In June, Dad and Josh took a special father-son trip to Lake Texoma. They joined Dad’s best friend, and several other guys, for a cool fishing experience!

Josh and Dad out on the lake. Lake Texoma is an 89,000 acre lake on the Red River, shared by Texas and Oklahoma.

they went out at dawn

beautiful picture! see the moon?

Dan and Josh

and they did catch fish! Lake Texoma Stripers!

Dan and John – thankful for the blessing of lasting friendship!

And we are thankful for our Dad… we know this is a little late to be a Father’s Day post, but we are truly grateful for our Dad and the great example and guide he is to us!

Jennifer and Jaimee recently returned home from an incredible experience with girls across the country! They were leaders for a girls Journey to the Heart, a 10-day retreat with the theme of loving Jesus with ALL your heart. 

It began at IBLP’s beautiful headquarters in Chicago. 

We were treated to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes with some of the staff girls… Sharon, Lauren, Laura, and Laurie.

Another pic from headquarters. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

The majority of the trip was spent at the Northwoods conference center (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). 

Our team stayed in the Wolf Lake cabin – we made many happy memories together. 

View of Wolf Lake from our cabin on a bright and sunny morning.

Kelsey, Jennifer and Holly

on the 4 mile walk around the lake

Natalie, braving the mosquitoes. They were all over!

Up at the lodge… the back rubs felt so nice!!

We had a whole day set apart to “delight in the Lord” – to search His Word for meaningful verses, share truths with one another, spend time in group prayer, enjoy God’s creation, and much more. In the afternoon we enjoyed quiet time with God out on the lake. Evelyn, Holly and Madison – ready to go kayaking for the first time. 

One of our favorite things to do up in the Northwoods!

While on the lake, we heard two eagles calling to each other. This one landed at the top of the tree. It was a treat to see one so close!

so much fun

 with Priscilla (another team leader) at Bond Falls

beautiful!

at the top of Bond Falls we got together to read on one of the “hearts” – all week we searched about wrong heart conditions and then the attitudes of a good heart. 

enjoying Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream!!

having fun in the gym

Our 11 girls were such a blessing to us! It was amazing to watch God work in all of our hearts – several gave their lives to Christ, others were freed from bondage, and many saw God answer prayer in a real way. It was truly a wonderful time.

Inspiring girls to embrace their curls! Jaimee and Amelia

one of the girls left a day early, so we all had fun one night visiting with her on speaker phone!

Before flying home, Ruthann gave us a quick tour of Hinsdale! Although it was raining, we found it a most charming little town. One day we’ll have to return!!

With Ruthann and Laurie

We’re so thankful the Lord allowed us to go on this Journey!

Last weekend we attended one of Becky’s first bridal showers! It was a special time. Lynette, Becky, and Becky’s mom. 

Opening her gift from Jaimee

The picnic basket and quilt that Mom made

pairs of sisters!

On our way home it poured!! Coming down our street, we were surprised by this rainbow!

Yesterday, we gave a baby shower for our friend Lauren. Here is Lauren and her mom. 

many girly decorations

the cake! Jaimee did a great job adding the finishing touches.

“Guess Mommy’s Tummy Size” Checking to see how close her team guessed!

It was a very sweet Mother-Daughter shower with the girls from our Bible study group. 

Today we celebrated Josh’s birthday!

blow those candles out!

Cute Essie joining in on the fun!

Happiest of Birthdays to you Josh. We love you and thank God for you!

‘Twas the night before Mother’s Day, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring… well, except for two girls! We were finishing part of Mom’s Mother’s Day gift in our tub! Secrecy was essential.

potted plant, complete!

special apple coffee cake for Mom!

unfortunately, we didn’t obtain these from an obliging field! 

Our wonderful dad with our very special mom

Sweet little Essie is recovering inside from a cervical disc problem. She has been quite the trooper!

all the girls

On our way to Colorado! Here are some of the huge windmills that you can see in West Texas.

A field of yellow wildflowers on a Texas ranch.

One of the main reasons for our trip was to attend the wedding of our dear friend, Joelle!

Joelle and Bryan – the cute and very happy couple!

John and Lynette at the reception

Jaimee and Jennifer

so special to be with Meagan again!

the memorable farewell!

Our next stop was to visit our sweet friend, Meagan! and the rest of her family of course. Here we are with Will, Sophie and Madeline. 

Two wonderful mothers and two cuddly twin girls. 

Then we stopped to visit another friend, Jake! He made us some yummy lattes and we enjoyed the fellowship with him and his family. 

The last several days of our trip were spent in Keystone!

Our first morning there, we woke up to a winter wonderland!!

Dad had too much fun blasting us with snowballs.

Taking a walk on a snowy morning. I guess only Texans would want to take a walk in weather like this!!

posing on the bridge

Look at all that snow! 

brr!!

By noon, almost all the snow had melted… here we are taking another walk by the river.

And yet another morning walk!

We were so blessed to stay in our friends’ condo. Thankfully, we didn’t see any real bears around!

Cruisin’ in Breckenridge!

A frozen lake – Lake Dillon.

As we were driving up to Loveland Pass, we stopped at Arapahoe Basin and were surprised to see that they were still open for skiing!

We had fun watching everyone ski and snowboard!

whiteness!

We found a new bike trail for Josh!

icicles, blowing snow, and a beautiful blue sky

God’s creation is breathtaking!

Finally made it up to Loveland Pass – at 11, 990 feet! Truly amazing. 

John had to get out at the top where it was 31 degrees!

He enjoyed talking with some back country skiers. They’re getting ready to enjoy their three-mile adventure flying down the mountain. 

If you look closely, you’ll see the two skiers at the top center of the picture. 

What a great trip the Lord allowed us to experience! We loved each day in cool, beautiful Colorado! Now we’re happily back home, where today’s high was near 100.