Firstly, my dad is living his best life at this very moment.
He was invited to go as a helper to hunt gators at the Sabine Refuge (they've got to keep the population down). He and two other guys are camping out this week. I think they've gotten 37 alligators so far. He called today to tell me about it; he's going to get a gator or two to take home with him. So when I visit in October, I get alligator! (He forgot a cap, so he tied a shirt on his head ~ he will definitely burn without something on his head.)
Speaking of dads, Phillip's dad had a heart attack a few weeks ago. The doctor went in and put stents and he was out in a few days. Paul is back at it almost like nothing happened.
Amos graduating from the residency program.
He is now youth minister at the Kuna location of Eagle Christian Church. We're excited for you, Amos!
We have four little kittens under the house, and they will not come out for us. So sad.
This momma cat isn't as good as our original momma cat. Abigail would bring her kittens to us to get them used to us. And this momma, Hattie, doesn't do that. At least they still keep the mice at bay.
This was a wash stand that Paul remembers in his home from youth. He and Elayne had it in their home, and they gave it to us when they moved. That particular green didn't work in the room we have it in, so I stripped it down to the wood and repainted. There was a yellow color beneath Mimi's green and a blue in some parts of it beneath the yellow. It says Waters Furniture on the back of it, a famous store in town (sadly gone now). But some of the Waters family built this house that we currently live in, so kind of neat that a Waters' piece is back in a Waters' home.
Working on it on the back porch.
The finished product!
We tried to match the paint to the chair bottoms of the dining room set from Paul and Elayne. The seat bottom cloth is a dark green with a lighter pattern embroidered on it. So it can look like a very light green when light shines on it. But the piece of cloth I took to the paint store matched up perfectly with Mountain Moss (which I love! This color makes me happy). I wanted to get the dresser/stand done before school started because it holds some of our school supplies.
Jonathan had friends over for his 21st birthday. They played Mafia.
Charcuterie for snacks and peach pie for his candles.
The very next day after Jon's party, we moved Phoebe down to her apartment in Linn, MO.
We girls had serious doubts about the boys fitting all of her stuff in the truck, but they really pulled it off.
The boys putting her stuff in her room.
I love this couch. It's so comfortable!
But it was a beast to get out of the house. It may have involved taking the door off its hinges and a few chinks in the wall.
We had dinner at a pizza place and said goodbye to our girl. She and Ainsley are rooming together while Ainsley is going to State Tech. It is hard to let your kid go, but it's so nice that she's only an hour and a half away. I think we've seen her about every week since she moved.
The boys took off for a trip to Dayton, OH to visit the National Air Force Museum. They stopped in Vandalia, IL and Vandalia, OH to get pictures.
This is the CH-3E.
My dad's dad flew on this plane as a mechanic in the Air Force.
He was in Saigon, Korea, and flew into Thailand to rescue people. (Or did he fly into Cambodia to rescue? I'm going off of a talk I had with Grandma a while back....)
Grandpa's plane.
The boys also saw the type of plane Grandpa died on, but I don't have that picture.
Harrison in front of an F-15.
They had a really good time.
Phoebe and I went to Hermann to see a group do Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. There were only 6 actors with lots of costume changes, which made it different and interesting.
The boys built a box to hold Harrison's air-soft gun supplies.
And they made fruit gummies.
And Jon bugged his brother.
And Phoebe came over to say goodbye to Jonathan before he took off for residency in Boise.
We are so thankful he made it safely after 20 hours of driving.
And he is having dinner this very night with Lanaya and Amos in their new apartment!
For our anniversary, Phillip and I stayed in Hermann. We toured the oldest (?) house in Hermann and I snatched a picture of this blessing that hung in the kitchen.
The English words of the Blessing.
After the Day's Toil and Burden
and the World's Hardships
Man needs, for Rest and Repose,
a Place on Earth
Where, far from the Tumult of the World,
He can say: I am at Home.
