The Beach

The trip to the beach was planned for over a year. With much anticipation we arrived totally excited. None of us were disappointed, the weather was perfect, the water was warm and we got to spend time with family we hadn't seen in years.

Joshua learning how to use the slide board.

Grandma taking a walk with David and Benjamin.

Below my brother John Mark's daughter Elizabeth is playing in the sand with David and Benjamin.

Below David is doing a little sand surfin'.

One day the waters were pretty rough. Abigail got a good scrape on her face when she got pounded into the shore by a wave. At one point my Mom asked me if the tide had gone down. What she really meant to ask was if the waves were any milder, I misunderstood and told her they were lower. Actually, they were still pretty wild. That's exciting if you're a 14 year old looking for a wild ride, for my Mom it was a little much. It's a good thing she's tough!

All the sun and wild wave riding were very exhausting. One afternoon the littlest kids passed out for a good nap. Paul volunteered to watch them.

Chris & Carole's 17th Anniversary

We headed to the beach for a week to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. My sister Carole and her husband Chris' anniversary came first though. They celebrated 17 years of marriage. I really can't believe it's been 5 yrs since I saw my sister and her family. I hope it is not another 5 years before I see them again. Getting to spend time with them was a huge blessing. Chris is a chaplain in the Army, where they are serving the Lord all over the world and raising their two girls Callie and Carolina to love the Lord.

Below Carole is holding her niece Sarah.

Chris and Carole celebrating their 17th anniversary as we gathered for my Mom and Dad's 50th.

My Talented Husband

Paul can fix anything (I think I've already said that). He had many opportunities on our trip to fix things. A few of the things I can think of are: his Mom's mower and golf cart, my Dad's hay cutter, hay fluffer, bush hog, bailer and golf cart, for other friends along the way a weed cutter and dehumidifier.Paul helped my Dad get his equipment ready to cut and bail hay. He decided it would be much easier if he had a quick hitch. So, we went to the Tractor Supply Company and bought him a quick hitch as a 50th wedding anniversary gift. Unfortunately almost all of the pieces had to be modified to work properly. Fortunately, Paul really enjoyed cutting and welding and making everything work.

Below Joshua is trying on the hat we bought Grandpa at the Tractor Supply Co. store.

The little boys had fun trying on hats in the hat department.

Paul and Dad tweaked a few things and got the bailer running smoothly.

They replaced the belt on the golf cart Dad uses to do his farm chores.

Grandpa's Sheep

As I was growing up, my job was to feed the cows. A couple of years ago my Dad switched to sheep because they are easier to handle. His sheep are bred to shed their hair which they were in the process of doing while we were there. It was also lambing time, somewhere around 10 lambs were born while we were there. The little guys were so cute!

The kids had fun catching the sheep for Grandpa and holding them down while he gave them their medicine, put a tag on their ear and banded the girls tails.

Smokey is my Dad's donkey. he acts as the sheep protector except during lambing when he is not gentle enough. You would not believe how loud his braying is. The entire time we were there it never ceased to amaze me how it sounded like he had an amplification system that broadcast over the whole farm.

Catching up with Old Friends

Being back in my hometown gave me the chance to catch up with old friends. Angela was my next door neighbor for a few years and we were in the same grade in school. We'd lost touch over the years, but her Mom, Betty, and Joan, another of my Mom's friends, came to help my Mom out while we were there (I think my Mom was a little apprehensive about feeding a family of eleven for two weeks.) Betty brought Angela and her kids out to see us. After all these years it was a huge blessing to see Angela's love for the Lord and how much we had in common in our walk with the Lord. Angela and Kent home school their three kids and we enjoyed getting to know them as we rode horses and took pictures of my Dad's sheep.

Another good friend in my class at school was Rita. We played basketball together and share a love for the Lord. She helps her husband run a tennis club now and she invited us out to wack at some balls. Her daughter had just gotten married so we got to feast on delicious left over wedding cake and fruit.

My neighbor Sarah married Sam and they have an organic garden. We went and took a look around as Paul has always been interested in organic gardening. They do a great job and it was neat to see some of the techniques they use.

Chris Gabriel (another classmate) came over with his Dad one evening and we had a good time catching up. His Mom brought over a cake to help feed our crew. Another friend Vivian brought over 5 quarts of delicious vegetable soup. I was impressed by the love that my Mom's friends demonstrated as they brought over food. I also got to visit with Greg (another classmate) and his wife Brooke after church on Sunday. Angela, Chris, Greg, Sarah and I were all in a youth group from our church that had a choir. We went around and sang at different churches and it has been encouraging to see many of the now mature (we can't be getting old) adults from that group still serving the Lord today.