Abundant blessings

We are abundantly blessed.  14 sweet grandchildren all together!

Relaxing at IPoint

 We just spent a relaxing extended weekend at our Bible camp (Inspiration Point Bible Camp) and our eldest son and his family joined us.  (The other sons and their families were unable to come this year.)

 

A highlight for me was getting to try paddleboarding.

 

 I totally loved it and because of fabulous weather got to do it both Friday and Saturday afternoons.  Did I say I love it?  It was fantastic.

 Lots of time for games for the children.  Lots of things to do!

 

Along with outdoor and indoor activities, delicious food and good visiting with friends and family were great sermons and Bible classes.  Here our little group is having devotions together with some Bible verses chosen by the camp staff to coordinate with the sermons.  While we relax and enjoy the warm air, blue sky and beautiful environment at camp we take time to focus on the most important reason we are thankful!  We are thankful for God's love and unmerited grace to us!



Sweet #14 grandchild

It is always fun to see each grandchild grow. With each stage it seems amazing as they explore the world around them.

Birth order behaviors vary...

We just enjoyed some wonderful family time together - our three adult sons, their lovely wives and our precious 14 grandchildren!  It was fun, chaotic and grand all at the same time.  Last year we purchased these silly shirts because they were just so accurate regarding our sons!  They were kind enough to pose for a picture... 

Sit still, says Grandpa....

I captured this little video of Grandpa with young Samuel.  The grandchildren love this game; they are to "sit still!!" but grandpa opens his legs and they slip down.  He admonishes them saying "hey, I said 'sit still'"... and over it repeats.  So cute. 

Whole30

 

 30 Days ago my hubby and I began this food eating plan.  I am not sure why we decided to do it as we are so fortunate that we feel well almost all the time, no "inflammation" or other "issues."  None-the-less, we entered into the world of "whole eating" for 30 days, no wavering, no going "off" the plan.    What could we eat?  Lots of meat, seafood, eggs, nuts, vegetables and fruit.  What could we not eat?  No dairy.  No bread or grains or gluten.  No sugar or anything at all that had any amount, however small, of added sugar in the list of ingredients.  No alcohol. 

 

So, how did it go?  It went very well, though it was not really easy.  One has to be more intentional about each meal, more careful with what to buy and I learned to make my own mayonnaise, for instance.  And the sad fact is that it cost more to eat whole foods then processed food.  Strange, no processing should result in a less expensive product but then again there is the shelf-life to consider for the store, I suppose.

 

At any rate, I learned to eat three meals every day, no snacking.  I did not feel hungry though I was desiring some things that were not allowed.  But hey, it's only 30 days. 

 

So, why?  Well, the premise seems to be that after the 30 days of only whole foods, that as one re-introduces foods back into their diet, one can access how they feel about when, say for instance, dairy comes back into their eating; or breads, etc.  This is not really an issue for us, but we did/do feel better, we both did loose some weight (though it is not considered a weight-loss diet plan.)  I feel less bloated, happier with the way my clothes fit, and more in control of my eating.  That is a good thing.

 

 

So, my quiet spouse surprised me yesterday when we hit the last day with beautiful roses as a way to celebrate completing the program!  He does not do this often (ever?) so it was a lovely surprise!

 

Will I continue to eat like this?  Yes, for the most part I will.  I will introduce dairy again, I will hold off on breads for a while, as I wish to drop a few more pounds. However, I am looking forward to a big trip next month and I will happily eat all the wonderful foods that are offered!

 

Bring it on. 

Up north.

One of the popular features of Minnesota is the outdoors - and the "north shore" which is north of Duluth and the shore of Lake Superior.   So much fresh air, beautiful scenery and rushing rivers...

We enjoyed hiking and the views.   The flowers

 

Our campsite was in one of the many great state parks in this area.

 

This view, with our Scandinavian flags, didn't last too long as our first night included high winds and heavy rain!

Fortunately for us, we have a cozy dry location and some good books!

 

Sitting around the campfire is always special.  And relaxing together with our books was quite nice.

 This trip coincided with many flowers in bloom.  Everywhere one looked was a profusion of various colors.  Wonderful.

And we're off.  Heading home. Until next time.  :)

 

A little camping

 Summer is lovely and camping at our state parks in Minnesota is so enjoyable.  This is year 3 for us to own an RV and we are still quite new to the whole experience.  We anticipate a longer camping trip later this month and decided we might be well served to take our camper out for a short little camping venture to remember all that is necessary to have a success experience. 

 

 There are any number of things to remember the first time out camping and we can report that we managed quite well after all!  We went to a state park about 2 hours away from our home, enjoyed the campfire, the bike trails and just being.  Just being. 

 

 Just being with a morning cup of coffee and the fire starting.

 

 Just being with a hearty breakfast.

 

Fresh air breakfast. 

 

Just being.  

Imagine that. A Phd.

 Big doings in our family!  Our youngest son was awarded his Phd from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.  This was quite an achievement and we are so honored to have been able to be in attendance to witness this.  

 Four years ago he received his Masters of Divinity degree here in Minnesota, then he and his wife and their 5 children moved to St. Louis to begin two years of course work on the campus of Concordia.  During that time their sixth child was born.  Following those two years, he and his family moved to the Northwest where he began serving as Pastor to a small Lutheran congregation, writing his thesis and adding their 7th child to the family.

 

 And to think I used to worry because he wasn't living up to his potential. 

I had no idea.

 

After a week of travel and graduation festivities, we celebrated at the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark!

Remembrance tulips

 Every year I am blessed by the gift of remembrance tulips.  These tulips, given to me at three different occasions, were to remember a loved one who had died.  What a sweet gift. 

 

 So every year now there are three places in my yard in which groups of tulips break forth and provide some beauty along with the reminder of my brother, my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law.



And now these tulips also stand as a reminder to me of this kind friend, who has now also passed from this life into her eternal rest.  

Building a banquet...

 It sure is handy having a carpenter as a spouse... he can do just about anything and here he is designing and building an extra long table (after clearing out all the furniture) for us to host a banquet.

Nothing like a few sheets of plywood..

 And Viola!  There we have it!  About 19 feet of table!

I just love setting the table and using many of the lovely items we have; most of which have been well appreciated gifts (40 year old wedding gifts still in use!)

 

 Dinner by candlelight.

 

 And then the most important part - the guests!  We had set for 20, but had 3 cancellations so it was dinner for 17. 

 

 We have enjoyed fellowship with this group of people for many many years as we have joined together on Sunday evenings to enjoy a Bible study and good fellowship (and coffee and desserts too!)   This was our "end of the season" banquet.

 

 I have pictures as far back as 2004 when hubby built a similar table in our living room but as we grew in numbers we needed a larger table, so the table was built in our family room.

 

 As a group we have gone through many joys and heartaches and trials together, as one can expect. 

Most recently was the death of one of our group members; it was hard to not see her at the meal.  We will have to wait until a banquet together in eternity. 

 

The food was delicious but the fellowship even more sweet.  I like this picture as I can see everyone busy talking together.  May you be also blessed with good friends to do life together.