Harrison Lake State Park, Fayette, Ohio
We’ve celebrated a ton of birthdays since the blog’s been resting!
HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY TO OUR NEPHEW, CHAD!! 5/9 Chad is our gentle giant! In the list of 9 cousins on Blaine’s side, he fits in at second place, right between our two boys. And he’s a terrific babysitter and loved by all the kiddos! And us, of course!
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO OUR ONE AND ONLY GRANDDAUGHTER, HARPER!! 5/13 Being as how Harper’s only two, and we haven’t spent nearly enough time with her, it’s not easy to get a good read on the person God’s designed her to be. She’s both quiet and exuberant. Giving and selfish. Sounds like a typical two-year-old, doesn’t she? We’re looking forward to seeing how God grows her up for His use!
HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY TO OUR GREAT-NIECE, MADDIE!! 5/13 (are we really old enough to have greats??)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND, DORIS!! 5/11 Doris actually graduated from Green High School with Blaine! But I didn’t meet her until the Lord saw fit to introduce us at work about 10 years ago! We’ve spent those years growing close, sharing joys and tears in our personal and spiritual lives, and learning that God’s presence in our hearts and daily laughter really is the best medicine.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND, MELANIE!! 5/16 Melanie and I also met at work, through the grace of our Lord and Savior! I learned a lot about Greek heritage from ‘The Divine Miss M’ and am grateful for a wonderful friendship that developed into us sharing Christian sisterhood!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FRIEND, RICH!! 5/17 Rich is a long-time electrician friend Blaine met on the job. We’ve spent many an evening (over 20 years!) eating good food and playing Scrabble with Rich and his wife, Martha. And sharing many a laugh at Rich’s antics . . . and sometimes at his expense. 😊
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BLAINE’S BIG BROTHER, BRIAN!! 5/20 Brian’s got a huge heart and has always been a terrific big brother! He’s Chad’s dad, so now you know where Chad gets his heart – a double portion, because his mom, Barb has one too!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND, GAIL!! 5/23 We met Gail and her husband, Phil at The Chapel (our home church) and quickly became fast friends as we have many things in common; most importantly, our faith! Gail has been a good friend for quite a few years now as we grow our grandchildren together in the Lord.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BLAINE!! 6/2 What can I say about this blessed gift God chose for me? He’s smart, witty, kind and compassionate. He has terrific problem-solving abilities. He shares my spiritual convictions. He’s my encourager. He’s quick to listen and slow to anger. He’s filled with joy. He’s my perfect soulmate. Thank You, Jesus for this man of mine!
CELEBRATING OUR ONE-YEAR RETIREMENT ANNIVERSARY! 6/1 and 6/2 It’s so hard to believe it’s been an entire year already! Guess it’s true – – – time flies when you’re having fun! We’ve stayed at 51 different campgrounds (and visited almost as many churches) in 13 different states and 3 Canadian provinces. Whew! We’ve learned a lot in the past year about how to best live this life we’ve chosen and how freeing it is. Most of the time we don’t need to look at a clock. We wake to birdsong rather than an alarm. We rarely go to a store except for groceries and incidentals. We’ve learned to live minimally – in fact I whittled down my clothes even more during this visit to Ohio. Much of the time, I don’t even wear makeup, if you can believe that! Cleaning is a lot easier, too. Besides being away from family and friends (although technology makes it really easy to keep in touch, it doesn’t replace the personal touch of hugs and kisses), about the only downside is not being able to cut down on the grocery bill as we’d expected. It’s amazing what shopping sales used to save us! We simply don’t have the storage now, so most of the time, we have to pay full price for things. What a blessing and joy this life continues to be! We are grateful God opened the doors wide for us, and continues to do so!
HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY TO OUR NUMBER ONE GRANDSON, ALEX!! 6/5 Alex is such a joy for us! In God’s eyes and in ours, he’s got unlimited potential! He has a tender heart towards all things small – young children, baby animals – and he’s got the best laugh of anyone I’ve ever heard!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY COUSIN, KERRI!! 6/6 Kerri became a welcome and relatively new addition to my side of the family when she married my cousin Eddie. (He’s grown up now and doesn’t really like being called that, but I have a hard time getting past the only name I’ve ever known. 😊)
Whew! If we were buying gifts for all these people we love, we’d have to sell our RV and live in the poor house! We celebrate each one of them as God’s precious gifts to us!
We’ve had a busy, busy month between spending time with family (20 of them – which was all but 4 here in Ohio!) and friends, attending a circus, kayaking, birthday parties, Mother’s Day, getting our Jeep repaired after the April accident, routine maintenance on the RV (oil change, etc. and what an experience that turned out to be!), various appointments, Spring cleaning, calling hours for a husband and wife who “adopted” our family when the boys were young, taking care of lots of other necessities with regards to the coach and the Jeep and then there were numerous paperwork-type things . . . . and the list goes on and on.
And you thought we were busy when we were on the road! That’s nothing compared to our busy-ness the month of May! But we wouldn’t trade it for anything! It was wonderful to be back home and see everyone!
We got to Ohio too late for me to attend my Mom’s mother-daughter banquet, but at least Shena (Kyle’s fiance) and my sister-in-law, Kelli were able to be with her.
At the circus.
Our #2 son, Kyle, Shena, Harper and Kade
They had as many as four motorcycles all driving around in here!
Very intense!
This was during the “motorcycles in the ball” part of the show.
“Hey, quit the whining would ja?” : )
During intermission, the circus allowed people to come check out (and even get on!) the various animals and a motorcycle – – – for FREE!
See how close they are to everyone? Very cool!
Cool dude!
Our #1 son, Chris and Jessica
Alex, Cody and Max
And their dog, Loki
We had dinner at a Mexican place – El Fogon with Chris’ family one night.
We all had dinner – large dinners – when Gpa (Blaine) decided everyone needed Fried Ice Cream to finish off the meal.
We had no idea how large they were!! And only $3!
Alex and Chris are the only ones who finished theirs.
This magnolia (must be a different type) tree was blooming in Blaine’s parents’ yard when we arrived the first day.
Gorgeous!!!
Early Mother’s Day morning.
Playing with the little ones! What a fun time!
Little Miss Harper knows all about how to turn on phones, find the camera, switch to “selfie” mode and take pictures.
I think she’s upset that Kade’s in the picture too. : )
Here’s a video of the kids dancing to Jesus music. Too cute!
Look at this storm front approaching our campground! Waaaay cool!!!
Project day!
Blaine helped his dad clean out his pond . . .
. . . . while I made major repairs on our bedspread.
This quilt was made for us by Blaine’s Granny Kmetz and her friends following our house fire in 1988.
It simply had to be saved!
Blaine’s dad, Ron
What a mess!
It’s all better now, thanks to much supervision by Blaine’s mom, Joan!
Meanwhile, Kade was at home eating Gpa’s leftover homemade waffles on the bathroom counter. : )
A day of Spring cleaning!
Even the vents need cleaned out.
We attended an Akron Public Schools elementary/middle school concert. Well, you know how those things are – some kids sing, and all the parents and grandparents smile with pride and take pictures and videos because we love them, but it’s really not very good.
But this one was different! It was absolutely incredible! And our grandson, Alex was one of the stars! There was a choir and orchestra and jazz band. They said it was the 91st such concert and APS had just won an award for their Arts programs – number one in the NATION!
There must have been 300 kids participating!
That’s Alex in the white shirt and tie
There he is! Our burgeoning star!
He had to audition for his solo.
The video is longer than 10 seconds – about 30, so it takes a bit longer to download, but it works! Now that I’ve made this discovery, you may get more that are this long in the future, but I’ll try to limit them. : )
While we were at the concert, Kade and Harper were at swim lessons.
This is Harper and Kade. 2 and 2 ½ . Aren’t they adorable?
I’ve learned that this is often the real Harper! 😊 (check out the elbow, too!)
Sooo much like her daddy was! Ornery little thing!
Kade loves his boots!
Mesmerized by the pictures on my phone
Walking with Gma
Think what you want, I thought it was funny!
We went to dinner and then an adventurous round of mini-golf in Medina, Ohio. Such a good time stumbling around trying to hit the ball (and the hole) with 3D glasses on, in the dark! Highly recommended outing!
Nick and Cathy Taras (remember them from the mountains of Tennessee?) and Rich and Martha Wertz (our Scrabble buddies)
In hindsight, I should’ve tried taking a picture through my 3D glasses, just to see how it turned out, because of course you can’t capture the full effect like this.
Chris and Jessica have decided to celebrate all three boys’ birthdays on the same day so we can be home for it. Isn’t that sweet? I think it also helps them tremendously to only plan one party for family instead of three. : )
Alex – 11
Cody – 9
Max – 7
The church I grew up in and met Blaine in at the ripe old age of 5, celebrated their 175th anniversary while we were home, complete with entertainment.
Doesn’t my mom look tiny sandwiched between us??
Makes us look like Amazons!
An accapella group from a local college.
One of the parishioners is related to the guy on the far right.
We discovered baby robins in a nest in a bush right outside our door!
We took advantage of a beautiful, calm morning to kayak on Mogadore Reservoir which is right beside our campground. In fact, we can take a path to it to hike, but for boating, we have to drive across the street to the boat ramp.
We sailed right under that overpass – – believe it or not!
Of course we had to duck almost flat to do it, but that’s the only way to get to the largest part of the lake.
We came to this area where gigantic fish were flopping all over the surface of the water! Of course, they were difficult to capture on film, but I did my best. These are the best two of all the pictures and videos I took. Had I known I could film longer . . . .
I don’t know what these are, but they sure smelled good!
We were surprised at how clear the water was!
Going back through the underpass.
We had a bit of free time in the morning the Saturday before Memorial Day, so we took a short hike on the path where the boat dock is.
Look how crowded the campground was for Memorial Day weekend!
That gray tent was right beside our Jeep!
Insanely busy! Glad we were gone most of the time . . . .
Does this mean they are allowed to hunt the public?
Maybe we shouldn’t be on this trail!
Must not have been public season. We didn’t encounter any hunters! Whew!
We no sooner returned home, when Chris called wanting to meet for paddling. Unfortunately, we could only give him about an hour on the water because we already had plans to go to Kyle’s.
As we were preparing to leave for Wadsworth, Countryside had a golf cart parade in honor of Memorial Day. Fun!
More fun with the kids in Wadsworth as we helped prepare for Harper’s 2-year birthday party before we went to dinner:
This is Harper’s excited face when Kyle started up the leaf blower. She couldn’t get out of the car fast enough to get in front of the blower! She loves it! Haha!
Entering our home church’s sanctuary the first time this month, was quite stunning. They have always provided something as a ‘backdrop’ for Pastor Mike’s sermon series. This one, for his series on the book of Revelation, stopped us dead in our tracks. I really wanted to take a picture, but somehow, it didn’t seem the right time, and then after service, we were busy catching up with friends, and well, you know how that goes. . . .
The word “SOON” is suspended above the back of the platform in humongous letters, which also have the ability to change color as desired. Under the word is a giant 3D hour glass with “sand” in the top and bottom and a “trickle of sand” joining the two halves; just as if sand were really running through it. Take my word for it – it’s amazing! And quite thought provoking.
“Soon” refers to the eminent return of Jesus Christ! We’ve been waiting for 2,000 years, surely it won’t be long now! Those of us who find joy in the Lord, are eagerly awaiting His return! But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior! ~ Philippians 3:20
In the midst of Pastor Mike’s message, he mentioned General Bradley and read one of his quotes. Of course, I had to check the General out. Here’s what I found on the History and Biography websites:
General Omar Bradley
Omar Bradley was born on February 12, 1893, in Clark, Missouri in a rural area, and spent his boyhood impoverished, with no thought of a military career, until someone suggested that he might qualify for an appointment to West Point, where he could receive a paid education. Bradley seized the opportunity, qualified for admission in 1911, and graduated in the class of 1915, later acclaimed as “the class the stars fell on.”.
His continued rising through the ranks until he graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1929, and subsequently served as an instructor in tactics at the Infantry School. He deeply impressed the assistant commandant, Lieutenant Colonel George C. Marshall, who rated him “quiet, unassuming, capable, [with] sound common sense. Absolute dependability. Give him a job and forget it.” Bradley, in turn, emulated the future chief of staff’s leadership qualities, later observing, “From General Marshall I learned the rudiments of effective command. When an officer performed as I expected him to, I gave him a free hand. When he hesitated, I tried to help him. And when he failed, I relieved him.”
Under General George S. Patton, he captured Bizerte, Tunisia in 1943, which led to the surrender of more than 250,000 Axis troops.
Eisenhower next selected Bradley to command the U.S. First Army in Operation Overlord, the cross-Channel invasion of Normandy, on June 6, 1944. Bradley was the architect of Operation Cobra, the American breakout from the Cotentin Peninsula that unleashed the First Army and Patton’s newly activated Third Army into Brittany and across southern Normandy, precipitating the collapse of the German army that ended the campaign.
As an army group commander from August 1, 1944, to V-E Day in May 1945, Bradley commanded more troops than any general in American history: four armies, twelve corps, forty-eight divisions–in all, over 1.3 million troops.
Bradley was a resourceful strategist and tactician who earned high praise from Eisenhower as “the master tactician of our forces” and “America’s foremost battle leader.” In 1950, when Bradley became one of only five U.S. Army officers promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army, President Harry S. Truman praised Bradley as “the ablest field general the U.S. ever had.”
In August 1945, Bradley was appointed to head the Veterans Administration, and until February 1948, when he succeeded Eisenhower as U.S. Army Chief of Staff, he helped overhaul an organization responsible for seventeen million veterans. In August 1949 he became the first-ever Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving two terms during the difficult period of the Korean War.
Omar Bradley retired in 1953 after thirty-eight years of distinguished military service; when he died in 1981 at the age of eighty-eight, his reputation as one of the giants of the U.S. Army of World War II, and an exemplar of the American military tradition of producing superior leaders, was secure.
And yet . . . . I don’t remember hearing anything about him before! Patton, of course. Eisenhower, yep. Truman, absolutely. But not Bradley. Have I just not paid attention, or has history and time overlooked his important contributions? Hmmmm . . . .
Here are a few of his quotes:
Freedom – no word was ever spoken that has held out greater hope, demanded greater sacrifice, needed more to be nurtured, blessed more the giver. . . or came closer to being God’s will on earth.
Our humanity is trapped by moral adolescents. We have too many men of science, too few men of God. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom and power without conscience.
If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.
We live in a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants, in a world that has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. We have solved the mystery of the atom and forgotten the lessons of the Sermon on the Mount. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about dying than we know about living.
Leadership means firmness, not harshness or bullying; understanding, not weakness; justice, not irresponsible freedom; humaneness, not intolerance; generosity, not selfishness; pride, not egotism.
The smell of death overwhelmed us even before we passed through the stockade. More than 3200 naked, emaciated bodies had been flung into shallow graves. Others lay in the streets where they had fallen. … Eisenhower’s face whitened into a mask. Patton walked over to a corner and sickened. I was too revolted to speak. For here death had been so fouled by degradation that it both stunned and numbed us.
Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.
I learned that good judgment comes from experience and that experience grows out of mistakes.
The nation needs men who think in terms of service to their country and not in terms of their country’s debt to them.
Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. The way to win an atomic war is to make certain it never starts. And the way to make sure it never starts is to abolish the dangerous costly nuclear stockpiles which imprison mankind.
Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.
Peace is our goal but preparedness is the price we must pay.
In war there is no second prize for the runner-up.
Our technology has already outstripped our ability to control it.
Every member of our baseball team at West Point became a general: this proves the value of team sports.
America today is running on the momentum of a godly ancestry, and when that momentum runs down, God help America.
And he’s a prophet to boot . . . .
Another thing I learned about on this trip home, was Gentle Brooke. I was looking for a place to meet a friend for breakfast and came across The Front Porch Café in Hartville. Now, when I was growing up, Hartville was the place that not only housed my school, but was also home to many Amish and Mennonite. When I attended school, all the kids were Mennonite (the Amish quit school after 6th grade to work the farms), except for a handful of us. It was a great place to be!
Unfortunately, Hartville has changed much, but sometimes you’ll still find these “small town” gems. Gentle Brooke is one of them. Their facilities provide opportunity for those with developmental disabilities to learn to reach beyond their comfort zones and achieve their highest potential. This particular café employs not only those who staff the café, but since the café uses only food products from their farms, there are those who work those as well. I also took a peek into their adjoining gift shop. I can tell you that everything was top-notch! The food and service were excellent and all the products offered in the shop – every item made on the premises – were also very professional looking. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures, so you’ll just have to trust me. Those of you reading this who live in the area really need to check this place out!
Here’s a pictorial anthology of the remainder of our month, although there are no pictures for many of the people or ‘events’. In October, I hope to rectify that and plan to take pictures of every single person we spend time with – so ya’ll best be ready!
Next up, Harper’s 2-year birthday party!
The pool water was freezing at first!
Kyle just filled it!
Yep! I got soaked playing with all the kids in the water! I splashed them, so it was only fair to let them splash me, don’t you think?
What did I tell you about Alex’s soft heart for the little ones?
Bedraggled and wet, but having a great time!
She was pouring water on Blaine’s feet – – and having the best time doing it!
On Memorial Day, the three older boys came over to play. We had a terrific time coloring, hiking, swimming and playing mini-golf and cards – despite the 95 degree temperature!
Each boy colored a picture for Gma.
On the hunt for a polar bear.
We told them we’d turn around when we found it.
We didn’t remember it being so far down the trail! It ended up being about a 3-mile round trip hike!
And there he is!
Complete with sunglass, a feather and a working watch!
Pretty neat find, huh?
The other two boys were way ahead – running back to the campground. : )
Pretty good selfie!
Cody hugged the edge the whole time.
Max desperately wanted to learn to swim.
Alex did great with or without his lifejacket, but he found it easier with. : )
Getting ready for a rousing game of “Chase the Ace”!
This is the rental they gave Blaine when he took the Jeep to Stow to have the oil pressure indicator fixed. It took them all day.
That truck was huge! Inside and out!
We had set all of Saturday, June 2nd aside for Blaine’s birthday. Turned out, we needed the rest by then! He didn’t plan much to celebrate. A short hike in Quail Hollow State Park which is close by and Duma’s steaks for dinner. Excellent!
Quail Hollow
A pair of red-tailed hawks they have in their Nature Center
I thought these leaves were just unusual, but it turned out that they were covered in pollen!
This lovely bush is in the campground!
Don’t have any idea what it is.
Chris and Jessica invited us for dinner our next-to-last night in Ohio. Great evening! Terrific meal!
Homemade cards for Blaine’s birthday and Father’s Day.
Despite the inordinate amount of busy-ness this past month, we had a spectacular time!!!
You all provide such joy to us! But we are saddened by the reality that we couldn’t fit in personal visits with everyone this time. ☹
We expect October to be a bit slower paced, allowing us the time to touch base with everyone.
And we’re back on the road, making our way around Lake Superior.