Sackett Family Events
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Dressin' Up (Halloween)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Benjamin Wit Stover Sackett

Grandma Sackett arrived in the afternoon Friday and is spending time with Eliana this weekend. She has been a great help allowing us to be with Benjamin.
Sarah's sister, Rebecca (right), flew into Wichita in time to be present for the birth. She and our friend Becky Ullom (not pictured) were both wonderful coaches and support for Sarah at the time of delivery. Also, special thanks to Chris Stover-Brown and Natalie Moore for coming to our house at night/early morning while Eliana was sleeping so we could go to the hospital.
Eliana gets to hold baby brother for the first time.

Here's Ben a few minutes after being delivered. Sarah did a great job during the labor. There were no complications which allowed her to deliver 'naturally' without medications. The doctor and resident doctor commented how they wished they could have recorded the delivery to have as an example of a woman who is able to maintain control during the process without drugs.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Deserea's Graduation May 2009
Spring 2009
Jelly toast.
Cousin Molly and friend Lydia at the first softball game of season.
Unfortunately cousin Clara found some slick mud under the bleachers.

Eliana helping to fold the napkins while wearing Dad's clean socks.

Everyone in the block tub.

House Renovation Spring 2009
Eliana "hiding" in the study with big dog and little dog.Easter 2009
Spring Break, 2009

Labels: amelia, bryan, clara, cousins, eliana, elizabeth, franklin, jenny, little rock, molly, rebecca, sarah, spring break, sprngfield
Friday, January 30, 2009
House Progress, August 2008
Sam spent all weekend sawing a hole through one of our chimneys -- a layer of brick and a ceramic liner. This chimney used to service the coal-then-gas furnace. Now that we're using the heat pump we turned this shaft into an air return for the second floor. He accessed the chimney through a small cupboard above the linen closet.
Summer 2008
YoStover Reunion, Summer 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Mary Nell's Visit and Riverfest, May 2008
Wichita's annual "Riverfest" is going on now. Jenny and I took the girls down on a very windy day. Some of the activities were closed because of the wind, and we had to keep a tight hold on the stroller, lest they blow away. Here Eliana and Molly sit in a firetruck.
The highlight of the outing was the Wichita Children's Theater production of The Three Bears. Eliana loved baby bear, and I was impressed at how still she sat through the 30 minute show. This week she's been repeating "baby bow, baby bow." Perhaps she'll start a fan club?
DC Trip, April 2008
My dearest friend Nancy and I braved hoards of overexcited school children to take Eliana and Simona to the zoo. Here they are in the invertibrate building -- a favored spot for its tanks of water ("er!") and lack of crowds.
Sam and I took some photos of Eliana at Union Station. As you will see, the theme of the day was RUNNING.
"Where is your hair?"
More running.
Collins' Nebraska Visit
Fourth Annual Enid Stover Poetry Reciation Festival
The day was beautiful. Sam and I recited some of the nursury rhymes we know by heart (learned as bedtime stories).
The pictures are of 1) my Aunt Merrily, 2) my Papa, and 3)my sister Jenny with her two girls and Me-maw Ann; 4) Dad spent most of the afternoon followng Eliana around the park; 5 & 6) Cousin Amelia, hiker in training; 7) Sam with the cousins.


Eliana's New House
An "Eliana-sized" wheelbarrow at Grandma's house.
Wearing Daddy's tie in her favorite hiding corning in the dining room.
Learning about pockets!
Eating O's on a cold morning.
The day she learned to climb onto the counter - and found brownies.
"Little Orphan Eliana" - she loves to mop.

We've Moved (Again)!
Life is good, very good. Sam is settling into his work and I am enjoying being at home with Eliana and working on the house. You asked for pictures, so here they are – with a bit of commentary.
(Our House)We moved in mid-February, and had been hoping the ground would be frozen when we arrived so we could back the truck up on the lawn to the steps of the porch. The ground was not frozen, but to our amazement, the front sidewalk is wide enough to drive on! Loading the truck took parts of three days; unloading took two hours. We even moved the piano with only the help of Sam’s Dad and my sister. (!) This move had zero stairs, unlike our previous apartment moves.That first week was an adventure. It was cold, and the furnace did not do a good job heating the house. Most of the time I wore an undershirt, a long sleeved T, and two sweaters. Several days I turned the stove on for heat. But every day we’d find a storm window that was open or a door that wasn’t sealed, and things began to improve. The biggest change came when we found that the blower wasn’t able to work because it was completely blocked by a filter that hadn’t been cleaned in decades. So we pulled that filter out and wa-la! – blowing heat!
We had electrical work done first thing to bring our supply line up to modern standards. When the electricians turned the power back on they blew most of our light bulbs. They couldn’t figure out what was wrong (everything was getting too much power), so we spent that night at my sister’s. Fortunately it didn’t get cold enough that night to freeze any pipes, and the electricians came back the next morning and got the power on. (They’d never worked on a fuse box as old as ours, which is why they connected things wrong.)
Once it warmed up a bit we headed outside to clean up the yard. We (and several helpers) raked twenty-four bags of leaves in the front yard alone. We’re assuming it hadn’t been raked in a few years – at least I’m hoping we don’t get that many leaves on an annual basis.


(Jim, Katya and Eliana work the wheelbarrow while Gayle washes windows.)
Our house was built in 1920 and has quite a bit of deferred maintenance to catch up on, but we fell in love with the spacious rooms, the leaded glass and built-in cabinetry. We have plans for big renovations this calendar year: painting inside and out, new storm windows, replacing rusted gutters, installing heat pump and new ducts (removed asbestos covered ducts from basement), etc. Most recently we cleared about 180 pounds of dirt out of our gutters. (Yes, I used the bathroom scale to weigh the bags. I was curious.)



(A Hepa5 Kiss)


(Asbestos removal.)
Sam’s family has visited several weekends and has helped immensely, replacing cracked or missing window panes, watching Eliana while I work, and helping us finish our asbestos removal. Christy and Nathan loaned us their truck for several months, which was a huge help.

(Joey and cousin Molly demolish the dog house in the back yard.)

(Joey climbed one of the trees in back to down a broken limb - see the red speck?)


(Nathan and Sam cleaning the gutters.)

(Christy watched Eliana while we were on the roof.)
In the beginning I met with several contractors a week and put together the paperwork that goes along with our renovation (for state tax credits on improvements, for the historical society, for the city low-interest loan, etc.) I’m really enjoying being at home, taking care of Eliana, and researching options for the house.
We’ve met our immediate neighbors. The guy across the street hosts a Halloween event at his house that draws a thousand kids! My sister, who lives a block away, said they had 750 trick-or-treaters last year. Whew. And the house up the street has so many lights/decorations at Christmas that it has become a “must see” in Wichita during the Christmas season, with limos and cars lined up down the block.
I see my sister and her husband, Chris, frequently. We cover child care for each other on occasion. They'll be moving away for two years in fall 2009 so Chris can attend seminary. If anyone knows anyone who wants to rent their house for two years, let me know. ;) Seriously, we’d love some more good neighbors down the block.






















Trifle enthusiasm.
Trifle toasts.







Polishing brass and watching Seinfeld.







Finished. The same carpet is in the study.































