Last day with the kids

On Sunday morning, the humans had gone to church for Sunday School.  Al and I were going to join the family for 2nd service.  Kobi was sad his family had left.

 Al and I showered and also packed up the car before going to church ourselves.

Hannah was on the worship team!  We picked a great weekend to see the family!

(Isn't it funny how in many churches people don't want to sit on the front rows?)

 Adam preached on parables.  Today's sermon was on the sower.  One teacher said it should be called the Parable of the Soils.  What kind of soil are we?

Do we listen to the Holy Spirit as He instructs us or are we "stiff-necked" - not turning to Him?
    Is my soil rocky? not allowing the seed to grow?
          Is my soil shallow?  When suffering comes, the seed withers because it has no root.
   Other seed falls among thorns that choke out the Word.
Do I take in the Word of God?  Do I have a firm foundation?

Suffering often softens a compact soil; softening us to Him. But some people harden their hearts to the Lord.  They shake their fists at God when trials come, blaming Him, rather than taking His hand and holding onto Him as He takes them through hard times.
 

After church, Jill took the older girls to the school to get ready for the play. (Sophie had to perform several times - on Friday for the gradeschools, then in the evening, Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.)  Hannah was going to help hand out tickets so she needed to be there early too and Jill was going to save seats!  Adam was going straight from church to be a parent back stage helper.

We took Claire and stopped at her favorite place - Arby's!

Here is a side story:  A while back, we got a call from Claire.  She was all excited.  You see, they have been trying to get us to move to Wisconsin ever since they moved there 3 years ago.  But Papa has said he is unhirable at age 64.  No one wants a pharmacist at that age, when they can hire a guy straight out of college for less $$.  Plus, how long would an old guy work, right?  Well, Claire had gone to Arby's with her mommy on a date and she saw a sign.

So  she called him to tell him she had a job for him in Wisconsin and we could move there!  Isn't that so sweet?  

After lunch, Kobi gave us a show.

I took him for a walk - he was so excited to be outside!  I got to thinking, with the COVID19 now, won't he get so very spoiled having his human family with him ALL THE TIME!!! 

Then we went to see Sophia's play one more time.  Great seats in the middle!  Thanks to Jill and her saving powers!

 When the play was finished, we went back to the house.  Jill and the girls went with the entire cast to Culvers to celebrate!  Luckily, Culvers knew they were coming.  They do this each year.

Adam's family came to the house and had brought supper for us.  Before supper though, Adam took us all downstairs to show us Kobi's skills.  They trained Kobi to run on the treadmill when the weather is so cold, like -20 outside.  Jill can't handle walking him outside in such cold temps!

For dessert, Sandi had S-mores and had each of us read Bible verses as an object lesson to go along with it.  Sandi is so creative that way!!

The Utechts had to leave before Jill and the girls came home as they had their church community group coming to their house.  

It was time for us to get on the road too.  We thought it would be best to get out of the family's hair so they could unwind from such a busy, busy weekend!  

I want to share some pictures from the girls' rooms first to show their artistic expression:

My heart is FULL seeing how God is using our children/grandchildren's lives!!  So sad that Allen doesn't want to work for Arby's (ha!!)  We will miss these kids SO MUCH!!!  And now with the COVID19, who knows when we will see them again?

We thought we'd drive for about 4 hours or so. 

We made it to Cedar Rapids for the night.

A full Saturday in Wisconsin!

Saturday was such a BIG day, filled with activities!  In the morning, I went to Jill's church to attend the first session of their women's Awaken conference for area wide women.  

Before it began, I HAD to visit with a friend, Xochitl Dixon, who attends our daughter's church.

Xochitl, or Xochi (pronounced "so-she") was at her book table, promoting her book, "Waiting for God."  You can purchase it in bookstores or online.  See her service dog, Callie, at her feet?

  

You can click on some information about Xochitl here.  She is also one of the authors of the daily devotional book "The Daily Bread."  I have read that devotional booklet since I was a little kid!  You can receive your free monthly copy in the mail!  Click here! Of course, you can give a donation too!

She is great at taking selfies.  I pretty much stink at it!!  

Seriously!!  My arms are too short!  Case in point:

Then Xochi took a picture of Jill and me.

 Jill was really busy with last minute details.

Cheri Wagner was their speaker and Jill introduced her as they knew one another from school at Moody and she is a good friend of Adam's sister.  She was an incredible speaker and I was sad to only be able to listen to one session!!  I want to purchase her Bible study books!

The MOST important thing we can do is walk hand in hand with our Saviour - each day!  Imitate Him!  Follow Him!

I was sad to have to leave after session 1 and not get to go to the workshops, but Allen and I were going to a high school music contest in OshKosh to listen to Hannah, our granddaughter, sing!  We met Adam's parents there too.

Hannah and her fun friends!

Hannah got a 1* in all her events!!  She would be able to go to State!  (except now, with the Corona virus, that won't happen.  Sadness.)

When we got home from the concert, there was just a little time to play Barbies with Claire.  Papa had spent the morning playing Barbies with her and now it was my turn!  She had a new grocery set.  Of course, if we were playing with it today, we might say things like "I need to be sure to go when there aren't a lot of people!  Stay 3 feet away!  I need to make sure I use wipes or wash my hands after.  I need a roll of toilet paper.  There's none!"



Adam and Jill were busy at church with cleanup, so we took the girls to Culvers, because when you are in Culver's country, you just have to!!

In the evening it was time to go to see Sophia in the play "Frozen".  (Again, grateful this took place at the start of the month, and not now, when the Corona virus has made cancellations of these things.)

 Claire enjoyed playing with my phone.

 

"Let it go!"

Sophia's character was Oaken (there weren't enough boys who wanted to do the play so they had to change some roles) and she did a great job!!  She has a beautiful voice!

This one is fuzzy but at least you can hear it.  (from another phone that isn't compatible with mine I guess)

 Hannah and her friends had sat in the front row and when Sophia  came out to give a bow at the end, these kids jumped to their feet and cheered!

When we got home, we were ready to crash on the guest bed!!!

Des Moines to Wisconsin

I am so glad we took this trip a couple of weeks ago - before the virus hit and has made us homebound!  Well, I am sequestered in my home, but Allen has gone to work.  He may stay there longer and become busier and busier if this virus gets out of control, as he works at the hospital as Director of Pharmacy.  I listened to church on-line this morning. I should say 'churches'.  I listened to our church, our son-in-law's church AND son's church too.  My heart is full!! 

"When I am afraid, I will trust in You."  Psalm 56:3

"When the foundations are being destroyed, 

         what can the righteous do?  

The Lord is in His holy temple; 

     the Lord is on His heavenly throne.  

He observes the sons of men."  Psalm 11:3

We praise Him in the suffering.  He is still King over all the earth!  Now, continuing our journey....

We spent the night in West Des Moines where we had points for a free night's stay at a hotel.  This side of town is all new.

 As I was getting ready the next morning, I realized that I had forgotten some of my make-up at home so we made a stop to get some.  There was a pretty fancy Walmart closeby. 

 As we were leaving town, the traffic going west was backed up.  There must have been an accident.  We didn't see it, but perhaps it just happened.

 I wondered what sort of town What Cheer was.  Seemed like an Amish sounding town, like Charm, Bird-in-Hand, or Harmony. 

I looked it up and here is what I found:  

Once a thriving coal mining and agricultural town of over 5,000, What Cheer, Iowa stands today at a dwindling population of 646. Largely abandoned, What Cheer’s rusting infrastructure today seems incongruous with its peculiar name. But a deeper look into its etymology reveals an absurd and widely disputed naming history.

There are a wide variety of theories as to how What Cheer was the name of choice. Some believe that it stems from the 15th century British saying “what cheer with you,” often simplified to “wotcher.” Or perhaps, some believe, it originated when a Scottish coal miner exclaimed “what cheer!” upon striking it rich. What Cheer was founded in 1865 under the name of Petersburg, named after its creator, Peter Britton, who staked his claim for 14 acres of Iowan land in the mid-19th century. But the Post Office rejected this toponym, forcing a name change December 1, 1879. “What Cheer” was chosen by store owner Joseph Andrews, and his exact reasoning is unknown to this day.

A more elaborate theory proposes that Andrews got the toponym from the saying of “what cheer, Netop” (translating to ‘what cheer, friend’) that was popularized in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. The phrase was first uttered by the Narragansett Native Americans, who combined English with their native language to greet the British colonists. An image of that encounter and the phrase, “What cheer?” appear on the seal of the City of Providence. "

So, not Amish.  I sure enjoy the internet where we can look things up and satisfy our curiosity!

We ran into a little snow.

This is Dubuque and the bridge that crosses over to Wisconsin.  We found a Starbucks on the Iowa side and then and crossed over.

Crossing the Mississippi

 We look for this barn each time, expecting that we will see it crashed into itself one day.

 We got to the kids' house around 2.  The girls were at school.  Jill and Adam were at church.  Jill had a HUGE women's conference she was preparing last minute for.  So we were picking Claire up from school while Adam would get Sophia.  Hannah was going to be at school for awhile yet.

Kobi was so excited to see us!

Kobi and his a special "blankie".

He and Al rested for awhile.

 At 3, we went to pick up Claire.  Kobi went along, of course!

That is how Claire and Kobi like to play!  And Papa had to show off his skills.