Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Birthday Boy!


Today we celebrate the gift God gave us 10 years ago - Josiah William Erber! Happy Birthday, young man!!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Grandma Muligano & Aunt Clorinda visit!


We're so glad that Grandma Muligano came up from Florida and visited for a week. Here she is with Winston - her great-grandson!



Here's everyone on our back porch (which is still under construction).



It's August so, of course we had to husk some corn from a local farm. Yum.



Corrine peaking up at everyone.



Four generations!



Joanna gets a special violin lesson from her wonderful Aunt Clorinda.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Texas

Greetings from Plano, Texas! We are currently working at the NTHEN conference, but things are a little slow right now and we have a wireless connection, so... here's a quick update from the field!

We've been in Texas for 11 days now and have really had a very enjoyable time. For the most part. We left on August 7, intending to drive through the night and get to our destination (the Huber home) on the evening of August 8.



But just one quick hour down the road and Josh's suburban started shaking, and then smoking... After sitting on the side of the road for about 1/2 an hour, we made it to a gas station, where we spent the rest of the evening.



Three hours later, the guys had the vehicle in running order again, and we were able to restart our journey - at 10:30pm. Not the most exhilerating hour to start on a journey. But nonetheless, we made the rest of the trip safe and sound, and pulled into the Huber's driveway 24 hours later. Wednesday, August 9, was a day of shopping, set up and relaxation.



August 10-12, was the reason we were down there. Vision Forum's Entrepreneurial Bootcamp. Josh - with his right hand man, Luke - was there to record the conference, and, despite having an inexperienced crew and some last minute computer errors, all went well for Resounding Voice.



Across the street from the conference center was the McAllister building, wherein resides the Guadalajara Grill on the main level - and a quaint upper room, where Anna and I kept busy.



Having two meals a day ready for close to 90 staff and speakers was our responsibility, and with the help of Mr. & Mrs. Howell, and the chauffering service of Nikkae, we were able to do it.



Lots and lots of laughter and fun accompanies any adventure with this crew, and this trip has certainly not been an exception. Thanks to you all for the help and fun you brought to us!



After the conference we spent Sunday night through Thursday morning at the Huber home.



On Tuesday night the Zes family joined us, and Wednesday was a day spent out of doors!



A game of baseball - blondes vs. not blondes - played in the early afternoon Texas sun...


followed by a couple games of volleyball, then dinner, football...



some English country dancing, and funny movie clips filled the day and sent us to bed exhausted.


Now here in Plano, the conference is going well. We had our share of excitement yesterday with the police and paramedics showing up for two separate instances, and then a small fire broke out - but it was under control before the fire department had to be called... Right now the morning keynote session is being held and the rest of the sessions will start shortly and we'll hopefully be busy again soon! Tomorrow morning early should see us on the road headed home. We've had a great time here, but I don't think any of us will be sorry to be back home in Illinois!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Monday, August 07, 2006

Home and away...

The last few weeks at home have been quiet and refreshing! But, there are a few things of note that we really ought to mention here.

Despite being haunted by vehicle problems, Josh and crew did make it back home from the Arizona convention. (They took it to a mechanic in Phoenix who "found the problem" and replaced a part... which same part was retested after arriving home and works just fine. Go figure! Hey, at least they made it back!)

Last Monday, Nathan & Jeanine moved into their cute little apartment in Greendale, Wisconsin - just a couple doors down from one of their previous homes. Unfortunately, they choose one of the hotest days of the year to move, and their new apartment doesn't have AC! Everyone more or less survived the ordeal...

On Thursday night, we welcomed an honored guest to our home when Grandma Muligano flew into town! So far we have spent a delightful weekend together including visits with Nathan, Jeanine and children. On Wednesday of this coming week, Mom's older sister, our Aunt Clorinda, will be flying in from Maine and spending a couple of days with us here. Then on Friday morning, Grandma, Aunt Clorinda and Mom will be flying out to California for our cousin Anna's wedding. They are eagerly anticipating beautiful weather and a fun time with family in Santa Barbara this weekend!

Oh, I must be sure to mention one odd item of note. Yesterday morning a local farmer discovered that one of his cows had delivered a two-headed calf! It really truly has two heads and one body - we aren't making this up. Some of us went over to see it last night and did get a couple of pictures. The farmer thinks that if he had found the calf sooner, they might have been able to keep it alive...

Looking ahead, tonight Josh and I hit the road south for two conferences in Texas. We will be joined by Anna and Luke VonHolten and the Gould family (excepting Mr. Gould). The Goulds will be traveling down with us and attending Vision Forum's Entrepreneurial Bootcamp in San Antonio this weekend. Josh is recording said event, I'm in charge of the meals for the staff, and Luke and Anna have graciously agreed to help us! The following weekend, Josh, Luke, Anna, and I will head up to Dallas for a conference and then will head on home. However, as our estimated time of departure is only 5 short hours away, I think I'd better get back to work!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

We miss you!

Jeremy, Sara, Caroline & William are in Ohio. Jeremy has a job building a house two miles from Sara's parent's house. So, needless to say they've been in Ohio for a while and will be for some time. Ohio has been incredibly hot - 110 degrees! And they've experienced severe rain and flash floods... not ideal conditions for building. Jer, we're praying for you (for Sara & the kids, too)!