The John Perrys have not dropped off the face of the earth, although Nashville sometimes feels that far away. We are all well. Rachel is counting down the days until junior high is over-- 13 more days. She's telling us she'll become a catholic in the Fall, as she'll be attending Father Ryan High School (the Fighting Irish)! Here's a picture of her last tournament in Chattanooga where they won it all. (If you click on the picture it gets bigger and she's #9--the trophies were iTunes certificates). Friday we'll be traveling to Atlanta for the last tournament of the year. The spring is more glorious than ever with our dogwood tree singing. Although John's allergies are in full bloom as well. We're all busy with our new church. It's a family affair-- John is the treasurer, Rachel organized an effort to help persecuted Christians in Afghanistan. She's talked the last three sundays and the whole congregation took part. I'm working part-time (yeah, right) pulling things together. We're happy to be pioneers in more ways than one. Here's our website if you want to pay a visit-- www.ImmanuelNashville.com Life is good! We love and miss you all. Thanks, Joan for the updates!

Weekend Guests

Andy, Kristin, Brody and Hadley came to Camp Nelson this weekend. It's the first time Kristin has been here in 2 years (with pregnancy/nursing, she can't take her allergy meds and she's allergic to planet earth) and neither of the little ones have ever been here. Grandpa Gene was really anxious to take Brody fishing, turkey hunting, tractor driving and horse riding. Due to the weather, the only thing they did, was tractor driving and I think Brody thought that was pretty cool. We took them to the barn and just as we came in the door, Lawrence (pictured here) cleared his nasal passages which scared the daylights out of Brody! After that, he was mighty leary of the big horse. No way, Grandpa Gene was getting him on top of that! And Brody loves Maggie; he practically lays on top of her. Every chance he gets, he's sitting on the floor next to her, with his arms around her neck. You got to love a lab for patience. And how pretty is baby Hadley? Both kids have Gene's blue eyes, and Hadley has the sweetest little rosebud mouth.

All is all, a good time was had by all. The dogs are tired out, Bella came too so Birdie and Maggie had a playmate. I'm wiping little fingerprints off of everything 3 feet and under and Grandpa Gene is napping.

I hope y'all had a good weekend and we send lots of love, hugs and kisses.

Joan

ENCORE!

I've had a request for more photos, so these are all taken in Jenna's home. Gene is preparing the floor for some repair work. The spiral staircase was moved and left 2 holes in the hardwood floor. He loves a project... Then, this is the guest room. The tiny side table is up against a wall, on the right, and you can see the orange wall on the left. That's how big the room is. Jenna does plan to repaint... Below is the view from Jenna's bedroom windows on the second floor. Big, floor to ceiling windows, all along the wall. Lovely. And then finally, this is the downstairs. I'm standing where the dining room table should be (it was waiting to be picked up and since Jennna doesn't have a car, she was waiting for a friend with a truck to help), the windows to the sidewalk/street/canal are at my back and I'm looking through the length of her home. Dining area, TV area, kitchen and bath at the far right. Not a lot of space, but that's how they live. We didn't see any big houses. The Dutch also leave their draperies open all day and into the evening. They are saying "my house is clean and we have nothing to hide". You better hope so! Well, now that I've given you a glimpse of a Dutch home, I'm going to bed. We're expecting severe weather tonight, which means no sleep for me...crazy dogs lose their minds and keep me up. Of course, Gene sleeps through it all... Later, I'll post some more. Take care and have a good weekend. Hugs and kisses to all.

Love, Joan

Back in the USA

Well, we got home Sunday night around 9:00pm, which was 3:00am for our head/body. A really long travel day. The dogs were very happy to see us, I thought Birdie was going to wiggle right out of her skin! And there's nothing better than climbing into your own bed!

I finally got my pictures downloaded, so I'll share a few with you...let's see how this goes...This is Jenna and Gene in Amsterdam. Next...these tulips are in the flower market in Amsterdam, and the price of 10 Euros for 50 tulips is about $15. What a deal! And there's Gene and I outside a windmill in Leiden.

I have no idea how to control where these pictures wind up on the page! Help Melinda! Let's try one more and see where it shows up...oh great...up top now. Anyway, that's in Leiden also. If you live in town, you live on a canal. Did I mention, we didn't see any obese people in Holland? I guess since everyone either rides a bike or walks, they stay in good shape.

I'll publish this now and see how it comes out. Hope everyone is well, and we're glad to be back home.

Love, Joan