Progress Is Being Made

I will have before and after pictures to show sometime next week. It has been nonstop work since we closed on the house March 7th. Right now I'm packing up the currant house while John and some friends are still working on the house. It won't be completed by move in time but at least it will be a great head start. I haven't even been able to think about the fun things involved in moving, like where the furniture will go and what to hang on the windows. That stuff will just have to wait.
Along with our new address, we will have a new email address and phone number. Unfortunately At&t doesn't have Internet service to the area we will be moving to. Bummer! We will get this new info out next week when we get connected.

Extreme Homemaker Would Have Been So Much Easier

It's been nothing but ripping out ceilings, floors, and fixing walls since last week. Everybody is pitching in. Zach and his friends cleaned out the back yard shed and found many treasures, including 2 go carts. Then they helped me rip wallpaper off walls and tore out the carpet. They love the demolition stuff. Everthing is covered in a fine layer of white dust from the ceilings being scraped off. It's lovely. The last couple of days we have been madly painting. We hope to be done by Thursday when we are scheduled to lay the new floors in starting in the upper level. We even have to paint the insides of the closets to get rid of the grime. The plumbing issues are next. Is it easier to rip out the old tubs and replace them or get rebathed?

Move in date is scheduled for the 29th.

More later...............

The Search is Over

After searching on and off for a year and a half, we have found a home. It was a home going into foreclosure so we got a good deal for the amount of house. The sad thing is it was very neglected and in need of repair. We had a roof put on over the weekend. We're still cleaning out all the things left behind by the previous owners. We will be having a large garage sale to get rid of it all. The next couple of weeks will be major work for us just cleaning it out and getting it ready to live in. We will move in towards the end of the month. Our family is very thankful for this diamond in the ruff.

P.S. If there are any gifted painters or plumbers who would like to volunteer your services, we need you.

Celebrating Nearly 1/2 a Century

Today is John's 49th Birthday. He says he's going to do everything this year to convince himself that he's not going to be 50 next year. The first thing on his list is rock climbing at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Little known facts about John:

• Has won numerous Addy awards for writing and producing radio ads.
• Was classically trained on piano through collage.
• Is the only one in his family who can't roll his tongue.
• Once gagged while changing a baby's diaper.
• Once tried a Pounce cat treat just to see how good they were.
• Is a killer at Trivial Pursuit or any other trivia game.
• Can play or recite lyrics to zillions of songs from all genres. Ask him yourself.
• Has perfect pitch.
• Has a father's heart and is a big softy.

Can you think of any more?

Weekend Visitors

We had the honor of spending the weekend with the Kallevigs. They are from our home church in Willmar, MN. The Lord is preparing them for a work in Zambia with Gospel Link where Brian will be teaching agriculture and farming. With our 7 kids and their soon to be 7, we had a full house. We could only capture a few of them for a picture. The Kallevigs were able to attend a Weekend at IHOP and get a quick download of what happens here. We have much admiration for their spirit of adoption and heart for prayer.

Stirring Up The Prophetic

Years ago I read a book by John Wimber called "Power Evangelism". The subject has pricked my heart for years. I'm now taking an FSM class called "Prophetic Evangelism" taught by Justin Perry. In the early 90's I was part of an Evangelism Explosion team at E.Free in Willmar. These 2 ways of sharing the Gospel are completely different. As part of our assignment for the class we go out once a month and hit the streets to evangelize. I have to confess, IT SCARES ME! I get nervous thinking about it, but once we're out doing it, I think it's a blast. Last week my team wound up in a bar in Overland Park. We felt lead to go in and order something to drink.....cokes. Right away I noticed the bartender. Sure enough he's the one that came over to our table to serve us. After awhile we had him engaged in a long conversation about his tattoos which lead to us speaking some words into his life about God having a target on him. He was totally open to us and even gave us free drinks. We didn't actually walk him through the gospel but we left him seeds of encouragement. I'm learning how to overcome my fear but also gaining more of a heart for the lost. I wonder where we'll end up next month?

Large Families Buy In Bulk

There was a special deal on 10lb chubs of hamburger at Hy-Vee this weekend. The kids thought it looked hilarious.