On Friday, my brother Nate, sister-in-law Suzy, nephew Abraham and sister Faith (she gets around, doesn't she? -- She's hanging out at their house for a few weeks this summer. She also just spent a week at church camp where she and her boyfriend each shaved off one eyebrow. Theirs is a unique relationship.) came to visit us along with Nate and Suzy's dog, Bonnie, who I thought was contraband according to our apartment rules, so we decided to keep her in hiding. Turns out, I was wrong. My neighbor informed me this morning (after asking about the dog that we apparently didn't hide so well -- It's a good thing we didn't live during the time of slavery in America. Anyone secreted with us would have been discovered rather quickly) that it was fine to have guests who bring pets as long as the pet doesn't belong to us. So all that subterfuge, while fun and exciting, was for naught. But we had a lovely time together, and we are now planning a once a month get together! How wonderful!

On Saturday, we all went to the local HistoryFest at a nearby museum, and afterwards toured a huge empty home for sale. We loved the idea of the house, but there were so many things wrong with it, including some foundation problems. The owner had built the house for himself and his family. It had six bedrooms, two living rooms, three and a half bathrooms and a separate apartment over the garage with two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was in our price range because it had gone into foreclosure, but the workmanship and foundational problems have us mighty scared. Jeremy wants to go in and demolish it to start over. He dreams big. Especially since neither of us knows a thing about demolition or rebuilding.

We celebrated Mercy's one year birthday with a dinner of spaghetti (her favorite), and I planned to make some cupcakes, but I never got around to it. We'll have the cupcakes later this week.

On Sunday, we visited a new church and felt at home immediately. They not only preach God's Word, but they also live it out in life. Their emphasis seems to be on reaching out to others through service. They serve in the community as a church group on a frequent basis and also individually all the time. They also have several mission trips overseas each year. Unfortunately, while we were talking with the pastor, he asked about our old church, and I burst into tears. There's nothing like making a great first impression! And that was nothing like making a great first impression. Ba-dum-bum But God gave me a friend as a result of my tears. A lady named Dian (just imagine there's an e) handed me some tissues and we chatted and cried and sniffed and laughed. We're getting together for lunch sometime next week. Yay for God! Jeremy is going with the men from the church this Saturday to a baseball game in Chicago. The White Sox are playing the Yankees, and we all know the Yankees will beat the sox off of their opponents. I'm not sure why he's even bothering to attend since we already know the outcome.

On Monday, Liberty had the flu, and I spent most of my time cleaning up after her and working on various chores that go along with relocating. She's feeling much better today. Mercy's one year checkup needs to take place pretty soon here, and I have my list of possible new doctors narrowed down to three. It helps with the whole "clarity of thought" thing not to have two children talking to me when I'm on the telephone listening to the health insurance person read our benefit rules to me in a monotone.

I'm off to make more phone calls while both of my girls are napping.