Saturday's Scribbles

 It is Saturday morning, and we are waking to the day in a hotel in Minnesota.  Our niece is getting married and Joel is officiating at the ceremony.  We drove up yesterday for the rehearsal and groom's dinner.  Great fun to be able to hug on family again.  Three of our children and their families will arrive today.  Yay!  It is so great to be able to attend family gatherings again.

Speaking of great, yesterday we were able to visit with some dear long time friends that we have not seen in years.  We first met Marge and Dick in Salt Lake City Utah in 1970.  We were all members of one of the few Lutheran churches that existed in the city.  Joel was in the Air Force, attending the University of Utah, and had the privilege of filling in on Sunday's at Our Savior's for 9 months after their pastor moved on to a new call.  The church was filled with gracious people who loved the Lord. Our daughter Beth never lacked for surrogate grandparents, nor we friends.

Back to Dick and Marge.  They were such kind, caring people...and still are. We stayed with them our last week in Salt Lake City, before Joel' s graduation and our move to Duluth Mn. Soon after, Dick was transferred to the Twin Cities in Minnesota and they have made their home there now for the past 43 years. When we came back from the Philippines in 1976, they offered their home for us to stay in for two weeks.  They were going on vacation and we were looking for a home to buy, as Joel was going to Luther Seminary.  Always kind, caring, and gracious, they offered to help.  Yesterday's visit was wonderful, catching up on family news, sharing faith stories, and enjoying each other's company.   Their children and grandchildren all live in the surrounding areas, and they see them often.   They are living a full life at age 83 and 85!

If you have read any of my posts you know another week of drama came in, but ended with good news!  You can go back one post and read all about it.

So fun to be with family.  We were driving to the hotel and I texted my sister Jan to see where they were.  They were driving in from South Dakota and we were driving in from Iowa.  Turned out we were on same interstate only a few miles apart.  As we got close to our destination, we came to a stoplight.  Joel looked to the left and saw my sister in the car next to us...waving!  How fun!

We have watched a few teachings this week, a little TV, and even less reading!  Looking forward to a quieter week ahead.  For now, we are off to celebrate!