Visiting with Papa and a new room for the girls!

It's been a long time since we had a proper visit from just Papa, so we were especially excited when he agreed to spend a week here playing with the girls.   Aside from the normal grandparent things, we had a bunch of other plans for Papa, too.

We took full advantage of his handyman expertise, and set him to work on painting, fixing, and plumbing.  In addition to installing a new toilet and faucet and repairing a burst kitchen pipe (that the local plumber estimated it would cost $600 to fix), he also found time to paint the nursery with a skill and patience that only he possesses. 

In just a few days, he transformed the room from this 10+ year old drab, dirty mauve to a childhood play land complete with sunny yellow walls and a celery-green hillside that will soon be filled with "puppies, kitties, lambies, and maybe a giraffe" (per Elsie's request). 

Below is a little preview of the almost-finished room. It will be a few weeks before the rest of the mural is on the wall, but in the meantime the girls are thrilled with their bright and cheerful new room. And we have this guy to thank for it! Thanks so much, Dad!