April 1- House in a month !!

The house is done on the outside, and that’s NO April Fool’s! We still have to work on the porch posts and railing, landscaping, etc. But those will be gradual projects. We can hardly believe this has all been accomplished in just one month. The contractor is done with the inside for now also, until after the sheet rock guys are done. We are so pleased with how well things have gone. The builders have become good friends, and we’re so grateful for their excellent work.
We look forward to a wonderful Easter with great music and drama injected into the worship service. We thank God for His gift of Jesus’ resurrection.

Our SUGAR CUBE RENTAL house. Friends have asked what we are living in now. We rented a little house near DeMotte. It has worked just fine and has prepared us for living in a smaller home.

Friday, March 19 we served lunch to the building crew and the church staff in our yard. The photo reflects the completion of the framing, including roofing, doors and windows.

God continues to bless with good weather and subs that are ready to work. House should be enclosed by this week. WOW

Mom turns 99 today!! We celebrated Friday evening with Mom at the nursing home. We brought her favorite coffee ice cream. We bring Jake the dog for Mom. She loves it when jake comes. In fact, she spends more time talking to Jake than us.

Progress, progress, progress, Wow....
A great break in the March weather enabled the builders to get a good start. They promise to have the house closed in by the third week of March.

Getting over the culture shock

Maybe calling it culture shock is too dramatic. But compared to West MI, this is a different world - and a good one. It's quieter, darker at night, more casual, fewer stores, and Central Time Zone. So we're going to bed and getting up earlier.
We've also turned 65, are on Medicare, and have free fitness memberships. I go to Curves 3 times a week, and Barry uses another health center.
My favorite part of this move is our church - our Pastor (Barry's co-worker), new friends, my Bible study, our church's emphasis on outreach that impacts every program, and most of all, awesome contemporary worship.
I've joined Stephen Ministries, which trains volunteers to be caring listeners for hurting people in our church and community. My position, after a week of training in April, will be on the leadership team as organizer and communicator.