Today Was Good

Today was a much better day than yesterday. I've been trying to catch up on my sleep, and I also asked several friends to pray. Prayer always helps. I was also told today that when my emotions are running wild, it's a good idea to slow down and pull out the acronym HALT and ask myself a few questions. Am I Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired? Basic needs that aren't difficult to address if I stop to recognize what is throwing me off. It's about taking care of myself (again) so that I am in better shape to help others.

I continue to pour over vacation pictures. The camera was well worth the investment. I can't imagine going home without photographs. How disappointing would that be?

Here are a few favorites...

Number Nine (Idris) all smiles for the boat ride.

Number Eight (Jilly) giving her baby brother a little love.

Six (Austin) and Eight (Jilly) on the dock. (She's just a tad dramatic.)

My very own Numbers Four (Josiah) and One (Jim) out fishing in the paddle boat.

 Number 14 (Henry) snacks on Mom's arm. She's my very own Number Three (Bethany)

My beautiful favorite daughter in law (aren't they all?) Michele, and Number 11 (Parker)

Popsicles. The reward for sitting nice for pictures.

Michigan 2020

July 27-31, Gaylord, Michigan.

It was a beautiful vacation with half of my kids and grandchildren. We went to one of the few states our governor is not yet demanding we quarantine after visiting. There were family meals, campfires, boat rides, swimming, and even tubing on the Sturgeon River, for those not already hopelessly sunburned, and in possession of the right foot gear. (I had only sneakers and flip flops.)

On the first night my camera battery died and I learned my charger was not working. There was not a camera store within easy access, so I bought a whole new camera outfit at Walmart the following day. I'd thought it through the night before and had pretty much already made the decision before we ever went to the store. I have no regrets and lots of pictures.

Josiah rode with me and since I was doing all the driving, we left Sunday evening rather than wait until the wee hours of the morning. Of course we arrived too early to check in and decided to drive an hour north and do some exploring. We found the Mackinac Bridge to Michigan's upper peninsula, along with the meeting of Lakes Michigan and Huron. So beautiful! Next time I want more time to explore that area.

We spent most of our time at the house where the kids ran around and played in the water, and Adam rented pontoon boats two days in a row. I took pictures. Scads of them.

A Little Blogger Break

I'm going away for a few days and leaving my laptop home. It's going to be a week of (hopefully) rest and grandkids. There will be a bit of driving involved, so prayers for our safety would be appreciated. Not exactly sure how long we'll be gone, but I have to work a week from tomorrow so I might show up here again by Saturday or Sunday. I'm taking my camera along and hoping for a wonderful picture of my other seven, even though there will be eight.

Children do need to be bribed to get good pictures of all. I forgot that on the 4th of July. The older ones were tired of the game before the littles decided to be cooperative. Perhaps when it comes to printing them I'll do a series instead of just two...

I still love the pictures. Each and every one. These kids are growing up too fast!  Top row- Numbers 3 and 2. Seated- 9, 7, 12, 3, and 10.

Limekiln Falls

Rather than going home too early on Thursday, James let me stay long enough to eat some lunch and go on a hike with the family. Dave looked up places to hike and off we went to Limekiln Lake Campground. No one was at the pay booth when we went in, which was good because we had three vehicles and it was eight dollars a pop. Partway in we stopped at a bathroom facility where the guy who wasn't manning the booth stopped to chat. He let us go free and even pointed us in the direction of the nature trail, informing us that there were no longer any falls. Something to do with the beaver dam.

We walked across the fish dam bridge and hiked off into the woods where Josh suddenly had the urge to relieve himself in the wilderness way behind a big tree.

Hannah had stayed back at camp with Austin and Michele and so our group consisted of 7 adults and 5 children. The two little ones were lucky enough to get piggy back rides a good portion of the way which made traveling easier on all of us, especially Bethany who otherwise has to keep track of Jakie. While Grandpa carried Aubrey, Jake got a ride on Uncle Dave's shoulders, and I took pictures of the procession.

We didn't see any wildlife with five rambunctious children scampering about, but the flora was just as interesting.

 About halfway around the loop we came to the old beaver dam which was broken down and covered with grass. Not far beyond was a bridge over the creek where we are fairly certain there once lived a horrible, mean troll who liked to eat Billy goats. Beyond the bridge the stream widened out into a small lake,

We trekked up a small incline, through what appeared to be virgin forest, and back to the beginning of the trail. It was a good outing and a satisfying end to our overnight camping  excursion. I still wasn't ready to go home and leave all our family there but there was little I could do with having to be at work the next morning.






We took home some great memories and a want to do this again next year with everyone present and no pressing work schedules.

 It was a great way to spend some time with (almost) all of our kids and grandchildren.