Inaugural Choir Festival

What a delight to sing in the First Annual Shenandoah Christian Music Camp of Ontario programs today! As the children sang in their choir, I say Soli Deo Gloria. (Glory to God alone)

Thanks to a Daughter

It was so nice to walk into our house tonight after the last day of Music Camp and find evidences of Kayleen being home from summer term at Faith Builders. The laundry was all folded, a few loaves of freshly baked bread were on the kitchen counter and these zinnias from the garden added a spot of cheer.

Music Instructor

I'd recommend this choir director any day! Cam Streicher is a gifted pianist and a competent, enthusiastic teacher in Resident Choir. He directed two rehearsals a day during Camp this week.

Theme Verse

Recently, after getting the idea from a blog author, I started "writing the Word" as part of my devotional time. (WtheW has turned out to be a powerful and meaningful exercise that I would highly recommend)  This morning in the Psalm 119 reading/writing, verse 164 stood out at me as such a fitting verse for this week. If singing is praising the Lord, then it is way more than seven times a day that we campers praise Him!

Practice Session

Another scene from Music Camp: Students snatch time between class periods or after lunch and supper to rehearse choir songs together.

Helpful Exercises

It's a wonderful idea to incorporate giving shoulder massages to your neighbor during warm-up exercises in choir rehearsals. When the choir director has us do this activity during practice time at the end of a full day at Music Camp, I welcome the relaxing treat.

First Day of Camp

The Shenandoah Music Camp is in Ontario this year for the first time, and I decided to go into it full tilt. I signed up for two classes and three choirs. I do not need to wonder what to do this week - its theme will be music, music, music!

Reunion Sunday

While the grown-ups sit in their lawn chairs under a shade tree and catch up on each other's lives, the younger set check out the community center's options for activity. This playground actually has a climbing wall pyramid - yay!

Spoiled!

No, not the fruit - I'm talking about me. I'm spoiled because I have all this luscious fruit from the store-next-door...at the ready for freezing, not to mention all that fresh eating. Oh, yummers!

Refreshing Day

Today I went to the coolest spot I could find, too: the waves of Lake Huron. Kerra & I and our friend Rosanne spent a very fun and relaxing day at the beach. Our last stop was for cool treats at a shop called Cravings in Goderich.

Bushel o' Beans

These are the firstfruits of the bean crop in our garden. On this scorcher of a day, I chose the coolest spot I could find to "snip and snap" the beans, as we used to say. That place was in the basement, in the office, close to the computer where I could listen to messages on family life.

Fun New Flower

I didn't keep the plastic potted label when I planted this new-for-me flower purchased at Wal-Mart this spring. (Note to self: keep the label for the times ladies ask the name of that pretty plant, and for the time you are pleased with the plant's performance and think you may wish to plant that same kind another year.) Somebody told me it's a mandevilla, and I thought, "What a lovely name to go with a lovely flowering plant" but I vaguely remembered the name on the label starting with a "D". So I looked it up on trusty google and I decided yes, it must be mandevilla from the description it gave, except...it kept describing the trellis or some such I would need for supporting the vines. My mandevilla is not vining yet, nor does it seem like it ever will in the future. Then I discovered that it is actually a dipladenia, which is a member of the mandevilla family, but it is more like a shrub than a vine. Dipladenia is a fun name for a fun plant, too.

Last-chance Cone

The last time we drove thru and ordered at a McDonald's we frequent, the ice cream cones were a disappointment. The ice cream was pale yellow, firm to the bite and rather creamiless in taste. Before we had even exited the parking lot, Ken's ice cream ball had fallen out of its cone socket and onto his lap. Tonight as we pulled into the drive-thru, Ken said he'd give this particular Mickie D's one more chance. It was almost like they heard. We received the granddaddies of ice cream cones, the tallest regulars we had ever laid eyes on and the whitest, creamiest cream swirls we had ever laid tongue on. Of course, we (I mean they at that McDonald's) are back in business!

Orchard Job

Kerra and Renee have a part-time summer job in Martin's orchard. The job is called "thinning" and they are doing it in the young trees behind our house. This means hand-picking the smaller or misshapen apples off the tree to allow room and energy for the remaining apples to grow bigger and better. It's hot, tedious work, according to the young ladies, but made much more bearable to do it beside a good friend.

Idyllic Haven

Isn't Ontario just so beautiful? We greatly enjoyed spending some of our Saturday morning in this lovely spot with our friends Ken & Elaine Gingrich from Parry Sound. They get to take in this "backyard view" any time they wish; they live here!

Worship at the Washline

There's more than one way to raise one's hands in praise: hanging up laundry on a glorious washday morning!

Evening Sky

We got home from the Summer Bible School program last night at 9:45, and this was the view from our deck right then. I went to take a pic of the massive thunderhead that was still "shining" from the remnants of evening sunlight, and there was the moon that wanted in on the photo, too!

Summer Birthday Celebration

Although my favorite man had his birthday ten days earlier and although we were missing some key people, we went ahead with the little family gathering anyway. We enjoyed celebrating Ken's birthday with a summer feast at the picnic table in the back yard last night. The birthday cake (not shown) was actually two pies - one strawberry cream and a rhubarb custard - made by yours truly and appreciated by the birthday man and the rest of the picnickers.

Filming Work Boots

How do the professional videographers do it? He doesn't know. For himself, using items from his mom's house works just fine. (He'd even be okay with buying the kitchen turntable off his mom, but she won't hear of it.) Working on a video puts Ricky in his happy place. That large grin there is one proof!

Heading Toward Harvest

I love the look of the ripening wheat fields around here. They're so golden rich and, at the same time, down-to-earth. (I'm thinking this is wheat...I should have asked a farmer to be sure!)

Adding Interest

Ken says if you wish to make an ordinary task interesting, ask Kerra to do it. This after he was the one to get the Pacman piece of cheese at lunch time. I have to agree!

Bubbles Session II

Another Sunday evening, another family gathering, another fun time with bubbles: this time with Ken's family in his sister Colleen & Dale's back yard (a gathering to celebrate the coming of another sister & her family - Laurel & Verlynn - from Minnesota) and another set of cousins to make bubbles together. And what grand bubbles these were, thanks to the plastic hanger bubble wands!

To Holly...

...with love, from Aunt Danette. :) That one in the middle there? She's my niece who is so happy to have finally made it on to my blog. I can't believe I didn't introduce her here before, seeing how our place is sometimes referred to as her second home, and all. Anyway, in the pic she is flanked by her big brothers and their special friends (Trent & Amber and Anthony & Val) and everybody is delighted to be together, celebrating with Trish & Colin at their wedding last evening. And I am delighted to call these people family!

Another Wedding in the Family

My niece Trisha married her "perfect husband" Colin today. It was a delight to witness the beginning of their lives together. And, yes, they beamed pretty much like this throughout their entire wedding!

Lilies of the Flowerbed

I don't think I've ever had lilies in my garden or flowerbeds. When I see them elsewhere, like this stunning one by my friend's porch, I ask myself why I haven't. I could easily do with such beauty in close proximity!

Summer Rendezvous

We just got home from our trip on Monday evening and by Tuesday evening we were off again - this time to a local farm for supper on the porch with our good friends, the parents of the Tinlerfer. (us MarTINs plus Darrel & Cathy WagLER plus Steve & Sharon KuepFER equals TINLERFER) It was like being at an exotic outdoor restaurant, surrounded by beautiful plants, birdsong and the sound of water splashing in the pool fountain while the summer evening breeze wafted over us. Oh, the food and friendly conversation was amazing, too.

                                                        (Photo cred: Kerra Martin)

Refreshing Stop

Yesterday on our way home from Hayward, we stopped along Highway 2 for a bit to dip our toes into the waters of Lake Michigan. It was such a lovely blue-sky, blue-water kind of day!

Blue-eyed Bubble Blower

The Hayward Schrocks and company gathered in Mom & Dad's back yard for food and fellowship last evening. The littles were delighted when Grandma brought out the bubbles!

Chefs in the Family

While we are at Hayward this weekend, we are staying at one of our favorite B&B's - my oldest brother's place. Yesterday morning his family treated us to a large and tasty brunch of scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes and maple syrup (produced right on this property!). My bro and nephew were excellent help in the kitchen.

The Big One

What's a touristy tour of Hayward, Wisconsin  without a visit to "The Big Fish"? Today we took our family that we had along for the reunion to see some of the sights in my hometown area. Climbing up into the fish's mouth was only one of the fun things we did.

To a Tea

When the mother/grandma is down-sizing and decides to distribute her teacups and saucers to all the ladies and girls at the reunion...and we draw numbers to see which set will be ours, and then we all sit in a circle on the front lawn and drink tea from our newly acquired cups...and we visit, laugh and cry...and love our Mom/Grandma and thank God for the privilege of family.