Back to Warmth

We left Georgia on Sat AM, and got back to our home, (Motor) and it was 80 degrees. The trip went fine, and all is good here. With my new position, I will need to do some traveling, and my first trip is this week. I leave Tues for Halifax Nova Scotia, to check out a potential project for us. I got an e-mail from the fellow picking me up, and he said to dress warm. When we left Indiana on Thursday, it was only 6, so I'm ready.

No grandkid pics, so I included one for the mouse trap.

Ken

Winter Wonderland

Here we are in the frozen north, but having a great time with grand kids. We left Illinois on Tuesday, just ahead of the snow. Then when we got up this morning, we had a couple inches of snow to play with. Both kids loved playing outside, and didn't want to come in. But then Grammy made hot chocolate, and it was all better.

Illinois Bound

Well, it's Nov 30, and we are in Illinois. Anything wrong with this picture? We went to Georgia for hanksgiving, then to Indiana to see our kids and grandkids, then to Chicago to see our other kids, then to Rockford for Dr stuff. I went in for another scope exam on Tues. and the Dr, found 3 more tumors in my bladder, so it was off to the hosp on Fri to get them removed. I went in at 10 and was out by 2:30, and feeling great. Once again, no pain or anything except a cathetor for 3 days. I hopefully get it out on Mon, and then wait for the path. results Tue or Wed. After that, we hope to head back to Florida where there is warm weather. It's 24 hours after the surgery, and I feel great. God continues to wath over us. More later after we head back south.

Ken

Boy, it has been awhile since I have made an entry. Ken is doing so much better than me. We got back to Orlando safely last Friday from Panama. The vacation at the front end was fun although my friend Lanita was sick the entire time and I guess will be for a couple of months. She has something called post viral chronic fatigue syndrome which is a big term for getting realllly down AFTER having a viral bout of anything. It takes her months before she can do much of anything. We felt so bad that here we were in this neat place and she spent all her time down in bed.

The last 5 days we were at a conference for over 50 translation organizations (who knew there were so many!). We interacted with some very interesting, smart people. My mantra to our group in private was "I am not worthy!" I just never had put much time in considering what my "worldview" was or how cultures are diverse or what obstacles there are in translation. I have been blithely walking through my life, focused on my own little world. Wow, was I challenged and the people that were at my discussion table were so gracious and patient. They took great amounts of time explaining missions history and cultural mistakes and current challenges to me. Most of them told us all these things in Spanish then one man translated to us. It was a huge answer to our prayers to be able to communicate. It was not the same at all discussion tables. At some, if you didn't speak Spanish then you could just sit there and be quiet. That is why I say this was a huge answer to OUR prayers.

I would attend another conference in a heartbeat, but I did promise our translator that the next time I saw him I would speak in HIS language so I will start Spanish training soon...like in 5 min. when I am done with this!

Sorry there are no pictures today. We have some but I am not sure I will post them. I did not ask any of the participants if they were in sensitive areas and would prefer to not have their pictures on my blog, so I will err on the safe side.

We are heading out on Wed. morning to be with my parents and sister's family for Thanksgiving. Friday we will go to Shelli's, Sunday to Chris', Monday to Rockford for the next round of Ken's doctoring. We hope to be back in Orlando by the first of Dec. If you are on this route we hope to see you.

Greetings from Panama

Well, we are in a country that doen't speak much english, and we are doing ok. We have another couple with us that speak fairly good spanish, so that helps. We have toured the locks , and watched 2 ships pass thru. They have "mules" that pull the ships thru to keep them from hitting the sides, and to go SLOW. We also took the train from Panama City to Colon, which runs along side the canal. Panama City is on the Pacific side and Colon is on the Atlantic side. Once there we toured around a bit in a car. We were glad we hired a driver, because the town was pretty nasty, and many of the streets were flooded. We drove thru a foot or more water numerous times. Then, when we got back to Panama City, our driver took us around to see some other sites. It was good to have someone that was familiar, and could speak pretty good english. More touring today, and then on Monday we head to another hotel outside the city to our conference. No pictures this time, as this is someone elses laptop, and I didn't bring the cords. We'll send some when we return on Friday.

Ken & Melody

Halloween in Indiana

NOW-Isn't this the most adorable lady Bug you have ever seen. With a digital camera, and a computer, along with cyberspace, we got it all in one night.









Then Little Caleb was a great Nemo. We think they enjoyed the evening. These are the times that grandparents miss, but electronics helps a little.

I keep forgetting to take my camera places to show all of you what we are doing. I'm getting old, and forget.

More later-

Ken

Pappy & Little Caleb -NEW TOY

Well, here we are in a BIG tractor, playing farmer in Illinois. Little Caleb really enjoyed the riding around, and even being able to walk around inside the cab. Then when we got to the field, and Marshall started picking corn, we got to follow him, and unload corn into the wagons. Caleb knew everything that we were doing, and had a blast. Then he needed to leave with Grammy, so I got to stay and play farmer the rest of the afternoon and pick corn with the very big combine. WOW, who had more fun?????

Ken

After a Week of the Grandkids

When we were with our grand kids, we went to the apple orchard, and Abby loved the cider donuts. We then looked at the animals outside, and played on the tractors and wooden toys. Our little guy just loved the stuff he could climb on.

This picture was taken just before we left Indiana, and after we had been with them for 6 days. I think they still look happy. We had soooo much fun with them, and look forward to more visits real soon.

We are now back in Orlando, and it was back to work today. I spent the better part of the day getting concrete car bumpers for the building project. Melody said she was learning LOTS of new things in her department, and they started packing their office to move to the new building. It's still a couple weeks away, but getting ready is good. I have another picture to show of me and the little guy having the most fun together, but i couldn't get it downloaded this time. I'll send it next time.

Ken

Abbi's First Birthday

We flew ti Indianapolis today to help celebrate our granddaughters first birthday. Shelli and Caleb are going away for a few days, so we get the kids.

Well-here is our little girl, with her curly red hair, and ready for a party. She looks sooooo innocent and lady-like.










Then dinner started, and our dainty little girl likes to eat. We had spaghetti and green beans, and she loved every bite.










The, to top off the night, we had birthday cake. As you could see above, she likes to eat, and she was still hungry. Grammy made her a cake of her own, and she loved it. These are times worth spending. Our little grandson is great also. He came up to me after supper with his shoes on, and said he and I were going for a walk. It doesn't get much better than that. I'm sure we'll have more over the 5 days with them.

Ken

Kens new toy

Here I am with a new toy. Until I got here, I had only run one of these one other time. I am not the greatest, but I can make it hummmm pretty good. We have been very busy doing landscaping around the new building. Last week (Thursday & Friday) we took delivery of 3200 plants, and today(Thursday) we finished planting all of them. I have learned lots about how the work here gets done. We just do it. God has provided GREAT co-workers, and everyone works very hard.

Ken

In case you forgot us

Just in case you forgot what we look like, here we are.

Our work here continues, and we are learning more each day. Melody has been given new responsibilities in the accounting area, and she likes the challenges.

Ken has been busy with LOTS of stuff. This week we poured 24 yds of concrete, finished planting 28 palm trees, took delivery of 3200 plants, and planted about 1000 of them, just for starters. It was very tiring, but very rewarding as well. On Thursday, we attended a Bible dedication for 13 new translations. The couple that worked in Peru were here, and told some of their story. It gives new meaning to the work we do. Without all the volunteers to do the support work here or there, they wouldn't be able to do the translating. If you are retired, or just have a little time to give, we could use your help, no matter what your skills. We need computer people, construction people, accounting folks, business execs, etc. If you know anyone who might fit with the volunteer movement, pass this on

Ken & Melody

Our House

These pictures show the living room of our coach. It is very compact, but yet very comfortable. Just to the right, in this picture, is a 3 burner stove, and a convection microwave. As shown, I even brought my big Bun coffee maker.









This shot is the opposite side, with a comfortable couch that makes into a bed. Up front is a 30 in tv, with a DVD, VCR, and satellite dish hooked up. We don't miss to much. One problem we have found is that when it rains, it's hard to hear. Rain on the roof is load.

I'll get more shots later. The bedroom wasn't picked up for a picture.

Pics of our Grandkids

We got these pictures from Shelli of the kids. Here little Caleb models a lobster hat, and looks soooooo cute.










This picture has Abby modeling a Michigan cheer leading outfit. Big Caleb is hurting from Michigan getting beat the past 2 weeks. He has Michigan clothes for everyone, kind of his version of rally hats. One picture showed her crying, and Shelli said it was because she didn't have on her Wisconsin outfit.

We miss the kids, but are settling on our new jobs. Mel was in class 3 times this week, learning new computer stuff that will help her with the accounting she is doing. I walked into a meeting on Monday, and left with a number of responsibilities. I feel good that they have the confidence in me to do these things. The building we have been working on is almost done, and we hope to move in within a few weeks. The one thing that we don't care for is HOT & HUMID weather every day. Oh well, this is where we are, and what we need to put up with.

Ken

We are Parked

Sorry, no pictures yet. We left Dawsonville Ga. on Sat, and stayed in northern Fl. last night. Then finished our trip in to Orlando by 1:00 on Sun. We spent the afternoon setting up, cleaning, unloading our garage, unloading the bike, and grocery shopping. We missed the Bear game, cause we are in Tampa Bay territory. Oh well, they got beat anyway. We are both exited to be here, and ready to start on our new jobs. I know Melody has a job waiting for her, and will be put to work right away. I will be meeting with my boss after morning chapel, and plan what's in store for me. We'll keep you all posted as to what we are doing. I already know we are going to Panama in November for a conference. WOW, and I don't speak the language. Fortunately, the couple we are traveling with speak some Spanish. Mel said I should spell check, so I'll try to remember.

Ken

On to the Next Event!

I haven't posted for a long time and as I check our recent posting I see that Ken needs to use spell check more often! Just kidding, I am proud of him for keeping the blog up to date.

We are wending our way south this week. Our summer vacation was fun, fast and exhausting. I mistakenly told Ken he could be the keeper of the social calendar when we retired. I had no idea that he would keep us busy from 7:30 am to night! I guess that makes me the slow learner! Regardless, we had a great summer, visiting and traveling but we are both very ready to get back to work in Orlando. We are also ready to settle in and get involved in a church there. It has been odd to only visit churches for all this time. It is always comforting to know there are bodies of believers all over this country that you can worship with but, like the old Sunday School chorus says, there IS joy in SERVING Jesus! So we are more than ready to get back to the serving part. Hmmm, wonder if there is a church ready for US!

Right this minute I am sitting in the RV waiting for little Caleb to get up from his nap. We are parked in front of his house so he and I came out here for our afternoon nap. If I slept as long as him though I would never sleep tonight. I can hardly wait for the kids to be potty trained so they can come on trips with us.

We leave tomorrow morning to head for GA to visit my parents and my sister's family. I think there may be a short stopover in Chattanooga at a Honda dealer...Ken's looking for a new cycle...I told him he needs to sell the old one first. Anyone interested?

Grandkid Fix

Our grandkids are getting sooooooo big, and adventurous. We spent 3 days this week with them, and got to take them to the Indianapolis Zoo. We saw lots of animals, and we all had great fun. Then the next morning we spent time at a local park in Shelbyville.

Here Little Abby is having fun crawling on the jungle.




This picture shows our Little Big Guy learning how to climb on the jungle, and then slide down the twisty slide.












This was special time at the zoo at the dalphine show. Life is great when you have a little grandson beside you. NO, pappy is not sucking his fingers like the little guy. I'm just leaning on my chin.

Doing Great

Last week I had my next exam for my Bladder Cancer. Unfortunately, they found more tumors, and I had them removed on Monday. I was sent home with a catheter, and after a little "plumbing plug-ups" the tube was removed, and I could use the toilet normally. The little comforts in life mean a lot. I am feeling great, and the Dr. told Melody that the tumors didn't look any worse than the previous ones, but we get the pathology report back next week. We decided to spend some time visiting , so we are back at our sons, do continue work on his deck. Then it's back to the Rockford area for a couple days. We are then going with friends to Minn. See see our former pastor and his wife. Then it's back to see our grand kids(daughter and son-in-law also) before getting ready for a camping trip over labor day weekend. After that, we will start heading south towards our new home base in Orlando Fl.

Ken and Melody

Bike stuff

On our bike trip to South Dakota, we took some very senic roads. This was the Wild Life loop in Custer National Parl. This Buffallo cow was protecting her calf just behind her, about 25 ft from the bikes.










One of our friends, from Boston, has an Orange County Chopper, that he shipped out to ride with us. Here the QUEEN sits, being carefull not to burn her legs on the pipes, and being very nervous not to drop the bike.










One other stop was Mt Rushmore. Here is a picture of 5 of the greatest heads in the world. We had a great time, and saw lots of beauty all within 100 miles of Rapid City.

We are in Indiana, picking up our house after getting warranty work done, well some. The dealership ordered parts, and some didn't come in, and some cam in wrong. So we will head back to I'll untill they get them. I have another surgery on Monday Aug 13, so we'll sit still for a few days. We are now homeless, as we closed on our house on Wed. We like our house on wheels. More later.

Ken

Pics of our helper

While working on Chris' deck, Melody was babysitting our grandkids. Our little Caleb was interested in what we were doing, and saw us with a pencil behind our ears, so GRAMMY made him a carpenter.











Then, for a little fun, we took him for a ride in the wheel barrow. The shutter didn't open al the way, but you get the idea.

We're back

Sorry we haven't posted for a while. We started traveling again, but this time on our bike. We left Rockford, saw friends in Iowa, and then on to Lincoln Neb to Kens brothers home. There, we met up witha number of folks from all over, and on Sat July 28, we headed for South Dakota. We spent 5 days riding around Rapid City, and saw some of the best biking roads ever. We also saw Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, buffalo, wild donkeys, etc. We got a chance to ride with a bike made by Orange County Choppers. It was great looking, and fun to see everyones head turn when we pulled in some where. He broke down one day, and found his fuse had blown. It was a 30 amp, and my Goldwing was the only one with a replacement. Sorry for all the Harley fans, but we Honda guys need our day. We then rode back to Lincoln, and the group went there separate ways. Melody and I went on to Kansas city to see on old college buddy. We left there on Monday, and got to see our friends in Des Moines again, and then headed east towards Rockford. We stopped in central Iowa, and finished our tip home on Tuesday. We have sold our house and close on it at 8:00 0n Wed, Aug 8. I have my next Dr appt at 10:45, and then hopefully our motorhome will be finishedbeing repaired, so we will have at least one house. We will have pictures when I can download them into the computer. I forgot the cord.

Ken

Stopped traveling-for a while

Well- Our trip west is over, and we are camped in Yorkville Illinois. We came back east to help our son and daughter-in-law build a deck on their house. It's a lot like work, digging 17 post holes, filling them with concrete, setting support posts, and then a beam on top. Thats where we are now. On Wednesday, we hope to finish the beams, and joists, so he can get it inspected before deck boards go on. It's been great fun working with our son, and we are both learning lots as we go. He has all the plans, and we both have enough experience to put it all together. Melody got to play with our grandkids over the weekend, as their parents went to the Nascar race in Joliet. We shortened our trip west, but it has been well worth the effort helping our kids. We have pictures, but the camera is at Chris' house. We'll keep you in suspense as to what it looks like. Sunday we are off to Indianapolis for work on our new home, and see our grandkids again. We can't get enough of them.

More later------Ken & Melody

This is one of the reasons Melody agrees to ride on the motorcycle. We found this store, that she had heard of, and had to stop. Yes, we made a purchase.



















We had a great week, of sightseeing and riding our bike. We spent time in Colorado, riding north from Denver, to Estes Paek and the Rocky Mountain National Park. We then headed north to Wyoming, and rode in the Big Horn National Park. This picture was typical of the roads, a motorcycle riders delight, curves, hills, and lots of beauty.







































We then found a stream, with a parking lot beside it. We had taken some cheese & crackers along for a snack. we stepped out onto a big rock in the middle of the stream, and layed out our blanket. What a great place to sit, and lay, and relax------------------

















Then we saw more of nature than we wanted to, so we loaded back on the bike, and headed down the road. The beauty we saw was spectacular, and the sky was brilliant blue.

FILLING IN THE BLANKS

Ken has done the last few blogs (and a nice job he is doing too!) but I wanted to say a few things too. He put the picture of the church on a recent blog but the top of the steeple didn't show up too good so I cropped it. Is this not a great steeple top? This is in Port Gibson, MS. They understand the point of having a steeple!










This is outside of Port Gibson and just took my breath away. This is the Windsor Ruins. This house was built in 1861 on part of the 21,000 (!) acres owned by this family. The owner died shortly after it was completed. His wife and children continued to live there and almost lost everything during the Civil War but retained the house. In 1880 the family was having a large party. It is said that someone smoking set fire to the house and it was completely burned. What is left today are the supports and they are huge. This was a 3 floor structure with the basement on the first floor. Just to give you some perspective we had a picture taken with us in it.


The first floor must have been 10 feet tall with the other two floors even taller. It is amazing that these ruins do not have graffiti on them and that the county continues to mow. The ruins sit about 5-6 miles out of town and there is NOTHING on the road out there. No homes, nothing. I think I read that there were 23 rooms originally but there are no pictures from when the house was whole. Rather sad. The wrought iron steps that originally graced the front of the house were donated to the college in town and are in use today. I love this stuff!

New House & Old Friends

Who would have thought you could drive half way cross country, and see friends. These are our friends Larry & Debbie King that are moving to San Antonio TX. We were able to meet them in Tulsa Oklahoma for dinner and a visit on their way south. The world just gets smaller and smaller.







As promised, we finally got pictures of our new house. We are having a great time, and loving the new place.













This picture has an extra item hanging on the back. Yes, we have the Gold Wing hanging on the rear, so we can enjoy the outdoors when it's not raining. I will have another photo of the entire "TRAIN" soon.

We made our way to Hutchinson Kansas, and will head to Colorado on Friday to meet yet another relative from 1200 miles away.

On the Road Again

WE ARE ON THE ROAD, AND SEEING NEW THINGS. WE LEFT ORLANDO ON SATURDAY, AND TRAVELED TO JACKSON MISS. TO VISIT WITH FRIENDS WE WORKED WITH THIS PAST WINTER. HERE WE ARE AT THE VICKSBURG CIVIL WAR MUSEUM.

THIS WAS A REINACTMENT WITH A CANNON FIREING.

WE THEN TRAVELED SOUTH ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. AND SAW THIS CHURCH WITH AN INTERESTING STEEPLE TOP.

Final Memories of a Week Together

Went to the zoo on Saturday while waiting for the flights out. After a cool lunch (it was HOT outside) there was some major cleaning up to do!

Caleb loves his fries and ketchup. He is also getting rather attached to the baseball cap that was used to shelter him from the sun. We are all patting ourselves on the back...both kids are sunburn free even after spending lots of time in the water or at the beach. HOORAY!

Caleb was a tad leary of the goats this time but we are going to cut him some slack since he had a bad week with a variety of critters.

A gazook of seagulls tried to take our food at an outdoor McDonald's and even Shelli yelled out, "Momma!" Then Caleb and Auntie Em chased a few small lizards until the mothers came out for revenge and Em retreated.

Here's our cute little Abby. She's getting teeth, smiles and laughs a lot and LOVES being around people. She's very social and giggles when she feels Pappy's scratchy face. Hmmm, "Pat the Bunny" deja vu!

Yesterday was Father's Day and we were missing our kids/grandkids so Ken and I went on a cycle ride that became an event. We had been introduced to a game called "Blokus" recently that we really enjoyed, so on our ride we came upon a ToysRUs, bought the game, found a neat public park at the beach (Atlantic side) and sat at a covered picnic table where we could see the waves crashing on shore, and played our new game...twice...I won twice...that will NEVER happen again.

Today it became official. Come September we will be volunteering for Wycliffe on a permanent basis. We will be free to travel back to IL for medical, friends, family for 2-3 weeks every three months. Ken's birthday was last week and I got him a Rosetta Stone program to learn Spanish since he may be traveling to places south of here...actually the Spanish would be helpful north of here also, LOL!

We are leaving Orlando on Saturday to meander north to end up in Montana for the fourth of July and the annual Gold Wing convention, then back to IL to help Chris and Em build a deck.

Had a great time yesterday at the zoo. Abby is so cute and loves to be around people.

Caleb wasn't so sure about the goats this time. He had a bad week with creatures. We had a Hitchcockian event with a ton of seagulls while we were eating outside, even Shelli yelled for Mom! Then there was a plethora of lizards, big and small. Emily chased away the little ones but when the momma lizards came back for revenge, even Em backed off. So we will cut Caleb some slack for his timidity.

More Play Time

Look what happens at the end of the day. Grammy gets to hold them both, and cuddle before bed time. Little ones are soooooo much fun, and need to be hugged and played with lots.

Abby loves to play in the pool with her Froggy Floaty thing. It is so cute with the blow-up palm tree, that shades her from the sun. Being a red head, she is pretty fair skinned, and we don't need a lobster.

We are learning how to excavate sand, digging a hole.Notice the careful attention paid by the student. Also learning how to build a sand castle, by using the excavated sand, and drizzaling it thru your fingers.

Here we are in the Gulf of Mexico, and he thinks it's a BBBIIIGGG pool. We had fun walking in the water and playing.

Grandkid Visit

Look at this picture, and see if you tell who's haveing the most fun. The title to the picture is Playtime.

Abby and Caleb got a water float, and they both really liked it.

Here we are on our first walk to the beach. We have a basket ful of sand tays, and WOW are we excited

God has gifted us with a great family, and it's fun to do stuff with them. Oh yes, our kids are here too, we just don't have any photos of them as yet. We may or may not depending on the little ones, and there photo op's. More later as we have more fun.

Ken