We started the New Year freezing in Florida! St. Joseph Peninsula State Park experienced record lows- I am sure it was because we were there!! It is always nice to begin the year on vacation though.
We just looked back at our 2007 letter and saw what a year of changes it was for our family. This year has been quite thankfully calm by comparison. Our adult children are all being adults, and we are thoroughly enjoying being grandparents. Landon will be four tomorrow, Jazmin turned two in October, and Leah celebrated her first birthday a couple of weeks ago. They are indeed priceless!
We spent more precious time with our camping friends from Massachusetts. They are good role models for us as we head towards retirement!
Junnie started a new family tradition by camping with Andrea and Jazmin for Spring Break. Jim was in charge of towing, set up, and take down- unfortunately having to work while we played during the week.
We had two great cross country trips planned- one for May and one for October. As gas prices skyrocketed, we decided to change the Arkansas/Missouri trip to a two week trip to North Georgia in June. That turned out great, with family and friends popping in and out to join us on legs of the trip. We completed our 4,096 steps to become official Canyon Climbers in the state parks. (We have the tee shirts to prove it!)
We set off for the October trip to Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio with great plans. Our first gas stop was in Augusta, GA. To our surprise, there was a serious shortage of gas. It took us four hours total to fill our tank. We decided to head to a nearby state park to regroup and at least spend the weekend. We landed at Magnolia Springs State Park, about an hour south of Augusta. After hearing that the shortages continued through the southeast, we made the decision to stay where we were. Even though it was nothing like the vacation we had planned, it turned out to be wonderful! It was very relaxing, and we met some of the nicest people! We read, hiked, biked, and visited with our new friends. It answered a question we had had about whether we could be content to just sit at one place for an extended time. The answer was a definite yes! We were not ready to head home!!
Our Church family continues to encourage and challenge us as we walk our journey together. We each have a share group that meets each week. It has been very good for us to have this accountability!
Come and join us on a camping trip. There is always room around the campfire for a few good friends!!
We pray that your holiday season will be a time of joy, peace, family, and friends and that the new year is filled with blessings galore!