Sunday Funday

J

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you all had a restful day today!

Our rest day was full of all sorts of pleasant adventures!

Joelle has been very committed to finding the best possible hammocking spots. She nailed it tonight.

This morning we joined First English Lutheran Church for their worship service. This is a little congregation in the middle of a small town. When we got there, we were informed they were celebrating their pastor’s 50th ordination anniversary, and so the service would be a bit different. And a bit different it was! The pastor’s family came in from all over the place. The grandkids did special music performances. The church’s 4-person choir performed. We sang all of his favorite hymns. And best of all, they invited us to join them for lunch after the service! Micah was ecstatic to find out they would have fried chicken, so we couldn’t say no.

This afternoon our college friends Kayla and Nate made a two-hour trip to come see us!

Kayla and Nate, it really means so much to us that you would take the time to make the trip to come see us. Thank You!

We played mini-golf, (where I smoked everyone and beat Micah by 6 strokes) ate mango ice cream, found Rutherford B. Hayes’ home and burial grounds, discovered a 9/11 memorial in town, and finished by going to a local pizza joint (where the young waitress was sometimes a little too honest about the quality of their food…).

The three mini-golf losers all trying to determine which hole is actually the right on.

Now I’m sitting in a hammock during golden hour with a cool summer breeze.

What a great day.

This past week has been a good one. The good moments overshadow the hard ones. In fact, sometimes I forget about the first 4 days of last week altogether! It’s amazing how quickly we can forget, which is why, I guess, Micah and I want to keep a blog. I think it’s important that we remember the struggle. It helps us remember the accomplishment. It’s important to remember the good days to help us through hard days when they come again. Just like touching the piece of wreckage from the 9/11 memorial makes you reflect on that day, so I too want something to look back on long after this trip is done. 

But as my aunt Angie predicted, the best part of this trip isn’t the places, the sights, or the landscape, but it is the people we meet along the way. When I think about this past week, the best parts that stick out are the people: Kevin and Frances and their wonderful hospitality, Shannon and the Reiskytls who came to our rescue, the folks at church today welcoming us and asking about our trip, strangers who make sure we’re okay and admire our courage, and our friends today who made the sacrifice to be with us. These really are the highlights.

Thanks for making the journey to see us. It was marvelous to see you guys again!

I’m excited to see Maine. I’ve never been there before! But I’m most excited for the platform this kind of trip provides to meet and be with people.

Here’s to a new week, new adventures, and new relationships.

Today’s Stats:

Pieces of fried chicken eaten this week: 14
Hole-in-ones at putt-putt: 1
Miles biked: 4.5