Summer of Family Fun

We had the great pleasure of hosting Sharon’s parents at our home this past week. There was little sitting around as we put them straight to work once they got here. Rich got busy with various household projects including fixing a broken drawer in the kitchen, replacing lights on the front of the house as well as one on the ceiling of the great room about 18 feet up. He tried to cut back the bushes in the back yard, but got attacked by mosquitoes and called it quits after receiving several nasty bites. He also brought his projector with him and helped Sharon outline a few images on the nursery wall. Oh, and of course he prepared a few meals for us while he was here. What a treat!

Here’s one finished painting… Sharon worked diligently on the color portion and finished up the monkey the day her folks left.

Susan brought her sewing machine and reupholstered the glider that Sharon picked up at a garage sale. The rocker looks brand new and very unique with the lovely combination of fabrics that Sharon picked out. Susan put her creativity to work as she came up with several classic touches to add to the chair, buttons on the chair back, trim around the pillow, padded arm covers with pockets for bottles, books, burp cloths, or whatever might be needed at hand when baby comes. Somehow, in between house projects and trips to the fabric store we managed to put in some sightseeing and visiting. Our first stop on Friday was to check out Wheaton College and visit with friends from Mechanicsburg. We toured the Billy Graham museum while we were there as well—very interesting.

Saturday while Mark was in class, Sharon and her folks took the train into the city to check out Chicago. Top items on the list were to see some sights (which we did via boat as well as on foot), eat an authentic Chicago hot dog and have deep dish pizza (which Mark was able to partake in as well).

Since Sunday is really Mark's only day off, he likes to pretend he is on vacation.

Then on Monday night, Rich got to catch up with an old army pal who lives in the area. Sharon joined them for a dinner at a German restaurant as the guys caught up an reminisced about their escapades around Germany and Europe.

It was sad to see them go on Wednesday. Now I (Sharon) am all alone until Friday when Mark returns from his business trip to San Diego. And no, he did not feel the earthquake. He was actually flying in during the quake and had to be placed in a holding pattern until the runway was thoroughly checked for fractures.

We look forward to the arrival of Mark’s parents on Monday.