Month: July 2022

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July 18 – 21, 2022 On our way to Maine – Michigan camping with the Grandkiddo’s and travel to New York State.

On our way, we spent a night in Indiana so we could color that state on our map, and then we arrived in Niles, MI. It’s always a bit like coming home each time we visit since we lived here for over ten years.

“Can the grand’s spend the night in Papa and Nana’s RV?” YES! We had a fun evening camp-over with Jeremiah, Asia, and Faith, and we all fit very nicely! Love making these memories!

From sundown to sunup – we never had a dull moment. This camp spot was only 10 minutes from Ray & Sarah’s house and had all the activities, indoor and outdoor, that we could want.

And best of all – the Blue Gills were hungry in the morning! We caught 13 nice size ones and threw many smaller ones back. YUM – we had a fish fry back at the house that evening!

We love to help our kids whenever there is a home project to do – Sarah wanted her laundry room rearranged so it would be more efficient and take up less space. Ray & I were able to figure things out to re-route the drain and the power supply in order to move the washer, dryer, and sink. Sarah was smiling pretty big when we were done!

….and then Chef Ray appeared with his smoker and select choice of meats! He blessed all of us with tender smoked “Dinosaur Ribs” and “Pig Shots”. So tasty (my mouth is watering again as I write this!) He certainly has developed into a gourmet smoke chef! Thanks Ray!

We enjoyed a great game of “Life” with Jeremiah and Asia. We kept saying, ” this isn’t the way REAL life is” …so much money coming in and very little going out – NOT! So we had the opportunity to share some real life lessons and experiences, we had a great time!

The days came and went so fast – but we packed in a lot of adventure, love, hugs, and smiles while we were there (even Jasmine seemed to enjoy our visit!)

Gotta keep moving if we’re going to get to Maine on time!

On our way out of Michigan, we stopped to enjoy a great breakfast and reunion with Ernie & Gail Shrock at the Das Essenhouse in Middlebury, IN. It’s always fun to re-connect with our SOWER friends as we travel – such a blessing to have these close-hearted friends all over the USA! We served together at Gospel Rescue Mission in Tucson, AZ in March of 2022.

Then the road trip to New York State. We traveled through Ohio close to Lake Erie and then crossed a corner of Pennsylvania into New York. While we enjoyed the scenery, driving through a few big cities having some sharp turns kept us alert.

We arrived at our next stop in Plattsburgh, NY. So amazed to find an available “couples bench” on the lake for us to enjoy a spectacular sunset. God continues to bless us on our 50th anniversary excursion year. So many moments of quiet solitude to pause and reflect and be amazed of God’s glory in our lives!

Tomorrow we cross over to Vermont – never been there before! What’s ahead for us?

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July 15 – 17, 2022 We’re headed to MAINE! But first – a sweet Hi and Goodbye to our nearby families – Colorado & Kansas!

We left on a Friday looking forward to what adventures lies before us! We’re planning to see our kiddos, explore new lands, meet new people, and learn more of God’s plan for us…all the way to Maine!

First of all, just had to share, we loved getting these great pictures of Nick, Rachel, Isaac, Kaylee, and Mary with Grandma LC!

…and just a few more phots of our precious family that were recently shared with us – We LOVE all these kiddos!

On our way through Rocky Ford/Las Animas, we enjoyed a lunch with Ben & Heather, Jayden & Josh. (Jeremy was working). We had a fun lunch, got all caught up on what’s happening, some laughter and sweet hugs! Thankful for these moments in time.

Then our route directed us through Kansas. We stopped and spent a night in Newton and enjoyed a fun visit with our Busenitz family – so full of smiles!

A day full of games, talking, laughter, good food, and topped off with a trip to Braum’s Ice Cream shop. It’s so good to connect with our family every chance we get while traveling. Changes are in the works for Jon & Becki and Nick & Rachel. Both families are accepting calls to enroll in seminaries and both families will soon be relocating to other states. We are so joyful that we can travel 24/7 and can see all of our kiddo’s wherever they are!

WHAT? This is breaking news…our most recent tank of gas in Kansas was purchased at under $4.00 per gallon! (Note the highest octane was the lowest price – Hmmm). Haven’t seen that kind of price for a long while – maybe this trip to Maine won’t be as expensive as we have been planning – yea!

Camping and traveling through Missouri, we found our first covered bridge! It was just a few miles from our camp so we had to go exploring.

So interesting! We decided we would seek out more covered bridges during our journeys.

Moving on – next we get to see our sweet family in Michigan. Looking forward to hugs, adventures, projects, and making more memories!

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June 17 – July 15, 2022 More great adventures at Selah Acres!

Cabin, Church, Family, and Chores.

Headed home to our favorite spot – Selah Acres! (Yes, Lorree’s driving the rig – you go girl!) Our little cabin in the Colorado mountains is always so welcoming – we love it! We’re going to have four weeks to enjoy the quiet, the wildlife, the beauty, and all the adventure to go with it. We’ve had so much anticipation for this moment… Welcome Home Johnsons!

This is going to be a very busy four weeks! Hang on here we go…..

We didn’t stay home for long – on the road again! We travel a lot of miles while at home lol!

Lorree met up with our friend Ruth Cozad in Colorado Springs to help with a JP Salad-in-a-jar party. While she was there Dennis was able to bring our flat trailer up to Nick & Rachel’s to load some stuff going to the cabin and got a warm welcome from Mary – so sweet! A few days later we had our “new” truck in for it’s 60K mile servicing. So.Many.Wonderful.Miles!

Meanwhile back at the ranch….CHORES! Lorree grabbed the John Deere and tackled mowing the road, the backyard, side yard, front yard, any yard she could find – she had FUN! (I’ll probably never get to mow again!) We worked together and walked the 25 acre fence line repairing broken fence wire and replacing a few posts. We really do kinda like this life!

July 4th get together with the Colorado Families! So good to give and get our hugs!

Grandkids – are so much fun! We ran them ragged this time! (I think…?) It seems that while at the cabin… at Selah Acres – everyone just lets their spirits soar and finds peace at the same time. God is here for sure!

Being available, helping our kids and walking strong in the Lord with our grandkids is a BIG priority for us. We cherish the times we have to walk and live life together with our family!

One of the highlights of living here for Dennis is attending a men’s Bible study “just-down-the-road”. These men are authentic believers who have studied the Word and live it out day to day. What a blessing and inspiration to have these mentors in his life! We meet just south of Eleven Mile Reservoir at Dave’s original cabin – now converted into a work/Bible shop.

Our new church home, Four Mile Community Church (again…just-down-the-road from us) celebrated July 4th with a festive and spirit filled remembrance and honor to our Christian founding fathers of this great nation. Pastor Steve even dressed up as an original 1776’r. We love our new church family!

And for the actual July 4 weekend, we traveled to Fort Morgan to bring an old fashioned cook-out/BBQ to Mom and Kay. We had a great time visiting, reminiscing, and eating some great burgers with all the fixins’s! Check out them socks on Mom! She’s always celebrating life to the fullest with her Jesus! Amen!

We did spend some days at the cabin getting a bit of rest and work done…. but life calls!

Isaac’s team won! So fun to spend an afternoon watching a great baseball game and to celebrate a great win. Way to go Isaac! So glad we were here to enjoy this.

Our first Papa-Nana Camp with Isaac and Kaylee! 3 days 2 nights of adventures!

First day/evening was a warm up time: hot tub, zip line, tractor, and just talking. Then we went fishing in the morning! Shucks! We caught nothing ‘cept some lake weeds (oh yeah, Kaylee caught a dead fish with a stick and proudly showed it around to everyone LOL!). It was a beautiful day, great fun, and nobody complained.

So many memories! These kids know how to keep us moving! They taught us some new games and we taught them a few. Papa put them to work hauling dead branches with the John Deere, they built a fort in the trees, had a little target practice, more hot tubbing, a pizza with movie night, more talking, and of course s’mores at the campfire! One morning, Isaac even helped cook breakfast for all of us – YUM!

Oh, and Kaylee kept our cabin filled with fresh wild flowers every day!

Is our respite already over?? We’ve had a great few weeks at the cabin and it surely is a Selah Acres Place – to pause, reflect, and consider what’s ahead.

We spent our last few days finalizing our next big trip. Some minor touch ups and repairs inside the RV, two new tires and lastly Dennis repacked/greased the wheel hubs… because we’re headed to Maine!

What adventures lie before us? God is good – all the time! Let’s GO!