More grandbaby time

As you can see, our grandson is into computer games. He is very intent when he gets a chance to play.




Then little baby Aiden is doing good. He is gaining weight, and sleeps lots. This shot shows he has eyes.

Last night was movie night. We all jumped into mamma's bed, Grammy made popcorn, and we sat and watched movies together.

Lastly, little Aiden took a nap in the baby bed that his Grandpappy made 4 years ago for little Caleb. It's decked out in Michigan stuff.

Ken

More Baby & Misc.

The first shot is of our son (lower right) and his Madrigal Group after there dinner performance.


The next 2 are Caleb & Abby with a pacifier that Grammy bought for the new baby. Great teeth kids.

The last one is new baby Aiden showing he doesn't need it, at least not at that point.

Lastly, I had another exam on Wed, and had 5 "little" tumors removed from my bladder on Friday. All went well, and the Dr said "see you in 3 months". So we left Rockford, and are in Plainfield visiting Chris & Em, and will head back to help with the kids on Sun. God is good, and keeps me and us going.

Ken

More Baby Aiden & Cookie Time

Baby Aiden came home on Wed afternoon, and was welcomed by his big brother and big sister. They gave him a stocking cap with red & green for Christmas.

Daddy bought him hi coming home outfit-MICHIGAN.

Then on Friday, Grammy mixed up cookies, pappy rolled them out, and the kids got to roll them in sugar.

Grammy even saved some dough, so each got to eat one-THE WHOLE THING AT ONE TIME. Oh well, they had fun, and the cookies are good.

He's here

Our new grand son was born on Monday Dec 1st at 10:50 PM. His name is Aiden, he weighed 8# 11oz, was 22" long, and his head was 15". That's the first I have heard of a head measurement, but I'm not up on all these things.

The older 2 think he's pretty cool, but we'll see how long that lasts. Home hopefully on Wed.

Friends & Family

While in North Carolina, we connected with friends from Roscoe, IL that have moved to Hickory NC. Ed & Linda Jones have 3 girls, and they went to school with our kids in grade school at Prairie Hill. Small world to travel somewhere and run into folks from the past. I forgot to get their pic, but we met at the Billy Graham Library outside of Charlotte. The library is a great tribute to the Grahams,and all they did.


We then went to Georgia for Thanksgiving with Mel's folks. First of all, in case you forgot who sends this blog out, we do.

Then there is Marissa, our niece, Rich and Kerry, Mel's sister & brother-in-law, and Mel's folks.

We then drove to Greenwood Indiana to Shelli's, to see the grand kids, and her and Caleb. She is due to have our third grandchild any day, and if not before Monday, she goes in at 8:00AM. Grammy was busy sewing in NC, and made little Caleb a Cars quilt for his bed.

She also made little Abby a quilted coat, and doesn't she look adorable? just say yes.

It was great to see them, and know that we will be in and out a lot between now and Christmas. We will be here to help with the little ones, and the new one as well. More pics to come.

Hello from North Carolina

Well, for all you gear heads out there, this is what a retired auto parts salesman has to play with. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's fully restored with most original stuff. I'm not a gear head, but it is really pretty cool looking, and he says it's really fast. The fellow that owns this was one of the crew that helped with the roofing job.




We have been in NC for 2 weeks on a roofing project. We are redoing retirement housing on the JAARS center. The apartments are for retired missionaries. These shots are the guys that were here helping, some from PA, IL, and local guys.


This photo, taken from the roof, is of the cutter that was used for the shingles. They were steel, and lot's of cutting was needed. It was like a large paper cutter.

The last shot is our RV site at JAARS. It was very pretty with trees, and some changing colors. Mel said she could stay here that it is were tranquil. Sh has spent most of her time sewing Christmas gifts, and stuff for the grandkids. We set up our 5 ft picnic table inside, and she had a ball. The only problem here is that it got COLD. One night it got down in the teens, and froze our water supply, and cracked the water hydrant. Maybe we need to move a little further south.

Now we are off to other places.

Pic's

Here are a few pics of Melody's trip to California. The first is her boss at Laguna Beach,which she said is beautiful. The second shot is taken the other direction from the beach, showing the hillside of homes.

Th e 3rd and 4th pic are of the famous Crystal Cathedral, which was built by Robert Schuller.

I forgot to relate a story of something that happened to Mel in LA. She was sitting down, have a commune with nature, and noticed a pile of pooh in the corner of the bathroom. She thought the hosts cat had had an accident, and went for paper towel to clean it up. As she bent down to pick up the pile, she noticed what looked like a rat tail sticking out from behind the toilet. After further investigation, she found a possum hiding there. She went to get the homeowner, and asked if she had another pet she didn't tell them about. The lady said no, why?Well she was informed of the new friend that was found. The lady said that it had happened before because she leaves her door open for her cat. So the two of them, armed with brooms, went back to get rid of the new pet. Ardie (hostess) went straight to the bathroom while Mel jumped up on top of the bed with her broom. Ardie took one look at Mel with her jammies on and broom in hand and started to guffaw, all the while standing only inches from the possum. Ardie started to prodthe possum saying, "move on there, come on, get out of there...oh my, who knew possums could climb up the wall backwards!" Mel started laughing uncontrollably as the possum ran into the bedroom and tried to run behind the bed. Mel played a little hockey to get the possum outside through the sliding glass door. Mel now ALWAYS looks behind the toilet when she goes for a sit down and when things got tense in the CA audit she would stop and say, "Well, at least I don't have a possum behind the toilet!" Great fun.

Travel-no pics

Since we last posted, Melody went to California 2 weeks ago, to help with the financial audit for WA. She spent the week doing number stuff, and as she put it-they ate their way around LA. Then last Monday, she flew to Dallas, and met me and about 40 others for an America's Area Conference for WA. It was a time of sharing with reports from all aspects of the Americas, as well as a time of praying and preparing for the future. We then flew back to Orlando on Sat, Nov 8, packed up the coach, and headed north. We are at a rest area near Jacksonville for the night, and will travel on to Waxhaw NC on Sunday. We will be there for 2 weeks working on a re-roofing project at JAAR'S. I should have some pics there.

Ken

Life in Florida

Here it is, October 26th, and we are n the beach while on a bike ride, oh yeah, it's warm here. We took a ride with our Gold Wing friends Paul & Mary, and saw part of the Gulf coast. We went to a state park, where they have a number of animals to observe. The second pic was taken by Mary. We think she has a butt fetish.

The third shot lets you know what the second shot is. Not Melody, a Hippo named Lu.

The 4th pic is the loving face of a Manatee. They had 6 of them, and they came in close for feeding.

Mary also took this shot, but she got our fronts. This was on a nature walk thru the woods.

Mel is off to California on Monday to help get ready for the annual audit, and then will meet me in Dallas next Monday for a conference.

Work-Work-Work

Well, not all work. While in Paraguay, the translator took us to see Iguassu Falls, which is the second largest water falls in the world. It is supposed to be twice as big as Niagara Falls. It was spectacular, and the pics don't do it justice

While on a trip to visit the Ache Village that the translator is working with, we were allowed to go along on a hunt. They shot 3 Quati Mundi (sp), and processed one there for "lunch". The single shot is of 2 of the kill, and the video is of the dressing.

Now back in Orlando, we are working at our respective jobs, sort of. Mel is busy with the accounting dept, and getting ready to go to California for the annual audit. I am working outside helping erect red iron for the addition to the WA building. It's great fun, using large fork lifts, and man lifts the go up and in the steel. I love the big equipment, and learning new stuff. Pics to com.

Ken

I'm Back

Here are some pics of my trip to Paraguay. First is the team that went . Larry, Sarah, Deb, Mike, and me. We went to work for a Bible Translation group named Letra Paraguay. LETRA stands for Latin American translation of the Alphabet. We were there to help stucco the outside of the facility that was never completed since the building was built 4 1/2 years ago. We also helped put a ceiling inside, so they could have some quiet when it rains. They had an open ceiling with a tin roof, imagine the sound. We also built some railings around openings and stairwells for safety, and a roof over the laundry for storage of supplies. I will send more pics, after I sort them out.

This pic is the translator couple and their daughters in what they call "A TEN PASSENGER VAN". It is a small Toyota quad cab with a pickup bed.

Here Mike and I are working up high putting up the ceiling material. Notice, if you can, the safe scaffolding.

This shot is of the head mason that came to help with the stucco job. Notice the Paraguayan Safety Shoes.

This is the same guy up on a water tower connecting the pipes. No big deal, except, he was wearing the same safety shoes, and climbed up with no ladder.

This shot shows some of the Paraguayan Scaffolding, and another shot of the safety shoes. Not long after this was taken, the scaffolding collapsed, and they had to rebuild it. Not a problem for these folks.

It was an incredible trip, and made me appreciate more and more how blessed we are in the USA, even if the financial markets are in turmoil.