Just a Daisy in the Meadow

I wanted to post this earlier but kinda forgot about it . . . everyone is here except my older sister and her family.  This would by my Dad’s brothers and sisters and all of us cousins. (Click on it for a closer look)

Our group picture taken at Uncle Charles house

What constitutes a simple life . . . for you?

“I have been crucified with Christ:

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; . . .” – Galations 2:20a

Refreshing scenery . . . cool breezes 

Wet sand between our toes . . .

Sweet change . . . trading the misery of car seat for truly a "breath of fresh air"

My one and only . . .

Old Mister Toad made his appearance to say hello while we were at the cabin.

And not to be outdone, so did Mister Creepy Spider . . . I REALY DID NOT APPRECIATE this turn of events . . . we still had one more night there . . . and we had pulled out mattresses of the bunks to sleep in front of the fireplace that night . . .

In his trapping for groundhogs, Skyer caught this little guy.  The consensous was to let him go . . . Goodbye Little Guy!

“All God’s critters got a place in the choir, some sing low, some sing higher, some sing out loud on the telephone wire and some just clap their hands or paws or anything they got now . . .” Ever hear that song?

Weldon helping Wayne catch up to the rest of us . . .

Sail on . . .

Joy showed us how to make a daisy chain . . .

Loraine’s favorite pastime, picking flowers . . .

Another card coming up . . .   Like it???

I was thrilled with the sight of the mountains again . . . God kept this verse ringing in my mind . . .

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem

So the Lord is round about His people,

From henceforth even forever.” Psalm 125:2

“I will go before you,

And make the crooked places straight;

I will break in peices the gates of bronze

And cut the bars of iron.

I will give you the treasures of darkness a

And hidden riches of secret places.

That you may know that I the Lord,

Who call you by your name,

Am the God of Israel . . .

I have called you by your name;

I have named you,

Though you have not known Me . . .

I make peace and create calamity, I the Lord do all these things . . .”

Sisters – Sally, and Karen, and Karen’s boyfriend, Myron

Rachel, cousin by marriage, and Carrie, true cousin by blood discussing the all important topic of child training

Roland’s girl, Cheyanne . . . they hit it off quite well . . . friends from the get-go . . . that is after she became accustomed to the noise around Grandma’s now :_) They had seen us a bit Sat. the day we arrived and monday morning rolls around and Patrisha asked Cheyanne if she wanted to go over to Grandma’s for the day and play with her cousins. “No (sigh)” says Cheyanne. “Well, why not?” her mom asked. “It’s so noisy over there” Cheyanne sighs again . . .Yeah, we are quite the crew . . . I think we wore Grandma out!!!

Aunt Frances

Aunt Elva, Aunt Frances, Aunt Donna, and Aunt Edith

Aunt Elva, Dad, Brandon and Angela, Uncle Danny

One of Dad’s sources of income  is repairing the unloaders of Harvestores with Uncle Danny.  Sometimes he works for Brandon there on the farm, sometimes it’s sawing wood for a customer . . . you just don’t know who will call up and need help . . . and if nobody does then it’s getting wood ready for his next project(building their house) or messing around making something in his new shop . . . keeps life interesting . . .

Visiting at Uncle Danny’s

Aunt Mollie and Anthony’s youngest son, Jefferson

Mom and Dad’s . . .

Skyler and some little “followers” picked sour cherries and the good old black raspberries . . . and of course Mom made pies that day . . .

Grandma’s happy now . . .

My youngest brother . . . entertaining the children

Roland’s catch – big old catfish from the pond on the homeplace where we grew up

Supper on the porch at Uncle Charles’ . . .

Japheth worked some mornings milking for my cousin Brandon,(to help counteract the gas prices:) ) did come repair work on our van and Brandon’s car, taught a couple classes at Patchwork Plus, helped Dad a bit sawing wood and kept us happy with his company . . .

Spending time with family . . .

and just plain old relaxin’ . . . Isn’t that what “vacation” is all about?

Traveling means . . . lots of sitting still, being quiet, being patient and lots of sharing . . . sometimes more than a little boy can handle . . .

Due to a tire mishap we didn’t make our supper appointment with Troy and Sharon in WI . . . I was quite disappointed about that . . .

. . . But we were all excited about seeing Auntie Juanita again . . . who lives in Southern Michigan now helping International Faith Missions with secretarial work.

Over my birthday we spent a couple days with Lonnie and Krista (a sweet birthday gift in itself) and we got to visit with Gerald and Grace one evening at the park . . . Old friends are some of the best!!!

Krista’s oldest boy, Ryan, on his last day of school . . .

And this is “Grandpa’s cabin” . . . my husband was looking forward to this part of the trip the most . . . He has many, many hunting party memories tied up here . . . and this is also where he and I spent a few days of our honeymoon at . . . so we brought our tribe up here . . . and made some memories of our own.

Ahhh . . . swinging on the porch, listening to the creek run by, the laughter of children at play, my hubby nearby . . . sweet enjoyment!

Who can resist the attraction of a creek . . .

Grandpa Stauffer wanted a line-up of us all . . . Here we are ready to climb in THAT van AGAIN and hit the road. Next stop is Harrisonburg, VA (Oh, yeah not counting potty breaks )