WW II Reenactment

Ken took the kids to a World War II reenactment in Rockford about 2 weekends ago.
I'm not sure what most of the equipment pictured was called or what it is used for. Someone in the family told me that this was a half track.

Civilians

The Germans

The kids got to watch a staged battle.

It's hard to imagine what a real battle was like.

When this tank shot, Haley had her finger on the camera button and as she jumped she took a picture! They said that it was very noisy.

This was built for use in winter. Humm . . . . . brrr.

Foxhole

The USO

This was a different view of Midway Village.

At the end of the day after all that battling, Haley had to get a few pictures of things beautiful. :-)

Birthday Blessing for Jaimie

Last weekend we participated in a "Blessing Party" for Jaimie's 21st birthday.

She's always loved dressing up! Isn't her dress beautiful?


Gretchen was privileged to be asked to interpret for Jaimie.

Jaimie played "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" on the lap harp. Gretchen has been her teacher on this instrument. Jaimie is a real trooper and really wanted to be able to perform. Imagine how hard she has worked since she is deaf and has cerebral palsy! She did an excellent job and we are so proud of her!

Grandma Glenna sharing her blessing.
She wrote her blessing out and added pictures in a photo album for Jaimie to continue to remember after the party.

Altogether twelve friends gave a blessing to Jaimie. May the Lord grant growth and understanding to all of the seeds that were planted in Jaimie's heart that day!

Girl Time

What a treat to have some special "girl time" with Kristi and her sweet Mother! When Mom came down to bring me home from Oakland on my last visit, we arranged to meet Kristi and her mom for lunch . . . and several hours of talking!

Kristi is truly a kindred spirit, and it was delightful to hear her share how the Lord has been growing her and see His work in her life. It was so fun to catch up!

No, we didn't actually play any checkers, we just have fun taking pictures! (If we had played, I certainly would have won, thus the pose and expressions in the picture above. Just joking!)

Thanks for going out of your way to spend some time with us ladies! We were so blessed and uplifted, and we will treasure the memory of our delightful afternoon. - GJ

Belated Birthday

Last weekend we had a gathering for Nate's birthday. The weather cooperated and we had a blast. After everyone arrived we piled into the van for a game of Ultimate Frisbee at G&G Lainio's side yard.

Don't worry we were just heading around the block!

Nothing is as fun as riding in the back of the van where you normally aren't allowed.

There are lots of fun places from which to watch the game .

Matthew & Jason

Helena, Haley and Abbey.

Sandy

Jeremiah & Jacob

Faith

Nate chose Rhubarb Crisp for his birthday "cake".
(You can still get rhubarb at the grocery store frozen.)

We played a surprisingly hilarious game called the True False Scramble. Questions that could be answered true or false were read out. Each person was numbered to match someone on the other team. After the question was read, a number was called and those two people had to race to sit in the correct chair first. The true chair was at one end, and the false at the other. Matthew described it well.
"As soon as your number was called your mind goes blank."

Nate's Team

Jason's Team

Nate and Jason fighting over the true chair. The score flip-floppped back and forth throughout the game and there was tremendous competition at the end.

We had so much fun it didn't matter who won. Right???

While we were gone . . .

Greetings Friends!

School has started and we've fallen a bit behind on our blogging. Sadly, we will have to cut back the number of our posts. We are not disappearing off the face of the earth, just simply prioritizing our time.

Now we'll try to do some catching up!

Oakland Update

Earlier this month, Haley and I took a trip down to Oakland to visit Kyle. While there, we got to tend the store for a day! I'm learning lots about flooring and furniture and I got to arrange his beautiful new artwork.

It was so much fun placing the pictures to compliment the furniture and playing with layouts! Haley was my able assistant, holding pictures in place so I could step back to take in the overall look.

Ahh . . . too comfy! The store is a dangerous place to sit at the end of a long day. ;-)

I also got to go down and visit Kyle's folks on their lovely farm. Sunday after church, Kyle took me to a park on the Mississippi River. I loved the view!

The whole area where Kyle grew up is so pretty, with forested hills guarding the lush farms in the valley. The wildlife is different too, everything from poisonous hairy red ants and water moccasins to indigo buntings and bald eagles! It was quite a treat for this flatlander. - GJ