August 2018 Update

Just so I don’t forget, here the family birthdays and anniversaries since I wrote last:  granddaughter Ruby (Carissa and Matt’s daughter) turned one on 7/25; my new daughter-in-law, Amy (Cai’s wife), had her birthday on 7/31; Ben (Caitlin’s husband) had his birthday on 8/12; my bride, Krista, had her birthday on 8/16; and Cai and Amy had their 0th anniversary on 8/18, which is also the 68th anniversary of my parents’ wedding.  More to come below on Cai and Amy’s wedding.

On 7/21, we had our annual Wilson family reunion (Krista’s dad’s family).  We met lots of goofy relatives at Lighthouse Camp in Barker.  It was really fun connecting with family that we don’t get to see often otherwise.  There’s almost always someone there that I’ve maybe never even met, even though Krista and I are approaching 38 years of marriage.  Family is important and a blessing, and we make an effort to go to these things so our kids and grandkids won’t forget that.

L to R Wilson siblings representatives: Terrelle (son of David), Sue (wife of Steve), Mary, Duane (husband of Betty), Jim (son of Carol), Bill, Donna, George, Bill's wife Phoebe, Marion, Marion's husband Jerry

2 generations of Wilsons

Wilson siblings grandchildren

Wilson siblings children

The Mickles, Sommers, and the rest of the local family went camping at Hamlin Beach State Park on the last weekend in July.  We enjoyed riding bikes, playing on the playgrounds (or watching kids doing so—some of us are too old, or should be too old, for that kind of thing), playing at the beach, beautiful sunsets, and great family times.

Container ship on Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario sunsets

I went to my last Civil Air Patrol meeting on 8/9 and taught my last Character Development lesson.  I am thankful God brought this place of service into my life and trust He used me to expose the cadets to gospel truths even when I could not specifically evangelize.  They told me to come back sometime next month for a farewell party, and I hope to be able to do that with Zach too so we can say goodbye to them all.

Last Tuesday, 8/14, my chorus sang at a local nursing home for about 30-45 minutes.  The wife of one of our long time members lives there, and we also acknowledged his 50 years in our chorus and their 64th anniversary.  It was a sweet time.  We are getting ready for our district convention next month where we will compete, singing two songs for judges.  I did that for the first time with them last year, and I’m looking forward to it again this year.

On Krista’s birthday, Thursday, 8/16, we left our house to drive to Connecticut for Cai and Amy’s wedding.  Kortney and Mat and Daisy ended up spending a night in the Baltimore airport because one of their flights was delayed by weather, and the rehearsal, wedding, and reception had some exciting thunderstorms as extra entertainment, but we all arrived and got back home safely.  The wedding was beautiful, the gospel was clearly presented, everyone looked wonderful, and it was so good to be with all of my kids and grandkids for a few days.  Thanks for praying for Cai and Amy as they start their life together!

Sunday morning, we took Mat to the airport to fly home because he has to work, but Kortney and Daisy came home with us to spend a week.  We are looking forward to fun times together with them this week, and we’ll share some of that fun next month.

Until September!