Impending relocation

We'll be moving to Ashburn here in a few weeks, so there's a lot going on.  Dad, Wesley and the boys rebuilt the main back porch Saturday a week ago, and I got the underpinning mostly rebuilt w/ concrete this last Saturday.  New skill for me -- first time I've ever laid block and brick. Fun...

We hope to acquire a little commuter car sometime in the next week or so, which will help with all the running back and forth over the next year.

Family photo

The above is from the History Tour in Charleston, SC that the Zimmermans so kindly allowed us to participate in.  

Peru in '03

From the Archives: the following are some pictures from a missions trip about 36 hrs up the Amazon and Tigris rivers from Iquitos, Peru back in '03

Diesel suburban

'96 Diesel Suburban, 20/24 mpg., 9 passenger

Ok, so it's been a while.  Where to start?  One of our bigger projects is in transportation.  Our black suburban was getting between 11~14 mpg, and just at 20k miles/year, which is a minimum on average, you can calculate the cost...

Alas, what options are there for a family with 5+ kids, other than the illustrious but oh-so-expensive diesel Sprinters?  After much prayer and study, we decided there isn't anything readily available and cost-effective here in the US.  Naturally, this means we decided to build our own.  What say you, but that Alan knows not how to so much as change out a radiator, much less an engine?  Never fear, gentle reader, the Lord will provide... [grin]

Ok, so we started off in this process with 7 passengers total, so this meant we had options while waiting for the ultimate kid-mobile to be assembled.  I'm not 100% sure I would have done the same thing retrospectively, but having been very unimpressed with the cost-effectiveness of my brothers' minivans, I decided to acquire a 1984 Mercedes 300td diesel station wagon.  After 2 suspension component replacements and a valve-adjustment, we got about 28 mpg loaded for bear with a car-top carrier.  Not too bad, actually.  Definitely a lot of fun to drive.

As a companion vehicle, we picked up a land rover that barely ran, and repaired it.  Both of them are 7 passenger vehicles, and both are a blast to drive.  Regrettably, the Rover gets half the efficiency of the Mercedes.

Esther

Behold,children are the inheritance of the Lord...

...and the fruit of the womb his reward...


As arrows in the hand of the strong man; so are the children of youth...
Blessed is the man...
Who hath his quiver full of them...
Psalm 127 ,3,4,5a

Family times

At Thanksging we took a Morton family picture ... And a Smith family picture
Bret listening...
My Alan
Thanksgiving dinner...
Mother and daughter
Esther girl

Wecome to the world Baby William!

Alan and I have a new little nephew! William Stone Morton, son of Wesley and Rachel Morton.
What a precious blessing he is ! We love you William!

Below is Wes and Rache and Co before and after.What a precious family the Lord has established.

Here Are some pictures from this summer! Hope all of you are well! The children got to see their Great-Nanny,which was a treat as she lives up north. Family is so wonderful! Esther is growing and Bret and Ron have become good buddies.