Safely through another week...

We're almost there! Evan gets back tomorrow! It's been quite a week. The Lord has been very good to me, giving me plenty of grace to get through long days without my sweetheart. I have great empathy now for single moms, soldiers' wives, and wives whose husbands travel. It's hard when one (or all) of the kids wakes up in the night and you're absolutely wiped out and there's no one but you to take care of the needs. Or in the evening when you want to get out of the house but don't have the option of lining up a babysitter. Evan does so much to help around the house, and this week has made me more aware of just how much.

My dear sister-in-law Lindsay has been so incredibly wonderful to me and the kids this week. Let me just say here that she has the biggest servant heart. Every night she has joined us for dinner--which is not a relaxing time by any means! She either helps get the kids ready for bed or cleans up the kitchen or tidies the playroom or plays with the kids or brushes teeth--or all of the above! Last night she brought home Burger King happy meals so I wouldn't have to cook. While I was getting the kids ready for bed she tidied up the kitchen and Evan's office, where she and I and our friend Sue Fulone watched a movie together later in the evening. And all this while she's been fighting a cold. Lindsay, I don't know how to thank you. I owe you big time.

Enough about me. I've been able to talk with Evan every day and the work has been going very well. He has even run some jobs, working with another guy to wire houses. The other night he told me that his supervisor raved about his work and has been bragging about him to everybody. That's my man! Winning friends and impressing those in charge everywhere he goes!

Apparently the devastation down there is still very apparent. He told about a home across the street from a church that had been spraypainted by health officials with words like "Danger," "Enter at your own risk," "Human waste," etc. Some homes have marks indicating how many dead bodies were found inside. The needs are great, but the people have incredible attitudes about it all. Many of them are just grateful to be alive and more aware of the things in life that matter most. A number of people have been led to the Lord, having been drawn to Him by the kindness of the laborers. Hallelujah!

In the spring they're planning another campaign down there. Evan wants to tell lots of people about it in hopes that others will consider going. This week there were people from 38 states and Mexico and Canada.

Evan comes home tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT! This is the longest we've ever been apart.

Our boys both needed haircuts and Chloe needed her bangs trimmed. Not wanting to spend twenty bucks on cuts knowing I'd have to do it again in a month, I finally bit the bullet and spent the same amount to get my own haircutting kit. This past summer my friend Mary Aldrich showed me how to cut a boy's hair, but I've been too much of a wimp to try it on my own. But I finally did it and cut everybody's hair this morning. And I'm happy to report that they don't look half bad! I don't think I'm brave enough to try Evan's hair yet. Maybe not till I've mastered the art on the boys' heads.