Chuckwagon and a Movie

When most people invite their friends over for a barbecue, they heat up the grill and throw on some burgers.

But not Dave and Lillian.

Oh no. They go all out!

When they invite you to a barbecue what they really mean is a cowboy feast!

Complete with a chuck wagon.

And an incredible pit master who used a smoker and a campfire to cook up some mighty tasty meats.

Well done, Dave!

Ribs, brisket, pork loin, chicken. Even a few hot dogs for the kiddos.

All served up on a hay rack, cowboy style.

i heard one old-timer tell a newby to “wear his loosest pants, no belt and don’t tuck your shirt in”.

Yep, it was one of those kind of meals.

You ate till it hurt, then you ate some more because it was just so good!

Then, as the sun went down, we all gathered in the barn with our lawn chairs.

All ready to watch a movie on the big screen.

And I do mean a big screen!

Four king sized sheets sewed together and attached to the front of the barn.

Now that’s creativity!

With the sun setting behind us, the heat of the day gave way to cool evening breezes as we settled down with popcorn and twizzlers to enjoy the show.

What a fun way to spend a Saturday night!

Amish Auction

Big doings in the neighborhood last week!

One of our Amish neighbors had a moving auction.

So what does an Amish auction look like?

A lot like a regular auction – except you could bid on buggies and pony carts and horse drawn equipment and wood cook stoves.

And there’s lots of Amish folks around.

They came from all over.

Some in horse and buggies.

Some in vans with hired drivers.

Whole families.

It was like a party.

Friends seeing friends they hadn’t seen for awhile.

Several of the teens put up volleyball nets in the pasture and played while the bidding went on.

Speaking of bidding…

Those Amish ladies may look serene and nonchalant – but boy can they bid when they want something!

I lost out on a couple things because I couldn’t tell the bonnets apart and didn’t know who had the bid.

I did score a set of three pretty glass jars to store sewing supplies.

But then I had to carry them around the rest of the morning – which kept me from bidding on the Amish cook stove – which may have been a good thing.

We stayed long enough to see the horses auctioned off at noon because I really wanted to see an Amish horse auction.

I kept my hands in my pockets though.

But we didn’t stay long enough to see the farm equipment go – we probably don’t really need a manure spreader with steel wheels anyway.

But we did see all the neighbors, caught up on the news, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I love a good auction!

Dropping Details

VBS is less than a month away and this VBS director is up to her eyebrows in plans.

Have you ever had so many details floating around in your brain that some just slip out? Kind of like filling one’s bucket too full and trying to carry it?

Some details are humorous – like sitting down at the table for a meal and realizing you forgot the silver ware.

Or worse – being so into drama rewrites that you forgot to make supper.

This week a wonderfully patient friend and her daughter went VBS shopping with Angel Girl and I.

And by “went shopping with us” I mean she drove us to the big city and picked up the details I kept dropping.

Our list was massive – everything from rubber ducks and hula hoops to scrapbook paper and brass paper fasteners. By mid afternoon we would walk into a store and I would look at her and say, “What exactly are we getting here?”

Then we spent 10 minutes finding a certain kind of paper only to stare at it blankly because I couldn’t remember why we needed it. Two stores later it came to me. Too late.

We only forgot our teenager daughters twice. Good thing they have cell phones and lots of patience.

Oh – and a good sense of humor because I might have embarrassed them when I started dancing in the aisle at the party store.

Or when I sang along with the background music.

At one point I asked my very patient friend what it meant that I knew every word to the oldies songs playing, expected her to say I must be getting old. Instead she replied without missing a beat, “That you have a good memory.”

Bahahahahah!

Surprises

Life is full of surprises.

Some of them good.

Like having two of your kids surprise you with a visit.

Bringing flowers.

Filling the house with laughter and conversation and fun.

And surprise birthday parties for sweet friends at church.

Sharing memories, laughter, tears.

Singing. Hugging. Crying.

Praying for healing.

Such sweet times.

Other surprises are not so fun.

Like waking up on Sunday morning – after 3 inches of rain overnight – to a flooded basement and realizing that all the dirt work and the new gutters didn’t work.

Then getting more rain and more flooding.

And there are the surprises I’m not so sure about –

Like the box of orphan kitties Buddy brought home.

They sure are cute – in a very loud and needy way.

Their constant cry for love and attention is breaking this momma’s heart.

Meow. Meow. Meow.

Did you know there are thousands of different ways a kitty can get himself in trouble – especially without a mother? It’s a wonder any of them make it to adulthood.

But they are so adorable.

I actually sat down and held one. More than once.

Yep. Life is full of surprises.

No Black, No White

We had a glimpse of how big God is this weekend.

We’ve known about Pastor Ebenezer and his family for years.

We’ve been praying for them and the work they are doing in their native Liberia.

Praying for God’s protection and provision. Praying for strength and boldness in bringing the light of the gospel to a country where there is much darkness.

And this last weekend we were able to meet him.

He was a guest in our home, broke bread at our table and spoke in our church.

We listened to his stories of God’s faithfulness and were encouraged.

We rejoiced over the building of a church on the rubble of heathen shrine.

We wept at his firsthand accounts of the devastation of the Ebola virus.

And we worshiped together.

Praising the same God.

Knowing that –

“In Christ there is no north nor south,there is no east nor west, there is no black or no white. In Christ we are all one family saved by grace.” ~ Pastor Ebenezer

And we saw how big our God is.

Il est bon.

He is good.

Just One More

The kids had a hot dog roast this week.

While July is usually too warm to truly enjoy a hot dog roast – they didn’t have time to wait for colder weather because this one was a good-bye.

Pedro’s buddy Gunnar is leaving for boot camp next week.

So they grabbed the chance to do one more hang-out.

One more jam session.

One more night of fun before things change.

Two families with matching siblings.

Such good friends.

So many crazy memories.

So many inside jokes.

So many changes.

It’s going by way too fast.

Crash’s Bash

He did it.

Or rather – we did it.

We got Pedro graduated!Isn’t he handsome?!

The ceremony was meaningful – I didn’t trip or do anything to embarrass myself – and we had a nice group of family members to help us celebrate.

Somehow – after everything that went wrong in the weeks leading up to graduation- all the details fell into place perfectly!

We had a beautiful day for Pedro’s party. The house was cleaned, the flowers planted, and all the food was ready.

And plentiful.

Ten gallons of Chex Mix was more than enough! 🙂

We even had a new calf and baby kitties to show off. Such cuteness!

There was a steady stream of people in and out the house.

Family, friends, neighbors.

Young and old.

People who meant so much to us, each one giving up a Sunday afternoon to celebrate our son.

Jan and I felt blessed.

And humbled.

And very tired.

But so thankful. We have much to celebrate!

Way to go Crash! We love you!

Hello My Name Is…

I am terrible with names.

Sometimes I can’t even remember my own children’s names – and I’m the one who named them.

Once my niece brought her roommate Danni to a family gathering. Such a cute name – but do you think I could remember it?

No way.

Every time I saw this gal I called her something else. Billie, Bobbie, George. It started as an honest mistake – but quickly turned into a joke.

She still remembers me and asks my niece about her crazy (but fun!) Aunt Melinda.

A few weekends ago at my nephew’s wedding I had a nice conversation with a young man that I knew I knew- but I could not remember his name.

Finally – two days later it came to me.

But the most embarrassing moments happen when I don’t even recognize their face.

Last fall at a benefit for a good friend battling cancer – I was stopped at the door by a familiar face. She hugged me and we had the most interesting conversation – mostly because I had no idea who she was.

I picked up enough clues from our one-sided talk to figure out that we knew each other from college. But it wasn’t till later that night that I remembered who she was and how she would know this mutual friend.

Embarrassing.

A similar incident happened at a thrift store recently. She looked familiar. She sounded familiar. She obviously knew me well enough to carry on a conversation over the rack of ladies long-sleeved shirts.

But I was clueless.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to carry on an intelligent conversation while you are frantically trying to figure out who it is that you are talking to?

I really need to find a way out of these muddles.

Is there a polite way to say, “I’m sure you are very important to me but I can’t remember you?” without offending someone?

Maybe there’s some food I can eat to improve brain function. Aren’t carrots good for that? No – wait a minute – carrots are good for your eyes.

I guess I’m just doomed to embarrass myself.

So if we happen to run into each other and I don’t call you by name or if I look a little confused, help a gal out and introduce yourself.

“Hello, my name is…”

I thank you in advance.

Calling in the Cavalry

Many of you may remember that we frequently host a one day – all day Vacation Bible School here at Windy Ridge. And it’s all done outside, in tents and on the lawn.

Every year people ask what we will do if it rains. Every year I just smile and say we’ll figure that out when it happens. But it never did.

Until last year.

In the middle of the worst drought in 100 years (seriously , we hadn’t had any rain for almost 3 months!) yet the minute the kids step off the bus that morning it started to rain.

Then the wind picked up and it started to pour.

Then the lightning came and some really strong wind gusts.

We huddled together under the tents we had set up and watched the wading pools fly by. After we saw the food tent fly by – we decided to quickly move all the kids back on the bus.

We were just in time to see the porta- potty blow over.

When the rain stopped, we moved back outside and enjoyed a great day.

But I determined then and there that we needed to have a back-up plan. What if they rain hadn’t stopped? We sure couldn’t spend all day in the bus!

My idea? The pole barn.

The only problem was that it, like all the other buildings on the property, was full of “treasures”.

But if we could simply rearrange the building to put all the storage items in the back half and keep all the easily moveable things in the front half (things like tractors, mowers, balers, etc..) Then, on VBS day, we could simply drive out the things in the front half , park them in the pasture and set up VBS in the now empty front half of the pole barn.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

All winter it seemed brilliant. All spring it seemed genius.

It really did seem like a wonderful plan until last week when we suddenly realized there were only 3 weeks till VBS and we still hadn’t started re-arranging.

We worked in the evenings – sorting, emptying – but the task was monumental.

The scrap guy hauled away 3 loads. THREE loads! God bless him.

We’ve had a fire going that would rival the eternal flame.

But still we had a massive job.

It was time to call in the cavalry – the kids in the youth group. Young, strong, and would work for food. Perfect.

They arrived Friday afternoon in the midst of heat and humidity.

And they worked. Hard.

They moved piles and piles of wood left over from remodeling. They toted and carried. Car parts and bike parts. An outboard motor. Many, many doors. They unearthed some very interesting artifacts.

I’m wishing now that I had made them sign a confidentiality statement.

They were covered with sweat and dust and old spider webs, but still they smiled.

Then I fed them all the hot dogs they could eat and they had a massive water fight well past dark. And I smiled.

They earned it.

They got us over the hump. God bless them.

We spent another day doing the finishing touches, but now we’re ready.

So – maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

And maybe I need to bring those amazing youth group kids some ice cream. And cookies. And squirt guns…

Celebrate!

Angel Girl turned 15 yesterday. (Not quite sure how that happened so fast!)

To celebrate she asked to hang out with her home school friends.

Why not a potluck picnic at the park?

Perfect!

We had lots of friends join us.

And lots of silliness.

And food. There’s always plenty of that!

(Glad to see that Buddy was eating so well – chips, Oreo cookies and a Popsicle?!)

Angel Girl got to do all her favorite things – hang with friends, take lots of cute pictures,
and chase adorable littles up and down the play equipment.

She was in her element!

Happy birthday Angel Girl!