June 2002

	Carrie turned 47 on June 10th (the "older woman" for three days). The kids blindfolded her and took her to her favorite restaurant for a birthday party, complete with a bouquet!
	Per tradition, I dutifully followed Carrie's lead and turned 47 on June 13th. Despite a fever and chills, I enjoyed my favorite supper and dessert, and a nifty gift from the whole family: a large framed photograph of our homestead taken from an airplane!
	My dear siblings pitched in and bought us 3 cherry trees for our 25th wedding anniversary. And with our 27th just 3 weeks away, we're already harvesting our first batch of cherries! Thanks, Bros and Sis! Right: Sarah with our first home-grown cherry pie.
	It was a blessing Father's Day to have nine of my ten children here. I have come to enjoy listening to them talk and play together, even when I'm a bystander. Gma Elizabeth told me Gpa Bob enjoyed that so much, and now I'm beginning to understand. Right: It's VBS time again! Carrie's "calling." Mark, Sarah, and Jonathan are participants and the older kids teach.
	VBS was exciting and rewarding once again! A bit of a rainy/muddy challenge, especially with construction of our new worship center underway. I was thrilled to see all of our kids (Andy, Em, Luke, Peter, and Paul) taking a strong role in teaching/performing. Andy was a nefarious pirate in the nightly skit. Peter and Paul sang the "A Thankful Heart" song from Veggie Tales to their classes each night!