Gratitude

That's my brother-in-law, Jeremy.  He's a carpenter, handy man, and all-around good guy.  He came up for a week and helped Aaron out with the beginning stages of our massive project.  Then he went away to Africa for almost two months to check out a possible location for he and my sister to serve as missionaries.  When he got back to the States, he got started doing some remodeling jobs he had lined up.

Then, one day he happened to notice that our remodeling project was not progressing very speedily and he started showing up at our house to help out.  I should mention that he's a pretty busy guy who lives more than an hour away.  And it isn't like he was just sitting around his home, twiddling his thumbs and thinking deep thoughts.  He's a generally pretty well booked (I saw his calendar).  But, he showed up anyway.

Suddenly, the drywall was getting finished, walls were primed and wood trim started appearing.  Not only did he work like a mad man inside, but to "take a break" he raked the front yard.  He even made time to have a nephew-uncle outing.  God really blessed us with this addition to the "Schouten Inlaw Society."

Thanks so much Jeremy!  Not only did you get a lot of work done yourself, you also gave us new energy for the final stage of this project.  I'm thinking of naming that closet the "Jeremy B. Memorial Closet" in your honor, as a perpetual reminder of how much we owe you (and a few other people, too).