Life At It's Best

Life is finally getting back to normal after a wonderful 3 1/2 week vacation. Dave and I left Colorado on May 11th and set out for a multi-purpose vacation! We drove to Junction City, Ks. and spent the first night--we were just tired. I guess just getting out of the house and away from the 4 dogs, who are usually underfoot, but we love them anyway!

The next day we headed for Tennessee to visit with our very good friends Vic and Kathy Gray. We do not get to see them often enough. We spent 3 nights with them and had a great visit, but their house was also our travel to and from spot to a couple other places. The first being the National Corvette museum in Bowling Green, Ky. We had a great time and enjoyed all the history of the Museum. Even enjoyed a great lunch in their diner! That was on Wednesday.

On Thursday, we drove to Sparta, Tn. It was so wonderful to see my Aunt Bev. I had lost touch with her for many years. We had a great day with her just visiting and catching up. I also got to meet my cousin's daughters and grandchildren. I realized that life is so short that you should never lose touch with those you love!

On Friday we left our friends house and headed off to Hillsboro, Tn. to take pictures of Dave's grandparents and his father's headstones! We had decided that we needed to try and construct some semblence of family history for our children. This meant visiting grave sites and taking pictures of how to get to the cemetaries along the way! We don't want them to loose their heritage! We headed off to Pennsylvania to visit with our other son, Bill, his wife-Kristy and their three beautiful girls, Becca-15 yrs, Ryleigh age 3, and Reese age 1. What a blessing they are. We found that we are missing a bunch being away from them. We also got to spend time with very special friends, but that time is never enough. We were there 4 days and could have stayed a month!

We left on Thursday and headed off to Ohio to spend a few days with family and also drove to Kirtland, Ohio, where there is much LDS church History. We also were able to spend a night with a friend we had not seen in 30 years (since we left Germany). It was a great 24 hours, but not long enough! We left Kirtland with a much better understanding of what happened there! We left Ohio and headed for Nauvoo, Il. There is much church history there. We stayed at a cottage owned by the Nauvoo Hotel. It basically was a 3 bedroom house, with a full kitchen (not that I used it-we were on vacation!) dining room, large living room, and a sitting room. We drove to Carthage and visited the jail. Dave and I both experienced some amazingly strong feelings there. After that we drove into Nauvoo to visit the restored homes and businesses of the first settlers of the Mormon Church. We toured many of the homes and the Joseph Smith Family Cemetary. We enjoyed two shows put on by the missionaries and the missionary couples serving their missions in Nauvoo.

We left Nauvoo wondering how these people gained the strength and trust to follow wherever the Lord sent them. They started over so many times. I wondered if my faith was truly that strong. We made the next stop along the way in Far West, Adam ondi Ahmen, Liberty Jail and the Visitors Center in Independence, Mo. I can't imagine how many times their faith was tested and yet they always remained strong. We are so blessed to have such leaders to set examples for us.

Finally reality sets in-We left on Sunday morning and thought we would drive from Independence to home, but by 4pm we were exhausted and decided to take one last evening for ourselves and just relax. We arrived home on Monday, June 1st and we are back to reality. I started back to school this week, taking two classes, we started our outside project of patio block and flower beds. Thanks to Stephan, and our Missionaries the patio block got laid before the rain came on Tuesday. Now I only have to get the rose bushes to plant. Then on to the next project!

I would like to say that vacations are wonderful, but it is good to be home (until the next time).
This trip has strengthened my faith and love for the church. I know that there is a plan for each of us and in that plan God has put a purpose for us. We may not see it at first but it is there. I have come home with a stronger faith and hunger for more knowledge of the Lord.

We love you all.