Home!

I am with my family right now, and it's been so wonderful! I'm actually in town to learn more about my dad's new business, Colonial Apps, which builds apps for small businesses. While I am here for the business, it's also provided a much-needed chance for me to spend quality time with those I love best in this world.

Here are some shots of my amazing family. All ten of us were able to be together, and it was absolutely heaven. I am so truly grateful for my family, especially as time passes and Jody and I continue to make our home far away. There's nobody like family. Love every single one of 'em!

Grammie

I have not blogged in months, but something really big happened last month that is forefront in my thoughts. On October 28th at 91 years young Grammie, my mom's mom, went to be with Jesus.

This summer Grammie had major surgery to remove a cancerous mass. The surgery was intense, but like so many times before, Grammie rallied like a champ and was back out and about post-op. When my sister Sarah and her hubby Justin went down to Aiken, SC to visit Grammie and Grandy and our Aiken family, she was going out with them. Sarah caught this incredible picture of Grammie during that visit. Now I know where I get that sweet tooth from! (And who cares about portion control! Right, Grammie?!)

We all heard that post-operation that the cancer had come back, but because Grammie rallied so well, we began to think that it was slow-moving, and that there would be more time. I was mentally planning that Jody and I could make a trip down to South Carolina sometime in the spring. After all, Jody has not been to Aiken yet.

But then my sister Sarah called me on Tuesday, October 21 to tell me that Grammie had gone to the doctor. There, Grammie learned that the cancer had come back. In just a few months a new mass had grown larger than the one the doctors removed a few months ago. There was nothing they could do. Mommy drove down to South Carolina immediately, and I booked a ticket for Friday, the 24th. I'm so glad I did.

Grandy and Mommy picked me up at the Augusta Airport, and I got to spend Friday through Tuesday with Grammie and everyone right at Grammie and Grandy's home. Though weak, Grammie - ever the extroverted social butterfly - loved having all the people in the house. It was a party! My cousins Betsy and Laura came with their kids, so we got to see some Halloween costumes on display. Even Laura's dog Gizzie was a "Rufferee" for the holiday. Hilarious! It was my first time seeing both of Betsy's kids. Caroline was 18 months, and little Patrick couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 months old, so poor Betsy and Jeffrey were quite swamped with their little ones. Nonetheless, it was a joy to see my cousins and their families despite the sadness of the occasion.

It was so precious for me to be able to see Grammie all the time, since she was at the house and not at the hospital. We could all pop in and out of the front room to see her, say good morning or goodnight. I will never forget taking communion on Sunday as a family around her bed. Or all the wonderful conversations with all my various family members over the course of those few days.

I loved being near Grandy, too. My wonderful grandfather would come into my bedroom around 8AM and wake me up, telling me that breakfast was almost ready. :) I'd shower and get myself together and then walk into the kitchen, where he had set out a lovely little breakfast spread. We'd chat over our breakfast meal. Sometimes Mom would join us. It was a treasured time. I miss you, Grandy!!

Uncle Peter and Aunt Lynn took us down the street where they are building their home. The floorplan is on the same site as the house that Lynn grew up in. It was incredible to see, and I'm already hoping we can reserve a room for a visit! :) We also got to give Grammie a virtual tour of the house. Scott took his phone through, and I held Mom's iPad so Grammie could see it all. It was so great!

And then Mommy took me on a walk down memory lane. Aiken, SC is horse country, as many articles express in glowing terms (like this one here). Just a few streets from her house are the incredible homes of the wealthy in Aiken, the polo field, the jump and dressage arenas, the dirt streets where the equestrian community walks and stables their horses, and so many beautiful horses out in the paddocks. Mommy showed me where she used to hang out and watch the horses just like she showed me in this picture. I can just imagine her as a little girl, climbing on the fence or up the magnolia trees to see the wealthy socialites playing polo. So fun!

My Aunt Lynn took me to downtown Aiken and to St. Thaddeus to see Grammie and Grandy's church. This is where my mom and dad were married in 1977, and this is where Grammie is now buried. A beautiful church. I got to walk through the cemetery and see the work that Grandy has done for many, many years, overseeing the finances for the care of the beautiful bit of land. It was so peaceful. Well done, Grandy. Well, done.

Several of my own siblings came. I got to see Rebekah and Bryan, Daniel and Courtney, Luke, Nate and Anna. The last time I got to see them was at Nate and Anna's wedding last December. Has it really been that long? I FaceTimed with Daddy and Josh and Sarah and Justin, and I know Chris FaceTimed in, as well. Amidst the sadness of the trip, I treasured every moment of getting to see my family. How I miss and love them! 

The hardest part of this trip to Aiken was knowing it was going to end and that Grammie was leaving us. She was so strong to the end, full of peace and joy. I could not help but marvel at her. Four hours after I left their house in Aiken, and while I was waiting in the Charlotte airport to board my flight for Milwaukee, Grammie went to be with Jesus. It was Tuesday, October 28th in the evening, and she was surrounded by family who love her so much. She was 91 years old and had been married to Grandy for 68 years. But - most importantly - she had put her faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and knew that the best is yet to come. What an incredible woman.

Grammie & Grandy w/ their 3 kids (L-R) Kathy, Mom, Pete

I'm going to miss you, Grammie. So grateful for your example of love, faithfulness and courage. And I cannot wait to see you again. I hold fast to the promise that this life is but a breath, and eternity is ahead. So very grateful for this hope!

Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Anna & Nate (#8 Got Married!)

December was such a busy month - as it always is - and I'm only now getting around to processing and celebrating the events that occurred.

The highlight of the month was that my youngest sister Anna got married. She made a beautiful bride, and I'm so happy for her and for Nate. The biggest surprise for me was that on such short notice I was able to make the trip back to Virginia to celebrate with everyone. It was a fairly quick turnaround - arrived Saturday evening, the wedding was Monday, and I left Tuesday - but it was worth being present and part of the occasion.

The wedding was a small, family affair held at my sister Rebekah's home. Bryan, my brother-in-law officiated their ceremony. It was so low-key and lovely... it really was. The boys moved a bunch of furniture in the living room to make space for the chairs. I thought they did a great job of creating a suitable environment for the ceremony, and I really enjoyed myself. :) Good job, Rebekah and Bryan!

I love the Christmas tree!

A lovely table!

And, of course, we had to have some pictures with everyone (well, the ladies, anyway). It was really special to have all the girls present - all four Clementson sisters, as well as my brothers' wives Courtney and Rebekah, who are like sisters and might as well be! It was truly a special time to spend with these people whom I love so very much. Of course, just our core family has grown as everyone has gotten married. Of the eight Clementson children, six are now married, and there are four grandchildren, so that makes 20 right there... Bahaha! I love my family!

Anna and Mommie

The Clementson sisters (me, Anna, Sarah & Rebekah)

All the Clementson ladies

I really love the picture below, and I'm so glad I captured it. Bryan is sitting down with Anna discussing the final details of the ceremony right before all the ladies sat down together to pray over the ceremony and over the covenant of marriage that Nate and Anna made. 

The other highlight of the event was getting to spend an evening with my nieces and nephews. Rebekah and Bryan have four kiddos - two boys Micah and Nathan and two girls Chloe and Jane - and it was truly a precious time for me to hug and squeeze and play and tell them that Uncle Jody and Aunt Ruth love them a lot. They are growing up so quickly!

With Micah before the ceremony

With Janie!

Angry faces... sort of.

With Chloe - compliments of Jane :)

Another picture Jane took of Chloe and me

With Nathan

Every wedding is another reminder to me of the sacredness of marriage, and I leave such occasions with a renewed challenge to love my husband well. To serve him with all that I am. And that marriage - just like following Christ - is about the business of dying to self (and my selfish desires) day after day after day. It also serves as a reminder to me to pray for the couple, that they would love each other well and submit to one another. Tough stuff... but we're rooting for you, Anna and Nate! Congratulations!

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.    - Ephesians 5:21-28

The Grand American Vacation

When I was younger, my mom would tell me all about the trips she took throughout America with her family when she was a kid. The national parks she'd visited. The varied, gorgeous landscapes that America has to offer that she'd seen. My dad, as well. Both have traveled a fair amount in the States. And while my heart and mind have always gone overseas, I have grieved that I've seen more of the world than I have of my own country.

So, this June, my beloved Colorado was burning up - or so it felt like. There were eleven or twelve different fires going on throughout the state, and one of the places that was in serious danger of being destroyed was South Fork, in the southwestern part of Colorado. Just a few miles outside of South Fork is the beloved Fun Valley family resort, where Jody's family has vacationed for many years. 

The fire outside of South Fork, CO

Obviously, with the town under forced evacuation and Fun Valley closed due to the danger, we could not plan a family vacation there. Instead, we prayed for rain in that area. (Update: Fun Valley is fine and unscathed by the fires. Praise God!)

Nonetheless, we couldn't go to Fun Valley, so what were we to do?

Well, Pam decided we needed to go to the Black Hills of South Dakota and see Mt. Rushmore. 

I was thrilled! It was my chance to see another part of our great country - especially such a great tribute to America. Pam and Alan arrived on Friday, June 31st, and we hung out Friday and Saturday. Bright and early Sunday morning the four of us got in the car and headed out on our grand adventure. 

[Dear friends Jeremy and Seleste stayed at our place, keeping an eye on Eu-mi and Penny - as they have done several times this year already. I missed the pups, but I am so grateful for the Sault's loving care. They have been such a blessing to us!]

Our roadtrip took us north through the wide open, rolling hills and plains of Wyoming and then east into the gorgeous Black Hills of South Dakota. I confess I had absolutely no idea how beautiful the country would be, and all I was able to think of was, No wonder the Indians fought so hard for this land. It is beautiful, beautiful country here. Lush and green AND rocky, it felt as if it was the perfect blend between the greenery of the East Coast and the rocky terrain of the West. 

1. First Stop - Deadwood, SD

Our first stop was the town of Deadwood, SD, so named because the wood on the hills above the town does not grow. Strange, I know (seen in picture below).

Deadwood's claim to fame is a bit sad, actually. The land actually belonged to the Lakota, a Native American group, but the discovery of gold in the 1870s brought gold-hunters, gamblers and all sorts of memorable characters. One such memorable character was Wild Bill Hickok, who was murdered and then buried there. Calamity Jane is also buried there - right next to Wild Bill - in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery. 

Having read so many Louis L'Amour westerns, it was thoroughly gratifying to visit Deadwood. Here are a few snapshots from the town. 

A statue honoring Wild Bill

The town of Deadwood - the view from our hotel

The town of Deadwood - the view from our hotel

Our hotel, Deadwood Dick's, is the building in the back

The kitchen/living area of our hotel suite. Jody looking up directions. :)

Our hotel had an old-school elevator! Complete with the two metal doors. It was pretty awesome. Jody had to get a picture of it. I think it was a new experience for all of us. Thankfully, it never had any problems, and we were transported up and down from the 3rd floor without any trouble. Woop woop!

The Franklin Hotel, where several famous individuals have stayed

The main street of downtown Deadwood

I just liked this sign. :)

Beautiful building in Deadwood

Is that a WIENIE DOG I see?!?!

Catching lunch after a long day of driving

:(

The view of the street from the other direction

Door handles. Ha!

So happy!

The men

We visited Mt. Moriah Cemetery, a beautiful and peaceful spot of land where graves from the mid 1800s were found. We found Wild Bill and Calamity Jane's graves and spent significant time walking through and reading the very many different tombstones.

Wild Bill's grave

Calamity Jane's grave right next to him

Calamity Jane's grave

We went into a museum near the cemetery and read through a bunch of information. It was so fascinating. One description caught Jody's eye... he had to take a picture of it.

Did you read how these people died? And the last one... where he was from? Andrew died, hit with a bottle, was last from Englewood. Englewood, CO. But only God knows how George Houston from Central City died. Hilarious!

2. Sturgis, SD

Our next stop was a short one. The town of Sturgis is just 14 miles - 20 minutes - from Deadwood, so we thought we should just stop by and see what all the motorcycle rally hullabaloo is about.

Basically, nothing. :) It's just a small town that probably gets overrun by lots of motorcyclists every summer. 

Nonetheless, we felt we needed to stop and take some token pictures. 

The token shot of the Sturgis Harley-Davidson store

Downtown Sturgis

And that was about it.  :) Hello, Sturgis. Goodbye, Sturgis. :)

3. Keystone, SD

Our trip continued. We left beautiful Deadwood and traveled an hour southeast to Keystone, a small town about 2 miles away from Mt. Rushmore. 

Before we visited Mt. Rushmore, we had to do some tourist-y things. :) Like get our pictures taken in these awesome big chairs. And with Mr. Abe Lincoln.

Then, we had to walk down to downtown Keystone, visit some shops and check out the times for the 1880s train for the next day.

Haha. Oh, Jody...

And then, it was time to see Mt. Rushmore. I got so many pictures that I don't want to overwhelm you all. Haha. So here are a few of the pictures we got from our trip to see Mt. Rushmore. 

My first view of Mt. Rushmore - zoomed in from just outside of Keystone

The man who headed up the Mt. Rushmore monument

Colorado, represent!

TEXAS!

And not to forget beautiful Virginia!

I confess I was not expecting Mt. Rushmore to be so amazing. But it really was. It was totally worth visiting. Even these pictures just do not do it justice. It was an incredible site to see. I loved going through the museum, reading all about it and the people who made it happen. I loved taking the walk around the area.

George Washington, carved 1st

Thomas Jefferson

Theodore Roosevelt

Abraham Lincoln

Pam & Alan in front of 'em

One evening we stayed for the evening lighting ceremony. It was truly beautiful. Very worth it. We sang the national anthem together, and all of those who have served in the armed forces went down to the front of the amphitheater, giving their name and the branch in which they served.

The next day we decided to go on the 1880s train. There were a lot of people on the train, but it was nonetheless so fun to see more of the beautiful black Hills. The train went from Keystone to Hill City.

We even saw a mountain goat!

4. The Badlands, SD

For some reason, I really wanted to see the Badlands. And we did! We saw a little of the over 240, 000 acres of very eroded buttes and spires and mixed prairie grasses. It was incredible. Scary. Beautiful. And very, very bad. 

All I could think of was living in 1850. Riding my horse. Losing my horse. And my canteen. 

It would have been very, very bad indeed.

We saw a bunch of bighorned sheep, too!

The park was so vast there was no other way to really see how huge it was other than to drive through it. We stopped at various points throughout the park to see some new aspect, but the vast majority of it was spent from the car window. It truly was a remarkable site. The colors were fantastic.

You could tell, however, that the rock was actually quite fragile. It was not solid at all. Quite crumbly. As if - should it rain - it would all become one big pile of mud. 

5. Wall Drug Store - Wall, SD

Every .5 mile on the highway we saw a sign for Wall Drug Store. We had to stop. It started as a small drug store but has since grown to be a big tourist stop. There were hordes of people, but it was nonetheless worth stopping at for lunch. We also had to get a few more tourist-y pictures.

Of course!

5. Custer State Park, SD

Our last stop was a drive through Custer State Park. It was incredibly beautiful, as well. It made me want to move to South Dakota immediately and pitch a tent. Anywhere. Truly, it was beautiful.

We drove over and under incredible bridges, through tunnels, around corners and up and down and around hills. It was windy and incredible. We didn't see any bison, but we did see deer and turkeys.

Me with my awesome in-laws. Love y'all!

6. (Sort of) Crazy Horse, SD

While we didn't stop and go in to check out the memorial, we did stop and snap a few pictures from the road. If it is ever finished, I'd love to go in and see so much more about it.

The trip was fantastic. I loved every bit of it. So very thankful for the chance to have seen another part of our incredible country. So thankful to Pam and Alan, who made it all happen. 

It was a perfect trip to take during the 4th of July week. It made me proud to be an American.