Beginning a New Chapter

Ron is retiring 
and yesterday was his last day at the office!  

In my last post, I shared some pictures that were taken at a family gathering and I promised to come back and tell you more about that gathering. 

It was a retirement celebration for Ron! 

Even though it was a few weeks before his official retirement, we decided to celebrate when all of the children and grandchildren would be here. Kati and family arrived on Thursday, Ryan and family arrived on Friday, and on Saturday, August 9th, we all gathered (children and grandchildren, Ron's siblings and spouses, and my mom and sister) to celebrate. 

(Some photos by me, some by my sister-in-law Pat, and some by Bekah's friend Julie who we hired to do the family photos.)

Ron told stories about his work life, sharing how God has directed his path through the years. (Proverbs 3:4, 5) 

Bekah led us in a game of "Name That Tune," using many of the songs on Ron's Spotify playlist. 🎶

Ryan, Nora, and Eve entertained us! 

We even had a chance to sing along! Click ~ here ~ if you want to sing along with us! 

Side story about the cake: 
Ron picked it up for me on the morning of the party. When he brought it home, I opened the box to take a peek and  << oh no >> the cake said "Happy Retirement R-O-N-N-Y." Oh my goodness. 

Sarah said, "I think we can fix this." So Sarah guided and Bekah did the hands-on part and some watched and gave moral support. . . and they created an "I-E" out of that "Y" and you'd never know that a mistake had been made! Great job, girls! 

Whew! 

Now, back to the party. Cake is served!

You might see a few blue smiles here! (Oops . . . before the photographer arrived to do the family photos! Teeth had to be re-brushed and a few garments had to be spot-cleaned.) 

Little girls comparing their June bugs. 🪲😊

So much cuteness! 

Earlier this week, Ron's company honored him with a lovely luncheon, gifts, funny stories, and words of appreciation. They invited local family, as well as co-workers from the present and the past. It was heart-warming!

So now Ron is retired and we begin a new chapter of life. It seemed to get here faster than either of us anticipated, but we look forward to what is ahead. 

Thank you, Ron, for being a faithful provider for our family for all of these years! God has been good to us and has always met our needs!

Forty-Seven Years

Sooo thankful for this man who has kept his promise "to love and to cherish" me for 47 years!

Has it been all sunshine and flowers? No. Because life is not always rosy. It is more than the happy pictures that we post on social media, even though those are real. Over our 47 years of marriage, we have had financial struggles, church difficulties, loss, the stillbirth of a child, serious illness, the death of three of our parents, days of pain and sorrow. But it is that THREE-fold cord that holds it all together! Because the Lord is the foundation of our marriage, He has helped us to walk in His grace! 

These are pictures of some of our greatest blessings, our children and grandchildren, taken at a recent family gathering. (I'll tell you more about that gathering soon.)

Ron and I with our four children
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward."
Psalm 127:3

With our fifteen grandchildren
"Children's children are the crown of old men . . . "
Proverbs 17:6

Our firstborn, daughter Kristin, and her family

(Sadly, Gavin was working and missed out on his family's photograph.
But, happily, he ran into the yard just in time to be included in the whole family group!) 

Our son Ryan and his family

Our daughter Kati and her family

Bekah, our youngest

ALL OF US! 

"One generation will praise Your works to another, And will declare Your mighty acts."
Psalm 145:4

It has been a busy summer! And it isn't over yet! I have been working sporadically on some Gathering the Moments posts (between visiting and gatherings and day-to-day responsibilities and house projects and helping others in our sphere), although I'm a far cry from having them ready to post. 

I hope to catch up with my blog friends soon, to see what has been keeping you busy. I pray that you have known His goodness through these summer days!  

Gathering the Moments | April 2025

April was a busy month for us! There were three events on three consecutive Sundays, requiring a whole lot of thinking and a whole lot of planning and lists galore. Menus . . . decorations . . . entertainment/games . . . set up . . . details, details, details. Fortunately for me, we began with the biggest event and each one got easier. 

🌷 The first Sunday, there was a family reunion for Ron's side of the family.

The week leading up to it was full of activity. Ron was off for a couple of days, and we took a day trip on one of those. I filled in as the main teacher of our ESL class, We went to two theater performances: one on Friday night to see a family friend and another on Saturday night to see our daughter Kristin and our grandchildren Owen and Maddie.

I wasn't sure I would get it all together for the reunion, but somehow we pulled it off! One of the highlights of the day was singing karaoke . . . and laughing like crazy! 

🌷 The second Sunday of April was Bekah's birthday.  

It was a joyful day of celebrating our "baby" on the 24th anniversary of her birth. I shared more party details and photos ~ here ~. 

I have told Bekah's story several times over the years, but if you're new here at Thinking About Home, you can read it ~ here ~. It is a story of hope and rejoicing! 


🌷 The third celebration was Resurrection Sunday.

As I said, each gathering was easier to plan, so Resurrection Sunday felt like a breeze! We had a wonderful day . . . from Easter breakfast to our church service to a holiday meal with Kristin and family and my Mom. (Bonus: all new Lindt lamb foil creations!) 

So if April had a theme, it could be . . . 

GATHERING

for there were many

or . . . 

RESURRECTION DAY MUSIC

because I played this playlist all. month. long. 

or . . . 

PINK

because those grocery store tulips lingered awhile and showed up in many photos 

and because the Judas tree (that was a descendent of a tree that Ron's grandmother once had) was in full bloom, 
and the bleeding heart bloomed,

as did the pretty circle of azaleas that were planted by our house's former owner.

as did the redbud tree that we planted last fall, a memorial gift in honor of my Daddy, gifted to me by a dear friend 

or could the theme be simply (and profoundly)  . . .  

GRACE

because that explains every gift and every good thing.
Grace. Free and undeserved favor.