About 6 months ago, my nephew, Josiah, asked me if I could choose anything in the world what would it be. My answer was that I would want ALL of our family to be together at a very special family vacation location in Mendocino County called Antioch Ranch. He shook his head and asked what did I REALLY want. I assured him that my fondest wish was that all of our family could be together for a few days with no distractions. His reply was a disbelieving sigh and an OK, Auntie. (I guess I didnt play the game right. :) ) Yet, God heard the desires of my heart and made it a reality this last week. Im still pinching myself to make sure that it was all real or just a beautiful dream. The America Maricles, Awesome Ostrems, China Maricles, and the Terrific Twosome Thompsons were all able to get our own cabins at a beautiful, Christian-run vacation retreat at Antioch Ranch. Every night, 16 people sat together at one long table to enjoy Mamas (Nanas) AMAZING cooking. During the day, we enjoyed fabulous family excursions. At the cabins, we spent our time playing games, swinging on tree swings, challenging each other to outdoor sports, resting, and chatting. At night, there were fireside chats, puzzles, in-the-dark-laser-tag, smores, cousin sleepovers, laughter, laughter, and more laughter. We even designated one full day to celebrating Christmas (which we had been unable to enjoy together on the actual date), complete with our traditional strawberry pancake breakfast, Christmas tree, gift exchange, caroling, and evening Christmas feast. Everyday, we met for family devotions at 11:00 a.m. and after dinner. Different family members took different times to share a Bible inspiration. It couldnt have been more wonderful and beautiful. Even the locals were astonished at the unusually warm, clear weather we were enjoying. For three days straight, we saw whales passing by on their migration. It was like God kept placing little hugs from Heaven here and there and everywhere. It was a DREAM COME TRUE. The first Maricle family reunion with hopefully many more to come.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 04:36:19 +0000
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