Chicago & Wisconsin Family Anniversary Trip

 We came back Monday from a long weekend gone for our 15 year anniversary.  We had a lovely time celebrating with friends and family.  Our first stop was Chicago and Christi's parents went along for this part of the trip. 

 Two children rode with them and .....

 two children rode with us.

 Because of the time difference (and we totally forgot about that), we were an hour ahead of schedule, so we saw some things we wanted to get in before our tour at the mission.

 The Bean

 After the Bean we headed for the big fountain, but took a detour here in this lovely little garden.

 The fountain was a quick stop as we were getting close to tour time and didn't want to be late for that.  And we had to walk all the way back to our vehicles and get through the city.

 Pacific Garden Mission proved to be most of our favorite part of the trip.  It was very eye opening and put a lot of things into perspective as to how we look at people. 

 Our tour guide was spectacular.  We pray that he finishes the program at the mission and furthers himself to live for the Lord. 

 Lunch time!

 We all enjoyed our meal at Giordanos.

Our next stop was the American Doll Store.  The children seemed to be getting bored with all the walking, so while we ate, we figured out how to get to the Doll store as we knew the 3 oldest would enjoy it.  They get the books from the library and get so excited when a new one comes out.  So, when Diella opened the door to the store and saw what it was, her mouth literally dropped open with a huge smile on her face.  We walked through the historical part of the dolls, then upstairs they went.  Jonathon and I lagged behind a little to find out where some other things were that we wanted to see, and by the time we caught up to them they weren't in the store anymore.  My mom found us and said that the children got to the top of the steps and saw the Lego Store outside of the American Doll Store and they exited one store and went right into the other one.  So, we played a little in the Lego Store, then made our way back down to the street via the Doll Store to take some pictures of the chidlren next to the doll they love reading about the most. 

 The John Hancock was a must see for the children since they've never experienced anything like it before, and it was in the area where we were, AND we had coupons.  Of course, what would you expect.  : )

 Josiah said that it made his feet feel funny when he looked out, so he always kept a hold of the rail.  After awhile he had to stop looking out because it was making him feel sick.  But he did enjoy the view.

 We crossed the street after our John Hancock experience to taste some samples of chocolate in the Hershey and Giardelli stores.  Yummo! 

 Now started our hike to Navy Pier.  We weren't sure about the long trek, but we all made it and got some really great exercise in too.

 The ferris wheel is in sight.  We are getting closer to our destination!

 The men and children rode the ferris wheel.  I was surprised that the children decided to do it, but I guess the day was about overcoming a little fear.  They did it and liked it too!

 Left over pizza for a snack before we headed back on our hike to the vehicles.

 Quick stop at the fountain for a jumping picture. 

We made it back to our vehicles and got out of town.  What a crazy city to be in, drive in and live (for those who live there).  It is fun to visit, but I sure love my country life.  : )

Next we headed to the hotel for the evening.  Swimming and a little TV watching ended our evening.  Some of us woke up early the next morning (which was Benaiah's 3rd birthday), got breakfast and then went back to the room to wake everybody else up.  After breakfast, some grandpa monster play, and some Scripture reading, we parted our ways with my parents and continued our journey on into Wisconsin.



 We tried not to spend too much time in the van without getting out and stretching our legs.  We got some subway sandwiches for lunch, I had packed fruit, and we found a lovely little park where the children could run for a bit. 

Next stop, Manitowoc, WI to visit Matt and Wendy Campbell.  I went to school with Wendy and have been wanting to visit their home in Wisconsin.  We were so glad that we fit that into our weekend.  They took us to Silver Creek, a lovely park that was on the water.  What a great place to enjoy creation!

The following photos courtesy of Matt Campbell.

After the park, we headed back to their house for a wondeful buffet of food.  Food and fellowship was much enjoyed by all of us!  On our way to their house we spotted a nice little ice cream shop that Jonathon decided we should visit.  Well, that was on their list of things to do with us, and it was just around the corner from their house.  So, after supper we all headed by scooter, skates and feet to the ice cream shop for a delicious treat.  

 And if you were me, you got 3 cones.  Haha!  Just kidding!  Notice the boy below?  That's why I held the cones.  Jonathon cleaned him up from dripping blue ice cream.

 Happy 3rd Birthday Benaiah! 

We ended our day with the Campbells by playing, singing, and a short visit after the children were in bed.

The next morning we hit the road to head for Ontario, WI.

 Our van full of tired and good travelers.

 We took a pit stop at Wildcat Mountain State Park to find a letter box.  It proved to be unsuccessful and no box was found.  : (  But we did get a good hike in, and I was reminded that this old pregnant body isn't what it used to be.  : )

 After hiking and working up a sweat, we headed to Dave and Karen Carr's house for a wonderful visit.  We started out by getting our pictures taken by Krystal, Dave and Karen's daughter.  It was a little windy and rain taunted us a bit, but when we were all cleaned up and ready to smile, the rain cleared and the sun even tried to shine through.  We are so pleased with the moments that Krystal captured.  We had the pictures taken for a special anniversary project that we are working on, so keep checking in for that post.  Hopefully we can have it done within the next couple weeks or so.  

The following photos courtesy of Krystal Muellenberg Photography (you can see more at her blog):

Aren't they lovely?!

I didn't get any other pictures taken at the Carr's.  The time just went so fast.  The children had fun playing with Amelia, Karen fixed a delicious meal, we got the grand tour of their barn that they are turning into living quarters, we visited before Dave had to go to bed, I gave Karen a foot massage, and then it was bedtime.  It seems we packed so much into every day of our trip.  I did manage to get up and out to the van to get my camera to take a picture of Amelia leaving for her day at school.  The children were excited to watch her get on the bus.  

 We loaded up, gave our hugs to Karen and hit the road to go home.  Was a nice quiet trip home.  The children enjoyed going back through Chicago and naming some of the things they could see from the van as we went by.  Hopefully, we made some great memories with them that they will remember forever. 

Our Mother's Day was a little Fishy

We had a lovely day on Sunday with my parents.  My grandpa Murphy joined us for lunch as did a young amish couple.  They have been beginning to have their eyes open to the Truth of the Word and were such a joy to visit with.  Their excitement for how the Lord is changing their hearts and leading them to obey Him is rejuvenating.  We all sang together, and they yodeled for us.  Was a treat for sure!

The children were really wanting to play kick ball since the men were there too, so we had to fit that into the day.  But first Benaiah got an early birthday present from grandpa and grandma to occupy him during the ball game. 

Benaiah got a new mower to keep him busy this summer when I have massage clients at grandpa and grandma's house.  He makes the noise of a mower while pushing it and even stops to check it and do maintenace.  Quite cute!

On to the ball game!

 

I keep telling him he's getting too old for such things, but he doesn't listen.  Oh, I guess it keeps him young, right? 

On to fishing!  That was Benaiah's request, to ride grandpa's might machine boat.

 Benaiah was big enough this year to try his hand at wind surfing.  Josiah sure loves it!

 Josiah caught the first fish!  A nice blue gill (in Jonathon's hand ready to go in the water tank)!  He sure is a good fisherboy.  : )

 He loves to ride the boat!

Our catches of the day.  A blue gill and rainbow trout made it to our dinner table last night.  It was delicious baked in a garlic butter sauce with some herbs.  Josiah and I preferred the blue gill and Jonathon preferred the trout.  The rest of them, didn't care so much for any of it.  In June we'll be going up to Saginaw to do some serious fishing to hopefully stock the freezer with good meat to eat.  We'll see how we do and don't worry, we'll post about it, even if we don't catch anything.  : )  

So, that was our fun filled Sunday for you all to enjoy!  Boating season has just begun, everybody (except me) has their fishing licenses and we are ready to fish and wind surf.  We learned that grandpa's style of fishing is a bit boring, so next time we are packing games for us ladies and children to do.  But his style did get us that nice rainbow trout, so we shouldn't complain. 

Time to go to bed!  We've got a fun filled weekend planned and we can't wait to hit the road in the morning.  Night friends!

15 Years of Marriage- We did it!!!!

Most of you know us and our story.  But because other's stories similar to our's, touched my life when I needed to hear it most, there might be somebody out there reading this that needs to be encouraged in their marriage as well.  I pray that this encourages you to grow and change in your marriage.

Our Story of Restoration - 15 Years Married NOW!

By Christi~

We married young, just shortly after high school.  We had our share of mistakes in the dating area that we'd both change if we could.  It's too bad we have to go through life to really understand some things.  Especiallly those things that can affect us into our marriage.  Believe it or not, all decisions made not only affect ourselves as individuals but everyone around us, even if you don't think it affects them.  

We were in love on our wedding day.  Who isn't really? : )  We had an adventurous honeymoon that we will forever remember.  It was simple and not costly, but a tornado ripped through the area where we were staying, so it did change some of our plans.  If we would have only known then that the tornado during our honeymoon would be a vision of what was to come, we may have prepared ourselves more.  

Shortly after we were married, I became sick with mononucleosis. Doctors couldn't seem to diagnosis it and one thing led to another, and I was having major problems with my health.  That really tested out our marriage straight from the get go.  Time passed, we were figuring out my health issues, built a cute little house and were expecting our first baby.  Life was good, but things always felt a little rocky.  

It wasn't until after our second child was born that we hit bottom and all of our issues we had been having came through in actions of our hearts.  We both take the blame for it.  If one of us would have stepped up to the plate and not been selfish in our marriage, the other would have followed behind, pulling their weight as well.  It takes two to accomplish a lot in marriage.  But it also takes two to destroy a marriage.  

I was living with the girls as Jonathon had decided that this wasn't what he wanted for himself and was off in another relationship.  I spent days and nights on my knees praying, studying God's Word to see where I failed.  He quickly showed me that I was just as much at fault, and He began revealing those areas that I needed to improve on.  After some time, much heart ache and doing my best at obeying God's voice in leading me to say and do what He wanted in the situation, the story changed.  Jonathon began seeing the change in me and desired to come back home, but was just afraid that things would fall back into the same routine as before.  I couldn't make promises of that not happening, but I could make sure that every day I woke up I could determine to live unselfishly.  

God truly did restore us back together.  It wasn't with a snap of the fingers but with much patience, love and determination to not let the enemy win in the spiritual battle that was taking place.  We may think that other people are after us or are haters, etc. but really it's all spiritual battles.  The enemy does what he can, to whom he can, to rock boats to cause a falling away from the true Saviour.  It sure takes effort to not allow that to happen, but it's so worth it.  

Nine months after we reunited in marriage, our first son, Josiah Harron was born.  Josiah means, whom Jehovah has healed.  He was our sign that healing truly did take place, and we blessed the Lord for his life.  

I wouldn't say that everything has been smoothe sailing since then.  Oh no!  There has been much for me to deal with in relation to the choice that Jonathon made.  I still struggle at times even though he has reassured me of his love many times over and over.  But again, the enemy uses what he can to stick his foot in the door to cause problems, and he knows that this is an area he can get me in.  I have to be firm in not letting him get the door open even just a crack.  

We now have 4 children and another one due the end of August.  Sometimes I wonder why the Father has given us these children, but these are lives that He has created.  I shouldn't question but rather be blessed by them and be sure that I am training them according to His Word.  And I pray that as we live out our marriage to the best that we can, our children will also learn from it and be led by His Spirit in walking with Him in their marriages (if we ever allow that to happen). : )  None of us are perfect and there are always areas that we can improve upon.  I wouldn't have become aware of what I needed to do if I hadn't of gone to the Father with a heart that truly wanted to see the faults and change them.  He is faithful to be by our side when we really desire His leading and guidance.  Go to Him.  Only He can restore and make whole again!                

A Morning of hands on learning

We have had some major critter problems around our homestead lately. Last week we lost our last two chickens due to a rascally raccoon. The coon is now dead thanks to a determined and frustrated chicken owner. : ) But we are now chickenless as well. : ( New ones will be on their way soon, and it gives us time to get the coop cleaned out of the legs mites that seemed to take over.

Last night we got home late from doing some work. Jonathon was missing, and I noticed that his gun was gone. I could see the light on in his barn, so I assumed he was getting stuff around for work this morning. Wrong! An opposum was in there eating chicken feed out of a nice hole she chewed in the bottom of the brand new bag. Grrrrr! Yep, that critter died too. Jonathon was too tired to take care of it, so he left it in there for the night.

This morning, Jonathon called and gave Josiah instructions to get the opposum out of there. So, we got his work gloves out and all 4 children headed out to the barn. Alegra came running in, "Mom, Diella saw something kicking and she's having babies!" I said, "Remember opposums have pouches that they keep their babies in. They are just in her pouch." So, I slipped my sandals on and headed out to the barn to see if they needed help. After carefully moving the bag of chicken feed without losing all the feed out the bottom from the hole, I scooped her up in a shovel and carried her out of the barn to the yard. Sure enough, there were 5 babies in her pouch, nursing as fast as they could. Diella tried to pull one out so we could see it better, but that little baby was clenched on so tight, it wasn't coming out. Amazing how these animals were created.

So, the children got a great hands on lesson today. A little gross of a lesson, but it seems grossness comes along with living in the country, especially when there are critters to be taken care of.

So, that job is done!  Now what can we get into the rest of the day?  : )