Feast of the Strawberry Moon

Last weekend my husband and I went to the Feast of the Strawberry Moon. It was held on Harbor Island in Grand Haven, MI. We have no idea why it is called the Feast of the Strawberry Moon. There was not enough food to call it a feast, we didn’t see any strawberries, and the event was during the day, so we didn’t see the moon either. What we do know is that it was a reenactment of life in the 1700s. People portrayed Native Americans, voyagers, crafts people, fur traders, and merchants. The most exciting part for us was one of the entertainment acts, a couple of juggling brothers. If you were a kid the candy cannon was pretty cool too. They had a small canon that they loaded down with candy and at appointed times kids would gather in the middle of the camp. A couple of men would shoot it off and candy went flying! Here's a video of the candy cannon. Unfortunately I shot it sideways and don't know how to edit it, so I guess you'll just have to tilt your head.

Great Lakes Kite Festival

This weekend I went to a portion of the Great Lakes Kite Festival in Grand Haven, MI. It was a really cool event. I never realized that you could choreograph kite flying to music! This picture is of one of the kites that flew to a song. My husband took this video during the ‘mega flight’. Fifteen kites flew together. This choreography was not practiced beforehand as everyone with this type of kite was invited to join in. Everyone of course was experienced in flying kites.

Tulip Time!

Every year Holland, MI has a tulip festival called Tulip Time. If you are interested in seeing lots of tulips, of all different varieties, you should definitely come! It’s a great way to welcome in spring. Last weekend I went with my friend Nichole, her mom, and her aunt. We visited all of the regular tourist locations. I had a lot of fun! This picture is from Windmill Island. You can visit the island throughout the year and get a tour of the windmill. If you are lucky it will even be in use when you are there!

Kingdom Kids

The kids Sunday morning program at our church is called Kingdom Kids. My husband and I work with the four and five year olds on a rotating basis. Last week the story during our worship time was about Jesus ascending into heaven from Acts 1:1-11. "And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’’’ (Acts 1:10-11, ESV) After the story, the kids have a response time where they pray and reflect on what they learned by doing a craft or drawing a picture. Most of the pictures and crafts that week depicted Jesus rising through the clouds into heaven. We had many cotton ball clouds glued to the drawings! I took this picture at the beach last Friday. When I loaded it onto my computer and looked at it, it made me wonder if this is what it will look like when Jesus returns. I’m sure it will be more glorious than this, but what an awesome thought. He will come in the same way he left. What a sight it will be!!

Till We Meet Again

This past week I found out that my best friend from college, Jennifer Lynn Noonan, passed away. She was a dear friend of mine and I will miss her terribly. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding along with my sisters. We were college roomates for two years and went throught a lot together. We shared a love of horticulture. I don't think I would have survivied the woodies class without Jen. I called her Noonan and she called me "G". She was always giggling and smiling. She had a real servant's heart. I know that she is in heaven and rejoicing there. Knowing that she must be so much happier in heaven than here on earth is a comfort to me. Who can imagine the wonders of heaven? Noonan visited me for a few days in January. When she was leaving she signed my guest book "Till we meet again". Little did either of us know when that would be. She also added "P.S. When you coming to see me?" Lord willing it will be quite some time before I 'come to see her'. When I do we'll have all of eternity to praise our Lord God together! May she rejoice in His glory and marvel at His love forevermore. Till we meet again.

Luge Races

My husband and I went to a luge race on Sunday. Yes, that is right, luge. Muskegon, MI has one of the few luge tracks in the United States and it is open to the public. We didn't race, we've never been on a luge, you need training to go down it without injury. Watching them though made it look like we could do it too. I mean if a sled can go down on its own with no problems, can't we? Maybe next year we'll try. This is a picture of one of the racers.

Dreaming of Spring