Hope everyone is enjoying these warm summer days! We have really been enjoying Corpis Christi! We went to the bay today, the water is very warm and there are two foot waves. Anna took the boogie board and had fun trying to ride the waves. I started the day at 6:00AM both yesterday and today,walking with Robin, Maude, Darlene and some others from the conference. Then today Darlene and I took a swim right afterwards (at 7:00AM) to cool off and stretch, it was so peaceful and quiet! I was able to help at registration both days and really enjoyed that too!
We are headed for the woman's ministry dinner and then worship! What a blessing to be here!

We had a beautiful day yesterday, I am simply astounded at the beauty of this place, it is hard to take it all in! The moon was full over the water last night as Martha, Darlene, Maude and myself walked along the waters edge. There were torches lit and it really felt tropical!
We spent the majority of the day at the aquarium. We loved watching the otters, how adorable and playful they are! The dolphins gave a moving performance, and although Darlene, Anna and Maude had front row seats, they were probably not the best seats because the dolphins splashed them. They were soaked!
Today is a little less fun as we attend seminars most of the day. We are seeing a lot of dear ones and renewing old friendships! I had the joy of helping with registration and was able to see a lot of sweet faces.
Soup and Salad for dinner tonight with Jack and Sandy from Michigan and Mark & Robin.
Anna is still coughing badly, so the doctor called down another round of antibiotics, I sure hope it helps.

After waking at 2:00AM, loading everything, and heading for the Balt./Wash. airport, we arrived in Houston at about 9:30AM (Houston time) with a little bit of a bumpy landing which was a little scary. I mean we just survived the air trip, are we going to die now that we are on the ground!?! But all is well, Praise the Lord! We (Maude Nagle, D. Wiedenheft, Martha and most of our family) traveled to Corpus Christi, (oh how dry the land is), and arrived about 4:00PM. Bruce was so tired, was constantly waking him with back rubs,it was very hard on him so he slept for a couple hours while we swam.
Later, we tried to find a restaurant, and at first it proved to be very hard, we finally used the GPS unit and found lots of good food establishments. By this time, 9:00PM, Anna was done in, poor thing, she just wanted to sleep and her cough was worse then ever, so she ended up going to the van with the girls while us slower eaters finished our feast (at I HOP).
Martha recalled some of our funnier moments and shared with our friends, she had us all in tears of laughter before the evening was over. We fell asleep fast and rose this morning to a beautiful view of the bay and marina. How blessed we are to be able to enjoy this! Although the temperature is hot, there is a beautiful breeze and the smell of salt water permeates the air!

It was a beautiful Sabbath today! Not only was it beautiful outside, but inside it was even more beautiful! All the dear brothers and sisters rejoicing together! Who needs fireworks!?! And I really enjoyed the message about how far our country has fallen. I must have snoozed and missed a lot of history in school because I found those facts very intriguing today!
Seeing Orabell Youngs and her daughter Jenny Stevens was quite a treat too, and oh, how our small group seems to grow, and with little children as well! God sure does bless in beautiful ways!
Well, tomorrow morning at about 7:30AM we fly (Lord willing) to Houston,Texas. Please pray for all the brothers and sisters traveling to conference and to the wedding. Traveling is such an arduous thing and at the same time it so much fun!
Blessings to you on this fourth of July, may it be a reminder of the wonderful freedom we have through Christ, our Savior!

Onward and Upward!

Just a note this morning about the race we run... I couldn't help but write down my thoughts after seeing Serena William's excitement after her match in tennis yesterday. The look on her face was one of hard earned victory. I am sure Mark and Robin ( our marathon running friends and brother & sister in Christ) know the feeling of striving for the goal or finish line after having put so much effort into training and consistent exercise, diet and self discipline. When you finish and you know you have done well, oh what a feeling! How similar our race for the Lord is, seeking His will, being disciplined and consistent in our christian walk and being careful not to stray from the course He sets before us. Dear ones, some day we to will feel an even greater feeling of victory if we stay to the path, pressing onward and upward in the Lord!

Almost There!

Wow, what a day! Started with Abby(our 19 yr.old daughter) telling me that she only slept a few hours because of terrible back pain. I knew she had been suffering since the weekend and I had been massaging her with icy hot since, but now it had escalated to unbearable pain. To make this story short we went to three doctors today till she could get some medication. One was a chiropractor who tried to help. She finally groaned through packing tonight and we sent Daniel off with the van, much later then he wanted. Abby seems to have a contusion and possibly a pinched nerve the doc said. She recalls helping to lift a mop bucket full of water for a housekeeper at work and feeling the pain in her back then. She is really concerned about the plane ride. Martha you will have company. The doctor said to grab as many of those little pillows as you can when you get on the plane and use them for support.
Well, I can breath a little sigh of relief. Besides our clothes (Conference-casual and dressy, wedding, beach and traveling) being packed, so is the ingredients for 7 pies, two very large tropical ambrosia salads, jewelry to sell at the women's bazaar, sand toys, boogie board and lots of food for breakfast and snack times. Mark and Robin can relate as they are helping with both a running/walking program at conference and the youth program and must pack clothes for so many different things!
Is this a problem we should be glad to have, after all there are a lot worse things we could be dealing with? Traveling is supposed to be fun!?! Hopefully we can all heave a sigh and relax a little and enjoy entire time away.
Well...traveling games and books are bought and packed, atlas reviewed and airlines called several times to be clear about several issues and now I can relax! Maybe I will simply sleep through to Sabbath. ( :

Fooled Again

I thought I was going to get a great nights sleep, but about 15 min. after posting Anna had a coughing fit and woke up Finally after she did go to bed at 11PM she woke again at 1AM and didn't go back to sleep until 7:30AM. Soooo we enjoyed cereal together at 3AM.
I did go to the orthopedic today and found out that I need to have surgery again on my finger, Monday after we return from TX. There is a stitch trying to come out on top of the finger and is becoming sore. I thought they could simply lance it, and he could have, but after looking at the new x-ray today he said the other pin has to come out. Because he put the pin (which is half the length of the finger) in with a hook at the bottom, he can not be pulled it out, instead it must be cut out.
There is still a great joy in the air, not much can take that away as we eagerly await our departure date and pray nothing happens to cancel it. Sometimes you try to guard your emotions, not allowing yourself the pleasure of great anticipation because you are afraid of the let down. I have let my guard down this time and am trying to enjoy every moment, joying in the look on Daniel's face as he talks of the wedding, sharing Martha's joy as she prepares and hopes for the best of health on the trip and seeing Anna's anticipation, trying to view the trip from her eyes.