The end of an era…

Isaac had taken a board and some paracord and fashioned a swing many years ago at my mom’s house.  Eventually it wore out, one of the strings broke, and the kids grew up.  We decided it was time to take the other half down.  I tried putting all my weight on it…but it still held! I ended up having to get a ladder and cut it.  

Fun memories from the good ole days❤️

12 horses and 2 minis on display

It was fun to see the horses and riders showing off their skills and still integrating the gospel message.  Also nice to see the result and impact of all the weekly work and care we all put into it.

God’s working

It was nice to hear the stories of how camp Jabez has impacted people, young and old alike. There focus on the message of Jesus and the cross is a simple one!

Andy at Jabez again❤️

They had an open house and it was fun to have my mom, Andy, and Sophie along to see what goes on at the camp.  Andy can just barely remember camping and fishing there back in the early 2000’s.  Seeing it did bring back some memories for Andy.  He caught his first fish in that pond. :)

Rolex just dropped this little gem on everybody

It was kind of surprise super complicated dress watch.  Pretty nice looking, lots of complications, and nice finishing touches like the moon indicators being made a meteorite.  Too much $$$ for me! But pretty cool nonetheless. 

Zoe peering up at me from her taco in the Jeep

Cute little pup.  She’s happy to just ride along on whatever adventure awaits…  This day, there was a threat of rain, so she was sharing some of her space with the freedom flaps hahaha.  She didn’t mind as long as she was along for the ride.

Over medium eggs and “waffles”

The perfect combo!

Julie has mastered her chaffle process!

So golden brown and delicious, so crispy, so yummy, so pretty❣️

My grandma Morey’s watch❤️

My mom remembered that she still had my grandma’s last watch and asked me if I was “still collecting watches” hahaha.  Yes! It’s fun to remember grandma with it on.  I fondly remember the black stretch band (upper left) and the way she put it on each day.  She usually wore it on the underside of her wrist too.  I always remember her telling time with it, but it was only ever to the closest quarter hour.  Quarter of, half past, etc.  It’s a common Swiss quartz movement (Ever Swiss brand) and I managed to get it running and set properly.  I had to realign the hands since the hour hand was 30 mins off kilter and also adjust the dial in relation to the day/date window. It mostly runs, but likes to get hung up at 8:05 for some reason.  It seems to be getting slightly smoother each day.  We’ll see if I can revive it completely. I need all my watches to have a day complication so I can keep track of which day of the week it is these days… So, it’s perfect. 

More old stuff to the rescue… I had a band left over from Julie’s grandpa’s watch drawer that fit grandma’s watch perfectly and fits my wrist perfectly with it (upper right). Hers was way too short. Couldn’t even get it over my hand haha.

Mystery solved?

At least mostly.  These service pins were Julie’s Dad’s brother’s most likely.  It lines up with his service record.  We don’t know exactly why he never saw them or how I ended up with them, but at least we know where they came from.  It’s fun connecting some of the family history dots. 

Retirement is… all this and more, in the middle of the day❤️

As the day dawns, and the storms blow on by, I awake this morning rested and thankful.  Thankful for God’s provision, wisdom, blessing, and guidance through the trials and fun of life.  Thankful for my family.  Thankful for time to spend doing things like what’s pictured below with them in the middle of various week days.

This week I transition fully from considering re-employment over to just enjoying retirement and the next phase of life, officially.  It’s somewhat just a final mental switch, partially the way the finances and timing worked out, and lastly the results of using the last half a year getting used to the idea, habits, budgets, resources, tax codes, and guidelines.  Julie and I have been enjoying ourselves thoroughly.  I’ve enjoyed being able to take life a little easier, being available when the kids need something or just want to hang out, and even joy riding with my mom in the middle of the day.

There’s so much more to my happy feelings, more than I can picture or express.  Hikes with Laura, dinners with Susan and Larry, mapping out the future, volunteering for the Lord, getting caught up on things, even more time with my nephews and nieces…

Here’s to the next phase❣️ I love you all, and hope you see me giving the glory to God in the process.  Praying it all works the way I planned, and if it doesn’t, I guess I’ll dive back into the rat race.

Pepper is considering starting her own blog…

Julie’s Mission Control for all the yummy she makes us!

Guess what I found?!

An organized person wouldn’t think to look for younger childhood memories in this box… but I was getting desperate…

I had two or three boxes basically labeled similarly. Finally Decided I better look through them… 

What do you think I found?!

My first watch from like 1980 or so!!  It doesn’t run quite right but still brings back lots of good memories❣️ I paired it up with a spare band from Julie’s granddaddy’s watch drawer in the hutch we inherited from them.  Fun!

Where’s weirdos

Kind of like Where’s Waldo?  See if you can spot Andy and me in the kendama crowd from Dama at the Pond? It was great to hang out with him for the day!