May 17th, 2009

Hi Dale, Sarah, and Lorri!
Thank you so much for calling today Dale! It was great to hear your voice, and to hear how life is going for you, Sarah, and Lorri there in NZ! Sarah, thank you for all you've posted. We enjoy it all so much. I regret not taking pictures today with everyone around the table. We enjoyed Bob and Donna Eagle so much, and it was fun to visit with G/G Silveus as well. The afternoon was rather brisk, but great for being together. Grandpa and I took a walk around the flower beds. We have some plants that we need to share with him and Grandma. Our ferns are growing very well this year and have multiplied beautifully from the dozen we planted a few years ago to about 100 now. It's so pretty. I wish our hosta bed would fill in as well, but that takes time. Referring back to our meal together . . . after we ate, Anna played a couple songs on her keyboard, Dawn (from "Pride and Prejudice") and Moonlight Sonata. Everyone was quiet, and the music was so rich and good. It was a sweet time together. We enjoyed fellowship from hearing God's Word and being together as a church family, we enjoyed a wonderful meal and fellowship around the table, and then good music. It was so good, and I'm grateful. You topped the afternoon off with your phone call. The Lord is so good.

You should have seen our house, though, just 24 hours earlier. Uncle Mike and Dad were doing a beautiful job on the walls and ceiling, but the mess, as you might imagine, was exactly that . . . a mess! YIKES! At least our cupboards are really clean now, and the floors have been washed well.

Highlights:
-Anna went to Cedar Point for the first time yesterday. The trip was with kids from school, and she really enjoyed herself.
-Dori has been very busy this weekend babysitting (an overnighter) and working this afternoon at the hospital.
-In his truck, Dad drove Lowell and Kimberly Lucas (Kreider) home after church. They thought it was pretty cool. In fact, Kimberly called it a "chick magnet." Now that's just too funny. Dad made sure she understood that he didn't need to pick up any chicks in his truck!
-Jonathan Ellis and Amy Miller were married Friday night. It was a lovely wedding, and it was all good.
-I stayed home all day on Saturday and went to bed with our house in order and all the laundry done! That's an incredible "highlight" and one I hope to repeat as often as possible!

Based on things I'm gleaning from your reports of Lorri's growth and development, it seems like she has a great sense of humor. Her laughter seems contagious . . . like Sarah's! Maybe I just delight in her so much that I find all her cute little antics fun. Nevertheless, I'm doing my best to hear and understand her and sincerely appreciate being able to learn from you what she's like and what she enjoys. As I try to do that, I grow increasingly curious to learn what the next little one will be like. We'll see, won't we.

Family Update - I thought I'd try to write about relatives with each blog to keep you aware of what's going on with those you may not connect with. It's worth a try, anyway . . .
Uncle Mike, Aunt Jill, Ethan, Colten, Keegan, Makayla: UM has had his work cut down to three days/week. I know he has had some side jobs, but I'm just praying that the Lord will meet their every need. He's incredibly gracious with his skills and uses his gift of service at every opportunity. We are certainly among the benefactorsl. Aunt Jill keeps extremely busy with managing the foursome and their garden. They also have goats now - two kids were born in the last few weeks, and another is due soon. They plan to milk the goats! Can you believe that Ethan is already 11 years old. That shocked me when Grandma reminded me of that today. Ethan and Colten are on the same Little League team, so that's helpful. UM said that Keegan is amazing in the garden. When all the other kids are totally unaware, he's mindful of everything that's happening in the garden. He is such a sweetheart and so attentive to the smallest things. Pretty amazing. Colten is a fun guy . . . so cute and bright. Oh yeah, I'll try and get a copy of one of his reports to you. He had to research a topic and ended up writing about going to Arkansas to visit you guys and hiking in a particular cave with his Uncle Bud and cousin Calvin. It's an incredible paper . . . very short, but so amazing! Makayla just celebrated her fifth birthday and is as cute as can be. She's very bright and loves everyone, but Kyle still holds a very special place in her heart! So funny!

OK, it's time for me to sign off. I'm sure I've rambled enough. Again, I love you all and will look forward to being in touch another time! Mom