Home inspection, Mission’s Conference, visitors

Mama and I had a good trip up to Lawton Friday. We left about 9 am and got to Lawton about 10:40. When we got to the first house we bought, there were a couple men working on the floors. They were doing the final cleanup before starting the layout for the tile. Hopefully, that will get done this week. Both bathrooms have been totally ripped out and once the tile is set, they will be remodeled with updated showers and fixtures. Only the kitchen remodel and the building of a pantry remain to be done. We will not be ready to sell by the end of this month; perhaps next month.

Mama and I got our first look inside the second house. It is much cleaner than the first house. Just as we got there, a crew arrived to begin tearing out a wall that divided the garage into two rooms One side with a working garage door. The other side served as an enclosed space that was perhaps an additional living room or office. We have not talked with our realtor to get his ideas for that space once it is opened, but if I were to guess, we will turn that into a large living room. The rest of the house was in very good shape. Clean, painted and ready for upgrades. Depending on how many people our realtor has access to, the second house will be ready about the same time as the first house. That would be fun. Anyway, Mama and I were well pleased with what has been done and what is planned for the next couple weeks. We had a leisurely lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, made a stop at Hobby Lobby and were home by about 4 pm.

Saturday, I spent most of the day working on the new shelter – after I had rearranged some items in the barn and corral in preparation for our cows being returned. I have the frame of the building almost completed. I have, to this point, used lumber I had available at the farm. Boards repurposed from other projects. Pallets we got for the trouble of hauling them off. I am now at the point that I will need to buy some new lumber to finish laying out the support for the roof. I will also have to purchase metal to put on the sides and roof of the structure. It has turned out well so far. I am pleased. Mama is pleased. Eventually we will use it for separating our goats at weaning or to introduce new goats into the herd as we increase our herd. We are going to stick with goats on this farm. As we drove back from Lawton, we talked about long-term plans for our animals and as a result of that discussion, Mama and I decided to sell our sheep. We are not enjoying them as much as we are the goats. They will go to the sale Saturday. We will keep only one or two for processing – and be done with sheep for now.

Our annual Mission’s Conference started yesterday. A great Sunday School lesson. Two great preaching services. Dr Ken Fielder is preaching during the conference. He is the director of a group that translates the Bible into languages of smaller people groups. We have missionaries visiting for the conference that are going to Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast and Uganda. The couple going to Uganda presented last night. In Uganda right now, half of the total population of that country is under the age of fifteen. What a mission field! Pictures in their presentation were filled with children. This particular couple is quite young but determined to give their lives to evangelize a remote area of the country – hoping to raise a generation that will carry the work forward. What a calling.

Brittany and Andrew are driving over today. They will be leaving Zoe and Sophia with us while they take a mini-vacation to celebrate Brittany’s graduation. She earned a B.A in Business Administration (I think). She is of a growing group of college graduates who took all their required courses online and graduated without a load of debt typically accrued through student loans by those who sit through four years of onsite classes. Four years of heavy indoctrination to earn a degree no more credible than that whish Brittany has earned. A very wise decision. A tough course of action for a wife and mother. So, Mama is going to care for the twins as Brittany and Andrew take a very short break. Mama sees this as her chance to get the attention of the girls sufficiently to get her name firmly ensconced into their vocabulary. That should work until each evening when Victoria and I get home. Then it will be all about Tori and Papi.

This afternoon, several of the missionaries are coming to the farm. One on the wives raised goats for milk and meat. As Mama and I understand it, she had a very successful business making cheese, soap and ice cream from goat milk. She left that to become a missionary’s wife. She is very excited to see our goats and sheep – especially the bottle babies. In preparation for that visit and the twin’s arrival, Mama and Victoria were doing some final vacuuming and dusting after we got home last night. Late last night.

Because of the Mission’s conference, we will be eating dinner at church each evening Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Always a fun time. Always a busy time.