Home from PA

We had a very nice trip to PA and arrived home in AL last Wednesday after a 14-hour drive. Thanks to all who prayed for our trip - it went very smoothly, we all managed to stay healthy and we had a wonderful time catching up with friends and family. As always when we visit "back home", we never have enough time to see everyone that we would like. So, I guess that means that y'all will have to come visit us here in AL! That goes for all of you in OR, ID, and PA, etc!

We stayed at John's sister's house and were shown incredible hospitality. We were very thankful for the comfort of their home and the freedom to come and go as we needed - THANKS Dave and Becky!


On Monday while we were there, we loaded up an ABF trailer with all of the belongings that we had in storage. With a lot of hard work and definitely with the Lord's help, we were able to get loaded in 7.5 hours. It was especially helpful that good friends kept the kids the whole day for us (thanks, Andrea!). We had the trailer delivered here yesterday, so we got to move it all ... again ... into yet another storage unit. We are thankful to be able to have access to it now. Needless to say ... I am kind of tired of moving it :) Today, John said that the move into the house will not feel like work at all, because I will be so ready to be in a house again. True!

Below are some progress pictures of our home site - this one is the previous "future home site" in an earlier blog. We have cleared a number of trees and are preparing to have a bulldozer out to prepare the site for building. It's a lot of work, but also very rewarding and refreshing to be outdoors all day.


This one is kind of hard to see, but it is our brush pile with Hadden standing in front of it (for perspective). The kids have done a great job helping to clear brush. We have been keeping the logs whole for now - hoping to use them for something in the future.


Sunday, after church, we went and just enjoyed our property by taking a long hike. Our property borders a wildlife management area, so we were able to hike onto it and then do a big loop - it was a beautiful day. With the recent rains, we have a nice stream running through the valley at the bottom and a couple of puddles that were tricky to get through. Our dog, Lilly, had no problem - she just splashed right through them. If we took too long, she came pouncing back through as if to say "duh, this is how you do it guys".

It also snowed again on Saturday morning! Glad I didn't need milk or bread this time :) Even though it snowed, it definitely is feeling like the beginning of spring. We are also enjoying the extra hour of daylight now that the time has changed.

Hope all is well at your home!
Shirley