Snake!

Today was a great day for everyone. We worked at 6 different homes today and got a lot of work done. There are many highlights today, so here goes...dot style!

• Mark and Pedro rocked out on shelving at Mr. M's house...Mr. M was very appreciative of their hard work! In the afternoon they headed over to another house with Jonathan to install Pergo. Pedro was very excited about their day. I don't have pictures because they haven't given me any!


• The group at Mr. P's house continued on with the floor prep. I've heard that Joey is very good at cutting out holes in plywood. Word on the street is that he's so exact that when the crew did a test fit, they almost couldn't get the board up! Sarah, Sandy, Jodi, Yo Momma, Violett and Jodi are a great team!

• Work has been finished for the time being at The W's house. Debbie, Bill and Lisa put the finishing touches on their jobs today. Bill only put holes where they were supposed to be the and Debbie perfected her texturing technique.


• Team Peanut out at Ms. S's house had an excellent day. They have gotten the house level and plumb! Even with the distraction of little ones, this team worked well. Thank you for your prayers for Ms. S. She seems to be finding hope in the work that is being done. Keep on praying!
• Alex, Norm and Jonathan spent the morning roofing...Jonathan was taken away to another site in the afternoon, but Norm and Alex continued to make a great team! They even made it to meals on time! They were aided by some local residents as well. Hopefully they can finish the job tomorrow!


• We started a new site today, which took the rest of the crew. On each trip we have driven by a yellow house that has sat vacant and pretty much untouched. Today our crew headed over to muck out. For some this was their first experience for others their 3rd or 4th, for all it was an experience not soon forgotten. It was amazing how fast the crew worked. Equally amazing was the immediate ties we all felt to this house. Douglas and Joe S. had a fabulous time figuring out how to get big pieces out of small places...Joe really likes crowbars. Maaike, Michelle, Lynn, Molly, Sue, Rita, Justine and I all took turns sweeping and shoveling. Lisa cleaned out the refrigerator and kitchen...and received the first but minor injury of the week. She was a trooper though! Justine and Joe found coin collections and Lynn and I argued about what was "junk" and what was "treasure". We made allowances for each other and moved on with the day.

The high point of the day came after lunch. I had taken a break from sweeping off the front steps and laid my tools and gloves on the steps. I came back from my break and went down the steps to put my gloves on when out of the corner of my eye I saw a snake coming out of the bushes. I'm a girl. I don't like snakes. I screamed and ran back up the steps. Michelle and Joe were there and were rapidly asked two questions "Is it real or fake? Who put it there?" Douglas was summarily fired from his job as site leader and taken to task for scaring three years off my life. I would post a picture of the fake snake but I don't need to see that again!

Thank you for your comments. We read them each night at our team meetings and have enjoyed hearing from people from home...even Holland!

We just rang in 2008 and the town of Slidell is going up in fireworks. Our hope and prayer is that in 2008 the town of Pearlington will finally see all their residents out of Fema trailers and into homes! Happy New Year!