Uncle Merlin and Aunt Irene and Grandma O.

After we left Rachel's we headed North to Paul's Uncle Merlin and Aunt Irene's place. They ran a dairy farm for many years and are now retired. We had a very good visit with them and Irene fed us some delicious spaghetti.They have an awesome tree swing that the kids still talk about.

We also left two pairs of shoes that day, one at Rachel's and one at Irene's. We had been doing so well on that score...

We left Irene's and let my brother's GPS he loaned us take us the back way to Perham, MN to see Paul's Grandma O. again. We had a very nice visit with her and Paul's Uncle Butch and Aunt Cheryl. Paul's cousin Matt & Sarah's girls were there too, so the kids got to play with them.

Sarah entertained Grandma O. and the other ladies that live with her, by walking all the way around the room, going from one hand hold to the next.

Grandma O. is 97 the same as my Grandad will be this year. She doesn't get around much, but she still enjoys listening to you and still has a sweet smile and a twinkle in her eye.

The Perrys and The Meyers

Paul and I met in Omaha Nebraska. Paul had gotten out of the Air Force and was on Associate Staff with the Navigators. He moved to Omaha from England with Duane and Ana Perry and their six kids. Paul lived with them for a time and got a priceless education in studying God's Word and raising kids who love the Lord. Their living witness convinced both Paul and I that we wanted to home school our kids. The Perrys are still ministering in Omaha at Offutt AFB and all over the Midwest. Most of their children are grown and serving the Lord all over the world, but we got to see Rebecca, Emily and Amy. Amy is on the right in the picture below with Abigail and Deborah. She was born while Paul was living with them in England.

Things haven't changed much for Duane and Anna, they are as busy as ever. I didn't get a good picture of them before they had to go help Rebecca house hunt for a place for she and her sister Rachel to live in while she is working on her master's in music. So, I dug very deep into the files and found this family photo of the Perry's, Paul and I and Abigail, and Paul's sister Debbie's boys Eric and Jared. They came to visit us on the farm in North Dakota. Abigail can't be more than a month old at the time of their visit and tomorrow she turns 15. Ana is holding Amy from the picture above in her arms.

Then I dug even deeper and I came up with some pictures from a wedding shower that our friends from Bible study threw for us. Duane and Ana put on a skit pretending to be Paul and I. We were going to move to North Dakota to farm after we got married so Duane dressed up like a farmer and Ana dressed up warm to represent me staying warm in the North Dakota wind. They pretended that they were newlyweds buying toothbrushes. Ana (Susan) said something to the effect of , "How about these toothbrushes Paul? They look very nice and they're the perfect color." Then Duane (Paul) said something like, "We can't tell just by looking at them. We've got to do some research first and see which toothbrush works the best." As I found the pictures to put on the blog, I told my kids about the skit and they rolled laughing. Deborah said, "That is so just like you guys." I guess we haven't changed much in 16 years.

Below Paul and I are watching the skit. Paul laughed till he cried, it was so funny and so right on.

Rachel Meyer was a part of our Bible study in Omaha (she was at the wedding shower) and a very good friend. Her parents live in Watertown, South Dakota which is right on the road between Omaha and Paul's Mom's in North Dakota. Rachel teaches college biology and was living with her parents for the summer, so we spent the night with them and got all caught up.

We helped Rachel's Dad put their paddle boat in the water for the summer.They live on a lake with their own little island tucked into a cove. The kids had great fun paddling around.Rachel with her Mom and Dad, Betty and Bob Meyer.

I got Betty's permission to take her picture with rollers in her hair. She said that when you get to be her age you don't care about those things.

I thought the bridge might make a cool family picture.

Jennifer's Mom

We drove right by the St. Louis Gateway Arch. I wasn't able to take a good look at it because Paul was napping so I was driving. There was a lot of traffic and the road we were supposed to take kept exiting here and there. In the picture below I'm in the far left lane and all of a sudden the sign says I'm supposed to be in the far right lane... Help!The kids got some good pictures out the window, so I got to see what they saw when we stopped.
Jennifer has been coming to Nondalton for over a year. She is an anthropologist and has been working on her PhD. She stays in one of our apartments when she's in town, so we have gotten to know her quite well. We will miss her regular visits now that she has completed the research portion of her studies. Her Mom lives near Kansas City and Jennifer and her husband Tim just happened to be there visiting her Mom when we drove through. We stopped for a very nice visit. Sandy shared some of her birthday balloons with the kids (great fun for the motor home). It turned out to be the hottest day of the trip. Jennifer said the thermometer on the bank in town read 104 degrees F.
Paul was sitting visiting with Tim and Sandy when a deer and her baby ran through the back yard and scared the kids back inside. They hung around for awhile so we could watch them, very cool.

Grandad

We left my Mom & Dad's house the day after Father's Day. Below my Grandad, my Dad, my brother David and Paul are enjoying the supper we made for them.

My Grandad lives next to my Mom & Dad. His house overlooks the pastures where he can keep an eye on the sheep, the donkey and the horses. My job while I was in high school was to feed a couple of bales of hay to the cows and he kept an eye on me too. I got to drive our jeep pickup truck to deliver the bales and Grandad made sure I didn't go too fast. My Grandad is a faithful man whom I respect very much. He will be 97 in December and he is still getting around great.

I wish I could see more of my Grandad and that he could see more of his great-grandkids.

Benjamin's 3rd Birthday

Benjamin turned 3 on the day before we left my Mom & Dad's to start our trip home.

He got a cool sword that made bubbles when you waved it. Past tense because it didn't last very long... All the brothers are waiting their turn to make bubbles.He opened his present from Uncle David & Aunt Misty while wearing his cake on his shirt.He also got a mug with his name on it. He is quite proud of it and I think it will pass the test of time (as opposed to the bubble sword, which I think lasted a day.)