Ephesians 5:10

Kristin's 13th Year!

2011-12-17T17:40:00.001-08:00

For both of our daughters, Michael and I put a great deal of thought into training opportunities throughout their lives. One of the things that I believe God put on my heart years ago was the Jewish concept of "Bat Mitzvah". What a concept! Ushering in the age of responsibility, putting your childish ways behind you, beginning to participate in religious and community activity all on your own. In America we just hold our breath and HOPE that WE survive their teenage years... most 13 years olds biggest responsibility is "putting out the garbage"! Not in our house!

When the girls turned 13 we chose a number of adult women who had a position of influence with our daughters. These women each had a spiritual maturity that had earned them the trust of Michael and me to speak into the lives of our daughters. We asked each of these godly women to take a character trait out of verses like 2 Peter 1:5-8, 1 Tim. 4:12 (faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perserverence, godliness, kindness, love, humility, purity and being an example in life). The ladies were to meet with our 13 year old or write her a letter. They could take it to whatever level they wished, but overall, needed to communicate the biblical character trait and provide for me a written description of what was discussed. This would be used to create a scrapbook so that these concepts could be referenced in the future.

This was accentuated by a gift to each 13 year old of a charm that represented either the person or the trait. For Kasey we chose Pandora, and for Kristin we chose Brighton.

Kristin just received her charm bracelet but Kasey has had hers for two years now and it is so very sweet to Michael and I that she can still walk thru her charm bracelet meticulously as to who gave her each and what trait they covered.

Either at their birthday (with Kasey) or at the end of this training time (with Kristin) we had a closing luncheon to wrap up the experience. This was a way to thank all of the dear women that participated as well as our opportunity to "have the last word" so to speak. We took this opportunity to have Michael address our daughters and challenge them toward spiritual maturity and to be passionate about their walk with the Lord. I took a few moments to address the families Christian Heritage. This was reflected a number of ways: in the inherited place settings, china, silver, linen napkins, etc. We also gave each daughter a study bible. Kristin's day was highlighted with the gift of her very godly great grandmother (Margaret Stark's) last bible. Kristin was named after this amazing studier of the Word. What a object lesson to hold a godly womens bible all tattered and torn, with years of writing in it with precious papers tucked in to the pages. Only one picture was found in her bible upon her death: one of her holding Kristin as a baby. So precious. Absolutely priceless.

These challenges got quite personal which brought many shed tears. With our oldest we had the luncheon in a restaurant but decided, since it was highly personal, that for Kristin we had the event in our home. This turned into an authentic English Tea which was so much fun! Lots of little tea sandwiches, crumpets and scones, devonshire cream and lemon curd... but more than anything it was meant to physically project Kristin's heritage and to make her feel like the guest of honor.

One thing we presented to both girls was a china plate. Kasey was given a plate from her grandmothers (on her fathers side) collection. Kristin was given the plate in the picture above which was her great grandmothers given to her on her wedding day, Dec 12, 1931. Grammie Bea passed away just last year at 104. Kristin had a sweet love for her grammie which made this plate hold deep meaning. The plates were NOT my idea. It came from a book I read called GENTLE PASSAGES by Robin Jones Gunn. Here is a synopsis:

Young Natalie, Robin’s eleven year old neighbor, was upset that her parents would not allow her to go to a particular movie with a group of her friends. Natalie felt that her parents were overprotective and could not understand her. Robin had been making chocolate covered cherries, and asked if Natalie would like to eat some with her while they talked. Robin then proceeded to dig through the garbage can and pulled out some paper plates stained from
hot dogs and baked beans! When Natalie asked if she had any other plates, Robin agreed that dirty paper plates really were not suitable to serving her guest. She went to a china cabinet and pulled out a beautiful china plate. She explained that these were very special plates of which she was “probably too protective.” Natalie agreed that Robin was right to be careful of such valuable
plates. At this moment, Robin went on to say, “that’s why I want to keep them clean and ready so I can use them to serve others.”

The story continued with the conversation between Robin and Natalie, and Natalie came to an understanding that she was like the china plate. Her parents were protective of her because they wanted her to be kept clean and set apart, so that she would be ready to serve others.
Robin and Natalie read together from the Bible, 2 Timothy 2:21 “If you stay away from sin you will be like one of these dishes made of purest gold– the very best in the house- so that Christ himself can use you for his highest purposes.”

Here is the complete verse from the Living Bible which is what I used at the Tea Party:

2Timothy 2:20-21 (TLB)

In a wealthy home there are dishes of gold and silver as well as some made from
wood and clay. The expensive dishes are used for guests, and the cheap ones are used in the kitchen or to put garbage in. If you stay away from sin, you will be like one of these dishes made of purest gold- the very best in the house- so that Christ himself can use you for his highest purposes.

These plates are hanging in each of our daughters rooms... a bit of an odd decoration for a teenagers room, but yet a wonderful, personal challenge to each and a daily reminder to keep their eyes on being used for God's highest purposes. We wrote these verses on the back of each plate and a special message from us.

Here are some pictures from this past weekends tea party. Not all of the ladies could attend as three of them are on the west coast and one just had a baby but as many as could attend did.

Here are some pictures of the table just to give you a glimpse into the day...

The tea cozy was my Mom's (who was not able to be there) but ironicly, we were able to visit Scotland this past year!

Kasey made the scones! She did a GREAT job!

Here is Michael (the only guy at the tea parrty!) presenting his challenge to Kristin. He also shared some points that he gleened from his bible study from that morning. It was VERY sweet.

Michael, Kristin and me!

Auntie Pammie from CT!

me, Kristin and Coach Foxen (volleyball and softball)

Kris and Aunt Cindy from CT!

Auntie Bev from Westerlo!

Stephanie, Kristin's middle School Sunday school teacher!

Grandma and Kristin...

The whole family... Kasey included!

Bottom line, both events were deeply personal and I hope made memories that will last a lifetime. The people that I've talked to seem to think that this was extraordinary. I say it was not... what it was, is INTENTIONAL.

So many birthdays go by with cake and ice cream, a silly song and lots of presents. I love parties... and believe me, my kids have had their share of parties, but I want more for my girls. Michael wants more for his girls. We only have a few years... it is our JOB to speak truth over them, to train them to reflect Christ, to talk about scriptural things as often as possible and to empower our children with as many tools in this life as they will need to do more for the kingdom of heaven. We believe that begins and ends with scripture. Did these events take planning? Absolutely. Did they take extra time? Yup. Will my girls ever look at their charm bracelets as just jewelry? Never. It came with a lesson... a lesson for life...and love... and godliness.

Only a few short years and our training of our girls will lessen substantially. Tea parties are of utmost importance for today. They are memories and lessons that will carry our children into their future and to set the spiritual bar for them that is higher than the status quo. How else will they become more like Christ under our watch? And anyway, Tea parties are fun... and we ALL will remember them forever!

The Devastation of IRENE...

2011-08-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

We've weathered a few storms in this area but I HAVE NEVER SEEN a storm as devastating as this one... Heres some shots of the storm and the day after...

Dukers Copper Roof rolled off like a sardine box...

Dukers guest house... and Rte 143 road colapse starting...

The town next to Westerlo... Clarksville...

This is our friends, The Richardsons, driveway... the culvert pipe is downstream...

Jerry Boons farm... and our road... Rte 143...

Our pond at max capacity... it was about 4 feet down... we didn't think it would fill until next spring...

Dukers Driveway after the storm...

The road colapse in front of Dukers...

The road collapse at Jerry Boons..

Westerlo Town Park...

My girls trying to float in a "bucket"...

THe Final Days of the EPIC Adventure 2011!

2011-07-16T16:38:00.001-07:00

These last few days are packed with long drives, no reservations and dinner in Walmart parking lots but it's made a GREAT adventure!

This was the first night I didn't have reservations... and CLEARLY, there was a reason that I did so much research... we pulled in and 80 year old, Shirley, met us in the dirt driveway and said she'd walk us to our site... Here it is (we could hardly open the door!):

Never the less, we had a GREAT time! Mike took the girls out for DQ and I sat on Shirleys front porch chewin the fat...

We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota which was our least favorite of all the parks but we got to see a glimpse of wild horses... that was cool!

We spent the night in our last reservation spot in Sturgis SD home of the huge motorcycle rally in August... the campground was called "Rush No More" campground... and it was a really sweet site... complete with paddocks with two foals, a nice heated pool and hot tub... it was also about 30 muntes from a Cabelas... BONUS!

Kristin has been working hard at getting her hunting license and in August will be taking her test for archery and hopes to be able to hunt with Michael this fall. So, with the anticipation of this, Michael bought is girl a sweet Bowtech Bow and all the fixin's. We even stopped at a second Cabela's for hunting boots... Kristin is formally PSYCHED!

The next morning, on our way out, we drove thru the Badlands... very interested to see what appeared on the terrain after erosion... we didn't spend a ton of time here but it was interesting to experience and added National Park #12 to our list.

Here was our view for most of the day...

This sign in Alberta cracked me up... it's a real place...

Yeah... there really is a place!

We're just TRUCKIN' across the upper part of the country... our final hours in the car... in total, we will have travelled over 8500 miles... filled the gas tank over 40 times, saw 12 National Parks and a handful of national historic sites, passed thru or stayed in 23 states and 1 Canadian province and been gone 23 days... all in all, PRICELESS! I'm humbled at having this opportunity and know we will treasure the memories that were made for a lifetime! We have such a rich heritage in this nation and such a beautiful landscape in which to live. I thank GOD for it all.

BANFF... a MAJOR destination on my bucket list. Check!

2011-07-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the encouragement of Susan Hull and years of having Banff on my bucket list we FINALLY got to Banff and it was so worth it... Almost magical... (sorry Joanna Gehr who doesn't like the word). Banff is one of the Canadian Rockies National Parks. It seemed that every time I saw a beautiful picture of an alpine scene, it was taken in Banff...so, it was time, I took some of those pictures... I will say that pictures just can't capture the beauty of this park, but I'll attempt to share my pictoral perspective...

We stayed right in the National Park and it was possibly the largest campground we have stayed in with amazing views and literally 2 miles from downtown Banff... which was kinda like Jackson Hole or Vail, CO... upscale but so cute...

The highlight of Banff is across the river and up the hill... to the Banff Springs Hotel. It's a castle...with a GREAT view! We went in it, and almost got lost! just amazing!

This was the back patio of the hotel... we brought the beauties with us...

Here's me and my stud-muffin... I think we're already planning in our little minds a long weekend gateway to this hotel... as we left a Scotsman came out and played his bagpipe which resonated thru the mountains... another peaceful moment...

This was the waterfall at the base of the hotel... they were starting rafting trips right around the corner from this site.

We caught this guy while driving to Lake Louise. Nice bear...

There seemed to be views like this around every bend... yeah, I have already filled an 8GB card...soon to fill a second... almost 3000 pictures... I'm a freak about pictures...

SO...oh my... I thought Banff was pretty? Then we came to Lake Louise, still in the National Park, just north... here's the view from the parking lot...

Here's a panarama of the lake... the wall is actually slightly curved but the focal point is right in the center... hard to see in this picture but it's a series of 6 glaciers... the main one being Victoria Glacier...

The water at Lake Louise (and most of the lakes in glacial areas are a teal blue green... not clear, but an amazing blue green... it's from what geologists call "flour" which is tiny rock sediment from glacial runoff that suspends in the water. When the light hits it, it looks blue green... Kristin has declared that it's her favorite color!

I stopped counting the people I asked to take our picture... but it was usually a split deal as they wanted a picture of them too!

My brother Dean had a book on great hikes and it included a hike in Lake Louise called the Plains of six glaciers trail. It started at the opposite end of Lake Louise and was 7 miles round trip. Michael wasn't a big fan of longer hikes on this trip so I dismissed the thought... so we walked the length of the lake... I was actually feeling a bit weak as I have had a little stomach bug for the last few days and I realized that I had eaten very little protein... we had two water bottles, no food and two out of our four walking sticks and when we got to the far end of the lake, mike says..."let's do the 6 glaciers trail!" WHAT? I was so excited, but prayed that God would give me some strength back... within about 10 minutes, with nothing but a prayer, I was back in business and we started the assent to Voctoria Glacier... It took us about 2 hours but it was SOOOOO worth it! At the top of the trail (as close to the glaciers that you could safely get) was a tea house.... they helicoptered staples like flour and sugar once a year... then int'l students work there all summer and hike in and out every five days to bring fresh food... I'll tell ya, we almost gave up a few times.... we saw FOUR avalanches off the melting Victoria Glacier and finally made our destination and I'll have to tell you, lemonade and PBJ and Tuna sandwiches on freshly made bread was the best food I had ever tasted... we even had home made hummus and chips.... it was awesome! Truly! Here's the pics from the hike:

This was one of the small avalanches from Victoria Glacier (top part of the mountain). The CRASHING sound that it made was AWESOME! They say it takes 20 seconds to actually reach the Lake Louise hotel at the other end! You had to see it to catch it as by the time the sound reached you it was too late!

Here's the TEA HOUSE with four VERY HAPPY HIKERS!

We ate on the second floor on two tiny tables... they even made chocolate cake from scratch without electricity...

They make the wheat bread FRESH every day and literally cut it in slabs for their sandwiches... We definitely concluded that they were the best sandwiches EVER... this of course was based on the fact that we had no food on the trek and were starving and in need of protein when we got there...

Finally back at the lake level... this hike is a MUST for anyone traveling to Banff... Thanks Dean for the use of the book that lead us here!

I was a tired girl after this climb... but it was a GREAT tired.

I couldn't help to take more pictures of this lake... and had a new appreciation for Victoria Glacier...

This was on bow Lake en route to the ice fields in northern Banff...

We caught another black bear on the way home...

These two bull elks we caught coming out of the woods... so we pulled over... they proceeded to get swo close to the truck that I COULD reach out the window and touch their antlers... of course, I didn't becuase Michael said it would break EVERY rule inside a Natl Park if I did so... but oh, I wanted to...

We concluded our evening with a drive up to Two Jack Lake and Lake Miniwanka... we caught a herd of Big Horn Sheep up there... this guy basically ASKED me to take his picture...

We left the next morning at 7am in our first real rain storm... seemed appropriate for our mood... it was the most western and northern part of our trek and after Banff, we were heading home...

I read thru a Psalm this morning that seemed appropriate for Banff.... it was Ps. 33:8-9...

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let the people of the world revere Him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

I really don't understand experiencing the breathtaking places that we've been in the last three weeks and not see God's hand in it all. "...even the rocks will cry out!"

Waterton, Alberta (the Canadian Side of Glacier!)

2011-07-14T14:26:00.001-07:00

We're OVER THE BORDER! Waterton is a special place to Mike and me. We came here in the 90's and had a wonderful time! We camped one night and spent our second night in the Prince of Wales Hotel which is an icon of the park. So peaceful! This was the only park that we spotted a mountain lion in. Lots of memories! So great to finally bring the girls here! Although it was overcast I still got some good pictures. This lake is so blue along with the sky I remember getting lost in looking at it... the cloudy day muted that a bit, but let it inspire you to catch it on a blue sky day!

I dared Kristin to "do the Titanic!" Ha Ha Ha!

Kasey turned it into a worship service! I love that girl!

Mike and I took this SAME boat to the same area (Goat Haunt, Montana-south side of Waterton Lake). It was here, like 16 years ago that Michael attempted to teach me how to fly fish... I caught a fly in his hat and he moved downstream...

There was a ranger display at the south end of the lake. This was an example of a bear print. Yeah... maybe I've been getting too close to the bear? It's actually a Grizzly print though... and we've only seen 3 of them thus far... Black Bear are smaller...

This was the semi-finals of the rock skipping contest...Kasey gave Michael a run for his money but Michael took the prize in the end... better luck next year girls...

Me and my girl...

IF anyone needs a professional model... I've got one...

This is the tea room in the Prince of Wales Hotel. I could drink tea here ALL DAY LONG!

This was taken for the Prince of Wales hill just north of Waterton lake.

Mike spotted this "Cinnamon" Black Bear on a desolate road heading to Cameron Lake. It was just feeding down in a picnic grove of sorts. We watched it for about 30 minutes. It could care less. So cool! We even got video of it! Now THATS National Geographic!

I took this fron the car but we were seriously THIS close! I was happy to have Mike's F150 between me and this beauty!

Cameron Lake... "peace".

Check this out! A Mama Black Bear and TWO cubs!

This momma has a black and cinnamon cub!

...can you see the two cubs in the woods?

Here's the little town of Waterton in the early evening. In the winter: population: 2000. In the winter: 60. ha ha ha!

The Prince of Wales Hotel in the early evening... LOVE this place!

Kasey caught me serving the breakfast of champions! Mornin!

...and we saw windmills... lots of 'em!

This was the last landscape picture I took today...hmmmm...what's in store for tomorrow?

GLACIER National Park!

2011-07-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

Mike and I have been to Glacier before and we were really looking forward to taking the girls across the "Going to the Sun Road" which connects the east and west of the park. The road wasw constructed in 1927 and truly is an engineering masterpiece as it winds along the cliffs of the high country. Well, we pulled into town in crazy winds... it was about 50 degrees, the wind was like 60 mph (no joke) and we were notified at the visitor center that they have yet to open the road as it's still under 10-15 feet of snow! This is the second latest opening in it's history. The other latest opening was becuase of World War II as they didn't have enough workers! So.... we were relegated to hiking the lower parts of the park. No flowery high meadows that I remembered... oh well... next time! We still had a great time and hiked to a number of waterfalls which were raging due to the snow melt. Thankfully the wind died down and we were able to use our pop out the second night. We caught a yearling grizzly down by one of our lake hikes... only caught a few glimpses of him but it was really cool! We even drove around the park and took the kids to Lake McDonald where we stayed prior to our hike with Shaun and Di in the 90's. It's definitely been built up since then but it was a sweet reunion. God has blessed us SOOOOO richly on this trip...and in life in general. It humbles me.

We have this picture in our dining room... it was just a few decades ago!

Nice to bring the girls to a place we stood before they were born!

This is the lower Going to the Sun Road!

This is the US/Canadian Border! See the line cut thru the trees? I thought that was so cool.... We later took a boat ride down Waterton Lake where you could see this line clearly on both sides.... the US keeps this border clear at all times! Very cool.

Grand Teton's and YELLOWSTONE!

2011-07-08T15:13:00.001-07:00

We spent the night before Tetons at a Marriott in Idaho Falls Idaho...home of MOST of our potatoes... then we drove the pass up into the Rockies. what a pleasant sight to see the sign for Jackson Hole Wyoming at the top of the pass! Grand Teton's was a "pass thru" for us as we were only 30 miles from Yellowstone and decided to stay up there for two nights...but what a stop it was! The main lodge has a HUGE meadow in front of it with a huge patio that you could watch the wildlife from... there were atleast 3 herds of Elk out there when we showed up and vaious other mammals that could be identified by binoculars... it was awesome! The mountains, as a backdrop for this scene were over the top! We found a good bench and sat for a while.. then traveled a bit north for a picnic on Jackson lake... I'm sorry it's been a while since I posted. We've been up in Alberta since last weekend and Natl Parks don't have WIFI! Here's a sampling of our days in Grand Tetons and Yellowstone! Yellowstone, is... I guess I'll tell as the pictures fly!

This was our picnic spot!

The hot springs inYellowstone Blew us away! They first appeared right next to 45 degree Lake Yellowstone and they were BUBBLING... I didn't really get the concept so, of course, I had to touch it... yup... it was boiling! ouch. (Experiential Learner!) These hot springs were everywhere.... like in the woods, and along the roads and out in a meadow... literally, Yellowstone is a geological timebomb of activity!

This is a snow shoe hare that showed up at our campsite! Krissy took this picture!

Oh! and the buffalo? We started counting them and then gave up because we literally saw hundreds of them...

Sadly... up until Yellowstone, this was the only Moose we saw... but we're still looking!

This is Hayden Valley that we spent some time chatting with a group of people that follow the wolf packs in the park...these people were SERIOUS! Mike ended up spotting two wolves, but thru spotting scopes they were just little dots but this seriously what these people did ALL DAY! God bless em... I needed to move on... but the valley was gorgeous!

Loved this one... not our group but some of the wolf spotters on a hill... with the sun setting behind them... I couldn't resist... it was just too pretty!

The clouds in Yellowstone were really cool... I took this one for Audra...

This wasthe Upper Falls in the Artist Point Region. Awesome power that God has created in water! This was about a mile from the Bear mauling on this day. It took a mans life who found himself between a sow Grizzly and her cub. They decided NOT to destroy the bear as she was simply protecting her cub. It was the first death by mauling in 25 years... they closed Artist Point, but opened it the next day.

This is the lower Falls that you can see from Artist Point (which I learned the next day when I took Krissy there!) The only Artist Point that I ever knew was a restaurant in the Wilderness Lodge in Disney World. The real thing is WAY better... (minus the Grizzly mauling).

This was called Steamboat Hot spring... it was AWESOME! it would just blow like a steamboat but without the whistle!

I was pretty sure this buffalo wasn't real... I was gonna poke it, but Mike didn't think that would be prudent.

Don't worry... I didn't take this picture... just found it in a giftshop and thought it was so cute!

Old Faithful Lodge was our favorite Lodge... we went to all of them!

Watching Old Faithful!

..and then she blew.... it truly was VERY cool. It blows every 90 minutes or so... thus the name "Old Faithful"!

This is Old Faithful Lodge with a hot spring in between.

The PINK girls...

OK. Wolf or Coyote? Krissy and I tracked this bugger for about 15 minutes!

Our sweet Kristin VERY happy to be spending an afternoon on horseback in the back country of Yellowstone! TRuly a very COOL experience! We ran into a herd of elk on the ride and had a hair raising experience on the edge of a canyon but I'll save that story for later!

OK...the answer to my quiz was.... it's a coyote... but Krissy and I were SURE that it was a white wolf, until Michael burst our bubble when we got home so excited to share out 100 pictures with him...grrrrr.... The coyote was still pretty! And we got pretty close!

Remember I said Artist Point was over the top in real life? Here's the view!

On the night before we left we went spotting wildlife and ran into two bull elks... yes, I had a 210mm camera but it was still pretty cool to be so close that I couldn't get the whole rack in my lens!

God didn't just blow us away with this interaction but even had the two bull elk swim across a river right in front of us! OVER THe TOP!

A mile from our campground we found another herd of elk so we snuck up on 'em...

I think this is a panarama that Kasey stitched. GREAT PANARAMA!

...and this is a Panarama Kasey did of JAcob Lake down in the Grand Tetons where we had our picnic! Yup... I'm lovin' this vacation!

The North Rim of the GRAND CANYON!

2011-07-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

What a TREAT to spend 4th of July on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon! Mike and I have been to the south rim a few times and I MUST SAY that I absolultely prefer the North Rim! It took a 41 mile drive in from the nearest town which had a country store NOT McDonalds! The south rim is so comercial. The north rim is much harder to get to but is truly pristine and still very natural. We arrived around 9:30 and got acclimated. Sat on the deck...stared into the canyon. All of us were hungry so we took note that lunch was served in the dining room at 11:30. At 11:28 I asked the host if we could be seated in a window seat to which he replied "certainly, but lunch isn't served until 11:30"...to which I replied, "that's in like 2 minutes" to which he replied, "no ma'am, it's 10:30!" HA HA HA! I had NO IDEA that Arizona, though really in mountain standard time, does NOT keep to daylight savings time. IT really CRACKED me up! So, we used our extra hour sitting in what the lodge calls the "Sun Room... it's a huge room with 30 foot ceilings and a big fireplace... hardwood floors and three HUGE windows that look out over the canyon. The room was filled with plush leather sofa's and chairs. We lounged for an hour catching up on our journals. It was possibly the most relaxing part of the trip thus far.

Thou it wasn't planned this way it was AWESOME for the girls to have visited both Bryce and Zion prior as CLEARLY the crescendo was the GRAND CANYON! They don't call it "Grand" for nothin'! It's two miles deep and 18 miles across! God's creativity and color palate continue to astound us!

North of the Canyon we went thru many miles of burn...

Also north of the Canyon we went thru these BEAUTIFUL meadows... no wildlife, but a great place for those Beefalo heards to congregate (Beefalo were breeded in the Canyon area as a cross between Buffalo and Cattle to produce a less fatty kind of meat) they now roam freely in the area. We were hoping to see them but never got a glimpse.

I thought this was a cute shot. Michael was showing the girls where he hiked to the basin of the canyon back in college.

I really liked this lodge. It's my favorite thus far.

OK. Within 5 minutes of us arriving, this is where we "parked". How could you not? It was one of the most picturesque places I've ever been.

I had to... it was just too peaceful.

This was such a great view spot...granted, it was on this tight little precipice...Mike and Kasey wouldn't even come down with us! Kristin and I are so much alike!

Mike and his girls!

I know this was past the little railing but I just HAD to venture out!

Me and my girls!

Me and my guy! (Awwwww.....)

We had lunch in the North Rim Lodge Restaurant. Yup... that was our view...

This room is called the "sun room". These were the sofa's that we sat in for like two hours, writing in our journals... in front of the girls are three HUGE windows...and the canyon... it was heavenly!

Check this out. This is called "Angel's Window"... we walked out on top of it...to the end...

This was Pueblo ruins from 1060AD that the girls thought was "lame".

Me and my "K"...

We've had a "few" of these moments!

Mike was in the bathroom so we played with the camera... not exactly what I was looking for but it worked.

41 miles north of the rim entrance is a little town called "Jacob Lake". We stopped for a pitstop but found that they had an on site bakery that made KILLER bakery items. We all bought one for a snack and decided that they were so AMAZING that we needed to get some for breakfast the next morning. We got two apple turnovers (my favorite!) and two cinnamon raisin and nut sticky buns with about a half inch of frosting on the top (mike's favorite). I found Krissy eating her apple turnover at the picnic table and she said to me, "this is the best breakfast I have EVER had!" So sweet! Literally!

ZION!

2011-07-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Totally didn't expect this but as we spent our first day in southern Utah yesterday it got to be almost 100 degrees...BUT... last night, as soon as the sun went down it plummeted to the 60s! So great for sleeping! We were actaully COLD! So nice! Today there was so much symbolism that needs to be noted: First, it's Sunday and we needed to find a place of worship, so we chose ZION NATIONAL PARK! God's Cathedral! And it was amazing! We drove into the park from the east side to Third Day's "Show Me Your Glory!" It was such majestic, breathtaking creation! Secondly, we have chosen to read John Bunyan's "Pilgrims Progress" on this trip which has prompted alot of conversation. Christian's goal is to get to the Celestial City (aka Zion!) and we made it! (though we're not done with the book yet!) The park has different parts to it but in 1927 the National Park system constructed a 2 mile tunnel to connect the east and west of the park. From the west side you can take a shuttle to the north part of the park but because of the heat it was suggested that we get our hikes in early. We got to the Zion Lodge by 8:30 and did a river walk hike to Emerald Pools... there are three levels...so we went under the waterfall, and then on top of the water falls were the pools are... so pretty. We finished up with a shuttle ride to the absolute north of the park where we meandered around a bit. By the time we got back to the lodge it was 102 degrees! The park was for the most part founded by the Mormons with some influence of Protestant Settlers and therefore most of the peaks are named after biblical things such as Angels Landing, the West Temple, The Court of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the Alter of Sacrifice and the Great White Throne. Though mormon, it was really cool to hear so so many biblical references. So enough jibber jabber... here's some pictures of this park...

This is the Great White Throne!

Here's the girls contemplating the symbolism...

One of the waterfalls that Kristin and I stood under which felt GREAT!

The Court of the Patriarchs!

Checkerboard Mesa!

This is Zions Arch. The two mile tunnel is kinda carved behind this.

Just south of the park is a funky little town called Springdale. Our host at the campground suggested we try a restaurant down here called "Oscars Cafe"...turned out to be TOP KNOTCH! They had two specialties, their MURDER BURGER and Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos... guess who got which? Another FABULOUS DAY!

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

2011-07-03T20:49:00.001-07:00

Bryce Canyon National Park was amazing... We caught the afternoon sun there which highlighted the hoodoos dramaticly. Such a beautiful place...

We asked an older lady working at the gift shop where the best place to get home made food and she directed us out of the park to a place called "Bryce Canyon Pines". She told us to have pie while we were there... turns out the place was "real america"... so cute... joke books on the table, a counter with tractor seats on posts... Mike had an elk burger! but the real treat was the pies... we had both coconut cream and banana-blueberry cream pies... amazing! We would definitely recommend this place... while were were scarfin' down our dinner in comes...(que the cowboy music)... this twenty something authentic cowboy... granted, he rode his fourwheeler in and not his trusty stead, but this guy was legit... He was dusty, had the Wrangler Jeans on... big belt buckle...a ten gallon hat...AND... cowboy boots...WITH SPURS! I secretly got a picture of him with my cell phone (because my daughters were too embarrassed to take a picture with him!) for Kasey's friend Justine who has vowed to marry a cowboy... it was so funny... Justine, we found your man, at the Bryce Canyon Pines! Just remember to order PIE!

Arches National Park, Moab Utah!

2011-07-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Arches Natl Park was amazing! Over 2000 arches! We spent the evening in Moab after our park drive and hikes... such a cute little town... it was a great day!

Camping in the high desert is interesting!

Sand Dune Arch was my favorite...

Delicate Arch...

Balance Rock...very cool...

Thats us!

Up and Over the Rockies!

2011-07-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here's the new truck... now travel with us! We were absolutely amazed at te diverse terain as we went over the Rockies. We saw Buffalo and big horned sheep... lots of black tail deer as well, but the landscapes were amazing! We drove from Colorado Springs to Moab, Utah. Here's a picture of Stephen, Moira, Mike and me just before we left the Springs. Dear friends. So glad we had some time with these sweet people and their kids, Spencer and Bo. Stephen and I met before we turned one and have been friends ever since.

I posted a few pics of the landscape change so you could see what I was talking about... also, all major rivers were at flood stage... including the Mississippi and the Misouri but I didn't take pictures of those...

Colorado Springs, Colorado!

2011-07-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days but we had our first emergency. During our 14 hour drive across Kansas on Wednesday (flatland) our mpg started getting worse (down to 7 mpg) and mike started noticing the truck was shifting hard. About an hour before our destination of our friends, house the allays in Colorado Springs where we planned to stay two nights the car started skipping a gear so it was either barely running orbit like 7000 rpms. This GREATLY concerned us. Michael was able to nurse it along with the manual shift thing but it clearly was "not right". We made it to Steve and Moira's by 7:30pm but the next morning Steve and Mike left the trailer in their driveway and took the truck to the only Ford dealership in town. They confirmed the transmission trouble and were able to fix it but couldn't confirm that it would happen again which really freaked us out knowing we were spending the next two weeks in the rocky mountains! Our truck had trouble in the flatlands of America, what on earth was going to happen at 12,000 feet where there arent any dealerships? This is when I realized that though I griped about it earlier, mikes desire to get a V8 would be a much smarter option to do what we wanted to do so... Call it crazy but we traded the fixed V6 Explorer in for a V8 white crew cab pickup. It took most of the day to work out the details but we actually were able to stay on schedule, mike and Steve got to shop cars all day, the girls and I got some downtime home with Moira, Spence and Bo, clean up the trailer and do some laundry and now we're in a better vehicle with plenty of power getting about 3-4 mpg better which makes a world of difference with today's as prices (FYi...cheapest we have paid thus far is $3.35). I look at this whole "snafu" as a God thing. We were only spending 2 days on the whole trip in a major city with friends. This couldve happened in the middle of no where in 106 degree heat like we experienced in the plains. We could've been stranded in some motel while mike found a solution BUT God worked it out that we were totally well cared for at the Allabys, there was a huge dealership like 15 minutes away AND our friend Dave Dariano who owns a Ford dealership in NY was available to counsel us (and give us the inside scoop!) thru the transaction. If it was going to happen, Gods timing was perfect! It ALWAYS IS! (good lesson for when I think it doesn't!) we left the next morning ON TIME and spent the day crossing the Rockies up to 11,000 feet with no problem. It was a gorgeous day! We made it to Moab Utah in time to set up and see Arches National Park for the late afternoon. THANK YOU Lord Jesus for caring for the little and BIG concerns of our lives and being trustworthy with everything!

Day 2-3...Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee)!

2011-06-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we woke up in the Great Smoky Mountains. So beautiful! It was supposed to rain today but the Lord saw fit to give us a beautiful day! We were in the park by 8:30am and drove the 11 mile Cades Cove loop. We realized we hadn't asked the Lord to "show us His glory" yet so Krissy prayed and literally within a few minutes we saw a turnoff for a primitive baptist church and there on this little dirt road we spotted a black bear in the woods! So cool! Evidently God decided to show off a little as the cutest little baby bear came into view followin' his Mama. It was so sweet. We were the only ones on this road, and the only ones to catch this amazing sight! (see picture below). THEN, to top it off, as we pulled out onto the main road another bear darted right in front of us!

We came early enough and did our driving loop that we still had time before the crowds came to rent bikes and peddle the loop! It was awesome! It was a bit overcast by then so the heat was held off... another GOD thing! As we're pedalling we came across a pack of cars all jammed in the road. We (of course) buzzed through the vehicles to find that everyone was watching THREE more bear! One of which was a baby bear that we watched go up and down a few trees like a little monkey. It was sooo cute! SO, SIX Black bear in all... three adults, three babies! Again... I believe God was just showin' off... and we enjoyed every bit of it. So the bike ride was a GREAT workout... I loved every minute of it, though we returned a bit sweaty. Here's the sweet rest of the day... we had lunch back at the trailer, mike took a nap and the girls and I went to town, rented tubes and floated four sets of rapids... we had so much fun we did it THREE times! The river went right by the campground so we stopped at every passing for a snack and to report to "Dad". We had a GREAT time! The water was FREEZING but the rapids ROCKED! Kristin tipped over a few times but KW and I stayed afloat for the entire time! We got a little beat up... on a few dozen rocks but it was a great way to spend an afternoon after our bike ride! Mike took the below picture as we passed the campsite. After dinner the girls went swimming in the pool while I cleaned up a bit. We're making so sweet memories, that's for sure.

2011 EPIC SUMMER ADVENTURE!

2011-06-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

We left on Saturday morning for our 2011 Summer Epic Adventure. It was a dreary morning but we were flush with anticipation at the onset of our trip. It took 5 hours to get to Gettysburg where we toured the battlefields where the Union held their ground against the Rebels. We had all just watched Jeff Daniels movie a few days prior so the details were fresh in our head. So cool. Amazing that NY was represented in every battle. GO New York!

We traveled on from there to the Staunton VA area to an awesome campground in Verona. The next morning we met our dear friends, the Jones' for breakfast! Complete with FRIED BOLOGNA (Clearly a southern thing!) It was a really sweet reunion as we haven't seen all 5 of these dear people in years.
After saying goodbye we headed to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee... we chose to stay in the Townsend area (the quieter side of the Smokies!) which was evidently a good thing. Had another GREAT campground, our site was right on a river that people tubed on... clearly we had to try that... and it was awesome! Had a rope swing right off our site... Krissy was the first to take a ride as we all did! Great time!

"He Held His Peace"

2011-03-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

The day when Jesus stood alone
And felt the hearts of men like stone
And knew He came but to atone
That day “He held His Peace”

They witnessed falsely to His word,
They bound Him with a cruel cord,
And mockingly proclaimed Him Lord;
“But Jesus held His peace.”

They spat upon Him in the face,
They dragged Him on from place to place,
The heaped upon Him all disgrace;
“But Jesus held His peace.”

My friend, have you for far much less,
With rage which you called righteousness,
Resented slights with great distress?
Your savior “held His peace.”

From “Streams in the Desert”

Candlewood in July!

2010-08-02T19:11:00.001-07:00

I need to begin this post with a tribute to my Uncle Jay. He passed away on the first day of our vacation, July 24th, after a brave and noble fight against cancer. He had an amazing gift of playing the piano that he blessed us all with. I will always treasure many found memories of him and consider it a privilege to have known him. He knew Christ as his personal savior and I am confident that I will see him in eternity.

Despite that, another great week was had at Candlewood... though I was "resting" as my MS is flaring a bit, we still had a really sweet time. Kasey learned how to slalom! she also did her first solo driving the boat! Kristin wakeboarded and took her anual jump off the rock! Kath spent the week with us and learned how to slalom too! AND we were able to catch a Yankee game in hopes that A-Rod would hit his 600th Home Run... but, instead, he got hit with a pitch...Oh, well...

Enjoy the pictures!

I LOVE double skiing with my girl, KASE!

This past spring both of the girls got their boating licenses. This is a picture of Kasey's first "SOLO"... after spending the week driving for us, she took her first "SOLO". I was so proud of her. It made me recall when I got my license 30 years ago... OK... now I feel old!

Kasey and Kris tubin' like wild-women!

Lynnie and the girls came up for a great day at the lake!

Mike, Mark and Kristin @ Yankee Stadium!

Coach worked on slaloming ALL week and finally conquered it! Go Kath!

Kristin wake boarding!

This was the FIRST TIME EVER that Michael and I double slalomed! It was awesome!

Kris getting thrown in by her Dad...

I might be getting older, but I STILL love wakeboarding!

Oregon 2010!

2010-07-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

Another GREAT time on the Oregon Coast! The pictures speak for themselves. God has so blessed us with wonderful family (and friends!) on the West Coast. For me (gayle) I think it was my 20th trip out... and even after my 20th trip, I still cry like a baby when I leave... not the place, but the people... We always come home with a "new perspective" and a challenge to live out our Christianity in a bigger way. Thanks for the challenges, Whittles' family. We love you BIG TIME!

A Tribute to my Dad... Apr 1, 1934 - Mar 10, 2010

2010-03-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Though my heart hurts in the loss of my dad, what a wonderful blessing to know that I'll see him again in eternity. He poured his heart into our family and for that I am forever grateful. My Dad loved us with every fiber in him. Dad knew a little bit about everything. He was an amazing resource to so many. He was our "go-to" guy...to figure out a broken plumbing fixture, help figure out a weird click in a car, or just there for a good chat. Oh, how I miss my Dad. His strength, his sappyness, his wacky sense of humor and his very visible love for us. I miss you Dad. Thanks for loving us fiercely and taking the time to teach us amazing things. You will be missed by us all.

This is my favorite picture of him. We were up at the lake...one of my favorite places...

January 2010 Snow Mobiling!

2010-01-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

The snow this year has been FABULOUS for snowmobiling! We've been having an awesome time riding all of the local trails and seeing where they end up! Today we did a complete circle around Westerlo...we've put on about 75 miles just in the last week! It's so beautiful! Enjoy the pictures!

The meadow farthest away in the center is our upper field. Kinda cool seeing it from so far away... and I zoomed to take it!

The picture below is of the town of Westerlo taken from the West.

Kasey is even tackling bridges now! Go Kasey!

Key West!

2009-11-30T07:23:00.001-08:00

Michael turned 40 on Nov. 19th so instead of a big party, he opted to take a little adventure with his three favorite girls to Key West! GREAT trip! We drove, which many think we were insane to do, but we really like car trips. It seems to be the one time that we're trapped so we can actually have uninterupted conversations, and since I don't get sick reading in the car I plow thru books. I ended up reading a 200 page book outloud to the fam. "Same Kind of Different As Me". I highly recommend it to the world. It cracked us up, made us cry, challenged our status quo mentality and left us thinking...bottom line, a "good read". We stated at the Key West Westin right in the historic area with a waterfront view of the wharf. Every morning cruise ships came into port and every evening we saw AMAZING sunsets. The kids learned how to snorkel out in the Dry Tortuga's as we soaked up the sun. We spent a day in Palm Beach to body surf, but the rest of the trip was in the keys. Great trip. Our first thanksgiving spent without our extended family, but it was sweet...a trip we're all so very thankful for.

Pictures from the Fall (Before it turns to Winter!)

2009-11-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Kath, we spent a weekend @ Hershey Park in October! Great time! I even rode a few rollercoasters!

Kris and I met Mom for lunch for her birthday... we had a nice visit. (...and my Dad is the cutest older guy on the planet!)

Labor Day...we were missing most of the kids... Kasey and Kris are the only cousins left in Westerlo... times are definitely changing...

Kasey's 13th Year Wrap up Campout @ Candlewood!

Jonna's 40th @Mohonk...mid-October... it snowed.

MY 20th Year College Reunion and Marc Thompsons 40th suprise party! Lots of fun in Manhattan!

Kasey and "Bob".

Kasey going hunting with her Dad...

Kasey was the Captain of her volleyball team this year... They finished up 10-1. Great season girls!

Me and Kath at Thacher Park on a beautiful fall day...

More pics from Candlewood 09!

2009-08-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

KRISTIN CONQUERED WAKEBOARDING! She did awesome! ...and yes, she's wearing MY wetsuit...!

Auntie Pammie spent Thursday night with KW doing one of her last 13th year virtues... They had a really special time together... how precious are the people who speak into the lives of our children...

Melissa got up skiing! She did AWESOME!
Check out the fish that's jumping to the left of me! Kasey took this picture!

Mike's Tubing CRASH!

Gayle's Tubing CRASH!

Candlewood Lake Week 2!

2009-08-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

We have the privilege of having Kristin's friend, Melissa with us for the week! The weather was supposed to be lousy for our first day but it really turned out to be a nice one! The kids spent most of the day in the water. They went tubing as well. Great day!

Candlewood Lake Week 1 2009!

2009-08-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT time at the lake with our family, coach and the Lepore family... God really blessed us with a wonderful week of sweet fellowship, crazy watersports and a ton of memories that we all will treasure for a lifetime. Kasey turned 13 while in CT... another benchmark to remember... Enjoy the pictures...

Not quite sure how to explain this one...but it's Kathy...

First time WAKEBOARDING! GO KATH!

WAKEBOARDING GONE BAD...

Oregon 2009!

2009-07-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

Shenandoah National Park...on our motorcycles! WAY COOL!

2009-04-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Michael and I have fallen in love with motorcycle riding... so when spring comes we're itchin' to get out on the bikes. Since we live in upstate NY sometimes our springs are later than we would choose so this year we decided to trailer the bikes south and get a jump on the season. We stayed in Strasburg VA for three nights and spent two of those days on our cycles going end to end on Skyline Drive...the main road of Shenendoah National Park... right down thru the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was spectacular! God's creation is beyond AMAZING! It was like a two day long worship service! We did about 400 miles on our bikes...the longest the girls had been on our bikes yet...and without a complaint! We were so impressed! It was 70 degrees in the valleys and we actually had snow on the ridge on the first day. GREAT TIME! Enjoy the pics!

A Classic "Krissy and Kasey: biker babe's" shot...

Kaseys creative boot shot...

I love the "edge"...

Gayle's creative bathroom mirror shot...

...and yes, I took this pic and every one of mike ahead of me while driving my cycle! Let's call it Creative Blue Ridge photography!

An Update from the Long Winter Months...

2009-04-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

I realized today that I haven't updated the blog in a long time... the good thing is that I also realized that we have filled our last few months with a bunch of really great stuff... so, even though I'm a slacker... I'm a slacker with a good excuse. So here's a quick overview of the first 4 months of the year:

I coached Kristin's intramural basketball. Krissy definitely has "point guard" in her future...

We had a great time skating this winter...

...picked up a couple cool snow mobiles this winter...

I took a trip to Tennessee with my friend, Kath... got to meet her granddaughter, Madison, daughter Carlye (son-in-law, Andrew), and Kath's son, Jake... fun weekend...

For the family Christmas present, the immediate family spend a couple of days in Manhattan to see "Little Mermaid"... we stayed in the Marriott Marquis in Times Square...but it was cold in the city so we all bought stupid winter hats... (See below)

We took the kids to Florida in Feb. Spent a few days with my parents and then a few days on the beach in Fort Meyers. Kasey got to attend a business meeting with Michael and Krissy and I suffered on the beach (and we went parasailing too!)

Kasey had her first "youth group retreat" with Loudonville Common Ground. It was up at Camp of the Woods in March. They had over 100 kids from the church attend. I went along as a chaperone. We all had a GREAT weekend but I came home with a sprained ankle and bad cough...

Kathy's birthday was in March so we celebrated it with a few days in Williamsburg. We didn't do alot other than enjoy eachother's company, act like 2 year olds in Colonial Williamsburg and got alittle rollerblading in. Good times...good times...

The Williamsburg trip was well timed as we got home and got right into Spring Softball. Kathy is the Head coach for Loudonville's Modified Girls Softball Team...and I get to be her "assistant coach". Krissy is the bat girl for the season. We have 15 girls.

The girls had the week after Easter as their spring break. We took their first formal day off (Monday) and hiked Vroomans Nose and Renssalaerville Falls.

We spent the rest of the week on a motorcycle ride down thru Shenandoah National Park... but I have way too many pictures to add to this post. I guess I'll just do another post just on that trip. It was AWESOME!

2008 Christmas & New Years!

2009-01-01T16:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of pictures over the last few months. I've been a little busy...so, as an update, this collection should atleast bring us up to date for the holidays... Enjoy!

Me and my sister, Cindy...

Cindy, Bruce, Jeff and Doug...

The Carley Clan...

The Carley Babe's... (Cindy, Gayle and Gail)

The Hannay Cousins... (Greg, Kasey, Daniel, Sarah, Kristin and Ryan)

Dinner at the Tory Tavern...

Kasey and her cousin, Greg...

Me and Ruthie...

Kasey and Kris skating on Dec 30th...

Michele and Mike Gammal and kids spent New Years Eve and Day with us. We had a FABULOUS time!

Pheobe Gammal (1st Grade)

Rachel Gammal (7th Grade)

Mike and Pheobe...

The kids...

Kasey and Buddy (9th grade and recent recoverer of a broken neck...seriously...)

Foosball...

Games at the dining room table...

Boatloads of snow and -15 degrees! Ouch!

The PYRAMID!

Christmas Tree Picture!

A Foot of Snow in OCTOBER...that's just wrong!

2008-10-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well... Mike left first thing Tuesday morning for Toronto... we knew there were flurries in the forecast.. but, it's OCTOBER... so why bother getting the shovels out... or even putting the plow on the front of the tractor... We hadn't even taken the rototiller off! By 8pm, we had 10 inches on the ground and it was blowing into drifts of almost 2 feet... that's just wrong... the good thing is that Krissy was able to make are really cool snowman... enjoy the pics:

This was the beautiful sunrise we saw this morning after Kasey and I plowed and shoveled for an hour or so...

Krissy's funky snow-guy...

Mid-Coast Maine 2008

2008-10-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

The girls and I had the distinct privilege of spending the weekend with Phil and Faith Nicewonger in Mid-Coast Maine. We had an amazing time...treasured friends, treasured fellowship, great weather, fabulous hikes, and the food was amazing...(Faith is the best cook on the planet...)...Boothbay Harbor, Pemequid Lighthouse, New Harbor, Camden Harbor... Mt. Megunticook, Mt. Battie....just amazing fall foliage...we even went to the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest! I brought home an almost 8 foot piece of drift wood (lets just say it's taller than Phil!) I couldn't help myself! The kids went non-stop and came home exhausted (well, so did I) but we even got breakfast on Monday morning with my cousin Don (Kristin's favorite Cousin's Weekend guy!) All in all, we feel very blessed to have gone on such an adventure. Enjoy the pictures!

The kids even performed a play!

A Picture Update of Sept. '08

2008-09-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Most of our month has been preoccupied with the new family sport: VOLLEYBALL! Kasey is playing Modified Volleyball for LCS and LOVING IT! Kris and I have been helping out as we can but Kasey has really taken to the game. We've been so proud of how she has been doing. Their current record is 3-1 and they have two more matches this week! Kasey has become an LCS EAGLE and is "soaring". She chose #14 for her jersey as it was her Dad's number in college baseball, her grandfather's number in college soccer and her Aunt Cindy's Hockey number. She's as sappy as I am. Enjoy some of the pics I've taken recently:

First Day of School!

The deck is FINALLY finished! We're lovin' it!

Labor Day First Anual Hannay Putt-Putt championship!

Grammie Bea turned 102 on Sept 19th... Go Gram!

Cheri came up for a weekend and we took her to an L.L. Bean Kayaking class. We all had a really great time together. Thanks for spending the weekend with us, Cher!

We had a day off from v-ball this past week and was able to catch one of Greg's Varsity soccer games. He rocked as he usually does. Go Greg!

FIREPROOF, the movie... A MUST SEE!

2008-09-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Just saw this tonight. It's a MUST SEE for the world. What a FRESH, BIBLICALLY SOUND movie that we all can learn from. See this soon as it won't be supported in the mainstream theaters very long! And, by the way, the DARE book is already on EBAY... Just turn off my "gayle's favorite tunes" while you watch the video so you can hear it.

In God We Still Trust...

2008-09-20T04:56:00.000-07:00

A friend forwarded me this . It's an wonderful song but it will probably never be released to the public because it's no longer America's story to some. Let us never loose sight of our heritage or our responsibility to uphold it.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=37425200

Candlewood Pictures 2008!

2008-08-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from Candlewood this year... we're at the lake as I type so I might add more as we go... Candlewood is, for me, my childhood... one I am so blessed to share with my own children...the wonderful thing is they are actually enjoying it as much as I did. I'm especially blessed as Michael has come to love "the lake" as much as I do. We're all VERY fortunate and clearly thank the LORD for such a blessing. Enjoy the pics...

Tube Wars!

The anual picture on "the rock" with the Coughlin's...

Our sweet girls....

Kasey's First Attempt at Slolom!

Kasey's getting to be a solid wakeboarder!

Picking blueberries and blueberry bushes with Aunt Cindy!

...a peaceful morning at the lake...

Jumping between the tubes...

Nothin' beats tubing with Daddy!

My HOT husband trying to cool off!

Mass Tubin' with the Lepore's!

Double Skiing with Kasey!

Out of our 7 days at Candlewood we had THREE mornings of absolute GLASS for skiing. It was incredible! On Friday morning Jen and I hiked to the view rock for our morning devotions and prayer time. We had a wonderful time with eachother and the LORD. When we returned God gave me a wonderful blessing: I got the first ski of the morning and finished up down by Candlewood Pines where I threw the road and glided until I sank. As I was slowing down, I looked up and a BALD EAGLE was flying directly in front of me! It was amazing. I've never seen a bald eagle at the lake and Mike and the girls were able to see it as well. It was an amazing morning and a gift I will not soon forget.

"The Shack" from my perspective

2008-08-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

OK, I just finished “The Shack” and here’s my overall perspective on it:

It was a gripping story that drew me in, touched me emotionally, made me cry and gave me a lot to think about (stereotypes, the freedom of forgiveness, relationships, grief, believing and trusting God, etc.)…but, that’s where it ends. As I read it, I prayed for discernment to find the dangers within it. I kept a blue pen with me and I underlined everything that I found dangerous. There has to be about 50 pages with blue markings now. My conundrum is whether we should even be looking at a fictional book to give us theology. My answer is clearly, NO. But the real danger is that many people are desperately looking for a definition of God beyond the bible and this book draws it for them. If it were theologically sound, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but because it is not, I believe it is extremely dangerous. As Stan Key stated, it’s really only for the “thinking Christian”. Sadly, there are fewer and fewer of those these days.

Statements like: “Jesus had no power as a human being to heal anyone” is blasphemy as he was never only human but both God and man…or The statement by “Jesus” of “who said anything about being a Christian. I’m not a Christian”. Yes, the author’s intent was to belittle the current status of “Christian” however, the word Christian means “Christ Follower” and the word “Christ” was not mentioned once in the entire book…only “Jesus”, “Joshua”, “Jesse” as to negate his true deity and completely humanize him apart from God the Father’s work in him. Even in the end, it was never the main characters desire to lead others to the personal relationship that he enjoyed but just to “tell his story” which is in keeping with our 21st century focus on ourselves. The whole aspect of their being no hierarchy within the trinity is a complete mockery of scripture. Interestingly, the author contradicts himself by referring to the hierarchal roles within the book.

Another statement that made my head spin was “God my servant”, which clearly was how the book portrayed the trinity….right there at our beck and call to serve us: a complete reversal of the truth. Heresy. It’s simply 21st century writing that is in keeping with 2 Tim. 4:3-4: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine, instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

If it’s fiction, than what’s the big deal? I’ll tell you: A FALSE REPRESENTATION OF GOD which we are warned against in scripture (first commandment). It brings God down to our human level which in the end “corrupts the mind and heart of our comprehension of God.” (T.A. McMahon). How dare William Young speak for God? I fear for him and I fear for the many that raise this book up to be literature on the same level as “Pilgrim’s Progress” as Eugene Peterson has done. The only true God is the God of the bible, defined as much as the trinity wanted the trinity to be defined. We’re so clearly warned to never take away or add to that written Word (Rev 22:18). Young has clearly overstepped his bounds and given us a depiction of a god we can better relate to in keeping with the 21st century fixation on psychology, self-centeredness and boldness to create our own images beyond what scripture has depicted.

I would not recommend this book to anyone other than a thinking Christian who wishes to read something to test their scriptural knowledge and expose them to the apostasy so prevalent in our day.

TOO much to BLOG about (our last two weeks!)

2008-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

We got home from Oregon and jumped right back into "SUMMER"! The kids went to Word of Life Ranch and Mike and I had a week long date! We picked up the kids and jumped right into Kasey's birthday week! That involved a trip to Yankee stadium to see our team slaughter the Twins. Wednesday, we had a few of Kasey's friends over for an all day ski day out on the lake but that got rained out so we ended up going to a Pottery shop to create "works of art". The girls had a great time. We had a sleepover and sent everyone packin' by 11 so that we could get to Kasey's one request: seeing a ballet. I got tickets to the New York City Ballet performing in Saratoga. It was really nice and Kasey seemed to enjoy every minute. Today, we just had the day to pack and tomorrow we're off for Candlewood for a week. Here's some pictures:

OREGON 2008!

2008-07-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

"Oregon", for my family, is the most special place on earth. It is a place where are hearts are at rest, where we find that rare "peace" from our crazy schedules, yet it also is a place that exposes us. It's "raw" yet refined. What makes it so precious are the people. Wynne and Linton Whittles are, unquestionably, our spiritual mentors, and have been for years, though we don't often call it that. They know us well enough to challenge our thinking, yet are gentle enough to guide us right back to scripture. What I most treasure is that our girls treasure "Oregon" as much as Michael and I do. No matter what the topic, we are always confronted with scripture and challenged in ways that we typically never anticipate. It might come in a sermon, or one of the bible studies that Linton teachers. Sometimes it comes in a reaction to something status quo in our lives that we suddenly feel uncomfortable about in light of the Word. It's hard to explain. All that I know is that year after year we come home with a renewed spirit, a new focus, and a new determination to be more serious and intentional about our Christian lives. Yet, year after year, we're discouraged with our two steps forward and one step back... yet, we're still applauded for the advancement of that one step. I so hope to someday be as much of an encouragement to someone as Wynne and Linton have been to Michael and me. I hope to distribute "grace" like the grace apportioned to us out there and I hope to reflect Christ like He is displayed to us by the Whittles family. Now, everybody knows why Kasey's middle name is "Whittles".

Here's a picture of Linton & Wynne

The "last day family picture"

Still Our Little Girls...
Kasey, Rachie, Grubber, Rebekah, Krissy and Jordan... "cousins"...

Mike and his girls...

Kasey and her little pixie!

Our Anual Trip to "La Tea Da", A Tillamook Tea House...

Our Tea Party thanks for Kristin and her "Tiny Treats" book, complete with Wynne's wedding Lemoges Dishes! It was lovely!

The Hummer that we cruised in all week thanks to Budget Rental! We took this baby on the beach a few times!

Four monkey's on a rope!

Wynne and Me

My favorite photo spot on Cape Kiwanda...

Mike got this pic while out salmon fishing in the Pacific...

Here's a video of Kasey on Uncle Linton's 200 foot zip line! Mike whipped her and she hit the tree at the end! Ouch!

Cousins Weekend 2008

2008-06-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Cousin's Weekend 2008 "The Legend of Queen Bea and the Quest to save Candlewood Castle". It was awesome! 120 people, crazy costumes (Krissy and I were princesses, Kasey was a fairy and Mike even wore a kilt), the Queen's Ball on Saturday night, Squashbuckling excitement from beginning to end! Great to reconnect with the family. Can't wait until the next one!

My Baby Graduated from Elementary School! Ugggh!

2008-06-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

OK, Kasey should still be wearing big bird underpants and doing "itsy bitsy spider"... but, as of next Tuesday, she will have completed Elementary School to enter 7th grade in the fall! Where did that time go? She's grown into a beautiful, sweet and thoughful young lady that is about to start middle school. It's sometimes too much to comprehend! I'm so proud of her. She's such a joy to our family. Kasey, I love you, sweatheart!

Here's the "gansta-grads"...notice my mature daughter in the bottom right corner NOT participating! ..too scholarly, I suppose... ha.

Lewey Lake Campout, Memorial Day '08

2008-05-31T12:03:00.000-07:00

The "Hannay's" spent Memorial Day weekend at Lewey Lake in the Adirondacks. We all had a great time. The weather was "iffy" on Friday and Saturday but was SPECTACULAR on Sunday when we put in our canoe on Indian Lake and enjoyed a relaxing day. Enjoy the pics!

Pam's Birthday in Hawaii 2008

2008-04-24T05:43:00.000-07:00

HALEAKALA at Sunrise...

The Cinder cones at Haleakala...

Nakalele Blowhole, North Maui

My devo spot every morning...

Seven Sacred Pools, South Haleakala, Maui

Bottlenose Dolphins in pods!

Northern Pacific Humpback Whale!

Springtime Snowfall (Mar 29, '08)

2008-03-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

We woke up Friday morning to a phonecall from our school principal asking Gayle to postpone our scheduled fundraising meeting due to snow. Granted, it was 6:30am and she woke me up... but the night before it was a gorgeous spring night...not even a possibility of snow! Groggily, I looked out the window and LOW AND BEHOLD, there was a good 6 inches on the ground...all schools were cancelled. WE'VE GOT A SNOW DAY IN THE END OF MARCH! Here's some pictures of a few hours of our day today out back on a hike around the property. What a georgeous day!

It was a fun hike! 20 degrees and cold, but GREAT exercise and wonderful family time!

MOHONK before wisdom teeth...

2008-02-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

With the impending wisdom teeth extraction planned for tomorrow morning, my honey took the day off and wisked me away to Mohonk for the day! What a GREAT day! We enjoyed a number of relaxing moments in front of a few fireplaces, a wonderful meal complete with three desserts! Then we skated at the pavillion ALL BY OURSELVES on perfect zambonied ice! That was followed by more fireplace conversations and a 4pm swedish massage and early evening in the spa! My hair froze in the outdoor mineral pool as it was a balmy 4 degrees, but it was AWESOME! I'm so relaxed I'm almost jello! Here's some pictures of us today:

Here are a few pictures from last week when I took the kids to my brother Deans. We visited the Carpenter Museum. The kids had a fabulous time making playdoh sushi in their new restaurant, the Carley Diner:

Christmas 2007 Highlights!

2008-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas is ALWAYS a magical time for our family...but this year we found ourselves almost completely incapacitated by the explosive stomach flu. Kasey was the only one untouched by it, thankfully, yet even though it knocked us out for Christmas, it only lasted 24 hours. We were able to recover our Christmas in the days that followed. Though a few plans got cancelled we were still able to enjoy this precious season of the celebration of Christ's birth. We spent New Years Eve with the Guilzon family sledding on a new foot of snow, making pizza's and playing "Decorate the Daddy's" as seen in the pictures below. Enjoy. Our hope is that you all experienced God's love in a personal way this Christmas season. God bless you all!

Two cute Santas!

The Carley Christmas in CT. This is grammie and papa with the 7 grandkids (Doug, Kasey, Jeff, Brynn, Kalyn, Kristin,Grammie, Kyrian and Papa)

The Guilzon/Hannay New Years Picture (Ben, Kasey, Caitlyn, Krissy, Grace, Daniel, Jodi, Mark, Gayle and Mike)

We spent New Years Day Snowshoeing around the property and made a winter campfire to roast some marshmallows. Lots of fun!
God blessed us with a gorgeous sunset to end an already GREAT New Years day!

BOWS OF HOLLY CHRISTMAS MUSICAL!

2007-12-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

The girls were in our churches Christmas musical this year! Actually, Kasey played the lead role with a solo and Krissy, Abby and Luke had a key roles as well. Luke even did a "rap"! They did an awesome job last night! The message was VERY clear. We've all been "Blessed To Be a Blessing..." We've received, so we can give and we must tell the world what GOD has done, 'cause we've been blessed to bless someone! Here are some pictures:

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

With all of the revisionism going on these days I thought it appropriate to commemorate the simple beginnings that have proven to be the foundation of our heritage. Having visited Plymouth last year and seen the "new" markers that state Thanksgiving is a "Day of Mourning" I thought it appropriate to share some history that doesn't get spoken about much. This excerpt was taken from an article written by the founder of VisionForum.com (a wonderful resource for accurate historical information). It struck me deeply as we rarely see God praised in our historical markers as clearly as this. Enjoy...

A Faithful Remnant

It’s easy to look at the new, historically inaccurate and politically motivated monuments now standing near Plymouth Rock and feel defeated. But more than a little hope can be found in the story of another monument, the most magnificent and prominent historical marker in the town.
Back in 1989, a Plymouth council had convened to determine the fate of the Founders Monument. The colossal structure, completed in 1889, stands 81 feet tall and was designed to communicate the Pilgrim ideals of faith, morality, education, law, liberty and justice.
The monument was complete and perfect in every respect but one. For more than 100 years, one side had remained uninscribed, primarily because no one could decide what should be written on it.

Fearing that some future generation might be less generous with the Pilgrim legacy, Jehle moved to have a quote from Bradford etched on the stone tablet. The motion was doomed, except for one small fact. Seated in the audience that day, for the first time ever, was an octogenarian from Florida named Verna Orndorff, well known for her generous patronage, who had flown in to attend her first and last meeting.

Jehle read the Bradford quote:

“Thus out of small beginnings greater things have grown by His hand Who made all things out of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light kindled here has shone to many, yea, in a sense, to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise.”

With tears in her eyes, the elderly Mrs. Orndorff declared: “My father had me memorize this quote when I was a little girl.... If you will vote for it, I will pay for it.”

The great quote is now etched on the monument and stands as an ever-present reminder to every one of the estimated 35 million physical descendants of the 50 people who survived the first winter, and to an entire nation that owes its gratitude to those first settlers. The message? That few visions have ever been as beautifully realized as that embraced by this ragtag band of devoted moms and dads.

Douglas W. Phillips is president of Vision Forum (http://www.visionforum.com/),a family ministry in San Antonio, Texas.

Whittles' & Hannay's Great Adventure!

2007-11-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

Words can't describe the blessing it has been to have Wynne and Linton visit for the better part of the week. We hung around Westerlo for most of the week but took an overnight to Mohonk as something special for the couples. What a treasure. Linton's parents took him there every summer for a number of years when he was a kid and he and Wynne honeymooned there and had only been back once in the last 40 years. This year marked their 40 year anniversary so it was extra special being there with them.

I truly believe that the Lord held the leaves on the trees for a few extra weeks just for their trip. Though this year we didn't have the deep reds we certainly had the yellow and orange hue's that were simply breath-taking!

How cute are they?

Auntie Wynne gave the girls a great card game called "Blink".

Auntie Wynne playing the Wii with Kasey!

On the morning they left it snowed. Again, our first of the season...just enough to make the world look crisp and fresh before their return home. The Lord is to thank for all of the blessings we saw all week long...but among all, the blessing of dear friends and christian fellowship.

A Few Days Off From School

2007-11-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

The kids had Thursday and Friday off from school so we did some family field trips! We took a tour of the U.S.S. Slater which is the only Destroyer Escort left from WWII. Then we did Empire State Plaza (with Aunt Cheri Lisko), went up to the observation deck of the Corning Building, then toured through the NY State Museum....it's got a pretty sobering 911 Exhibit.

We spent Friday in Old Sturbridge Village with my cousin Jen and her 5 kids... it was a GORGEOUS day. God really blessed us with a great couple of days!

CRAIG'S ENGAGEMENT PARTY!

2007-09-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

CRAIG'S GETTING MARRIED! Yes, it's true! Infact, a bunch of us got together to meet his "lady fair", Ale, and celebrate with them. We all had a great night catching up (thanks, Kevin, for pulling it all together!) Sean Barber was even there (from Iowa)! I didn't even recognize Little Rod...well... for good reason! Little Rod isn't "little Rod" anymore... Dan Chilvers is 30! Dave Michael's is getting married! Fin and Kerry have two sons, Corey has two girls! Sean and Heather have 4! (Isaac, Lily, Olivia and Owen? Did I get it right?) What a hoot seeing everyone! We all enjoyed meeting Ale. She's a prize and seems like she'll do quite well in keeping Craig in line!

Enjoy the pics, everyone. If you know of anyone else that would enjoy seeing them please send them the link. Also, I thought it would be cool to add family pics to the end of this to update everyone on those not able to attend the party. Many came to the party without their "significant others" or kids so I was hoping that you would all email me a current picture of your families. Send them to gaylehannay@mhcable.com and I'll add them to this blog! Enjoy the pics. It was great seeing you all! God bless!

9/24 Pam forwarded a picture of Suzanne and Peter Dodd.

9/25 I just heard from Amy Christgau and have added two pictures of their gang. She and Shane were a family of four in the beginning of '07 and had TRIPLETS in August! There's too many of them to put in one picture so I posted two! (Zoe, Ty, Ava, Eli and Cole!)

9/25 Tia sent me pics of their family in Florida. Her kids are Eli and Anna Cate!

Adirondack Camping Trip '07

2007-09-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a weekend camping trip in the Adirondacks. We started out with the intention of a canoe trip but the conditions on Indian Lake were "not good" (white caps, crazy wind, way too much to fit into a canoe, etc.) so we went south a bit and found a campground on Lewey Lake. Our three families shared two sites and had a blast (as seen by the pics)! The weather was on again/off again but it didn't matter, we just enjoyed being together, laughing around the campfire, watching the kids play (they set a trap for a chipmonk and not only caught the chipmonk but a red squirrel as well! Hey, I was impressed. Sunday morning Scott/Greg, Abby/Kasey and Krissy and I went for a canoe ride to the south of the lake and found that we had not just canoed but met with God in the tabernacle of his creation...sounds dramatic, but it was really cool to canoe thru the mist on the lake while talking about God's creation..."about the rocks crying out and the trees clapping their hands..." All in all, we had a great time, had WAY too much preservative filled food, and were in need of a serious shower when we got home, but ultimately, we created another GREAT memory for the kids and their cousins (as well as for ourselves!)

Candlewood Week 2

2007-08-29T16:48:00.001-07:00

Another great week at Candlewood! Beautiful Weather...and the precious blessing of our family and extended family. ..truly a great week! Good way to end the summer.

Candlewood Lake Week 1

2007-07-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Here's some pic's from our Candlewood lake week. Greg spent the week with us. Jen and Tony and their five are here as well. Nothing beats our weeks at Candlewood. It's the best family time of the year!

Summer Camp...

2007-07-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

The girls went to summer camp (overnight and way far away summer camp) for the first time in their lives last week and I just feel the need to register my thoughts on it all, because it impacted me profoundly...sounds dramatic, but It's true! It was like some kind of "rite of passage" for both the kids and Mike and I...The kids were anxious about it prior to going and Mike and I were crazy excited about it. The outcome was the exact opposite which is what I found so bizarre.

Kasey is my "homebody". Kristin is my "party girl"...I had camp in the back of my head all year but talked to Kasey about it, and b/c a girlfriend of hers couldn't go with her, she wasn't interested. I did some research and found WORD OF LIFE RANCH up in Schroon Lake, NY...2 hours away... not too far, but not close enough to "stop in and visit". I actually talked to Kristin about it thinking that might be something special for her to do on her own since most activities she does with Kasey. Turns out we had one possible week to attend and WOL had that week open. I presented it to Kristin and she was interested. Kasey said she was too if she could be with Krissy or atleast attend the same week. Well, after contacting WORD OF LIFE RANCH, they were able to not only fit both of the girls in but could put them in the same cabin as the program they qualified for was the "sheriffs" age 8-10. God worked that out as the next week Kasey turned 11 and would qualify for the older program! He's so good!

So the kids went. Kasey cried when we left her. Kristin hardly waved... such different kids...and Mike and I went home. Now we've left the kids many times before but we could always talk with them. This was different. Only emergency phonecalls were allowed, and we had no valid ones...so, a whole week went by without a word... correction, we received a letter from Kasey mid-week that said "I miss you alot, but I'm having a GREAT TIME!" That did my heart a world of good. I was amazed at how much we missed the girls... then, Michael went on a three day business trip to Boston and I was home alone... I don't think that has ever happened!

The good thing is that Michael and I prayed ALL WEEK LONG...constantly... we truly had to rely on the Lord. So, our trip to pick them up on 7/21 was an anxious one... did they have a good time? Did they make friends? Are they going to be scarred for life? Some kids love it, some kids don't.... what catagory did our kids fit in? I didn't know...

Our hearts SOARED when we saw the girls early Saturday morning... They ran to both of us with big jumpin' hugs... it was a great reunion, but what I treasured the most were the stories that followed... the mud pit, the water park, the slip-n-slide, the horsemanship program, the arts and crafts, the counselors, the new friends, the tour around the camp like they had been there all year, every little detail, every song, every motion, every skit reinacted...it was awesome... I don't think I've ever heard Kasey talk so much! Their counselor was named "Kristin" as well and was just dear... she truly LOVED the girls and was so caring. Though the kids had a blast they also came home stating that they both committed the rest of their lives to serving Christ! That's so cool... just that WOL and it's staff provided a place for our children to ask those deeper questions and hear them answer emphatically, "YES!" Bottom line, we all grew up a bit this past week and it was wonderful. I spent some time by myself (which I rarely do), Michael and I were able to catch up a bit, and the girls ventured on their own and found that they did just fine... It was a wonderful week! God not only saw us thru that step, but blessed us immensely. The question asked was how much did you like camp. The answer was "9 very's". I'd say WORD OF LIFE RANCH won us over. The program totally impressed us both and the kids will forever remember their first week at camp. http://www.wolranch.org/. Check it out. The kids cabin of girls is posted under week 4. Glad to grow a bit, but so glad we're all home. What a blessing!

Really Warm People, or a CULT?

2007-06-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Long story short, Mike, the kids and I happened upon this really cool restaurant about 30 minutes away from us called the "Oak Hill Kitchen". The place that we wanted to go for dinner was closed so we literally, RANDOMLY choose the next closest place we knew of and were pleasantly suprised with it. It advertised "live music", Chicken Enchalada's were the evening special and the place was packed! Clearly, somethin' is happenin' and "we want in!" The place was eclectic, very earthy, kinda hippy-ish, yet really homey... the first room you get to has all kinds of organic products that they produce/sell...teas, hand lotions, shea butters, etc. I'm into that... the music was great! All kinds of handmade dulcimers, violin's, a base, even an accordian, some wind instruments, etc. playing this celtic-type music... very relaxing... the menu was really cool... it was just a really welcoming environment! The only thing we didn't really like was their beverages. It seemed that most of the beverages had Mate' in them. They listed their teas as Decaffinated which I was lovin' so I tried their Common Ground Tea... turns out Mate' is their herbal replacement for Caffeine which was a total energy boost but kept me up all night... Mike too... Leave it too the hippies to drug you.

The waitress was alittle odd... very nice...just "different". But when the food came, it was BEYOND our expectations... I mean FABULOUS! The kids had homemade organic peanutbutter and spun honey with banana's on this awesome looking homemade multigrain bread. Mike and I had the Chicken Enchilada's which were HUGE... fresh organic salad and a big plate of chips and salsa... Everything was top knotch and not really expensive. We were lovin' every minute of our little adventure at the "Oak Hill Kitchen".

Then we started to pick up on the finer details... hmmm.... everyone that worked there looked alike... like, not just clothing, but hair style, lack of makeup, no jewelry, all women wore either tunic like dresses or these funky genie baloon pants. All men and boys had long hair just enough to pull back into a ponytail. They were all VERY nice... but even the musicians looked like them... infact, most of the patrons looked like them... We began to feel like we were on an island like the one on LOST and everyone around us were the "others"... This prompted a VERY interesting conversation with our kids about how some people choose to live together in a comune and share everything and alot of times it is based on some kind of religious foundation.

When leaving we asked if there was any literature about their restaurant and got a few little brochures and newspapers which we read FEVERISHLY on our way home... LOW AND BEHOLD, the organization was called "Twelve Tribes", from the Commonwealth of Israel. They are "believers" that are trying to live as close to the New Testament example in ACTS that they can. They eat healthy, homeschool their kids, and seek to "love" the world by not being "in the world"... OK...I'm not into that, but it works for some... what got me is that I agreed with just about all of their doctrinal statements except one glaring one... they believe that there are three eternal destinies (not two like I believe). They are: The unjust or wicked, the righteous, and the Holy. OK... so they're nice people... just have their doctrine skewed a bit... or are they a CULT?

Paul was the "man" back in the NT time period. If he said "jump", you jumped. He encouraged the NT church to live communally and to give up all of their earthly possessions. Could these people (Oak Hill Kitchen People) be believers that are merely deceived? or is it deeper than that? I thought I would just throw that out there to hear your input. I have my own point of view but I'll hold off on sharing that until I hear from a few of you on your thoughts. Michael and I were pleasantly surprised to not only happen upon these people but to engage in the followup conversations that we have to grapple with the topics raised by such a meeting. We need to take all things to scripture and discern properly what is before us. What are your thoughts?

My First Ride and Mohonk in May

2007-05-25T18:47:00.001-07:00

15 Year Anniversary....May 23rd... Mike was in Boston, but coming home in the evening. I had been riding the motorcycle in the driveway to practice. Then, he came home by 1pm and surprised me and the first thing he wanted to do was go for our first cycle ride. I was a little nervous, but crazy excited at the same time. We suited up and got on separate bikes for the first time... it was a beautiful day... almost 80 degrees...a great day for a ride... tensions were rising and BAM... I shifted into first gear and stalled... TOTAL BUMMER... especially in front of Michael...

Well...maybe, I just needed to get that out of my system in the driveway, because the rest of the ride was GLORIOUS! Truly... yes, I made the mistake of waving to a few people with the wrong hand but "all in all", it was a successful ride! It really is exhilerating to be able to shift and control the bike..."FEEL THE WIND in your hair" (... or against your helmet as the case may be!) We had a wonderful time! I put on about 40 miles... we ran out for lunch and drive back just in time to get the kids off the bus! The girls were quite impressed to see their mom pull up behind the schoolbus on a cycle!

The next morning we went out as well...probably another 40 miles and I felt twice as comfortable. Mike seems to enjoy me riding as well. Upon our return, we packed up the car and motored to Mohonk for our anniversary... which is an entirely separate blog... We had a spectacular time... just Mike and me... rowing on the lake...hiking on a few new trails... enjoying great food and a fabulous view from our topfloor tower room. The only thing we didn't get to enjoy was a fire in the fireplace as it was about 80 degrees out. Oh well, next time... last evening we sat in a gazebo on a bridged island (see picture) just talkng as we watched the moon over Mohonk...very peaceful...a rare moment. Clearly, great memories were made. A wonderful place to celebrate our last 15 years.

Carpe Diem

2007-05-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

What is life if you save it all for tomorrow? Will tomorrow ever come? No one will ever truly know until tomorrow greets us. I'm a big supporter of "Carpe Diem" (Sieze the Day!) A wonderful truth highlighted in the movie, "Dead Poets Society". With that in mind, I've been mulling something over in my head for quite a long time, and this past week, I finally took action on it. I got my learners permit for operating a motorcycle! I've known how to ride a motorcycle since I was in high school. Amy Thorton used to let me ride her cycle around the high school parking lot. It was safe for me because you could never pick up too much speed between speed bumps! Michael has always had a motorcycle... I think since he was four years old so when I met Mike in '88 I would ride with him... but now my girls like to ride with him and I'm usually the one who stays at home now...

So, why not get my license? I picked up the two DMV books last week and read them cover to cover. I still had about half of one of the books to go this morning but I decided that "Today was the day!" In order to get a permit to ride for the next year I needed to take a written test at DMV and then I can ride with Michael within a 1/4 mile of me for the next year racking up hours to qualify for my DMV roadtest. I stayed in my jammies until the final book was read and then motored to the DMV for my test.

I was surprised how unnerved I was! I haven't taken a "test" in years! Sounds really funny but I was really nervous about it! I actually didn't even tell Michael about it in fear that I would fail (If I did, I could simply take it again at a later date...sounded safe to me!) Turns out I got a 100% on it! YA HOO! I walked out of the DMV with my little slip of paper feeling like the whole WORLD was my oyster! I was now legally approved to drive a motorcycle on the open road! How fun! How cool!

No. I haven't taken my first ride as of yet sa Michael is in Boston until Wednesday. But! I'm hoping to take my first ride Thursday morning possibly... Michael and I are going to Mohonk for Thursday and Friday for our 15 year anniversary (www.Mohonk.com). He set us up in a tower room with a spa-tacular package so we'll be doing some hiking then off to the spa for massages and mineral pool moments... a decadent dinner followed by a cozy fire in our room... grrrrr.

Wait...this post was about my motorcycle permit... back to that... yes... my first ride...even if it doesn't happen on Thursday morning I'm sure it will be soon... and I look forward to it... I'm gonna learn how to ride on the open road... just to do it! Why? Because I've never done it before and it's one more thing that I want to put on my resume in heaven of things that I enjoyed down here on earth. Carpe Diem!

Why Ephesians 5:10...

2007-05-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

What a chore to pick a blog title... oy... tough stuff... well, through deep contemplation, I have decided to call my blog by the reference to one of my favorite bible verses... It's one of my favorites because it's so simple and I don't believe I have ever heard ANYONE quote it...ever... it is Ephesians 5:10 which says "...and find out what pleases the LORD." Isn't that what life as a Christian is all about? Does it get any simpler than that? It's also a nice reminder to "get back to business..." The 21 century seems to be all about finding out what pleases "me"... Ephesians 5:10 is a gentle reminder that it's WAY bigger than "me"... and if my focus is so small that I think it's about "me" than I've missed the mark...I've missed what God's greater plan is for me...

So, in naming my blog by this verse, I'm hoping to constantly remind myself of a greater goal. I hope that the things that I find to write about are encouraging to you all and give you a glimpse into this life that God has given me....I'm sure it will be filled with trial and error, but ulitmately, hopefully, a life given back to Him for His greater purposes. It's about "Gayle, finding out what pleases the Lord..."