Each week when we arrive for church and when we leave, I wave at a gentleman in our nursing-home church from outside the building through the window of his room. He is always there waiting for me to wave at him. Sunday, his wife told me that after we had left church last week for home, this elderly man with Alzheimers, told his wife I had forgotten to wave goodbye to him. Hmmm. Now who has the problem with memory?

God is so good. After we arrived home, I wanted to get Uriah in for some more maintenance because I’m trying to get him up to the level he needs to be. He was having major cooling system work done and required a new radiator, water pump, and miscellaneous things. After the work was completed I was told how much it cost, which I felt was very reasonable. Still I asked if there had been any adjustment on the price and he laughed. He said, “Well, I’ll tell you. He cut the price by over half.” That was a considerable amount of money, and they did that on their own. Well actually, there is no doubt in my mind the Lord Jesus was the One Who was working in their hearts. The girls quickly baked some fresh cookies, wrapped each one in plastic wrap, and we put them in a basket with million dollar bill tracts so that we had a nice thank you for the workers when we picked up Uriah. Isn’t God good?

In Christ Jesus, Steve

Still waiting .

Nathan

Melanie and I are a good way through a nice Sunday. We don’t normally “do business” on Sundays however with this being Mother’s Day and my desire to make Sundays in general, and this one specifically, special, she had Mexican (her choice) carryout for lunch. I ordered from a new semi-fast, authentic place that “had the best fajitas in Kansas City” the order taker said (not quite). But, Melanie liked her tacos and thanked me for having them go light on the cilantro!

We’re reading a George Muller biography together. We’ve just gotten to the part where he’s saved and committed himself as a missionary. We’re desiring to learn about prayer through this and looking forward to being challenged by his life.

Its funny, the cleaning crew very carefully cleans the tv each day. We’ve laughed about how that’s one thing we’d never know if it were grimy or not. We’ve wondered how many other rooms here don’t have the constant noise and filth spewing forth - probably not very many. For us, that’s a result of our commitment to “come out and be ye separate.” Sadly, weekend nights are movie nights for most in the US- including Christians. I wonder if people driving by your house (or walking past your room as in our case ) will see the flash and glow of a TV or the lack of all that that comes from a family spending quality time together in the Bible. What light/Light is shining in your home?

Nathan

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13). 

Waiting.

Waiting.

Time goes by.

Resting in our Savior,
All the Maxwells

Another night has passed. The more time goes by the more we realize we don’t fit the “norm.” Water breaks, we get to the hospital and the hard contractions stop. So, we’re waiting, and waiting. Time is now measured in days as opposed to weeks. We’re grateful the dr’s are willing to monitor and let Melanie’s body, along with BabyMax, signal when its time for real labor.

It’s funny, we had just started to let ourselves make plans for more than a day or two out. We have each of our siblings over for a birthday dinner after their birthdays (sometimes months after due to schedules). My sister Sarah’s dinner was to be last night. That didn’t happen. The funny thing is that Melanie’s sister Anna’s dinner was to be the evening of our first hospitalization. Maybe we should quit planning these birthday dinners…

We read Psalm 27 and 34 last night. We love the word picture of the Angel of God encamping around those who fear Him. This is what we’re praying for BabyMax. Psalm 27 has the challenge to seek the face of our Lord, not on our own initiative but as a directive from Him. It concludes with “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Nathan

Melanie’s water broke early this morning but hard labor hasn’t followed. We are back at the hospital. Once again we have no idea when anything will happen, but for now things are relatively quiet. Dr’s are content to watch/wait. At this point Baby will probably come sooner rather than later but that’s all we know.

Thank you for your prayer support of BabyMax and Melanie. I remember picking up a book from a popular Christian author (I’ll leave the name out) at a book store 10+ years ago and flipping through it to see what it was about. One line stood out and stuck in my memory, something like “No, we can’t do that yet, the saints are not praying yet!” Driving in to the hospital this morning, that line was running through my head. It is a blessing to have prayer support!

Nathan

We received a call from Melanie about 4:30 a.m. saying that her water had broken, and they were in the car headed to the hospital. She said her contractions had definately picked up. She is at 33 weeks so they are back at the hospital where Susannah Joy was born. She would have had to be 34 weeks to go to the hospital they were planning to deliver at. The good news is that they are familiar with the hospital and staff. The difficult part, in addition to it being so early for this baby to be born, is that this is the exact week in pregnancy that Susannah Joy was born. Thank you for your continued prayers. We will update as we have news.

In Christ Jesus, Steve and Teri

Still Resting 

I’m a bit late on a post - sorry! Things continue to be pretty quiet, still at home and still waiting. We are noticing an increase in contractions, whether that is regular pregnancy progression or other things we don’t know. But, Melanie is now almost to week 33 - something we’re very grateful for.

We continue to be so grateful for the prayer support. Here are some of the things we’re praying about:

• Baby’s protection, both physically and spiritually, from any harm.
• Baby’s strength- we’re asking that whenever Baby Max shows up, that he/she is ready for life and doesn’t need medical support/assistance. When Melanie was hospitalized, one of our nurses, who previously took care of Melanie when she carried Susannah, said, “I just know you’re going to take this baby home.” Her comment about taking this baby home caught us off guard. But, we realized that is what this is all about, giving Baby Max as much time to get strong as possible because we want to take this little one home and raise/care for him/her.
• Labor/Delivery - that both Melanie and Baby would come through it fine. Melanie can be a little apprehensive after a traumatic birth with Susannah and the strength/stamina loss due to weeks of bedrest.
• Hospital Arrival - that Baby Max gives us enough heads up on his/her arrival to make it to a hospital.

Nathan

Nathan and Melanie and BabyMax

We praise the Lord for another week that Baby Max has not come. We are extremely grateful for the prayers: truly, our Heavenly Father is so gracious.

Joseph and John have been working hard to build the deck for the new house while the weather is cool. There definitely were some challenges they faced, but they persevered, and after a week and a half, the deck is in the final stages. The building inspector came out, and he was quite complimentary of their work.

As some may have heard, severe storms affected the Midwest Thursday evening. Around 1:45 a.m. Friday morning, we were awakened by and watched the violent downpour, ferocious wind, and constant lightning. We were surprised that the tornado sirens didn’t go off, since there were several tornados in north Kansas City.

May each of us look to our Lord Jesus this coming week and be filled with His joy. “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Only for Jesus,
Sarah for the rest

The good news is that we have little new to report. That is a blessing - bed-rest is continuing, Melanie is being a good sport, and days are passing. It’s great having my family back. They returned right as Melanie’s family came down with illnesses. We enjoyed having different members of my family “pop” over for brief visits today. Anna and Mary worked on weeding some of our front flower beds, Dad looked at a trim issue I was having around my door, Mom was over a number of times and on one of her visits put together our lunch for tomorrow, Sarah was over this morning - don’t remember why, the guys stopped by to say hi as they came and went - it was very nice.

To make this post more interesting, I thought I’d post some pictures from our time at the hospital.

Nathan

Pictures from when Melanie spent 2 weeks in the hospital

Melanie opening a small gift from a friend.

One of our cups in the foreground, with Melanie reading e-mail in the background.

Nathan in hospital room. Air-mattress in background.

Fixing wet hair. Showers were something to look forward to at the hospital.

Hospital bedrest.

The past two days have been spent settling back into life at home and working at catching up on things.

There is always a lot of mail to sort through, and the below picture doesn’t show all that we had (not to mention what we had sent to us on the road - thanks G&G ).

Sunday night, below, you’ll see some of the family happily chatting with Grandad and Grandma (and some were happily chatting with Nathan and Melanie over at their house!).

Honey was glad to have us home. Grandad and Grandma took good care of her. Mary was organizing book table tubs Monday, and Honey laid down amidst the mess.

It was quite a major task to unload the bus: and thank you to John, Anna, Jesse, and Mary who spent time unloading it!

Lawns to be mowed…

Green grass and beautiful flowers were almost surreal after seeing brown so long!

A VERY big thank you to Anna for taking most of these photos! Plus, she is our “behind the scenes” girl who picks out pictures for each blog post, works on them to make them the correct size and resolution. She is a blessing: thanks, Annie!

Sarah for the rest

My last few posts have been rather heavy so it’s a relief to have some happier news to report this time. After a routine ultra-sound on Friday, the doctor turned to Melanie and asked, “Want to go home?” Melanie was caught totally off guard and managed to say, “Yes.” The Dr. then smiled and said, “Get out of here!” So, we’re home! Mid-way through 30 weeks and home!

The longer version of this is that ever since Melanie was permanently hospitalized, we knew that 34 weeks was the earliest they would consider releasing her. Yes, she could have left anytime (we were told it wasn’t a prison , but the pregnancy was fragile and we trusted our Dr’s opinions. If they felt it was dangerous for her to leave the hospital, we were committed to honoring that. However, we also prayed. We prayed that if God wanted us else-where, that He would impress that on the Dr’s hearts, and that they would be the ones to tell us that - without us asking! So, when the Dr. asked Melanie if she wanted to leave, we saw it as God’s clear direction.

So, Melanie’s mom packed up the hospital room in record time, and they waited and waited for me to finish work. It was only about 1.5 hours, but it seemed like forever to my wife, sitting now unnecessarily in a hospital room.

I got her home and we both rejoiced at God’s leading. To be honest, it was a little scary. The pregnancy is still fragile, the future unknown, and there are plenty of “what-ifs” hanging around. However, we have confidence in God’s direction and felt we could do nothing but follow it. So, whether we’re home for 2 days or 2 months, we’re going to enjoy what time we do have. Little things like being able to walk around in one’s socks and having a refrigerator that you can put things in - there are many blessings related to being home! The staff at the hospital was wonderful, but being able to sleep past 6:00 a.m. without someone coming in was great!

We continue to covet prayer support for this little life. We’re praying that whenever Baby does come, that he/she wouldn’t need significant medical care. We’re also praying for Baby’s protection from anything physically or spiritually that might harm him/her. There are many other concerns/burdens that we have, but these are the key ones!

Nathan

I could have titled this post “no news is good news” but I’m kinda attached to the “BabyMax dot” format.   I guess my IT background sneaks in.

Melanie is still in the hospital but no baby has arrived. We are so grateful for God’s working. Back at week 26 it didn’t seem possible that we’d ever make it to 28 weeks, let alone part way through 29.

Melanie’s care has changed to more of long term ob. We’re praying that she will be released and not have to stay here till Baby comes. But, we also want what is best for this child and are seeking Gods direction.

There are a lot of inconveniences associated with this hospital stay. But they pale in comparison with the benefit we believe this child is getting from these added weeks in the womb.

Praises:

• That Baby seems to be doing well. Monitors show a great heart rate and lots of movement.
• That Melanie continues to have a positive outlook and be accepting of her bedrest.
• That Melanie’s family continues to be available to help with keeping her company during the day.
• That baby’s position has changed to one that is much more conducive to birth! This is a direct answer to prayer!

Prayer:

• For Baby’s health, strength, and sustaining.
• That the contractions she has off and on will be more of the off than the on, and that they won’t progress labor.

In closing, thank you for your comments of encouragement and prayer support. We love this child and greatly desire the chance to raise and nurture him/her. We are working to give our fears to Jesus and trust Him. These days are not dark and scary, we’re content where He has us and looking to Him for daily direction.

Nathan, Melanie, and BabyMax

Our hearts are overflowing after spending the last week with our brothers and sisters in the Lord in Cleardale, Alberta. This area is so remote that there isn’t even a hotel in Cleardale. We arrived there a week ago Thursday evening. We soon had a slight problem, though. Uriah’s tires were hot when we pulled in, and he settled too nicely into the snow-packed parking area at the family’s house we were staying at. So, Friday morning, we needed to move him, and the wheels were in a very icy depression, allowing free spinning of the wheels .

There were discussions about how to get Uriah out, including maybe using a powerful tractor. Dad decided to give it a little try first before using other options. After it was obvious Uriah wasn’t going any where, the mom of the family showed up on the porch with a bucketful of week-old ashes from the wood stove and suggested putting a few of these against the wheels. Hmmm. This was a new idea (we Kansas hicks have had no experience with using ashes to get a vehicle unstuck). Dad tried it, and Uriah was free! As we were about to leave for the conference to begin set up, a father in the fellowship had showed up. We had been hearing a slight strange noise ever since we’d been in Colorado. As Dad backed up, he asked the father to see if he could figure out what it was. He found that we had a large crack in one of the wheel rims! We decided to go to Hines Creek, where the conference would be held, and go directly to a place that was likely to have that rim. We’ll make a long story short, but even in a small town where we were at, the Lord provided the exact rim we needed. We are so grateful!!!

(Working on changing out the rim Friday afternoon.)

We’ve never spoken at a conference where hearts were so hungry for the message. The large hall was packed. We were shocked at the size of the group considering the remoteness of the area. Just one week before the conference, the school that had been contracted with to use their facilities, cancelled. The coordinator found a location which was only available that one weekend. Praise the Lord for HIS provision. As registrations continued coming in at the last moment, it became apparent we never would have fit in the school. Our hearts were awed by what Jesus was doing during the weekend! Quite a few families drove up to five and six hours to come to the conference.

(A view from a walkway on Friday evening.)

Sunday we had an incredible day of fellowship with other believers. The singing, preaching, and testimonies were a time of refreshment.

Over and over again, these precious people ministered to us this week. We stayed at one family’s home who graciously provided many meals for us and gave up a portion of their home and even let us use their vehicle as we needed. May Jesus repay you all for your kindness to our family. As we drove away from Cleardale, our route took us near the coordinator’s family’s house. Imagine our surprise at what we saw below in the picture .

We are down to about a week and a half left of the trip. We are grateful for your prayers for our traveling and the conferences we’re doing. Please continue to lift up Nathan, Melanie, and Baby Max.

Serving Jesus,
Sarah for the rest

Below are some pictures taken last week as we drove up to Cleardale.

Mini-exercise time!

Beautiful mountain range we saw last Thursday driving up to Cleardale.

We stopped at a rest area, and I took this picture of Uriah.

Jesse, John, and Joseph are standing on about a 4 foot bank of snow!

Wow! We had never been on a 10% grade before .

The last blog post was delayed due to my family’s travels. Not much has changed. We continue to seek to discern God’s will for the many decisions. Melanie is permanently in the hospital, until the situation changes or baby comes. We’re praying for some of the pre-term labor to reverse itself. We’re also praying that Baby’s position will change so that if labor does ensue, a natural child-birth will be allowed. And lastly, if labor does kick in, based on Baby’s current position, we’re at a very high risk for some cord issues/complications.

I know all this sounds complicated and it is. We have committed this child to the Lord and are crying out for Baby’s protection and sustenance. There are no signs that baby is in any way struggling, for that we are grateful. It’s just the parents that get a little weary.
 
We do sense God’s blessing and directing in a number of areas. A small example… for some reason, Melanie prayed on Sunday that I wouldn’t have to buy dinner. I’d not complained about purchasing dinner, in fact a few days before I had commented to her about how reasonable the hospital cafeteria was. As I was leaving the room to head down to the cafeteria the nurse met me in the hallway with an extra tray of food. Melanie was thrilled to see me walk back in, followed by the nurse with the tray of food. She also enjoyed the fact that we both had the same salad, and since I had just encouraged her to eat hers, she got to suggest I not skip mine. I didn’t even know she had prayed.

The Lord also blessed the nursing home service Sunday. There have been a number of things we have experienced with this pro-longed hospital stay that allowed me to relate to the residents better. I desire to share from my heart with them when I preach and common/shared experiences help that.

God continues to bless in allowing Melanie’s spirits to remain up. Despite the uncertainty over the future, she remains cheerful. And, she’s enjoying the time with Baby Max, who tends to be an active little guy/gal. Her family is providing great support, even allowing me to keep up with my work.
 
We continue to be grateful for your prayer support. God is in control always, but situations like this make that fact very clear.
 
Nathan

Melanie’s preterm labor has progressed so we’ve spent another night in the hospital for observation. She will either spend a number of more days as an inpatient or be released to a nearby hotel. Doctors aren’t comfortable with us being 45-60 minutes from the hospital when baby could come very quickly.

(We weren’t able to post this yesterday, the 31st. We’ll be updating on our Bend conference later.)  

We moved to The Dalles, Oregon, on Friday for the weekend conference. We seem to be taking winter weather with us as we travel. The beautiful views were obscured by low-hanging clouds, but as we neared The Dalles, we could catch glimpses of the Columbia River and the hills surrounding it.

Despite light snow on Friday evening, there was a good-sized group in attendance. We felt the reception to the conference was positive. Many shared with us the challenge the Lord was giving to them and their renewed vision of seeking His direction for their family – as a family.

After the conference, we loaded up, ate dinner, and drove to Redmond, Oregon, where we will stay until Tuesday morning after the Bend, Oregon, conference. It was a challenging drive because of how tired Steve was, many hairpin turns, and most of the trip being up and down hill. In the van that wouldn’t have been so difficult, but with the bus Steve has to be cautious not to overheat the brakes so the downhill miles are slow and tedious.

Our Bend, Oregon, host family graciously invited us to stay in their grandparents’ mobile home, which is next to their house, because the grandparents chose to visit other family members – just so we can stay there. We are very grateful for the housing, food, and fellowship provided our family while we are in Redmond.

We are praying for our evening conference tonight and the one tomorrow. We always look forward to meeting any of you who are able to join us for a conference. Please be sure to introduce yourself to us.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

Little girl getting a drink of water.

Tight turns going from The Dalles to Bend.

Just a quick BabyMax update. Melanie is being a great sport with her bedrest. Her family is over daily to keep her company and assist with household tasks. We miss my family but are grateful hers is close. The Lord is also faithfully providing help for our nursing home services, this is a huge blessing.

Melanie still has contractions off and on. We’ve had some moments of concern where we’ve wondered if a trip to the hospital was in our immediate future. Ultimately, only God knows when this child will come. We are grateful for each day that passes and praying that baby stays put for … a week, five weeks, 13 weeks.

Thank you all for your prayer support. It is very comforting to know that this child’s well-being is constantly before our Father’s throne.

Nathan, Melanie and Baby Max
Psalm 77

Just a quick post to say we arrived safely here in Steamboat Springs–praise the Lord!

Sarah for the rest

We are now on the road, several days earlier than was the original plan. Dad decided last week that it would be good if we could leave today, instead of Sunday. We are going to stop in Steamboat Springs, CO for a little over a day to have some electrical things installed as an initial step as we work toward converting Uriah. It was a perfect stop on our way out to Idaho, so we’re grateful that the Lord opened up a way.

(We missed Nathan and Melanie today during our prayer time. They waved at us from their window.)

Thank you for your prayers for Nathan, Melanie, and Baby Max. Your prayers and notes are extremely encouraging to all of us. For those who are wondering, yes, Melanie is on bed rest. She has such a sweet spirit. Melanie had originally planned to ship our Titus2 web orders while we were gone, like she has done in the past, but obviously the bed rest made that not possible. With very short notice, Grandma willingly agreed to ship orders for us this next month. Thank you, Grandma, for your help. Grandad and Grandma will be spending many hours taking care of the ministry and house while we are away. We are blessed.

We’ve had a few changes on Uriah for this trip. First, Dad decided to bring a refrigerator, so we no longer have to refill a cooler and repack it every few days. We’re careful not to have the door open very long, since it can’t be plugged in all the time until we get the batteries and invertor installed in Steamboat Springs tomorrow. Anna and Jesse spent many hours pulling wires for temporary lights for the bus. It’ll be a blessing to have light in the evening.

Dad installed a speedometer with an odometer, but he didn’t have enough time to be able to get it calibrated correctly. No problem, though. We used the small GPS unit to figure out the speed, and here’s a picture of how the speedometer currently looks. 

Dad is hoping he’ll be able to work on it at some point during the trip. Steamboat Springs is several hours past Denver in the mountains, so we would appreciate prayer for safety as we drive in tonight, and then that the work would go smoothly on Uriah tomorrow.

Serving Jesus,
Sarah for the rest

Uriah was mostly loaded last night, which was a blessing.

Thank you for every one’s prayers. Melanie was released from the hospital this afternoon. There has been no progression in labor and no internal changes. All this is an answer to prayer.

We’re amazed at how quickly life brings changes. Yesterday at 9:00 am we were enjoying the final moments of seeing our baby on what was to be the last ultra-sound of this pregnancy. At 9:05 the ultra-sound tech was telling us she was very concerned, a dr was coming in echoing those same sentiments, and a few moments later Melanie was being helped into a wheel-chair to be admitted to the hospital. This is of course a very simplified overview as there was alot of questions of the medical staff mixed with tears as we sought the Lord’s will with the new information/events. Our world so changed in 10 minutes. But, God is in control and wasn’t surprised by any of it. I kept thinking that I was crying out to Him who calmed the winds and waves, and that the winds and waves that were buffeting us still understood His voice and knew Who was in charge.

Specific prayer requests:

• Baby Max (just the nickname, we have no idea on the gender) needs to stay put. Goal is 34 weeks, we’re at 26.
• Dilation needs to not increase (we’re praying that it will decrease)
• Contractions need to be minimal and not show up very often
• We need to know when things do pick up when to go to the hospital. We have no desire to have a preemie delivered by paramedics.

Praises:

• That Melanie got to come home.
• That we were able to seek counsel of a number of key health-care providers that affirmed that Melanie going home was not taking unnecessary risks.
• That baby is very active and looked good on the ultra-sound

Nathan, Melanie, and Baby Max

Quick prayer request…. A routine ultrasound found that Melanie is dialated. She has been admitted to the hospital for observation and possible pre-term labor treatment. We covet your prayers. She is 26 weeks along.

Friday marks the one year anniversary of Susannah’s birth, here at the same hospital. That makes things a little more emotionally challenging.

Nathan, Melanie and Baby

Show me the staircase, that I have to climb, Lord,
for my sake, teach me to take, one day at a time….

Last Thursday evening, our family plus Nathan and Melanie, attended the funeral of another dear sister, Maggie. It was a Christ-honoring time of reflection on her sweet life. The next morning, we prepared to head for Salina, but not without some challenges.

We had the incredible privilege of being asked to provide the funeral service for our dear sister in Christ, Mrs. Laferre who had lived 95 years on this earth, and is now with her Lord Jesus. I had decided to rent a vehicle so we can be all together, since Uriah is getting some work done. I was told that no vans were available, but the car rental reserved a large SUV that would hold all 9 of us. Friday morning arrived, and as we got ready, they called me to say they didn’t have the vehicle. The agent drove to the airport in an attempt to retrieve one that would work. The end result was a very nice seven seat vehicle with no luggage room for the children’s instruments. We almost drove two cars but I wanted us to be together for the six hours we would be driving roundtrip and so we were a little more “together” than we had planned on. 

(Teri took this from the front of the vehicle.)

Throughout the funeral, Jesus Christ was shared, as that would have been Mrs. Laferre’s greatest desire and with the family’s consent, the plan of salvation was clearly presented. The children sang two of her favorite songs, One Day at a Time, and Just a Closer Walk with Thee, and one of her great-granddaughters also sang. It was a true bittersweet time.

In Christ Jesus,
Steve

Thank You sweet Jesus, for all that You’ve done
I placed my faith, in Your shed blood on Calvary’s tree
Your mercy was there, my sins You did bare
Sweet Jesus You taught, me to take
One day at a time.

(A verse written by someone in our family for the song, One Day At a Time.)

This past week, four of our dear friends from the nursing home, where we have our church, slipped into eternity. Three of them slipped away when we were gone this weekend. We are grateful that before the trip, Christopher, Sarah and Teri were able to sit with three of them, read Scripture, and pray for them. We know two were trusting in Jesus as their Savior, one we’re not sure of, and the other had rejected our Lord, although the gospel had been shared many times. Our prayer is that sometime on that person’s death bed, that as they heard yet again how to be saved, they repented and asked the Lord to be their Savior before it was too late.

Our family has been highly blessed by being asked to provide the funeral service for one. We will be driving three hours away for that service on Friday. We covet your prayers as we have been given permission to share the plan of salvation during the service. With death and eternity so fresh and on everyone’s minds there is no better time to share Jesus. May the Lord be glorified in all that is said and done.

In Christ Jesus,

Steve

We’ve continued to see the Lord’s faithfulness in our lives this past week. We are praying and preparing for the conference in Perryton, Texas next weekend. Nathan and Melanie are planning on going with us as well.
 
This week, we kept busy with normal life, school, and house projects. A big corner was turned: interior painting has begun! Joseph and John have been finishing up mudding. We still have much house work ahead of us, but it’s refreshing to see color on the walls.

May you have a blessed week.

Joyfully His,
Sarah

Mary and Honey .

Anna painting.

Dad preparing to paint another room.