It's 11:30 at night, and we have run out of creative juices... So here it is! Love, Kristin and Ginger

Tonight Ginger and Kristin get a “break” from blogging to let some other people describe what our day was like. Ashley and Emily will be describing the new worksite that we went to today. It was humbling and overwhelming. Austin is the designated blogger for the Cherokee Valley House while Marilee and Megan are going to explain the progress at the Robbie Lane House. Tyler is going to dictate his blog post to Ginger because he smashed his finger today. Not bad enough to bandage it but bad enough for it to be uncomfortable to type.

Austin about Cherokee Valley House

The entire team with the home owners (Jay and Sarah) and Sarah's Mother (Gail)

Well today we split up into two teams. One team worked inside hammering nails into brackets that were not completely hammered in yet while another team prepared the outside for siding which we will most likely do tomorrow. We got a surprise visit from the homeowners also, Sarah and Jay. I was told that they were a young couple, which makes me think 25 to 30ish years old, while in fact they were 21. Jay walked around and helped Tyler hammer some of the nails in and pick up debris around the property. Sarah brought their new puppy dog and talked with us while we were on break. We wrapped up the day with some cleanup around the house. Meeting the new home owners was very motivational; we got to see who we were building for.

Megan and Marilee about Robbie Lane House

Doesn't Marilee look so excited to be snipping vinyl siding!

Today Ron, Mike J, Daniel, Marilee and I (Megan) worked on soffits and siding on the Robbie Lane House. We had almost finished the soffits yesterday so we just had to finish up measuring (usually 11 3/8 inches), cutting, and nailing the soffits to the corner of the roof [remember, measure twice, cut once!]. While waiting for more soffits to be delivered, we helped put some siding on the front of the house. It went smoothly and we even got the siding cut correctly around the window (thanks to Marilee). Once we were about 2/3 up the wall we realized that the siding was not straight with the other walls so we had to take it down and straighten it up- we never realized how perfect a house must be! :) Overall, we had a good day measuring, cutting, nailing, and repeating the process! And now for Marilee’s work lessons:

1. Make the house perfect- everything must line up!

2. Many, many things must happen before a house can be completely finished

3. Use the orange snippers!

Ashley and Emily on the “Putrid Pond”

Cleaning up at the "Putrid Pond"

Today a part of our team went to a pond that had gathered debris from the tornado two months ago. Truthfully we didn’t know what to expect, but once we saw the massive mess our mouths were wide open. As we started to clean the mess, we noticed some items that really touched our hearts. We found a baby’s first ornament, lots of ripped clothes, and pictures ruined by water. When we arrived we said to Hannah (the intern at Grace, who takes great care of us) that if she or anyone else sees a snake, to scream. We didn’t see any snakes. Darn! But we found a mother mouse with five babies and they ran into a nearby bush. The one thing that was very nice to accompany us was the putrid smell of the pond that was black and infested with bugs and some rotten food. We all stayed away from the water! We successfully filled two truckloads with trash but those hours of work we put in didn’t even make a dent in the look of the mess. With more hard work and God’s wonderful strength, we can definitely do it!

The momma mouse and babies that were found at the pond

Tyler on VBS at Fort Mountain State Park

Hiking through Fort Mountain State Park

Firstly, the definition of geocaching: Using GPS coordinates to locate hidden boxes. Generally there is something inside for you to take out, and sometimes you are supposed to put something back.

We split up into four groups, and the first half went off to look for the geocache puzzles. Our team (the youngest group), and the next oldest group, stayed behind and snacked. After 10 minutes the two groups that stayed behind started the hike. We found five geocache tins that had been hidden around the trail, and took the puzzle pieces out to make a cross. We then tied it all together telling the kids that Jesus is the great navigator. No matter where we are, we can’t hide from Him. During the hike there was also a fast approaching thunderstorm, but it didn’t actually rain. It was nice, because there was then a nice breeze and the temperature dropped. The kids were also pretty excited, because some had not been to this park before, and were really amazed by the view. After the team arrived back at Dalton, Ron noticed that all of the GPS’s were missing. He went back to the park because he realized that he had accidently thrown them away when he was doing trash. Luckily all GPS’s were found and are now accounted for!

Also, we would all like to wish Kelsey a happy birthday!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA6qDRsEEwE&feature=youtube_gdata_player