Thursday, June 3 - Thursday, June 10

Holden Village!  My favorite place in the world.  Incredibly peaceful and relaxing!  Unfortunately, I didn't take great notes while we were there as to what we were doing, so let me summarize some of the high points of the trip.

• Uplake boat trip - the weather was gorgeous as we took the trip uplake, and it was wonderful to experience this with Paul for the first time.  Actually, many of the highlights from the week were re-experiencing things that were familiar to me but sharing them with Paul for the first time.  The scenery was beautiful as always!
• Chalet 2 - we definitely got lucky with our rooming situation.  Because we came in just as a wedding party was leaving and before the lodges were open for the summer, we ended up staying in Chalet 2 Room 10 which is widely considered to be the nicest room in the village.  We had our own seating area, bathroom, and small balcony looking out at the mountains.  The chalet also had a great living room, where we spent much time reading during the two days that it rained while we were there.
• Reading - Paul read 5 books in the week we were at Holden and I read two.  I blame my lack of reading on my knitting project, which brings me to...
• Crafts - I knit, knit, knit all week long.  I'm working on my first entrelac project ever.  It's from a book that Gracie gave me for Christmas of reproductions from the Vesterheim museum in Decorah, Iowa.  All of the projects are copies of Norwegian heirlooms they have in the museum.  My entrelac project is a stuffed sheep.  He is very cute and blue and yellow!  The entrelac was really difficult to master, but now that I have it figured out, it is going really well!  Paul also did some weaving while we were there.  He made a very beautiful rug.  It is green, yellow, and red and will be showcased in our apartment this fall. You'll have to come visit us so you can see it.
• Hiking - we took a hike out to Monkey Bear falls one day that was wonderful.  It had been a long time since I had taken a long (by my standards) hike, and I enjoyed the beautiful falls, the streams, the wildlife, and the peacefulness of the trip.  The highlight was seeing a baby deer on our return trip.  It was tiny!  His body was about the size of a dachshund, but his legs were much longer.  He couldn't even run yet.
• Bible Studies - Fred Niedner, from Valparaiso, was the Bible Study leader the week we were there, and I greatly enjoyed his discussions on the promises of God from the Hebrew Bible.  We talked about Noah, Abraham, and I greatly enjoyed being a member of the bible studies - and not the leader!
• Worship - these times were as precious as always for me.  We had Holden Evening Prayer, Prayer around the cross, and all of the wonderful Holden favorites.  It was wonderful to celebrate Sunday Eucharist without any of the anxiety and hecticness of a Sunday morning at St. Andrew.  I simply came with a calm and open heart, ready to discover God's presence and promises in my life.  It was truly a blessing.
• People - it was fun to reconnect with fellow Oles who are serving as volunteers at Holden as well as make new friends!  We met two other couples who were there as part of the Partners in Ministry program.  Hearing about their experiences in ministry, their sabbaticals and sharing some of my internship experiences with them was a great opportunity to debrief a little bit for me.

All in all, a wonderful week of relaxation.  We spent much time enjoying creation, in quiet relaxation, and in conversation with others.