It's been a while since we posted here... sorry! Seems that time has gotten away from us. I (Jim) would like to share a few thoughts from Grandma's memorial service about a week ago. Her 4 children wrote a "Tribute to Mama" which I was honored to read part of, along with my cousins Rob and Lisa. I'd like to share a couple excerpts:
"Of course no tribute would be complete
without mention of Daddy. He and Mama were a team not only in the rearing of children, but in the way they tackled the issues of life. They were, in fact 'one flesh' as described in scripture... ... Mama and Daddy met in
Paonia and dated for about two years; they were married on June 12, 1946, the day after she graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor's degree in library science... ...For the past 63 years they have lived in the home they first moved into though it has been enlarged and updated.
Six days a week Mama and Daddy worked very hard on the farm. Although Mama's first
responsibility was homemaking, she often helped Daddy when called upon - like when the tractor got stuck and it took two to pull it out. In fact, last fall the two of them hauled third cutting hay by themselves.
She taught her girls how to be proper wives to their husbands, and her boys how to treat their wives. And her instruction was always laced with concern for others even to the end of her life when she was more concerned about how Gary, Judy, Wayne, Debbie and Doyle were doing (all with surgeries pending at the time) than she was about herself
When Mama had pushed to the limit of a young girl's [or grandson's] frustration, she would say, 'It'll never be seen from a galloping horse.'
Mama also knew how to salvage her children's self-esteem. During a Frazier family trip to Beaver
reservoir,
Stina [my mom] and her kids picked chokecherries to make jelly. They were lush a plentiful, so they picked several buckets full. When
Stina took them to Mama to get her help making chokecherry jelly, Mama got a funny look on her face. They had picked
sarvis berries - not chokecherries!
Stina was ready to throw them out, but Mama assured her they could make something out of them, tasteless though they were. And so they made
sarvis berry jelly. No one knows if it was ever eaten, but Mama was more than willing to put forth the effort to preserve her little girl's dignity.
Both grandchildren and g
reat-grandchildren have enjoyed hours spent on Grandma's lap having stories read to them... ...she loved to hike and seemed to know the name of every wildflower encountered along the way. her
curiosity was contagious and gave permission to
explore what was over the next hill or around the next bend...
As children we often took our mother for granted, but as adults we see in her the model of a servant's heart... ...We, and our children, have been the beneficiaries of her selflessness. She has set the bar high - incredibly high, for all of us.
We will miss her terribly until we meet again on that heavenly shore when Mama will no doubt have things to show us and to tell us about her latest
adventure. Mama's life is summed up in Hebrews 12:1-2a:
'Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfector of our faith...'
We love you, Mama, and we WILL finish the race well knowing nothing would please you more."
A particularly
poignant moment was a hymn Grandpa requested his children sing during the service. The title was "Never Give Up" the refrain is below:
"Never give up, never give up,
Never give up to thy sorrows,
Jesus will bid them depart.
Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord,
Sing when your trials are greatest,
Trust in the Lord and take heart."
Something I'll never forget is at the end of the hymn, Grandpa shouted, "Amen!" I am honored and incredibly grateful to be following such a godly example. I really enjoyed my time with Grandpa last week, making hay, fixing farm equipment, and just sitting listening to his stories. Thank you all for praying! Praise God for Grandpa's wonderful attitude, despite the difficult circumstances.
Ten points of extra credit to whoever can come up with a clever way to dispel Faith's confusion!
On our short stint back at home last week, Faith and Jim went fishing on a Sunday afternoon for a special trip together. They had a wonderful time together and Faith got to finally catch her first fish!
Proud little girl
Faith's catch of the day. She's pretty quick to tell you that "I caught TWO! But daddy only caught one."
Here's the video of her second catch. What Jim didn't get on video earlier: "Oh, I caught my first fish! Oh, I love it! Oh my first fish!" Evidently everyone else at the lake was able to hear her excitement too! Faith sure is a keeper!
On August 1, there was an accident involving an Africa Inland Mission AIR (AIM's aviation ministry) pilot and mechanic, as well as two filmmakers not associated with AIM. The pilot tragically did not survive the crash. The AIM community is greatly saddened by this loss. We would encourage you to visit this website AIM has set up, as well as to pray for the family and community that Frank Toews left behind.
I even gave tractor-driving a shot!
Week two:
Week three:
Then we headed to the Oregon coast. Joel could dig in the sand ALL DAY LONG!
The view of Twin Rocks is always beautiful.
Clamming: messy AND yummy. 
Faith surprised us all by keeping up with the clammers. She had a great time!
We collected mussels as well. The fruits of our labor:
Week four:
And family time.
Tried some boogie boarding: best $14 ever spent!
Goodbye beach!
Week five:
We spent a few days (ALONE!) in Frisco, Colorado. Did some biking, hiking, canoeing, picnicking, and reflecting on the past five years. 
And we enjoyed cooking for each other...
Week six:
