Weekend Update

We have had a nice weekend despite the cold, rainy, even snowy weather. Yesterday we visited a friend who worked at the fire department and he gave us the grand tour of the firehouse! Noah got to sit in almost all of the engines, he saw people slide down the pole, he got to look inside a police car, see all of the living quarters of the firemen, saw the lights of the truck and even got to spray the fire hose!!!!! It was soo much fun. Oh, and he got a fire helment and badge. Of course we forgot the camera but we had our phones to validate our story :)

It has been a pretty yucky winter with Erin and Noah passing sickness back and forth. Erin lost her voice yesterday and although she is feeling fine it gets a bit frustrating trying to work with Noah. I decided to make a coat rack from some scraps at work and post it on craigslist just for fun. We'll see how that goes but if no one wants to buy it I can find a home for it. The next big event for us is Erin's mothers graduation coming up at the end of the month. She has been working hard at her masters in counseling for a few years now and there will be a big party at the end of the month. Some family and friends are even flying in. Oh, and Erin bought tickets this week for Geiger Island, TN this June. She and Noah will be going and a bunch of Erin's old friends will be coming this year to the camp (with their kids) so it will be a great time of catching up with all the old TX friends. I decided it would be best to stay home and work :) We're not exactly independantly wealthy. That's ok though, I enjoy what I do and it pays the bills. Can't ask for much more.

Hope you all are doing well. Oh Ben, how about those pictures of your latest project! Don't be bashfull. He put up wainscoating this past week. I guess Debbie and the boys helped but I'm gonna give props to Ben as the lead carpenter of the project! I think we should start the Woodard International Contruction Company LLC , (Ben you could be in charge of the web page and sales, those are important parts of the company :) What's your specialty Will? I could see you really making progress at "deconstruction" with a sledge hammer!

Savannah - Lady and Sons

We had a really fun 24 hours in Savannah last weekend. We met Will, Marie, and the girls at Hilton Garden about 7pm Friday. Went to Chili's where we waited for over 1 1/2 hours to eat - that was a story in itself and netted us some free chips and salsa.

Saturday morning we were at "Lady and Sons" at 9:30 to begin our wait to make reservations. Reservations opened at 9:30 and when we got there the line was around 2 sides of the block. The desk for reservations was not far from the Stop sign you see in the picture. Everyone was in good spirits and by the time we got to the desk Katelyn had made friends with most of the groups around us. We got a reservation for 2:15 - found a Panera Bread for breakfast and enjoyed a wonderful cinamon bagel with walnut honey cream cheese. Then we walked around Market Street - hit some fun shops and then headed down to the river. We really appreciated Will's navigation with Dad's wheel chair - it helped a lot! (Thanks again Will!) When we got back to Paula Deens we had been told we'd have to split 3 and 3 but they found us a table together which was great. The food was great and even included your choice of dessert. We got the buffet which was just good ole home cookin'. By the time we finished eating we were ready for naps so headed home, but not until Marie and I spent some time in the Paula Deen store.

The picture with the flowers was taken by Morgan - I think. She captured the beauty of Spring - it was in the low 60s so a very pleasant day. I think we're going to try to go back again during spring break and take Grandma - she's always wanted to go and it would be a treat for her.

Bathroom project

Ok, this project has been an hour here and an hour there but it is finally taking shape. I started it while Amy was gone a couple weeks ago. We've had a bathroom, actually a toilet and sink in our room for over a year now, just in our room free standing :) It was a bit funny using but nice to have. I finally got around to walling it in and had the electrician come to wire it. So here are a few pics.

Jon, I'm gonna dry wall the inside and then I want to build a bathroom cabinet under the sink. Any suggestions, advice. I was thinking of building a box, tiling the top and putting a nice finish wood around the outside. The last pic is of the area, thanks for the help!

We decided to make a nice place for ya'll to stay when you come down. It's a one room bungalow with an open floor plan. It has running water (when it rains) and incredibly fresh air conditioning. natural wood vaulted ceiling with ventilated earth friendly walls. Our clientele is very limited and only cater to the smartest and fastest runners. (boys rule!!!)
Seriously... Some of us choose to use our construction talents for ourselves and then others donate their incredible talents for the good of others. Some choose to make a house for a "t.v." or a wooden cage for their children, while other incredibly talented people sacrifice their time and efforts for things that benefit others.

The Pauling's would be proud I Think. They were safe and having fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE!

Hope you have an incredible day! It is a joy to watch you grow as a wife, mother, friend, and woman of God. I know that you have a heart open to God and that He will continue the work He has begun in you. May your blessings today be physical, mental and spiritual! Next year at this time you will be looking at the last few months of Will's schooling and anticipating a new season in your life.

Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mom and Dad

Hey, I have enjoyed watching the progress of your remodel Joel. You should post some pictures of all your work. It looks great! Well, our bedroom is one step closer to being done. I know, I know, it has been 6 weeks, what has I been doing? I finally finished up the entertainment center/ book case/ and dresser cabinet. It is fun to see it finally in the room an functional and not just in my head. Well, that's all that I had to post tonight. Mom said she wanted pictures and I thought I would share them with the family. Hope everyone is doing well. Ohh, Ben, How was your time with Kevin. Did you take any pictures while you were with them ?

Wicked

There really isn't much to report from the West Coast. We're finally all healthy, it snowed last weekend a little but yesterday was beautiful and we actually got to play outside in bare feet! I (Erin) am gearing up for a busy week. There is a big swim meet (national para olympics) that I'll be working at on top of the normal activities. This is the meet for all those amazing people that are physically handicaped. It's so neat!

On Thursday Jon and I went on a date to see the Broadway musical Wicked. It was AWESOME!! It was so fun to get out and do something big like that. We had a wonderful time together. As a result Jon wanted to see the Wizard of Oz and now Noah and Jon are watching Mary Poppins since the Wizard of Oz decided to not work for long. It's a rainy day and Jon is tired from working hard. Sigh...what a great guy.

Oh, Noah has been sleeping all night for the last 2 weeks and IT'S GREAT!!!!! We just had to share our praise. We hope you all have a great week and happy early birthday Marie.

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma!

Happy Birthday Mom! We hope your day is truly special and that you're showered with love! We also hope you have a wonderful new year...filled with the Lord's goodness and mercy. We love you!

And Abigail is singing "Happy Birthday for you" to you as I type this... she says, "Happy Birthday Bamma!"

Spring -

It has been a beautiful day - opened all the windows early this morning and have enjoyed the sunshine and breeze. Dad finally completed going through all the cds - twice. We were able to move the record cabinet that was dividing the room to in front of the window on the computer side of the room. It gives more room for his power chair to move easily through that room. It was a bigger job than I expected, but is pretty much done now. He even parted with a small box of cds that were promos or only 1 or 2 songs. Don't worry - there are still plenty to listen to! :)