BAD DAY / GOOD WEEK

Destroying my old layout in preparation for our move was sad but not as bad as I expected. I saved the original 4’x8’ section, but the only remnants salvaged from the 5’x19’ addition were the hidden storage yards and the main Schuylkill Island Yard.

Well I am at the point where I need more switches for the new layout and the other 2 sections were taking up too much precious storage space in the house. So I decided to scrap them for the turnouts. The hidden Mystic Storage Yard was un-ballasted and yielded 8 switches and 14 pieces of reusable straight flex track.

Now for the sad part, it came time to deconstruct the Schuylkill Island yard. This was the signature portion of the old layout. It was 10’ long, 4+' wide, double ended, held more than 100 cars and was the focal point of the layout. (see http://www.allscalelayouts.com/R/Aspfiles/DetailPage.asp?Xfer_Code=20001280 ).

Taking this apart was heartbreaking, but I had no room for it in the new loft layout or storage space to keep it. I removed the river portions, scenery, and triple track mainline. In the end I decided to keep a 6’ (x3') single ended portion of it, to possibly be squeezed in as the yard on the new layout. It was still emotionally draining to chop up this portion.

On a higher note, this week’s activities also included a trip to the Camden County Courthouse for adoption proceedings. God had placed in my eldest son and his wife’s heart a yearning to show His love for other children (James 1:27) and they sought to possibly adopt 2 children with ages similar to those of their own 2 children. Consequently he and his wife became foster parents and showed patience and love for several groups of kids who had faced unbearable terror and hard times during their early childhood. Then one Christmas Child Services asked them to take in 3 kids just days before Christmas on an emergency basis. This they gladly did. The children became so engrained within their (and our) family and that they requested to adopt them (a 2 year process). The children also had an older sibling living in another foster home and not wanting to split the family apart they requested that he also join them. This week, they and 30-40 family and friends had the joy of traveling to the courthouse to finalize the adoption process. So the “B” Bunch family now includes our 4 kids, their spouses, and 12 grandchildren.

So my 1 sad day is swallowed up and overwhelmed into a great week!

Praise God for His love and continual blessings!