We have been busy as the days are longer now and the weather has been nicer to be outside to work and play. The kids love to be outside riding their bikes, swinging in the new swing I hung from one of the trees, feeding the goldfish in the pond or just using their creative imaginations.
It's harder to get everyone in and bathed and ready for bed each evening. Then when all that is accomplished you are too tired to do much else. You know how that goes!
We continue to get to know more people in our community as time goes along. One of our neighbors who lives on a farm right in the village of Nauvoo just down the road, sells chicken eggs. We used that as an excuse to go and meet them and to introduce our family. People really enjoy visitors here. We were invited in for cookies and snacks, as well as a mini tour of their farm. They raise beef cattle, pigs, chickens, and probably a few other animals in between. Duncan and Audrey where able to bottle feed a newborn calf that had lost its mother during birth. That was both fun and educational for them. We enjoyed our visit with this family. We were also invited by our neighbor Jim Heyde, to come to the local high school to hear the jazz band and chorus give a spring concert outdoors. Two of his children play and sing, so we went to support them. We also met more of our neighbors here. The community is very small but tightly-knit and supportive of one another. Many people knew who we were and had heard of us being at the Linck Hill Inn, so it was good to be able to meet them. The kids enjoyed the music and also the ice cream sundaes that were served to all who came. We really desire to have a positive witness to our neighbors and the community that we live in, as we will be rubbing shoulders with them often.
Much of my time now is being occupied by outside yard work and maintenance. As I said before, the grass here grows double time, so that keeps me busy. Weeding, watering hanging baskets, blowing off porches, and cleaning out fish ponds are just a few of the outside chores that have to be done regularly. We also have been dealing with some strong storms that have come through our area. The Thursday before last we had a storm that caused very high winds and heavy rain. We had a tree blow over right onto our front deck; it just missed the house.
The whole county saw many trees damaged or blown over as well as wide spread power outages. We are blessed because the Inn has a back-up generator that comes on when the power is out. It supplies enough power to run all the major appliances, the well pump for water, and also some of the Inns lights. We were able to run extension cords from the inn to our house to keep our freezer and our fridge running. We ended up with the power out for about a day and a half while others close by were without for up to 5 days. You really take for granted how much we rely on electricity. The Inn was used by many of our staff for extra freezer space as well as for showers and water. We were also hosting a wedding rehearsal dinner and a bridal shower for two families on our staff that weekend. Needless to say we had a lot of cleaning up to do that Friday to get the property ready for those events, but with extra people and neighbors helping we got it done.
On Sunday night before Memorial Day, after all the storm drama, we decided to camp out. Our family has never camped before, but we are going to learn. Kathryn's parents had brought us a tent they were not using anymore, so we decided to give it a trial run. We set up right in our back yard so we could be close to home for the first time.
We had a campfire with s'mores as well as bedtime stories by flashlight.
Audrey, Duncan and I slept well in the tent, until about two in the morning, when I heard a large thunderstorm approaching. I quickly got the kids up to their own beds and took the tent down just before the rain came. The luxuries of camping in your backyard! The kids really had a good time though, and I'm sure we will be doing more of that in the future.
We did get enough sleep to have some company over Monday evening for dinner on our deck. We had 4 staff members over for a Memorial Day dinner, which really went well. We are still working on having all our staff families over at least once so that we can have more personal fellowship with them as we get to know them all better.
In the past week we have done a lot of cleanup work all around Three Springs, as well as our Wilderness Cabin and Nature Trail. The chainsaws have been busy as there are trees down all over. I even had to take one of the four-wheelers and ride the horse trails across the mountain from camp to clear out felled trees from the trails. Then Brianna, our horse program coordinator, asked if I wanted to help ride one of the horses, since she is getting them out and exercised and ready for camps. I quickly accepted and hopped up on one and got to ride the trail that I had just cleared.
I felt like I was one of the pioneers riding through the mountains and streams on my trusty steed. I also have been continuing my swim training for my lifeguard certification which will be next weekend. The pool here at Three Springs is now uncovered and warmed up enough to swim here, which is a lot more convenient. Kathryn and the kids came up to swim with me one afternoon last week; they really enjoyed that.
Kathryn has had a busy weekend! We were hosting a ladies retreat from our own church here at the Inn. Kathryn had a big part in putting the music together for the retreat and also leading a ladies ensemble that practiced a song that they sang today at church. She also sang last week at church for special music as she continues to use her gifts there. Since she needed to be at the Inn anyway for music responsibilities she also did all of the hosting and setting up, serving, and clean-up for meals as well. This is the first time that she has done it all by herself as we usually take turns, or either I will do the hosting. It was a lot to have to think about, but everything went really well from what I've heard. Daddy was on kid duty all weekend for the first time also! We managed alright, but I am glad to have Mama back home!
Please continue praying for unity amongst our staff. Camp season starts in a couple of weeks and things will be busy in preparation and also during this summer season. Pray for safety during all of the activities. Most of all, pray for spiritual life to be stirred in the hearts and lives of all that will be coming through our camps and also our weekend retreats here at LHI. Pray for registrations to continue to come in as we are down from last years numbers. We know that the Lord's work is still being done, no matter how many people come, but we would, of course, desire to see the camp used to its full potential. Pray for our involvement with our staff, guests, church family and community, as we engage ourselves here in the work God has called us to. Thank you for your prayers and involvement with us here also.
Until next time, The Rickerts
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