Hail hail the gangs all here--1960 or 61

This is a picture of Gail's dad (grandpa Saunders) and his Boy Scout Troop.  It is by a fish house on Lake Tewaukon 1/2 mile from my home.  I actually can not remember what we did that day but I can tell you that for our cooking merit badge in the summer we cooked meals in the sand on the east end of the lake.  Then to get back to Cayuga we walked the 8 miles.  I remember actually running much of the way through fields etc.  Grandpa Saunders had such a servant's heart for the community.  Many details are sketchy but I remember that we were not always perfect scouts.  Grandpa is third from the right and as you can see Carl was about the same size and I was bigger than Grandpa but of course at the age of 13 or 14 he was Mr. Saunders to me.  Gail's brother Allen is fifth from the right in the front.
Yesterday was busy and I did not get any work done at home.  In the morning we had meditations and I wanted something special so I started a fire in the fireplace at 5:15 AM so it was toasty warm by 6.  When the guys left I spent some time just sitting in front of the fire but after that I spent much of the morning searching for my wallet that in the end was on the floor of the monument store I was in Monday.  Cynthia and the kids came and brought lunch and then mens' group met here in the afternoon.  At five I met Joe F for dinner at the Blue Door Pub.   Joe lived next to us and is 5 years older than John.  Many people think they are brothers as both have red hair, slender builds etc.  Joe's wife recently filed for a divorce so as I talked about Gail and cried in my beer he talked about his experience but he did not cry in his beer.  When I arrived home I gathered 2 items and then went to Sam's Club to return things and to Home Depot to return things. 
As I mentioned yesterday I have been thinking much about God times in my life. Yesterday after meditations I sat in front of the fire and just thought, cried, prayed, enjoyed the warmth and remembered God Times around the fire place, many many of them.  Some of the most wonderful God Times were when for no reason other than our love for each other we would drag something down stairs, spread it on the floor in front of the fireplace and sleep there all night.  I remember laying near the fire looking and listening and holding Gail tightly in my arms and this morning I said those were certainly God Times.  It seemed like it was a little bit of heaven right there by the fire.  It was great and much like the times when a person camps outside and at 1 or 2 AM the sky is clear and you think that you could almost reach up and touch God.  It is great because when we looked for a house a fireplace was not even in our dreams say nothing on our list but God just said here is a little something special for you and over the years it provided so much fun for the family.  Thank you Lord for your faithfulness and your goodness.