Great Lakes and our old neighborhood, Mt Prospect Illinois

Ma Kettle relaxing after doing the laundry...sunshine and a dry campsite on the shore of Lake Michigan were lovely!

Lake Huron in the morning looking southeasterly

 Port Huron, Michigan, on the east side of the state, gave us a lovely campground on the shore of Lake Huron. Before we headed across the state, we took a short walk to enjoy it.
It was a beautiful day with almost no clouds, so we loved the sunshine, did some laundry, and found another state park on the west side of Michigan near South Haven. It was fun to walk on one lake in the morning, and walk out to another lake that evening! We visited all the Great Lakes except Lake Erie on this trip.
South Haven is a delightful little beach town with its own restored lighthouse, so we spent some time there - Bill at the farmer's market, and me in town peaking in the little shops.

South Haven, Lake Michigan the next morning

Our old neighborhood, where our kids were born

This was our house, but unrecognizable with a second story!

The hospital where Mike, Allyson and Matt were all born

By noon, we were ready to battle the Chicago-bound traffic, and made it to the west side of Chicago by 1pm with the time change, so we wandered around the town looking at our old haunts...the apartment we lived in for almost a year when we first moved here (owned and managed by the Mafia, so we made sure we were NEVER late with the rent!), our little house we bought and where we welcomed both of our newborn children, our church, and even the old take-out Chinese restaurant...which is still there! We hardly recognized our old neighborhood, as many of the ranch-style homes have either been renovated or replaced by two-story McMansions. As we drove up our street, I noticed the house across the street hadn't changed, but our house definitely looked different with its own 2nd story. Nostalgia set in, and we're glad the area is still being kept up, but we're still VERY glad we live in CA!

We arrived at our friends' home nearby, and spent a wonderful evening reminiscing over long-ago times when we were first coming back to the Lord after a period of bitterness.
These dear folks helped and guided us at such a pivotal time in our lives. We recall the friends that we made during this rather short period of time - seven years - that are still dear friends, and we are so thankful for God calling us to follow him through the teaching and fellowship at our little (but mighty) church.
We counted up the years, and realized we left 36 years ago...how did that time pass so quickly?! Lots of changes here, but also lots of changes in our lives as well, and God has been faithful through it all. We are blessed!

Our friends Ab & Rosie, the pastor of the church we attended in Chicago