Cruise Review

Many of you have asked about the Alaskan cruise that we ministered on July 28th through August 4th, but thus far we haven't been able to share any pictures. So, here's a review...

The Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas

We sang five times while on the ship

Mendenhall Glacier was absolutely breathtaking! The brilliant blue color of the ice couldn't be captured by the camera.

A baby ice berg

During our time in Alaska, most of the days were overcast and chilly. We've yet to see anything as tenderly rustic as Alaskan scenery.

Mom celebrated her birthday on the ship!

Every night our stateroom attendant made animals out of towels. This monkey was left hanging in Dad and Mom's room. That's some talent!

As always, the food on the cruise was outstanding. This dessert is made out of pure chocolate.

Our last stop was at Butchert Gardens in British Columbia. The gardens are world-renowned.

L-R: Jim, Kathy, Blake, Avery, Lucas, Nick, Sterling, Lacey, Havilah and Bristol

The biggest blessing of the trip was having family to share it with!

A Penny Parcel

For those of you who have been thinking, "Isn't Avery's new book supposed to be out by now?", you have every right to wonder why you haven't been contacted concerning it's release. A Penny Parcel was originally scheduled to be released July-August of this year, but the date got moved back and we are now looking into November before it's available to the public. Avery has been putting in long hours this week doing the final edit, and when she sends the manuscript back to Winepress Publishing with her stamp of approval, the process will be rolling.

The finished cover of A Penny Parcel

You can now take advantage of a pre-buy special. Send a check for $16 written to: Avery E. Hitch, 14200 SW 42nd St., Martell, NE 68404. If you order before the book is in our hands, Avery will cover the shipping charge!

Also, check out Avery's new website: www.averyehitch.com

(If you order the book from Avery's website, the computer will automatically charge you shipping. Please send all pre-buy orders via US Post to be sure you receive free shipping.)

Mom

It's been just over three weeks since Mom broke her arm and she's right back in the action. She was put in a temporary splint until a week ago, when the swelling finally went down enough to put on a permanent cast. Even a broken arm hasn't kept her off stage...she hasn't missed a beat!

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wilkerson

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wilkerson!

On September 15th, Lacey and Avery were honored to stand up in the wedding of Junaita Hershey and Paul Wilkerson. The wedding was in Sparta, Wisconsin.

Avery helps the flowergirl get dressed before the wedding

Thank you, June, for your friendship over the years. We look forward to watching your relationship with Paul grow even deeper. We love you!

Happy Trails

Hmmmm.where should I even start? It's been an incredibly busy summer (is "hectic" too strong of a word?), and a lot has happened around our place. Last weekend our family (everyone except Dad and Nick) had the exciting opportunity to participate in a horseback ride along the Dismal River near Mullen, Nebraska. Our good friend, Mardel, put the ride together, and our group consisted of our family, many of Mardel's siblings, and our friends Neisha Esh from Ohio, and Samantha and Noah Siegmann from Wisconsin. We hit the trail eraly Saturday morning, and with nineteen horses, eighteen riders and two dogs on the trail, we had quite a party going on!

Eleven of the eighteen riders.

The original plan was to begin riding Saturday morning, ride approximately fifteen miles to a campground along the river, then spend the night and ride another fifteen miles on Sunday. All was going well until about 11:30, when the horses broken into a lope, Luke's hat flew off, and Mom's horse shied from it. With quite a bit of grace, Mom slipped to the right side of the horse and landed on the ground on her right arm. Everyone stopped to see if she was okay, but it turned out that she had a broken arm! Plans quickly changed and as Mardel's brother, Casey, used an umbrella as a temporary splint and others went to find cell phone service, we drafted plan B. Lacey would stay behind with Mom and several others to wait for a vehicle to take her to the hospital, and the rest of us would ride on to a nearby campground and wait for pickups and trailers to take us home. Mom was a trooper, but it was hard for all of us to ride away.

Noah and Bristol crossing the river

Although we were heavy-hearted the rest of the day, the campground was beautiful and we pulled out our saddle bags and let the horses graze while we ate lunch.

Noah's gelding, Storm, tried to steal a bit of Sammy's sandwich but she would only give him a kiss!

Havilah and Neisha waiting to load Jane into the trailer

At the end of the day, it turned out to be a happy ride. Mom got her arm set (although it took five hours before she arrived at the hospital to receive treatment), and everyone went back to Mardel's hometown and relaxed. The 2006 Dismal River Ride will certainly be one that we will never forget! A huge "thank you" to Mardel for all the time and effort you put into making our Labor Day weekend the best we've ever had.

Mom is learning to do everything left-handed! She says she can't wait to get back in the saddle.

Welcome to our new blog!

Hello everyone! In an effort to keep you better informed on what's going on with the ministry and family, from the new bus conversion project to the tours we make every weekend, we've created a new blog. Thanks for stopping by and we invite you to visit regularly!