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Ordinary Life filled with Extraordinary Love; you find it when you look for it.



Blogging. Why? What compels me to write our stories here? I've asked that question of myself so many times. Honestly, I know the answer, but when I admit it out loud, it seems so silly. Then again, it doesn’t seem silly at all when you consider that what will be left when we're gone are the stories.

I don't recall my family ever telling stories when we gathered, which wasn’t very often. But I married a man whose family has all the stories. We've been married for over forty years now, and I am still hearing stories for the first time when we gather. I wonder if that’s because we have been able to gather more often these days.

We just returned from Camp yesterday. It was just John and me on this trip. It was long overdue, and we needed it. It was a perfect camp week. The weather was cool and dry with plenty of sunshine. The pace there is slower with no real schedule. We intentionally planned no work. The trip in June and July nearly killed us. That time, we went with a lot of work that needed to be done to prepare for our family reunion. We ran into some serious issues that needed immediate attention—i.e., a leak in the slide-out that resulted in a small amount of damage. The real solution to that problem was having a roof built over it, but the best solution we could provide at the time was a big tarp over it. That meant that the two primary windows had to be covered, so no view outside. It felt like a cave. The weather was brutal during the day. Although the week was fantastic (and worth it), it left some of us with a small case of PTSD. We learn a little more with every camp adventure. Despite not planning any work this trip, some real work happened. The roof was installed over the slide-out, so I was able to open the windows and enjoy the sunshine. Our golf cart was repaired and is running great! The work we hired out at the beginning of the year, which was just a little lacking, was completed. On top of finishing it, he was kind enough to go through with his machinery and get all the weeds cleaned up before our arrival. We added our kids to the deeds, and last but not least, John installed security cameras. For a week that had no work planned, it sure feels like we accomplished a lot.

That's just the details of practical stuff for my own recollection. The treasures were the many meals that we shared with family, the evenings that we rode around the campground in the golf carts—always a fun convoy, the conversations and stories, the peace of an evening campfire by the lake. Each time we visit, we meet new people and make new friends. It truly has become our second home, and we are so very grateful. We all live in areas that are far from each other, and camp gives us a place to come together in a way that feels like home to everyone, each in their own way. We are so excited for the adventures to come.

And that, my friends, feels like an ordinary life filled with extraordinary love. We don’t have to look far these days to find it—to recognize it.












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