Wow - what a week we just had! We've had our friend Maren staying with us while her parents were out of town, and she was a great help with the girls who totally adore her.
She played right along with them, and helped them get the things done that they needed to.
It helped me get way more done than normal! Monday we had up to 11 kids here at one time between neighbors and friends, so the kids had a blast but the mom got to do laundry all day long :( Tuesday was my one day/mo. to go to Salem and try to get everything done. Gas prices being what they are, we simply can't afford to get out there very often so we try to do everything in one long day. Wednesday, my friend Maggie had rented a carpet cleaner and let me use it, so we took advantage of the opportunity and spent the afternoon washing carpets which desperately needed to be done! Then she brought over a pressure washer she had access to, so Thursday was spent pressure washing the house, deck, outdoor toys and all that stuff. It took 6 1/2 grueling hours of being soaking wet and grimy in 95 degree heat, but it was enormously satisfying seeing the difference it made. Maggie came over to help out with the kids,
but instead she got the camera and took a lovely picture of me
(rude!) Thursday night we took a break and went to the drive-in in Dallas to see
Kung Fu Panda and
The Incredible Hulk (both movies get a B in my book. I was really hoping for more from the Hulk movie, being the closet Hulk fan that I am). Since we had the deck already pressure washed, we had to use the opportunity to stain it on Friday. I'm never fully prepared for how big that task is. It took 9 1/2 hours with nearly everybody helping.
The girls really did a great job pitching in, but they were ridiculously dirty at the end of the day. By about 9:30 at night, Maren and I finished up the last of it. It looks SOOOOO much better!
(the super bright boards are 4 new ones we had to replace, I'm sure they'll blend better in time). Saturday was a payoff for a hard week. We went with our friends Larry and Amanda to Foster Dam to go waterskiing, and let the kids go tubing. It was a blast!
I read "The Hiding Place" to my kids a few months ago, and because it was a true story, I hunted down as many pictures as I could of the real people and places involved. It's a pretty heartrending story at times, so I softened it where neccessary, but the overall story of love and forgiveness is absolutely amazing. Here are some pictures from the story:
Corrie Ten Boom, author
Satellite image of Haarlem, Holland
The Ten Boom Children, Betsy, Willem, Nollie and Corrie
Ten Boom Family
The hiding place in Corrie's bedroom
Inside the hiding place
The family, picture taken around the time the story takes place
The Beje
Ravensbruck, one of the concentration camps Corrie was in
Looks like any ordinary neighborhood street on a pretty afternoon, right? Wrong! Look closely, through the leaves in the tree across the street: 
