It's been a while...

Since our trip to Ohio life has taken a few painful turns.  Jenna came back from Ohio early because her grandmother was experiencing some serious health problems.  Eventually, the doctors determined that it was pancreatic cancer.  They gave her just a few days to live.  However, a few days turned into a few weeks.  Those few weeks were a beautiful blessing from God.  We had precious moments with her when her mind was lucid.  She was full of hugs, kisses, and smiles.  We remembered special times together...like the time she taught my 7 year old brother to make spit balls at Dennys! 
Her funeral was last Friday.  It was both painful and beautiful to watch my grandfather say goodbye...over 60 years of marriage.
One of the biggest blessings through this has been the love and support we have received from our church family and small group at Fayette.  They have reminded us of God's great love for us.  A local body of beleivers who love one another is one of the most beautiful things in the world.  Thanks guys!

Fun at Scioto Hills

After a busy week last week visiting around Dayton, Ohio, Jenna and I have gotten to relax a bit. We've been hanging out at Scioto Hills Camp, a Christian camp in southern Ohio, home to good friends Aaron and Laurie Cook. Jenna's idea of relaxing has been to curl up on the couch with a good book and a fire in the woodstove. Joe's, on the other hand, you can see below:

This is called the X-Scream. The idea here is to climb up a 40-foot pole, stand on the top of it, and jump off, trying to grab a trapeze bar. As you can see, I didn't quite make it! But it was FUN trying!!!

Next up was the zip line. I think it was about 700 feet long, but it's hard to remember when you're upside down, as I was (that's Aaron hanging out on the left).

It's been fun hanging out here; we're off to Columbus later this week, then Indiana, back to Dayton and Columbus, then eastern PA, and finally back home a week from Friday. Sad that these are the only pics we've taken so far!!! Be praying for a couple more pastor/friend visits and for safe travels.

OH-IO!!!

It's been a busy week in the Miami Valley! Jenna and I have had a blast catching up with friends, eating lots of food that we missed (Chipotle, Colonial Pizza), and meeting pastors and new friends! Joe started his M Ed today too! Pray for us as we'll be in two churches Sunday, then we're off to celebrate our 7th anniversary! And maybe we'll remember to take pictures of some of the stuff we do!

Lobster and Moose

I knew we were in for a treat when Guy, brought us down his dock to pick up the lobster we were going to eat for dinner a few minutes later. While there, he even provided an explanation of how lobstering works. I always wondered how those little buggers got from the ocean to our plates! Our lobster dinner was topped with sunset views over the bay from Guy and Diane's dining room. It was like watching the fire works. Every few minutes we would oohh and ahh for the colors of the water and sky!






To top things off, they brought us on a tour of Monhegan Island. Diane was determined that we eat our lunch at her special place at Black Head. I finally understood why when we arrived (see picture). Sorry, words are not sufficient to explain this place!








Here is a picture of Joe on top of Tumble Down Mountain. We hiked up and spent the night. At
about 3 in the morning I heard splashing in the pond just outside our tent. Pretty sure it was a moose!

Top 4 Things to Experience on Mt. Desert Island Maine

Joe and I spent the last four days in Mt. Desert Island, Maine. In my personal opinion, you have not lived until you have been the coast of Maine! Here is our list of top 4 things to experience on Mt. Desert Island.
1.) THE PEOPLE! In Fact, the people at Cherryfield Baptist Church and Cornerstone Baptist (Tremont) are some of our favorites! They even fed us pizza and seafood (thanks Paul, Mitzi, Harry and Joanne)! If you happen to meet a native Mainer, you may need a dictionary.








2.) BOATING -Paul and Mitsy gave us a tour of the harbor we will never forget. We saw a seal; two porpoises; lobster men bringing in their catch; scooners; jaw dropping huge homes; and an osprey nest the size of a condo.

3.)BIKE RIDING in Acadia National Park. Joe and I took the carriage trails (over 40 miles of roads reserved for biking, hiking, and horse back riding).

4.) PICNIC on the ROCKS-The rocky coast of Maine was made for exploring. We ate sandwiches with my family. We even sang songs to the snails with my 3 year old sister Acadia (who was named after the park) and my 7 year old brother Taylor. FYI-singing is supposed to lure snails out of their shells:)

The Great Adventure!

It has been over a month since we left Mexico and I still forget that prices in Walmart are not in pesos! I accidently bumped into a women the other day. She looked hispanic and I immediately apologized in Spanish; except she probably only speaks English. Life is different, good, and mysterious. I still get excited about Chinese food and the smell of freshly cut grass (not common things to my life in Mexico); but my heart aches for my hammock in the back yard, and the friends we would have over for comida. So much has happened since we left...

Our first stop in July- Seattle, where Joe oficiating a wedding for two of our staff members-Bethany and Matt. It was a beautiful wedding! After Joe presented and dismissed the new couple, he walked over to my seat, and grabbed my hand. I walked real tall next to him.

In the midst of planning a wedding, Bethany and her parents, Kelly and Rod, treated us like family! We ate off their grill, practiced the macarena together, and rode the ferries (which was fun and novel for us and not for them!). Matt, the groom, taught us this game with wooden blocks. It must be a Canadian thing:) We experienced the city- fish throwing at Pike's Place Market; coffee in the park; and haddock on the pier. Did you know seagulls will eat out of your hand?!!

Plus we had the privilege of staying with Arne and Kathleen, who made us Norwegian Pancakes-wow!!

After leaving Seatle, we hopped on a plane for Houston, TX. We met up with our answer to prayer, A.K.A., Julie and Mike Klinkerman. The Klinkermans welcomed us into their home with homemade venison sausage and freshly baked bread. After a good night's sleep, they sent us on our way with a car they are allowing us to borrow for the year. Wow! The car is in great shape and a sun roof is the cherry-on-top of this great big hot fudge sundae sized answer to prayer!

A trip through Texas would not be complete without a stop at our missions office in Dallas, TX. Once again, we were so impressed with the ministry of people in the home office. When they say they are praying for us, they really mean it. Thank you!

We also had the privilege of staying with Dan and Sue Wicher. This was a double treat because Dan is a baseball fan and he and Joe watched the all-star game together. That made my husband very happy! Ohh and we cannot forget one more great experience in the Dallas area- "Whataburger."

Joe's parents were next on our itenerary (Battlefield, MO). They absolutely spoiled us with home cooked meals, and the care that only parents can provide. Plus we visited with Judy and Andy who are the parents of our super cute nephew. He was really the main attraction :) Not to mention, we saw the rest of our family, and went to our cousin Caitlyn's wedding. She was a beautiful bride!

You may remember a previous blog in which I shared about my "little brother" D.J. joining the army. Since, he has finished boot camp and is married!! Well, we stopped and visited him and our new sister Katrina (Clarksville, TN). D.J. told us about life in the military- tazer guns, helicopter jumps and all. Katrina made us breakfast and we were reminded of our first year of marriage; when our dinning room table was a card table and our walls were bare and we were very happy. We are very proud of them!

Lindsey Johnson, a dear friend and previous teacher at PCS, is now in Cedarville, OH. We passed by for the night and visited with her and her family-Tim, Vicki, Jay and Glenda. Plus Ham, a PCS allumnus was there! We chatted over a wonderful lunch. Have you ever had one of those moments that feel heavenly, not-of-this-world, and sacred? That was what it was like when Lindsey and Ham sent us off with a song and Vicki prayed for us. More tears, more good-byes, but our time together was sweet.

Our next stop was only a few hours away in Norton, OH. We visited with the Norton Baptist Church family. We already knew they are super cool because they sent a team down to Mexico a few weeks before. That was only confirmed when we were introduced to the missions closet at their church and went to a pizza party in our honor which included hoho cake. Phil and Martha even let us stay in their cozy attic A.K.A. "the man cave".

Finally! We are in Maine! Life is good. The smell of the ocean still calls to me. Maine air is like a cozy chair, good book, and a cup of chai. But I haven't seem any lumber jacks or fishermen yet (see video below!!)

Marti and Burt Sampson have carved out a home for us in their beautiful farm house. They welcomed us in like family. The views from our bedroom overlook an old apple orchard and we can watch the ducks fly in to a pond somewhere just beyond our view. Life is good.

Wow! If you actually read through this whole blog you deserve an award! At least, write a comment and we will know you were here!

Still in Missouri...

So we're still in Springfield, Missouri, staying with Joe's folks, waiting for a car title (they say it hit the mail last week...). Be praying that it comes in tomorrow, so we can hit the road! Next stops: Kentucky (to see Jenna's brother), Cedarville (Ohio), Akron (Ohio), then Maine to settle in for the next few months!!!