Fay Risner

Joyful Wisdom Fay Risner

Hallie Lapp's parents, Jim and Nora Lindstrom, decide to uproot themselves from northern Iowa after they retire. They move to southern Iowa to live near their daughter and her Amish family. Aunt Tootie comes along and move into the grandfather house on the property. While the Lindstroms adjust to living in an Amish community, they get news that Nora and Tootie's nephew and his wife have been killed in a car crash. Surviving them is a fourteen-year-old daughter that will be put in foster care if they don't take her in. Tootie is against having a teenager underfoot, but the Lindstroms think it's their duty to raise their great-niece. They find her to be an enthusiastic bundle of energy named Joy. The Lindstroms take to her instantly, but Joy clashes with Tootie, a woman set in her ways. To start with, Joy brought her parents with her in an urn. Tootie thinks that is in poor taste and demands Nora tell the girl to bury the urn. Hallie Lapp's stepson, Daniel Lapp, becomes good friends with Joy and helps her clear off a small cemetery they discovered at the back of the property. Tootie complains Joy has too much freedom and needs more constructive activities. She warns Nora that Daniel and Joy are becoming more than friends, but the Nora doesn't want to listen. As the Amish would say, she hadn't seen a match strike between Daniel and Joy yet. They all agree Joy keeps life interesting, from bringing home a baby skunk to picking wild flowers and ragweeds as a gift for Tootie that gives her a dangerous allergic reaction. Join the Lindstrom family and find out more. I've only told you part of what happens in Joyful Wisdom.