Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Catching Up (Just Kidding)

Wow, I knew I was behind with blogging, but this is ridiculous. I’m reminded of “the olden days” when we would write real letters to family. Sometimes I would start with “I am so far behind I don’t even know where to start!”

While I do not attempt to use my blog for a life journal (I have other resources for that), I usually do “check in” at least periodically.

In an effort to move forward without too much of a huge break in the timeline, I’ll offer this bit of a summary report:

July – Pontoon Boat Rental on Lake of the Ozarks with our sister and brother (my sister Janene married to Russell’s brother David). A few days later, Newsboys Concert with them in Columbia, MO.

07-24-2018 Pontoon

07-27-2018 Columbia MO for Newsboys Concert

Late July, Tory returns (to her folks’ in Washington) from her two-year Journeyman (IMB) mission service in Oaxaca, Mexico. She gets to see her nephew Leeland for the first time.

07-24-2018 Tory returns from Oaxaca-PDX (6)

August – We went to Washington to see everyone, and while there purchased a second home there.

08-03 thru 08-10-2018 Trip to WA (13)

08-03 thru 08-10-2018 Trip to WA (32)

08-03 thru 08-10-2018 Trip to WA (46)

08-03 thru 08-10-2018 Trip to WA (85)

08-03 thru 08-10-2018 Trip to WA (33)

Kristy took

Late August, back to Washington, to move into the new house and begin to make our nest there.

08-24-2018 Leeland

08-26 thru 09-14-2018 WA to Move in Abernathy (34)

 

September 8, 2018

While in Washington, we celebrated our 53rd anniversary!

IMG_5289

September 20-23, 2018

Upon our return to MO, Russell joined my brother Keith, Keith’s son Matt, and Russell’s brother David for a much-anticipated Wild Hog Hunt in Texas (Russell got 3; donated the meat). I caught up with lots of scrapbooking while they were gone, and Janene came to spend a night with me.

09-20 thru 23-2018 Hog Hunt (5)

09-20 thru 23-2018 Hog Hunt (23)

Russell’s brother Curtiss was at Janene and David’s for construction of their screened-in porch, and all the Ford siblings (David and Janene, Jim and Bettie Jo, Curt, Russell and me) gathered at their house for a great evening of fun and fellowship.

09-23 and 24 Siblings (3)

September 26, we received this great news, via text message from our 12-year-old grandson Dawson: “I gave my life to Christ tonight!!! Share with other people please!”

BEST NEWS EVER!!!

(I will confess that one of my first thoughts after receiving this good-news text from Dawson was that I wanted to immediately share the news with Mother. She has been in heaven since April 2013, but I still have occasions where my first thought is to tell her something.)

On September 30, Mark’s church plant, Go Church, launched in Ridgefield, WA, the culmination of a year of preparation and prayer by Mark (and Kristy, Conner and Caroline, and recently joined by Tory on the Praise Team) and their Core Group. All the hard work and effort paid off, and prayers were answered, as 166 folks attended the first-ever service.

20180930_104943

God is so good to us, and His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness! Bible Art page completed today:

Bible Art - Lam 3-23

4 comments:

Nancy Happily said...

I was thrilled to read all of your wonderful news. Fantastic news Dawson! Your blog and your messages really speak to me. You have been in my thoughts and my heart. Prayers have been said for you and your fami!y. So glad to see you back. God bless you.

Pastor Mark said...

This is incredible. So good. The pic of Tory, Leeland and Grandad is precious. These are all amazing pictures and a great summary. Love it.

Kristy Ford said...

Really enjoyed reading this and looking at all the awesome pictures! Thankful for all the very good things that have happened, one of those being your new house near us all!

Barbara said...

Thanks for these very encouraging comments. Very meaningful to me!