On Sunday afternoon our (Tim’s and Martha’s) dads arrived on Amtrak from Minnesota and Detroit for a two day visit as part of their 12 day train trip.

Martha’s dad went from Toledo to Chicago to St. Paul where he met up with Tim’s dad. From there they traveled to Portland, down the west coast across the southern border to San Antonio and then up to Dallas. They have been with us for two days and head north this afternoon for Chicago where they then head down to New Orleans before heading back to Chicago. From there they will split up and go back to their homes.

It’s been fun to have them here. Yesterday Sarah and I took them to Fort Worth to see the stockyards. We saw the cattle run. It was actually only about 20 older docile longhorns, but it was still pretty neat.

We visited the Fort Worth Water Gardens, too. It was very cool!

Jehovah Jirah does it again. Tim returned tonight from Las Cruces, NM with a 14 foot U-haul truck 2/3 full of wonderful things for our house! Lots of furniture, appliances, vacuum and even a steam cleaner!

If all that wasn’t enough, at the last minute our friends offered Tim their two bikes. They are the same type of mountain bike that Tim had years ago. He took his to the Solomons and never rode it much and it rusted and we gave it away. What a blessing to receive a bike like his much-loved bike from years ago. And, now we all have enough bikes to go riding together.

Tomorrow is our big day – we sign on the house at 9:30 am and we hope to be moving in the afternoon. Praise God for his wonderful gift of a place to call home in the USA for our family.

This has been an exciting week for our family. We found a house in Duncanville that we love. Here is the outside of 514 Longworth. We saw the house on Wednesday morning, put an offer on it in the afternoon and received word on Thursday morning that our offer had been accepted.

The house has:

3 pecan trees

3 pear trees

an oak tree

about 1/3 of an acre

space for a garden and a dog…

The house was built in 1960. A realtor bought it in October 2008 and has totally refurbished the house. It has a new roof, air conditioner, water heater, stove and microwave.

We are in the Lone Star State – the front door features a lone star.

This is the living room/dining room. The wood floors have been re-sanded and varnished.

All the walls have been recently repainted and all the light fixtures are new.

The sink, fixtures, cabinets and window treatments are all new! The kitchen window looks out on the side yard/driveway.

These double doors in the family room open onto the back yard.

The house has two garages – this one is behind the first one. It must have been designed for a boat or trailer. We think it will make a great office and maybe one day guest room.

This beautiful sink is in the master bathroom.

The backyard is really a good size – room for a dog which Emily really wants. It looks like we may get a 6 month old yellow lab! The yard also has a nice garden – Sarah wants to have a garden.

We thank God for this wonderful house and we can’t wait to get all the paperwork done for the closing. A friend in New Mexico is giving us a refrigerator, washer, dryer, double bed and chest freezer which she no longer needs.

We have found a bed for Tim and I but have no other furniture. Please pray that we will be able to find some affordable furniture.