When we chose where we sat for the parade on Monday night we didn’t know that God sat us in the right place, right next to the Aschliman family. Roy and Nichole (the mom of the Aschliman family) talked a good bit during the parade and we enjoyed seeing their children have a great time at the parade. Roy gave Nichole our card with our blog address on it since I would be writing about the parade and they might like to see it. When we got back to Dora (our RV) after the parade I received a text message from Nichole with a dinner invitation from she and her husband Ron for Tuesday evening. Wow, we were surprised and quite excited. A nice home cooked meal in a REAL HOUSE!!! How cool is that???
Nichole is a beautiful mom whose loving influence has created a comfortable and welcoming home. Ron is a hard working dad who brings a strong Christian leadership to his family. Even though they are Indianapolis Colts season ticket holders we tried not to hold that against them! If we happen to be here this Sunday they have invited us to attend their church with them. They know we hope not to be here, but if we are we will definitely do that.
They have a huge 1000 acre farm where they raise corn, soybeans and 5,000 pigs! The equipment is ginormous John Deere equipment and they have lots of it. We climbed up on their combine and boy was it a different world up there. Really cool too!
We went in one of the pig houses and there were pigs as far as you could see. When we went in the pigs started squealing and running all around. It was actually kind of funny but I felt bad for scaring the pigs!
Their home is a three generation home where Ron’s parents and grandparents lived. Ron and Nichole have made a lot of changes including putting in a beautiful pond and small beach. The pond has a cement pier that the kids can either climb into the pond or slide into it or fish from it. The water is almost pool like, clear and blue! We could easily see the fish swimming in the pond.
The children Trevor (5th grade), Melanie (3rd grade) and Holly (Kindergarten) are adorable and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting with and playing with them. Holly asked me during dinner how old I am and I asked her how old she thinks I am. She said 31 so guess who my new best little friend is!!!! We brought the kids a little craft making present and when Melanie opened it she said “You guys need to come visit more often!” They are all three adorable, active, well behaved children who have so much room to play and explore. They climbed on everything we saw no matter how high. Trevor rode his four wheeler all around having a great time. My heart stopped a bit when he rode real fast on the hill around the pond. Made me remember the days when our oldest son and Chip rode their go-karts and caused my mama to have little heart attacks when she saw them!
Melanie and Holly brought us down into their basement where they treated us to a couple of puppet shows. We really enjoyed that and kind of felt like grandparents again being entertained by our grandchildren. Neither Roy nor I have been in a basement before so this was a real treat! It’s a perfect place for the kids to run around and be creative.
The dinner Nichole and Ron cooked for us was delicious – grilled home grown pork chops, green beans, potato casserole and biscuits with pumpkin pie for dessert! Northerners do know how to cook food with flavor – delicious flavor!
Nichole shared with me some information about Amish that I did not know which explains some of the things I’ve seen. I’ve also read several books about Amish living and between the two I have a new respect and appreciation for the depth of dedication the Amish have to their faith. I plan to share some of what I’ve learned with ya’ll in a future posting.
God always knows what he’s doing and we can see His hand at work in bringing us together with this wonderful Christian couple and their family. I thank God for His love for us and always knowing what we need. I thank Ron and Nichole and their wonderful children for allowing us into their home to share their dinner and Christian fellowship with us. I truly hope we will be able to stay in touch with them as we continue our travels.
Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!
BECAUSE HE LIVES 
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