We love Aunt Esther!

Well, today was Adik ("Little Brother")'s due date. No new news. We went to the hospital for a check up with the Dr. on call but he was in surgery, so we rescheduled for tomorrow.

I thought I'd try posting every day for those of you that are following this baby watch... and I'll try to write when we head to the hospital, if time permits.

But first I have another overdue tribute! (I had plan to write tributes to each family member who visited us last year, but we still have a couple to go). Esther, the middle sister of the three Burke girls, came to visit with mom last November. It's such a treat to have her back again!

Esther has to be one of the most giving, eager to serve, self sacrificial people I have ever known. I remember when I was a teenager and she was going on an overseas trip to Bulgaria... she convinced me to give her my guitar for a new church that surely must need a guitar for worship, and would use it much more than I was with my busy teenage life. So I reluctantly gave it away... like a good big sister, she eventually returned the gift with a better guitar (for me), and a new fellowship in Bulgaria got blessed with a guitar.

Esther's a splendid cook, in the great experimental Burke tradition. Here she's making a healthy batch of "yapples"-- sweet potatoes (the varieties here often are purple) sauteed with apples. Yum!

 

Esther enjoyed some firsts during her visit here with mom last year-- first time to climb our local peak (at over 13,000 feet, it is a healthy challenge), first time to eat durian, the SE Asian fruit which tastes a bit like a mix between garlic and cream cheese, and first time to watch a nephew learn to walk.

 

 

Yesterday, she went with some friends to visit another colleague and stay in a traditional long house (a community house on stilts). This week she hopes to take a quick course for certification in scuba diving... in between, of course, helping to bring another little Miller into the world and being an overall amazing encouragement to us all!