Tag Archives: SOWERS

Family and Friends, Life at Bass Lake Lot 205, Pictures of the Adventure

Last Week…

February 23, 2026 steph 2 Comments

…was Great!!!
It started on Sunday, the 15th, when we connected with our Waco kids and grands at our favorite midway point – Corsicana. We celebrated Taran’s 11th birthday

and enjoyed some lovely visit time with the whole family!
me
Certainly, a great way to start the week!
Shortly after we returned from that deliciousness, our friends Don and Jenny arrived from South Dakota!! They were on their way to Galveston and hung around in the SOWER RV lot until Friday. Jenny and I took long walks, made a trip to Tyler to connect with some mutual friends,

had a pedicure date

and generally just enjoyed being neighbors! The guys did a bit of RV service work

and took naps as needed!
Somehow I failed to get a good picture of the four of us, but as they were heading out, I was able to snag this one of Jenny and me!

When some of your dearest friends live in South Dakota, you relish any chance to connect with them! We were so thankful they stopped and spent those days with us!
They left on Friday, just as we were driving to Tyler for Gary’s cardio tests, prompted by his little (non)episode earlier this month. The tests (nuclear stress test and echocardiogram) went well, and now we wait for the next doctor’s visit to have the results explained to us! We have copies of the results, and while they used a lot of words beyond our understanding, there were no trigger words like Blockage or Abnormal or Get-thee-to-the-ER, so we feel confident that all is well. And we thank God for that!

It was a beautiful week of family and friends and life! Thank you for stopping by and sharing it with me!

PS – I also got our taxes done (which included a nice refund), so that was a great box to check off too!

Family and Friends, Life at Bass Lake Lot 205, SOWER Projects, The Adventure

Sixteen for Dinner

January 23, 2026 steph 1 Comment

Yep – Sixteen. In our Little Lindale House!!

It started quite innocently. Four SOWER couples were working at a nearby SOWER project, and since we had previously worked with three of them, we wanted to make sure we connected before they left the area. Surely we could host those good folks for burgers, right? We checked with all parties involved, and set the day and time – it was a go! But wait – what about the active SOWERs that live here in our community? Maybe they would like to come and meet these guys. OK, that’s only 2 more couples – we could still fit, couldn’t we? Oh – I forgot – there’s an Alumni SOWER parked in our SOWER RV lot. I bet they’d like to come too! And so it was – including the old SOWERs who live in the house, there were 16 of us for dinner! It was a pseudo-structured potluck – burgers, rolls, and fixin’s were covered. The rest was a delightful surprise! Thankfully, the weather was mild enough that about half the gang was outside at any given time,

so while the fellowship was very sweet, it didn’t have to also be “close fellowship”!
Until we all squeezed in for a traditional SOWER Group Picture, that is!

I loved the way the plan came together!! It’s an encouragement to me to get back on the entertaining bandwagon, but also to keep a close eye on the weather!! Yesterday it was in the high 50’s. Not too bad for January. Today it has rained all day, and the temps are plummeting as I type. Starting tomorrow morning, we’re being promised 90+ hours of below-freezing weather. Like in the teens below-freezing.

Oh, and some sort of wintery mix – rain, sleet, freezing rain and maybe even snow. We’re stocked up on our bread, eggs, milk, and TP so I think we’re ready! (Oh, and maple syrup for that French Toast!)

Needless to say, we got that dinner party in just under the wire! Pretty sure we won’t be budging from the house until next week sometime. (Unless the power goes out and we need to find a neighbor with a working generator!)

Texas isn’t the only location under a Winter Weather Watch – so stay warm and safe out there, friends!! Maybe you should stay home too!!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure

On to Michigan

August 18, 2025 steph 2 Comments

Michigan was great! Not only were we able to connect with friends we’ve met during our travels, but we were also able to visit with and help out my niece with a house project. So let’s start at the beginning.

We started our Michigan sojourn in Holland – reconnecting with friends we’d met down in the Florida Keys.

Though short, it was still great to see these guys! And it was a sweet start to our time in Michigan.
Next up with the renovation project at my niece’s home in Muskegon. It presented a little bit of a conundrum because their home was small, and there were no beds available for us. I’m happy to report that SOWERs came to the rescue! We contacted SOWER friends who lived nearby(ish) and asked if we could stay with them while we worked in Muskegon. Yes, they said – come!! So while our days were full of dry wall and little boys, our evenings were full of feet-up, kickback conversation. It was a great combo!
But about that renovation! The object was to take this room (which already had its dividing wall removed)

and get it closer to being the home office that they needed!
It was a big job, but with lots of help – it moved right along!

(Start ’em young!)
Our SOWER host even came one day to help out with the ceiling – and what a help that was!

With Bethany at work, and the guys busy with power tools, my job was to keep the younguns’ busy! That job included (but was not limited to) Skipbo, Phase 10, Rummicub, Crazy Uno, a jigsaw puzzle, the local (fabulous) library, and long walks around the neighborhood.

By the end of the week, it wasn’t quite ready for furniture, but it was ready for trim and paint!

To celebrate the progress – we took a lovely walk to the Muskegon Lake waterfront

so the boys could get in a bit of fishing!

It was a great week, helping out this precious family,

but also spending time with some of our SOWER family. Aside from spending time with Tim & Ginger

we also joined another 12 SOWER couples for a “Bring Your Own Picnic” picnic one day –

and had dinner out with others in our SOWER family before we left town!

Western Michigan was grand! It was filled with friends and family, some good work, and lots of good play! I think we might need to do it again sometime! =)
Next up is the Upper Peninsula – still Michigan, but in a class (and post) of its own!
Thanks for stopping by!

PS – Here is a link to more of the Muskegon Project if you’d like!

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure

Project Potourri

April 25, 2025 steph 1 Comment

Our March SOWER project at Ethnos 360 Aviation (located outside of Douglas, AZ) was unique is so many ways! Here are just ten –

1. We got to help with and attend a wedding!
  It was a small celebration of two widowers who had found love for a second time and we were so honored to be able to share in their joy!
  2. We did not have LIzzie (our RV) with us, and instead stayed in housing on the base.
  We had plenty of room and were very comfortable, even though it was a little weird not having all our ‘stuff’ with us! And we also were a fair ways away from our fellow SOWERs.
  
  We made it work, though – and it did have us closer to where we were working and meeting!
  3. We ladies got to go to a “Ladies Tea”! What a blessing that was!
  
  4. There is a wildlife preserve nearby and we enjoyed the beauty we found there!
  (If you look really hard you can see the flock of Sandhill Cranes to the left of the trees. I mean REALLY hard!)
  4. We also got to do a little exploring with our friends Joe & Kim!
  
  We were looking for Camp Rucker (an Indian War-era encampment) that we never actually found, but we did find some Green. While it wasn’t Vermont-Green, it was still greener than where we had been! And water!!!
  
  And there were trees! Big trees!
  
  It was a fun adventure with good friends!
  
  5. I had my first helicopter ride!!
  
  Probably it will be my last one also – but it was good to check it off the list! (Of course, I had to add it first!)
  6. Lunch with the girls in Tombstone – the town too tough to die!
  
  Super fun to be a little touristy for the day!
  
  7. We watched this older trailer (located just across the street from us) go from this –
  to this –
  
  to this –
  
  After they haul off the debris they’ll be preparing the spot for a new manufactured home for their trainees!
  8. Our work was varied! Along with helping with the wedding prep, we also did some cleaning (both pre-occupants and post occupants)
  
  some Mission Barrel (onsite thrift store!) sorting
  
  (my suitcase may or may not have been a bit fuller on our return trip!)
  and even a bit of sewing!
  
  (We were working on helicopter door covers. Who knew?)

The guys were also working on a variety of tasks – from plumbing

to welding-

to helping with that demolition!

(‘Cause everyone loves some good demo!)
9. After being part of the RV group “Escapees” for twenty years, we finally made it to one of their “Escapades” – a national rally of hundreds of RV’ers (I think there were over 600 units there!) filled with all things RV! We met up with SOWERs who were manning a SOWER informational booth and enjoyed the day connecting with friends and even making a few new ones!

It was a fun Tucson excursion to be sure!
10. And finally – those Arizona skies!

Fabulous.

It was a very special month. We worked with some our closest SOWER friends, and made many new friends along the way! We ventured into a part of the country that we hadn’t been in for many years, and most likely won’t get that way again. We were able to be part of the support team of a global ministry which is striving to bring the Gospel to the multitude of unreached people.

How honored we are to serve in this way!

Thanks for stopping by (especially after such a long time of silence!)-

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure

Meanwhile, back at Forest Glen –

November 11, 2024 steph Leave a comment

[I started this post back on 10/29. Yikes! Apparently it’s taking me a little longer than I thought it would to figure out what cupboard is best for the peanut butter! Maybe this week I’ll get this ol’ blog back on track! So let’s start that tonight…]

Although our main focus these days is our little house in Lindale, I realize I never did a final wrap-up of our time at Forest Glen Camp! We were the only SOWER couple on site that month, so mostly we were working together. But I did start the month labeling ALL of their sound system wires and equipment,

and sprucing up their music stands.

But the big project Gary worked on (with some assistance from me when needed!) was helping to finish off the interior of the new camp store!
Our first view –

Step number one – install accent boards on the ceiling.

Yeah – there were a lot of them!! Once the ceiling was done, it was on to the track lighting.

Hang ’em,

wire ’em,

light ’em up!

Thankfully we were not tasked with chalkboard painting that giant black wall, but Gary did spend his last couple of days wielding the floor sander to get the concrete ready for its final finish.

They promised us an “All Finished” photo when that building is open for business – sure hope they follow through!
So it was a good three weeks! We fit in a trip back to Lindale to continue working on the shed floor, were able to accomplish all of our Area Rep annual visits, worshipped with friends, and even enjoyed a meal with a brand new SOWER couple that lived nearby! Lots of pieces to our October puzzle, but I think they all fit together just fine!

Thanks for stopping by – and I hope to see you again soon!

RV There Yet?

Tag Archives: SOWERS

Last Week…

Sixteen for Dinner

On to Michigan

Project Potourri

Meanwhile, back at Forest Glen –

Seeing the country……Serving our Lord!

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Seeing the country……Serving our Lord!