The Happy Couple

Paul and Melissa

Update April 22, 2009

Paul’s Bulkhead:

Paul has been on a couple more training cruises and is now in dry dock. He is catching on to his job but did commit one major faux pas. He washed and waxed the floor in his office on ship and made a sign stating “wet floor” and his chief read it and said that under no circumstance would he put that sign up. Paul forgot that there are no floors in the Navy. However you do have decks in the Navy. You also do not have walls, they are bulkheads. You do have some doors but you have more hatches. And there are no ceilings but you do have overheads. Navy speak…neat. He still likes the Navy and is having fun. But there is one bit of big news; Paul is engaged to be married, yes that’s right. And hold on to what you got, they have set a date. July 25, 2009. She is a very nice Christian girl; she lives with her parents in Spokane, Wa. Her name is Melissa Sessions. Although we are surprised, we are supporting their decision. We would like them to wait and get to know each other better but we are on the sidelines in both boys’ lives. Many questions come to mind as they face married life but at this point we look to God to help them and we find ourselves on our knees more and more.

We are hoping for some pictures of the happy couple soon so stay tune.

David & Elizabeth’s Cockpit

Let’s see, last time I told you that David & Elizabeth were expecting their first child. Well we have found out that the doctor says the baby is in fact a boy (we’ll see). I am sorry Elizabeth, I am from the old school and I’ll wait until the birth. Anyway, his name will be John Ray VanDyke. Even better news is that David will not be deployed so he will be with Elizabeth and John at the birth. God worked out the details. What a great God. The not so good news is that they will not be able to make it to Paul’s wedding. Elizabeth will be too far along and it would not be practical for her to try and get on an airplane and fly to Washington State.

They are getting the house ready for John’s arrival. David is building a deck on the back of the house, which is a bit rough because right now the poor guy is working 12 hour shifts.

Jane’s Classroom

We have been wondering if Jane was going to have a job next year due to all the budget cuts in the school system here. She has been told that she will have a job next year so that is good news. Her and her teacher work so well together and it would be a shame for them and the children if they could not be together.

Jane is in the process of painting the house. She started to paint during her spring break but things came up and she is still working on it. She is almost done; we just need to rent a long ladder for the back of the house. Believe it or not but I have a little roof repair job left over from hurricane Charley.
We went kayaking this last weekend, yes this is one of the things that get in the way of completing projects, and saw 4 dolphins. We love to go kayaking it is so relaxing after a tough week at work. It was extra special because we kayaked to a favorite restaurant. Too bad it was closed. We’ll have to go back again to have lunch, dockside!

Terry’s Cubicle

Well nothing has changed at work, for Terry, except that things continue to get worse. How is that possible? We continue to pray and know that God is in charge. Terry has used his new work shop to make some picture frames and fix a few things that Jane brings from school that are broke. Between that, kayaking and Jane, Terry is able to keep what is left of his sanity. Well, all that and God. What would any of us do with out God in our lives? By the way the big project that Terry was saddled with is done and they have two of the ride vehicles with the new lap bars in them and they are working fine. What a load off of Terry’s shoulders.

Summer in the City

The Anderson family is gathering the week of July 31 – August 7 to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Reuben and Mary Ann. We’ll have 19 coming in from Nebraska, Michigan, Washington and Missouri. The piano is tuned and ready for some hymn singing and there’s sure to be some story telling and slide shows. All we have to do is get the popcorn and the root beer floats ready.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers!

Here is a video someone out in Everett, WA. took as the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN 72 was returning to port after a 3 week of training cruise. Paul is on the ship and if you look real close you still can’t see him. He is, no doubt, deep in the bowels of the ship tending to his job.