Vacation 2011 - Part 1

We began our vacation on February 1 in Anchorage where Gary had follow-up appointments for his October shoulder surgery. He checked out fine and we had some time to spend with old friends from Kako, Thane and Chasity. They just happened to be in town on their way home to Aniak after a trip to Mexico.





The Boettchers flew up from Soldotna to spend a day with us. Mike flew back to Anchorage to take Gary to Kenai where he spent the weekend with the Boetchers and Vince Spadey while Margo attended a Womens retreat near Willow.


Brenda Johnson, Becky Noll and Vera Penz from Kako attended the retreat which was hosted by the ladies from Arctic Barnabas. It was a sweet reunion for Margo as well as being spiritually uplifting and rewarding for her.





The first stop on our journey was Reno Nevada where we spent several days with our youngest son Adam and his wife Chelsea. They were gracious enough to arrange three days off from their busy jobs to spend with us and we enjoyed every minute. We love our new Grand Puppy, Ace!


Next stop, Los Banos, California where we visited Margo's sister Shannon. This is Shannon, Margo and their mutual friend, Mary who invited us all to her home for dinner.

Katie and her Dad, John doing what they have done since Katy was a baby, reading stories before bed time. Christopher is enjoying the story as much as Katie!


We visited Margo's youngest sister, Trula in Red Bluff. They both cherished the special "Sister Time."


We happened to be there on Valentines Day and had a double date with Trula and KC at a lovely restaurant on the Sacramento River.


We visited our dear friends, sisters Fran and Hazel in Redding and enjoyed reminiscing with them about the Old Days in Weaverville.


Two other dear friends, Bernie McChristian and Ron Martin from our Weaverville days joined us for pizza at Hazel and Fran's home.


Salem Oregon was our next stop where we visited with Margo's brother Harold and his wife Joany. We were blessed to see three of their girls and their two grandchildren. This is Grandma Joany with Jenni and Randy's little girl, Madelyn Joan.


Grandpa Harold and Riley rough housing in the living room. After four sisters and four daughters, he finally has a boy to wrestle with!


Jenni and Joany in the kitchen of Jenni and Randy's new home in Aumsville, Oregon.


Harold and Joany's youngest daughter, Kelly, who loves her "Auntie M" and the feeling is mutual!


Our niece Brandy and her nephew Riley on a walk at Riverfront Park in Salem.

While at the Riverfront park we had a very quick visit with special friends from Friday Harbor, Dave and Helen Ellingson who now live in Dallas Oregon.



On our way up the Columbia River Gorge we stopped briefly at a Fred Meyer in The Dalles Oregon and ran into Donna Smith, an old friend from Friday Harbor who has moved to the The Dalles. What an unexpected treat that was!

40th Anniversary

Gary and I were married on December 19, 1970 in Weaverville California. We celebrated our 40th Anniversary by renewing our wedding vows at Safe Harbor Church in Akutan Alaska. We were blessed to have our missionary friends, Jim and Terri Hibbard here to help us with the ceremony and reception.



We walked down the isle to the music of Kenny Rogers singing "Through the Years."

Gary sang the Hymn "Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us" which was sung at our wedding by Pastor Paul Richins all those years ago. We are thankful that Jesus has led us because we have needed his tender care.

Friends from the village and Trident came to celebrate with us. My friends Dawn, Terry and Bea helped with the serving.


My little friend Mia came to the party with her mom and dad and her grandma. Our prayer was that God would be glorified in the renewing of our wedding vows and that it would not only be an affirmation between the two of us but a testimony of God's goodness, protection and grace through the years.


Although our children couldn't be with us we included them in our celebration. They are truly the blessings of our marriage and the joy of our lives. We miss you kids.

Thanksgiving at Safe Harbor

Thanksgiving at Safe Harbor Church is a community event. We had expected our friends from Arctic Barnabas, Jim and Terri Hibbard to arrive before Thanksgiving to help with the preparation and serving. They were weathered in at Dutch Harbor for five days and didn't arrive until after Thanksgiving. The school kids and their teacher Dawn came to the rescue and baked all of the pies. I think they baked a dozen pumpkin pies and 5 berry pies and they were delicious.
Several friends from Trident and the village came to set up tables and decorate.



Our hard working friends at Trident were processing King Crab and only a few were able to attend however we had over 70 people enjoy the meal and the fun. The folks from the village enthusiastically supported a fund raising auction for our new Otter Quilting Club



Over $500 was raised by auctioning these three small quilted pieces. Jason from the village was our capable auctioneer. Thank you Akutan Village! The funds will be used to buy more fabric and sewing supplies for the Quilting Club. The hope is to provide a healthy and creative activity for our ladies and an opportunity to provide some community service.

Ministry Family Retreat

Quilt Show

We said Good Bye and Thank You to Carol and Kitty on Monday. They flew out on the last "Goose" before a big storm that would have caused them to miss their connecting flights to Anchorage and Seattle.
Thursday we hosted a Quilt Show Open House to show the finished (and almost finished) projects. On display were the quilt tops, pillow shams, knitting, wall hangings and table toppers of all of the adult and school children who participated in the project. Our guests from the village and Trident appreciated the hard work of the students as well as the refreshments.