IN THE DETAILS...

The weekend in Kansas was more than I could have asked or imagined. I traveled up there with my parents and met my sister (Stephanie), brother-in-law (Jerry), and my aunt (Pam). The weekend was literally filled with detail after detail of remembering my childhood.
We started Saturday morning with a trip to their FARM. I know it isn't theirs anymore, but it will always be in my eyes. We got to walk and remember. What a gift...This is a grape leaf. Isn't it cool. It really was metallic just like it looks in the picture.This is the shed that they kept the cars that was right by the house.This was the screened in back porch. My Grandpa slept out there in the summer. We would play and take naps out there. We also got to watch the birds with Grandma. And the occasional dear. Which reminds me. DETAIL: 2 different times over the weekend I got to see a deer out in the pasture. My Grandma LOVED deer.The "back pond"! We spent a lot of time playing and swimming in this pond. One of my Grandpa's favorite places to be. I learned this weekend that it is a really clean pond. Apparently my Grandpa built a fence to keep it that way. Richard, in the picture below, is this eccentric naturalist. He loves the place which made all of us really happy! He said he has learned a ton about my grandparents by living on their property the last 1o years.The fam... Steph & Jerry, Mom & Dad, Pam, Floyd (My Grandfather's brother's son), & me! This is the shed that all the horse stuff was in . We spent A TON of time brushing, spraying, saddling, and riding horses right here. DETAIL: When I walked in this shed... it smelled EXACTLY the same.This is the pond that is out from the little pig houses. This is the pond that we would spend time in the winter sledding across it on the ice! It was such a blast. In the summer we would run around the pond to make all the frogs jump in! They would make a little croaking noise as they jumped in. DETAIL: When I walked around this time... the frogs jumped in :) Noise... the same!Richard told us that he has used a ton of Grandpa's old stuff around the farm. Here he put a swing with an old tractor chain! DETAIL: My grandparents had a swing on their front porch and we spent HOURS on that swing.GOOSEBERRIES! We picked a ton of gooseberries together. Grandma made gooseberry jelly! DETAIL: Got to pick and eat gooseberries!We all joked as we walked that we were going to be covered in ticks and chiggers. As kids we pulled ticks off the dogs and ourselves. DETAIL: When we left, I was driving and tried to brush something off my knee. Didn't so much brush off! And YES I had a tick!!! I was so excited I stopped in the middle of the dirt road to show my sister who was in the other car!It poured down rain right before the memorial service... we were a little worried that it would be raining the whole time or real muddy. But it cleared up perfectly and was cooler and sunny! Aunt Pam picked out the "urns" that Grandma and Grandpa would be in. Grandma loved humming birds, hers is the one of the left. And she chose a horse feed can for Grandpa... PERFECT! DETAIL: also got to see a hummingbird!After the memorial service I headed downtown to to see what it looked like now. Most of it has changed. But the streets are still red brick, the post office is the same, and some of the lumber company looked the same. My grandparents worked there for years. We got to help check people out, carry lumber and go to the soda shop! I almost found a way to break in to the lumberyard part... but I was in a dress. Then onto Bruce's farm for a wiener roast. This was such a gift. Grandpa would gather limbs, fallen trees, etc and always turn them into a wiener roast for us. I found out that night that Bruce had built the fire pit the day before! Such a blessing. DETAIL: the cat there looked just like my cat Magic growing up. She crawled up in my lap and stayed there for a little while!Sunday afternoon I went and stalked out the old church. We were there many times a week and had VBS! So many memories. I also got to talk to the present preacher. He had some amazing things to say about my grandparents. A new learning for me... My grandparents took taking care of the preacher of their church seriously. 3 different preachers of this church talked about how they helped them, invited them over, fed them, made them part of their lives.We got to help them change the numbers of the attendance and giving. We always got excited that when we were there their numbers went up by 2 or 4!!! This is the basement of the church where we would have potluck lunches. I think maybe they even planned them specifically because we we were there! DETAIL: smelled the same and I think maybe some of the exact same seating!

I cried a ton at the memorial service. My sister was gracious enough to read what I wrote... I knew I couldn't. But I am so glad it was said. We spent time walking around the cemetery Sunday and had another meal with Ken and Marilyn. DETAIL: We had pizza! Usually the first meal we would have with my grandparents when we got to their house.
It was such a great weekend. We ate meals together and laughed and remembered. I was blown away at how God brought so many little DETAILS to my weekend. I literally could not have scripted it any better. SO very grateful!

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21