Handsome Bunch

#1 got a suit for the prom, but sadly had to wear it to a funeral first. Good thing he isn't a girl; prom dresses don't work well at funerals. We took the outdoor pix when we stopped by the other grandmother's to visit for a few minutes. She looked good that day, but her good days are getting farther apart from what I hear.

 It's a bit overexposed, but here we are all together. That doesn't happen often...dressed up and all in one picture. #2 got a suit at WalMart the day before we left. He was so proud to look like the other guys.

 Here are all of the men in the family...Grandfather, 2 sons, and 3 grandsons.

 Not to be outdone, the girls are just as good looking.

And we managed a full family portrait at the church after the funeral. Notice the young man in the back with all of the old geezers! No more front kiddie row for him.

Cold, Wet Noses

Sleeping comfortably in my own bed again I was awakened by the wet coldness of the dog's nose nudging my arm. The rain was just starting to sound on the metal roof. Kelly doesn't like the noise that the rain makes, and she often enters our room to be comforted. But it was 4 a.m. and I was tired from the recent travelling; I patted her and rolled over.
She was not to be ignored. She put her feet up on the side rail of the bed and nudged me again. A lack of response on my part sent her to the other side of the bed. Perhaps she would have more luck there.
As the rain became more intense and the thunder and lightning began she came back to my side of the bed. She needed to be near me in the midst of the storm. She pushed herself harder against the bedside and shook uncontrollably as I patted her side and head.
When the storm finally passed she went to the foot of the bed and plopped down under the fan thoroughly exhausted from all of the excitement. Sleep didn't come back to my tired eyes though. I began thinking about this silly dog afraid of rain.
I become frightened of the storms of life that I don't understand. God could try to explain the situation to me, but it would be like explaininng rain to a dog, incomprehensible. When the rain starts I draw nearer to Him, asking for comfort and reassurance. The louder the storm, the closer I snuggle, yearning to feel His hand on my shoulder.
Sometimes my dog finds herself in a brewing storm when I am not at home. She wanders into the neighborhood looking for an open garage or safe looking porch. When she finds one she ducks in and accepts the shelter she finds.
Many people behave the same way. The farther they are from God the more likely they are to seek some other refuge when they discover the storm is raging. But I dare say all people are like my dog after the storm. We all put a little distance between ourselves and God, find a comfortable spot under the fan, and return to normal.
Please, God, let me always be found in your bedroom nudging your arm with my frightened, wet nose. And thanks for not rolling over away from this dog.

Good-bye Grandma

Saturday was the last day of pain and suffering for Grandma S. My father-in-law's mother left for home that afternoon. She now sees more clearly, understands more deeply, and remembers more clearly. Home is a good place. That doesn't mean that she won't be missed here in the temporary home, but we know she is happier and healthier now than she has been in  a long, long time.

We will be traveling to WV tomorrow evening to attend the funeral. We have rearranged as much as we can and cancelled a few things as well. What was important a few days ago is but a whisper in the wind today.

Shopping with a Boy (Girl?)

I took #1 yesterday to pick up his suit. He and his father went last week to order it at a special shop here in town. He had to special order the suit since he is so tall and thin. It was my pleasure and privilege to go get the suit and have it fitted.
The owner that worked with us was very good about offering advice and hints. #1 has a 14 1/2 inch neck, but needs a 36 sleeve. They don't make those. Period. So instead of trying to special order a shirt, he suggested we get the right neck size and roll up the sleeves. #1 didn't like that idea. So we got a 15 1/2 neck and a 35 sleeve. He picked out a bright red shirt at my suggestion to try some color instead of a white shirt with the solid black suit.
Then he needed a tie. "I have a tie at home." It is a red tie; you can't wear a red tie with a red shirt.
He chose a bright white tie and a matching bow tie. He was unsure which kind he would like to wear.
I thought we were done. Then..."I'd like a hat." What !? Yes, he wants a felt fedora to go with the suit. Where is this coming from? This is the kid who wears t-shirts to everything! He spent his school days bare foot!! And now he wants a hat?! I accused him of being a girl.
So we drove all over town looking for the right hat that would A. look good and B. actually fit the super-sized head. We finally decided he will have to order one online.
When we got home he ran upstairs to show his brother what he had gotten. That was the solid, certain, no doubt about it sign that he was pleased with his outfit. Whoo hoo, it feels good!
Later in the evening he even asked if he could hang the suit in his closet instead of in the guest closet where we hang suits and coats. I guess he is growing up.

Mustard Seeds

Today is the National Day of Prayer. I have been searching for answers in my own prayers lately. I was asked last week to be on the board for the local childrens' community theater. I would like to be on the board, but I also know that this year of sort-of-high school has been taxing on me. Our family is already commited to so many things that take a lot of my time. We also need to bump up some of those commitments in the coming year, so the thought of adding another thing is slightly stressful.
I emailed some friends who are currently on the board and who also homeschool and asked them what the time committment is. The answer didn't look much worse than what I already do when #1 is involved in one of the plays, so my thought was yes I will go ahead and do it.
But I wanted to spend another day in prayer about it. Then I looked at my email this morning and saw that today is the National Day of Prayer. "Great. God will be too busy listening to all of those important prayers and won't be able to handle mine." Honestly that was my first thought.
I certainly know that my God is bigger than that, but it truly was my first thought. How can I possibly expect great things from God when I can't even expect little things? I hope I have the faith of a mustard seed.

Contentment

Day 11 and the cold mostly seems to be gone. Hip Hip Hooray!

Sunday's sermon was the last in  a series on money. This one was on being content. Contentment means different things to different people. For some, contentment is being happy with what you have, for others it is being happy with where you are. Our assignment for the week was to make a list of all of the things that we want and then burn the list. We were to think about all of the things that we don't have and compare them to all of the things that we do have. Then in the comparison we would realize that our lists needed to be burned.

We invited members to join us last night for a list burning party. We had a campfire in the pit and hot cider to quench the thirst. There were 8 of us that met to talk and share and then to burn the lists.

There were only 2 things on my list. I fall into the second category: those who aren't happy where they are. I am happy here in this town with these people, but I am always trying to prepare for the next thing. I always wonder what will be and when will it be. I have lost a lot of present time because I live in the future.

So my list was Answers and Time. I need to give those up to the fire. I need to be thankful for the time and place that I have right now, because as I have learned way too many times (maybe noticed would be better than learned) I lose precious memories by trying to plan ahead.

I guess I will go put those books for next year away now.

18!

One of our friends turned 18 yesterday. I saw her at SAMS with her mother. "Happy Birthday! So how does it feel to be 18?"
"I was just telling Mom all of the things I can do now that I am 18. I can call 800 numbers, be in a porn movie or pose for Playboy. Not that I would! But I can."
So last night we were over at her house to celebrate with some cake. "Tell your preacher friend here what you can do now that you are 18."
"I can buy a monkey, call 800 numbers, be sent to prison, walk into a club, get a tattoo..."
"Now tell him what you told me today!"
Isn't it funny that a preacher holds such a position in people's minds that you can't say some things to them that you say to other people? Preachers joke around, have fun, and enjoy being with other people too, but there is an aura that hangs around them in the minds of "lay people" whether the preacher put it there or not.
I think some people imagine God that way too. They can't tell God how they really feel about something because He wouldn't be able to take it. They can't speak to God because there is an aura around Him that keeps the "normal person" at arm's length.
What a shame. Just as a preacher wants to be friends with others and enjoy the same close friendship that others enjoy, so God wants a close relationship with His people. Try talking to Him today and see if He doesn't turn out to be your BFF.

When Average Is OK

Envirothon went really well. The weather was great, the kids well-behaved, and my judging experience beneficial. Besides that we came in tenth place in the state! AND we won first place in two of the categories!!! We placed first in Wildlife and Aquatics out of the whole state. That is amazing! I am very proud of my team.

When I got back home I checked my email and discovered #1's ACT results were in. He did very well. I had no idea what to expect; upon his return from the test he said he hoped he at least got a ten. He did well enough to get into many colleges, and is only a few points from getting into most colleges! He was pleased with his results, but assured me he isn't ready to leave for college just yet.

So in a family of above average kids, when is average ok? I'll tell you.

I was telling #2 that my cold will be gone in two more days. He asked how I know.
"The average cold lasts ten days and since mine started last Sunday it should be gone by then."
"But Mom," he replied, "you're above average, so you won't have an average cold!"
When it comes to colds I will take average...and lots of sleep.

A Week Gone By

I don't know how it happened but another week has gone by. Monday I took #2 to the doctor to get Prednisone for his horrible case of poison ivy. My extra kids were with us all day Monday and every afternoon afterward. We had testing in the mornings, so they couldn't be with us the entire day.

Testing went well. I had sixth grade to proctor and they were a nice bunch of kids. They took their medicine and enjoyed the snack breaks in between. #2 told me he was always done first, but that he was doing his best and it was just that easy. I hope so for his sake!

We have had some extreme weather lately. I am scheduled to help with dinner tomorrow night at the shelter, but as I will be out of town and so will everyone else that could possibly have helped, I took dinner this evening. I had to go between storms, but dinner arrived safely and I did as well.

The Prednisone has not "set well" with #2 and he spent a couple of nights vomiting. I came down with a cold this week that keeps choking me and making me lose my breath. Tomorrow we leave for Envirothon competition. I hope we are all feeling better by then! Wish us luck!!

Parents' Visit

We had a nice visit with my parents. Thursday they went to see the boys' art show and science fair. It was a culmination event of the school year. They really did a lot of neat art projects during the year, and it was great to see everyone's efforts. The science fair was good too. #1 chose to do his experiment on the myth that talking to your palnts actually helps them to grow. He decided that it was the CO2 that makes them grow when you talk to them, so he had one plant listen to the radio, and he breathed on the second plant but didn't talk. The results were what he predicted, though it wasn't a great difference in growth.
Friday we burned brush all day. The trees that have fallen over the last two years needed to be burned, and the weather was perfect for it. I was afraid that we were going to end up with snakes if we waited any longer, but the real problem turned out to be bees. A carpenter bee was laying eggs in some of the wood, but we burned it before the eggs hatched, so we were lucky. I started burning at 8 a.m. and at lunch time was still burning, so we had a weenie roast for lunch!
In the afternoon Dad and I butchered 4 roosters. They were tough old birds. I think I will have to be quicker to butcher this summer so that the meat isn't so tough. The egg laying business is still going well for #2, but now we only have to feed one rooster. That has to help some.
Speaking of #2...Poison Ivy!!!! Yep, he managed to get into it again. He spends most of the year with some poison breakout, but this is an exceptional case. He has it all over his feet and there are really big blisters and boils from it between his toes. I tried to take him to the doc yesterday but on Easter that was a vain attempt. So I took him this morning, and he has started his Prednisone. I keep wondering how such a good Envirothon student can get poison ivy so often.
Hubby is at the courthouse. He had to report for jury selection. Everywhere we have lived he has had to report. I don't know how he gets so lucky! I just finished up grades for my paying students, now I need to work on my non-paying students' grades.
Testing starts tomorrow and after competition over the weekend we will be done with school. YeeHaw!!!

An Ode to Summer

The boys had dentist visits yesterday and all is well. Then last evening #2 lost another tooth. He is a very slow tooth loser, as I have explained before, and so it is a glorious event when he loses one.

This is the last week of classes for me, and I just finished my last presentation. We have been studying poetry for 5 weeks now in Middle School. Tomorrow we will discuss the use of poetry in politics. I know that sounds strange, but poetry has been used for centuries to portray political beliefs.

Remember Ring Around the Rosy? It's about the Black Plague. Rock-a-Bye Baby? King John of England. The Lorax? Environmental Education. Yertle the Turtle? Hitler.

It should be a good class. And hopefully it will be a good summer too!

Blessings On Your Head

God is stunning. There is no way around that. No matter what happens He jumps in and takes care of things. Thank you to those who have been His Blessing Givers recently.

I enjoyed a day at home with my family yesterday. Those days are few and far between now. I know, I know. We homeschool, and I am a stay-at-home mom....BUT we rarely have a day that allows us to be home and uninterrupted. Actually yesterday wasn't quite that. I was a Call Girl for a while.

I had a chiropractor appointment and then planned to go to the store afterward. It has been weeks since I have gone to the market and the cupboards were getting bare. While I was at the store though I would have to call home and ask questions. What did we ever do before cell  phones? Anyway, after I got back we had movie night as a family and finished off the day in style.

Lunch was probably my favorite part of the day. The boys and I ate together. I was telling #1 that his grandparents asked if he wanted his suit for Easter Sunday. He laughed as hard as I did at that one! No he just needs it for prom. That brought #2 into the conversation.

"When I go to prom I think I will wear a dress. You know I look good in anything."

"I think you will change your mind when you are old enough to actually go to prom," I replied.

"Yeah. I'll probably wear a kilt. Show a little of my heritage."

"How did I get boys like you?"

"I didn't want a brother. I wanted a monkey," #1 declared.

"Well you got that! He certainly is a little monkey!"

"At least he doesn't throw his poop," said #1.

My parents have left for their Spring Break. They will be here in a few days. I have wanted so badly to get to WV and visit this semester, but with classes every Thursday, Envirothon every Friday, work on Wednesdays, and volunteer commitments at other times it just hasn't been feasible. It will be good to see them.
Classes end this Thursday with a science fair and art show. The Composition kids have a final, and I have one more poetry presentation to make for my middle schoolers. The following week is standardized testing and the Envirothon competition. Then school is OUT! Whoo Hoo!!
Would you believe with all of that excitement I have been working on next year's classes the past two weeks? It won't end for 5 more years.

I don't understand why I can't get paragraphs to show on my posts. It is very frustrating to this English teacher!

More FaceBook Drama

It's a stormy day here, or at least has the possibility of being stormy. We are watching tornado coverage right now, though none are in our county just yet. It has been stormy at the house anyway. The boys spent the night with a friend, and I FaceBooked #1 to say while you are over there, get the kids to help you change your FB profile picture. It was seconded by several other people. I have asked him several times to change the picture, but he hasn't appeared to do anything about it. The picture isn't horrible, but it also isn't great. It is dark and he has a hoodie pulled up. A friend a couple of years older than he posted a while back that he needs to change it because it gives the wrong impression. Still he didn't change it. So today when I went to pick him up I took his scrapbook. I asked the kids to look at it and choose a picture from his preschool days to post as his profile. Lo and behold he suddenly knew how to change the picture and had one in mind! Coming home he was very angry with me. He thought that was terribly mean and that no other parent would ever be that mean. He is sooooo naive. However, I am a happy, mean parent, because the picture is changed.

FaceBook Tells All

The comment that I should check FaceBook is correct. I actually found his blatant cookie eating on FB a couple of days ago. He knows I don't look at FB very often, so I guess he figured he was safe. Now I know what to do when I am gone. Yesterday was a bitter-sweet day here. I loved on #1 with lots of hugs and comments of how glad I am he is alive. It was one year ago that he had his bike wreck. Last night as I walked with my friend, we passed the area where the accident happened. It sent shivers down my spine to think what could have been. The Lord has blessed us greatly. #1 commented on FB yesterday that it was a year ago that day that he broke his head. A friend told me she saw his post. Maybe I better check more than Hubby's FB page.

I Was Right

For many years I have said that my husband must marry again if I die. My reason is that he will only eat meat and cookies and completely ignore healthy foods. After we had children, it became even more important to me that he remarry, because he will feed the children the same as himself. The day before I left last week, I bought some Little Debbie cakes for my high schoolers to celebrate the end of research papers. There was one Fudge Round left, and I brought it home for Hubby. When I returned from my trip, there was still the fudge round in the pantry. I was amazed by the self-control that lived in my house. Until! Later in the week #2 asked if he could have part of my oatmeal pie. I shared half of it with him while #1 broke out the fudge round. #2 looked at it longingly and said it would be nice to have a bite since he only had one out of the whole box. Whoa! Hold the train!! How could he have had one out of the box when he wasn't in the celebratory class and there was only one left? The grins were hard to hide, and they had to admit that their father had taken them to the store and let them pick out what they wanted. #2 had chosen salt and vinegar chips, while #1 had chosen a box of fudge rounds. But it doesn't end there. Oh NO! #1 tells me later, in the presence of his father no less, that his dad had said they had to eat the whole thing before I came home in order to cover their tracks! I might not be the one who dies first.

One Week Later

The dog has missed me. I was gone 5 days last week, and yesterday with so many things going on I was gone from 8 AM to 10:30 PM. So now she is following me from room to room making sure I don't get too far away. If the kids come to talk with me, she gets between us and tries to climb in my lap. She wants to know she is more important to me than they are. Tough luck, Old Girl. #1 takes the ACT tomorrow for the first time. I don't care much about his scores, my nervousness is from the fact that he has to go to the University to take it. He has actually been on campus many times, but for some reason this has me anxious. I guess it is the involvement of parking, identification, proper behaviors, etc. He has quite a few friends taking the exam as well, so hopefully he can find someone to pair up with and be a little more comfortable. Part of our running around yesterday was for #2. He was asked to gather some friends to help babysit for a couponing class. The mothers would donate money to him and he will use it for Heifer International. He raised $36 and decided that he has a new business plan: Babysitting! Yeah, I wouldn't leave kids alone with him. He had some good helpers or else I would have stayed by his side the whole night. We are having some house repairs made this week. One major repair wasn't actually the house, but the shed. The roof has been leaking and the floor rotted. So it has been fixed now, and Hubby and I went out to look at it. The worker had the radio on and a slow song came on. We danced through the whole song on the new floor. It was wonderful. I love my husband! And the floor held up, too!

A Widowed Drake

I drove to Panera this evening for dinner. I spent the whole afternoon locked in my hotel room trying to complete work for school, and I thought I would get out a bit for a bowl of soup and a sandwich. It took me quite a while to get to the restaurant, that on my return trip I discovered was only 2 minutes away. As I pulled into the parking lot I saw a mound of something in the roadway. I continued pulling forward and realized it was a Mallard drake standing next to the body of a hen. A car must have backed over his mate, and he stood sentry, waiting for her to join him on their evening walk. Some people stopped and tried to help the new widower, but he didn't move from her side. It was sad. This trip that I am on is a yearly excursion. Last year when I returned, Hubby had already left for WV to attend a conference. When I returned home I took the boys on a bike ride. Yeah. That bike ride. It's been nearly a year...April 11, 2010...I feel for that drake standing guard over his love. It is a sickening, gut-wrenching fear. Time forever told by the hands of one clock.

Animals?

I am sitting in the hotel room listening to kids run through the hallway. It sounds like they are heading to the pool on the first floor. They sound so happy and excited, like a pack of river otters heading off to the slippery bank. I was reminded on Friday of how closely humans resemble animals. Their behaviors are the same as ours; they are just trying to feed and care for their young, doing their best to survive. They bare their teeth and threaten us, but only to protect the things they hold dear...family, food, water, habitat. Just as many thousands of people have discovered recently in Japan, when life boils down to the necessities, you will do what you need to to make sure you survive. There are some things that humans need that not all animals need: love, acceptance. However, there is one thing that animals do not need, that all humans do, forgiveness. Sometimes it is hard to forgive when those basic needs have been messed with. We blame others, we blame the world, we blame God. But blaming God makes it difficult to accept the ultimate gift- forgiveness. The needs of this world are not the needs of the eternal home, and that is hard to remember as we bare our teeth and charge.

Judging

I am halfway through my time of project book judging. So far I have helped with the 9-10 year old, 11-12 year old, and 13-15 year old Citizenship and Community Service. Tomorrow we will complete it with the 16-18 year old category. Some of these kids are amazing. Last night I didn't have any free time. Tonight I have a few hours. Tomorrow hopefully I will have several hours. Tonight I am working on school work...gotta make a test for my Composition students. Tomorrow I plan to do some writing. Hopefully it will be more interesting than this post! I did get to go walking in the arboretum today during the lunch break. A bride was getting her portraits made. She was beautiful, but she had to have been cold in the dress. Later I saw she was barefoot. That weather is coming Monday. WooHoo!

Sun or Rain?

The rain is falling in torrents broken only by momentary pauses for a regrouping of raindrops. I attended a workshop today about amphibians. Who knew there was so much to learn about the little critters! It was an interesting presentation. Afterward we were to attempt identifying species in different life stages. Live animals were present for this vain exercise. I managed about half of them. Since I had a lot to do at home, and will be gone four days this week, I returned home a little early. As I sat upstairs helping #1 with his research paper (AAGGGHHHH!), I listened to the storm outside. I was glad I returned early. The afternoon was to be spent in the field looking for critters and identifying conservation techniques. I attended a meeting yesterday about school classes for next year. We plan to have a co-op like we do this year, but it will be a little bigger. Yesterday we came up with the classes and set the calendar for the school year. Right now all I care about is that WE ARE NOT DOING RESEARCH PAPERS IN ENGLISH NEXT YEAR!!!! It might as well be raining words around here. I need a good dose of word free sunshine.

Hope Springs Eternal

A green mist hangs over the land, creeping its way northward across the fields and meadows. A white fog envelopes the mist and disguises it as a brief snowstorm of falling flakes. Bright spots of sunshine filter through the mist and fog sharing their secret: Spring is here! The grasses have begun their green march across the yard and goat field. Soon I will have to check the mower's oil and gas levels. The white flowers of Bradford pear trees have fallen from their lofty heights to be replaced by tiny, brilliant green leaves. Dogwoods' white crosses glisten against the newly leafed trees. Daffodils and forsythia glow with their yellow flower heads, and camellias and azaleas liven it all up with their own multi-colored displays. Like scars left from a bike wreck, some bare branched trees remain to remind me that Winter's dreariness and ruthlessness are very real. Not every day is filled with ease and content. Distress and regret are enemies not quickly forgotten, but draped in warmer, more colorful clothing they change their faces. Hope is present in my garden, in the growth of my boys, in the evening chorus of the spring peepers. Better days are coming, not quite fulfilled in earnest yet, but soon. Very soon.

Monday

I was looking through pictures yesterday and thought that I never did post #2's picture from his speech contest. He is a very handsome boy. He looks just like his mother! Perhaps not, but he is good looking anyway. Winter is laughing at us. So many people got out their summer clothes last week, but I wasn't fooled. You aren't safe until at least mid-April in my opinion. So today I am wrapped in a sweater and sitting in front of the fire while I do my work. A little friend of ours wanted to try hatching chicks, and she brought the new chicks over yesterday. They had gotten big enough to fly to the top of the box and get out. So now they are here on the farm and wondering what happened to that nice warm house they were in. I have them outside, but they have a heat lamp on them. The rest of the week should be warmer. Poor little fluffy chicks.

Church Retreat

We went on a church retreat this weekend. Usually the guys go on a retreat together, but they go far away in VA. This year we decided it would be nice if the whole church could join in, but it would have to be closer. It was held about half an hour away from our house at a Boy Scout camp. The setting and facilities were perfect, even if the weather was overcast and chilly. The camp is right on the river, and we were able to enjoy some hiking and the scenery. Of course there had to be a corn hole tournament. The kid on the left did a great job. #1 didn't fare as well, but he had a really good time. It was nice to see him enjoy himself so much this weekend. The poor thing has been so sick for so long that he needed the change.

Sorry, I didn't turn these pictures before I put them on Blogger. Just tilt your head a little; I have more important things to do. #2 was thrilled to find clay, and he and another child dug out some and made pots. That boy can entertain himself if he is outside. He had a great time playing in fire, collecting things, and getting filthy. He even talked the youth minister into letting him stay in the minister's tent instead of sleeping in the cabin. He was asleep before we were ten minutes out of camp last night!

Hubby and I went hiking and ended up down by the river. We crawled through a bunch of bushes and briers along the way. I thought this tree was interesting. There was also an osprey nest nearby and the parent birds kept close watch over us.

It was nice to get away for a little while. Now to catch up on things around here before another wild weekend approaches!

Don't Try This at Home

One evening last week I was in the mood for some popcorn. I like fresh popped corn the best, not so much the fresh popped microwave ready corn. I didn't feel like getting out the pan and oil, so I thought I would pop some in a bag in the microwave. I have done it many times before. You put 1/3 cup of kernels in a brown paper lunch bag, spray it with oil (non-stick spray) if you like, fold the top a couple of times, pop it in the microwave like you would microwave brands, and pop. My problem was that I was out of paper bags. I thought why not skip a step and pop it in the bowl. Then I can just go straight to eating it. I put the corn in the glass Pyrex bowl with a little oil, covered it with a cloth, and put it in the microwave. After the normal 2:10 time the corn had just started to pop. So I put it in for a couple minutes more thinking that perhaps the bowl held some heat and this way may take longer. I started smelling smoke and thought I must be burning the popcorn. I stopped the microwave and opened it up. The towel was catching on fire and smoldering. I took the bowl out with hot pads and placed it on the counter. Suddenly the bowl exploded. Well that was the end of my popcorn craving. I went in the livingroom to watch The Waltons without my popcorn fix, leaving the mess on the counter to cool. A little while later I heard #2 in the kitchen, "Oh! You made popcorn!" Crunch, crunch. "Don't eat the popcorn! It might have glass in it!!" "Should I spit it out?" One wonders how he got to be so smart.

Lead Poisoning

It was a beautiful day to be outside and study about the environment. The kids did a good job staying where they should be, and I was able to sit in a lawn chair and work on next year's curriculum.

After two and a half hours of study they headed to a horrible pizza lunch. It was like eating cardboard. Nasty.

In the afternoon they spent two and a half hours testing. Then we waited. Yes, we were in the top 7 and would go to State. We waited some more. Not third place, not second...FIRST PLACE!!! Go Lead Poisoning.

Deer, Drinking, and Devotionals

My husband tried to leave a comment on the latest blog about #2 hunting, but he couldn't leave one with his Mac. Anyway, his comment was that the only way that boy will fill our freezer with deer meat is if he can talk one to death! I nearly fell on the floor laughing. Last night before bed I dosed #1 with some Black Velvet whiskey and cream soda. He was very concerned about that, but after a couple of hesitant sips he decided it wasn't too bad. Then he informed me that if he drinks when he is older it will only be occasionally and just so as not to be rude. I assured him that saying no thank you is in no way rude. "It is in France," he replied. "Then you better stay in America, boy." ------ I have a bunch of errands to run...goat feed, refreshments for tonight's meeting, bank, garbage dump, etc... as well as papers to grade, school work to help with, and more. I decided today that I need a vacation. I think I have a spot opened on October 6th for half an hour! Actually, in two weeks I help judge 4H project books for four days. I will get to go to Raleigh and stay in a hotel. Even if I have to judge all that time, I will have some time free and alone that I can reflect and get some quiet writing done. I truly am looking forward to that. I had a message on my FaceBook account that a large church in town would like to use my devotional "Death of a Dog" in their bulletin. That was quite an honor. However, I don't check my FB very often and I missed their deadline. Maybe next time.

"Howdy Neighbor!"

Sick kids again. #1 started Thursday morning with a cough that sounded like it could get worse. It did. By Friday he was laying low, and Saturday he was down for the count. He stayed home all day yesterday and today. I doped him up last night, but he still coughed through the night. #2 started feeling poorly yesterday evening, and this morning woke up with the cough that says it might go somewhere. Since he has competition Tuesday I have been doping him and making him rest. It would be a shame to miss the Envirothon with all of the hard work he has put into it. #2 has been trying to earn money. He has taken over the chicken business and has sold several dozen eggs already. I took some to church with me today to take care of his earlier customers. Then I saw our neighbor out in his garden this evening. #2 filled a wheelbarrow with manure last weekend and has been trying to get up with the neighbor ever since. He was hoping the neighbor would want manure for his garden. Since #2 is sick, I walked the manure over. He paid $5 for it and asked if his cousin could have some in April when she comes to visit. That will be another job for my little guy. He can fill feed bags with manure and sell it! I bet those neighbors in the fancy houses had no idea what kind of neighborhood they were moving into. --------- I took #2 to the Spring Youth Day that used to be JAKES Day. Yesterday was gorgeous weather, and he had a great time shooting guns all afternoon. When he got home he had to call my dad and try to talk him into a hunting trip. He has been wanting to do that for years now, so I promised him if Pap would take him this year he can go deer hunting with Pap. My dad said he would be happy to take him hunting. So now #2 is in seventh heaven looking up info about guns and ammo. Maybe he will fill our freezer for us!

Marathon Envirothon

We had a marathon Envirothon meeeting this afternoon. The team is doing well. For their sake I hope they do well Tuesday, but for my sake I won't mind if they don't. I have learned a lot being the coach, and the kids think I am really smart. The truth is, I write all of the questions so of course I know the answers! I plan to teach Environmental Science next year as a high school class for our home schoolers. I am looking forward to all of the fun things I hope to do. I also think it will really improve the kids' chances at winning. I have been asked if I will volunteer to judge the high school problem solving at state competition. I plan to answer yes. Maybe that will help me prepare the kids next year. ---------- I have been feeling reflective lately. I am reading a great book, called God's Smuggler, about a man who went behind the Iron Curtain to deliver bibles and other things. His prayers were very faithful and trusting. He heard God answer in so many ways. Right now I don't hear God answering me. I sometimes wonder if that means He doesn't really care one way or the other what I do about a particular decision. If both solutions to a problem are faithful, then maybe either one is fine. I sure would like to hear his voice right now though.

Walking and Driving

I went on a walk last evening with #2. That boy is a trip. We walked for at least half an hour, and he never stopped talking. He would be talking about something that was going on and suddenly he would stop mid-sentence and say, "Look! A teeny, tiny pine cone!" Then he would go right back to what he had been saying. A wild turkey ran out in front of us, and he nearly missed it since he was bent over looking for shot gun shells. When we got back from the walk I called #1 to come downstairs. "Get your shoes on. You're going driving." He wasn't thrilled. For some reason he keeps saying that cars are a steel death trap. Anyway I got him to back out of the drive, turn around, and follow the old country road through the fields and forest. He did just fine and when he got home he went straight to text his friends what he had done. He is to take driver's ed this summer. Today is a big, big review for Envirothon and then they go to competition on Tuesday. That will determine if we need to study anymore this semester or if we are done until next year. They seem to be doing well, so we might still be studying another month until State competition. Better go make some brownies for my hard studying team. Their name this year is Lead Poisoning!

Summer is on the Way

I know summer is on its way. Yes, the trees are flowering and spreading their leafy crowns. Forsythia are bursting forth in golden glory. Daffodils line the roadways. Things are showing up on my back porch and shark teeth are falling out of my dryer. "What?" you ask. Yes, once the weather warms up #2 starts his wanderings and collections. He came home with a "neat stick" and a metal fork. They were left on the back porch. He searches through the area rock piles for sharks' teeth and slides them into his pocket, forgetting to slide them back out. Then I open the dryer door and the teeth clatter to the floor. Aah, Summer.

Mish Mosh

I want to let everyone know that J-1 is doing fine. He was our exchange student this past summer, and he lives in Japan. His family lives in the southwest section of Japan, so they were unharmed. I am sure they are still scared stiff. They are feeling the earthquakes, but are having no damage. ------ For about a week now I have been awakened in the morning by an adolescent rooster. I run outside to figure out who is being so rude, but I can never catch the bugger. Now I know. He is sitting on the fence outside my window right now, cock-a-doodling his voice changing serenade. He is a very colorful roooster, and pretty to look at, but annoying as all get out. ------ Saturday our church fasted together. The assignment was to fast and consider our sin and Christ's sacrifice. Our #1 was out of town, so he didn't participate, but #2 did. We were to fast for 24 hours, and then we would break the fast together when we took communion. #2 had decided that ice cream would be a good idea for breakfast Saturday, and by 2:00 pm he was feeling sick. I let him make a sandwich and have some fruit and then he fasted until lunch on Sunday. I think it was a good exercise for our church family. We love our little church, but it sure does have its idiosyncracies. Not too long ago I watched a woman pull her contribution out of her bra and place it in the plate. Yesterday a woman asked a question of the preacher during the sermon (this is not unusual), and another woman asked during the invitational how much chili sauce she should bring for the cookout that night. We had a lovely cookout- the weather was fabulous yesterday!- and then a night of singing. Today all I can sing is "Sing with me, How Great is our God!"

These daffodils showed up last week. The yellow one below was the first to pop up its little head. They are growing near the day lilies, which are not yet up. I didn't plant the daffodils, they have just decided to bloom here. Daffodils seem to grow wild in this part of the country. To me it was a sign that new beginnings can be made anywhere at any time. We need a new beginning around here.

Sorry for all of the doom and gloom lately. There just seemed to be a lot of sad news lately. It is good to see spring around the corner.

This is my little garden. The greenhouse is gone. The onions, peas and carrots don't seem too upset. I think we will keep the frame around the bottom of the greenhouse to make mowing easier in the summer.

---- So yesterday and today I took #2 to see orthodontists for opinions. Our decision is to wait a couple of years, but keep having orthodontic apppointments every 6 months until we think it is the right time to brace the boy. He was quite impressed with today's flashy orthodontist who gave him a t-shirt, notepad and pen, and new toothbrush. The good feeling didn't last too long. By the time we got back home he was happier with the other orthodontist who said not to pull teeth. I guess a t-shirt isn't worth 4-5 pulled teeth!

Still Not Enough

You are probably all hoping that I will no longer be your friend. Today I heard that a friend's husband passed away this morning. I was shocked. I teach her daughter on Thursdays in my writing class. One day here, the next gone. Stunned. The family has a daughter who will graduate high school in May and another daughter- the one in my class- who is in 6th grade. They are a sweet, generous family. They always have smiles and love for those around them, and no matter what they are going to give you something...an extra amount in the tuition, some cookies or brownies, a kind word or email. It is about the last straw, in fact I would say that it is the last straw, but then I would be handed more and I don't want any more. I know my Lord can handle all of this, and he can help me to handle it too, but shwew! -------- #2 gave his speech today. He did a good job and came in second in his age category. He was upset, but only because he would have won more money if he had placed first. He came home and started thinking up ways he can earn money this summer. Tonight is Hubby's first class for the New Testament semester. I think he has 25 or 26 registered. There are always some who don't show up, but this is the most he has ever had registered. It is a great way for him to teach people who won't necessarily go into a church.

Enough Wasn't Enough

Well #2 is finally recovered. Now #1 has a sinus infection. I called my doctor friend and hope she will send in a prescription for us. #1 is sleeping a lot...and growing a moustache. He is also growing a unibrow, which has him greatly concerned. He asked for tweezers to pluck it. So I am dealing with the deaths and sickness, and we took in the girl whose house burned last week. I took Envirothon to a practice competition and then had a marathon 4H meeting. Seem like enough yet? Nope. We lost part of the barn roof and all of the greenhouse in the wind storm the other night. I'm tired. --------- Tonight is Family Night at church. We are "celebrating" St. Patrick's Day. Baked potatoes and a salad for dinner followed by a devotional on treasure and a scavenger hunt. I think the scavenger hunt should be fun. We are looking for things that are "treasures" to our congregation. I won't say anything more since some of them read this and might get a head start, but I will fill you all in later. Happy Hunting!

Worse Than Death

The weather is acting very prophetic lately; we just never know what to expect! Today is supposed to be 81 degrees and tomorrow 54 degrees. I thought I would hang out laundry, since it is laundry day, but there is also a 50% chance of rain. I don't think I will chance it. Today is my aunt's funeral. She has been suffering for many months, about six, with what seems to have been an attack on her body by some virus. No one ever seems to know what exactly happened. But after all of her suffering, she decided to be taken off of life support, and she passed away on Thursday morning. I think that is the decision I would have made. The doctors assured her they could make her comfortable and the going would be fairly easy. There are so many things worse than death. If the choice is to hang around here, not able to enjoy being with the ones you love, then I absolutely believe it would be better to go hang out with the one who loves me more than I can love. The sadness I feel, I think, is due to the loss of the first of my aunts/uncles. My father and mother's families have always been a big part of my life. We are very family oriented. My father is one of 13 siblings, and I know and love all of them. I know I am 41, but today the knowledge that my childhood is over has hit me full-force. Good bye Aunt Martha. Until we meet again.

Enough Is Enough

#2 seems to have improved. He hasn't thrown up since Thursday afternoon. He didn't eat much yesterday, and would get weak if he was up and about too much, but overall he seemed improved. He had been invited earlier to a sleepover for last night. I let him go over until about 11:00, and then we picked him up. It was a good decision. He slept well last night and today looks good. It's been a rough couple of weeks around here. We have had FIVE deaths that have touched us in some way. Also Hubby's dad was in the hospital for knee replacement, though he is out now and doing well. Yesterday we received two notices from the bank that our account was overdrawn by a large sum of money, and Hubby had to go correct the bank since it wasn't overdrawn. While he was gone I was making dinner for the shelter and received a phone call from a church member that her house had burned that day. Then there has been the running around with errands, field trips, youth rally, etc. Cumulative records were due this week for #1. He summed up the last three years of his life for two different projects, and it looks really good. I taught school, tried to hold the house together, and sold chickens. I'll tell that story later. All in all, it has been a crazy couple of weeks. I have a long list of things to get done today, but it feels like a decent list, which is nice after the previous scattered, frazzled, upsetting frenzy.

Late Night Vigil

It's getting close to midnight, so why am I writing a blog entry? Because I am waiting on #2 to toss his cookies one more time. Yesterday morning he woke up not feeling quite right. He wanted to go on the Envirothon trip, so I guess he psyched himself up. I gave him some Pepto-Bismal to settle his tummy, and a little while later he was showering and getting ready. He said it was probably nerves. While we were in the first session- the really cool Wildlife session- he asked if he could just sit down and rest. I knew he wasn't feeling well then. So before heading to the not-quite-as-thrilling Soils session, I stopped at a drug store and purchased Tums and Gingerale. He took 10 Tums. I didn't know until too late. Today he was "off his feed", but didn't complain much. He managed to play with his buddy and with the extra kids, so I thought he must not be too bad. So I made him go to church because he had played all afternoon, right? Big Mistake! On the way there he says, "I feel like I'm going to throw up. (short pause) Like right now." And he did...over and over again. Hubby and #1 started walking to church while someone drove to meet and pick them up. I turned around and took #2 home to a shower. I cleaned the car, threw laundry in the washer, tucked him in on the couch, and headed back to church. About 9:00 this evening, he finally started upchucking everything. He can't keep down even ice chips. It's going to be a long night.

More Dog

Remember Death of a Dog last week? One friend told me she laughed until she cried. It wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Well, enter the dog again. While I was in Gatlinburg she was naughty. Hubby was in charge of taking care of her, and she dissed him. Yep. He let her out to go do her business, and she took off. He yelled for her, she turned, looked at him, and went right on to do what she wanted...visit the new neighborhood. Another time he let her out and she headed to the woods. Again, she would not return when he called. So one night while we were gone, she slept outside all night. It was her own fault, but it could have been disastrous for us. So when I got back Sunday it was like a party. She jumped on me, followed me, kept her eye on me wherever I went. Yesterday I was doing laundry and whatever room I was in, so was she. You would never think that I ask her daily to die. She comes when I call, goes when I send, and obeys as best she can. I think I am the Alpha Dog. So while I was in TN sitting on a bench in downtown Gatlinburg, a strange sight approached me. A man was carrying a small dog in a pouch attached to the front of him. It was like one of those front baby carriers. The dog was just looking around and hanging out. BUT, then behind the man came a woman. She was pushing a full-sized stroller. In the stroller? Another small dog dressed in jeans and a football jersey. It was standing in the stroller looking all around. I'm glad Kelly wasn't there to see that.

Road Trip to Gatlinburg

I went to Gatlinburg as a chaperone for a youth rally this past weekend. That means I drove all day Friday, sat through a long session once we got there, stayed up late waiting for pizza, and then managed to sleep only 4 hours because of loud traffic and kids (not the ones I was with) running around. Saturday was spent in sessions, but we did have some free time in the afternoon. It was another late night, and then a very early morning on Sunday. The long drive home ended with my falling asleep on the couch and then dragging myself to bed at 9:00. My M-I-L says this is what keeps me young. I must be really young! During my time in Gburg I saw some strange sights. I think I will just give you a few now and then to keep you laughing. One of the first was a man dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow. That actually isn't too strange considering that there are tourist attractions like Ripley's in town. The strange part was that a woman on the sidewalk started gasping and stuttering, "Are, are, are you Johnny Depp?" One of the kids heard her too and it was all we could do not to fall over laughing! ---------- Tomorrow I am back on the road again. The Envirothon team is heading to Raleigh for some training sessions: Wildlife and Soils. I bet I see some strange sights tomorrow too!

Mum

To My Favorite Auntie...Mums the word! Now what is your boss's phone number?!

Look for a new post tomorrow. Love you!

Death of a Dog

My dog and I have a curious relationship. First of all, she was supposed to be a gerbil. Gerbils are small, easy to care for, don't have to be let out to do their business, and die after a couple of years. However, gerbils also escape and eat through your refrigerator wiring, and dogs don't. We have had the dog for 9 years now. She has been an expense from the beginning. We had to build a fence around the yard to keep her penned. She needed shots and vet visits. When we vacationed she had to be watched, which meant paying a sitter. Because of her naughtiness running through wet cement in the new subdivision, not once but twice in the same day, she is now an indoor dog. She lies in the doorways and refuses to move when I walk through. She wanders through the house at night and wakes me. Most irritatingly, she drops dog hair all over the house and causes me extra work. I ask the dog nearly every day to die. Not in a mean way. I don't yell at her or beat her. I just suggest that this would be a nice day to die. She often looks away from me when I make that suggestion. She also shadows me around the house wanting to know what I am doing. She begs for my company, longs for my approval, and tries to please me. I laugh at her behavior, pat her head, and tell her that I love her. But I still ask her to die. Her death is the only way I can get rid of her dog hair, her jaunts to the neighbors' trash, her 3 A.M. wakings. Death is the only solution for her naughtiness. I think the dog is here to remind me of myself. I try so hard to please my Master, but He asks me daily to die. And I look away. I dig through the neighbors' trash, drop some hair on the polished floor of His Mansion, and refuse to move from my ruinous rut. I shadow Him as best I can, lie in His doorway, listen for His voice in the night. I beg for pats on the head, a look of love in His eyes, but I can't leave behind the dogginess of my life. I am a dog, and nothing I do can change that. But each day I die a little more, and each day I come closer to living.

Happy Valentine's Day

I had my feelings hurt this morning. I don't often get my feelings hurt, so it quite took me by surprise. I was looking through my jewelry box and came upon a special necklace. My husband asked me what I was doing and I said, "Looking at a necklace that I'm not supposed to have." Of course that intrigued him, and he asked to see it. "Where did you get it? And why aren't you supposed to have it?" "Are you serious?" Tears came to my eyes. He seemed perplexed by my response. "What?" "You really don't know where I got this necklace?" "No." Then the tears began to roll. I laughed at myself for being so silly, but it did hurt my feelings. You see, he gave me that necklace on our wedding day. We had agreed not to give each other presents, but he broke the agreement and gave me a gold necklace with a pearl and 3 small diamonds inlaid. After I reminded him it was a wedding present, he remembered giving it to me in his bedroom while I sat on his lap. We had just changed into our travelling clothes and were getting ready to head to the honeymoon. I'm glad he remembered. ---- We don't give many presents. Money is a factor to be sure, but mostly it is because I don't really want for much. He tried for years to give me things, but I didn't get as excited as he hoped, so he stopped. Now he watches and listens more carefully and is very intentional about the presents he gives me. I'm sure a lot of women wouldn't think of them as nice presents, but they are something I really want and Hubby has made a special effort to get them, so to me they are nice. For instance, for Christmas he gave me butchering knives because I need good knives for the chickens. Last week I received a food dehydrator because they didn't have any in the stores. I was going to use a gift card from my aunt to get it, but I couldn't. So Hubby took it upon himself to research the best ones and order it for me. It was a nice surprise. That is when presents mean something to me. When I know that Hubby has tried hard to please me and thought about what I really need and desire, and then has made a special effort. I listened to some women talking recently. They were discussing how to get their husbands to take them out and get them things. I was stunned. "What's wrong with your husbands? My husband would drop whatever he was doing if I told him I wanted to go out. It wouldn't matter if he were in the middle of something important or just really tired. My husband wants to be with me." They told me not their husbands. For our 20th wedding anniversary I had my wedding band and engagement rings resized. It seems the rest of me had resized on its own, and the rings didn't. But after a while the engagement ring broke from being so thin, and the wedding band cut me because it is thin too. So what did I get for Valentine's Day? A new wedding band. Now how could my feelings be hurt any longer? I love that man.

It's a Beautiful Morning

Spring is on the way for sure. Dog hair is falling everywhere. I washed the dog yesterday because she was very smelly and because the day was pleasant. I brushed her before washing, during washing, and again after washing. This morning when I walked into "her room" what was all over the floor? Hair! So who needs a groundhog? We have a dog. Can't wait for spring! ---- On a sad note, evidently picking up the dog for a bath was a bad idea. I didn't feel anything at the time, but this morning I am really hurting. I didn't go to the chiro on Thursday because they were expecting a big snow and cancelled all appointments. That meant I only went once last week. I really thought I was ready for once a week, but alas I sit here in pain. ---- Yesterday was a productive day. I love productive days. My boys aren't as fond of them. Perhaps they will both disappear into another galaxy far, far away.

Weekends, Dehydrating, and Snow

Last weekend was jam packed with activity. We had a church consultant visit, which meant meals at the church and lots of meetings. Then #1 and I also had to work at the university basketball game, and of course there was a Superbowl party and Chili Cook-Off. Sadly the Steelers didn't win, but I did. I made some very good meat only chili. Normally I bring some chili home after the contest, but it was all gone before I even got a bowl of it! Next weekend I will be chaperoning a youth rally/trip. We leave Friday and get back Sunday. So as you can see last weekend and next are shot. Guess what that means? Yep. I am home this weekend working like a beaver! We have several 4H things to complete, schoolwork that needs finishing up, and a house that is begging to be cleaned. There is a Ladies' Breakfast today, but I am forcing myself to stay home and work instead. ------------- I had to rearrange some things yesterday due to extenuating circumstances, but it gave me a little free time to try out my new food dehydrator. I tried apples and pears, and we love it! I used the food slicer the first time and it made the pieces so thin that after they were dehydrated they were like the apple chips you can buy. #1 was mad at me for it because he got so addicted to them he kept coming downstairs to get more. The second time I sliced the fruit instead of using the processor and it worked pretty well. I think I may have dehydrated them too long, but they are still yummy and not as crisp as the first batch. ------------ The classes we are having this year as a group are going well. I think one of the things the kids like most is that it lets them have some common cultural experiences, like packing a lunch for school. Another that they were really hoping to experience was a snow day, but alas the snow wasn't as cooperative as it could have been. We did have a delay Thursday, but by 11:00 a.m. it was melted. I do what I can, but supplying the snow is up to God, and I guess He thought school was more important this week!

Home Again

I welcomed my son back home today. He was in outer space the last couple of weeks. I tried speaking to some other moms of 13-14 year old boys, and I have been relieved to hear that disappearances into other galaxies are common. The bad part is that the school doesn't enter other galaxies, so the bad grades during these disappearances are just part and parcel of the disturbance. He has been back for a few days now, but I was waiting to make sure it was more than a stop-over before I said anything to him. He seemed confused by my remarks but happy to hear it. The bad thing is that I was told boys go through this at 14 and again at 16, though not as mightily. That means I will have 2 in this stage at the same time!! Hopefully it won't last long.

I Am A Garbage Can

I have been married for 21 years. We use the same garbage can that I bought when we moved into our first home. I was cleaning the kitchen cupboards the other day and noticed that the garbage can needed washing on the outside. Food and other debris had dripped along the sides, dirt and dog hair clung to the edges, and crusty things from long ago had adhered to the plastic. As I washed the outside of the garbage can I thought about how this represents me. The can is doing its job, but it is getting banged and bunged with every toss of the trash. It is still in working order, though the lid was lost years ago and the color is a few shades different than when I bought it. I too am doing my job, but at times I feel banged, bunged, lost, and discolored. I need to take the time to wash me off, renew my mission, and put me back in place. Our spiritual assignment this week is to slow down. Let others go in front of us in line, take the long way to work, notice the (frozen) roses along the path. For me that means reflecting on how I am like a 21 year old garbage can: Useful and in working order even if there are a few knicks in my side. I just need to take the time to wash off a bit.

Where Does the Time Go?

What a long weekend I had. I can't believe it is Tuesday already. The time has been so filled that I somehow missed a day. The most important event, to some anyway, was the birth of 10 TEN! goats in four days!! We had our first set of quads this go-round. Mary, the extremely fertile goat of the bunch, was the poor mother who had to manage that. She had triplets the very first time she kidded, so it was no surprise that she was the one who would manage quads, but she never showed signs of being ready. Hubby just went out Thursday afternoon to walk the dog and he heard the cries in the back of the barn. There they were: four precious babes. The sad news is that three have died. I imagine it was due to too much inbreeding- and I will be selling these bucks at the stock sale as soon as they are mature!- but one has survived and is doing fine. So that was Thursday. Friday evening I went out to feed and could tell Madison was in labor. I went back out in less than an hour and Maddie had had a singleton, a sweet black and brown billy. But Faye had also had triplets! Yes, in less than an hour, Faye went into labor, birthed triplets, and cleaned them up. By the time I got out there they were up and dry! What a woman!! Sometime Saturday night Emma had twins, and now all of the kidding is done. Phew! So we had 10 kids in 4 days and now have 7 that are lively and playful. And that is where the time goes.

Achievement Night

This was Achievement Night in our County 4H Program. The one above on the left is #1 and the one on the right is one of my Envirothoners who just joined our 4H club. #1 was inducted as Vice President of the County Council tonight. The other boy was inducted last month as our club Vice President. They look very official, huh?

These are the new County Council Officers. Three of them are from our club. From far left is the Reporter (who just finished serving as Secretary), Vice President, President, and then the new Secretary (who served last year as Reporter) is not from our club. These are some of our club members before the banquet began. They still look energetic and happy at this point, that's how I know it was BEFORE the banquet.

These are our three officers, and they are best friends too. They remind me of Three's Company: Chrissy, Jack, and Janet. Heaven help us!

And these are the three best looking guys I have seen in my life. I am very lucky!

Perspective

A cow grazing in a field looks around and sees one option: this field bounded on four sides by an electric wire. If the weather is good, the grass grows well and so does the cow. But if it is a bad year, the cow feels the pain of the field. A bird sitting on an electric wire that crosses above the field looks down and sees two options: north of the wire and south of the wire. The bird carefully chooses which side has the better weeds and seeds and flies down to the southern side to gorge on some grass seed. A caterpillar crawling through the same field looks around and sees an endless array of opportunities. She can nibble the milkweed, the long slender grass stalks, or the pokeberry bush in the corner. Her whole life will be spent in this field, and she still won't explore all of its possibilities. A rabbit chased by the neighbor dog scurries into the field looking for safety near the horned cow. The rabbit slows to chew on clover flowers and then takes off again for a patch of lettuce an acre away. He isn't deterred by the boundary marker of the fence or electric wires. His field has no boundaries. When speaking of perspective, usually losing perspective, we often say, "He can't see the forest for the trees." This of course means that he can't see the bigger picture of what is going on, but is struggling to get through each emergency or event as it presents itself. But what if he chooses to look at each "tree" as an opportunity, a delight, instead of an obstacle? Then suddenly the forest no longer needs to be seen, because each tree offers a beautiful palette of possibilities. Are you a bird or a cow with limited sight or are you a caterpillar or a rabbit with endless enchantments?

Tight Back

The back is making progress. The upper back finally "released" today during manipulation. I think it has been 13 treatments so far. That was one tight back!

Surprise!!!

This was a surprised boy. His friends wanted to throw him a surprise party since he wasn't planning on doing anything special. We emailed his school friends and told them to be at CiCi's Pizza yesterday at 4:45. When we got there after school they were already gathered at the back of the restaurant. He didn't even notice until they jumped up from the floor and yelled, "Surprise!" He got a big smile and turned red.

One of the girls made him a cake-- very yummy chocolate, from scratch!-- and her mom decorated it since she didn't have her composition done for class the next day. Shame on her!

There were about 12 kids. Hubby and I stayed about 3 tables away with another mom. Two women came over at different times to tell me how impressed they were with the kids. They really were very well-behaved. The second woman even said, "I work with teens and they don't act like that!" We never once had to quiet them down or make a reprimand. I love all my kids!

Happy Birthday

Six feet, one inch. Barely 30 inch waist. Size 12-13 shoe. Fourteen years old today. That's my boy by the numbers. He is a goofy, gangly, witty, charming, young man who can do nothing wrong today. Tomorrow he will be back to being plenty wrong, but for today he gets a reprieve. Happy Birthday, Puppy!

Orange Over Achievers

Everyone knows absolutely NOTHING rhymes with orange. That is until #2 comes downstairs, from an afternoon "cleaning" his room, and informs me that door hinge rhymes with orange. Items are still left strewn about, the bed is still unmade, drawers still stand askew, but we now know what rhymes with orange. Maybe I should just close the door on its door hinge and not think about it. I went upstairs last week to help #2 with some school work that needed printed out. While I was trying to fix the printer I kept smelling something like a dead mouse. "Go around there and see if you find a dead mouse," I ordered #2. What I meant was go into the attic crawl space and see if a mouse was in there. What he did was crawl under the printer stand and FIND A DEAD MOUSE!! It had obviously been there a few days. He removed it, and I washed the area with Lysol and sprayed an odor neutralizer. On second thought maybe I should take the door off the door hinge. ---------- "We will be working on Cumulative Records this weekend," I informed #1 last week. The look of excitement was precious to behold. Cumulative Records are a three years' summation of what a kid has done in a project area. You are allowed to turn in two a year after you turn 13 in 4H years. This is #1's first time to be eligible, and of course we are turning in two reports. #1 is fond of saying, "You don't have to be an over-achiever, Mom!" "If you are born into this family you do," I snidely reply. Anyway, as we worked on the prestigious Cumulative Record, #1 asked yet again why he has to do this. "Honor Club," I replied. "But I don't want to be in Honor Club," he whined. "Yes you do. You said so." "When did I ever say that?" he asked with annoyance. "Every time you asked me in the last couple of years how many points you have toward Honor Club," I shot back. He just grinned and went on typing his report. He is an over achiever even if he doesn't want to admit it.

Bless Your Heart

Our local paper has a section called Bless Your Heart. You can submit local comments as either real bless your hearts (Thank you to the guy who paid for my meal in the Taco Bell line.) or they can be "Southern Bless Your Hearts", which means it is not a nice thing (You're as bright as a burned out light bulb, bless your heart.). My husband and I enjoy reading this section because the comments can be so funny. Here is one from yesterday: Clothing stores continue to decrease their inventory in dresses each year. Styles are very unflattering. I think this is forcing women to wear pants to church. Hubby said he quite agrees and any woman worth her salt should learn to sew and wear a dress to church! (Tongue in cheek of course) I am left wondering is this person serious or is this a tongue in cheek remark on his/her part? So have you seen the woman who fell into the mall fountain because she was texting while walking? Her comment: "Texting and walking can be very dangerous." I wonder if she texts while driving? Bless her heart. ------- Solved lots of the world's problems last night as I lay awake for several hours. Ok, perhaps not the world's problems, but my little part of the world anyway. ------- Thank you to those who remembered my birthday yesterday. I had a lovely day teaching enjoyable kids. We went to dinner at Dickey's for some Texas brisket- which is very, very hard to find in Eastern Carolina, and then came home to fall asleep on the couch. Perhaps that is why I had trouble sleeping last night.

Slowing Time

Boy God sure is fantastic and surprising. A woman at church was needing rides to school and back home this semester. I offered to pick her up after school on Wednesdays. She misunderstood and last night I received a message on my phone saying she needed me to get her at 8:20 to go to school. I thought about it a while. I consider my home schooling a full-time job, and leaving in the morning to get her would be missing some school time, but I also want her to be able to improve her life. So I decided the sacrifice would be worth it to help her, and I left this morning to get her. I picked her up and dropped her at the college, which is by SAM'S. Then I stopped and gassed up, picked up bread and milk, got to the chiropractor in time, made my way to the library to get #2's History books, and then went home. The kids were already working on their school work. I cleared the kitchen, folded laundry, and basically straightened up the house. We had lunch and then I worked with each boy independently. Now I have checked emails, paid bills, and worked on tomorrow's writing classes. I leave in half an hour to pick up my extra boys and get this lady from school. Here I am with time to pack tomorrow's school lunches! There wasn't time to do all of those things, but God blessed me with time since I sacrificed the earlier time. I don't know how God slows time for me, but he has done it before. Thank you Father for showing me yet again that if I serve others you will faithfully serve me.

Tasty Pie

"How's my bride today?!" Papaw bellowed as entered the house. Grandma sat in her chair visiting with me over the noise of Wheel of Fortune. Papaw walked through the entryway and grabbed hold of her as if to dump her on her backside and laid a big smack on her. Grabbing hold of his arm she giggled and told him to "behave". That was a daily scene for me as a young girl. I miss them still. Learning to love someone for the rest of my life was taught to me by grandparents, parents (who would kiss in the kitchen when I had friends over! YUCK!), aunts and uncles, and friends at church. There was never a thought that marriage would be any different for me. Lifetime Love was not a fairytale but a daily reality. A friend asked me the other day how I handle with my kids "church issues" that end up on the front doorstep. She was specifically asking about marriages that are falling apart in front of everyone. Her son thinks he may not ever want to marry because his family has seen so many of these disasters. After thinking through this for several days I guess my answer should have been that I just point back at our family. There is too much love involved to not want a piece of that pie. It isn't that the pie is perfect, certainly there are parts of burned crust and meringue that is turning soggy, but the pie tastes good anyway. ------------ Back spasms knocked me off my feet this morning when I got out of bed. I managed to get to the chiropractor and he pushed some things around to give me a little relief. This is a very hard Resolution to keep! Hopefully in another week or so the spasms will subside and everything will be limbre again.

iPods and Brownies

My children bought iPods with their Christmas money. This was against their mother's better judgment, but their father sided with them. I suppose I understand that they want to be part of their friends' culture, but I had hoped we could wait longer. My rule had been no electronics- other than tv- until they are 15. Today I had to crack down on them and the iPods found their way to the top of my chest of drawers. It seems texting friends and playing games ranks higher than school work. The new rule is iPods go in my room during school hours. I have listened to my friends talk about these disciplinary actions, but I was exempt from the stories since there was nothing to take away. I don't like being part of this club. Tonight the kids are having a "hang-out" at our house. There are about 15 of them in the living room now watching a movie. They are watching those crazy 1950's B movies. Currently it is "Attack of the Crab Monsters". I think they will play some games later and probably watch some other movies. I like having lots of kids over to play and visit. The Envirothon team was here this afternoon studying about soils. Halfway through our meeting they asked, "Mrs. Angel, did you make brownies?" I hadn't, so the question changed to, "Mrs. Angel, are you going to make brownies?" They really like my brownies. I told them to come back tonight for some. Instead I made cookies, which are as good as my brownies. The house smells divine. BTW, I used a new egg in the cookies. I love January 10!

#2 and My Back

"Why are you putting the curtains up?" asked #2. "Because I washed them last week and now I need to hang them up." "Oh. I thought you were taking them down for winter." He had no reason for me as to why I would take them down for the winter. I have no idea. "You should put more blue on that hat and then finish in yellow," observed #2 about my knitting. I thought I would end it in blue and then make a yellow pom-pom for the top." "I thought it was for Isaac." (my nearly 3 year old nephew) "Yes." "You don't put pom-poms on boys' hats. He'll get made fun of and wish he could crawl in a hole." "He's 3. It's ok to put pom-poms on 3 year old boys' hats." "No. His parents will take a picture and show it to his girlfriend some day. She will look at the picture and cry, "You were so wierd! I can't possibly date you!" and then he will never get married and it will be all your fault." There won't be a pom-pom on your hat Isaac. I went back to the chiropractor yesterday and today, and I go again tomorrow. I am a category 2 out of 4. Four means surgery. He informed me I am much too young for even category 2, so off I have gone for shock therapy and the traction bed. My back is having spasms and that Mac truck continues to run over me. This might be one of the hardest New Year's Resolutions I have ever made. I hope it ends up being a great thing.

The Real World

"The real world has arrived," I called up the stairs at 8:15 yesterday. School started back in session last week, but because of their sicknesses, I went easy on them. So now that the boys are just hacking up one lung instead of two, I decided to hit 'em hard! Actually I can't imagine that 8:15 is hitting too hard, but they did look pretty hard up. The real world slammed into me yesterday too. I made one New Year's Resolution: to take care of my back. Finally yesterday I bit the bullet and made an appointment with the chiropractor. His assistant took a couple of X-rays, and then he came bounding into the room. "You are out of alignment. You are waaay, waaay out of alignment. I mean you are really, really out of alignment!" I guess it was a good resolution to make. Anyway he did some acupressure and shock therapy, and then I came home to feel like a Mac truck had run across me and then backed up for good measure. I go back today for another run at it. My appointment isn't until 10:30 because the office was planning to open late today. It seems all of Eastern Carolina knew that the real world of ice was going to slam into them last night. True to form it did; everything is covered in a sheet of ice. So now I have to tromp out in the cold and ice to see if my hens were productive yesterday. January 10 is the day that there is enough light for hens to produce eggs again. None too soon either as I have one egg left. Everyone has their own definition of "the real world", but it never seems to be a fun place. When the "Real World" comes though, I have a feeling we will all know it, and some of us will enjoy it. "That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12-13

Chicken Soup

The family is dropping like flies. Hubby started on Sunday, and the boys have slowly fallen to the crud over the last couple of days. This morning everyone was coughing. I guess that was my "Morning Coughy". They have low grade fevers and lots of cough. I just made a pot of chicken soup, and we will have lunch shortly. There's just nothing like a pot of real chicken soup. There are now 2 jars of my chicken left. Those who don't know, I can't eat regular store bought chicken. I haven't had it for years. It makes me very sick. But for some reason I don't have any trouble with my own chickens. One doctor said it had to do with a parasite that factory farm chickens carry. Anyway, the chickens should start laying again January 10-11 if they follow the normal schedule. I guess those that don't lay will end up in the canning jar or freezer to restock my supply. Hubby bought me new knives for Christmas just for butchering. The rule around here is be productive or be a product. All those coughing sickies better remember that!

Strong Women

I often write of the women that have affected my life. The strong ones who touched me forever and imprinted their stories on my heart. There are others whose touch was a passing pat, who didn't know what they had meant to me. This morning though, I wrote about two women who never knew 70 years ago that they would ever affect me. They are my in-laws' mothers. These women raised sons and daughters to believe in family, honesty, and hard work. They taught them of Jesus and his sacrifice. They stressed marriage and faithfulness. And then their children met. These two people became a family and taught my husband the lessons their own mothers had taught them. And now I benefit from the lives these women lived. Today their lives are but shadows dancing on the wall. Both women suffer from Alzheimer's. They can not remember the grandchild whom I married. Seldom can they recognize the children that they raised. Yet their personalities shine through the fog of forgotten memories like sun on a damp and drizzly day. They were good women to live the lives they did and to raise their children in such a way that their great-grandchildren receive the benefits. They are still good women showing us now how to trust others and accept help graciously.

2010: Good or Bad?

Last night Hubby and I went on a real grown up date. Red Lobster and a movie that let out at midnight! I don't think in all of our 21 years of marriage we have dated that late at night, with good reason; I fall asleep!! During dinner we were discussing the past year, and we decided it was a pretty lousy year. I didn't get in the grad program I was trying for, my child broke his head, financially things went kablooey, my health deteriorated and I ended up with Bell's Palsy, the shed roof leaks, the goats aren't selling, and on and on. There were a few highlights. My Envirothon team went to State competition, #1 was in two plays, Hubby was able to teach at college. We saw family on a few occasions and enjoyed more quiet times with each other. This morning when I awoke to a new year, I found myself hoping it will be a better one. Then my perspective changed. I thought about all of those bad things and how each was accompanied by the presence of God. I thought of how He had placed friends where I needed them at just the right times. I thought of how blessed by God we are that the health problems have turned out to be ok, that the finances are still flowing, the kids have what they need and are beginning to thrive again, and on it went. I arose from bed to see my home enfolded in a blanket of fog barely able to see the structures or road around me. As I sipped my peppermint tea the fog began to dissipate. I can now clearly see the barn, the neighbor, the road to town. I guess last night we were in a fog of memory, remembering parts of situations, but not the whole. This morning the fog evaporated and left me with the realization that no matter what this new year brings, good or bad, God will be there providing just what I need when I need it. Now how can that be a bad year?