The Week's Events

It is hard to believe that it was a week ago that our power was off, Brett called to let us know that Regan was in the hospital, and everything was wet, wet, wet.
We are happy to report that the power was on by 6 AM on Friday, Regan is well on her way to being recovered, and amazingly most everything is dried out. Thanks to our dear friend and neighbor, Don Korhorn, the basement carpet was hauled out of the basement Sat. morning, and is now laying over our big trailer, drying in the sun. I believe that the padding is already dried out, so we are making progress.
Today I did get the laundry finished in a dreary basement, so it makes me appreciate all the more the carpeting and other neat things we have down there to make it a more pleasant place to be.

We are looking forward to a wonderful weekend with nice weather, and hope to spend some time on the pontoon. We will be taking some friends out on Friday evening for a 'dinner cruise'. It is not as fancy as it sounds, but when ever you have food and friends it is a special occasion.

The carpenters have made so much progress this week. We have the addition roughed in and it is ready for shingles. They had an extra guy on the job the last two days to help with the roof rafters, and it looks so great. Now I am even beginning to be able to visualize what it will look like when it is finished.

We had a little farm excitement on Saturday. Dave and Jill our neighbors were gone to CO, and Everett decided he needed a pile of manure to fertilize plants etc. around our house. So he opened the gates and just had to go a short distance to the pile. Well, there was one cow with her calf in the yard peacefully grazing. As soon as Everett was out of sight the cow made a mad dive for the gate and the calf followed. Now the fun began; as cattle do, they head for the highway. (That has been our worst nightmare since we have lived on a state highway, that an animal would cause an accident or kill someone.) Everett also heads for the road and gets the cow to turn around just before it steps on the road. About that time I get an out of breath call asking me to come out and help get the cow and calf back in the yard. As I come on the scene the cow heads to the woods and the calf stays out front. Everett goes back and I stay out front. Well soon the cow joins the calf out front and head for the road again. I head in that direction and wonder where Everett went. Soon I am walking along the road waving my arms, cars slow down, look at the crazy woman walking along the road and when they get close enough they spot the cow and calf. Remember it is hot and humid out, and I am upset because ever since I came out I am alone in charge of the situation, as Everett has not shown up. Now that the cow is headed for the woods again I begin to worry that I will find E. laying in the weeds from running around looking for the cow that I have been chasing. About the time I get behind the house I see Everett. He had gone to the neighbors to the east and could not find the cow. Well, no I have been chasing them all along the road and yard!! I yell for him to get on the tractor to save us both some steps. Now things start to look up, the cow and calf are headed to the open gate, until they see the possible escape to the river. I took the area by the gate and armed with a big stick, promise to keep them from coming back. Everett walks through Dave's pasture to get ahead of the cow and calf and heads them back. Well, I make a good show of quick moves and stick waving and the cow goes through the open gate with the calf right behind. The saga is over. I tell Everett I will be happy to stand by the gate any time while he hauls whatever, but not to call me when the cows are out!!

Here are a few pictures of the condition of our addition.

Regan has surgery

It is so amazing how quickly the focus of life can change. We are all aware of it, but as long as everything is well, we forget how fragile life can be. Last night Brett called us about 8 PM to let us know that Regan was in the hospital with stomach pains & fever. The blood work showed elevated white cell counts, so they decided it was appendicitis. When the surgeon showed up they decided to do the surgery at 10:30. Brett called just after 11 to let us know that surgery had gone well, and Regan was doing fine. They gave her some morphine so she slept well. This morning the Dr. checked her and said he was glad that they had gotten her appendix out so soon, as it was quite inflamed. She did come home this afternoon, after eating lunch, but it has been reported that she is pretty miserable with the air that is in the stomach cavity, and has to be absorbed by her body.
We will continue to pray for her complete recovery.
We had other excitement here as the storms keep rolling through, and the rain pours into the basement. Our power went off shortly after 6 last night, so after our electrician friend came over and decided that the outage was not caused by our construction mess, we called the power company. Thankfully our power came on about 6 this morning. I was planning to do some laundry this afternoon, but decided to wait till I could move some of the construction dirt off the appliances, and then moved a lot of the toys and games off of the carpeting in the basement, as we will have to roll that up and move it out so it can dry. I will try to do laundry a bit later:-( I need some friends to encourage me once in awhile that things will get better!!

Raining in and out

We prayed for rain, but I did not think it would include rain in the basement and family room! It has been a mess, and I cringe as I hear raining splattering on the cement in the basement.
The carpenters are doing as well as can be expected between showers. So far they have gotten alot of the demolition finished, and should be able to get to the outside soon.
Everett did clean out the old air ducts in the two bedrooms, and removed the old insulation and other crud, so they could be sealed off and we could turn on the A/C. It did get hot and very humid today, so the A/C feels so good.
Today was a good break from the mess. There were 12 women that went to Marcia Nobel's cottage on Pine Lake, north of Grand Rapids near 16 Mile. We had a Coffee Break retreat to refresh and inspire us for the new season. We listened to a great CD, and shared some neat experiences. The theme for the new season is 'On eagles wings'.
We all brought a salad or dessert or a sweet treat, for snacking and lunch. It was all very good. We had opportunity to take a ride on the lake on the pontoon. It was a beautiful ride and perfect weather. Thanks Tom, for coming home from work to take us out.

Building and Murphy's Law

It will rain, when you open up your house up to the elements; that is Murphy's Law! We are very grateful for the rain, and we will be able to live with the difficulties involved. I did not expect it would rain in the family room after having the roof repaired last fall, but it did just that this morning,when the rain was coming down hard. Now I have the high chair propping up a bucket to catch the rain ( high chair was the right height and handy). So messy. At least Regan, Olivia, & Aidan are playing down the basement nicely and I am doing more laundry. It is amazing what there is to wash when you tear all the rooms apart.
We had a nice weekend although it was busy. Emma spent about 24 hours with us, as Brenda was gone to a girls weekend at a cottage of a friend on Lake Jordan by Lake Odessa. Joel also was busy with friends, so we enjoyed Emma till after church Sunday morning. What a fun and busy little girl. She did so well, even though she missed her nap on Saturday. She ate a good dinner at Applebee's, Sat. evening, (mac & cheese and applesauce) and was asleep by 7.
We talked to quite a few family members this weekend as they called to extend birthday wishes to Everett. Lauri also turned 40 so she celebrated with her family. We hope to get together in Sept. to celebrate the Aug.- Sept. birthdays.

Happy Birthday

It was a beautiful day. The weather was about perfect, with sun, cool temperatures and a breeze down here in the valley. What a great day to celebrate my dear husbands 62nd birthday. Mom called him at his office this morning, so that was a nice surprise. I think she gets tired of trying to get in touch with us in the evening, and we are usually not home when she calls. Also got a call from Emily this evening. She is doing well, and had taken the day off. She has had lots of stress at work lately, so I am sure she appreciated having a day to herself.
We went out to dinner this evening, and Everett picked one of his favorites 'Red Lobster'. We had a delicious dinner of seafood, and also ran a few errands; gas at Sam's at $2.80, and stops at Target, Chow Hound and Harvest Health. It will not work as well tomorrow evening to make a lot of stops, as we will have Emma with us overnight. Brenda is out for a girl's weekend, and Joel has another obligation so we get Emma. Really tough for us!! We even get to take her to church.
The carpenters have been here two days now, and it is coming along so nicely. Now I can start to imagine what a change it will make to our house. I have picked out quite a few things, but should check on carpet soon. Tomorrow we will empty the closets and get ready for the demolition of the bedrooms and bathroom. Thankfully I did get the basement back in order today, and lots of curtains and bedding washed. It was so nice to hang some of it outside as there was a great breeze!!.
I will get some pictures of the house on the blog soon.

Celebration and Changes!

Last week was filled with all kinds of fun. Olivia and Regan came on Monday, and we went to see Brenda and Emma. Aidan and Brett were on a Cub Scouts camp out from Sun.-Tues., but they decided to come home after the camp fire on Mon. night as it was officially over Tues. when they got up. Since the girls were staying overnight, Brett dropped Aidan off at 10:45 PM. Aidan was a very tired young man, so we cleaned off the noticeable dirt and tucked him in bed. He was the first one up on Tues. morning, so he could get an early start on the games he plays on my computer.
Brenda and Emma came for the day, so we had lots of kids and a very happy Emma, as she can not get enough of her 'cousins'. Later in the morning we went to the Lowell MacDonald's so the kids could play in their play area. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the restaurant had been completely redone. It was a good alternative to playing in a park, as it had rained and it was very humid.
Brenda and Emma stayed for dinner and since I had time I asked Brett and Roxanne if the kids could stay one more night. We almost sent Regan home with Aunt Brenda because she said she missed her Mom and wanted to go home, but when things started to get serious, she let us know she had been 'pulling our leg' and thought it was very funny. She has an inherited sense of humor!!
We had a quiet morning, and at 2PM we met Roxanne so she could take the girls to a hair appointment.
Thursday I was up and on the road to take care of Emma. She was a good girl and we had a good time.
Friday I made order of the mess that had 'happened in the house the past days. On Friday evening we were invited to the Peterson's beach house with the 'birthday group' for dinner. We all take a dish and meet a few times a year. There are 5 couples and us gals take each other out for our birthday's to a restaurant of our choice (that is why we call it the birthday group). We have had many years of friendship, which is very special to all of us. The guys accuse us of making up birthday's, and we will never tell them the truth on that one!!
Saturday, was a day of upheaval around here. Brenda, Joel and Emma, and Brett Olivia, Regan and Aidan came about 10AM and began the emptying of the downstairs bedrooms. The furniture was moved into the garage, and other things went upstairs. I still have to empty the closets, but at least the heavy work is finished. It went so quickly with all of the help, and we had fun as well. Everett had one job that Joel and Brett helped with. It was taking the siding off the east side of the house. Brett and Joel were up in the basket of the sky track and Everett lifted them up and down as they removed the siding. He was very pleased with the help as the whole job took them 20 minutes. Many hands do make light work. I must not forget to mention that OAR carried many lighter items and were also there to keep Emma out of the way. We could not have done all that work without them.
We were ready to begin the celebrations!! It was Regan, Aidan and Olivia's 9th birthday, so Roxanne arrived at noon with pizza and bread sticks and we had our birthday lunch. They each had a helium balloon from Brenda, Joel and Emma, and were excited as can be. After lunch they had lots of pictures taken while they opened their gifts, and with the cakes that they had made and decorated. Lots of fun for all of us.
Sunday was another day to celebrate. Brett is 38 on the 13th and Everett is 62 the 17th. We went to Brenda and Joel for lunch as Joel was on duty and could not leave Byron Center. Joel grilled hamburgs and we had many other great dishes with it. To top it off we had a wonderful lemon raspberry filled cake from Costco.
So much for a week of fun and change!

And the Heat Goes On

It continues to be very warm, but we have no complaints for the creature comforts with A/C, but we can see the effects on the crops, lawns, and other living things. We continue to pray for rain.

We have had a nice visit with Everett's nephew Les Vander Tuin and his wife Bridget, and kids Heather, Jacob and Matthew from Doon, Iowa. They were here for 5 days and spent most of it, enjoying the sights and activities in our area.

We have more plans than the rest of the summer can accomplish, but I do want to try to keep some promises to the grandkids. Will have to see what we can do.

We have started our prayer time for Coffee Break on Wednesday's, so we are slowly getting prepared for the fall schedule. Our construction project should get started soon, so we are making plans for that as well.

Stay tuned for more excitement!!