Hello everyone.  I know it's been forever!

Let me know if you can see my slide show.  I've been trying to put it on the site, but I can't see it yet.

Well, I have a wonderful room in the Yonder.  (that's our official name for the place that used to be called the garage.)  I have bookshelves for walls, but it's still very nice and pretty, and best of all it's MY room!

We're enjoying our pool.  Samuel can swim now under and over the water. (he can touch the bottom on his tippy toes)  Grace can swim, now too, but someone has to be next to her because she can't always come back up for a breath.  She does a good stroke and goes pretty quick, but she can't swim above water, and can't sometimes come up for a breath.  Um... that's a problem!

It's been SOOOO hot here!  That heat wave that is all over the place it very present here in Kansas.  It's been in the 100s about every day!  My body does NOT like it!  Right now I'm kinda' sick, but I'm still up and about.  Josh and Ben had been struggling with something, so they probably were good big brothers and shared it with me!  

Speaking of Josh and Ben tonight they will be in Atlanta!  They are driving back to Georgia to take their black belt karate test.  This is a very big deal!  They have been working on this for 3 years.  It's a very hard thing, and the test lasts for hours, with little break.  It is a real accomplishment to make it through this school and get a black belt.  It's something that you have to really be disciplined to get, the instructors make you earn it.  They are wonderful Christian people, but they want you to do a good job, that's why this place has been so neat (and hard work) for Josh and Ben.  Their test is on Saturday, at 10:00 am.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

Helen May (Nana) is here!  She’s such a blessing, we’ve been looking forward to her visit!  She’s encouraging to all of us, not to mention very helpful.  She has taken on the huge task of picking up on were my mom left off, of teaching Samuel and Grace how to read.  It’s a big deal, and they are doing so well!  They have officially read their first simple book.  We’re surprised that Nana hasn’t run away during this process!

Last weekend we went to NE for a Damon reunion.  It was actually a 50th anniversary for my great Uncle and Aunt, but it was turned into a reunion.  They little ones got to meet a lot of new people again!  So they have met lots of people from both sides of the family now.

Well the hair stylist is enjoying her job much more these days!  Mercy’s hair is now about an inch long if you stretch it out, and I’ve cornrowed it 3 different times.  (cornrows are like French braids, accept much tinier and you braid under, not over)  It’s still tiring because it takes all day to do hair, but I’m getting better at it, so it’s not as stressful.

My good friend Shauna Donovan and her family stopped by our house on their way back to TN!  It was awesome to see her again even if it was a brief visit.  We climbed up my big tree in the front yard and had a nice chat.   

I'm very happy to say that I already have some very good friends here in McPherson, thanks to the Shaw family.  They are family quite like us. (they home school, are refreshingly conservative, have lived over seas for a lot of their life) I especially like to spend time with Christine and Amanda. (They are twins and are 17 yrs. old)  They are wonderful Godly young ladies!   

Have to go figure out what’s wrong with the slide show.  Please write!