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A look in the rear-view
mirror... at 2005
Our trip to Indiana was
the highlight of the year...
and then there was the trip to the
coast... and then there was the family reunion...
and then there was the trip to the Bible conference at
Deer Lake and the camping/waterskiing trip to Banks Lake...
so, the trip of trips...
Shipshewana ....
Downtown Indianapolis... and a picture of Benjamin
Harrison and his beloved daughter Elizabeth.
The stories of Benjamin Harrison concerning his love and
tenderness toward his little Elizabeth were sure
inspiring
and sure tugged at the heart of Wes... as he thought of
his little dolly back home.
We walked through the Indy 500 speedway and I understood
why they call it the "Brickyard" and saw the remaining
bricks
that make up the "Finish Line" at the track.
They say you gotta kiss a lotta frogs before you find
your Prince. I'm so glad that's not really the
case!
We took some wonderful drives, shared delicious meals
and one of our stops included the site of the boyhood
home of President Lincoln.
Mother had made arrangements for us to celebrate our
anniversary at Beef & Boards. What a delightful
time that was!
Snow on the ground
outside... the bathroom was
slowly being torn apart.
What a MESS! |
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At left you can seen the
bathroom was totally
'gutted' and ready for the
rest of the plumbing, wiring
and subflooring |
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the fiberglass supplies were
brought in and Wes began to
work on building the shower. |
Wes is framing in the
'toilet room' and
the 'shower room"
It eventually becomes
three separate rooms
for nine children to use! |
the shower room is framed
and the pocket doors are
soon to be framed in |
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Wes lays
up the fiberglass mat
to the walls of the shower
he built
The shower is "gel-coated"
(to the right) |
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the nine drawer, 5' long
double sink custom vanity
is being carried up our
narrow stairs! |
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The "entry" to the bath
takes shape
and all the joints are taped
and mudded |
 
setting the vanity and the
sinks
They were soon plumbed and
ready to go! |
In the midst of the bathroom
remodel, we leisurely
celebrated our 27th
anniversary
with a special dinner fully
prepared
and served by Kathryn. |
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Timothy and Samuel carried
the mirror up
and set it in place after
Timothy had
applied the mastic.
The holes for the lights
were cut by a local glass
man. |
Timothy uses a board to keep
the
mirror in place while he
installed the
first of two light fixtures |
This mirror fit perfectly
and the lights/holes
lined up precisely! Whew!
In the reflection, the towel
hook Initials are in view. |
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The pocket doors work
wonderfully
and the room is fully
functional! |
The shower room is warm with
the heat lamp
and dry with the fan.
The small room enables
private showering & dressing
while the rest of the
bathroom is in use.
The
wall dispenser is for shampoo/conditioner/soap
is neat!
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The 5' vanity has 9 drawers,
and this pic is taken
before the cabinet
doors are
installed.
Each child is
delighted with his/her own
drawer! |
Then, there was a
whole lot in between ...
dolly kept growing and growing...
our little baby slowly slipping
away.
The LORD was so gracious to us all
as there were many "coming's and
going's" all year long.
Wes returned safely home from
Liberia; Kathryn had a safe &
delightful trip to and from
California, and
Samuel and the boys had a wonderful
time there, as well. Timothy
came home from Mexico & California a
couple of times.
friends and family... Banks Lake
A kettle for tea... a blender for
horchata and more Birthdays...
Birthdays... Birthdays
Lots of family gatherings...
birthday parties and presents and
visiting together!
It's been a year!
And then we came to the end of the
year and the annual celebration and
extra-special dinner that Wes
usually prepares for the family.
This time, through a series of life
changing events for my brother, we
had the great privilege of having
him here with us and for him to
prepare
a truly gourmet meal was quite a
tasty blessing. We all
thoroughly enjoyed our meal and time
together.
We celebrated family and Christmas with
a special dinner prepared by my brother,
Gary, who is a professional chef.
This was a wonderful evening together...
we practically had to be rolled away
from the table after the dessert was
cleared.
Gary was cooking all afternoon... and
was busy preparing everything for the
dinner of shrimp salad, scallop
topped pasta alfredo,
bread from Pavé,
filet mignon topped with paté,
crab, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce
and chocolate mousse for dessert...
greens and shrimp salads...
and one of probably five loads of dishes
in the ever-running dishwasher.
Naomi is nine now... the baby is four and a half... I am
thinking how by the end of 2006 the girls in our family
will be 5, 10, 15, and 20.
Well, so it's been a pretty special year... they all
have been special, I guess... some more so than others.
Maybe I'll add more pictures later...
that, or another year will begin and we'll be so busy
living it that we won't take a whole lot more time to
look back on this one. ~wink~
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