BECCA WISHES SANTA CLAUDE ERIC A HAPPY HOLIDAY

Becca sends her heartfelt Christmas wishes to Uncle (Santa) Claude Eric. Enjoy.
(P.S. Daddy learned a new trick! More to follow!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

As Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close, we want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas season. This picture seemed so pertinent, especially with the early snowfall we have experienced (and are experiencing!).

We had our pictures taken at a fundraiser for the Marshall County Historical Society. We have come to enjoy the Indiana winters, but can do without the Lake Effect snow/rain.

We hope you are all warm and snuggly and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Ratliffs of Plymouth, Indiana

WILL YOU JUST PUSH ME ALREADY!

Daddy didn't have the heart to take Becca to her preschool on a day when he and Mommy had off. So, we went to Wal-Mart, picked out a toboggan and off we went to Magnetic Park, which has a short hill where little kids can sled safely.

Of course, the snow was so deep Daddy had to sled first and create some runs so Becca could enjoy her sledding experience (oh, my achin' back!).

MAGNETIC PARK UNDER SNOW

Becca and Daddy walked to Magnetic Park for some snow sledding and this is what greeted them. The wind was picking up, the clouds dissipating and the sun peaking through in places.

Charles forgot his camera and had to snap these images (above and below) with his cell phone. We hope they come through OK on your end.

FIRST MAJOR SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON

Earlier in the week, we recieved about 2 inches of Lake Effect snow, which didn't seem to do much and melted away within hours. That changed Thursday night as a blast of Arctic wind shot down from the north, crossing a much warmer Lake Michigan and dumping nearly 8 inches of Lake Effect snow on the region.

This posed a problem. As you can see, D.D. had quite the interesting morning Friday trying to find a place to go potty. We did discover, however, that she is quite the snow dog and has no problem plowing through the snow (or under it!).

So, with the massive snow fall and wet, slippery roads, school was canceled Friday giving us an extra three-day weekend. Becca awoke to the massive blanket covering her backyard and went right out to make her first snow angel of the year.

We hope you all are enjoying the warm weather as we are enjoying winter's first visit to northern Indiana.

Claude and Kasey send a wonderful gift for Rebecca. After the screaming stoped, she jumped right in the tub with her new bathtub duck. It even glows in the dark!

BECCA DANCES THE ELECTRIC SLIDE!

One of the things about the Monster Mash is that Becca enjoys dancing to the sounds of the D.J. Here, Becca grooves with one of Daddy's teacher aides, Mrs. King. Becca was expecting her daycare friend (and son of one of Daddy's teaching colleagues) Cameron, but he never showed.

Of course, I did explain to Becca that Cameron had a brand new baby brother - born just last week - and his family was probably taking a rest.

She informed us that Cameron was still her friend! She added that she was going to let him have it at school tomorrow!

NOTE: For pictures of Becca and Cameron at last year's Monster Mash, go into the archives into the November 2007 posts.

BECCA AND DADDY HEADED TO MONSTER MASH!

Becca and Daddy get ready to head to the Monster Mash at Daddy's school. Becca likes to dress up and go to see all the junior high kids dress up. Daddy likes to dress up and go see all the crazy adults who do the same. The life of a school teacher sometimes requires you to do crazy things.

Here, Becca dressed up as Mariposa (Barbie). Mommy dressed her hair up with glitter and sparkle and a little reddish tint. This is the outfit Becca is going to wear to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.

CARVING PUMPKINS 2008 World Tour

Becca and Bizzy try out new instruments for carving pumpkins. Seen here, they are scooping the guts from the inside and getting the pumpkin ready for a face. Becca had no problem getting her hand gushy . . . so long as she had gloves on.

Once the guts were removed, Bizzy designed and carved the faces. Charles tried to carve a face on one, but Bizzy helped him get it right. Now, both creatively carved pumpkins now sit on the front porch waiting to scare trick-or-treaters.

HAUNTED HAPPENINGS AT MAGNETIC PARK!

Daddy and Becca went to Magnetic Park (just down the street from our house and the site of last year's flooding) and participated in the fun and games put on by the Plymouth Parks & Rec Department.

Here, Becca pokes her head out of the Hay Maze, created by hay bales and covered in a tarp so that the kids can crawl through, get lost in and find their way out of.

Becca had no troubles going through the maze and had a blast! So much so that she promptly proceeded to go through two more times.

Later, Becca played a couple of games involving bowling pumpkins and knocking down pins. She earned herself some candy. In this picture, she tells Daddy that she wants to go walk the haunted trail (the tractor pulling the hay ride broke down, so everyone had to walk - go figure).

Becca says she can't wait for Daddy's school to have its Monster Mash dance, because he took her last year, and this year she wants to go so bad, she's been counting down the number of sleeps until it gets here.

We want to wish everyone a safe and wonderful Happy Halloween! And, Becca says she wants to wish Daddy a Happy Birthday!

BECCA'S TURN TO TAKE A PICTURE!

We were at our favorite Mexican Restaurant and Daddy was showing Mommy pictures of the countertops that were installed at Yellow House. Becca asked for the camera, and, well, the rest is history. Not only is Becca going to become Daddy's little writer, she's going to become Mommy's little digital photographer.

Not only did she take a picture of Daddy, she took a couple of Mommy! Here's another!

COUNTERTOPS ARE IN!

Yellow House is now complete! With the installation of countertops, the kitchen is virtually done. Now, all we're waiting for is for our plumber to finish the faucets. Everything water-related is done, with the exception of the two bathroom sinks and kitchen sink.

We went out tonight to show the countertops to Bizzy. All she could say is "Wow!"

We're going to spend the winter and take extra furniture and things from Plymouth House out to Yellow House. For those who know and helped us move two and a half years ago, know that we have more than enough "stuff" for two houses!

YELLOW HOUSE IS DONE (well, almost)!

With the exception of a few minor details, Yellow House is virtually done. I know we've been showing you mostly outside shots, or shots of studded walls, now we would like to take you in the front door for a little tour of some of the features of Yellow House.

Thanks for keeping up with us via the blog, and we hope you have enjoyed the updates of all that has been going on.

Also, keep on scrolling below the Yellow House posts, as Charles has caught you up-to-date with other happenings going on (and included pictures of Becca!).

THE SOON-TO-BE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

I know it seems like a lot for one little boom box, but Dad and Biz designed this beginning phase of the entertainment center in the main living room. If you notice, the boom box only has one speaker, because the other is sitting on top of the upper cabinets in the kitchen. Yes, Yellow House is wired for sound!

The top of the cabinets is tiled and the TV and Stereo system will sit on top of the cabinet. We haven't decided yet how the upper shelves will look, whether they will be built-in and drywalled (Russ help!) or if we will just mount shelves on the wall around the TV. We'll just have to see.

The wall to the immediate left of the boom box used to be the entryway into the old living room, that is until Dad knocked the wall to the left down and we didn't need it anymore. When Charles closed in the entryway, this alcove was created. Bizzy felt it would make a great built-in entertainment center.

MASTER BEDROOM ALLOWS UNIQUE BED NOOK!

Bizzy took the footboard of her antique four-poster queen-size bed and placed it into the center nook of the bedroom bay (each of the main rooms of the old part of the house have this unique bay alcove) to give an idea of how this unique nook will be used. The bed will jut into the bedroom from the bay wall, allowing more space to be used in the main part of the bedroom for the antique cherry furniture.

During construction, the middle window was removed and the wall repaired to allow a solid wall above the bed. The door to the master bath is to the left of the mirror on the floor, which got installed above the vanity sink (see post below).

MASTER BATH SHINES!

We took the Master bathroom and installed kitchen cabinets to allow for more storage for linens, towels and necessities. We are still waiting for the plumber to finalize the sinks, faucets and toilets, which will hopefully occur after kitchen countertops go in.

WAITING FOR COUNTERTOPS!

With the exception of countertops and backsplash, the kitchen at Yellow House is nearly complete. A bar juts into the middle of the kitchen at the lower right hand of the picture, while the sink will be installed as part of the countertops just below the window. Of everything at Yellow House that was designed, Dad and Biz really put their talents to good use where the kitchen is concerned.

BECCA PRETENDS TO CALL AUNT LESLIE!

Becca shows off the new outfit she got from her Aunt Leslie on the stoop in front of Plymouth House as we were heading out for the Plymouth-Elkhart Memorial home game. Becca was so excited when the package came in she couldn't hardly wait to put the outfit on.

Here, she pretends to talk on the phone to her Aunt Leslie, thanking her for the outfit. She can be so funny when she talks on the phone.

Overheard recently while coming home from daycare:

"Hello, can I speak to Dr. Ratliff? She's my mommy."

"Un-huh. . . OK . . ." Phone slaps shut. "Oh, man!"

"What is it, Becca?" Daddy asks while driving.

"Mommy can't talk right now, she's in a meeting."

And, so goes the life of a precocious 4-year-old who's growing too fast for words, too quickly to keep up with, and too cool for school.

BECCA'S BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY!

Becca gets her face painted at the Rockies' home game versus Elkhart Memorial two fridays ago. With the win over Memorial the Rockies took an undefeated 5-0 streak into Homecoming last Friday night, defeating Wawasee 42-7 to stay unbeaten.

After the exciting game, Mommy, Daddy and Becca headed out to the lake one more time to visit with Grandma and Grandpa before they head to Arizona.

BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL 08 A BLAST!

As is the custom in Plymouth every Labor Day weekend, more than half a million people descend upon the Marshall County Blueberry Festival (Indiana is home to more than a hundred "festivals") and we love going. The fact that we can walk to the Blueberry Festival is not lost upon Mom or Dad, who usually end up carrying an exhausted Becca, who as this picture shows, loves the Kiddie Carnival!

This year, Mommy got smart and grabbed the umbrella stroller and we were able to push (barely!) Becca home after hours of fun at the festival. This was one of the few times we have been able to break away from the ongoing project at Yellow House and just let go.

JUST LET ME SLEEP!

Becca grabs 40 winks on the drive back from the lake to Plymouth. Mommy and Daddy had to stop at Lowe's, so Daddy had to stay in the car and monitor sleeping beauty. This was also the weekend we received more than 11 inches of rain. Most of Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan flooded, but not Plymouth! We had our turn last January and February

Right?

WOW! THAT'S COLD!

During the dog days of summer, Becca enjoys a swim in Barry and Crystal's pool during Ethan and Trevor's joint birthday party a couple of weeks ago. The weather had started to get cool, down into the low 70s during the day, and in the 40's at night. The water was a bit chilly, the pool about 4 feet deep, and Becca dove in, no problem!

Of course, the peels of joy were actually the howls of shock upon first entering the water (hehehehe!). Becca used just a floatie and has become, at 4, quite the fish. Her inspiration? "Waterhorse! Come save me!" Of course, we all know who "Waterhorse" is, don't we, Colton?

MEET US AT THE WELL!

Charles has been working on our church's design team to help create a third worship service. Our church, First United Methodist of Plymouth, added a second pastor, Matt Pickut. The church wanted to add a contemporary worship service, one that met the needs of members of our community who desired something different and unique.

This is our logo. The Well represents that one place in a community where people gathered. Jesus met the woman at the well, and declared that He is the water of life.

We made a commercial at our dress rehearsal in August and you're welcome to go visit it at our church's website at: http://www.meetmeatthewell.net/Media.htm If you watch closely, you'll see Becca for a split second.

We absolutely love the evening worship service, as we spend a lot of our time at the lake on the weekends and cannot quite make it to morning service (we usually get back to Plymouth in the afternoon in time for evening service). Charles digs the contemporary service and will be participating with the Drama team. Bizzy is aching for an open mike night to show what she can do (and we all know that she sings so well!). Becca bails after praise and worship to head upstairs for Kids Connection.

More news soon. Take care and God Bless!

D.D. and Me on the back porch!

Becca and D.D. relax on the back porch while waiting for Mommy to get home from work. D.D. has adjusted quite well to being at Plymouth house and manages to escape Becca - most of the time. Other times, she just gives up and lets Becca carry her around like she was her baby.

Yellow House is nearly done!

After spending nearly the whole summer helping Dad rehab Yellow House, Charles and Biz went back to school, and the siding installers finished with the siding. Biz chose a cream color in order for the name "Yellow House" to be kept.

It covered up quite nicely. The inside is nearly done as well. At the time this photo was taken this past week, the kitchen and bathroom cabinets were being installed. All that's left is finishing the lights, outlets, switches, baseboard, and floors! Although it still seems like a lot, Dad says he's planning on having it all done before he heads out the door for Arizona in late September.

This weekend, Labor Day, we're planning on installing inside doors and finishing up trim. The plumber then comes in next week or so to finish up tying the water system to the house.

By next summer, Yellow House will be ready for company. All that's left for the winter is to bring in some furniture, of which Bizzy and Charles have plenty to spare at Plymouth house!

THIS IS TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL!

Colton Hill has joined 250 other student basketball players from around the country for four days of Basketball fundamentals with the University of Notre Dame Men's Basketball team and staff.

He will be staying in the dorms on the campus and playing basketball in the main stadium and gym complex, the Jacc Center.

Everyone is excited to go and see him play at Notre Dame in Indiana

Yellow House rear addition

This shot shows a part of the rear addition. To the right, the white pipe is the venting for the guest bathroom. Where Bizzy is standing is the utility room, where the laundry and water facilities (water heater, pump and treatment system) are located.

The center part of the addition will be the new kitchen. Grandpa decided it was easier to run the new plumping under the new addition rather than try to plumb under the old part of the house.

Where the ladder is standing will be the master bath off and the door beyond the ladder goes to the master bedroom. Most of the bathroom walls have been insulated, much to the teasing off lots of people. We all point to mom and dad's house in Bullhead City and tell them we'd rather insulate than have guests hear when someone flushes!

Can you send up a Diet Coke?

Charles pokes his head through the attic entry and smiles at Bizzy as she snaps this shot. Charles was up in the attic helping Grandpa string electrical wire from one side of the house to the other in order to run power to the new additions. Most of the old electrical circuitry was bypassed and shut down, with the exception of two good circuits running the three main rooms in the center of the house. Everything else in Yellow House will be virtually new electrical wire.

We don't know where to start!

Uncle Rod looks over the electrical wiring that Grandpa, Charles and Bizzy pulled during the previous week. Uncle Rod said he was impressed with the work thus far and promptly got out of Yellow House before being recruited to inspect the attic.

Charles was thankful that Uncle Rod showed up, because he so needed a Diet Coke break (don't worry, there is more bottled water than Diet Cokes in Charles' cooler!).

This part of the new addition belonged to the old front porch. Behind Charles, on the other side of the stud wall, is the front entry way and beyond it, the living room. The doorway in the extreme rear goes into the master bedroom.

The blue green walls behind Uncle Rod belong to the old kitchen, which now has become the dining room. Behind the wall to the left is another existing bedroom, above which is the attic entry in the peak. Where these two are standing will become a third bedroom/den/office.

Yellow House NOW (sort of!)

With the exception of the front windows, which have since been replaced, this is about what Yellow House looks like now. We're waiting on siding to arrive and we're ready to drywall inside (see above posts).

Yellow House sits on an acre-and-a-half with a one-car garage in the back. The idea, when Dad bought this last November, was to build a pole barn on the back of the lot so that we'd have a place to store the boats. Yellow House sits approx. 4 miles from Bass Lake.

While we were working on the house during June, we discovered a mommy deer and two baby fawns feeding from the droppings beneath our one apple tree at the rear of the lot. Every night at dusk they come out and we watch them feed.

Yellow House THEN (February 2008)

This is the same side view as the post below. The attic opening is in the peak. We had the front porch sheared off and built a new addition with entryway. The far bay window (extreme right rear) is the front living room. Our goal was to try our hardest to keep the rounded window bays.

Yellow House NOW

As you can see, the two new additions nearly dwarf the old part of the house (the center part with the peak). The opening in the peak goes into the attic, which Charles had to climb into to help Grandpa run new electric wires to both sides of the house (see above).

Yellow House THEN (February 2008)

While we waited for the weather to warm up, we started making plans, the first of which was to shear off the back addition (the one with the makeshift chimney and back door) and the front porch and add two new additions. In the post following, you can barely see the rear peak as the new roof covers the old one. The wood shingle siding has been totally removed all the way around. Where you see Becca walking in the picture below, she is to the right of the old grill, but 10 feet away from where the old building was.

Yellow House NOW

This is the back side of Yellow house with the new addition. We'll be receiving siding this week with the hopes of being covered next week. That's Becca exploring.

Our newest addition!

We recently added to our little family. This is D.D. (prounounced "DeeDee"). When we first began looking for a dog last fall, we found an Amish dog breeder near one of our favorite Amish towns, Nappannee. He breeds Pomeranians, and we fell in love with his adult dogs - one male and three female - all of which reminded us of our beloved Sandy and Tigger.

When Mom and Dad picked up Abe (pronounced "Aay-Bee") they purposefully gave him a name that Becca could say, at the same time learn the alphabet. A unique idea, and we wanted to follow suit. Becca decided that our new puppy should be named either C.C. ("CeeCee") or D.D. (see above). She liked D.D. better, so we now have D.D., or her appropriately named AKC moniker, "Biz's Darling Dog".

She's smart as a whip. At 13 weeks, she's nearly potty trained, can do several tricks and loves Abe to the point that when they go out together, she's hanging off his ears!

That's my Peanut Butter Sandwich!

Becca and Grandpa enjoy a quiet moment on the deck at the Bass Lake cottage over the Fourth of July weekend. Grandpa is feeling much better after two week-long stints in the hospital in May and June.

In May, Grandpa Claude felt like there was something wrong with his heart, but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong, adjusted his medication and sent him home. He started feeling better, but was having some pains in his lower torso and knew, just knew that he was sick. He went back into the hospital two weeks later and doctors found an intestinal infection - Diverticulitis - and treated him. After five days, he was sent home to recuperate, which took another three weeks.

He's feeling much better now and is back working in Yellow House. More to come!

Update coming soon!

I know it's been awhile, but I will have an update posted this week! For those of you who check periodically, we thank you for reading. I have pictures of Yellow House, fun at the lake, and summer school to come.

Thanks again and check back soon!

WITNESS TO A 21ST CENTURY HISTORICAL EVENT!

While trying to finish up some last minute details as the final month of school opened, Biz received a phone call from Hillary Clinton's advance team wanting to know if President Bill Clinton could make a campaign stop at Plymouth High School. As Biz's principal was in meetings most of that day, he delegated that she should be the event coordinator for the former President's visit. For the next two days, I saw very little of Biz, as she spent hours with Hillary's advance team, members of the Secret Service, and our community's emergency services personnel to plan this event.

Last Saturday, after waiting for nearly three hours, more than a thousand people turned out to hear what President Clinton had to say. I, of course, wanted to be a witness to this one-time only event, as I'm sure President Clinton and I would never again cross paths.

I stood at the far edge of the crowd, thinking I was at the spot where President Clinton would exit once he left the stage after shaking many hands. Instead, President Clinton walked all the way over to where I stood, and shook my hand first! I was so caught off guard, I was speechless. I recovered quickly, and encouraged the former President to shake the hands of a couple of my students standing nearby, which he gladly did. He then proceeded to move along the wall of people that you see in the picture, shaking hands and greeting well-wishers.

All of my fellow colleagues at the school have been jabbing me of late, kidding that I, as a Republican, was the first listener and potential voter to shake the visiting former President's hand.

The rest is, as they say, history. Hillary went on to win Indiana in Tuesday's primary, but lost to Obama in North Carolina. I don't care; I got to shake a former President's hand, even if I never voted for the guy.

A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT

Never before had a presidential primary election season heated up communities in Indiana as this season has. Last Saturday, former President Bill Clinton made one of his 15 stops on a 3-day swing through Northern Indiana at Plymouth High School.

After a modest introduction, President Clinton proceeded to speak on the merits of Mrs. Clinton's bid to become President. Nearly a thousand people, both Republican and Democrat, turned out to hear what he had to say. From the perspective of a former journalist-turned-teacher, it was a wonderful social studies event just to be a witness of history in the making.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Many of Biz's students at Plymouth High School turned out for former President Bill Clinton's visit while campaigning in Indiana for his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton.

OUR NEW FAMILY ADDITION

After Becca returned from Arizona and Grandma and Grandpa arrived at the lake, we got a call from our Amish Pomeranian dog breeder. Two of his female Poms had puppies three weeks apart. Each had two, one had two boys and one had a boy and a girl. He called us to come look at this wonderful little creature.

She's four weeks old as of last week, and we will get to bring her home about the first of June. We timed it so we could spend the summer training her - that is, with the help of Grandma and Abe (Mom and Dad's Datsch-Pom mix). Charles still has some fixing to do with the back yard to ensure that she will not get out this fall.

After two years of letting Abe out the back door, Grandma has finally requested that Grandpa and Charles build a doggie door at the lake house, especially if this cutie comes to visit this summer.

We'll keep you posted.

EASTER AT THE LAKE

After Aunt Leslie's visit in February, we hunkered down and waited for Spring. Before Spring could arrive, however, Easter weekend ushered in a chilly Spring Break for us. We spent the weekend at Bass Lake, and got ready for the Easter Bunny, which meant coloring Easter eggs.

As you can see, Becca has become quite adept at using a fine-haired paintbrush. Anything she can do when it comes to painting, she enjoys.

As the weekend came to a close, however, Charles said bye-bye to Becca and Bizzy, who both flew to Las Vegas on Easter Sunday, Bizzy to drive back with Grandpa, while Becca remained in Bullhead City, Arizona. Bizzy stayed for a couple of days, but then drove back to Indiana with Dad, who wanted to bring his tools and the pickup truck to use this summer.

Becca, on the other hand, stayed with Grandma and Aunt Leslie, and remained in Arizona for four weeks. Charles and Biz spent the first week after Dad flew back to Las Vegas, wondering what to do and how to talk to each other without a little one around. It was quite unsettling at first, but everyone survived and Becca is back with us.

I'm sorry it has taken so long to get a post on the blog. Becca's absence, at first, gave me quite the writer's block. More to come . . .

IT'S MY PARTY . . . II

Becca celebrated her fourth birthday with a party at the Bass Lake House last weekend (her birthday was actually the 20th). A special visitor arrived and surprised Becca Saturday morning. Leslie flew out of Las Vegas Friday evening and Charles drove to Midway Airport in Chicago to pick her up at midnight. Leslie's flight was delayed until 1 a.m., however, and it was after 3 a.m. when they finally reached Bass Lake.

Meanwhile, Biz took Becca to Bass Lake to warm up the house and get everything ready . . . only to find the furnace had quit and the temperature inside dropping as rapidly as outside. Uncle Bill and Cousin Barry came to the rescue, helped Biz with arranging repairs and waiting for the repairman to arrive, which he did at midnight. By 2 a.m. the furnace was fixed and the house warm by the time Leslie and Charles got there. We held Becca's party Saturday afternoon, and spent the day with Aunt Leslie. Uncle Bill and Aunt Gloria, and Barry, Crystal and the boys came over and had lunch and cake with us.

We spent a quiet Sunday with Leslie, who returned to Las Vegas Monday night. She had President's Day off, while our schools were in session. Charles went to work, but Bizzy took the day off and she and Becca spent the morning with Leslie. Cousin Claudia, who was also out at the lake, ran Leslie into Midway Monday afternoon.

It was a great weekend, one everyone enjoyed, and Becca got her "Auntie" fix, which hopefully will last her until summer. We hope everyone's February is nice and warm, while we weather out this cold snap and try to stave off the sniffles, coughs and colds.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECCA!

Aunt Leslie gave Rebecca a special birthday present by coming to Indiana and spending the weekend with the Indiana Ratliffs. Fun was had by all, albeit inside because it was cold outside (brrrrr!), and Becca celebrated her fourth birthday with an early afternoon party at the Bass Lake house.

Besides Leslie, Uncle Bill, Aunt Gloria, Barry, Crystal, Ethan and Trevor all showed up to wish Becca a Happy Birthday.

That's Charles in the middle who just happened to be in the picture.

FLOOD OF 2008 (the 2nd) Update . . .

The river continued to rise, this time reaching last month's mark. It's expected to crest sometime today, but with all the flooding in town and around the county, school was cancelled (again!). It really looks like we will be making up snow and flood days into June.

This is the historic Magnetic Park clubhouse two blocks over from our house. If you look closely, that is the gazebo in the back. The water has almost reached the point as was pictured in previous posts.

Our friends tell us this is unprecedented. Northern Indiana had just been declared a disaster zone by President Bush and FEMA for January's flood, then this happens. The Boys and Girls Club had just reopened with all repairs completed last week, then turned right around and was flooded, again.

We continue to perservere. Keep us in your prayers that as the water doth rise, so must it flow downstream. The upside of all this, the lakes are full and waiting to be used in the summer. We can hardly wait.

THE RIVER RISETH . . . Again!

With a mixture of snow and rain pounding an already saturated northern Indiana, the Yellow River has breached its banks yet again!. Officials say that the river will crest tonight or in the morning at 14.7 feet, a mere 6 inches shy of last month's flood stage of 15.1 feet. This all in just two days, as opposed to the week it took to rise and crest last month.

As we have said before, please don't worry about us, our house sits higher than the flood plain and we're still dry . . . for now. The picture shows a familiar area behind the Plymouth Boys and Girls Club, just south of our house, but only two blocks from Charles' school (downhill from, he adds!). Notice the piles of snow that had been plowed from roads, and the new slush in the lower part of the picture. No, the snow pile is not floating by. It's as stationary as an iceberg can be.

If you really want to see something familiar, click on the Pilot News link in the far column and look at their front picture for Thursday's newspaper. The pictured gazebo is the one in Magnetic park down the street from our house.

WHAT'S UP WITH THIS WACKY WEATHER?

Just a quick update: On the heels of a massive flood, one not seen since 1982, the weather turned cold again and we saw several inches of snow. That melted, and we warmed up again and a major wet-front came through. We started to get rain last Tuesday night, and right in the middle, an artic blast roared through. A major rain storm changed into a major snow storm right in front of our eyes. We got just a couple of inches, but the roads were wet and slick underneath the snow. School was canceled on Wednesday.

Then, the snow melted some Thursday morning, but by Thursday night, another cold front came through and dumped fourteen inches on the ground. School was canceled Friday.

By Friday night, the roads were cleared and on Saturday, everything was fine, except for a little snow shoveling, which Charles absolutely hates. We're waiting for the end of season clearance sales to come through and Charles is going to buy a snow thrower - that is, if all the companies that make them don't run out of stock before then!

It's Sunday morning and Becca is sporting another new dress that Bizzy found in California. She picked it out herself, put it on herself and Bizzy helped with the hair do. What did Charles do? He helped Becca pull on her tights - what a job for a Daddy.

Please keep thinking of us - as we are thinking of you - and pray this wacky weather straightens out before winter is up in six weeks or so!

More to come later!