Going to a party!

We knew that we wanted to get left by 3 AM in order to make it to the "party" in time!  Al and I slept on the sofas downstairs so we wouldn't wake up the family when we left.  

We both were not sleeping deeply and finally we got up and left the house by 2:30.  Our coffee pot was already packed so we didn't have coffee to start with.  Jill had said we could make it on their machine, but the smell of rich coffee would have woken them up for sure.  We passed Starbucks but they would not be open for another 3 hours!

We settled for coffee at a gas station.  It had just been brewed by a young girl who was picky about her coffee and really, it was quite good!  

When we did pop in at a Starbucks for the real stuff, we heard others talking about going to the party too.  "Which direction are you going?" people were asking eachother.  It seemed like everyone was headed to see the eclipse someplace in the country!  We stopped at a Rest Area for a bathroom break and everyone seemed to be headed toward The Spot to see it.  At a gas station for another break, there was a long line waiting for the bathrooms and EVERYONE was headed to see it.

Unfortunately, many areas were covered in clouds and so it was a game trying to figure out where we would be able to see the eclipse!  Al had made a yellow line on our map of where the area of totality would be.  We needed to get to one of these spots that wouldn't be covered in clouds!

I would check the weather radar on my phone and we ruled out those towns that were said to be shrouded in rain clouds.

 We kept heading west.  We would leave clouds and be in sunshine, only to be wrapped in clouds again.

We passed Paris.

Not this one.

Paris, Missouri

Population approx. 1220

We were going to go south at Moberly, but due to an accident - we were told a gravel truck had spilled gravel all over the highway - the road was blocked by a fire truck.  We kept going.  My Google Maps showed traffic tie up further on so we turned onto a dirt road.

 Ok.  We were in the boonies.  And the area was getting cloudier and cloudier.  I just knew we wouldn't be able to see the eclipse.  So sad.  I about cried.

We called Jill because my phone weather map was not working.  I think so many people were trying to get online, it must have been blocked.  Jill tried to guide us to a place where there would be sunshine.

 Al made the decision to go to New Franklin.  Population 1,145.  Just north of Booneville.

 I lLoved that it wasn't overcrowded!  I do not like crowds.  

 Go figure, having lived in Tokyo.  I dealt with these conditions as a kid.

I was happy to be in the inaka - the country - the boonies!

 See those clouds?  We still weren't sure we would be able to catch the eclipse, but just as we set down our lawn chairs on main street, the clouds seemed to part.

 We put on our special eclipse glasses and watched in amazement at the moon shadowing the sun.

There was a guy there who had a special filter for his camera and he let us look through it at the photos he was taking.

 It got pretty dark!  The street lamps came on.

 And during the period of totality, we took off our glasses.

And put them back on as the moon swept pass the sun 

Everyone (maybe there were a dozen of us) clapped for God's magnificent display!

Then we packed up our chairs and headed south toward Booneville, named after a relative of Daniel Boone  

 We hit traffic!  The party was over and people were headed home.

 As we crawled onto I-70, we decided we were not in the mood to crawl 100 miles all the way to Kansas City!

 We pulled off at the nearest exit, 4 miles down the road.  Overlooking I-70.

 A few other cars exited also, but we were by ourselves for the most part on the county roads.

 Give me a good country road anyday!  My daddy loved to go on off roads too.

 You get to see things you normally don't see.  And I KNOW we were on roads we probably will never go on again.  Especially those farm roads north of New Franklin.  But what an adventure!

 We bypassed Warsaw.  No, not this one.

Popoulation approx. 2100

 Isn't this a beautiful drive?!

 So much nicer than crawl, stop, crawl, stop

 Small towns and country roads and big beautiful sky!

All our children were able to watch the eclipse in their states.

Not in totality, but it was a good show anyway!

 And then, 18 hours after leaving Wisconsin, we were home from the party - back in  Kansas.

Looking forward to the next party in 2024!

Celebration!

On Sunday morning, Jill, Adam and Staci went to church early to practice.  Allen and I made sure the girls had their breakfast and got dressed, ready and to church on time!  Adam's parents, brother and aunt also came to share in the day.  

 Adam finished his sermon series on Ruth.  

When Naomi returned from Moab with her daughter-in-law, Ruth, the people in  Bethlehem said "Can this be Naomi?"  Her reply was "Don't call me Naomi (which means "pleasant").  Call me Mara (bitter) because the Almighty has made my life very bitter."

Often when circumstances go terribly wrong or tragic, we blame God and get so angry and bitter.  But we should not blame Him!  Wouldn't you rather want to walk with Him, hold His hand as you walk a road that is difficult?!  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He is the one DEAR friend you can count on!  He is GOOD!  Trust Him!  

I am so very sad the children have moved so far away, but I KNOW God brought it about.   It is in His plan!  He orchestrated it without a doubt!  So I rejoice in it and I will choose NOT to be bitter.  Rather, I will take this time to hold onto Him and draw closer to Him.

God filled Naomi's arms once more.  Ruth married the kinsman redeemer, Boaz, and they gave Naomi a child who ended up becoming the grandfather of David!  And Who else is in the ancestral line?   Jesus Christ Himself!  Matthew 1, Luke 3

And I know God will fill my arms once again with joy in His presence!

When we got back to the house, we had lunch together.

Look at Al's pretty napkin arrangement! 

After lunch, we gathered in the family room to read a skit the children wrote.  They got their idea from Adventures in  Odyssey.  We were all given lines.

Claire, Ryan and I were foleys.  "A Foley artist is the person who creates sound art. Foley artists use creativity to make viewers believe that the sound effects are actually real. .."

It was a great play with many laughs!

The day before, Hannah had made the sign for Sophia's special day.

Didn't she do a good job?!                        

                               Time for cake!

anticipation 

Time for presents!  

And she put it together by the end of the day! 

We also set up a volleyball net

 We had a wonderful time in Wisconsin!  Al and I planned to get up at 2:30 am because we wanted to get to the area of totality for the eclipse so the family gave us their silly waves before they went to bed!  They were not going to be in the mood to get up in the middle of the night to wave goodbye in the driveway!