the Grabers: A new grandbaby!

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

A new grandbaby!

Grandbaby #6 arrived so we went to see her last week!

There were several health concerns during the pregnancy and this baby that was due on my birthday at the end of the month ended up scheduled to arrive sooner.

There were a few scary moments - she didn't breath at first and needed oxygen,

but we are so thankful to the Lord for His mercy in His care over her!

They named her Tenley Aspen.

She didn't need to stay in NICU long at all - so grateful!

They had told them that they could expect to go home

without her

but it ended up that was not the case!!

Allen could not take off the same amount of days that I could, so we drove separately. My friend, Ruth, has a son living in Denver, so I had someone to go with me.

We stopped along the way to see my friend, Sheryl, who had moved away. At our age, it is a good idea to stop every 2 hours so we don't develop blood clots. And a friend is a good excuse to stop!

Ruth enjoys reading my blog about all the places I stop when I travel, and she was up to doing some of it too.

The Cathedral of the Plains (The Basilica of St. Fidelis) and graveyard in Victoria, just off I-70 was one place we stopped.

It is amazing to see this cathedral in the small farming community of Victoria. Gentlemen farmers from England settled here in 1873 and named their village after their queen.

In 1876, poor immigrants from southern Russia joined them. These were Volga-Germans, fleeing from service in the Czar's army and the dangers to their Catholic faith. It is very similar to our ancestors who arrived in 1874, although they were Mennonite.

The British found the conditions here rather extreme in contrast to their life in England and most returned to England. In 1876, a simple frame lean-to church was built. Two more churches were built before this final one, which was begun in 1908.