Dave and Jan returned July fourth from a week-long visit to South Dakota to spend time with daughter Alissa, husband Andrew, and their four boys.The fourth boy, Ephraim Andrew Crandall just make his public appearance June 16th, so it was great to have the chance to begin to get acquainted!

Alissa’s pregnancy led to Ephraim’s birth right about the date the doctor had projected – for which we are very grateful to the Lord! She was soon “up and running” (well – walking) and capably caring for her newest charge – as has been the case with each of the boys. In this picture she was on an evening family outing to “the beach” along the shore of a lake in Huron which is fed by the James River.

With four boys under the age of six there is almost always activity around the Crandall household, and Dave and Jan were able to get in on much of it during their visit in Huron. There were Lego towers to construct (like this one with Silas) – and to far more rapidly “deconstruct”!

There were parks to visit – like the Rocket Park with its ladders and slides.


There were kayaks for the boys to enjoy at the lake (as Levi is doing here).

There were stories to enjoy and games to play at the Huron Public Library.


There were cars to play with – like the one Elijah was playing with here.

There were rasberries to be picked in the family’s back-yard garden – as Levi is doing here.

There were kites for Jan to fly – something she hadn’t done for around fifty years!

And, of course, there were meals to enjoy.

Dave and Jan are very grateful for the Lord’s gift of family and the opportunity to pay another visit to the land of “great faces, great places” in South Dakota.