FRIDAY, May 30, 2014

I am looking out my window, watching planes take off from Northwest Arkansas airport.  Today, we check into our Ludy Lake House for Karissa and Winston's wedding weekend.  So excited!

On my last post, I showed you our new home in

Four baby flycatchers ready to fly the coop

Arlington, Missouri.  I wanted to introduce you to our nearest neighbors.  We didn't want to disturb them but it was inevitable.  When we moved in, these flycatchers were sitting on eggs.  But within a day or two, they hatched.  Even looking out the windows disturbed them and they would fly away.  One did fall our and died on our porch but it may have been just the opposite:  it may have died and then fallen out.  The remaining four were healthy and now we have a whole family catching bugs for us! 

The original nest was green with pretty moss which mostly has dried up.  We've been in our home now for 2 1/2 weeks and just the other day, the nest was empty...they've flown the coop.

Karissa and Erica at Weaver's Lake House after dinner

We arrived here in Arkansas last evening before 5.  We went straight to Whitney Mountain Lodge, found Karissa, and got to peak around.  What a gorgeous spot!  High up on a hill over-looking 500 miles of lakeshore on Beaver Lake, with huge thunderheads and dramatic sky and cloudbursts here and there, the Lodge is just lovely.  There are 16 rooms which will be filled with friends and family, outdoor wedding venue, indoor dining rooms, and meeting rooms for church and rehearsal dinner.

After 5, we drove the two miles over to Bob and Molly Weaver's (Winston's grandparents) lake house where about 25 gathered for spaghetti, salad, bread, and custard, chocolate sauce, and mini brownies....u-u-good!  Our job was to deliver Janna Sauder to her hotel so we stayed here by the airport.  In order to help with the decorating this morning, we will head back early.  Our house is just a few doors away from Weavers.

Natasha and Jeremy are driving from Tennessee and should arrive by noon; sisters-in-law Ruth and Esther are flying in from Oregon early afternoon; nephew David and Sabrina and Micah (with one in the oven); Chris and Rosy Davies (also with their first in the oven) arrive early afternoon; sisters Heidi and Juli arrive early evening; brother Jonathan drives in from Texas Saturday.

The high excitement will be over Saturday night but some of our families will stay through Monday for quieter time together. 

Stay tuned for more on our much-anticipated and happy time together!