Memories: First Half of 2022

Our retirement from Cru began exactly two years ago, in July of 2020! And though we love to communicate with our friends and family here, it has been pretty quiet on our blog! We are definitely loving retirement, and also are finding that even retirement life can be quite full! For us, it is wonderful with many restful, peaceful moments, and time for many (unending?) projects.  Also with many sweet connections with family and friends, and then, of course, with the realities of the daily responsibilities of life!

We'd love to share with you some of our memories and highlights from the first half of 2022. Here are a sampling of our digital scrapbook pages from the past six months, giving a glimpse into the joys and trials of our wonderful retirement life together. The year started out with 43 days in a row (weekdays) of treatment for Gary's prostate cancer. You can read more in the journaling above on the scrapbook page. We are so grateful for excellent results from the 9 weeks of treatment!

The page of photos above shows one of several trips we've made to McCook so far this calendar year ... visiting Carrie & Tyler & family. We're so thankful they live just a 4 1/2 hour drive away, and always love our visit with them. It is hard to believe that our youngest grandchild, Eva, is now 10 years old, and older brother Cruz is 13 already!!

It was such a joy to have Amy & Joe, and also Sara & Sean, and their families, here for Easter! Both families live nearby, which makes it possible to see them often! Levi is in college now, and Ali finished up her freshman year of high school (Amy & Joe's two children). And Sara & Sean's two sons, Jake & Cole both finished up 7th grade. Our grandkids are all growing up too fast!

Family nearby means that we get in a fair number of sports events ... soccer games, and baseball games throughout the spring/summer. Also, we are so very blessed by the close friendships within our CityGroup, a small group within Citylight Midtown. it is a special gift from God to do life with these friends, in the same empty nest season of life we are in, and also retirement season for some of us.

Oh, how we love springtime! We both enjoyed the planting of our veggie garden, herb garden, and various flower spots in our yard, and also on our patio. We're so very thankful for the two lots that our home is on ... a source of much joy for us.

In June we had a special treat ... our daughter Amy (& Joe) asked us to "cat sit" for them when they went on a vacation trip to Colorado. Of course, we were delighted, and therefore had our own week-long "vacation" at their beautiful home right on Beaver Lake, just a 45-minute drive from us. It also happened to be during the week of Father's Day, and Gary's 78th birthday!

Many, many more highlights occurred during the first half of 2022 ... too many to be shared. Of course, we are missing being with the other half of our family (in Texas, and in New York), and have loved every bit of communication we've had with them from a distance. 

Thanks for your friendship and prayers! And above all, we are so thankful to God for the gift of each day, and for His Love and Presence through all of life.