Kansas "mountains"

We drove to Arkansas last weekend.  We were going to take the pickup and do some off main road adventuring.  But it rained buckets and Al wasn't too keen on going on dirt (mud) roads!

 But as we came upon Fredonia, I said, "I've always wanted to check out those 'mountains'!"

So we drove into Fredonia.

 We looked up the hills on Maps.  We could see that the larger hill (to the left) didn't have any roads on the hill itself, but the smaller one did.

Driving by the larger hill was not impressive from the road.

 We turned around here.

 Drove back into town.

 Drove by a livestock auction place...

 ...that was situated right beside a veterinary clinic.  We found that ironic.

 Eat beef.....or zebra?

 There are some charming homes.

 Tree fairy?

 We took a wrong turn

 I'd like to know the story behind this house.

 Going up hill #2.

 At the top is a little park.  Flag at half-staff.  The Governor ordered flags in Kansas at half staff in memory of Officer Kunze who lost his life in the line of duty.

 We climbed a lookout tower.  We could see Highway 400 that we come in to town on.

 Highway 400 going toward Joplin

 The gas station we usually stop at (using zoom.  From the lookout tower, it is much further away)

A little trail.  

 I told Al I'd meet him at the bottom of the trail.

 Another charming house

 The road that goes to the round-a-bout and the gas station.

 Cool pickup!

 Hope he's not planning to drive the highway with the doggie in the back!

 "In God we Trust" or at least we should.  Yes, I agree.  Trusting Him is not always easy but it is best to know He knows and cares for us!

On the road to Joplin.  We usually take the road to Webb City but decided last minute to go south at Pittsburg to I-44....

.... so we could stop at Starbucks!

 It began to rain in earnest and continued all the way to the kids' house!

I know some laugh at our Kansas "mountains" or "hills".  We do have lots of hilly places, even though people think of Kansas as flat.  This morning I was reading Isaiah 40 where God speaks about mountains and hills.

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
    Who knows enough to give Him advice or teach Him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does He need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach Him what is right
    or show Him the path of justice?

Sometime, read the whole chapter.  I LOVE it!  I have especially loved verse 11 and was a verse I held onto when my children were small.  Speaking of children....that's where we were headed to see!

A birthday celebration at "the barn"

September seems to be a big month for our family for birthdays.  Our son's birthday, Al's Dad's birthday (he would have been 95), my youngest brother, my nephew, Al's nephew, Allen and also his youngest brother all have September birthdays!

 Al's siblings and us decided to get together to have a little family celebration at The Barn in Burrton.  We had heard good things about it!

I made a card for Sid.

The portions were HUGE!!!
Allen and I decided to share a plate.
It was as good as we had heard!





After we had eaten, some of the workers came by and rang a big cow bell and sang happy birthday to both Sid and Al.  And then gave them a free pie! 

They both chose the peanut butter pie!

We stayed until closing catching up on our kids' lives, talking politics, laughing and sharing concerns and also talking about the Lord.  He is sovereign and in control, even when things seem to be out of control! 

Isaiah 46:3-4 

 Listen to Me, 

   you whom I have upheld

          since you were conceived

      and have carried since your birth.


Even to your old age and grey hairs
    I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

What a very precious and dear family!  I am sure the staff were ready for us to go on home so they could clean our table!  But really, they were so very nice and sweet and made us want to go back some day once again!

Leaving Colorado

We all got up early and were out the door by 7AM.  

 After dropping Jill off at the airport, we got on Interstate 70 for the drive back to Kansas.  The kids were headed all the way back to Arkansas, another 5 hours beyond us, so it would be late when they got home!

I love the scenery along 70!  A lot of nothingness! 

 When we stopped for lunch, we ran into Kansas friends!   These couples and a doctor friend who works in our town.




 Sometime, we need to take some of these back roads and see where they lead to!

Josh's van hit the 100,000 mile marker.  Jill had told us that in their family, they sing "car, car, we love our car" every 10,000 miles.  Josh made up a song for their car:

Our car is getting older

older every mile

Our car is getting older

it's old, and so out of style

our car is getting older

and we have the proof

100,000 miles 

and a very saggy roof.

 Old and new

The kids are really good travelers.  

And they love their Daddy to read to them

    We began to see dark, ominous clouds.

 

We ran into a downpour!  It was a deluge!!  I have never seen anything like it before!  Al had to slow to 30 mph.  Many cars had pulled off to the side of the road since you could barely see in front of you!  We only saw 1 car in the ditch though.

Luckily we made it home safely, as did Josh's family.

And Jill too.  

A day in Denver

The day after the wedding, we took a stroll downtown to find a donut shop.

A sign in English and in Japanese.

We found a Krispy Kreme!

 It was interesting to see that they had an Uber delivery!  Those would be some pricey donuts!

We decided to go check out the science museum.

This was pretty cool!  A scale of what the Egyptian temple would have looked at during the time period of Joseph (Genesis 37-50)! 

 I LOVE the story of Joseph!  He endured so much but continued to trust in God, even when sold as a slave.  God had a plan and purpose for not only Joseph for the people of Israel.

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.  Gen. 50:20

There was a Mindbender area, a place full of puzzles, brainteasers and interactive challenges.  The family loved it!

                                                                              Al was determined to figure this out.  

The one thing I do NOT like about science museums is the world slant/view of how the world was formed and what happened to the dinosaurs, how we evolved, etc.  Not my view as a Christian who believes that the Bible is God's very Word to us and He tells us many things in the Bible that I know and believe are true. 

"In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands."  Psalm 102:25

He breathed life into us.  We did not come from apes.  Man lived at the same time as the dinosaurs because God did not bring death into the world until after sin entered the world.  A meteor did not wipe out the dinosaurs.  Yes, Elijah, the flood did take the majority of them, although we do believe there were some on the ark also.  

 I love the Job 38-42!    Men think they are so smart.  We really aren't.

 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?

 Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.

 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line across it?
 On what were its footings set,
    or who laid its cornerstone—
 while the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?"

Please read this whole passage and if you have questions about evolution versus creation, check out the Institute for Creation Research.  You can order books to help you answer questions you might have.  We are so grateful for the Institute for Creation Research that have helped us to understand the Biblical view of the creation of the world.   We choose to believe what God tells us in the Bible.  It was a good teaching opportunity for the kids.  Someday we will need to go to the Creation museum near Cincinnati.

The best thing I liked about the museum was a collection of gem sculptures by Vasily Konovalenko.

These are not painted sculptures.  They are made from gems!

Expedition Health was a pretty cool area where you could learn more about YOUR body!

We went back to the hotel for a rest.  Look at this cool car we saw!

It happened to be Mindy's birthday so after a rest, we stopped by their apartment to sing Happy Birthday to her!

She wasn't feeling the best so we didn't stay too long.  

We decided to eat at the aquarium restaurant.

 Many beautiful fish!  God created such unique fish, each so very different!  We saw spotted ones, purple/yellow ones, Nemo ones.  God just oozes with imagination and creativity!!