POST RETIREMENT...PART ONE

Exactly one month ago today, Dave retired. As you can probably imagine, it's been a busy time and we have yet to establish a real routine. On Dave's last day of work, I picked him up at noon, we came home and finished packing the last of our stuff and loaded up the VUE. We turned over the keys to the new owners and we had a sweet time of prayer and praise. The response was just automatic since we know God is good and He has shown favor and faithfulness to their family and to ours.

That evening we grabbed a bite to eat and drove the 30 miles west to Decatur, Texas and spent the night at the Hampton Inn. It was a leisurely evening and morning before we headed out, bound for Trinidad, Colorado. We had decided to break up the drive and stay there, bringing back memories from long ago when we lived there and our kids were so young. We had our last good Mexican meal at Tequila's and then went and saw "Hacksaw Ridge" at the theater. The next morning we headed north on I 25 and stopped in Pueblo for breakfast at IHOP. Afterwards we hit a couple of antique stores in Denver, picked up a cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory and stopped at our good friends Stewart and Dot's house where we went to dinner and spent the night. The next day we had a fun time visiting with the other "Milk Duds" at Stewart and Jan's house, sharing a meal and good company. The next morning we were on the road, bound for Montana by 4:15 AM!

The drive went smoothly, albeit a long one, over 1000 miles that day. We arrived to our Sweet Montana Home and were greeted with the front porch light on and some balloons and a card from Randy and Chris, what a surprise!

A couple of days later, we had Thanksgiving dinner at their house over off the Flathead River...

Dave was very surprised to walk in and see that Peggy and I had decorated the house for Christmas back in September. I am so glad we did that since we've been trying to get all settled in and knowing me, I would have been stressing out over decorating!A couple of pictures, more to come later...

To be continued...

WHERE DID OCTOBER GO?

Wow, today is Halloween and I can't for the life of me figure out what happened to the month of October! I knew the time would pass quickly once I got back from Montana and it has! We're on the "GOODBYE TOUR" as I like to call it. Our church, Cross Timbers honored us with an open house send off. I was amazed at how many people made time to be a part of that! There was tons of food including a gorgeous cake our friend Charli had ordered with a picture of the Mountainview Hideaway on it! The picture was taken from our friend Fabrizzio's artwork that he did for us; Dave had made note cards for me with his picture on it and I had sent one to her earlier this year. Charli and her husband Conley put a lot of love and effort into making this special for us!!

Charlie and I, she's a native Montana gal!

Dave and Conley, the "King of the Grill"!

Our sweet friend Martha and I...

Jerry, Martha's hubby is quite a character!

We've had a final get together with our Life Group which was hard for me. We are 4 couples that have been "Doing Life" together for over 12 years and we have seen lots of changes during that time; all of us have lost loved ones, celebrated marriages and promotions as well as shared in life's trials and Dave's cancer journey. This is a group that is as close as any family and whenever there is a need, they are right there to roll up their sleeves...I will miss these wonderful people so very much!

We've also gone out to dinner, lunch and brunch with many people and have a few more on the calendar. Tomorrow and Wednesday the BNSF will honor Dave as well.

I spent some time back in St Charles this month as well. I enjoyed a good visit with my father and stepmother with some of my siblings one Saturday...

Some people say I look like him but I don't know about that.

I took Pop to the country where we spent the afternoon with our life long friends Dennis and Lois. I enjoyed seeing our oldest daughter Jennifer and her family several times, including our grand-daughter Alyson's musical with Pop and a movie and lunch one day of their Fall Break.

I always make time to visit my Mutti's grave at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, as I pulled up, the chapel bells were playing the National Anthem.

I spent the day with my best friend Brenda where we celebrated her birthday in Kimmswick, MO.

Of course I HAD to spend time with my Peggy....

I always make my Pop a priority; we spent a lot of time together just chatting, watching World War 2 documentaries as well as his favorite, "Sanford & Son". I enjoyed his cooking for us (memories from my childhood came flooding back) and I listened to him share memories, all the while giving thanks I still have him in my life... I am incredibly blessed!

SO NOW WHAT?

Yesterday I retired. I began cleaning houses 19 years ago with a service as a means to make some extra money for our oldest daughter's wedding but then it quickly turned into my own small business. Cleaning houses wasn't something I aspired to, I wanted to be a Ballerina when I was young. As clumsy as I am I can see why that didn't work out but I digress. Some people go on to college and pursue an education and settle into a career but I always wanted to be a wife and mother. Having a cleaning business was a good fit for our family because it gave me a lot of flexibility but it didn't offer many avenues for creative expression. One of the things I did to combat that, was to pray for the families that I was cleaning for and turn my profession into a ministry.

So what do I do now? Anything I want to!!

Dave and I at Jennifer's wedding, June 5, 1998

Over the months Dave and I have talked about serving God and how that will look once we make the move to the Mountainview Hideaway. Besides serving in church, we want to offer the home up as a retreat and Dave would like to exercise his passion for photography but other than that, we are going to play it by ear. This summer during the month of July, our Pastor did a series titled, "GOOD READS" where he interviewed authors whose books he had read and they had made an impact on him. He was interviewing Jennie Allen who wrote, "ANYTHING" and how as Believers sometimes we're a little scared to surrender ourselves and tell God that anything He wants us to do, we will do. How many times have we heard the saying,

"God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called."

As I sat in church that morning, I let my thoughts wander a bit about serving God once we move and God spoke to my spirit in the way that He does that I recognize immediately. He reminded me that once we relocate to Montana we have nothing hindering us from praying ANYTHING. All of the mistakes we've made or blown opportunities are in the past, we are starting with a clean slate. No longer having to "punch a clock" or having the responsibilities of a job, frees up our time. Our children are raised and have flown from the nest so there isn't the busyness that comes from raising a family. As clear as day I heard Him say,

"You are poised in a unique situation to serve me!"

For the record, when God speaks to you, it is a big deal! How will that pan out? I haven't got a clue. What I do know is that God never calls us to a task where He hasn't already made a way. My title, "So now what?" rings with renewed purpose and I am excited to see how He will use us in the next season of our lives!