April 26, 2007 -Adventures continue!

We seem to pick amazing times to be on the road - we left Midland on April 20, and turned north at Sweetwater TX - we saw wildflowers galore..not just patches, but fields of bluebonnets, which were just fantastic! There were many many different kinds of wild-flowers, fields of colors, and we were overwhelmed with it all. Not only that, but the wheat fields were lush, green and lovely...so the trip into Oklahoma was an enormous success from our standpoint.

We spent one wonderful afternoon down at Bricktown in Oklahoma

City--what a magnificent creation that city has pulled off! We were joined by our dear family friend, Abby Mahone, to take the canal ride in one of Bricktown's barges, seeing all the businesses that have gone in along the canal (including time to wander around our favorite, Bass Pro) and see the beautiful bronzes depicting the Run to settle Oklahoma. We finished off the Bricktown experience with dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse, joined by David Mahone.

This is the centennial year of Oklahoma - a very special spot for us, since my parents lived here for 37 years; both daughters were born in this state (and Carla turned 40 yesterday!); our first pastorate was here in Hobart in 1964 (where we first became friends with the Mahones); and we returned to Oklahoma to serve the church in Enid in 1985.

Tuesday we filled the day - in the morning and again in the evening, we attended the Festival of Arts downtown--3 stages for performances as well as many artists and lots of food vendors. At night we listened and danced to the big band music of the Al Good Orchestra--an orchestra my folks used to dance to here in Oklahoma City, and we danced to his music when he came to Enid OK as well.

In between, when the rains came, we managed to be at the Cowboy Hall of Fame--both my parents had served as docents there so there are lots of memories associated with that spot. PLEASE don't miss visiting there, if you are ever in the area. Over the years, we have numerous photographs in our albums taken by the statue "End of the Trail" that you see above--when our girls were little and visited their grandparents, when our Indonesian AFS daughter lived with us in '83, etc...many memories!

We also found a painting done by my high school friend, Fritz Scholder, and his words in a quote painted on the wall of one gallery...along with works of one of his teachers, Oscar Howe--all of us were from Pierre SD in those days. Fritz died a few years ago, but left a legacy in his paintings. And would you believe - I have a painting he did for me when we were in high school?

It was a treat Sunday to worship at Westminster Presbyterian Church..my parents' church home during their Oklahoma City years. Jerry and I had our picture taken (above) in the chapel of WPC, where we were married forty-four years ago next month. I used to think that was the largest sanctuary I had ever been in...and the biggest campus...and it just didn't feel like that last Sunday. Isn't it interesting how the passing of time and your experiences changes one's perspective?

We are grateful for these days - renewing friendships with friends from Hobart days; seeing folks at WPC with whom we toured the Holy Land back in the late 70's; revisiting some special sites; seeing the beauty of this land as we travel; and now in Enid OK, where we will see some special folks from our pastorate here and worship with them on Sunday.

Bless you all - and if you are along this route we are traveling, we look forward to seeing you! Next week we will be in Kansas City visiting daughter Carla, on to Wichita KS to see the folks at Eastminster on Mother's Day, and then to Jerry's home territory in southwest Missouri.

Love, Mary and Jerry

Christ is Risen!

What a season of rejoicing! Even with all the snow, sleet, rain and cold that many of us experienced on this Easter week-end, it was a glorious experience! Above, you see a few of the spectacular roses that grace the entry to Incarnate Word College, just up the street from Jo and Scott's home in San Antonio. Even in the cold dreary day, the roses were radiant--a reminder of what a radiant life can do to brighten even the dullest of days!

Part of our Easter trip included a trip to Wemberley TX - and on the right we are visiting Ron & Nita Bagby, friends from Eastminster in Wichita, who have become Texans (again) after their retirement. It was such a special treat to be with them...to see a little bit of their new town...to watch Ron feed the deer who wander right up to their back deck. I do encourage any of you who are traveling in that part of Texas to spend some time in this little town--its a delight. (and on the first Saturday of each month, they have a HUGE market--I can hardly wait to be able to do that!)

Our family picture was taken on Easter Sunday at the Hilton/Peters home. What a great time we had just being together. To celebrate our birthdays, Jo and Scott treated us to dinner at a delightful vegetarian restaurant in SA called "Green". Family and friends are truly among God's greatest gifts to all of us - and we hope we are properly appreciative of this Gift. Our Easter circle was completed with the arrival of Scott's sister, Lynn, and husband, Jack, from Pueblo CO--who braved sleet, rain, snow and ice to make the drive to San Antonio--thinking several times of turning back. We are glad they persevered! Since we were all in London together over the Christmas holidays, we had lots of reminiscing to do. Jo has published her own book of our Christmas trip--so those of you who cross paths with us will one day have an opportunity to view it as well.

Speaking of friends, tomorrow we are off to El Paso to visit our cousins and see some special friends from Crane MO - back when Jerry was in high school, "Dr. Bob" was the "young optometrist" who came to town to practice, and is still there--and Jerry still thinks of him as the "young optometrist"---never mind that Bob is now 82 years young, and young Jerry is now 68 years old! Its all relative, isn't it? And even these birthdays have been occasions for celebration, and yes--amazement-- that we are, in fact, as old as the calendar says we must be! I don't believe it!!!! Not for a minute!

We'll be back from El Paso next Monday, and by the end of the week, we will be on the road again in our new RV to head north--with stops in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri--but you will be hearing more about that later.

Thanks for reading this blog, and for being such an important part of our lives!

Love, Mary & Jerry

Glorious Spring!

This is an absolutely gorgeous spring day...it is so nice to have the sun shining after over two days of heavenly rain--not a normal pattern in our part of the country! I hope you are enjoying a lovely day as well.

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! And I am here to tell you that these two old dogs are slowly learning new eating habits and new foods. Here you see one of the appetizer servings on our cruise--now the food I am preparing at home HARDLY looks like this,

but it is fun to try eating the vegetarian/vegan way. I am trying lots of new recipes, and so far they have been successful! We both feel very well AND are losing weight..now we just hope those blood numbers are going in the right direction as well. So any of you who want to share a good vegetable, legume or grain recipe with us, feel free to send it on!

We will leave Palm Sunday in our RV with our destination being San Antonio to spend Easter with Jo and Scott, but first we will have a few days at Llano State Park on the Guadalupe River outside of Junction TX--a place we have been wanting to visit and this is the time. On our trip home from El Paso last week we notice the Texas wildflowers are beginning to bloom, so we look forward to seeing bluebonnets on this next part of our trip.

May the joys of this Holy Season be yours, as we walk with Jesus.

Healthy Cruising with Special Friends!

Last week we joined Jim and Sandy Alsup to celebrate Ralph and Sally Green's 50th wedding anniversary on a "Taste of Health" cruise aboard the Italian ship, Costa Magica. And indeed it was a magical week! We never lacked for delicious, beautifully presented healthy meals...or stimulating, hilarious conversations...creating memories that we will never forget!

And you are thinking "healthy cruise"? Jim is a cancer survivor of over 15 years through prayer and the macrobiotic diet. This is the 4th year that Taste of Health has offered a macrobiotic cruise...we numbered over 700 of the 2900 guests, had our meals served in one dining room where those of us who were not macrobiotic oriented could order off any of the menus--regular cruise fare, vegan, vegetarian, wellness--just about whatever you wanted. We were treated to the opportunity to attend 4 classes offered each day by very knowledgeable instructors--from diabetes management by Dr. Neal Bernard to cooking classes by Christina Parelli (whose TV show "Christina Cooks" is seen on many PBS stations) We had our own excellent macrobiotic chef, Mark Hanna, and his meals were amazing. Jerry had received a diagnosis of diabetes just two weeks before we set sail, with 3 months to get his blood sugar count down to normal or else, so we felt it was really a gift from God that we were going on this cruise. We came home healthier, lighter in weight, and determined to change our eating habits.

One of the Hilton "talents" which we are always happy to share with others is "hanging spoons". Now you have seen Jerry with one of his lesser-known talents, and he did his best to teach others around us to also hang spoons.

We had many opportunities to give thanks to God - the beauty of His creation all around us; the glory of all that beautiful water everywhere--and when you are from West Texas, its doubly impressive; the precious gift of wonderful friends with whom to share all these experiences; quiet time for reading and meditating, or walking the track on the top deck of the ship; the beautiful young people (primarily from the Philippines) who made our stay so comfortable; and most especially, for the gift of one another in our own marriage and these exceptional 2 1/2 years since Jerry's retirement.

We cherish you all!

Christmas worship experiences

We began our worship experiences by attending a Taize service at King's Cross Methodist Church in the setting you see at the left...quiet, peaceful, meditative--just right for the weary travelers trying to get acclimated to their new time zone! There were about 25 there, mostly young adults, but a few of us older ones as well.

We have Taize services here in Midland several times a year so we felt right at home with the music and prayers. One fellow we visited with pointed out to us that Sunday worship at the "big" churches within the heart of the city are really for the tourists--they basically minister to a congregation of folks who are in the city to work during the week, but are not there on Sundays, because thats a day they do not have to make that trip back into the city. Their ministry to their congregation takes place at week-day services, be it morning or noon or 5 p.m. So worship services at places like St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey are for the tourists.

This did not seem to be the case at All Soul's, however. To worship at All Soul's was a dream come true for Jerry. He so admires their former pastor, John Stott (who is retired but still participating..unfortunately, we did not run into him...) so it was a treat to be there. The church is built at the end of Regent Street--a magnificent setting. It is a viable congregation, with over 19 on their ministerial staff, highly programmed....we were there both morning and evening on our first Sunday in London, and heard a small choral group that you see pictured here lead the worship--gorgeous voices. The fellowship hour after the morning service featured tea and little mince pies--a Christmas staple in London. The church operates a fine bookstore in the fellowship hall as well. Folks were very cordial and welcoming to us, and we certainly could feel the Spirit in that church family.

This is a first for us - standing in line to get into a worship service! Wow! On Christmas Eve we were in line for about two hours for the late service at Westminster Abbey--the photo below is one Jo took while we were waiting in line. It was a beautiful service, as you can imagine, and one we will not soon forget! The fellowship and cameraderie of folks standing in line was marvelous as well.

St. Paul's was another worship experience - we also were in line on Christmas Eve morning for that service, but not for very long. The contrast between St. Paul's and Westminster is really something - WA is SO grey--stone everywhere, no color, very austere and regal, while St. Paul's is simply vibrant with its color--lots of reds and golds everywhere you look. The acustics are magnificent--on New Year's Eve, Jerry and I heard a Salvation Army brass band doing a pre-service concert as well as all the service music. Following the NY Eve service, we were dismissed through the front doors to the pealing of the bells and a bit of the fireworks that our kids were experiencing down on the Thames. Quite a site!

While we missed being with our church families at this special holy season, we found God's people very welcoming and accepting of us wherever we were worshipping. We were thinking of you!

Greetings in 2007

Its hard to believe we have been home from London for several weeks, and have not sent out a blog! However, that is about to change! Let me share a few thoughts with you from our fabulous London trip (and more thoughts will follow! Our Christmas dinner was spent at the Windermere Hotel, complete with crackers and king's hats, as you can see--it was the most amazing time you can imagine..the menu was delicious, and we just had the best time ever! We had a good long walk over to the hotel, with a stopover at Buckingham Palace, and it was truly a delightful day. Shopping was a real highlight--especially all the small kiosks and special shopping venues. Jerry found this very small coronet, which he felt called to own - and so he does! He even sat in our flat window late on New Years Eve and serenaded the folks who were walking down the street! I had the most fun sitting in a window upstairs from him and watching the looks on their faces as they tried to figure out where the music was coming from! He will enjoy this coronet and its a great souvenir of our magnificent trip. We are such Sherlock Holmes fans that visiting the SH Museum was quite a highlight for us. Here you see Jerry having a visit with Dr. Watson in the drawing room--it was very well done, and makes watching the TV series from home now even more fun as we can say "we were there!" Of course, we also visited the Sherlock Holmes Pub & Restaurant to finish off our day! Much love to all of you - and more will follow now that I have finally finished sorting and editing all the photos that our daughters took (would you believe over 4,000?) Soon I'll share some photo websites with you if you care to look at the pictures yourselves!

The bet is over...

Jo dreaming about her new boots... Jo picking out her new boots... Dad forking out the cash for the new boots... Jo is the proud new owner of some beautiful black boots from Hobbs of London. (finally - some new shoes!) 

Week 1 in London, Part 2

Somehow this picture didn't make it on the first blog, so here's a bit more...this is the family standing in front of the Randolph Hotel in Oxford, where we started our C. S. Lewis tour today....the Randolph Hotel is one of the places Lewis frequented..(and also a favorite haunt of Inspector Morse, as we learned a few days ago). The Lewis tour was superb - we felt like we all learned a lot, and gained more understanding of the kind of person "Jack" Lewis was...the tour included his early homes, the site of his marriage to Joy, his schools and colleges, Holy Trinity Church at Headington Quarry, his gravesite (shared with his brother Warnie), and his home, The Kilns...a glorious day! Now, a very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. We love you and treasure you! 

Week 1 in London Part 1

We have spent one glorious week in London - and let me take just a moment to mention some of the wonderful memories we are sharing-- **another opportunity to see "Les Mis", our favorite play of all-times, and we are still ready to see it yet again, given the opportunity **Jerry and Carla riding on the bumper cars at Leicester Square--childhood revisited... **walking through the Sherlock Holmes Museum (and yes, Bev & Richard, there IS a Sherlock--we know because we visited with Dr. Watson and got all caught up on their lives... **worshipped twice at All-Soul's (where Dr. John Stott was preacher for many years) **saw Oxford through the eyes of Inspector Morse, one of our favorite British mysteries, visiting his pubs and many of the sites of filming **Carla & Jerry stumbled on the World Premier of "Its a Boy/Girl Thing" and there was Elton John! **shopping at Harrods, Selfridge's and Marks & Spencer (Jo's boots have NOT been purchased yet)  

The Christmas Adventure begins!

The first day of our adventure - presently in the DFW Airport preparing to board. Our two resident photographers (Jo and Carla) are already busy snapping photos, which means Mary gets a vacation from always snapping photos - and it also means Mary gets to BE in the pictures. (After our honeymoon, as my parents looked at the pictures of the occasion, my Mom turned to us and said "Mary, were you there?" Obviously I had taken every single photo!) Our thanks to our friend, Brenda Cooke, who graciously picked us up at Love Field and transported us to DFW--what an act of love and caring! We were so excited to meet up with Carla, who was already at DFW, that we didn't even stop for lunch with Brenda. However, we hope we will make amends on our return trip. Today - Midland and Dallas - and tomorrow London! Merry Christmas to each of you - and we hope you find a moment during this special season to check our blog and see what is happening on this Great Adventure. Love, Mary 

December 8th - a new addition to our family

Greetings - may we introduce you to our new home on wheels? This was not a part of our plans for these few weeks back in Midland, but it happened--there it sat, parked in an RV park in Las Cruces NM, which we just happened to be browsing through in anticipation of going to Las Cruces camping after the first of the year, and bearing a "for sale" sign in its window. Now it is truly ours, and after the first of the year, we will put "Sweet Mille" (our first RV) on the market. We have had such a good time traveling in her, and we know she will bring joy to her next owners as well. Meanwhile, we look forward to getting better acquainted with our new rig. Right now we are totally preoccupied with preparations to leave for London next Tuesday. We will rendevous with our kids in Dallas and fly out in the late afternoon. We are all so excited about being in London for three weeks - seeing the Christmas sights and lights, hearing all the wonderful Christmas music in St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey as well as Royal Albert Hall, and just enjoying our time with one another in this most unusual Christmas for us. In the meantime, we pray all God's blessings on each and every one of you, as we celebrate together the birth of our Lord and Savior. It really doesn't matter where we live, or where we spend Christmas, or what language we speak - God loved each one of us SO much that He sent us Jesus! Hallelujah!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our day was so blessed - and we hope yours was too. Here is our COMPLETE family on the porch of Jo & Scott's house (in front of their spectacular new handmade door!) We thought it would be the four of us--and just before supper, Scott went out on an errand ("be back in a minute")--and came back with Carla, who had flown in from Kansas City as a total surprise! While it was wonderful to have her with us for Thanksgiving, the real motivation is that Jo wanted her sister here for the opening of her photography showing tomorrow evening. Along with our friend from Enid, Pat Mundy, we are about to go to the Justins to hang Jo's photographs. Have a blessed week-end! Love and grateful thanks to each of you! Mary & Jerry  

You are all invited! The showing will be up through January, if you should be in San Antonio. Best of all is that we get to be there for the opening! We are proud of her work - and you can see more on: CJoShoot@gmail.com CJoShoot.com Think of us on Saturday evening! Love, Mary and Jerry

It is wonderful to be home! As we left Missouri, in cold and rain, and headed into Oklahoma, the sky cleared, the temperature warmed up, the sun came out eventually, and the skyline was limitless--what a good sight! One night was spent at Quartz Mt. Park in southwest Oklahoma, near Hobart--it was a perfectly glorious evening, pleasant enough to have a campfire for cooking supper and sitting out..and a very brazen deer who obviously thought she owned the place nibbling on the grass in the next campsite! Our comings and goings didn't bother her in the least. We are SO glad we stayed for the opening of the Christmas season at Silver Dollar City. There were 4 million lights twinkling everywhere you looked..an absolute fairyland. We saw a superb musical production of Dicken's Christmas Carol. Above you see Phyllis Garrett (Monett MO), Sally Campbell (Marshall MO) and Mary with a SDC treat--more 'smores! There were charcoal fires going in fire pits so you could roast your own marshmallows--what a great idea!

Anything better than S'Mores??

Take a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, a bunch of milk chocolate Hershey bars, a roaring campfire, some long roasting sticks, a beautiful setting amidst changing trees, and some of your favorite people – and what do you have? A perfect day! Last Saturday evening, we had with us Garrett & Shannon Worley from Chesterfield MO (some of our “grandchildren”) and our dear friend Pat Mundy from Enid OK – and all of the ingredients listed above for an ideal time for making s’mores…and they were yummy, as evidenced by the photos of Jerry and Shannon!

Little bit of heaven--Table Rock Lake in the fall!

Each day it seems we turn to one another and say "Isn't this just the greatest?" We are the ONLY camper on our side of the campground (that would be the boat dock side as opposed to the swimming beach side--when we started camping here there was ONLY the boat dock site...the other area opened up years later and we have never been able to try it out--we just gravitate right back to the same old place!) Its been cool at nights...sometimes downright cold...some lovely days..and delightful rainy days as well. Last weekend it was a joy to share the days with Mike & Karen Price and kids Meredith and Spencer. These friends are much more than that - they are a vital part of our entire family.

It all started when Mike came to Missouri Valley College as a freshman in the early 70's and showed up on our doorstep to introduce himself. From then on, he was part of our family--lived with us off and on during his college days, took care of our daughters on many an occasion, and the relationship has continued on for many years. Jerry and Carla were both a part of their wedding in Dallas...while they lived in Oklahoma City, they became a part of my parents' life...and 18 years ago this past week, Jerry was with them at the hospital in OC when Meredith was born. And Spencer is a true OU fan, which endears him to me! Their travels have put them in the homes of both of our daughters over the past few years...God is so good to put folks like that into our lives, isn't He?

Today we travel to Pella IA with Carla to honor another of our close friends - Hutch Bearce, who was killed last summer in Michigan near their summer home. Bearces were a part of our lives when we became back-door neighbors in Marshall MO. This photo of Hutch and Carla was taken a year ago at Apple Butter Days in Marshall - a tradition that we all began about 35 years ago. Hutch was very gifted - and his contributions to higher education are enormous--let alone his contributions to our life! Hutch & Gretchen left an ad for a used pop-up camper taped to our front door one day - which we bought and enjoyed for over ten years. Along with the Garretts, we traveled together to the British Isles-- hiking Hadrian's Wall, staying in B&Bs, poking Hutch & Jerry to stay awake during Evensong at Wesminster Abbey on our arrival evening--many many precious memories! Hutch's last visit with one of our family was last year, when he and Gretchen visited in Jo & Scott's home in San Antonio while they were attending the Dean's Conference there. We look forward to sharing these two days with his family and lots of friends who will gather to laugh and cry together, and give thanks to God for the gift of Hutch's life. Please remember Gretchen, David and Kate in your prayers.

We return to Cape Fair on Monday--the trees (which may not be as vibrant as they could be due to the drought) are still glorious to us, whose fall usually consists of mesquites that don't turn! We will enjoy a drive into northern Arkansas on Tuesday, to spend a day with Wichita friends (Harriet & Fred vanBebber). Pat arrives from Enid on Wednesday to camp with us, and we will do Silver Dollar City all day Thursday. The Worleys from St. Louis will join us on Friday - Jerry is looking forward to taking the children fishing and sharing Cape Fair with them -- provided the weather cooperates. Right now the old weather man is calling for rain next weekend (as well as this weekend here), but we can always hope he is wrong.

I hope you are enjoying the fall as much as we are!

Love, Mary & Jerry

Weekend in TEXAS!

Friday, Oct. 6th Jerry and I are standing on the beach at Horseshoe Bay on Lake LBJ, where tomorrow Jerry will be officiating at the wedding of a young lady who grew up in our church in Midland (Jessica Marshall). Jessica is being married to her boyfriend of eight years, Nang, on this site--a beautiful setting and a wonderful weather day. Occasions like this surely have to be one of the greatest blessings of ministry--to share in the lives of folks so intimately that on the occasion of their wedding, they ask you to be a part. We are so grateful to be here! Nang and Jessica included Jo and Scott with us at the rehearsal dinner at her parent's new home on the lake last night--an evening with a full moon reflecting off the lake, and the joy of sharing the meal with the Marshalls to catch up on their life. Jo and Scott have joined us at the lakehouse of our friends, Glenn & Louan Rogers, on Lake LBJ - we have had a couple of days of visiting, walking, eating - and sitting on the back porch looking at the spectacular view. In fact, yesterday morning began with breakfast on the porch and the coffee and conversation went on so long that it became lunch time! We will have breakfast together at the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls (an institution around here) and then part company. We are heading back to Monett MO, where we left our RV in the Garrett's driveway (Mike and Phyllis Garrett's claim to fame is now their grandsons, Eli and Silas, whom you met in prior blogs.) On Tuesday we will head towards Cape Fair on Table Rock Lake for an extended stay - we have no cell service there, and certainly no internet access, so there is no telling when we can write another blog! PS - Sunday - a glorious wedding..what a radiant bride in her wedding dress with barefeet, being brought from her parent's lake house to the beach in their boat driven by her Dad! All the wedding party had leis brought from Hawaii, and that even included ME! I felt so special! The pastor (who did not go barefooted as all the rest of the wedding party) wore a long lei of green leaves. Blessings and hugs to all of you.

St. Louis Zoo

Grandma Mary and children in front of elephants Is there anything more fun than a zoo, and especially a zoo with youngsters? During our week in St. Louis, we spent lots of special times with Garrett and Shannon Worley. A week ago the day was spent at the St. Louis Zoo—what a treasure the city of St. Louis has in this zoo! Our highlight was to meet Melia (meaning “strong and beautiful”), the seven-week old baby elephant. Can you see her back there by her mama? She did not allow her mom to get more than a foot or two away and Melia was right back beside her, usually underneath her. They were just a delight to watch. The elephant on the left of the picture is now pregnant, so the St. Louis Zoo will be blessed with another baby elephant come next February. The Zoo folks tell us the lines to see the baby when she went on display were just enormous, but fortunately for us, the crowd was very light when we visited. Tim and Jerry and penguins When you have Carla Hilton, life-time collector of penguin memorabilia, for a daughter, we would dare not miss the penguins! They were darling and great fun to watch. Jerry and our dear friend, Tim Garrett, tried to look like penguins to blend in with the crowd, but I don’t think they were very successful, do you? Our time in St. Louis was so special—our thanks to Janelle and Tim for sharing their lives with us—and their children! For newcomers to our blog, Janelle and daughter Jo were roommates in Chicago for several years, so we just adopted her into our family as well. If she looks familiar to Midland friends, Janelle came for Jerry’s retirement weekend at FPC. Janelle, Shannon and elephants We are now on a farm outside of Rolla MO and enjoying every minute of it. The scenery is spectacular…nights are cold and crisp…days are sunny and bright…great porches to sit on and watch fall come upon the Ozarks…time to practice our musical instruments…a road to walk down and back each day (literally only ONE road – this farm is at the end of the county road so there is only one way to go!)…time to reflect on all our blessings – and you are all part of that!

Weekend in St. Louis

Happy 12th Anniversary to Jo and Scott! Shannon and I are sitting at Forest Park participating in a picnic prior to the Balloon-Glow last Friday evening…and our picnic supper brings back memories of twelve years ago this weekend, when we celebrated the rehearsal for Jo and Scott’s wedding by enjoying Popeye’s chicken and biscuits in a park…Popeye’s is still just as good as it was twelve years ago, and their marriage is even better than ever. I haven’t told you all that their home is going to be on the Mahnke Park Homes Tour in mid-October…you’ll hear more about that later! Balloon-Glow prior to the balloon race on Saturday afternoon was spectacular! Jerry had to indulge the children (Shannon and Garrett Worley) in their own hot-air balloons, while we walked around the Park after our picnic and watched a multitude of balloons being inflated with hot air and put into the sky for our delight. As it got darker, all the balloons would be made to glow on a set signal (horn), by the fire heating the air, as you see in the picture below. The energizer bunny (called the Hot Hare Balloon!) was the biggest of them all – and what a colorful display it was an unforgettable experience. Look who we got to meet! Please meet Elijah Garrett, son of Pat and Jessica Garrett, and grandson of our good friends, Mike and Phyllis Garrett of Monett MO. Eli came out to Jellystone Park (where we were camped on Saturday) to make our acquaintance, bringing with him his father Pat and his aunt and uncle, Tim and Heather Garrett. Jerry had officiated at the wedding of Pat and Jess two years ago, the fall after our retirement (and also the marriages of both of Pat’s brothers in earlier years.) What a joy to meet this delightful one year old…Jo would be so proud of him, for he uses sign language very well! And he never met a stranger! This has been a glorious rainy day in St. Louis…Babler State Park is well–soaked, but we are safe and dry in Sweet Mille (our RV). Unfortunately, the cook-out and s’mores with Garrett and Shannon had to be postponed until tomorrow. We will be going into town tomorrow to join Garrett for lunch at his school. Tuesday we plan to see the new baby elephant at the St. Louis Zoo, so we’ll be going back to Forest Park.

Southern Gospel Picnic

Use your imagination - and picture this: The Homestead Pickers, a music group at Silver Dollar City, are gathered on the front porch of the old homestead with all their variety of musical instruments readily at hand...and tucked back in the corner, there stands Jerry with his fiddle under his chin, backing up the group as they play through their show. Can you see it? Isn't that great! We spent the last three days attending the Southern Gospel Picnic at Silver Dollar City - and first-time event for SDC and judging from the crowds and enthusiasm, it will be a continuing event! But best of all was when we learned that the Homestead Pickers would have a jam session at the close of each day and anyone could come and join them. The last thing Jerry's fiddle teacher in Wichita told him was to find some folks to jam with, just jump in and DO IT. And he did...and he had such a great time. We heard marvelous gospel groups and were even entertained by Dr. Dennis Swanburg with his enthusiastic gospel message (he was MUCH more entertaining than when he did his introductions to the Mayberry RFD video series!) Every evening we had two more hours of entertainment in the Echo hollow Theatre at SDC--if you like gospel music, I suggest you check it out next year. Now we are enjoying a couple of relaxing days at the campground before leaving for St. Louis. This evening we will go to Branson for dinner at the Hard Luck Diner--where all the wait staff are good singers and one of them is always entertaining at the mike. We ate there last spring with Carla and are eager to go back. It was unbelievable on Friday to think that all those folks were at SDC and we didn't see anyone we knew - but on Saturday we were blessed to run into our dear friend Gayle Edwards from Crane (you might remember I mentioned last February that her husband Bill had died from cancer--he and Jerry were friends from grade school on). And yesterday we met Mike and Phyllis Garrett from Monett AND Phyllis's sister Linda and husband Mitch Garrett from Louisville who were passing through the area on a camping vacation. Linda has been a special friend for many years as well - she and Carla share the same birthday and even celebrated their birthdays together once when Carla was about 4 and Linda was ????...oh well...Linda spent part of her career as a Christian Educator in the hills and hollers of Phelps,KY and invited Jerry down to do a preaching mission at their two little mission churches--certainly one of the highlights of Jerry's ministry. So it was a glorious day to all be together at Silver Dollar City. So until next time - say a good word for Jesus!