While the physical development of the Avondale school drew heavily on Ellen White's time and strength through much of the year 1897, she was also involved in the home activities, in an outreach in coming to the aid of needy families in the community, and, of course, deeply engrossed in discharging her responsibilities as the messenger of the Lord. There was her writing for publication, and she was producing an almost constant stream of letters, many bearing messages of counsel or reproof. 4BIO 323.1
As noted earlier, W. C. White was in the United States on a tour of activity that, as it worked out, kept him from home until late October. We have noted that as the year 1897 opened, his wife, May, with the four children, Ella, Mabel, and the 8-month-old twins, had just moved from the convent where they had lived for some months, to Sunnyside, and were occupying the little “house” at the rear—the two-room washhouse and woodshed where the twins were born. It was not large enough; Ellen White's proposal to build on a kitchen and veranda turned out unfeasible, and several alternatives were considered. It was hoped that W. C. White could sell his Battle Creek home and build a cottage across the road from Sunnyside. 4BIO 323.2