Tag Archives: Friends

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life

The Find the Family Road Trip

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Over 2400 miles
Over 85 hours of driving
Seven nights
Six Beds
Spending time with family and friends
Meeting New Family
Priceless
Absolutely Priceless!
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We’ve been back from our Find the Family Road Trip (FFRT) since Sunday, and are still processing all of the wonders of those days. So many of you were praying for us – for both traveling mercies and grace-filled family connections and we thank you! We felt those prayers! God in his kindness gave us days of safe travels, comfortable beds to sleep in, and wonderful times with family (both old and new!) and friends.  The primary purpose of this cross-country trip was to meet two of Gary’s birth siblings.  Since he was adopted as an infant (though not quite from the hospital as we once thought), he never knew any of his older siblings.  The information we had was short and sweet – he had been placed for adoption because his birth father had died before he was born and the mother felt this was the best option for her baby boy.  What we have learned since (through these new relationships)is that there were six older siblings – five brothers and one sister.  Following the death of their father, they were all placed in care. We may never know if Social Services put them into the orphanage to keep them safe or if Mom (Grace) felt it was the best option given the state of her life.  It’s safe to say it was a very messy time for that family.  The three older boys (Jack (now deceased), Lou (who we met), and Jim (who we hope to make contact with in the future) were eventually put into foster care on a farm in Delaware County. The younger four (Georgie, Cleo (renamed Dianne who we also met), Billie, and Robert (renamed Gary) were adopted privately.  So far we have no information on Georgie or Billie.  But what a joy it was to meet Lou and Dianne!
We left Big Sandy (TX) on Sunday the 15th after church.
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We reached the Atlantic Ocean (Myrtle Beach) a 2:39 on Tuesday the 17th.
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Gotta love Myrtle Beach!
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But we didn’t drive to the ocean to see the ocean. We came to meet Gary’s older brother, Lou!
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And what a lovely meeting it was! We joined Lou and his daughter Karla for dinner and spent the entire meal sharing stories!
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Mostly we were interested in Lou’s stories since he was old enough to have good memories of Gary’s birth family (he was 11 when he went into ‘care’). He confirmed that Gary had indeed come to the orphanage before he was adopted because he remembers being called to change his diapers! He also stayed in touch with his brothers who had been in foster care with him and also their mom over the years (she died in 1997). While he’s not in touch with any of them at the moment, he was able to share many of their growing-up stories. It was such a special visit! One that we hope we can repeat in the months to come!
We also had a sweet visit with Dianne (born Cleo) on Friday, who lives in an assisted living facility near Asheville, NC.
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While she doesn’t have clear memories of life before she was adopted (at age 5), she has always been interested in her birth family, and her daughter, Kathy, is largely responsible for making all of these connections. She and her husband are the true heroes of this family story as they have spent many hours tracking down Dianne’s birth family.
While the impetus of this road trip was definitely to Find the Family, we were blessed to make some additional connections along the way. The two nights we were in the Myrtle Beach area we stayed with a couple we hadn’t seen in probably 30 years. I had been her Pioneer Girl Guide back in the day, and we had remained friends through Facebook. What a treat to spend time with her and her hubby (even though he missed the picture!) in their lovely home!
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From MB we headed north and west to spend the night at my nephew’s house before going in to meet Dianne.  Along the way, we were able to enjoy lunch with a sweet friend and her new husband!
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We met Trish in PA 40+ years ago, visited her in California about 15 years ago, and then in Texas, and now in the Carolinas. She’s as hard to keep up with as we are! But it was a delight to share a meal with her and meet her new love!
And then an overnight with the nephew and family! No family pictures, but a delicious meal and then a rousing couple of games of Go Fish
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made for a wonderful evening! (Especially once they helped Gary & me off the floor!)
The next morning we were off to meet Dianne, and from there we turned a little south to spend the night with our high school (!!!) friends, Jeff and Esther, in Clemson, SC! OK, we were friends with them after high school too, but Jeff and his date double-dated with Gary and me to Gary’s Sr. Prom (circa 1968). The best of ‘old’ friends!
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Still processing these new family connections and I’m sure I still have words to write about this journey – but that’s it for tonight! Thanks for coming along – and for those many prayers!

Steph

Family and Friends, Mondays are for Memories

Mondays are for Memories – A String of Pearls

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Since we’re still in November – the Thankful Month – I was reminded of a blog post I did many years ago about the blessings of dear friends from our “previous lifetime” blending with some of the precious friends we’ve made since we’ve been on the road. So I tracked it down, and here you go – from August 15, 2013

A String of Pearls –
We’ve returned from our weekend (+) excursion to see friends and family in Lancaster and Doylestown and I don’t think we could have had a better weekend. Each day seemed to represent a perfect slice of the different stages in our lives. Friday we were hanging out with some of our most precious SOWER friends. We did “Lancaster things” – a farmers’ market, a quilt shop, an Amish hardware store, and the like, and then a traditional potluck rounded out the day. A good day with good friends – what a great start to the weekend!
weston and the train

But then –
Saturday we spent with our sweet grandson, Weston (age 2), and his mom and dad (also some of our favorite people!). Abigail and I did some girl things while the guys ran some errands, we ate out and took naps and delighted in watching Weston watching the trains at the Choo-Choo Barn.
A beautiful day with our beautiful family – who could ask for anything more?
But then –
Sunday we drove to Willow Grove to worship at our old church. The church we were married in and the church where we found Jesus (or rather, He found us!). We expected that many faces would be different (we left that church when we moved to Jamison in 1981, so aside from some occasional visits over the years, it HAD been a while), and they were. But many were the same too. Oh, the sweet hugs from that morning! To worship with folks who had come to our daughter’s 1st birthday party and then to enjoy an impromptu lunch with those dear friends.

Oh, does it get any better than this?
But then –
Sunday afternoon we dropped in on some other friends and before we knew it we were enjoying another unexpected gathering. Sweet corn and sweet conversation and a bottle of red wine shared among friends.
Oh, the delight of it all.
But then –
on Monday I started the day with a coffee date with a dear friend, followed by lunch with my work buddies, and an afternoon hanging around with my BFF from our Doylestown days. BLTs made with thick slices of fresh from the garden tomatoes – Oh, now that was a great day.
But then –
catching up with my quilting buddies Monday night. Oh, my. Our days of quilting for the kids’ school are long over, but still, we start up right where we left off those many years ago. Oh, these days we might talk a bit more about our grandchildren than our children (to their great relief)and we might not spend quite so much time solving the problems of the world, but those precious friends will always be a safe place for me. Being the last ones out of Panera (almost an hour after they officially closed) and then still talking in the parking lot for another 30 minutes (honest, it wasn’t really that late! Panera closed at 9 PM – who knew?)came as no surprise. Regardless of our different places in life, we are truly kindred spirits. It was crazy wonderful!
But then –
just to add a bit of icing on the wonderful weekend cake, before we headed back to Montrose on Tuesday, we managed to squeeze in a quick visit with friends we don’t usually get to see. As we sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee (and were thankful for the rain that freed up her morning schedule) it was so wonderful to hear about their lives over the last two years. Sweet times, indeed.

So as I was trying to somehow quantify this weekend I was having trouble finding just the right metaphor. Was it worlds colliding? Not really. Though we saw folks from many different stages in our lives, there certainly wasn’t any colliding going on.  Was it picture-perfect? Actually, yes. Though I failed to take many pictures (you know I must have been distracted, right?). A medley of friends? A potpourri of relationships?  As I thought about how those five days strung together just perfectly, I remembered the lovely string of pearls I have in my cupboard. And I thought, yes. This weekend was like a string of pearls – each one smooth and delightful, strung together to make a thing of beauty.  And that’s how our weekend was – beautiful days strung together and filled with people we love and who love us back.
Just sorting through some pretties!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Mondays are for Memories – Thanksgiving on the Road

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I wrote this post in 2014, so there are eight more Thanksgivings to be accounted for, but it seemed like a good place to start! So here you have it – a brief recap of our first 10 Thanksgiving “On the Road” –
November 27. 2014 –
So here we are, in a city park RV spot in Opelousas, Louisiana celebrating our 10th Thanksgiving “on the road”.
Thanksgiving 2014
We have no plans for turkey (here or at Cracker Barrel) and the closest family member (Gary excepted) is over a thousand of miles away. It might be easy to fall into a bit of a holiday-funk, feeling sorry for ourselves with no kids to hug or leftovers to eat. Instead I thought I’d just take a refresher course on how blessed we’ve been on other Thanksgivings since we’ve started this great adventure!
The first three years (2004, 2005, 2006) we were over-the-top blessed to be able to spend them with our good friends the Sensings on Amelia Island in Florida.
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Oh how those precious times got us over the hump of being far from family!
In 2007 we DID make it to Ohio for a big ol’ traditional Thanksgiving.
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New baby and new bride – all Conrads present and accounted for! So much to be thankful for that year!
2008 found us far away in Arizona and enjoying our Thanksgiving day with SOWER friends. We were having such a special time that I never got around to taking any pictures! When I checked back to find the post from that Thanksgiving, I did find this, though –
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Promises abound!
We spent Thanksgiving 2009 on the road. Tires turning, heading south.
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We were driving from the Coachella Valley area of California south to the San Diego area, preparing to pull into our December project on Friday. We enjoyed dinner at Perkins (it was in the parking lot where we spent the night), and while we missed being with the family I knew we would be seeing them at Christmas-time, so my heart was content.
2010 we were in Waco, just getting started on Lara’s big kitchen remodel!
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Needless to say, we weren’t cooking in THAT kitchen for the holidays, but we did spend the day with good friends of Lara’s (and now ours!), the Swansons. Family, kiddos, and great food – it was a very special holiday!
In 2011 we were parked in Texas (Lindale, actually), but we piled into the truck (including Lara and Denali) and we drove to Ohio for a big ol’ family gathering.
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Now that was one wild and crazy and Oh-So-Wonderful Thanksgiving!
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The family just keeps growing – blessing upon blessing!
We celebrated Thanksgiving back at our favorite Waco campground in 2012 and actually had a sweet little pre-Thanksgiving dinner right at our campsite!
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(OK, so the guests hadn’t arrived yet – but you get the idea! =)) We also had another great meal with the Swansons – Yummm!!! It was another lovely holiday filled with much thankfulness!
Just last year we were still in Texas, but all the way down in the Rio Grande Valley. Our day was spent in sweet fellowship with about 20 friends from the church we were attending.
It wasn't family, but it was pretty close! And it did include some small people hugs. Thank you, RGV friends, for a lovely Thanksgiving! ❤️
“We had a lovely day, enjoying the Big Meal with about 20 friends here in the Valley. Enough delicious food to feed an extra 20 folks, just the right amount of little kids to add some sparkle to the day, and sweet fellowship. Add to that a nice little package of leftovers so we could enjoy some turkey later in the weekend – and we would definitely call the day a Win!”
And that brings us up to today! While it’s true that holidays on the road can present certain challenges, it can also present wonderful opportunities for experiencing blessings in unexpected places. Whether we’re sitting in a parking lot campsite or surrounded by friends and family,  we have so much to be thankful for. Today, and everyday!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Psalm 95:2

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I have a couple of pumpkin muffins I’d be happy to share if you’d like to stop by!
Pumpkin muffins

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure, The Cabin

The Long Road to the Cabin

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Generally, when we’re headed to the Cabin, we go the quickest way possible. But sometimes, when there is a bit of a gap between when you are available to go to the Cabin and when the Cabin is available to you (it is, after all a Family Cabin!), the road to the Cabin is long and windy. But still full of delights!

First we moved Lizzie (the RV) from Odosagih Bible Conference to a SOWER friends’ home in Bradford, PA.
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It wasn’t too far, so we drove separately and I snuck a quick picture. (Don’t judge me – I’m a trained photo snapper and you can see how heavy the traffic was!).
Once we got her settled (i.e. parked and plugged in), we enjoyed dinner with our friends and then left at zero-dark-thirty the next morning for the first leg of the trip. (Sorry, but this trained photo snapper totally failed to document said parking and friends!).
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Over the river and through the mountains to my sister’s house! We hadn’t seen each other since we had said good-bye “see you later” to our dear sister Elna in May, so there were hugs and tears and love in abundance.
Also some fun excursions, which included (but was not limited to) yard sales, ice cream, fancy coffee, worship and prayer, and more hugs.
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What a lovely weekend!
Monday we got an early start on our next leg – the annual doctor check-ups and visiting with our nephew and and his family (always the best part of those doctor visits!). We took in a volleyball game
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(my great-niece is #12 at the net – not even jumping but still the tallest one there!),
helped facilitate the Great Grill Exchange (between Parents and Children)
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played lots of games
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ate too many wings (no documentation – but trust me Too. Many.)
and generally just had a super sweet time with these guys!
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(And for the record – all check-ups, mammogram, and bloodwork came back A-OK! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!)
After that lovely visit, it was back to Joie’s, for a final couple of days of togetherness. We won’t be hugging again until next summer, so each day together is a precious gift. All too soon, it seemed, it was time to head off on one more leg of the Long Road to the Cabin.
It was another early start –
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and good day’s drive, but our final stop before the cabin was way up in upstate NY for a visit with some of our very best SOWER friends – Kim and Joe!
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We had two perfectly lovely lazy days – watching the turkey’s meander through their yard, and sharing our lives over the last year.
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I’m so thankful for friends who we don’t get to see very often, but once we’re together it’s like no time had passed at all! I did get one picture of all four of us – on the morning that we left. A little double-chinny, but hey – it was early!
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I am so thankful for these folks – and so many others – that we have met and grown to love through the SOWER Ministry. How full our life has been because of them!
And then, finally, on Monday morning we set out for Vermont and the Cabin! We crossed into Vermont from the north –
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and reached the cabin by mid-afternoon.
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Odosagih to Bradford, PA – 50 miles
Bradford to Green Park, PA -180 miles
Green Park to Chambersburg – 50 miles
Chambersburg to Green Park – 50 miles
Green Park to Canton, NY – – 375 miles
Canton to The Cabin – 225 miles
Total Miles to Cabin – 930
Cheapest Fuel – 3.89/gal (Costco outside of Burlington, VT)(!How crazy that that price made us happy???)
Memories – worth every extra mile!!

Thanks for waiting so patiently for this update! But I’m sure you will agree that spending time with family and friends far outweighs spending time sitting at a computer.
Sending loads of Cabin love your way –
Steph

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure, The Cabin

Such a delight!

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If you’ve ever been in conversation with me for longer than, oh say a bit of chit-chat in the check-out line, you probably know I (we!) have a cabin in Vermont. It never takes long for me to pull my phone out and start sharing photos of this most precious place. And I often end a conversation with -“If you’re ever in Vermont when we’re there, we’d love to have you stop by!”
So you can imagine my delight when a SOWER couple we met briefly (but memorably) at the TX Round-up last March contacted us that they were driving to Maine and were wondering if we could connect somehow. “Can you come to the cabin for an afternoon?” I asked. Well, yes indeed they could! GPS got them close and the final instructions to ‘take the drive to the left that looks like you’re driving into the woods (because you kinda are!)’ did the trick! We loved reconnecting with these friends and of course, we love showing off the cabin. We had a lovely visit which ended up (of course) at an ice cream stand! It’s what’s for dinner!
I am so thankful that Sue and Jim took us up on the ‘stop by anytime we’re here’ invitation!
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So don’t forget – if we’re here, we’d love to see you!