairview, Michigan enjoying some great times with family.  Dad came home from the hospital on Tuesday and is doing  better every day.  We were all so happy he is back home and able to be up and around.  Each day we can tell a difference, he walks a little further, naps a little less, and is pretty well back to normal.  What an answer to prayer!
My sister Brenda and her family (5 children) are here, too.  We are staying with my brother, Don, and they are staying in a camper parked in the yard.  Meals are served in his kitchen and it is not unusual to have 25 of us for supper every night. Brenda is a server and no one is around her for long before she is stirring some food together to serve them, much like my Grandma Wagler. 
We have also been helping my brother Joel get ready for his daughter's wedding.  He has a beautiful place back in the woods about 1/8 of a mile from Don's so it is easy to run back and forth.  Between the two brothers they have a host of four wheelers, dirt bikes, golf-carts, etc. so you can imagine what the children are doing!  Yep, non-stop.  One gets off and the next is ready to get on!  (I did hear a confession this morning that Derek flipped his four-wheeler today) (another gray hair).
JR is in his delight running my brother's tractors.  He has been discing and hauling hay.  Erica and I had to ride in the tractor with him for awhile but Erica couldn't stay long because the four-wheelers were calling.

Last evening was my niece's wedding.  I can hardly wait to posts the pictures of all we've been doing around here and the beautiful wedding.  Kalie's wedding was in a barn, vintage style, with about 450 in attendance.  It was a beautiful wedding and now they are Mr. & Mrs. Handrich, and off on their honeymoon.  After the wedding we visited and visited and visited.  It was fun to see old acquaintances, aunts, uncles, and people I used to babysit for.  After we got home (to Don's) we sat up and talked until 1:00 a.m.  We are getting too old for these late hours.
Yesterday about 14 of us were going to go tubing and canoeing down the AuSable River but when we finally had everyone ready to load (which was about like herding cats!) the clouds were rolling in and it began to rain.  The temperature dropped about ten degrees and it rained off and on from them on until this afternoon. Now a light jacket feels good.
 This afternoon our family and my neice, Monica, went hiking and exploring to remote areas near the river.  We saw an old graveyard of persons buried in the early 1900's and foundations of some old buildings.  Monica said little is known about who these people were and what the original buildings were.  Of course, if there's a river you must throw stones in it!  The men were showing us how 'girls throw'! 
Brenda and her family (Ohio) and Joyce and her family (Florida) left for their homes this morning.  Lord willing, tomorrow will be our turn to head south.  The children fly home tomorrow evening so we plan to load all six of us in the car, along with ALL our luggage, drive for two hours, drop three of them off at the airport, and then continue our way south.
Vacation is rapidly coming to an end.

Red-necks at heart

Yep, 'fraid so, folks....we're red-necks (aka southern country folks) at heart.  Give me wide open land, cowboy country, small town life anyday! ha!
How ironic is it that on our honeymoon we stopped in Pennsylvania to visit JR's sister, family, and old school friends of his.  While we were here we went to the Sheakleyville Truck Pulls.  Twenty five years later we come through on our anniversary week and guess what's happening in town?  You got it, Sheakleyville Truck Pulls.....uh-huh, we go!  Erica loved it and we wished our other kids could have been along to see small town life up close.  (They're red-necks at heart, too. )

Munson Medical Center-Traverse City, MI

JR and I are spending the night in Dad's hospital room tonight.  This is a very impressive medical/heart center and all patients and their families are treated like royalty.  Dad has made big improvements the last two days and plans are for him to be released in the morning.  They have his coumadin level up to 1.9 and want it over 2 before they will release him.  The family that has been with him the last 10 days especially notice how much better he is.  Thank you, Jesus!  I am so thankful to have Dad with us yet.  Today he was up and around quite abit, is off all his 'lines' except for the blood thinner, has oxygen only at night because his oxygen level drops a little low at night due to sleep apnea, has  a good appetite, good blood pressure, is back to teasing and laughing again. 

Mom and Erica are staying in the Hospitality House next door.  This used to be a state instituion that they have restored and are using for a wonderful cause.  Mom has a gorgeous room with a twin size bed and a private bath.  The cafeteria here is amazing.  They have a great variety of healthy foods to choose from and of course, some junk food for the junkies.  Their prices are cheap and the whole staff treats you like they are all here to serve you in any way they can.  What a blessing!

Dad's room is a private room with a couch that folds into a bed and a reclining chair.  Dear hubby has taken the first shift on the bed and looks very comfortable; we will probably switch half way through the night.  I am on the recliner sipping camomile tea, hoping it helps me sleep.  I have a hard time sleeping in unusual places or when there is a lot on my mind.  I just spent time writing in my prayer journal and was once again assured of God's presence here with us.

Last night we were privileged to visit with JR's aunt and uncle, Lewis & Alma Schlabach from Charlevoix and also with his cousin John Schlabach and wife Virginia from this area.  John is the pastor of the local Traverse Bay Mennonite Church.  John's live several miles from here so we spent the night at their house last night.  They generously offered their upstairs to Brenda and her family this week and were such a good example of Christian hospitality.  I was challenged on how short I fall in that area.

Today JR and Henry (brother-in-law) took the children to the Sleeping Bear Sand dunes.  It sounded like they enjoyed that alot and then this afternoon Henry & Brenda headed over to Fairview where my  brothers all live.  Fairview is about two hours from here.

Happy Birthdays!!

Fourteen years ago today, August 6, 1997, God blessed us with our youngest daughter, Erica LaShae.

Wow, how the years have flown by.  KaShondra was so delighted to hear that day that the girl/boy ratio was now even in our family.  The boys were tickled with a new little sister, too, even though they had been voting for a boy; for a clear majority rule of boys!

Our family has been so blessed to have Erica in our lives, even though she has had to grow up in a more grown up world because she was the youngest.  We praise God for how she has courageously chosen to fix her eyes on Jesus, to stand alone at times,  and to follow Him with her whole heart.  She has made choices and fixed safeguards to keep her heart pure.  We are so proud of her and pray that God blesses her as much as she has blessed us and others.  She is a beautiful daughter from the inside clear through to the outside.  I know being the youngest child can have it's disadvantages but  Erica has embraced her role in our family and fills her space perfectly.  

Happy Birthday, Erica......we love you!

Today is also my dad's 85th birthday.  While celebrating his birthday in a hospital is not something he would have chosen, Dad has always modeled to us kids to make the best of what life offers you.  I feel honored and so blessed to have a dad who was always faithful to our mom, provided for us when it sometimes required working two jobs, and chose to follow God all the days of his life.  Dad spent two years in a state prison for being a conscientious objector to war and has quite a few stories to tell of how God provided for him.  We never were a rich family in the eyes of the world but we are a RICH family when it comes to what really counts in eternity! 

Happy Birthday, Dad!  Praying God's blessing, favor, and healing on you today.  We love you!

Pennsylvania

We arrived in Sandy Lake, Pa. around 5:30 p.m. at Larry & Betty Waglers. (JR's sister & my cousin).  JR's parents also stay here for the summer, and we both have aunts, uncles, and cousins here.  (No, we're not related though.)  We unloaded our luggage at the place we are staying at (more later) and then enjoyed a great evening with them at the Iron Bridge Restaurant.  We had to wait in line for an hour so we walked down to a nearby creek.

And now for some fine dining....

The place we stayed is next door to the Pleasant View Mennonite Church where JR attended when he lived here.  It was originally Peaceful Rest Nursing Home which the church turned into a retreat center. 

One wing is all bedroom and  bathrooms, beautifully decorated by different families from their church. 

A very nice fellowship hall/banquet room makes up another wing and the third wing is a dining, laundry, etc. wing.  The prices are very reasonable ($30. a night for a shared bath/$40. for a private bath). 

It is an ideal place for a family reunion and has quite a few interesting places to go and things to do around here.  And.....everything is clean.  Sometimes some places you stay at are questionable on their cleanliness.

On the other wall was  a daybed that fit Erica just right, and a small sitting area. 

We chose to go with the shared bath because there were no other people staying on the other side.

JR enjoyed a breakfast with his relatives but Erica and I opted to sleep in just a bit

 and try to re-organize our suitcases.

JR is changing oil in the car today and washing the filth off of it after two weeks of travel.

Our plans are to leave for Michigan tomorrow morning.

Dad is continuing to improve but the doctor doesn't plan to release him before Monday.

Vermont, New York

A ski mountain in Killington, VT. that is entirely too high!!

And then on to Penn Yan, NY to spend a short visit with our dear friends of kindred spirit....

THE NEW YORK WEAVERS

(aka Kyle's family)

We enjoyed a delightful evening of pizza and then chatted until 1:30 a.m.

While the men took a ride in the antique car that Dave bought and restored

 before him and Leanna were married,

(oops, for some reason that picture didn't download.)

Leanna and I chatted about how to use herbs and make Green Salve.

We always have so much fun with this family.  Our time spent with them seems never to be

long enough.  They live near the finger lakes in NY and have a beautiful view

of the mountains and lakes around them.