Fall and All

 Fall is really falling here.

It has gotten chilly over the past week, and the colors are coming in. 

These are Bob and Dean's flowers and they are so gorgeous right now!

And then there's this! Frankie Beckmeyer is a married man! And Paul and Madi were there to join in the blessings! Just a few months and Paul and Madi will be married!!! I am so, so thrilled!

What a Promise!

 “I desire trust from My creatures. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy.” —Diary 1059

Jesus, I trust in You.

Catching Up

 Well, a lot has happened, but have been really bad about sitting down to blog. I have so much writing to do for Spiritual Direction that I just don't get back to the computer most evenings. 

I am really loving Spiritual Direction! What a gift the Holy Spirit has given in allowing me to journey with these beautiful women! God is so good! I will be heading to Quarryville next month for another course. I'm not sure if I already blogged that, but I want to remember it. I will be attending "Theology of the Body and the Interior Life" which is going to be so awesome for Spiritual Direction! 

We have almost launched our Gabriel Network ministry at St Patrick's, and I am so excited about it. My friend Barbara is the coordinator. We are also getting set for another Marriage Enrichment event in November. Hoping to iron out most of the details this week. We also did our last First Fridays for the year. It was a good run. We talked to a lot of people, and had a chance to help local people find our beautiful Church! There was a bridal show across from our spot this time! It was sweet.

And speaking of things matrimonial....

The biggest news in the Merkel family this month is that Paul and Madi are engaged!! We are just thrilled. I am so happy that Paul has found such a wonderful woman to walk through life with. They are a sweet couple! 

Tim and I are living the quiet life these days, with just the two of us in the house, but we have great talks and we enjoy making plans and are looking forward to heading to Texas in November to visit the Cookes. Dad will be down there as well. We are going down for grandparent's day and it should be a wonderful visit!

Tim and Brendan got Brendan's car all set. It is now on the road and he doesn't have to worry that it won't start. The gold car went to the wrecking yard. Tim worked really hard to get this new one running well, and I hope it serves Brendan for a long time. 

Football season is under way, but the Ravens haven't really been delivering. Maybe tonight.....

What a Neat Town!

I do love Havre de Grace.

It is such a sweet little place and there is so much fun stuff happening all the time. 

Tonight Lisa Tellup invited Cora and I to go for a walk, as we often do. She likes to get Chipper out and so we decided to walk in town because there was something happening at the Lighthouse. 

Well, it was quite the party! The Waterfront Festival!

As it got dark, the Harvest Moon rose and it was just perfect outside. Just a nice breeze and a slight nip in the fresh air. 

We sat at the marina and watched the boat parade go by. They really outdid themselves!

Back at School, Fall is coming, and Sticks are Good

 That's what's happening around here!

It's still hot though....

Paul is back at school, and so is Madi of course! They are getting settled in and figuring out classes this week. 

Leaves are showing up in the backyard...

And Cora loves a good stick to chew on! 

August is Almost Gone....

 

I can't believe how fast we have come to the end of this Summer! It's crazy!

I haven't had a lot of ministry work to do, but every day is still full. There is a lot going on with Spiritual Direction, and we are gearing up for a lot of activity in the coming year. 

We have had a successful foray into First Fridays this Summer and now we know how it goes and what works best. In August I went down with Tim and a couple of other people and we set up the tent on a beautiful evening! I took a big bin full of books to give away, and some materials for making bookmarks. I also took a big bowl full of candy. That always goes over well. We met lots of people and all the books were given away! We have another one this week, and we are going to change it up a bit, but not too much!

Andrew had a birthday and Laura treated him, along with Calvin, to a Metalachi concert. Interesting genre of music. I got him a tshirt as part of his gift! There is also a new member in the Cooke family. Meet Chester! He is a Great Dane rescue. They have him on a trial basis for now. Max and Miles are now altar-serving at the Church! I love this! Gee, could they be twins? 

Paul and his friend TJ got out on the river and the Bay a couple of times this month which was really nice for him! He has been working really hard and saving as much as possible before heading back to school. 

It's still really hot out but we had a couple of nicer days and I got out and made a fire to sit by. I just love that. I will do this a lot more often when it's cooler. It brings back a lot of memories too. I took some pictures of the back yard. It sure is nice in the summer. 

Cora and I have gotten out for some walks. That has been nice too, but we have to go in the evening because it's too hot during the day. I am looking forward to the cooler air of Fall, but that's always kind of bitter-sweet, because I know what's coming....brrrr. 

Time in Washington

 It was a very nice week in Port Angeles! The weather was gorgeous, which was such a blessing!

I got to Port Angeles on Thursday afternoon and Dad dropped me at Julie's house. Amanda was there and Julie and I jumped into her car to go into town to pick up little Tysen, Amanda's 3 year old son. He was getting out of school. Isaac was home and we took him for a walk later in the day. He does love the trees!

We visited until dinner. It was so nice to catch up! Julie and Pat's friend, Stella, was also arriving that evening. She is a really sweet person and just wanted to help out as much as possible. 

Josh and Keira's wedding was so beautiful! The mountains provided a gorgeous backdrop to the event. The venue is so perfect. Everyone had a blast at the reception! 

On Monday I was blessed to be able to be with the Davis family for Pat's memorial service. Wow. What a gift. Julie planned a beautiful celebration to remember Pat. Her family and friends arrived over the course of several days. So many people came from so far to remember a special man and to support Julie and the girls. It was wonderful to be able to hear stories, listen to family songs, and even raise a shot of Japanese whiskey to Pat, on the back deck.

The day was not without it's challenges, four people testing positive for covid in the household, and an overflowing toilet, but Julie handled it all with her usual grace. 

There was time to visit and think about what is coming next too. Amanda has moved back to North Dakota, and Julie went down to California to spend a couple of weeks with Sarah and her girls. 

I am home now and getting back into the swing of things! Have to get ready for First Fridays and whatever God wants to do in our little world.