Braddock Hall

Well, it's late and we're all pretty tired but the Braddock Hall is ready for a PARTY!!!!! Oh, what fun we had decorating today. I'll post pictures later of our preparations as I'm too tired to do all of that now. Mostly I'm writing to ask for prayer for our family tomorrow. Robert is still coughing a little so I'm hoping that our program will go well with our leader under par.

The weather took a turn for the worse. We accepted today that the campfire is out tomorrow night as it is RAINING CATS AND DOGS! We came home and got a bunch of our favorite games together to take along to play with those who will stay and play with us afterwards. I asked Andy this afternoon when he came over to help us get the piano out, "We can't have our campfire tomorrow night so would it be ok if we stay here and play games?" I meant, "Is there a time that we need to be out of here tomorrow?" He chuckled and said, "You look old enough not to need a curfew." I laughed and was glad that we have a back-up plan now that the good old outdoors has chosen to be so inhospitable. Oh well, I know that the Lord has a reason for everything. It's up to us to be happy in all circumstances and know that He has our good in mind at all times. Isn't that wonderful?

My friend, Becky Miller, called tonight and said that she can come early to help in the kitchen so I was glad for that. The food is pretty much ready to assemble. Tomorrow I'll need to warm the beans and the meat; make the punch; set out the buns; & put the salads together.

The boys mixed up their trail mix today when we were over there. This is Andrew's recipe so if he doesn't like it, it isn't my fault. :) This is a joke as I had my hands full to keep those boys out of it today so we have some left for our guests tomorrow. :) They took 4 cans of mixed nuts and added a bag of craisins (dried cranberries) and a bag of M & Ms. I wasn't too excited about the M & Ms, but it's Andrew's only graduation so I guess he can have a little sugar. We won't talk about the cake. :)

We also spent some time setting up the puppet stage over there. This is going to be a tricky deal and the only thing that makes me REALLY nervous. We're trying out a new idea in an attempt to save our neck and shoulders. Usually we lift our arms over the top of the stage. Well, Andrew said one day, "Why couldn't we just hold the puppets in front of us? That will save a lot of wear and tear on our arms and shoulders." GOOD IDEA. Anyway, he rigged us up a stage out of PVC pipe and an old sheet. We cut slits in the sheet and slid the puppets through from behind. I felt funny because I know that part of me was visible during the going in and out process but Robert said that he never even noticed. Puppets are so fascinating to people that the human isn't even the object of attention. I'm hoping that it will all go well.

Well, I better get some sleep so that I can keep up with my family tomorrow. I've been doing really well so far, thanks to just having done the master cleanse, but sleep is also a big part of good health. :)

Our family prayer time was really special tonight as it entered Andrew's brain that, tomorrow night at this time, everyone in our family will view him as a man. He's no longer my sweet little boy seen in the slide show we put together for the big event. I'll run the video of that ASAP as he is soooooo special to me!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so pleased with this son of mine--what an incredible man of God Andrew will be.

PLEASE KEEP OUR FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS TOMORROW!!!!!!!