Happy New Year

To everyone who has been following the blog, thank you!  I appreciate your support and want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and blessings for the New Year.

The long vacation was nice, but it is now time to get back in the swing of life.  The Christmas season is filled with joy and also with business and stress.  Each year we try to remove more of the latter and remember the gift of Christmas.

For the last seven years we have been blessed to be a part of the White Pine Community Church and each year we have a Christmas performance.  The children bring Christmas to life a little bit differently each time. If you think there is only one way to see the Manger, think again.

This year the drama was "A Manger In Town."  Can you imagine anyone being so bent on ending Christmas traditions that they would sue the town for erecting a manger at the town square?  Well, even though it was just a play, in truth it is happening all over the world.  It is time to take a stand.  We need to be less politically correct and more Biblically correct.  And most important, it is time to teach our children how valuable and important it is to place God first in their lives.  Our Christmas and Easter programs offer just a short role-play for the kids to experience the true meaning of each season.  I am grateful to be a part of bringing Jesus to life for the children and all who attend.

Following the program we gathered with friends and family at our home to celebrate.  Jay, Katie and David joined us and it was wonderful to watch David open his gifts! This year we had to wake Karsten Christmas morning for the very first time:(

For the last three years we have spent Christmas day at the potluck dinner for the White Pine Community.  It is a great time for fellowship and the celebration of life.

We now head toward 2011.  Many make resolutions, most of which end up broken.  I too, hope to do better in my everyday living, including exercise and diet!  But most importantly, I hope to grow even closer to God each day and spend some time throughout the year sharing my thoughts through this blog.

Please feel free to leave your comments or email me!

Blessings always!

One Journey Ends...Another Begins

I know this is very late.  But, I wanted to at least wrap up our trip for all who followed.  In the last post, we were at Julie's in Illinois after two very long days of driving.  After a wonderful holiday weekend, we headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The drive was uneventful.  We spent four days visiting with Rick's Dad, our Kate, and our friends.  It is always great to go "home".
 

A big thank you to the Huffman's who once again provided a great meal and great fellowship.  We always enjoy our visits!

It was also great to see the Sherwood family, even if the visit was short.

A special thanks to Suzie for rearanging her work schedule to spend the day shopping with me!  And the gift wrapping class was fun too!  Sure miss our regular outings.  But I always look forward to the time we share when I can make it to the Fort.

It was also wonderful to see our daughter Kate, happy and healthy. 

So, our beginning to the holiday season was terrific!

On December 3 we began the trek back to Michigan.  North of Lansing the weather took a turn.  Snow, sleet, ice, rain...we just passed the sign that read "Bridge may be icy" and a small sedan tried to pass a car in front of us.  Tried being the operative word.  As he fish-tailed back and forth and then went into full spin, Rick (with help from above) maintained control of our vehicle and managed to avoid a collision.  The other car?  He ended up driving backwards along the guardrail.  But, thankfully no one was injured.

We were able to cross the bridge and the weather was good.  Just about Munising the storm reappeared.  But driving in the UP is a whole lot different than driving anywhere else!  And you just can't beat the beauty of our snow!  We drove to Marquette and hunkered in for the night. 

Saturday we attended the big craft show at the Superior Dome and then made our way home.

The end would be blissful if not for the fact that our water heater had sprung a leak and the sump pump was pumping fresh water right outside!  No hot showers tonight.

With all crisis avoided and replacement parts on the way we are home safe and sound.  The total trip was about 8,700 miles and we had a great time!  We met some great people, saw some amazing sights and visited with family and friends.  Who could ask for more.

I thought I would end this blog here.  But, I have found that I enjoy the process.  So, I think as 2011 rolls in I will continue to add bits and pieces as life carries on.

Hope everyone enjoyed a very Merry Christmas and wishing everyone a great 2011!

Day 31 - Thanksgiving Day Day 32 & 33

Thanksgiving day we got a very early start and Rick drove straight through...all 800 miles or so...so we could reach Julie and Charlie's by Thanksgiving evening. 

One of their "specialties" is Appetizer Night.  A smorgasbord of fun foods.  And it was the perfect ending to a long day.

Black Friday was the guys day to shop!  I think this has now become a tradition.  No great deals or even anything anyone "needed".  But the experience is something the guys enjoy doing together.

We celebrated the holiday with the traditional feast that included; honey-baked ham, turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, pot of gold, Hawaiian salad, cranberries, cornbread pudding, rolls, Carmel apple and pumpkin pies!  We had a nice early dinner and then headed to the show and saw Tangled in 3D.  It was a really cute movie.  Then ice cream of the day, Twix Mix, at Culver's.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Day 30

We got a later start today.  We beat the blizzard and are now letting it get on ahead and hopefully over before we head out.  Lots of gusting wind, but so far, just a dusting of snow.

So after a good breakfast we left Moab.  If you have not visit Moab, you should.  It is beautiful and looks like we could spend quite of bit of time exploring the canyons.  It will be a place we visit again.  The skies are blue, the sun is shining and we hope it continues.  We decided on the scenic drive along 128 through the canyon en route to I-70. 

It meanders along the Colorado river with the striking canyon walls on either side.  Wild Mustangs, free-range cattle and long horn sheep all call this area home.

We reached Colorado at 12 noon MST.  Heading toward Vail Pass and hoping the road is not closed.

Not closed, just icy.  Trucks required chains but all other vehicles could go.  There is another blizzard warning in effect for later in the afternoon.  Looks like God has been watching over us...perfect timing between storms.

Once we made it through the mountains, all was clear and the roads are straight so we drove until 9:00 pm EST.  We are now in Ogallala, Nebraska, just 12 hours from Julie's.  We have been in three States today!

Looks like we will make Julie's by Thanksgiving after all!

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!  We will be heading home soon!

As I write this blog, I am watching The Weather Channel and getting glimpse of the Nation's weather.  If anyone saw the video of the bus that slid down the hill in Seattle...we were just there!  The proprietor of the Glassblowing shop told us they never get snow...maybe 2 inches all winter.  Ah, but the Varecha's were there this year.  Then they showed the snow in Coos Bay, Oregon on the beach.  Yes, we were there just days ago!  That only happens about every 4 years or so.  Then TWC showed the back ups for both east and west bound I-80 traffic.  Yep, we are on I-80 now, but all has been clear.  God is good!

Day 29

Another Race Day...Today we are trying to stay ahead of the impending blizzard!  Does this sky look like snow?  We hope the weather is wrong!

I realized one of the missed opportunities on this trip was to photograph murals.  Everywhere we have gone we have seen really interesting murals.  That can be the focus of a future trip.

Utah is beautiful country.  As we drive through the cities and towns it seems no matter where you look there is a steeple.  There must be a church in every neighborhood. 

We drove through Canyonland National Park...What a sight!  Everywhere you look the rugged terrain goes on forever.  The vast expanse is beyond words. 

On to Arches National Park...OH MY!  Definitely Utah makes the list for a revisit.  The rock formations send one's imagination to a whole new world.  Maybe God's playdoh?

Do you see the Dragon head? 

We begin our trek through the Rockies tomorrow, weather permitting.  As of this writing there are blizzard warnings in effect for tomorrow, so we will see. 

Please keep us in your prayers.  We hope to be to Julie's by Saturday.

Day 28

Sunrise Again!  It's a race to Salt Lake City today...trying to stay ahead of the approaching storm that is threatening snow, ice and gusting high winds.  Since our elevation remains at about 5,000 feet the weather remains unpredictable.

The start was good.  However, we ran into icy roads and extremely high winds.  Gusts attempting to blow our, very adequately weighed down car, from the road.  We even saw some "snow tornadoes?"

The gusts seem to have subsided and we are now only 290 miles from Salt Lake City.  There are winter storm advisories in effect...maybe we will win the race?

4:28 pm EST we entered Utah!  There are gorgeous rock formations and no snow...yet

 Even through the ever changing weather there is always a gift.  The beautiful rays of the sun rained down through a hole in the sky.

Heading to Moab in the morning.

Day 26 & 27

What an adventure!  God was truly watching over us today.  We spent the weekend visiting and catching up with old friends and are grateful for their hospitality!  Thank you Rick and Presteen! 

They live in a beautiful part of the Sierra Valley.  It was a much needed respite from our traveling. 

The sunrise (yes, RISE) was glorious! 

We began our journey East to Nevada anticipating a route along Hwy. 36.  However, just miles in on 36 traffic warning lights flashed with info regarding the need for chains on the tires!  What?  All we could see were deep blue skies and sunshine.  But rather than go to far and be turned back, we backtracked a bit and selected a new route adding about 20 minutes to our estimated time, Hwy 70 to Hwy 20.  This went well until we reached the city of Grass Valley. 

McDonald's was being used by all those who had lost power in an unseasonably early, wet, and heavy snowfall.  A bit further East we were turned back as the road had been closed.  A slight detour on Hwy 174 through Colfax led to Interstate 80.  We thought we had made it!  Then the traffic came to a standstill.  It seems that in the West when it snows in the mountains everyone stops to put chains on the tires.  There are many vehicles along the side of the road offering this service for $30/tire to put them on and $15/tire to take them off a few miles down the road!  Thankfully with our vehicle and 4-wheel drive we did not need the chains.  The speed limit was only 30 mph and the snow was still falling. 

The snow laden trees are gorgeous and some appear to have waterfalls flowing from them as the snow abandons the branches. 

Once we went through Donner Pass, and headed down to the lower elevations we again found sun and blue skies.  But we also found frigid temps and high winds.  The 3.5 hour trip turned into 5 hours. 

We arrived safely in

Reno and hit the buffet and are calling it an early night.  It looks like we are in for more bad weather in the weeks to come.  Please keep us in your prayers.