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| Early morning midst over the Mississippi valley below our home today |
Early this morning around 6 a.m. I went out on the golf course to get my exercise and as always, I enjoy the morning alone praising God “and” looking for the golf balls that I lose. Unbeknownst to me, a friend had planned to meet me there by getting to the hole I normally start at pretty much each time I go out. His name is John and he is retired now. John used to work at a flourmill near the Mississippi river here in Winona. When walking up to me this morning he announced, “I was hoping I would meet you here, I had planned it so we could meet at this time. Do you mind if I join you?”
I had told him that it would be my pleasure to golf with him. I have accepted that if circumstances changed in my early morning golf time, then God must have a reason for it. John is a good man who has a kind heart and is very enjoyable to be around. As it turned out, he golfed very well this morning and I didn’t lose any golf balls, so we both ended up very happy.
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| Abby gathering flowers on our family walk. |
Anne is working for Educational Testing Service (ETS) this morning online. She starts at 7:30 and her work ends around 4:30 today. She is grading English proficiency tests submitted by students from other countries who wish to go to college here in the U.S. Aside from working for ETS several days a week, she also teaches for several online universities as well. Anne likes the flexibility and variation of work that she experiences by teaching at different universities. When not doing these jobs, she is working on her doctorate. Needless to say, being a mom and juggling many balls in air, she does very well. I am so proud of her in all that she accomplishes. Last night for fun and relaxation, Anne was reading a book that she just got on canning different fruits without using any chemicals, all natural ingredients and nothing store bought in their makeup. She truly is the pioneer woman.
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| Shadows in the midst. |
Today, I will grind the wheat that Anne purchased from a local farmer, of which I will make another loaf of wheat bread. The kids are slowly getting away from commercial cereals and eating wheat toast for breakfast now. We live on the outskirts of the town of Winona and we wish that we could raise animals and be more self-sustaining, but our local codes and neighborhood covenants restrict such activities. We hope that one day soon we will find a farm in the area where we can expand and raise cattle, sheep and crops.
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| Our flowers moving towards the sunrise. |
We as a family and (in-laws) built our two homes with the exception of the framing. What we didn’t know, we grabbed books and learned as we went. The experience gained was invaluable. My cousin Mike who now is a retired business owner (plumber) asked if we gained a lot of knowledge from the experience of building our homes. I said that I had gained more in building our home than most of the things I learned in graduate school. College is good though, it does teach resourcefulness and tenacity among other things. There were times that it was very discouraging when building our home, all the while teaching full time and having babies, but we made it through those challenges and became stronger for it. Anne was about 8 months pregnant with Will at the time she was taping the sheetrock. I got concerned one day when getting home from school and seeing her there on a ladder. I asked if she was ok. She smiled and said that being pregnant was good; it helped with the counter balance issue on the ladder.
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| Abby's wild flowers. |
I believe with all my heart that every person has the ability to do more than they believe they can. Taking the first step to accomplishing their goals is possible if one doesn’t look too far ahead. One must have a plan, but working out that plan is done one day at a time and not trying to run the whole marathon at once.
Well, this is our family today, have a wonderful week!
