June 5, 2010

Boarding the bus to Virginia	Our service at Barnwell was a bit different on Sunday.  We had Sunday school as usual but for the preaching part of the service the chorus from Shenandoah Valley gave a program.  They did a great job with beautiful old hymns.  Our cousins, Lola, Rebecca, and Rachel were along.  The church provided the lunch meal for the chorus and our youth group.  Since we didn't fit into either group we rushed home for a quick lunch then packed up the children and took them back to the school by 1:00 to catch a ride north on the bus.  Ina Sue had lined things up before hand for them to ride up and spend the week with Grandmother Showalter.  They were pretty pumped about it all!  Cousin Lola served as their caretaker on the way up.  We came home for naps then went to church in the evening to hear Gary preach the sermon that we missed in the morning.  After church we had Carl & Grace over for a snack of homemade ice-cream, cookies, chips, and fresh peaches.
True meaning of "Loved to Death..."	Monday was Memorial Day so the store was closed.  We normally have a company picnic in the evening so I spent most of the day preparing for that.  After looking at the forecast it became clear that an outdoor picnic probably would not be feasible so I called Aunt Glennys and lined up the mule barn for the occasion.  It's a good thing we did too.  It rained about 75% of the day including the evening.  I spent most of the day cooking food for the meal.  We had grilled hamburgers, potato salad, chips, baked beans, fruit-jello salad, and Oreo ice-cream dessert.  Tracey and her family didn't get back from Charleston in time but Hendrick had some guests that he brought along.  The rest of the crew were all there.  After supper we played a game of Balderdash and visited.  A nice evening in spite of the rain.
Uncle Sherman with his niece.	Tuesday seemed a bit different without our two oldest children here.  I got up at 6:00 and did the monthly water meter checks then made up the water bills and put together the deposit before I went to work.  Ina Sue finished the ironing then cut out two more new school dresses for Carolina Sue.  We had leftovers for supper then I mowed and weed-eated the town square while Ina Sue tied up the tomatoes in the garden.  She was feeling really congested and half sick today.  I made up a batch of dilly rolls for the freezer.
A spur of the moment lunch.	I was back at work again on Wednesday.  It was extremely hot and muggy outside.  Ina Sue cleaned the back porch and washed some of the windows.  She takes credit for the rain this evening because she says that it rains anytime she washes windows...  We had pork & bean sandwiches and squash casserole for supper.  Went to church in the evening for prayer meeting.  Randy Ocker led the discussion on "Virtue".  Did a good job.  Afterward we went to Walmart for some shopping.
Aunt Vera Rose washes feet.	A busy day at work for me on Thursday.  By the time I did some grocery shopping after work there was not enough time for me to make it home.  I went straight to a school board meeting at the school which didn't get finished until about 10:30.   Ina Sue had a busy day at home with children and the weekly cleaning duties.
While Uncle Eldwin sings to Claudia.	I stayed home on Friday to help my wife around the house.  We spent the morning finishing up the cleaning.  I vacuumed.  Then I worked a while outside finishing up the landscaping and pine straw around our sprinkler control valves.  Ina Sue got a call from her brother Sherman around 11:30 to ask if her could bring three guys along with him for dinner.  We scrambled to put together a quick lunch with ice tea, cabbage salad, and chicken quesadillas.  He brought Anthony Heatwole, Bruce Martin and Tony Sanchez along with him.  We had a good time visiting over lunch.  After they left we worked hard through the afternoon to get ready for our supper guests.  I mowed the yard then helped Ina Sue get everything ready.
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Heatwole.	Uncle Lees and Uncle Eldwins got here around 6:00 for supper.  Ina Sue served us pork roast, ranch potatoes, dilly rolls, cabbage salad, and peach dessert.  It was an honor to have our Uncles and Aunts share the meal with us.  Cousin Lola came along with Uncle Lees and we are thrilled that she is going to stay with us for the next couple weeks to help Ina Sue.  We had a very nice time visiting then we dropped Uncle Eldwins off at Uncle Howards for the night.  Uncle Lees & Lola are staying here with us.
Our table at the reception.	Saturday was Anthony & Brittany's wedding day.  We were very happy that it suited Lola to keep our children for us while we went to the wedding.  The wedding started at 11:00 and was very nice.  It was somewhat of a mix of Mennonite/non-Mennonite.  Uncle Enos had the meditation and the Baptist minister performed the ceremony.  The reception was at the school.  Delmar Diem's catered the BarBQ for the lunch menu.  Very good!  After lunch and visiting we came home and rested for a bit.  I took the children on a bike ride while Ina Sue did some cooking.