Jesus and Opossums

Hubby and I were at a birthday party on Saturday evening, and my parents were home with the boys. The dog started barking at something, and #2 went out to check on it. Kelly had found an opossum and was harassaing it. #2 ran back into the house and yelled, "We're having 'possum stew tomorrow!" and grabbed his gun. He went outside and shot it a couple of times with his bb gun. When we returned from the party, we knew something was up, because someone was in the field with a flashlight. It was #2 looking at his catch. The dog was still shaking and attacking the thing, and #2 was saying he wasn't sure if it was still playing possum or if it was really dead. The most exciting thing, though, was that he wanted to skin it and make a pair of gloves or earmuffs. "Possum skin is very soft," he explained. "How do you know? You haven't picked that up have you?" "Don't you remember, Mom? There were possum skins at our Envirothon training at Goose Creek." So Sunday morning, he checked on it in the field, and it was definitely not playing dead. So he stuck it in the fort until he could get to it to skin it. Later on Sunday he found a baby opossum trying to crawl out of its pouch. Now the whole thing was in a different light. He didn't know the possum was a girl, especially a mommy. I don't think he is planning on skinning it now. But the bigger problem is the baby. I imagine it is dead now, but if it isn't what do we do with it? #2 wanted to raise it, but when I gave him several scenarios of what might happen, he decided we should feed it to one of the cats. I know this is going to sound odd, but this event reminded me of Jesus' death and the disciples. Maybe it is just because it is so close to Easter, or because we talked about being friends with Jesus yesterday at church, but here is what it makes me ponder. This baby possum was being cared for and protected. It believed it was safe and that nothing could hurt its mother. Now it is left in the cold and rain, trying to survive on its own. It must be very frightened. It doesn't even have a clue of what possibilities lie in wait, like a cat. That must be what it was like to be Jesus' disciples. They must have been hurt, confused, and terrified. But for them the story ended better. There was no cat, no loss of protection, but there was the opportunity to see their friend again. Those three days of worry and fear must have been tortuous, Jesus wasn't playing possum, he really was dead. But imagine how they felt on Sunday when Jesus reappeared! All of the fear was replaced by rejoicing. Certainly there was still confusion, and probably still some fear, but what could harm them now if even death was overcome? I don't know what will happen to this baby opossum, but I am glad I have a Savior who has risen from the dead. I can hardly wait to see him.

Envirothon Competition

It was a gorgeous day to have an Envirothon Meet. The wind was a bit brisk, but otherwise it was sunny and fairly warm. The boys were all so nervous going into it. As soon as we pulled in they all started having trouble breathing. "There are so many people!" At that point we hadn't actually seen that many, but they saw all of the busses and assumed there were millions of people. They were able to calm down and attend the training sessions without incident. The big excitement was that there would be pizza for lunch. Usually these things mean hotdogs, and the boys seemed to be in a non-hotdog mood. Actually all of the kids were excited about pizza. After lunch came the tests. I had to be on a completely different side of the property and have no contact whatsoever with them. I went to the van to study and enjoy the sunshine. If only I could always study like that! When the tests were done, we all went to the picnic tables to wait. The boys were so anxious. One poor little guy was nearly sick waiting for the results. Here we are listening to the host. Hosts always talk too much!!! Then the teams going to State were announced. Dirty Coon Foresters were named around the middle of the group. You would think this would excite the team, but I think they all turned green. We didn't know yet if we had placed at our district level.

YES!! We took second place out of two districts! We were first place in our district! The team won $75 to split, and they were very happy. We went to Andy's afterward to celebrate and relax. The color started coming back into them, and I imagine they slept really well last night.

Back at our house we had to have a picture with the coach. I am very proud of my guys! Go Dirty Coon Foresters!!

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Now we prepare for the play this weekend with #1. Next week is the History Day at the university. I am about ready for April!

Do You Know?

Do you know what a riparian buffer is? Did you know it is the law in NC to have one? Do you know what the second largest estuary in the world is? Can you define climax community or commensalism? Do you know which animal is promiscuous during mating season, but lives alone the rest of the time while having a home range of hundreds of acres? You can know all of these things and more by being a coach for an Envirothon team! Tomorrow is the Regional Competition. Today we had a huge review day from 10:00-1:00. I should have planned for 9-2:00. We weren't able to cover everything I had hoped to review. I think the kids will do well. I hope they do GREAT!

I need a cruise

I told my boys today that they have taken all of the fun out of being their mother. It used to be a joy to be their mom, but lately I have only felt like a referee. #1 headed to a youth retreat with other 4-Hers this afternoon. #2 is having friends over for the first campout of the season. I am glad they will be separated for a while. Perhaps by Monday they will enjoy each other's company again. After I picked up #1 from practice last night, the boys and I went to dinner at Golden Corral and then ran errands. We were able to find some good die-cuts at the university library to use for their history projects. We have worked on that this afternoon, and I am worn out. At dinner, #1 says, "Well it happened; and it had to happen now." What? "My voice is starting to crack. And it cracked right in the middle of a line. I thought to myself, 'Oh man, does it have to happen now?'". He is right. I heard it crack Wednesday evening. None too soon in this mother's opinion. He is a bit of a squealer when he does sound effects, which boys do constantly. #2 went into the grocery store with me while we were out. I asked him to go get a gallon of orange juice while I looked at something else. He came back with two gallons. Do you really think we need TWO gallons? "Well we drink a lot of juice and this way when we run out we will have more ready." He also thought we needed another bunch of bananas because it was a good price. I swear he was about to pick up a third bunch when I told him "No!" It was like shopping with my father-in-law or my husband. I guess it is genetic. Coming back from running errands #1 asked if the Normans are Christians. "Normans? Well they were French conquerors, but I suppose they could have been Christians. I think you mean Mormons." Yes that was what he meant. So I gave him a short history of the Mormons, Joseph Campbell, and Brigham Young University. We came up with yes they are Christians, but they have some other beliefs than just the Bible. "Oh. They're like Baptists," he responded. I managed not to laugh. That would be a big no-no to say around this town! So they are good for a few laughs. Maybe I need to keep writing to remind myself that I do want to be their Mommy.

Bowlfuls

Well whatever gave me a headache today wiped me out and I am good for nothing. We managed to have school, but instead of doing my own school this evening, I think we will be running errands. That involves little thinking. Perhaps I will feel better tomorrow. Last night after church I dropped off our little buddy at his house and then walked with his mom. We walk several times a week. (on a good week) While we were walking she told me that Target had cereal 4/$10 and then you got a $5 gift card back. That made it $1.25 a box! So we only did a couple of laps and then headed to Target. Her son is going through an eating time too. Last night he was eating a bowl of cereal while they fixed dinner, had a bowl of spaghetti squash while they waited on dinner to bake, and then ate dinner. That is about where my boys are as well. So I bought 8 boxes of cereal. I have a running bet with myself that the first box will be gone in one day. It is nearly finished now and I have 5 more hours left. I also bought Nutrigrain bars because they had the same special. #2 has been looking mournfully at the snack box lately and telling me that it is empty. He will go in the pantry and stand and stare at it as if by magic it will fill with something to eat. I bought 4 boxes and I am pretty sure they are about half gone already. Part of my evening errands is to head back and get more of the goodies. I told my friend that my dad always asks if we are about out of meat. This is the first time that I have had to say yes we are! I took #1 to practice last night and worked on Envirothon things out in the parking lot. A friend joined me and we were able to figure out how to link a page in Powerpoint to another page in the presentation! So now we can play Jeopardy in Envirothon and practice with a little high tech fun. We will be meeting here on Monday to practice, practice, practice. The competition is Tuesday. I am planning on Envirothon $20,000 Pyramid, Envirothon Taboo, and Envirothon Jeopardy. We will also be doing some quick question review as well. I hope they do fabulously; they have certainly tried hard all year. Monday I was folding laundry and talking to #5. He is a trip to talk to at times. I'm folding towels and he says, "I pick my nose at night. Then I wipe it on the wall. I don't have a tissue in bed, so I just wipe it on the wall." I asked if he washes the wall. "No. No one in my family knows I do it." I asked can't they see the boogers hanging on the wall. "No. I stick them down in the crack between the wall and the bed." Yes, I ratted him out when his mother came. This morning #2 came in to hug me as I was fixing my hair. "Why do you look beautiful today?" Gee, I don't know, but I like the compliment. He is my favorite son today.

Insuring the Introvert

The other day during Guys' Night Out, Hubby asked the boys if they knew what it is to be introverts and extroverts. They didn't and so he told them about it. Then #2 asked Hubby what he is. Before he could answer, #1 answered, "Intrusive." After a little chuckling Hubby asked again what he said. "Intrusive." "You mean Introvert." "Yeah, the 'I-N-T' one." That ITBS standardized test should be interesting next month. After cracking my elbow so hard two weeks ago, I thought I better look for insurance that allows us to go to the doctor a little more regularly and with less anxiety. April 1 we will be under a new company and policy. All of the political talk about a national healthcare plan ought to include some people in the conversation who have to buy their own insurance. I tried to imagine what it was like when I was a kid. Both of my parents worked for companies that provided insurance. I only went to the doctor a handful of times in 18 years, in fact I can only remember going twice. Maybe if people were a bit less doctor driven and more common sense driven we might not be in this situation. (Although I know my brother was in and out of the hospital when he was little.) I asked #1 the other night if he likes girls yet. I told him I was asking because a friend the same age is concerned that he doesn't yet like them. His mother told him he is normal for him and not to worry about it. #1 said he has just, just started liking girls. I don't think he likes them too much; a good book still takes precedence over a girl. But I did catch him putting on some cologne before play practice earlier this week. Today I had my first migraine in years. I am ready for sunshine and no school.

Spring Has Sprung

Last week the weather turned. I was able to hang laundry out on laundry day, work in the garden, do yard work, listen to birds sing, and just enjoy the warmer temperatures and fresh air. Sometimes I just NEED to be outside. I thought my Northern readers might enjoy a glimpse of what you will get in a few more weeks.

New life is bursting all around. The chicks are still doing fine. The trees are budding, and some are flowering. You can hear birds nearly all day. The bluebirds are flying here and there trying to get their nests ready. We have three bluebird boxes around the farm, and another gourd that the boys made one year at camp. It already has a resident.

The baby goats have learned how to escape. They will be allowed to do this until the grapevine begins to bud. Then they will be captured and placed in the kennel. I have lost the grapevine too many times now to put up with it again. I have put the Goats For Sale sign out in the yard too.

Soaking up the sun is on everyone's to-do list. These sweet babies below are twins and the least adventurous. Yesterday we caught the chocolate one above asleep on top of a bucket. It looked terribly uncomfortable. #2 is hoping we will keep this one. I may get rid of Sam, the billy, and look for a new billy. Then we would be able to keep this goat. We are considering letting #2 raise goats to sell for his job.

We also discovered that Kelly evidently hasn't killed all female cats. We have had two "wild" cats hanging around for many months now. Since both have been allowed to live, we assumed they were both male. Last week we saw Luke and PJ acting very amorously with Dash. So perhaps kittens will be on the way soon. That's spring for you.

Chicks

I finally got an incubator. I have been thinking of it over a year, and then asked for one for my birthday. Well, actually for Christmas, but it took until my birthday to get around to ordering it. Ok, it took longer than that, but now I have an incubator. So it takes three weeks to hatch eggs and I have already hatched the first batch.

As they get close to hatching time, you can hear them peep inside the eggs. Kelly found this very confusing, but once the eggs started hatching and the peeping was louder, she was more than confused. Eager, astounded, excited, desperate...

She wanted those chicks. SHE NEEDED THOSE CHICKS!! After they were hatched, we put them upstairs, since it is warmer there, and put a heat lamp on them. Kelly stayed at the bottom of the stairs and looked up as long as she could. Then she started climbing the stairs. The stairs have been there about a year and she has never tried to climb them before. We had to start keeping her in the sunroom with the door closed.

After a week in the upstairs, it was time for them to go outside. Kelly now has a new television set in the goat field. The program never changes; Watching Chicks Grow is a very interesting show. However, Sam, the goat, has a new toy. The extension cord to the heat lamp is so very interesting to him. If it isn't one thing it's another.

The Living Soil

Friday was the speech contest for 7 and 8 graders at the Soil and Water Conservation Dept. Since #2 had won the poster and essay contests, the director asked him to read the thought for the day. You could barely see him over the podium, but he did a great job, especially being asked at the last minute and on the spot.

She only showed him where to read. She has been helpful with our Envirothon activities, too. She knows us on sight now.

There was no problem seeing #1 behind the podium, though. He competed as an eigth grader. There were only three contestants, and the monetary prizes were only for first and second place. Since the contestants were all seventh graders, and grades were judged against each other, we decided it would be nice if each kid won something. Since #1 is older than the other contestants, and he will do fine against other eigth graders at the state competition, we promoted him for a little while.

So he won $100! Our county offers a $50 prize for first place, and there were no other counties in our district participating, so he won the Area competition, another $50, as well. He will participate at the state level on May 14th in Raleigh.

These are the participants with their parents and teachers. The school teacher with the girl was so kind. She offered to work with #1 at her school to help him prepare for State. She has had students go for many years now, and even had a State winner once. She said his speech had the "gimmick" that it needed, and he has a chance. BUT, he really needs to practice and work on a few things. His "gimmick" is that he compared the living soil and our need to care for it to the story of Frankenstein and the Monster.

We had really hoped that our good friend would be the seventh grade winner so we could go to State together, but it didn't work out. He did win according to one of the judges, but the average of the judges put him a few points behind. Sigh. He is in my writing class, and he did his research paper on the soil so he could prepare. It was a good comparison of how the soil "lives". Maybe the winner won't be able to go and he will get to be the alternative. I really don't think he was as upset as the rest of us. He still got $25!

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So we took the boys to see Alice in Wonderland that afternoon to celebrate their winnings. It was a good movie. The special effects are mind-boggling.

Untitled

Dreams by daytime duties deterred Midnight musings my mind disturb. Fog, creeping through crevasses of my thoughts, Envelopes my earliest travels and ought To bring blind slumber to a work-weary woman But instead are the quiet whispers of a waiting woman. Words flow into me like cold water from a spring-fed stream Pictures created by the posturing of a dream, Perhaps, but certainly a soul searching for sustenance Sailing the waters of an ominous sea Rowing the rhyme back into me. The wispy cloud lifts its influence. When the Spirit unaffected by the moon Quietly, softly enters my room And truly my troubles are all undone As I lift myself from the rubble and run Through the fields of a former forgotten time When every lilting of my life ran with the rhyme. Childish wiggles and giggles sound within The invitation to begin The blessing count: strong heart, a home, a husband, My own two sons, friends, goats, and land, Generations before that gave me my voice, The knowledge that indeed I do have a choice. I choose to be busy, to forget in the fray, That my life is more than just the every day. Important are the institutions of faith, hope, and love Instilled in my being by the Greater Being above. Mercies unending and my choice is once more To meet with the same every soul at eyes' door.

Your Poetry Is Too Loud, Ma'am

We just received an email that #2 took first place in the county for the essay and poster contest in the Soil Conservation Dept. Today they went on to the District level and his poster placed third and the essay first! That means he has won $160!!! He is very excited and asked how much of that money could he keep. I told him we would talk. He wants some money for when we go to Wolf Lodge again, and I told him maybe that would help pay for summer camp, too. He wants to go to the science camp again this year. I got in trouble at the library today. I was playing an Iron Maiden song too loudly. Yeah, the preacher's wife was misbehaving. We had writing class there again today, and we are studying poetry now. Today we covered end rhyme and were looking at The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I read some of it to the boys, but mostly I just told the story. Then we listened to the song by Iron Maiden. The librarian came in and asked us to turn it down since there was another class next to us. He looked confused when he came in and saw the Young Poet Society rockin'. I guess it had to happen, since this Angel fell from Heaven last week anyway. I was taking a nap upstairs, and when I started to walk downstairs in my sock feet, I slipped. I slammed both elbows, my back and head, and other unmentionables. I thought for quite a while that I had broken my left elbow, but it was just very badly hurt. Of course, the whole time I am trying not to pass out from the pain all I can think of is..."Broken bones are not covered on our policy. How much is this going to cost?!" Thankfully, my personal PA, Miss Diann, was able to look at it at church and declare me only badly bruised. You don't realize how much you lean on elbows until it hurts to do it. This Mabel hasn't had any trouble keeping her elbows off the table, that's for sure!

Don't Google Your Chicks

The chicks started hatching Sunday and continued through Monday. I was thinking that the roosters have a spot on their head, but I wanted to look it up to make sure. I Googled "how to sex black star chicks". The first two entries were exactly what I was looking for, but the rest of the entries were something entirely different. Let's just say there weren't any farm animals involved. It had not occured to me what might pop up with that Google reference. Recently I was talking with a friend whose 12 year old eighth grade daughter was asked by a boy if she had ever eaten a woman. Now when I was that age, I would have thought they were talking about cannibalism. The worse thing a boy asked me in eighth grade was if I was wearing a girdle. I didn't know what a girdle was, but I was sure I didn't have one on me. Oh how the innocence of children has changed. I am happy to have mine at home where I can filter a few more things than others get to filter. ------------ We had another Envirothon meet for training yesterday. I think we did really well, though there wasn't a test involved at this one to know how well we really did. I went to dinner with a friend, and then came home to crash. The cold that started last week with #1 has made its way through the entire family now. Yay! It's my turn.

Peeps

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, work with your hands, and mind your own business. That Thessalonians' scripture keeps popping up no matter how hard I try to ignore it. I guess I need to hear it loudly and often. I was trying to get #1 to write a research paper for a history contest, but I have decided that with everything else going on it would just be more stress to an already stressed out family. So he and I will have a discussion this afternoon about what the rest of the month should look like in school. It isn't so much that he can't get the paper done by the 19th deadline, but that it would require a lot of extra help from me, the teacher. Right now I just don't feel capable of helping all that much. I spent all day yesterday studying for a midterm, and I still feel unprepared. It is taking a long time for my brain to get back into the school mode of "student". We have eggs in the incubator that should hatch in the next couple of days. They started peeping this morning. I had planned to take them out of the turner this evening, and let them rest until hatching, but when we heard the peeps, I thought maybe I better speed up the plan. I have another 18 eggs in the incubator that should hatch at the end of the month and be good for Easter sales if anyone is interested. Any that don't sell for that will be eaten later or sold for eggs. There won't be any waste that's for sure. Kelly is enjoying looking at the incubator as the eggs peep. There have been so many cute things that my boys have said lately, but nothing is coming out of this head except mush. And it isn't even the kind you can fry up and eat. Sorry, F-I-L.

Envirothon Days

We have been studying hard for Envirothon lately. About a week ago we had a competition within the county and our team placed second! The #1 team was a team last year, too, so it makes sense that they would beat us out. We will just have to study harder.

I spoke with the other team's coach and asked what kind of things they do to prepare. The team was just put together a couple of weeks ago, and they aren't allowed to take field trips. They are in public school. Their teacher goes to church with a couple of boys on our team, and she told them Sunday that she was so jealous of the opportunities our team has had.

Going to Goose Creek has been a great field trip several times now. We went to study forestry in the fall, and this winter we have gone to study wildlife. We ended a couple of the learning sessions with hikes through the woods. The recent snows made a great addition to the surroundings according to the boys.

We were to go to Goose Creek on Weds. this past week, but we had snow again. The whole county closed school, so the event at Goose Creek was cancelled. We will be able to reschedule it for this Tuesday though.

What sorts of things do we do? Look at bear skulls of course! Envirothon has turned out to be interesting and a super addition to the science curriculum. I found out that I can get extra training this summer at a four day workshop. I certainly plan to take advantage of that! Let's Go Dirty Coon Foresters!!

Winterfest

It took me nearly a week to recover from Winterfest. There were nights after midnight and mornings up by 5ish. I needed a long recovery period after that. Once I caught up on sleep, then I had to catch up on work, so there wasn't any blogging for a while. I will have to remember that next year! The last night at Winterfest we try to eat somewhere nice, NOT fast food. Last year it was TGIFriday's, and some of the kids wanted to do that again while others wanted something new. The other female chaperone and I looked for places, and we tried Hard Rock Cafe, but at $13 for a burger we decided to keep looking. I heard a man in a fudge shop recommend Uva to a tourist, and it was near our hotel, so we tried it out. The food was good, inexpensive, and the place had charm. It is a mom and pop wine bar and cafe, and on Saturdays they have karaoke!! Several of the kids tried the karaoke and we are planning to make it a tradition. Just don't tell the elders that we took the kids to a bar!

#1 took a friend this year with him to Winterfest. I thought it would make the trip better for him if he had someone to share it with. It seemed to work. Here he is with his buddy volunteering to be in a game while we waited in one of the many Winterfest lines. They had to make a noise like a bison. Neither of them won, but I'm not sure that the group had ever heard a bison, so I don't know how legit the judging was. They were good sports about it though.

On Saturday afternoon, the kids get to have some free time to wander the town and shop. #1 really wanted to go back to a store he discovered last spring with our family. He bought this mask there.

Here we are waiting in line again. The conference is well worth the wait though. This year the theme was the veil that keeps us from God...Satan's trickery. There were lots of different ways the message was presented...acting, testimony, video, preaching, visuals, poetry, and a guest from The Biggest Loser. Communion on Sunday was intense.

The hotel we stayed in was a long walk through town to the conference center, but the kids said they liked it there. I think they liked getting to talk to each other while we walked. It also meant that they had to make a decision about what they wanted to do and not go back and forth to the room. The view from our room was great; the river below was beautiful.

So now I am "recovered" and hopefully will start blogging again. Of course with kids' projects due, chicks about to hatch, a play in full-swing practice, and a dog that is constantly in trouble there may not be another entry for a LOOOONNNNGGGGG time.