New Ladder

Now that Andrew is here, we're putting him to work. He and Gary went to Home Depot and bought a new fancy articulated ladder. They forgot to buy a chainsaw chain, so they trimmed the tree using a hand saw.

Lots of tree came down. It made a mess too, because this tree is a fruited mulberry and the mulberries are ripe. So there a dark purple smears everywhere.

The Household is Growing

We spent a lot of the week preparing for Andrew and Laura's arrival last evening. Rachel prepared a yard sign before we left for the airport.

Their flight was on time and 5 out of 6 big bags of luggage arrived. The airlines now have a little machine into which to type your complaint about lost baggage. The missing bag was delivered to our house this afternoon.

Five weeks until baby is due.

They're Coming Home!

Andrew and Laura are due at the airport at 6:30pm tonight. Their load of air cargo belongings arrived already this morning.

No Cat Zone

Gary didn't want to miss any of the preparation for Andrew and Laura's pending arrival, so he contributed this sign for me to put in the door.

More Weddings

Last night we attended another wedding. The bride was someone Rachel had known from her college days, and one of the bridesmaids was Jessica, the woman whose wedding Rachel had been in over a year ago. She got to see several of her SNU friends. The parents of the groom attend our church, so we knew lots of people there.

(Note the new jacket that Gary bought for Rachel in Thailand.)

Sadly, the plan for Rachel to move into a house around the corner for the summer has fallen through (their son decided to move back in). So for now, until grandma comes at the latest, Rachel will move into the guest room, and she will do so tomorrow since there is no school tomorrow (therefore no subbing). You can pray with us that God will lead her about more permanent housing as well as something cheap for the summer.

I'm trying my best to de-cat the apartment before Andrew and Laura arrive on Friday since Laura is allergic. Lots of vacuuming, washing the walls, and washing the carpets. That also means another change for us--now we will have a black cat and a white cat. They don't much like each other either.

In other news, I found a dress for David's wedding. Except for having to cut 10 inches off the skirt, rework the bodice, shorten the straps, and that I hated the jacket, it was PERFECT!! Gary endured a trip to the fabric store today while I picked out new fabric for a shawl to use instead of the jacket.

In other news, Rachel and I did quite a bit of preparation for the BBQ-Baby shower that we're having on June 1. It should be fun--wish you could be here!

Gotta Have A Home

The plan for Rachel to move into a home around the corner has hit a snag. Please pray with us that God will give Rachel and us clear guidance about her living situation for the immediate need, for the summer when she has less employment, and beyond.

Not much else for news. Baby gifts are arriving for our shower on June 1, but you still have time to send one if you want to!

Home Again

Gary arrived safely this morning after a 2.5 week trip to Thailand. There were flight delays along the way which made for long layovers, but he and three of his friends arrived a DFW a bit before 7am. Three of the four of them got their luggage. :-)

I got my coming-to-see-you present--this cool decorative paper which I use to make greeting cards. Each large sheet costs between fifty cents and a dollar.

White Kitty particularly liked the blue one.

My first order of business is to get to the laundry. But Gary said I didn't need to do his underwear--at the hotel they wash, dry, fold, and shrinkwrap!

Gary is already out mowing the lawn which badly needs it in the back. Rachel and I did the front a week ago, so it doesn't look so bad.

The rest of the weekend we will be working to help Rachel finish packing in preparation for moving this next week. It is a bunch of work to do this, but we need to make room for Isabella! A side benefit of moving is cleaning all the dust bunnies that have been reproducing in the hidden nooks and crannies.

April's Graduation

Click below to take you to an online album of photos I took while in Michigan. Mostly of April's graduation from Kuyper, but a few other photos as well.

08-05-02 April Burt's graduation from Kuyper, other photos from MI

The trip was good except for Sunday--Debbie and I both woke up Sunday morning with vomiting and diarrhea accompanied by a slight fever and chills. In spite of that, we went to church, then Jim drove me to Rockford where I spent Sunday afternoon chatting with Noskers and Becky Chomic. We had a great time getting caught up with each other. My travels home were uneventful. Now I have to decide whether I need to mow the back lawn or leave it a few more days until Gary gets home. But since I'm still feeling a little queasy, I probably will leave the lawn to grow in peace.