"You beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again
Go on take on this old world but to me you know you will always be
My little girl"

It is so wonderful to have our beautiful baby back home again! What a road she travels! Joshua's kitchen project seems to have been a great success. It looks like Kristi was very pleased with the end results! Check out her homecoming in the photos below. We are so blessed. I made her her chili. We ate dinner and visited a little bit. It was great just having her back again.
She shared some beautiful stories with us about her time in Liberia, and thne we sat around and just did nothing much.

Levi is with us tonight. Terry and I spent yesterday and today helping Joshua with his kitchen project, and of course I forgot the camera. He is doing it as a surprise for Kristi when she gets back tomorrow, and we wanted it to all be done. MOST of it is done, not all. Joshua has to move everything back into the kitchen. And there are a few odds and end that need tying up. Wish I had taken pictures while we were doing it. I wanted that camera so I could post pictures, and then I forget to take it with me. Micaiah got me a MEGA purse (Terry is calling it my suitcase) for my birthday, so I need to just keep the camera (and extra batteries)in the mega bag. Going to go get Kristi at the airport tomorrow! I am making chili for her tomorrow. Every year, she asks me to make her chili for her coming home meal. We ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE HER COMING HOME AGAIN! Terry brought my dog, Lily in for her bath this evening. Levi is having a wonderful time with her.. Well he was I mean. Levi is fast asleep now. Terry is also in bed. It is HARD work for OLD people redoing a kitchen, I wore myself out, and Terry did most of the work. Our age really is showing as we are both stiff and sore and achy tonight. Guess I will go take some Excedrin PM and go to bed too now!

WHAT A RIDE we have been on!
In the beginning we went to:
Isaac's baseball game:



















Then I went to Lawrence Kansas with Joshua and Mom to see my niece and nephew in concert. Stayed at Kathie's condo, had brunch at Ashley and Bens, went to the excellent concert, and then headed home.Had a lovely time. Here are some photos from that trip:









When we got home, I got a call from Matthew, and got the sad news Chandra was in the hospital. So I did not unpack, but went on down to Houston. I planned to help Matthew and Chandra until Chandra got back on her feet. But alas I was feeling sick even before I got there, and I ended up in the Houston hospital with a bout of cellulitous (see a post from last year on that) and then contracted a secondary infection & I ended up with pneumonia.... So I was not the help I intended to be for them. I am however praising the Lord for the wonderful church family they have in Houston. All the evening meals were brought in, and one of Chandra's dear friends came over and played with the boys, did the laundry, and all the house work most days. Here are a few pictures from my time in Houston:

We made hand print cookies:









Noah in his baseball uniform....










And Isaiah in his Green Bay Packers "baseball uniform"...


I have been home since a week ago Wednesday. Shortly after we got home, Terry realized there had been a burglery in our home while we were gone. John and Mom had been here the day before, and left around 4 in the afternoon, and we had gotten home about 3 pm the following day. So sometime in between, we had been robbed. Several guns, in particular the blackpowder the boys had made for Terry, a mason jar full of valuable coins, two of my computers and my external hard drive, which housed ALL of my photos were taken. We had a deputy sheriff visit and he said he would try to locate our stuff, but so far nothing has turned up even with friends looking for us in pawn shops.... I am getting better now and plan to go to church tomorrow and actually teach my SS class again after a very long absence.

My beautiful daughter turns 24 today, and she is answering her call from God. She is spending her third birthday in a row in Liberia Africa, helping the people there to learn how to lead a more healthy and productive life, and to learn more about the love of Jesus Christ. I am so very proud of her and what she is doing. It has been a desire of her heart since 1990 at the age of 4, when she learned about missionaries who went to Papa New Guinea. A fire was lit in her heart at that time, and God has helped her to fulfil that desire by serving in Liberia. I do worry about her, but know she is in the perfect arms of God, and know she is doing His will, so I only worry a little. And I miss her so very much. Especially every year on her birthday. I wish I could just see her and hug her and tell her Happy Birthday today.