Since my mom said I should update my blog, I thought I'd journal a bit about the recent weeks I spent up north in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. All of my pictures are on my facebook page, which most of you have access to, so I'll only include 1 or 2 here, because I have over 200!
So what did I do, you wonder? Well, I don't want to bore you with all the details, so I'll scroll through the "highlight reel."
I first got to spend an amazing 4 days with my brother (Tim) and his wife (Kristen) and their 2 boys in Crivitz, WI: Micah (about 1 1/2) and Wesley, who was only about 2 weeks old! I really enjoyed getting to help Kristen take care of the house and the boys and just get to visit. (I'm sure Kristen was tired but it was kind of relaxing for me, actually, with not as strict of a schedule--just meal times, nap times, and play times!) I also helped out with Sunday services at Timberland Bible Chapel, where my brother is "Pastor Tim."
Then I headed to my parents' house in Ishpeming, Michigan where my dad is "Pastor Hill" at Bible Baptist Church. I got to be VBS director the next week, so it was a busy time of getting songs & skits organized, PowerPoint presentations put together, and prizes in order. But I do have to say that the body of Christ at Bible Baptist is AWESOME at serving! If something needed to be done, we had people just waiting to jump in and help, whether it was bringing snacks, helping to decorate, filling water balloons for water day, counting pennies for the offering, or vacuuming the floor, people there are WILLING TO SERVE! ("I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.") What a joy to work with the folks there! We had about 15-20 helpers every evening and about 41 kids every night, so we thought the attendance was great! One very fun thing for me was having my nephew Reagan (even though he was only 1) attending VBS, and my other 1-year-old nephew Micah was there for Friday night, too. We had a blast!
The next week I took care of my parents' house for them while they attended a conference in Illinois. This involved picking strawberries from their garden, mowing their lawn & the neighbors, and watering the plants. And since I had the house to myself, I spread out to do some scrapbooking (got my pictures from Thanksgiving-Graduation done).
Then my former youth group leaders (John & Kathy Kantola), said the Youth Group was taking a trip the Noah's Ark waterpark in Wisconsin Dells and they had extra room (and an extra ticket) and that I was willing to join them. So I worked that into my schedule! :) (My dad was going too). So I had a great time getting some sun and going on some water park rides. Even tried the new Scorpion's Tail ride, where you have to be weighed then get into a little "glass box" where (after a "3-2-1" count) the bottom drops out, plunging you down about 50 feet so you have enough speed to get up & around the chute. Hey, I can at least say I did it once.
Other than that, I was just able to relax and enjoy my time in the U.P.in a more laid-back fashion: sleeping in, reading fiction books, watching TV/movies, & hiking with Juju. I was able to do a couple of hikes with friends: up Hogsback "Mountain" in Marquette, walk the Little Presque Isle beach, and hike up the bluff in Ishpeming. My parents & I were invited out to visit friends who were camping, too, so we were able to enjoy sharing their campfire food with them!I really enjoyed the time with my parents, too, just chatting and playing games. I was also able to make a DVD for my sister Rachel of the last few months of pictures & videos of Reagan.
I am very content with my job in Lafayette, but I have to say I really enjoyed being back in the U.P. and didn't really miss anything in Lafayette while I was there. In fact, I didn't really want to come back to Lafayette when July 6 rolled around, but now that I'm back in Lafayette I'm very content with being here too. I am very blessed to have a group of family & friends in both locations.
