Dear Kids,
      Nora and James got moved into their new house on Saturday, with lots of help from family and friends. Thanks so much to all of you! Now they have the fun job of unpacking boxes and putting things away. And changing what they don’t like, which can take years. (As in 5 years, like our cabin, which still isn’t done.) Yesterday I helped Nora take down lace curtains that the nice lady who lived there before seemed to love so much. But we left the ones on the front window, because the lady and her husband aren’t leaving on their mission for 6 more weeks, and they might drive by and see them gone. Nora’s so kind! I wouldn’t even think of that. Nora and James went to their new ward on Sunday, and it’s older than their last ward, with lots of teenagers, but only 6 kids in the nursery. (James asked them, “Is this the only nursery?”) Everybody made them feel welcome!
      Thanks to Al and Missy for the great Easter Picnic last Saturday! The food was good, and the Easter Egg hunt was a blast! Tom took lots of pictures, which he said he’d put up on Ackerson.org. There should be at least one good picture of Julie, Carson, their Easter eggs, and the mud puddle. It was classic. I’m already looking forward to next Easter, so hopefully somebody will volunteer their house and/or park. This definitely ought to become an annual tradition!
      I’m slowly adding pictures and blogs to the family sections of ackerson.org. So, if you have pictures you want the whole world to see, please send them to me! Or e-mail them. Or, I’ll choose the best ones from Tom’s gallery. I just uploaded some of John’s family, and I also put up a couple of new pictures from Sharon. And news–don’t you want the world to read your news? Please send me a paragraph or two about what your family is doing. People really do read this stuff.
      Something else you can give me: worn-out kids’ clothes you might otherwise send to the DI. I need stuff for the cabin, and I also want to have a couple of drawer-fulls here at our house. Kids are always needing emergency clothing. They sleep over unexpectedly. Or they fall in the mud, or pour punch down the front of themselves, or have accidents. Who knows. So, if you can, please save me your worn-out stuff. Anything is OK for an emergency.
      Sharon and Charlie are coming on May 31st, Yay! Seth is coming a week later. It will be fun to have them around for a few days, and, of course, we have to share them with the Thackers in Upalco. But I’m really looking forward to their visit. And Paul, you’ll be home about the same time! Yay again! We were so glad to hear your baptism went off so well! I can’t believe you’re coming home so soon!
      I’ve been trying to get our piano tuned, and who would have thought–I’ve been stood up or brushed off by four piano tuners! The fourth one was yesterday morning, and when I called him to see why he hadn’t come, he said he had to do an emergency tuning of a concert grand! Imagine that! I humbly asked if he had another time he could come, and we agreed on tomorrow. Who knows? But I’m desperate to have the piano tuned, because we’re having my spring piano recital here at our house. (They don’t let us use the Church any more, and the recital halls are all booked.) I only have 11 students, and three of them are McGettigans, and three more are Fultons, so there aren’t that many families. It think we can fit them all into our living room. It should be fun.
      I love you all! I pray for all of you every day! Mom