It's been a while since I blogged, you've noticed?? Well, life has had a few changes, and I've not had time to drum my fingers on the table wondering what to write. My husband is still awaiting employment, but meanwhile we changed locations. We are now in St. Louis, MO, spending a few weeks with our son and granddaughters (we get to see them on the weekends when they come to visit Dad).
We had come to St. Louis early November to put some elbow grease into our son's house which needs some TLC. We decided Paul could search for jobs from here as well as from Michigan, and it's always nice to head south for the winter!! So we went back home for Thanksgiving, spent a day with Paul's family, and then began marathon packing. Earlier this week we drove down two vehicles, hauling two trailers, packed to the hilt. We have enough stuff with us to set up housekeeping when Paul does get a job and we once again get our own place. Our son's house is large enough to store whatever we brought with us.
Meanwhile we do have a house and a cottage for sale back at Indian Lake on the campground. You can view those listings at the camp web site: www.nazcamp.org
Once you are on the web site, click on Props To Buy and you will see what is currently available for sale on the campground. I might add that these are cash only sales due to campground restrictions. Sort of makes it hard to sell a house, but we believe God will provide a buyer in His good time. We have a caretaker for the house and cottage who will gladly show them for us at our request.
So these days we are keeping busy on this old house. It has great bones, very nice floor plan, lots of space. It just needs attention, and that's what we are here for...to make home improvements, and to keep us busy as we await the next phase of life. We have had one tug on the line, and we are waiting to see if it's the one God intends for us. Meanwhile, He remains in charge of open and closed doors, and we totally trust Him!!
I hope to be back blogging during this sojourn, but if I don't get back soon to my life story, I wish you all the beauty and rest of this holy season we are now in. Focus on Jesus, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind...and meanwhile, love your neighbor as well. Be a blessing to many, and pass the love of Jesus along!! You'll be happier, and He will be pleased!! (and, by the way, if you laugh at wishing you "rest" during this hustle, bustle season, then be sure and read the next sentence following that one...put your focus in the right place, and the other pieces will fall into place for you!)
Friday, December 6, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
10- My Story, God's Story - Pre-Children Years
It's been quite a while since I have blogged another chapter of my life and the path God has brought me down. First of all, an update on our current situation.
Paul and I both resigned our positions at Indian Lake Nazarene Camp effective in July. Paul received a two month extension to give guidance to camp directorship until they found new leadership. An interim executive director started the first of August, and his term will be over October 31st. We have not heard of anyone filling that position when he leaves.
Paul has not received a paycheck since August 1st. He has applied to several camp and corporate positions from Michigan to North Carolina, but thus far has had no interviews. Because he resigned, he is not qualified to receive unemployment. So we are without income and without insurance, while the nation struggles over obama-care and government shut downs. Crazy world right now! Sure glad we have our anchor in Jesus Christ. Thus far God has supplied our needs, and we know He will not fail us.
We are anxious for work, and would like to move south. However, we must wait on God and be flexible in His plans. It's not always easy to be patient, but it's the best choice we have at this point!
Back in 1976 when Paul graduated from Michigan Tech he took his first job with Olin Chemicals in Charleston, Tennessee. We moved to Cleveland and rented a two bedroom townhouse apartment in a new complex that had a club house and a pool. This was luxury to us!! Little by little we started to purchase furniture, but for a while we sat on the steps, and ate at a card table. We must have made a bedroom set our first purchase, but I don't remember it. I also don't recall sleeping on the floor. (The house we had rented our first year of marriage was furnished).
In trying to get to know the city layout, I would go on drives down different streets to see where they led. If I got lost, I just got out the city map, and found my way back to familiar territory. What a nice town we lived in! We loved the climate, especially in the winter!! Cleveland had everything we needed, but we would drive 25 miles down I-75 to Chattanooga for entertainment. So many historical sites to see and fun places, like the Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex and Lookout Mountain. I found it strange that I had honeymooned in Chattanooga with my first husband, and now Paul and I lived half an hour from the city and sites.
Our first winter in the "south" we were amused when it snowed, perhaps accumulating a couple of inches. Remember, we came from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where record snowfall was up over the clothes-line. When it snowed in Cleveland, it pretty much shut everything down. They did not have equipment to handle plowing snow, since it never stayed long. Usually it was melted within a day or two. Kids would take lunch trays and slide down the mall parking lot, which was slightly sloped. They were so excited to have snow to play in!!
I found a part time secretarial job, but I didn't stay with it very long. Not sure why. I was involved at the church....Cleveland First Church of the Nazarene. I worked with children in the Caravan program and children's church. I had met a good friend, Judy, and the two of us teamed up together in the children's department. Paul sang in the choir. Seems like we fit right in, and everyone was so accepting of us. If the church had a young people's hay ride, it usually ended up being for the whole church. It was a small church, but very much a family. We were teased about our "Yankee" accent. I so wanted to be able to talk like they did, but I can't fake accents. I just had to learn to talk more slowly so they understood me.
I started to take classes at Cleveland State Community College, but soon found myself pregnant with our first child. During this time we had a period of discontentment with the church and decided to move to Chattanooga to be near a larger Nazarene church. We rented a large two bedroom townhouse duplex with a nice size yard. Paul had a longer commute to work, but he didn't mind it. Also, he traveled quite a bit on job assignments and flew out of the Chattanooga airport, which was not that far from where we lived.
He had been gone a week, just getting back home, when I began to have labor pains. We went to the Memorial Hospital around 7:30 in the morning, and our first son was born around 1 p.m. Baby Cory. What a bundle of joy to behold!! And that's a story for the next chapter in our lives!
Post Script: It's hard to make the memories from 38 years ago come alive again. After I posted this I recalled a couple of extra things to add to those pre-children years of our lives. We bought our first home after living in the apartment for a year. It was a very nice home...a three bedroom, three bath tri-level with a large front porch with Spanish arches, and a two car garage and workshop. The lower level was finished with a family room, bathroom, and laundry room. It had a large fenced in private back yard...but we didn't have any dogs or kids yet. Believe it or not, we purchased the home for $35,000. It was in a nice neighborhood also. Back then I remembered seeing a home for sale for $100,000, and I thought to myself "we will never live in a home that cost that much!" Now days even $100,000 doesn't buy very much. Times and economics have drastically changed!
With all the space we had in our home, we invited Judy to live with us until she got herself established in a job and could afford her own place. That was a good relationship, she felt more like our sister. Before long she moved out into her own apartment. Soon after that she married Bill and moved to a new home they built in Polk County. They were some of the best friends we have ever had. Their lives changed eventually, but that is their story, not mine to tell. We do still keep in touch with Bill on occasion.
Paul and I both resigned our positions at Indian Lake Nazarene Camp effective in July. Paul received a two month extension to give guidance to camp directorship until they found new leadership. An interim executive director started the first of August, and his term will be over October 31st. We have not heard of anyone filling that position when he leaves.
Paul has not received a paycheck since August 1st. He has applied to several camp and corporate positions from Michigan to North Carolina, but thus far has had no interviews. Because he resigned, he is not qualified to receive unemployment. So we are without income and without insurance, while the nation struggles over obama-care and government shut downs. Crazy world right now! Sure glad we have our anchor in Jesus Christ. Thus far God has supplied our needs, and we know He will not fail us.
We are anxious for work, and would like to move south. However, we must wait on God and be flexible in His plans. It's not always easy to be patient, but it's the best choice we have at this point!
Back in 1976 when Paul graduated from Michigan Tech he took his first job with Olin Chemicals in Charleston, Tennessee. We moved to Cleveland and rented a two bedroom townhouse apartment in a new complex that had a club house and a pool. This was luxury to us!! Little by little we started to purchase furniture, but for a while we sat on the steps, and ate at a card table. We must have made a bedroom set our first purchase, but I don't remember it. I also don't recall sleeping on the floor. (The house we had rented our first year of marriage was furnished).
In trying to get to know the city layout, I would go on drives down different streets to see where they led. If I got lost, I just got out the city map, and found my way back to familiar territory. What a nice town we lived in! We loved the climate, especially in the winter!! Cleveland had everything we needed, but we would drive 25 miles down I-75 to Chattanooga for entertainment. So many historical sites to see and fun places, like the Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex and Lookout Mountain. I found it strange that I had honeymooned in Chattanooga with my first husband, and now Paul and I lived half an hour from the city and sites.
Our first winter in the "south" we were amused when it snowed, perhaps accumulating a couple of inches. Remember, we came from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where record snowfall was up over the clothes-line. When it snowed in Cleveland, it pretty much shut everything down. They did not have equipment to handle plowing snow, since it never stayed long. Usually it was melted within a day or two. Kids would take lunch trays and slide down the mall parking lot, which was slightly sloped. They were so excited to have snow to play in!!
I found a part time secretarial job, but I didn't stay with it very long. Not sure why. I was involved at the church....Cleveland First Church of the Nazarene. I worked with children in the Caravan program and children's church. I had met a good friend, Judy, and the two of us teamed up together in the children's department. Paul sang in the choir. Seems like we fit right in, and everyone was so accepting of us. If the church had a young people's hay ride, it usually ended up being for the whole church. It was a small church, but very much a family. We were teased about our "Yankee" accent. I so wanted to be able to talk like they did, but I can't fake accents. I just had to learn to talk more slowly so they understood me.
I started to take classes at Cleveland State Community College, but soon found myself pregnant with our first child. During this time we had a period of discontentment with the church and decided to move to Chattanooga to be near a larger Nazarene church. We rented a large two bedroom townhouse duplex with a nice size yard. Paul had a longer commute to work, but he didn't mind it. Also, he traveled quite a bit on job assignments and flew out of the Chattanooga airport, which was not that far from where we lived.
He had been gone a week, just getting back home, when I began to have labor pains. We went to the Memorial Hospital around 7:30 in the morning, and our first son was born around 1 p.m. Baby Cory. What a bundle of joy to behold!! And that's a story for the next chapter in our lives!
Post Script: It's hard to make the memories from 38 years ago come alive again. After I posted this I recalled a couple of extra things to add to those pre-children years of our lives. We bought our first home after living in the apartment for a year. It was a very nice home...a three bedroom, three bath tri-level with a large front porch with Spanish arches, and a two car garage and workshop. The lower level was finished with a family room, bathroom, and laundry room. It had a large fenced in private back yard...but we didn't have any dogs or kids yet. Believe it or not, we purchased the home for $35,000. It was in a nice neighborhood also. Back then I remembered seeing a home for sale for $100,000, and I thought to myself "we will never live in a home that cost that much!" Now days even $100,000 doesn't buy very much. Times and economics have drastically changed!
With all the space we had in our home, we invited Judy to live with us until she got herself established in a job and could afford her own place. That was a good relationship, she felt more like our sister. Before long she moved out into her own apartment. Soon after that she married Bill and moved to a new home they built in Polk County. They were some of the best friends we have ever had. Their lives changed eventually, but that is their story, not mine to tell. We do still keep in touch with Bill on occasion.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
9 - My Story, God's Story - Marriage and Our First Year Together
On the eve of our 38th anniversary, what an appropriate time to recall that day in our lives that doesn't really seem so long ago...and yet so many miles back down the road. As I write this, we are on the brim of a new chapter in our lives. We are waiting for God to lead us on to our next assignment. We have been ten years here at Indian Lake Nazarene Campground, and it's time for new leadership for ILNC and a new direction for us. I'm not too often in the blogging mood, but as I blog, I will try to keep our current life status up to date for anyone who may be following my blog. Even though blogs are not as popular as they used to be, and people prefer other social means of connecting, such as Facebook (which I do not participate in) or texting, or twittering, I'm an "old-fashioned" kind of girl. Journaling and blogging will continue to be my outlet, but only as I discipline myself to do so.
Our marriage came about as an economical decision. I was working as a teller in a Savings and Loan, living in my parents' house. Paul was a student heading back for his senior year at MTU. I had been spending about $200 a month on phone calls to him (in the 70's), and decided it would be cheaper to find a place to rent near the college, and get a job there. Then we decided that it would be cheaper still if we didn't have to pay both my rent and his college room and board. So we started talking about an October wedding, during his fall break.
Because our plans were not shared openly, a little birdie decided to cause some problems and upset the apple cart, and we ended up planning our wedding with a two week time limit. We were married on August 23, 1975 in a very simple ceremony at my church, with only two attendants (our best friends at the time), and mostly family as guests. Paul and his siblings sang a song for his mother at the reception, and she was pleased. His brother sang for our ceremony. We had few flowers and only served cake and mints and nuts at the reception. It was a hot day in August, no air conditioning, and the frosting was melting on the cake, but I'm sure it still tasted good.
We spent our wedding night at a hotel in Lansing, Michigan, and the next day went to the Lansing Zoo. On Monday Paul had to be back to work for one more week prior to us moving up to MTU. Not a long honeymoon, but still a memorable one to us. I had already resigned my job, and I spent that last week getting things packed for our move to begin our married life in Houghton, MI.
I got a job as a teller at a Savings & Loan in Hancock. Our apartment was a second floor of an old house about five blocks up from the Lake Superior channel. It was cool to hear the barges go through at night and blow their fog horns. At Christmas they were decorated with green and red lights.
We had a Pekingese puppy named Rikki. We were a family and life was interesting living the the U.P. where snow fall is over the clothes line and stays that way all winter. Many streets were not plowed, and people built sidewalks from their second floor out to the streets. The snow plows up there were huge machines. Snow started in September, and didn't melt until late May. Just a different way of life! Paul lived there for four years and decided when he graduated he was going south the of the Mason-Dixon line and not going back north!
I was a member of the Church of the Nazarene when I married Paul. He had been raised Evangelical United Brethern. Neither of those churches existed in our area, so we visited a Baptist church and an Assembly of God church. The other choice was Catholic. We liked the music and the preaching at the Assembly of God church, so that's were we attended most of the time.
We existed on my $150 every two weeks paycheck, and spent about $25 a week for groceries. We made homemade tortillas and had lots of tacos and macaroni and cheese that first year of marriage. We couldn't afford to eat out often, but when we did, and it was such a treat, we had a pizza or went to Elias Brothers' Big Boy. McDonald's Big Mac was advertised on television, but the closest one was 90 miles away, so forget Big Mac attacks!!
While Paul was finishing his senior year as a Chemical Engineer major, I took some classes as well: Beginning Bowling, Beginning Tennis, and Beginning Golf. I had married an athletic person, and I wanted to "get in shape" with my skills. Certainly I needed to know how to golf, as that was his hobby and I intended on spending time with him.
In the spring of his senior year, we went on some interview trips. One was to Richmond, Virginia, one to Dayton, Ohio, and one to Charleston, Tennessee. He chose to go with the company in Tennessee. South of the Mason-Dixon line. A place where you did not have to golf with orange golf balls in May so they could be found in the snow. We loved living in the south, but that's another chapter. God was continuing to guide our lives, and we were content to follow.
Our marriage came about as an economical decision. I was working as a teller in a Savings and Loan, living in my parents' house. Paul was a student heading back for his senior year at MTU. I had been spending about $200 a month on phone calls to him (in the 70's), and decided it would be cheaper to find a place to rent near the college, and get a job there. Then we decided that it would be cheaper still if we didn't have to pay both my rent and his college room and board. So we started talking about an October wedding, during his fall break.
Because our plans were not shared openly, a little birdie decided to cause some problems and upset the apple cart, and we ended up planning our wedding with a two week time limit. We were married on August 23, 1975 in a very simple ceremony at my church, with only two attendants (our best friends at the time), and mostly family as guests. Paul and his siblings sang a song for his mother at the reception, and she was pleased. His brother sang for our ceremony. We had few flowers and only served cake and mints and nuts at the reception. It was a hot day in August, no air conditioning, and the frosting was melting on the cake, but I'm sure it still tasted good.
We spent our wedding night at a hotel in Lansing, Michigan, and the next day went to the Lansing Zoo. On Monday Paul had to be back to work for one more week prior to us moving up to MTU. Not a long honeymoon, but still a memorable one to us. I had already resigned my job, and I spent that last week getting things packed for our move to begin our married life in Houghton, MI.
I got a job as a teller at a Savings & Loan in Hancock. Our apartment was a second floor of an old house about five blocks up from the Lake Superior channel. It was cool to hear the barges go through at night and blow their fog horns. At Christmas they were decorated with green and red lights.
We had a Pekingese puppy named Rikki. We were a family and life was interesting living the the U.P. where snow fall is over the clothes line and stays that way all winter. Many streets were not plowed, and people built sidewalks from their second floor out to the streets. The snow plows up there were huge machines. Snow started in September, and didn't melt until late May. Just a different way of life! Paul lived there for four years and decided when he graduated he was going south the of the Mason-Dixon line and not going back north!
I was a member of the Church of the Nazarene when I married Paul. He had been raised Evangelical United Brethern. Neither of those churches existed in our area, so we visited a Baptist church and an Assembly of God church. The other choice was Catholic. We liked the music and the preaching at the Assembly of God church, so that's were we attended most of the time.
We existed on my $150 every two weeks paycheck, and spent about $25 a week for groceries. We made homemade tortillas and had lots of tacos and macaroni and cheese that first year of marriage. We couldn't afford to eat out often, but when we did, and it was such a treat, we had a pizza or went to Elias Brothers' Big Boy. McDonald's Big Mac was advertised on television, but the closest one was 90 miles away, so forget Big Mac attacks!!
While Paul was finishing his senior year as a Chemical Engineer major, I took some classes as well: Beginning Bowling, Beginning Tennis, and Beginning Golf. I had married an athletic person, and I wanted to "get in shape" with my skills. Certainly I needed to know how to golf, as that was his hobby and I intended on spending time with him.
In the spring of his senior year, we went on some interview trips. One was to Richmond, Virginia, one to Dayton, Ohio, and one to Charleston, Tennessee. He chose to go with the company in Tennessee. South of the Mason-Dixon line. A place where you did not have to golf with orange golf balls in May so they could be found in the snow. We loved living in the south, but that's another chapter. God was continuing to guide our lives, and we were content to follow.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
8 - My Story, God's Story - Courtship of Paul and Carol
I know it's been a while since I posted a chapter on my life, and how God has guided me. I am hoping as I begin to type this chapter, I will get inspired. There are many things I could write about, but I want to keep this "story" focused on God's intervention in my life through the years.
After seeing Paul for the last time that summer so long ago, I figured that was it. Our paths would not cross again. My friend and I went up to Mackinac Island for a weekend (her husband rode his bike up with a crew, and we were to meet him up there). I was to the stage of wanting to meet someone. She and I went into a bar to get something to eat and some soft drinks. Somehow, the atmosphere just didn't feel right to me. My first husband had a problem with alcohol, and I certainly did not want to meet someone who drank. I made the decision to leave that place, and just allow God time to bring someone into my life, if it was His will.
The rest of that weekend I could not get Paul's smile out of my mind. I decided to write a friendly letter and see if he would like to have a pen pal. I would be willing to send him cookies also. He wrote back and told me that he'd be home for fall break and he would look me up. When he came home, he stopped over on Friday night to meet me, but he already had other plans. On Saturday he came back and spent the afternoon, and we played games. He asked me out for Sunday night, a night I usually go to church, but because I knew he was leaving again on Monday, I accepted. We went to Grand Rapids to a movie. It was a nice evening. We had spent the weekend just talking and getting to know each other better.
Even though I wrote to him again, I never heard back from him. So much for that! I ended up selling my house and moving back home to care for my parents, as they both had cancer. I had hoped to move to Bourbonnais, Illinois, get a job at ONU, and work on my college education. However, I felt I should stay home to care for Mom and Dad.
At Christmas time, one dark night, there was Paul at our door!! He had brought me a very large box of chocolates, wrapped in lavender paper (not Christmas paper...lavender was a favorite color of mine, but he wouldn't have known that). He was home for Christmas break, and wanted to get together. I took him to a church Christmas party on New Year's Eve. When he brought me home, I told him that I would not be able to get serious with him because I had learned that he was Catholic, and I was Protestant. That was just one of those rules in life I had been taught...the two should not marry, but one should marry a person of like faith, and raise their children in that faith. Well, after allowing me to struggle explaining that to him, he laughed and said that his family had left the Catholic church when his brother was born. He wasn't an avid church goer, but when he did go, he went to a Methodist church. Somehow that brought me great relief...like God was saying its okay for me to date Paul.
Mom and Dad recovered from their cancer again, and decided to head to Florida, as was their regular winter custom. I stayed behind in Michigan since I was working at the Savings and Loan. I could tell I was really smitten with Paul. He was so different from my first husband. He was tall, good-looking, intelligent, easy to be with, honest, humble...and I was just very comfortable with him. I began to pray in earnest about our future. I was ready to surrender him, discontinue our relationship, if God wanted me to do that. I didn't need to make another mistake in marriage. It just seemed that somehow God kept giving me the green light, that He approved of my growing relationship with Paul.
During Paul's spring break from college, we flew to Florida to spend a week with my parents. I had two weeks vacation, so my second week I drove Paul back to school in the U.P...a ten hour drive one way. I had never been up there, and it was a different way of life, for sure! They had winters with snow up over the clothes lines. I managed to get back home safely, and I came home knowing I was in love with Mr. Paul. He said he loved me too. God had answered my prayers, and gave me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
After seeing Paul for the last time that summer so long ago, I figured that was it. Our paths would not cross again. My friend and I went up to Mackinac Island for a weekend (her husband rode his bike up with a crew, and we were to meet him up there). I was to the stage of wanting to meet someone. She and I went into a bar to get something to eat and some soft drinks. Somehow, the atmosphere just didn't feel right to me. My first husband had a problem with alcohol, and I certainly did not want to meet someone who drank. I made the decision to leave that place, and just allow God time to bring someone into my life, if it was His will.
The rest of that weekend I could not get Paul's smile out of my mind. I decided to write a friendly letter and see if he would like to have a pen pal. I would be willing to send him cookies also. He wrote back and told me that he'd be home for fall break and he would look me up. When he came home, he stopped over on Friday night to meet me, but he already had other plans. On Saturday he came back and spent the afternoon, and we played games. He asked me out for Sunday night, a night I usually go to church, but because I knew he was leaving again on Monday, I accepted. We went to Grand Rapids to a movie. It was a nice evening. We had spent the weekend just talking and getting to know each other better.
Even though I wrote to him again, I never heard back from him. So much for that! I ended up selling my house and moving back home to care for my parents, as they both had cancer. I had hoped to move to Bourbonnais, Illinois, get a job at ONU, and work on my college education. However, I felt I should stay home to care for Mom and Dad.
At Christmas time, one dark night, there was Paul at our door!! He had brought me a very large box of chocolates, wrapped in lavender paper (not Christmas paper...lavender was a favorite color of mine, but he wouldn't have known that). He was home for Christmas break, and wanted to get together. I took him to a church Christmas party on New Year's Eve. When he brought me home, I told him that I would not be able to get serious with him because I had learned that he was Catholic, and I was Protestant. That was just one of those rules in life I had been taught...the two should not marry, but one should marry a person of like faith, and raise their children in that faith. Well, after allowing me to struggle explaining that to him, he laughed and said that his family had left the Catholic church when his brother was born. He wasn't an avid church goer, but when he did go, he went to a Methodist church. Somehow that brought me great relief...like God was saying its okay for me to date Paul.
Mom and Dad recovered from their cancer again, and decided to head to Florida, as was their regular winter custom. I stayed behind in Michigan since I was working at the Savings and Loan. I could tell I was really smitten with Paul. He was so different from my first husband. He was tall, good-looking, intelligent, easy to be with, honest, humble...and I was just very comfortable with him. I began to pray in earnest about our future. I was ready to surrender him, discontinue our relationship, if God wanted me to do that. I didn't need to make another mistake in marriage. It just seemed that somehow God kept giving me the green light, that He approved of my growing relationship with Paul.
During Paul's spring break from college, we flew to Florida to spend a week with my parents. I had two weeks vacation, so my second week I drove Paul back to school in the U.P...a ten hour drive one way. I had never been up there, and it was a different way of life, for sure! They had winters with snow up over the clothes lines. I managed to get back home safely, and I came home knowing I was in love with Mr. Paul. He said he loved me too. God had answered my prayers, and gave me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Spring Break 2013 - Myrtle Beach
After spending a few months trying to book a time share in Gatlinburg for our 2013 Spring Break trip with our granddaughters, I finally had to look for other options. Myrtle Beach had an opening, and we grabbed it! This was our third trip to Myrtle Beach, but the first time to take the girls. It was a longer trip than we would have liked, mileage wise, but it worked out okay. We met our son and granddaughters in Louisville, KY, where we spent the night, and then as he headed back home, we headed to the ocean...a 12 hour trip, allowing for stops.
I had requested an ocean front room, since we had not had one on our previous two trips to Myrtle Beach, and we were not to be disappointed!! We were on the 12th floor overlooking the ocean side pools and had a beautiful view of the ocean. We could open the patio doors and enjoy the sound of the ocean waves and see the activity on the beach.
There is so much to see and do in Myrtle Beach, even in the "off season"...which we were there the week ahead of regular spring break season...that we had to make a schedule of all that we hoped to do while we were there. We almost got it all in, but the girls let us know that if we didn't do anything but get to the swimming pool and the ocean front, they would be happy. Every day we took time to do just that, even though some of the days were a little cooler. The pools were heated to a constant 85 degrees, so they were comfortable no matter what. At the ocean front, we sometimes just braved it.
One of the things the girls like to do most was jump the ocean waves and get splashed.
Grandpa preferred the luxury of relaxing at the room most of the time, rather than joining us at the ocean or pool. We were on the 12th floor of the building behind him.
Sunrises and sunsets were very picturesque.
Here are the girls dressed up for church, standing out on our balcony. We spent Sunday afternoon at the resort, and then Sunday night we went bowling...something different we had not done before.
The girls chose to go to the pool behind our resort that had the zero entry and water sprays. They had a lot of fun together, as you will see in the pictures below, and Sunshine was able to teach Princess to swim under water with her eyes open. I do believe going to the pool was Princess's number one favorite thing to do all week. It was a good thing the pool was heated!! Our last day at the pool they played water volley ball with some other kids.
We went shopping almost every day, as there were so many cool places to shop....and we didn't even go to the indoor malls!! We went to Broadway at the Beach, a shopping and entertainment mecca; Barefoot Landing, with lots of cool shops and tigers on display in cages; and Prime Outlets, where we got our best bargains. Weary from shopping, we did go miniature golfing one afternoon. You can see the ocean in the top picture, if you look closely, between the turquoise dome and the tall building. This was a very challenging course! They have maybe over 50 miniature golf courses in Myrtle Beach.
We went to Wonderworks at Broadway at the Beach. It looks like an upside down house, but it's an entertainment complex with many things to do inside. That's Sunshine at the railing. She liked to take pictures of the ducks and birds and fish. Broadway at the Beach, as well as Barefoot Landing, are both shopping meccas built around water, and you could cross over the water on boardwalks to more shops. There was also several amusement rides for the younger children, and Princess rode a few of those.
Here are some of the pictures Sunshine took of the birds, fish, and ducks.
One night we dressed up and went to a musical show at Alabama Theater. It was voted the number one show to see in Myrtle Beach, and there were many to choose from. They presented music from across the decades and genres of music. It was a long show, but all of us thoroughly enjoyed it!
On our trip back home, we divided it up a little instead of traveling one long day back to Louisville. We stopped in Asheville, NC for the night. The next day we drove on to Louisville, where we once again met our son to pick up the girls to take them back home. After a wonderful week at the ocean front, they went back to a record snowfall and had a snow day from school! Our spring break week at Myrtle Beach was all that we had hoped it would be, and all four of us want to go back some day. It's hard to capture fun in pictures, and we had plenty of it!!! It is always a very special treat for us to be able to have our granddaughters with us. We are so grateful their parents allow us these times of making memories. If you are a grandparent, you know what I mean!!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
7 - My Story, God's Story - My First Marriage
March was a busy month for me. We took a week's vacation in the middle of the month and took our two granddaughters down to Myrtle Beach during their spring break. What a great time we had!! I'm sure I will do a post with pictures sometime soon. For now I think I better get on another post of my life story before much more time gets away from me.
After I moved back to Michigan from Florida, I was able to get a job in a Savings and Loan institution, where my father often got loans for the houses he built. It was a small bank, only four employees, including me. I was the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, and basically did teller work. This was in the early 70's and when we moved from posting machines to computers, I was the one that was selected to train new employees as we grew. I guess being the youngest one there (the others were old enough to be my parents), I had a mind that picked up on the new electronics. How amusing that is to me today, as I have a hard time keeping up in the technical world...just ask my husband, or my sons, or my granddaughter!!
I liked my job, and Larry got back into church, and things were going pretty smoothly for us. When he asked me to marry him, it seemed like the right thing to do. He was going to be a youth pastor, and we were both very involved at church. He had a lot of charisma, and the people in church liked him. We got married in August of 1971, large wedding, rainbow colors, everything went beautifully. We honeymooned in the Smokies and Chattanooga, TN. (Little did I know I would one day live in that area!).
Larry and my father built our house on a one acre lot in one of my father's subdivisions. We were both working, and I thought everything was going well. A little after our two year anniversary Larry started acting aloof. Then he started to convince me that he was not the right husband for me. It didn't take long to figure out he was involved outside the marriage. Within two months he wanted out, was going to get a divorce so I wouldn't have to. He had the philosophy that "variety is the spice of life". He had started drinking again, but I knew I had married for life, and even if I had to raise children in an alcoholic home, that was the choice I had made. However, I did not have the final choice. He took what he wanted from our material goods, left the house in my name, and he was out of there. I told him if he left that he should never come back again. I had taken him back way too many times, and this was the final straw.
He left. As the door shut behind him, I crumbled on the floor in tears. I took the Bible from the stand near by and asked God if He rejected me also, since I knew He didn't like divorce. He led me to read Galatians 5:13, and I paraphrase: "Carol, I have called you unto freedom. Only do not use this freedom to please the flesh. Rather, serve others with love." In that moment, a miracle occurred. The love I had felt for Larry totally dissolved and a brand new love for my heavenly Father filled my heart and soul. I knew He cared for me deeply...He cared enough to relieve me of a marital mess, and set me free from it. I didn't know what all the rest of the verse meant at that time...except to be careful in my future relationships, to keep them pure.
Shortly after that life changing experience, I found out that I was pregnant as I miscarried at home, alone. Again, God sparing me from more heartache, I just accepted His will, His way, His love. I felt so free, so clean, so full of life. Even my co-workers commented that I was happier than they had ever seen me...that I was fun to be with. I loved my job, I loved my church responsibilities, I was looking for where God wanted to lead me next. I felt like I should sell my house and perhaps go back to college and get a business degree, perhaps working in the business office, or being a dorm mother. So that became my plan. Meanwhile, both of my parents ended up with cancer at the same time. My house sold, but I moved back home with them to be their care taker, while I continued to work at the savings and loan.
There wasn't anyone my age at church...no one for me to hang around with. There were the teenagers, and there were the young married couples with small children. So I chose to hang around with the teenagers. Our church had a softball team in a church league, and we would go out to watch the games. There was one guy on an opposing team that was not only a great ballplayer, but very attractive to me. I compared him to a cross between Tony Orlando (music world) and Mark Spitz (sports world)...very good looking, very well built. So I started going out to all the ballgames just to watch him. I noticed there was never any girlfriend waiting for him. It was the last game of the season and I knew I wouldn't see him again, so as I drove out of the park, he happened to ride by me on his bike. I said to him, "Nice game!" I had a girlfriend with me who yelled out, "Carol! I can't believe you finally talked to him!" I was so embarrassed that I spun my tires to get out of there, and he never even saw who I was. He just remembers the tires spitting gravel as I left.
Thus begins my introduction to Paul...the man who was to become my second husband (and last!). That's another story.
After I moved back to Michigan from Florida, I was able to get a job in a Savings and Loan institution, where my father often got loans for the houses he built. It was a small bank, only four employees, including me. I was the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, and basically did teller work. This was in the early 70's and when we moved from posting machines to computers, I was the one that was selected to train new employees as we grew. I guess being the youngest one there (the others were old enough to be my parents), I had a mind that picked up on the new electronics. How amusing that is to me today, as I have a hard time keeping up in the technical world...just ask my husband, or my sons, or my granddaughter!!
I liked my job, and Larry got back into church, and things were going pretty smoothly for us. When he asked me to marry him, it seemed like the right thing to do. He was going to be a youth pastor, and we were both very involved at church. He had a lot of charisma, and the people in church liked him. We got married in August of 1971, large wedding, rainbow colors, everything went beautifully. We honeymooned in the Smokies and Chattanooga, TN. (Little did I know I would one day live in that area!).
Larry and my father built our house on a one acre lot in one of my father's subdivisions. We were both working, and I thought everything was going well. A little after our two year anniversary Larry started acting aloof. Then he started to convince me that he was not the right husband for me. It didn't take long to figure out he was involved outside the marriage. Within two months he wanted out, was going to get a divorce so I wouldn't have to. He had the philosophy that "variety is the spice of life". He had started drinking again, but I knew I had married for life, and even if I had to raise children in an alcoholic home, that was the choice I had made. However, I did not have the final choice. He took what he wanted from our material goods, left the house in my name, and he was out of there. I told him if he left that he should never come back again. I had taken him back way too many times, and this was the final straw.
He left. As the door shut behind him, I crumbled on the floor in tears. I took the Bible from the stand near by and asked God if He rejected me also, since I knew He didn't like divorce. He led me to read Galatians 5:13, and I paraphrase: "Carol, I have called you unto freedom. Only do not use this freedom to please the flesh. Rather, serve others with love." In that moment, a miracle occurred. The love I had felt for Larry totally dissolved and a brand new love for my heavenly Father filled my heart and soul. I knew He cared for me deeply...He cared enough to relieve me of a marital mess, and set me free from it. I didn't know what all the rest of the verse meant at that time...except to be careful in my future relationships, to keep them pure.
Shortly after that life changing experience, I found out that I was pregnant as I miscarried at home, alone. Again, God sparing me from more heartache, I just accepted His will, His way, His love. I felt so free, so clean, so full of life. Even my co-workers commented that I was happier than they had ever seen me...that I was fun to be with. I loved my job, I loved my church responsibilities, I was looking for where God wanted to lead me next. I felt like I should sell my house and perhaps go back to college and get a business degree, perhaps working in the business office, or being a dorm mother. So that became my plan. Meanwhile, both of my parents ended up with cancer at the same time. My house sold, but I moved back home with them to be their care taker, while I continued to work at the savings and loan.
There wasn't anyone my age at church...no one for me to hang around with. There were the teenagers, and there were the young married couples with small children. So I chose to hang around with the teenagers. Our church had a softball team in a church league, and we would go out to watch the games. There was one guy on an opposing team that was not only a great ballplayer, but very attractive to me. I compared him to a cross between Tony Orlando (music world) and Mark Spitz (sports world)...very good looking, very well built. So I started going out to all the ballgames just to watch him. I noticed there was never any girlfriend waiting for him. It was the last game of the season and I knew I wouldn't see him again, so as I drove out of the park, he happened to ride by me on his bike. I said to him, "Nice game!" I had a girlfriend with me who yelled out, "Carol! I can't believe you finally talked to him!" I was so embarrassed that I spun my tires to get out of there, and he never even saw who I was. He just remembers the tires spitting gravel as I left.
Thus begins my introduction to Paul...the man who was to become my second husband (and last!). That's another story.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
6 - My Story, God's Story - More Memories from the Teen Years
Then there was the time when I was in 8th grade and I wanted something new to wear to church on Sunday. Since I was told I couldn't have a new dress, I decided to have a new hairstyle...I would put a blond streak in it. So I washed my hair, rolled it on rollers, and then took yellow food coloring and poured in on one roller up on top of my head. Back in those days we went to bed with wet hair in rollers, and by morning the hair was dry. Sure, it was uncomfortable to sleep with wires poking your scalp, but it's what you did to have good looking hair the next day.
Well, I woke up Sunday morning, and my yellow roller of hair had turned orange! Maybe that's cool now, but not back in the 1960's! I also had an orange forehead. When Mom saw me, she knew I was punished enough just by having to go to church with part of my hair being orange. What made it even worse, though, was that the orange even had an effect on my white furry hood on my favorite coat. It was no longer white, but a dirty looking off-white/orange tint. What a lesson I learned about pride that day!! Mine was dented big time all because I had to have something new, something different. I remember my boyfriend laughing and me feeling very stupid. My hair and forehead washed out in time, but my white furry coat hood was never the same. What's the Bible verse about learning to "be content"? I learned my Bible lesson for that day!!
My brother was two years older than me and had his driver's license. He also had a white convertible. I don't recall the make or year, but I'm sure it was in the Pontiac line, as Dad only purchased Pontiacs...usually station wagons. My brother had washed his car, and it looked really good. It was also a sunny summer day and the roof was down. I must have had a driver's permit or driver's license also, because for some reason I got in that car and drove it down a road in my father's subdivision...a dirt road. It had been rainy the previous few days. I got the car stuck in mud...my brother's nice clean white convertible, top down, stuck in the mud. I am so glad that God erases some memories from our minds. I don't recall the rest of that story, but I don't remember driving the car again. So...there's a lesson I learned about "don't covet". One of the ten commandments.
Eventually I had my first car, a 1957 Chevy. Old and cheap. Dad got a good deal on it for me, thus allowing a Chevy in our driveway. Seniors were allowed to drive cars to school, and I do remember doing that. I also remember driving down to Battle Creek (about 30 miles away), and getting out on the highway and giving semis the arm motion for them to blow their horns. I was allowed to take girlfriends with me, and we would go shopping, and then go driving to flirt with the truck drivers...only wanted to get them to blow their horns though. Teenagers do dumb things, don't you think? It's like the time to have fun, not to think about the consequences. I must have had an angel watching over me when I did dumb stuff like that. I never did get in any trouble...never even got a ticket!
When I was a Junior in high school, a new boy came to our school. He was a hired hand on a farm north of town, living there to earn his keep. He had been in trouble at his previous school, and was trying to get a fresh start. He was very good looking, always smiling and joking around. Everyone liked him. He could have dated anyone, and I'm sure he did date others, but he started giving me special attention. I wasn't anybody special, not in the popular crowd, and the only extra-curricular activity I was involved in was church. I didn't go to shows, I didn't go to school dances. I hardly went to the sporting events. I did join the library club that met during school hours. So I considered myself a plain jane, nobody worth noticing.
Then Larry started noticing me...and I was thrilled to death!! It made me feel like maybe I was something special. He asked me out on a hay ride they were having out on the farm, but in order for me to go, my parents said he had to come to church. He agreed to do that. He even became regular at church and very popular with the young people and old people alike. He was just a likable kind of guy. He always kept people laughing.
That was the beginning of an on-again, off-again relationship between me and Larry. He still liked to live on the wild side, and couldn't seem to play the game straight. When he was good, he was in church, he felt called to the ministry, and he led the youth group. Then he would decide he needed to spice up his life and he would drink and run around and basically live in the streets. I kept thinking some day he would settle things with the Lord, and we would have a happy life. However, I spent five years waiting for that. When I went off to college, I asked him to leave me alone. I intended to look for Mr. Right, and I knew he wasn't it. When I came home the next summer, there was Larry. The next fall I decided to move to Florida with my parents and get away from Larry.
I went to the Community College for a semester, but decided that school was not for me. I got a job as a secretary/bookkeeper in a small manufacturing plant, and I worked weekends at Burger King. I was one of the first females to be hired in the fast food chain. I liked my life, it was meaningful and fun. Then...Larry shows up. He decided to move south also. When Mom and Dad went back north for the summer, Larry and I stayed behind. I had my first apartment, with a very snoopy landlord. She would stand outside my window at night and watch me. She turned her Christian radio on high volume so I could hear it also. My apartment was the front half of her house, and I'm sure she was concerned about this single girl with a boyfriend.
After that summer I decided I didn't like living in Florida, and Larry and I both went back to Michigan. Me...back to Mom and Dad's. Larry...back to his wild friends and ways. That pretty much sums up my tearful teen years. I allowed one person to knock me off balance, and I never seemed to have the strength to break the cycle completely. I spent a lot of time at the altar and at my bedside during those years, asking Jesus to help me, to forgive me, to show me what I should do. The bottom line was that I allowed my emotions to override my spiritual life and common sense. However, Jesus was faithful to ride through the storms with me. He never gave up on me, although I know I disappointed Him many times.
Well, I woke up Sunday morning, and my yellow roller of hair had turned orange! Maybe that's cool now, but not back in the 1960's! I also had an orange forehead. When Mom saw me, she knew I was punished enough just by having to go to church with part of my hair being orange. What made it even worse, though, was that the orange even had an effect on my white furry hood on my favorite coat. It was no longer white, but a dirty looking off-white/orange tint. What a lesson I learned about pride that day!! Mine was dented big time all because I had to have something new, something different. I remember my boyfriend laughing and me feeling very stupid. My hair and forehead washed out in time, but my white furry coat hood was never the same. What's the Bible verse about learning to "be content"? I learned my Bible lesson for that day!!
My brother was two years older than me and had his driver's license. He also had a white convertible. I don't recall the make or year, but I'm sure it was in the Pontiac line, as Dad only purchased Pontiacs...usually station wagons. My brother had washed his car, and it looked really good. It was also a sunny summer day and the roof was down. I must have had a driver's permit or driver's license also, because for some reason I got in that car and drove it down a road in my father's subdivision...a dirt road. It had been rainy the previous few days. I got the car stuck in mud...my brother's nice clean white convertible, top down, stuck in the mud. I am so glad that God erases some memories from our minds. I don't recall the rest of that story, but I don't remember driving the car again. So...there's a lesson I learned about "don't covet". One of the ten commandments.
Eventually I had my first car, a 1957 Chevy. Old and cheap. Dad got a good deal on it for me, thus allowing a Chevy in our driveway. Seniors were allowed to drive cars to school, and I do remember doing that. I also remember driving down to Battle Creek (about 30 miles away), and getting out on the highway and giving semis the arm motion for them to blow their horns. I was allowed to take girlfriends with me, and we would go shopping, and then go driving to flirt with the truck drivers...only wanted to get them to blow their horns though. Teenagers do dumb things, don't you think? It's like the time to have fun, not to think about the consequences. I must have had an angel watching over me when I did dumb stuff like that. I never did get in any trouble...never even got a ticket!
When I was a Junior in high school, a new boy came to our school. He was a hired hand on a farm north of town, living there to earn his keep. He had been in trouble at his previous school, and was trying to get a fresh start. He was very good looking, always smiling and joking around. Everyone liked him. He could have dated anyone, and I'm sure he did date others, but he started giving me special attention. I wasn't anybody special, not in the popular crowd, and the only extra-curricular activity I was involved in was church. I didn't go to shows, I didn't go to school dances. I hardly went to the sporting events. I did join the library club that met during school hours. So I considered myself a plain jane, nobody worth noticing.
Then Larry started noticing me...and I was thrilled to death!! It made me feel like maybe I was something special. He asked me out on a hay ride they were having out on the farm, but in order for me to go, my parents said he had to come to church. He agreed to do that. He even became regular at church and very popular with the young people and old people alike. He was just a likable kind of guy. He always kept people laughing.
That was the beginning of an on-again, off-again relationship between me and Larry. He still liked to live on the wild side, and couldn't seem to play the game straight. When he was good, he was in church, he felt called to the ministry, and he led the youth group. Then he would decide he needed to spice up his life and he would drink and run around and basically live in the streets. I kept thinking some day he would settle things with the Lord, and we would have a happy life. However, I spent five years waiting for that. When I went off to college, I asked him to leave me alone. I intended to look for Mr. Right, and I knew he wasn't it. When I came home the next summer, there was Larry. The next fall I decided to move to Florida with my parents and get away from Larry.
I went to the Community College for a semester, but decided that school was not for me. I got a job as a secretary/bookkeeper in a small manufacturing plant, and I worked weekends at Burger King. I was one of the first females to be hired in the fast food chain. I liked my life, it was meaningful and fun. Then...Larry shows up. He decided to move south also. When Mom and Dad went back north for the summer, Larry and I stayed behind. I had my first apartment, with a very snoopy landlord. She would stand outside my window at night and watch me. She turned her Christian radio on high volume so I could hear it also. My apartment was the front half of her house, and I'm sure she was concerned about this single girl with a boyfriend.
After that summer I decided I didn't like living in Florida, and Larry and I both went back to Michigan. Me...back to Mom and Dad's. Larry...back to his wild friends and ways. That pretty much sums up my tearful teen years. I allowed one person to knock me off balance, and I never seemed to have the strength to break the cycle completely. I spent a lot of time at the altar and at my bedside during those years, asking Jesus to help me, to forgive me, to show me what I should do. The bottom line was that I allowed my emotions to override my spiritual life and common sense. However, Jesus was faithful to ride through the storms with me. He never gave up on me, although I know I disappointed Him many times.
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