July 31 – “A Yellowjacket”

We made a trip to Home Depot this morning.  We got sandpaper, oil-based primer, some new knobs for our new TV stand, and a strip of molding to do some outside repair work on the screens that provide ventilation in the eaves.  They didn't have any screen material, though, so we went to McCoy's.  They didn't have the specific stuff, but they had some that I think I can make work.   We also stopped by the mattress store.  I told that guy I would be back with my wife, so I didn't want to be a liar.  We got the lecture on all the different types of mattresses and box springs.  Firm.  Plush.  Soft.  Pillow top.  We decided to go by Terri's and check out the mattress and box spring we have there that someone gave us.  Maybe it's good enough to use for the yellow room.  We'll add that to our list for tomorrow.  I have to go to an interview for a potential headmaster, and Chris has to clean the church, so we'll be in the area anyway.  We do have to be back home around noon, though.  Cailyn is coming over and may stay with us while mom and dad go to a wedding.   I spent a good part of the day filling holes.  I used that painter's putty to cover nails so we can paint over them.  Then something happened.  I noticed the yellowjacket.  I am highly allergic to yellowjacket stings, so whenever I see one I give him a very large area of personal space.  As I reached up to cover one of the nails near the roof, there he was, crawling into a hole.  I know he was scoping it out.  He was probably a real estate agent inspecting possible homesteads for small yellow and black evil creatures.  When he finally flew away to tell his wife and kids about their new home, I jumped right in and filled it up with putty.  Stay away yellowjackets.   Nathan and April and Cailyn got back home from a trip to Corpus Christi to see her other grandfather and her great grandparents.  They said she didn't want them to hold her at all.  I think she just missed old DadDad.  She came in shyly, but before long she was playing with some of the stuffed animals we salvaged after the storm that her Daddy played with as a kid.  One was a really big dog.  She loved it.  She pulled herself up on it and buried her face in it.   Tonight we took Kel's lawn mower back to him.  I'm not sure if he wanted it or not.  But Christina sure did.  Sometimes someone close to us knows what we need better than we do.    Ephesians 4:2-3 says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."   Father, thank you for protecting me from that yellowjacket.  Amen.

July 30 – “My Day”

Today was an unusual one for us.  Chris's mom and dad actually came over for a visit.  There were two reasons behind it.  One was that they haven't seen our house since before the hurricane.  We have sent pictures and told them about it, but they wanted to see it in person.  The second reason was that there was a big Quilt Thing-a-ma-rama at Moody Gardens and her mom wanted to go to it.  That's the one that concerned me.  When they got here she could barely walk from the car to the door.  Very unsteady on her feet.  And after the little tour of the house she had to sit down before she fell down.  She rested the rest of the morning, and the Moody Gardens trek began shortly after lunch.   And that's when "my day" kicked in.  While they went quilting I decided to do something manly.  So I went to Home Depot.  Sure enough I saw our contractor there.  And our painter.  I said hello and proudly went about my manly business of buying wood to cut into slats for the bed we are setting up in the yellow room, and painter's putty to cover the nails in the wood around our new windows.  Of course, I had to ask which wood to buy.  And what in the world is painter's putty, anyway?  And how is it different from caulk?  But I got it done and loaded in my truck.  Now all I have to do is get out my power saw and cut it into the right lengths.  Power saw.  Oh, yeah.   Well, then I decided I would do something pastorally.  So I went to see my secretary in the hospital.  She just developed adult onset asthma after being around some gasoline fumes at her other job – being secretary to a mechanic.  She thinks she will get out Saturday, but she has a long way to go.   When they threatened to change her sheets, I prayed and excused myself.  Besides, it was time for me to do something husbandly.  On the way home I stopped at a mattress store.  On purpose.  By myself.  To "shop."  I went in and got some prices on a mattress and box spring for that yellow bedroom bed.  Interesting experience.  There was only one worker, and he was with the only other customer in the store.  She looked like a nice lady.  Already uncomfortable, I stepped up the pace, pulled out my scrap paper and pencil, and wrote down some prices.  Those things can get expensive.  Way over a thousand dollars for a pile of fluff.  One good possibility, though.  They had a "back room."  That's where they have all the mismatched stuff.  It was like they threw a bunch of sets into a giant clothes dryer and these came out with no partner.  They were a lot cheaper.  I managed to escape before the sales guy finished with the lady.  He said he was nearly finished, but I told him I needed to bring my wife back anyway.  That was a close one.   Finally I got back home.  They were back from Moody Gardens, and we sat in the family room and talked.  Well, I listened to them talk.  That's when I ended up doing something Kelley-ly … unfortunately.  I fell asleep on the couch.      Manly, pastorally, husbandly, Kelley-ly.  Next time I just need to focus my efforts on Jesus-ly.      Matthew 5:48 says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."   Father, forgive me for trying to be something other than – well, you.  Amen.

July 29 – “Hot in the attic”

Today we went through a bunch of the yellow room boxes and repacked a lot of stuff into plastic tubs.  The idea is now they can go into the attic or the top shelf of a closet and the critters won't be able to get in.  Chris was funny.  She would come across something and not remember which son it belonged to.  At one point Josh called and she immediately hit him with the "Who owned Jar Jar Binks?" question.   It was a big doll, so he confessed that it must have been Nathan's.  She finally told him that she was going to make a big pile of stuff, and when he came he could go through it and decide what was his.  He agreed on the condition that Kel not get to go first.  He seemed to think that Kel would claim everything.    It's hot in our attic.  It's hot outside, but it's really hot in our attic.  We put all the Christmas stuff up there that we salvaged from our stuff and Nathan's and Mom's, as well as the stuff people gave us this past Christmas.  Did I mention that it's hot in our attic?   I also cleaned and polished and set up (inside) the bed we hope to use in the yellow room.  It looks nice, except for the part where the wagon wheel in the frame began to straighten out.  I think those are ornamental, though.  I'm still more worried about the structural integrity.  Hopefully after we put in slats and a box spring, the weight distribution will even out and it won't collapse.  Looks like Christi will be the first to get to try it out when they come next weekend.  She's tough.   A worker came to do stuff on the house.  He built the little stand out back for the chimney to sit on as it makes it turn toward the sky after exiting the house through the wall rather than the roof.  The tile guy can't come until next week, though, so the chimney lady won't come until he is done.   The worker guy also replaced a baseboard piece that our contractor and Chris decided wasn't perfect.  Then he installed some weather stripping around the air conditioner door.  It's supposed to make the unit more efficient by forcing the air to the return air vent.  We were going to do that, but it was on our contractor's list, so he couldn't stand it.    Right in the middle of polishing I had to stop and listen to a kid give a sales pitch for knives.  We know him, so Chris said he could come.  He gets paid for making the presentation, so we didn't have to buy anything.  I always thought the best knives were called ginsu.  Maybe that shows my age.  His did all the cool things that ginsu used to do like cutting a penny and slicing through rope.  Problem is they cost way more than we can afford. At Youth group tonight the camp kids shared with those who didn't get to go what the experience meant to them and how they wanted to change now.  One girls wanted to know from the kids who didn't go if they had seen a change in anybody who went.  Another wanted to get baptized this Sunday so everyone could see that she's committed to change, and hold her accountable.  And the youth pastor wasn't even there.  Wow.    Matthew 18:2-4 says, "He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"                                    Father, help these kids who so desperately want to change.  Give them role models and accountability partners so they won't feel like they are walking through a fire alone.  Amen.

July 28 – “The Yellow Room”

Tonight we were invited to supper by Jachin and Micah.  They called and even gave us the time to be there.  It meant we had to cut short our afternoon ambitious project.  We attacked the Yellow Room.    The Yellow Room used to be Josh's, but we are working hard not to call anything by its "pre-Ike" name.  We had the whole room full of boxes of stuff.  It had Christmas decorations from Mom's house and Nathan's and ours as well as the new stuff we got from Josh's church in Arlington.  It had boxes with the stuff we saved from the top shelves of all the rooms of the house.  There were books and trophies and blankets and crochet stuff.  There were boxes with things Chris washed and packed the first week we were back.  It sounds like a lot, and it feels like a lot now.  But in the grand scheme of things, it's really not so much.    Our plan was to get everything out of the room so we could sweep the floor and set up a bed.  That much we accomplished.  Well, the bed got set up outside.  And I'm not sure if it's going to be able to hold weight.  The legs are cracked right near where the side rails slide in.  I haven't showed that to Chris yet.  She also wants to set up a twin bed from the bunks we had.  It looks to me like part of the side framework is stuck into the footboard.  We'll have to go out to friend's house (read here "storage garage") and get the side rails to see.    Boxes are still scattered all over the house.  Mom is trying to watch the Astros, and she has to dodge boxes to see anything.  Chris is emptying some out and repacking it into plastic tubs.  We'll probably have to buy ten or twelve more to get rid of all the cardboard.   We got all but one "future tub" of Christmas decorations stored in the attic.  Chris has a plan to redo the sewing/storeroom so it will hold more of what she doesn't want to put in the attic.    Tomorrow we need to get some nails with heads on them so we can hang pictures.  We also need to get painter's putty, oil based primer, and some kind of paint for the outside of the house.  That means Chris has to decide on a color.  I think blue is about to win, though.  Friday and Saturday we plan to replace the rotten wood, wash the walls down, and begin preparing for a team of painters to come down from Arlington the next weekend.  That means caulking and puttying needs to be done.  I figure they can scrape and sand one day and paint the next.  Then we can finish what they don't.  Tomorrow the guy is coming to build the little tower for the chimney.  The tile guys can't come until next week.  The chimney lady is ready to go.  Today Chris said she wants to be able to wake up and say "Today I just have to do laundry."  I understand.  Not the laundry part so much.  But the just one thing at a time part.  That will be nice.   Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."   Father, I know that's about worry.  But can it also be about one thing at a time?  Give us "one thing at a time" days again soon.  Amen.

July 27 – “Hospital”

 

We chose today to work in the yard.  We borrowed Kel's lawn mower awhile back and still had it.  Last time we were with them Christina chided him because their yard needed mowing, so we figured we should return it.  We got the yard mowed but still haven't returned the mower.

 

We took Mom shopping this afternoon.  We needed a table to put the TV on, and Rooms to Go was having a sale.  So off we headed.  By "off" I mean "off the island" of course.  Mom found out what we were doing and jumped in the truck with us.  We actually found something we all liked.  It has a honey finish like some of our other stuff.  They will deliver it sometime Wednesday.

 

I got a text message while we were out from our youth pastor.  His wife was in the emergency room having trouble breathing.  She has asthma, but this was a particularly bad attack.  They had already given her two breathing treatments and some steroids, and she was still in distress.  Chris and I went out to check on her.  They decided to admit her, at least for the night, to get her stabilized. 

 

The Seaside Christian Academy school board meeting went well.  Long, but well.  Not very many attended, but we finished the student handbook.  They also assigned two members to interview the headmaster candidate.  Her credentials look really good.  I hope it works out.  Quickly.

 

It's well past my bedtime.  I'm not doing so well staying up late.  I need my beauty sleep.

 

Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

                                                   

Father, thank you that you woman you gave me is a true beauty – and she fears the Lord.  Amen.

July 26 – “Baptisms”

Today was youth camp testimony Sunday.  The kids were really excited about sharing what happened at camp.  As usual, we were wondering if they really "got" what it meant to share a testimony rather than give a report.  A testimony has everything to do with God and how he moved.  A report can tell about everything from who got kissed to what games were most fun to what we had for breakfast.  As it turned out, our problems were solved when, well, when we had a computer problem.  We couldn't get the computer to work to play the camp worship songs.  The clock was ticking.  And we had a full house to boot.  So, what else could I do?  I pulled out my uke and sang the 2009 "I'm a Nut" camp song.  In it I tell the story of camp to the tune of an old favorite camp song.  Believe me, it filled in the time.  It broke the ice.  It got everybody laughing.  I think they even forgot about the messed up computer.  And it bought us just enough time to get rebooted and set up for "real" worship.   Well, after my fabulous rendition of our week at camp, Mike was able to remind the kids that "Pastor Kelley already gave the report.  Now we can get down to testimonies."  And testify they did.  They all did a great job of putting Jesus out front.  Some shared scripture.  Others shared what God did for them personally.  Others shared what He did for the group.  Others shared how someone in the group had touched them because of God.  It was definitely the church at work.  And then we ended it all with two baptisms down at the beach.  Two of the young men who went to camp with us were baptized, and a big crowd joined us at the water's edge to cheer them on when they came out of the water.  Now that's an exciting day of worship.   Mom wasn't with us.  She went with a friend to the grand reopening of the Episcopal church that I grew up in.  She saw a lot of people she knew, and even more who knew her.  Since she was with her friend, Chris and I went out to eat and stopped by the garage where some of our stuff is stored.  We didn't have the truck, so we loaded up as much as we could in the Explorer and headed home.   We got the stuff unloaded about the time Kel and his family came by to pick up some books.  They stayed for an hour or so.  Jachin told me of his latest adventures with his girlfriend Hannah.  He made a picture with some star stickers of the two of them "heading from the parking lot into the baseball field to watch a game."  The kid has an amazing imagination.   We did something tonight that I think Chris was on the one hand dreading, but on the other, anticipating.  We put some holes in the wall.  That's right, after all that fuss over texture and paint color, we hammered not one, but nine holes in the wall.  But now she has another place to put the little knick knacks we keep finding.  There are five of those printer shelf things hanging up.  We would have done more, but I didn't have the right kind of nails.  Coming soon … pictures on the walls.   Isaiah 40:10-11 says, "See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him.  See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."   Father, thank you for the baptisms today.  They certainly were responding to what you began in their lives.  Don't stop.  Amen.

July 25 – “Snogging”

We decided this morning to do some of the errand-running we have been putting off.  Village Hardware was our first stop.  We needed some extra keys to the storm door in the front.  Mainly because Mom always locks it, and we like to get back in when we come home.  Office Depot was next on the list.  They sent us some coupons that expired today, so we went in to see if we could use them.  I needed a toner cartridge, and they also had flash drives on sale.  I got one 16 gig and one 8 gig.  Now it will be a lot easier to back up our pictures and documents.   We realized we forgot Chris' phone, so we headed home.  That's when we found out Cailyn was coming over to play in her swimming pool for awhile.  They are keeping it here at our house.  Great idea, I think.  We had about 30 minutes before they arrived, so we made a quick trip to WalMart.  I was out of Claritin-D. Mom needed hearing aid batteries and some of that schizophrenic cran-apple juice she likes (So is it cranberry or apple?).  Chris wanted some plastic tubs so we can store stuff in the attic and keep it away from the mice and roaches.  And we also decided to get a toaster.  That would mainly be for me.  I had a craving for some of those frozen waffles the other day.  We even had some in the freezer.  But alas, no toaster.  Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow?  We also managed to sneak in a candy bar for each of us.    Cailyn was just about ready to get out of the water and into the mud when we got back.  They did hang out for awhile.  Nathan got the jet ski and changed the battery, hoping that would get it started so he wouldn't have to get it completely serviced before he sells it.  No luck.  So he put it on the side of our house until he can take it in.  Anybody want to buy a jet ski?   This afternoon we left the island and went to Sussans.  We were looking for a table to put the TV on.  Right now it's sitting on two glass end tables shoved together.  It's probably fine, but it just looks unstable.  And it's certainly not pretty.    Target was next.  To look at full length mirrors they had on sale.  Mom wants one.  They were the same price as WalMart and not as many options for color or style.  We'll wait.   Finally we headed to see the new Harry Potter movie.  I have been anticipating this since camp.  It was very slow moving.  In fact I fell asleep in the middle, but I did wake up for the adventure part.  I did, however, see most of the snogging.  What's that, you ask?  Read the book.   Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."   Father, thank you for good books.  And thanks for your book.  It's the best.  Amen.

July 24 – “Where has today gone?”

Nathan and I went to Friendswood this morning to pick up some bookcases and a few more boxes of books that a friend was giving us.  The bookcases couldn't have fit any better in the back of my truck.  We probably didn't even need to tie them in.  But my son is Mr. Safety-Fireman.  So he tied them down just to make sure.  We had to do some furniture moving when we got home.  Chris decided the new ones were too big to sit in the front hall way.  They are eighteen inches deep.  So we had to empty all the books off the ones we bought the other day, move the bookcases we bought out of the way, move the other ones in, put the shelves back in, put the books back on, set the other bookcases against the hall wall, move them to where Chris wanted them, move the third bookcase out of the way and over to the office area. What a job.  Then Nathan had to go clean some pools.   Jachin and Micah came over to stay while their mom went to physical therapy.  They wanted something to eat almost immediately, so Chris fixed them up.  Micah had Noodle-o's and then we all had some pizza.  Just as we were getting ready to play some baseball in the hall, Christina drove up.  Didn't stop the baseball game, though, so she fixed herself a sandwich.   After they left we went back to setting up the shelves.  And who should walk in but Nathan and April and Cailyn and Scooter.  They needed to wash clothes.  So we got to play with Cailyn all afternoon.  And they even stayed for supper.  It was raining, so Chris made chicken and dumplings.  Perfect.   After they left and the kitchen was cleaned up and the Astros were playing on TV, Chris said, "So where has today gone?"  Where, indeed.   Proverbs 6:20-22 says, "My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  21 Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.  22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you."   Father, thank you for my mom and dad.  Amen.

July 23 – “Postponed”

I had an interview this morning with a prospective teacher for Seaside Christian Academy.  She was 70 years old (she offered that tidbit of information – I didn't ask) and a ball of fire.   She has written songs and taught elementary school in the "rural" part of North Carolina.  She was even interested in playing keyboard for Seaside on Sunday mornings.  I told her to come on this week and meet our worship pastor.  Now all we need is a young drummer and we will have the most incredibly diverse praise team in Galveston. After the interview I began going through all the school curriculum from years past.  I knew we had the teacher's materials.  I just needed to see if we had students' books, or if I was going to have to order everything.  Now that I have a list I can compare it with the enrollment and take it to the online catalogue and actually do some ordering.   During the interview Chris was cleaning up the church.  We decided on the way home to go to McAlister's Deli for some lunch.  About that time I got a text from Kel.  Today was free tea day at McAlister's.  Great choice.  The girl who took our order remembered that Chris likes lemon in her root beer.  I had tea and two refills.  We stopped in at WalMart.  I had to get a Bible for a young second grader being tutored by one of our older students at Seaside.  From there Chris took me for a ride to a second-hand store.  We are beginning to look for more furniture.  We don't have any place to put the stuff we are unpacking.  Chris figured out today that the stuff we are coming across now was displayed on shelves we had put up over the doors … up high … away from the flood waters.  And the shelves are no longer there.  We don't want to just run to WalMart and get some cheap stuff there.  So we're going to check out second-hand stores and garage sales and get cheap stuff there.  Go figure.   When we got home I dove into getting ready for the school board meeting tonight.  This is most definitely a never-ending job.  It's like being in the ministry – there's always something else to do, so you never feel quite "finished."  I asked my secretary to contact some of the prospective teachers for me.  I emailed some others and called a few.  I pulled together my part of the agenda.  Just as I was putting my files into my briefcase to leave, the phone rang.  The meeting had been postponed because several members were recovering from the flu.  Now I have time to start on the personnel manual before the next meeting.  Woo Hoo!   Proverbs 3:1-2 says, "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity."   Father, I know living spiritually forever is tied to obeying you, but is physical long life and physical prosperity part of that as well?  Amen.

July 22 – “Sorting the books”

I decided when I woke up today that I would not do any headmaster stuff until this afternoon.  Instead I sorted the books that have been given to me, and put them into order on the shelves we just bought.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would.  I'm excited about using them now, though.  I kind of know where they are.    Mom and I went to Sonic for lunch.  Chris was still with her mom.  She had an appointment to have a biopsy done on a spot on her tongue and throat.  She did the one on her tongue, but she refused the throat one.  She said it didn't hurt bad enough to have a tube crammed down there.   I started the headmaster stuff when we finished lunch.  I have been working on creating a degree plan for each high school student that can be transferred into a transcript.  I haven't been able to find all the grades I needed though.  I finally emailed the old headmaster and he told me how to get into the file in Windows Vista.  Just as I expected, it was disgustingly easy when you know how.    Chris was on the road when Mom and I left for church tonight.  There were ten kids plus me and Mom.  We swapped horror stories about who was sick with the flu, swine or otherwise.  Some of us are just feeling drained.  That's me.  I feel like it's just beneath the service waiting to jump out and grab me.  One of the students passed out today and scared his family pretty badly.  He's OK, but he was dehydrated, and needed two IV bags.  There were a lot of messages on the answering machine, both from prospective teachers and students.  That'll give me more to do tomorrow in between my teacher interview and refiguring grade point averages.  Maybe one of those phone messages was from the person who will be the next principal.  I sure hope so.  I salute those people who hold down two full time jobs.   Psalms 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."   Father, that's what I want – what I need – to be still.  Help me to be still when my circumstances are screaming and my body is groaning.  Amen.

July 21 – “Twisted Rails”

Chris is gone today.  And probably most of tomorrow, too.  Her Mom had a chemo treatment today and an ENT appointment tomorrow for the spots on her tongue and throat.  She's not sure when she'll come back.   Mike got a phone call today from, of all places, Glorieta.  The youth camp we went to was calling all the churches and telling them that last week's camp had seven confirmed cases of the flu so far.  Meanwhile, here in Galveston, Mike apparently has the flu  And several of our kids do, too.  Chris got a call from Rita telling her about it, so she called to see if I had it.  I didn't tell her.   This morning, and most of the afternoon, I spent doing headmaster stuff.  And I had another of those tyranny of the urgent days that drive me nuts about myself.  I kept seeing something else that I needed to do, and I would leave what I started, then have to come back to it later.  I had to go through the existing files and try to establish who would be in what class next year.  I had to call back some interested parents who left messages on the church answering machine.  I had to email back some interested teachers – our ad for teachers and a principal went out in the paper today.  There is just so much to do.  I had to keep telling myself that I couldn't do it all today.  I was not very convincing.             We went to Luby's.  The other two Vaughan families were there as well.  It was good to see Cailyn after a week away.    I talked to Chris on the phone.  She told me to stay away from the computer for the rest of the evening.  I hope this doesn't count.  I went out to the back yard to clean some tools.  When I came back in to get a wire brush, the lock on the door fell off.  Just fell off.  I never touched it.  In fact, I didn't even lock that door last night.  I emailed our contractor about that little update.    I took mom to water exercise.  Then I checked out our old bed.  The headboard and footboard might be somewhat fixable.  Not so the side rails.  They are really warped.  And you can see in the warp where it sat in the water and then stayed twisted for three weeks.  I don't know how Chris will take that "great" news.   Psalms 43:3-4 says, "Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.  4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.  I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God."   Father, I want to praise you even with the prospect of flu hovering over my head and the heads of all of us who went to camp.  Please keep us in your hand.  Amen.

July 20 – “Home”

It always feels so good to drive over the causeway.  This island is just home.    Of course I was most excited to see Chris.  She met us at the church.  Mom even joined her.  She didn't want to miss anything.    There were some changes around the house.  Both storm doors are up now.  That front one really looks nice.  It is all glass, so you can still see the wood door.  And the side door has the dog door in it.  Micah and Jachin came by today and showed me how it works.  They must have climbed in and out a dozen times each.  Jachin said that Nana told him he could teach Fritz how to use the door.  Micah said he would teach Heidi.  She's a dachshund, so he's just about the right size.   There is now a "refurbished by Chris" cabinet in our bathroom.  We also had a delivery while I was gone.  Jay and Fran brought Mom's table over.  It went through the flood, and they had it fixed up.  It looks pretty good considering what it looked like the last time I saw it.  Chris cleaned up some of our old dark chairs.  They actually look pretty good with the table.  I guess they will go on my list to fix up. Chris unpacked some more boxes.  She arranged some baskets and things around the house.  It's beginning to look a little more like a home.  It still doesn't feel like ours yet, but that will come.    After helping Mike return the vans this morning, I waded through the stuff on my desk.  The Sears bill was wrong, so I had to call them.  I was put through to no less than four different departments.  The last one said I should call the store.  She then said she would connect me.  When someone finally answered, it was the same department I just left.  This time she entered the information to officially challenge the charge.  Her final words?  You should try calling the store.  I called the store and talked to the salesman.  He said he'd call me back after he worked it out.  He called me back later and said it was worked out.  I'll believe it when I see my next bill.  Then the AT&T bill had weird charges on it, so I called them to straighten that out.  Not quite as difficult.   Mom and Chris got back from Mom's doctor's appointment and we had a late lunch.  As we ate, we heard a knock on the door.  Anna and her sons and two other guys who went to camp last week came by to say hi and see the house.  They stayed for about two hours.  It was fun.  I got to show the guys the one baseball card notebook I have here.  The rest of them are in Mansfield.    When they left, we quickly finished "lupper."  Chris had to leave for Bay City.  Her Mom has another appointment this week.  Two, in fact.  She'll be back Wednesday or Thursday.  I miss her again.   I plan to get to bed early tonight if I can.  I feel like a truck hit me.  I didn't say anything to Chris.  She had enough to worry about for the next few days.      1 John 4:7-12 says, "."7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son b into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for c our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us   Father, thanks for letting us see and feel some of that incredible love of yours last week.  Come in power so we can see it every week … every day.  Amen.