Vacation in Ohio

We just got back from 1 1/2 weeks of vacation with the Strickland family. We were so blessed in renting a pastor's lake house on Lake Seneca. It is a private lake, about 1 1/2 hours from Elkhart. It was very quiet & peaceful. We actually found out later that we knew the pastor's neice & nephew-in-law (if that's a word :) from our church & ECA (Rach's former employer).

The best day of the whole week was Sunday afternoon. The Thigpen's, Strickland's & Highlander's from Norwalk, Ohio joined us for our own church service. Ethan, Ben's brother, played some powerful worship songs for us all to sing together. All of the men shared some significant passages that they had been studying. We are so blessed. Ben's Mom also shared a psalm that she had been memorizing. It was a great reminder of God's grace & the joy of being a part of such a godly family. The time together was so sweet. As I looked around the whole group I realized how many things we have all faced over the past few years. There is always something God is doing to work on this family.

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12

Leona loved being with family. She loved eating breakfast with Gma & Gpa, while Mommy slept in!! She loves the water, too! She loves splashing & kicking her legs. She also discovered playing in the sand. Anytime we have been to Lake Michigan the sand has been too hot for her to play in, so she loved getting dirty & filling the frisbee up with sand & dumping it on her head!

At the end of our trip we traveled to Cedarville, Ohio to see Ben's Grandpa Jindra (his Mom's Dad), Aunt Nancy & cousin Christina. We were also able to visit the gravesites of Ben's 2 uncles (Tim passed away in 2006; Danny in 2010) & his Grandma Jindra (died in 1993). It was short, but good to see family that we don't get to see very often!