Update

John and the kids arrived home on Thursday night. It was good to see them and I am glad that they are home safely. It's good to have a little break once in a while, but it is also good to have them back!

The kids are doing well - it seemed like they had grown the 2 days they were gone! It's just amazing how quickly they grow up!

While they were all gone, I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice - I borrowed both the old and the new versions from the library. I watched the old one ... all in one setting ... on Wednesday night. I really liked it and I can't believe that I haven't seen it. If I remember correctly (and I don't always), I think my sister Debbie chose it for us to watch one time and I just wasn't in the mood for the pace of the movie. I have not yet watched the newer version, but hope to before I have to return it to the library.

House update:
John had Friday off because of the staff meetings and we were hoping to work on the house. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated at all. We were only able to do some more prep work, as the wind has been blowing and it has been raining off and on for the past 2 days. Our next pour will be fairly tricky - we are planning on doing the final pour on the side walls. Although this is very exciting, it is also quite high in the air, so it makes it a little bit tricky.

On a positive note, since the weather was bad, we were able to clear some more brush and clean up about 10-12 trees that John had previously taken down. The trees were in a rocky area where it is pretty likely that some snakes live. We have been waiting for colder weather to get in there to clean them up and today was the day.

Dogs
Lilly is loving the cold weather. When we still lived in PA, she loved going out and playing in the snow. She has a pretty thick coat of fur, so she would really rather live in a cold climate, I think. Alabama was probably not on her top 10 list :)

Mercy is still doing well on her 3 legs. We didn't think she was the brightest trail dog (for several reasons) and today we took a hike "through" the woods, exploring new territory and after about a half an hour, she found us!

Note: There is a LOT of unchartered territory on our land. Plant life really grows in Alabama, so most of our land is really thickly wooded. Here in the winter, we will be able to explore a little more as some of the underbrush dies off.

Well, it's time for a bedtime story for the kiddos. I must go now...

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!