Bambi

No her name isn't Bambi, but she does have big doe eyes doesn't she? I thought I got this picture in yesterday's post, but I guess not. #1 really does like little kids. I think he would be a good teacher. He has talked about being a teacher or a youth minister.

 #2 did get a doe over the Thaksgiving break though. The first day was too foggy, and though they tried going out, he and my father had to return home empty handed and stay in all day long.

 The second day was foggy but not as bad as the first. They came upon two does, and my dad told #2 to lean against the tree and line up his shot. Dad said #2 was very calm and careful, and he shot just as he should have. The shot went right in the back and dropped her quickly. They went back home to get the tractor to haul her out. She was about 120 pounds and as tall as #2.

 On Friday after Thanksgiving we cut up the meat. #2 wanted steaks and stew meat and that's just what he got. He ended  up with 17 quart bags of meat. He even got two bags of the backstrap which is like filet mignon. My boys love filet mignon! Expensive tastes, I know.

#2 was disappointed that there wasn't more meat in a deer, and he plans on getting two next year. Well he can plan all he wants, but a lot of it is luck. #2 wanted to let the 4H club try the meat, so we had stew meat at the meeting last week. I put it in the crockpot with some herbs and Worcestershire sauce. It was good. We have had steaks, too that were good. She was a yearling deer and the meat is tender enough for a butter knife. Betcha loved that last sentence, all  you non-hunters!

Angel Cops and Scarves

Our 4H club hosted the program for the County Council meeting last month. The kids led the meeting- 3 of our kids are officers- and then we had invited a policeman to come and speak to the group.

 After the speaker told us about the homeless in town who don't stay at the shelter, we made no-sew scarves to give out to the homeless. The cop who spoke started a group that helps the unsheltered homeless in our town. They are called "Angel Cops" and there are about 57 tents set up in "Tent City" now for these homeless people.

 Our club purchased the fleece to make the scarves, and then all of the kids got to make one. They cut the fringe and then tied it in knots. I think we made 37 scarves, but don't hold me to that.

Of course some of the kids babysat siblings while the others made scarves. This little cutie thinks she is my son's girlfriend. She attaches herself to him whenever she can.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Finally here are the pictures. I did not do the Beavers' makeup, but I had to do touch ups on it as they sweated under the stage lights. Their teeth would start to come off!! Anway I thought their make-up was well done.

 As you may remember, I DID get to do Aslan's make-up. Up close like this doesn't do it justice. Once he was on stage and at a distance it looked really good. He was a great lion with a super roar.

 This is the White Witch, whom I also did not make up, but she looked pretty. She had HUGE false eyelashes, and I did get to put false eyelashes on the Unicorn, but no picture.

 This is the Blue Jay, one of Aslan's Followers. She was a sweet girl, and I enjoyed making her up.

 #1 was originally supposed to be a centaur, but they couldn't get the back legs to work right, so he became a Satyr. The head dress was really cool, and at 6'2" already, it made him look very towering. The White Witch should have run just looking at him!

 The five o'clock shadow was my creation.

 My camera isn't great for long distance shots, but it was a wonderful stage of scenery. It was really cool to watch them break down the set at the end and see what it was all made of. Mostly cardboard, believe it or not!

A happy ending with the new Kings and Queens of Narnia. Two more months until the next play practices start. Whew!!

Christmas Blah

Everyone is feeling it; the Christmas Blah. We don't want to do school work, house work, or yard work. We don't want to get up in the morning. We don't want to cook, clean, or decorate. We don't want to be exhausted, but we are.
For my own household, we don't decorate anyway, but it seems there are so many other things that have to get done at this time of year, that it is very small comfort not to decorate.
I hate to spend money this time of year, knowing that a lot of money is going to be spent, but my legs and feet are killing me. I think my exhaustion can be helped if I have some new tennies. I know some of you are nodding your heads and saying , "Sure it will help." Seriously, I don't like to shop, it isn't for an excuse to go shopping! I don't want to get out of bed the legs hurt so badly.
So there you have it. Christmas Blah.
Blah blog post too.
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Wednesday night was the Christmas Pageant. The kids did an excellent job and Mary DID decide to have Baby Jesus. She giggled through it, but at least he was born. The sweet little angel delivered the baby right to the manger, and everyone oohed and aahed. King Herod managed to show off his regal disposition and not have a fit that he was a "bad guy". The shepherds and wise men were right on cue. It was a good program and I am glad we did it.
One girl asked if we will do this for every holiday. I said I thought we would at least do Easter. "Who gets to be the bunny," she exclaimed. Hmmm. I guess we will have to start by reading the Bible.

Trees

 I love trees. They make a place look lived in and loved. BUT, I don't like trees when hurricanes come through. Our front pear tree split during Irene and we needed to trim it up.

 My men have been working hard clearing branches and even trunks away to the fire pit.

It's good activity for ornery boys! Plus we will have some lovely fires this winter and spring.

Geography Finale

 Our last Geography club meeting was a cooking session by popular demand. The kids voted that we all bring recipes and ingredients and cook a South American meal together and then enjoy lunch. These boys helped me make tortillas with the tortilla press. The little one stayed with me the entire time. He was so excited about his tortillas, he wanted to take one home to his dad.

 These kids are working on sauces to go on the rice. The sauces were yummy, but we ran out of rice.

 We were in charge of drinks, so the boys and I went to the local supermercado and bought some things. The sodas were not all that tasty, but I don't care for most soda anyway. The far left drink was an atole, which is cornmeal, milk, and cinnamon. It was good the first time around, but warming it up the next day for breakfast... not so good. The far right white drink was a rice mixture, also not so good. I guess I will stick to water.

And finally we enjoyed our lunch. Until next year Phileas Fogg Geography Club!

Sock Hop Third Edition

 Elvis made an appearance again at the Sock Hop this year. This was the third year we held this event.

 We brought a couple of friends from church. They seem to think glasses make you a "Fifties Girl". I guess there weren't many contacts wearers back then. I didn't take offense at the glasses.

 These sweeties were helping at the refreshments stand. There were lots of goodies as wella s the most delicious chili dogs you ever ate!

 #1 was supposed ot be helping at concessions, but someone caught his attention. I guess he didn't notice if anyone swiped a few of the goodies.

Enviro Trip 2: Raleigh

 Our second day was spent in Raleigh. We went to the Centennial Campus at NC State University. That is where the Wildlife Resources Commission is centered. We toured the exhibits and watched a movie about the changing environments in NC. Then we had a class on Radio Telemetry.

 After class instruction, we went outside to actually search for critters with the radios. It was not as pleasant out as the previous trip, and were not as thrilled. It was pouring the rain, acyually, and had turned colder. Still we plodded through the forest looking for...

 This TURTLE! Yes, they have radio transmitters on 8 turtles and you can go out and search for them. Because of the colder weather, the turtle had gone underground. You can see its orange shell in the center of the picture. It was buried in mud.

We left there and went to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to hear a lecture and visit the exhibits. Here we are stroking a taxidermied opossum. Our next field trip is a three day excursion in February.

Enviro Trip 1: Don Lee Center

A month ago, HOW COULD THAT BE!?, we went on a field trip with our Environmental Science class. These kids are going to really kick butt at the Envirothon competition if they stay calm. It was a great day of learning and doing hands-on activities in a gorgeous environment.

 The kids got to go canoeing to look for macroinvertebrates. They found a jellyfish that was pretty cool. It is near the mouth of a river, so we weren't too far from the ocean. Still it was unusual to find a jellyfish.

 There were a couple of dissecting classes, and #1 actually participated. He may end up with Biology 2 after all! Actually he is nearly done with science classes, and I would be hard pressed to talk him into any more. Anyway, the kids dissected a squid and a fish that day.

 The kids collected plankton and looked at it in a microscope. They also tracked some animals and then make casts of some tracks.

This is our group. There will be a high school team and a middle school team. It was a beautiful day, and we had a fabulous time. I want to LIVE at the Don Lee Center!

Parking

The one positive about the political night was learning that some churches evidently provide parking spots for their preacher's wife. You can see I took a picture of that!!

I approached the elders at our church about it, and they said they could find a spot for me. It was way off at the other end of the property. I guess they think I need a little exercise. I'm sure it had nothing to do with a lesson in humility!

Southern Politics

A month ago or more, the 4Hers helped conduct a Political Candidate Forum. In the past we have hosted a Political Meet and Greet of the candidates, but without an agent this year we piggy-backed another group and just helped out. They let us ask four or five questions, so some of the kids were assigned a question, and they stood up at the microphone to ask. That was about the middle of the evening.

 I was in front of all of the other 4Hers from the county, and so I missed seeing that they got up and left part way through. We stuck it out through the whole thing. Whew!!

 Questions were asked that are illegal to ask- like "What party do you belong to?" in a non-Partisan race. Strange comments were made like, "Will you promote a bill saying that boys have to keep their pants above their underwear?" That seemed to be a serious request!

We stuck it out through the entire meeting, but once it was over we booked it out of there. We rewarded the kids with a dinner at Wendy's, and the poor things were accosted by a man who talked their ears off. What a night.

Best Christmas Pageant

A new month and perhaps a renewed blogging run. The play went well; pictures are coming soon. We went from one play into another though, as the Christmas season at church started. I am helping produce a small Christmas Pageant that will be given next Wednesday at Family Night. The kicker is that the roles I assigned are unwanted. The lines are not difficult for Mary, so I gave the role to the five year old who doesn't read. It turns out she doesn't want to have Jesus and refuses to answer positively when the angel appears. Of course, the angel doesn't feel so hot either since she wanted to be Mary because Mary is on stage longer. King Herod is unhappy because he is a "bad guy", and on it goes. The director looks exhausted by the time the parents come to pick them up.
This is so reminiscent of our attitudes with God. He has assigned each of us a role to play in this great production of Life, and we all complain about it. "I don't want to do that!" "Why does she get to be the star?" "Why do I have to do the dirty work?" And the Great Director looks exhausted knowing He doesn't get to send them home with someone else.
In fact, He was the parent who sent His Son into this cast of unprofessional actors. He watched as each fulfilled a role in the raising and slaughtering of His Son. And He never gave up, never quit, never resigned. He still directs and produces today. Take a bow God.