I Need A Vacation

I've been home since Saturday evening, and I've worked so hard that I'm ready for another vacation. I taught my Bible Study class on Sunday, and taught grammar classes this morning from 10-noon. I've managed to buy groceries, do laundry, sort mail, answer emails, and buy tags for the new car. I still can't believe we have a new 2010 Camry. I like the tinted windows.

On the way to Michigan, we stopped at the MacDonalds on Kansas Expressway in Springfield and had lunch with Noel, Janice and Mark. I wanted to see Noel before he went into St. John's for his heart treatment. From there we traveled to Effingham, Illinois and spent the night at Hampton Inn. The next morning was Sunday, and we got through Chicago while the traffic was light. We arrived at Kelli's house near Grand Rapids in time for dinner. She grilled for us, and had a beautiful tray of Michigan fruit. After dinner, we played Apples to Apples with Kelli, Caleb and Hannah. Their home is 2,800 sq. ft. and absolutely gorgeous!

Monday afternoon we arrived at the cottage in Manistee. Bill's brother had flown in from Florida and was in a negative mood most of the week. I think it was because his wife, Sandy, stayed in Florida. We tried to cheer him up, but I soon reliazed that some people enjoy complaining.

Bill and I spent the first week going to concerts on the beach and at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp. We saw the movie, "Up" in 3D, ate at the famed Cherry Hut, and walked 2 miles on the Manistee boardwalk. We weeded the flower garden, raked leaves, chopped down reeds in the lake, and called the pest control for some carpenter ants we found on one of the lakefront windows. On Thursday, we invited the Ursoms for a Bar-B-Que because they watch the cottage in the winter. On Friday, Marlene and Roy Walters (neighbors on the other side) ask us to join them for their 50th Anniversary celebration. It was great to see their kids and grandkids that grew up with Keri, Kelli and Kirk in the summers. Hans went to California this year to visit Kirk!

The second week, we went to church at the United Methodist Church. The pastor welcomes us back every year. The music is great! We sang, "I'll Fly Away" and "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder". We paid our respects at the cemetary and cleaned the stones. I love walking around cemetaries because there are so many stories. On Tuesday evening, Kelli arrived with Hannah and her friend, Claudia who is 13 years old. (Sweet girl!!) About an hour later Keri arrived with her husband, Kevin, Sofia (4 years) and Selah (2 years). I thought the cottage slept 6 people. Now I know that it sleeps 9! We spent most of our time on the deck. We made smores in the deck fireplace, and several went to the beach in spite of the cool weather. We took Sofia out in the canoe for the first time. She wasn't allowd to go until she was 4 years old. Both girls loved the tire swing and having the family give them lots of attention.

We left Michigan on Friday morning at 4:30 AM. We spent the night at Hampton Inn in Rolla, Missouri. (I talked to Noel and learned that all is not well yet although he is home. He is experiencing some double vision which may be a side effect of his new meds. He's planning to be well enough to come to Shawnee for Mom's birthday party. Noel never quits!!! ) We arrived home on Saturday evening in time for Bill to mow the grass while I unpacked and checked on my plants. There were lots of tomatoes, and my roses were blooming. Thank you, God, for watering them while I was away. God is So Good!!!