New Orleans, Day 8

Dear Em,

Today we did more texturing of the walls. We did a bathroom, a hallway, a closet and a bit more. We also painted a some of the rooms with primer. (Primer is a paint that you put down to make the walls easier to paint with another color. When Carmelite and her family move in, they'll get to choose what color to paint the rooms themselves.)

As I was driving to the house this morning, I saw someone in the road that looked familiar. As we got closer, I realized it was Herb, Carmelite's husband! He was working in the neighborhood of the church where we are staying. I think he pours concrete for a living -- that's hard work.

Here's a picture of me showing why you need to be careful with the texture mix -- my beard is already gray enough!



(That's Grandma's leg in the background.)

Tomorrow is our last day working for the St. Bernard Project. They are a great organization and have been recognized by some national TV stations. If you have time, you can read about Liz at the CNN website:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/05/08/heroes.mccartney/index.html

She spent 45 minutes with us this afternoon answering our questions and telling us about her experiences. She (and her boyfriend Zack) are amazing people.

Thanks for the ideas of presents to buy Dakota. Tomorrow at lunchtime, Grandma and I will try to go shopping and see what we can find. We'll see if we can find a good ditch digger or doll house.

I was glad to hear about you practicing with your new bike with Grandpa today.

I miss you so much and can't wait for a big hug.

I Love You!
-Dad