Busy... and then Busier...

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much. Things have been extremely busy around here! We have been painting our house (and chairs) and cleaning up around the property. Thankfully, with lots of help, we were able to finish painting the outside of the house before the weather turned cold.

Ellie's birthday is coming up - on Monday - and a bunch of family are coming to celebrate. John had wanted to climb one of the peaks in Glacier National Park on Ellie's birthday, and sprinkle some of her ashes from the top. Unfortunately, late September is very definitely fall around these parts, and most of the mountains are covered in snow. So, Monday will probably include a nice easy family hike instead.

Both John's and my families went together and contributed to getting a beautiful stone marker for Ellie. We had Ellie cremated, and buried half of her ashes with Loretta's cat, Pippin (Ellie's favorite cat, who had to be put down two days after Ellie died. Ellie was devastated by the thought, so we waited until after she died). The site is on a hill on the property between our house and Mike and Reni's, where Ethan, Ellie, and their friends used to play. It is in the hollow of the roots of a tree. They used to make that their "fort." When we buried Ellie and Pippin, we placed a pile of rocks over the grave, but now we will have a beautiful stone to commemorate Ellie's life. I will definitely get pictures for you!

Please forgive my sporadic postings of late, and over the next week or so. Things are about to get even busier around here! But I will try to get pictures of our house for you as soon as possible. I can't wait to show you the beautiful finished product!