Little Sheldon

He's a happy fellow.

It will be two months on Thursday, which isn't much time to get to know someone, but he seems to be easy-going, patient and amiable. We are quite taken with him.

(2 pics missing)

Girlfriends

This is Mary Clement's friend Ana. She is about 8 months older (the one Clemmie calls "baby") and desperate to coddle/be best buds with her. Unfortunately, she's so overeager, she's pushed MC several times in attempts to hug her & control her goings about (once down stairs; she had a bruise for 2 weeks!), so MC is very skittish around her. These photos perfectly capture their relationship, from Ana's perspective. 

She's! Letting! Me! Sit! By! HER!!!!

Could it be? She's smiling! Things are looking up for us.

Clemmie, I just want you to know, that I will gladly take care of you forever. You just need to trust me. Now seems an appropriate time to give her a hug. Yes, definitely.

Uhhhhh, wait. Maybe not the best move. Proceed as if all is normal.

If I grin really hard and pretend she's loving this, it'll all be okay.

And 10 minutes later, MC pushing her on the swings. Friends again (as long as Ana is contained).

(Ana's mom is the friend who is my through-and-through Kentucky friend, who was born and raised here, lives by a holler, does all functions in a country church, drinks Ale 8 all day, and can skin a squirrel.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Found this on the kitchen counter: Jackson says, "Tic Tacs + Fried Egg Gummies + Cherry PopTarts = Mmmmmmmm"

We still have that unsettled feeling that I know won't characterize our lives forever, but for now, I can see God's goodness in it. We're appreciating the daily, the now, the details. And here are a few!

A delightful little girl:

Keri, Clemmie calls the Rhyme Bible you gave us her "Jesus Loves Me Book". "Jesus Loves Me" is her favorite song, asking to sing it every night at Vespers. This coat of hers was a hand-me-down from a little girl in our home school group who is almost a year older than MC. Every time she puts it on she tells me, "Baby gave me."

Jackson made a chess game (or checkers? He seems to use these terms interchangeably) out of coins and markers. Betsy, this made me think of Charlie; something he would do.

We took a day trip to Frankfort yesterday, and saw the Capitol building  Cody-style, arriving during off-hours, running around to each door hoping to find one open. No luck, but it's just beautiful on the outside. Will go again.

Next, we toured a bourbon distillery, all 5 of us. Fascinating! I took this picture to show the Brewers Mold, which is found on the outside of buildings where alcohol is stored. During Prohibition, the police would go around looking for this black mold. Another interesting fact: this distillery was one of only 4 that were allowed to stay open during Prohibition. They had a pharmaceutical license. So they've been brewing here continuously since 1787, the year of the Constitutional Convention. We got to go into this building, which was floors and floors of barrels. We plan to visit a few more distilleries--and take an in-depth tour: Corn to Cork. If you need any bourbon advice, just ask our kids.

Tonight we built a fire in the backyard, something we've been doing regularly. There's the moon. And Jackson's Marshmallow Flambe.

And backing up a little. When Sarah was here she let the boys at Angry Birds on her phone. Of course they thought they'd gone to digital heaven. They created all the characters in play-dough a few weeks later:

And the diploma arrived in the mail! We have PROOF! We weren't entirely goofing off those 7 years in Austin.

Love you all,
R

Nebo Report

2/3/12

I went with Ken Armstrong to Nebo specifically to look at the house and evaluate it's condition and needs.

First: THE GOOD NEWS

1. Ken's experience gives him a bias toward starting over--the bulldozer solution. BUT, he was surprised that the shell is in good shape. We took an ice pick and knife and poked at the studs and plates. They felt sound.

2. The roof is in good shape

Now: THE BAD

1. He agress with our assessment that the value of the property if sold is land only and would be worth more with no house.

2. in order to protect the shell and avoid the house falling in it would require:

a. windows: 26 X $300 = $7,800

b. ground work with bobcat: $1,000

c. Hardi-siding and soffets: $10,000 (there are cheaper choices)

d. sheet rock underside of rafters and vent space: $3,000

e. other: $2,000

TOTAL ESTIMATE: ~$24,000

3. here are some images of the problems.

This is a vent pipe in the

kitchen

this is Dad's rotten corner with downspout putting water right at the base of the wood. Here is where the

bobcat is needed.

This it the kitchen window we could not get closed

A hard to interpret photo of the gap at the top of a window.

The bottom line is at least $24-25,000 to keep it standing (and usable for us, but not rent-able).

We need comments, sooner rather that later. BB