Category: Family

  • Day #14, 15, & 16

    Nana and Liberty tubing

    Left Bismarck, ND and headed for Sartell, MN.

    Kids (and Nana and Grandpa) all excited to be together again. All looked forward to our dinner boat cruise and picnic on the boat. Went tubing with Liberty as we screamed when the big bumps hit us. For the first time, I tried a wakeboard behind the boat. I fell the first time, but was able to pull my weight up on the board, strap myself in and hang on for the ride of my life!

    Liberty whispered to me before bedtime, “I’m gonna wake you and Grandpa up in the morning!”  Nana wouldn’t want it any other way. Sure enough, in came Liberty followed by her younger brother, Elijah, up on the bed before we were awake.

    Activities included (but not limited to):  Thomas Train Memory game (Libs beat me pretty bad), Frisbees outdoors. Enjoyed coloring with Libs and Elijah using crayons and colored pencils. Whenever I color, it always brings back fond childhood memories—I should color more often.

    Liberty got to ride with Grandpa on the motorcycle from one end of the driveway to the garage door. She thought that was real special! All three kids got onboard our motorcycle for a picture. That’s when I got the brilliant idea of how to get them all back to Michigan!

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  • Shoshone Lodge – Yellowstone, Wyoming

    “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

    One evening, Steve and I were privileged to join in the singing, dancing and making merriment with guitars, spoons, and voices! There was a special hoedown 80th birthday party for Jack. Jack lives at Shoshone Lodge and works there for free because he loves the area and the people so much.

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  • Day #3 of our journey

    Left Omaha, Nebraska. Windy day – helmet and bike buffeted about.  Road construction zones – feel every bump, grove and inconsistency in the pavement. Travel day – passed through Hazard, Nebraska; pop. 66. Cornfields and a lot nothing to report – wide, open spaces. Many trains and cars loaded with coal.

    Contour changing from flat to texture and hilly. Less and less cornfields and more open spaces. Camper blew tire, tire smoking just before tire blew and a chunk of rubber skidded across the yellow line. Thankful the tire just missed us! 

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  • Day #2 of our Journey

    We did see corn, corn, and did I mention corn (again)? And soybean fields galore. Iowa—feels like I’m coming home even though we don’t plan on meeting family members. Most have either died or moved to other locations throughout the U.S.

     I hear that “Sarah Palin will re-launch her “One Nation” bus tour in Iowa tomorrow; the same day that Republican presidential contenders will take the stage for a debate in Ames, Iowa.”  Plus, Obama turns up the volume in campaign. Iowa must be the place to be! And here we are.

    But I was more interested in eating at the alley Canteen in downtown Ottumwa, established 1930s. I haven’t been to Ottumwa for at least 25 years. Radar, from the TV show Mash and I share the same birthplace. I wonder if the donut shop will still be there—the one Grandpa, Karen (my sister) and I visited when we visited Grandpa and Grandma. Maybe I’ll get some more memoir writing material while in town.

    Nearly all the seats in the diner are full and the screen door constantly opens and closes. Some order in; many order out. One friendly employee said she’d been working there for 17 years; Flo has been there for over 30 years.

    What’s a canteen you ask?  A loose meat hamburger in a bun ordered wet or dry. Wet choices: ketchup, mustard, pickle and onion.  Steve topped his off with a slice of fresh peach pie ala mode. Nothing beats a canteen!  They are the best…now, I can die happy. 

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  • Day #1 of our journey

    We made it 370 miles and landed in Muscatine, Iowa traveling through four states (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa). The first thing I heard upon entering the city was the sound of locust armies—very loud and annoying.

    Beautiful day for travel beginning the day at 61 cool degrees. Saw temps rise to 88 degrees later in the day. Breakfast at Cracker Barrel (one of my favorites) in Stevensville, Michigan where the waitress knocked my tall water glass and water and shattered glass hit the floor like a shotgun.

    By 2:00 p.m., I felt a bit toasty in stop-and-go traffic on black, fresh asphalt in the middle of a 17-mile construction zone. It might be because I still wore black leathers and long johns for the chilly early morning hours.

    Around 3:00 p.m., we crossed over into Iowa—my birth state!  Traveling downtown, we discovered Riverside Park bordering the famous Mississippi River. My sights immediately went to a small marina the edge of the park where houseboats proved most popular.

    Dinner; then headed back to the motel. Early to bed since we’re both tired from being out in the sun and wind all day. Good night to all!

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  • Today’s the Day!

    Road trip day – soon to begin.  Anticipation high and somewhat difficult to sleep. After tossing some in the early morning hours – decided it was time to rise and shine (even though the sun had not.)  My mind/brain kept adding just one more thing to do or cram into my bags.

    This evening: Muscatine, Iowa (355 miles from Grand Rapids, Michigan).  Plan to post again when arrive at our destination with Internet access. Until then, blessings to you all this day. 

    “The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:26).

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  • Countdown: 1 more day!

     I think I’m ready to ride. Or, first sleep tonight; then ride in the early hours. Steve says we’ll start at the crack of early. My take on that comment: beginning time is open to interpretation.

    Pray for safety & alertness (us and those around us), animal sightings (from a long distance if big animals such as bear or bison), good memory making times for us as a couple, refreshment & relaxation. Oh, and stories to write that complement our photographic moments!

     Hope to have Internet access part of the trip, so stayed tuned and watch for updates with photos on our website blog.  Feel free to post your comments, suggestions; what you’d like to see or read, what you don’t want to see or read, etc..,

     “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

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  • Countdown: 2 more days!

    Just two more days to pack and be completely ready for our 2011 motorcycle summer out west tour. I’ve laid out piles of clothes I think I’ll need for the journey: blue jeans, shorts, long sleeves and sleeveless tops. As usual, the depth of the piles exceed the depth of my suitcase.  Inside the trailer, we’ll pack our regular black leathers (jacket, chaps) and wear our red mesh jackets during warm weather. This way we’re prepared for all kinds of weather. Snow’s still in parts of the mountains and high altitude.

    Steve and I will travel on our candy-apple red Gold Wing motorcycle with trailer in tow. Thank heaven for a trailer in tow. Before we purchased the trailer from a co-worker, all of our belongings needed to be strategically placed in one of the three compartments or attached backpack. Guess I’d better get back to work attempting to pack it all in; after all, I only have two more days to fit in my entire to-do list.

    Planning to blog and post a picture as often as possible (every other day?) depending on Internet coverage. Come along with us on our first trip out west!

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  • Joys of Grand-parenting

    What’s it like when the grandchildren are around?

    • Every breath is like inhaling fresh air into my lungs
    • Gives me reason to rise early in the morning
    • Bursts of energy from on high
    • Courage and determination to live and live holy and perfectly (little eyes watch and minds absorb every word and deed!)
    • Able to swing higher, walk and shop longer, swim/float, build sand castles, bake cakes and cookies, create towers, color with rainbow jumbo crayons, read stories (favorites over & over again)
    • Feel the need to nap when they nap. Rise when they rise
    • Always carry gum and mints and water bottles
    • Just can’t get enough lovin’ and kisses!

    There’s nothing quite as special as being in the presence of innocent, say-it-like-it-is little people. Life seems less complicated, pure. I feel younger, more full of energy and vitality. Exhaustion does sink in, but I sleep soundly. I am at peace and all is well with my soul.

    “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name…who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”  (Psalm 103:1, 4–5)

    Teresa Kay Lasher©2011

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  • Happy 36th Anniversary!

    Hard to believe…today Steve and I celebrate our 36th wedding Anniversary. I thank God for Steve’s love, faithfulness, and long-standing commitment to me and to our family. Love you babe! 

    Always smooth sailing? Hardly. We’ve had our share of turbulent wind and waves, dead-boring calm and serene times too. When we both said “I do,” before God and witnesses, we committed to sticking together in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. God didn’t promise years of perfection or no troubles. In fact, given the vows repeated, you’d expect adversity and pain.

    What’s our secret to success? Flexibility, compromise, faith, and commitment. The best laid plans of men don’t always work out. I may have an idea or plan in my head, but that doesn’t mean my husband will embrace the same idea. Time has a way of helping solve disagreements. If the two of us don’t agree on a certain topic, sleeping on it (if the decision can wait) lends different perspective to the topic.

    Give-and-take remains key in a relationship. I can’t always be right and neither can he. Respect the other person for their individual God-given talents and knowledge. I heard a quote once: “If both of us had identical qualities, one of us wouldn’t be needed!”  If more time is needed, agree to disagree. It’s never a good idea to go to bed angry though, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26).

    Commitment: to bind by pledge or assurance, promise, obligation, dedication, devotion, steadfastness. Those can be frightening words…maybe that’s why many chose to avoid making a commitment. After all, it’s much easier and less threatening to stick with someone when the tide is favorable and the way smooth.

    Perhaps the most important is faith. Faith in someone bigger and wiser than myself. I chose to place my faith in God: healer, Savior, and unconditional lover of my soul. As much as I love my husband, he cannot satisfy every longing of my soul. Steve is only human—just like me—full of selfishness, pride, and sin. When I place my trust in the unchangeable God, great things happen. Like being married 36 years today to my high school sweetheart! 

    Teresa Kay Lasher ©2011

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