Valentine’s Day is really like Thanksgiving Day. Regardless of ours or anyone else’s conduct in our world, God’s love is given to everyone. It is eternal, constant and incomparable to any other. For that, we give Him thanks and may we love Him back with our whole hearts!
Our VALENTINES!
Valentine’s EVE was celebrated in Michigan with these three sweet granddaughters and their awesome older brother (Natalie 3, Brielle 8, Grace 10 and Caleb 12), along with Mommy Katie and Daddy Nathan.
Valentine’s DAY was celebrated in Colorado with these three terrific grandsons (Isaiah 7, Micah 6, and Bennaiah 4), along with Mommy Chiree and Daddy Andy.
You’ve got to love the fast benefits of flying across the country, rather than driving, so to be able to celebrate Valentine's Day with both families!
Our 2025 was full of “Family and Friends Time.” One thing is for sure: Friends are friends and family are friends! We love you all so very much!
Get-togethers with family and friends were abundant this year. In June we flew to Denver. There are over 40 relatives from both Jimmy and my sides of the family living there. Then the fact that we lived there many years in the 70’s and 80’s, we have friends galore. So, our 7-week vacation in Denver during the summer was packed with food, fellowship and fun with our many family and friends there.
Mid-way through our visit, Nathan, Katie and their four kiddos came for two weeks. We all fit very comfortably in Andy and Chiree’s home, which proved to be a perfect Bed and Breakfast for coming and going as we played in the wonderful Denver sunshine, including mountain-time fun and get-togethers with loved ones.
Mother and Daddy would have been so proud of their 10 great-grandchildren and their 4 grandchildren!
Nathan and Chiree's youngest:
Bennaiah 4 & Natalie 3...cousins and best friends!
This time together also included us all heading to Topeka, Kansas, for our 3-day Bollinger Family Reunion over the Fourth of July. Grandma and Grandpa Bollinger would be so happy to know that we have this reunion every other year because we all love being together (and we love reminiscing of the times when we were all together with them…precious memories!) So very grateful to Stephen and Elisabeth for hosting this at their home with an awesome fireworks display, a big swimming pool and gorgeous surrounding land. It was a perfect place for all of us to have a ball of fun!
Andy, Chiree and the little boys flew to Michigan for three weeks in October, so we once again were able to have such special family time. October 1-5 was the national True Woman ‘25 Conference with Revive Our Hearts in Indianapolis, where Nathan and Katie and Andy and Chiree all had jobs to do for the conference. We babysat the three little boys here, and Katie’s parents came to babysit the three little girls. We four grandparents enjoyed watching these six kiddos having great cousin time. Caleb got to go with his mom and dad as he is learning many videography skills from Nathan and was a big help, plus he experienced much of all the Lord did in the lives the almost 6,000 women who attended. God’s Word was boldly proclaimed and women were blessed.
Great conference!
Caleb is growing up fast!
At age 12 1/2, he is wearing a 12 1/2 shoe.
And, he's now taller than most of us adults!
Andy assisted Nathan with the set for interviews and was a part of the men's praying team.
Chiree assisted with interviews with conference attendees (and soaked up fellowship with her long-time friend, Jennifer Smith).
My dear sister and brother-in-law, Michelle and Dan, vacationed through Michigan on their way to Niagara Falls in October while Andy and Chiree were here, so we made more special family memories.
Jimmy and I continue to be so grateful for our health, even when days are a bit harder and slower than when we were younger. He is still blind in his right eye from his stroke two years ago, but he never complains. I struggle with a mild “off feeling” in my head from my stroke, but I’m so thankful I can keep doing most things I desire to do. Last February, I had surgery for a rare Amyand Hernia, a hernia trapped inside my appendix requiring two hernia repairs and an appendectomy. Lymphedema followed that surgery, so… “Hello, support hose!”
All is good, though, and both Jimmy and I, at ages 77 and 73, praise God to be able to get up each morning and love our Savior and love each other, thanking Him for our almost 48 years of marriage! Many, many church and neighbor friends, as well as younger friends speak into our lives and bring us much joy. We are daily blessed to have God’s Word, our family and friends, our ministry opportunities and our privilege to live in the greatest nation on this earth!
“Being justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…The gift of God is eternal life…that whosoever believes in Him” – Romans 3:24, Ephesians 2:8, John 3:16. This gift is truly the gift that keeps on giving! Do share this with others as so many do not know this and their eternal destiny is at stake!
As we live our Christian life, we are reminded that we were not created for independent living and that we are to always be on life support. Why? Because we were created to be dependent on God and to rely on Him totally for our life. And, what does He do for us because of it…He makes His home within our hearts, never leaving us and always giving us the strength for every breathing moment. What a wonderful God we serve!
