Serously?

A somewhat recent photo of Eric and I. You can't
tell so much because of my beanie, but I've cut off
my hair. So far, it hasn't caused me to lose any of
my super-powers. 

Ugh, I was really hoping it had been less time than this since I wrote here, but it hasn't. Nothing since last August. My grandmother's funeral. Nothing about all the major events since that time.

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My Grandma Joy

Here are some thoughts about my Grandma.

On August 12, My paternal grandmother, Joy Bateman Wixom Samson, died. She was 95 and had lived a full life of family, work, travel and love. She was an important and positive influence in my life, and while I am sad I won't see her again in this life, it's hard to be TOO sad when a tired 95-year old woman who has done all the things and is suffering from pain and sickness dies. I am honestly more happy for her than I am sad for myself. Truly. Her life is a great example of what I believe life is all about--learning, experiencing, helping others, trying, making mistakes, having messy problems, doing fun things, loving people, never giving up, etc. I don't romanticize her as a perfect person, but instead I love her for her example of a real woman in action. She showed me that it's possible to keep on going in the face of hard things, and to laugh and sing along the way. That is invaluable to me. I am grateful you are my Grandma.

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Weathering Camp

This week at my church Young Women Camp we had perfect weather for an East Coast campout--mostly overcast skies with slightly cooler temperatures punctuated by a few hours of sunshine here and there on most of the days. It was really nice to have a break from the usually relentless heat. We still had the relentless humidity, but a temperature just a few degrees lower can make such a difference. Evenings got cool enough to welcome a campfire, and the nights and mornings felt deliciously chilly.

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Trekking With Pioneers

In the second week of July, Eric and I set out with 11 outstanding young people and trekked through the wilds of Pennsylvania for 3 days. We did it for love. We also did it for faith. For that 3 days, we were Ma and Pa Nuss.

There are only10 in this photo because one of our young women came the next
day because of her work schedule. We finished with all 11. 

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The Last Twenty-One

My youngest child turned 21 years old on Friday. That feels like a big deal, so I wanted to write about it for a minute.

Here he is 3 years ago when he graduated high school:

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