Conversations from the Garden

The Girl wasn't too excited about throwing the limbs in the fire, but she tried her hardest to smile. "I can, Mommy..."

"This ground sure is dry, Mommy. Maybe it's like this in Africa where the poor people are..."

[Josiah]:"Do poor people in other countries work their gardens without shoes? This ground sure is hot."

[Mommy]: "Shoes are for special times, JoJo, like church."

[Josiah]: "Then I won't wear shoes, either, so I can work like they have to."

Diamonds in the Rough

On display: a huge, sparkling diamond in the Smithsonian. I doubt it came out of the ground looking like this. How many times do we despair of our situations, our childrens' attitudes, our finances, or any other "chunk of coal" in our lives? And yet, perhaps they're just diamonds in the rough, waiting for God's patient (and sometimes painful) chiseling to make us worthy of display to others.
Today was an easy day for us. The boys had their last class with a fabulous classical guitar teacher; he's moving on to the "big city". We hoed and flipped soil for a much-needed expanded garden. We didn't do Latin. We didn't do "school". We didn't follow the routine. But our diamonds were honed and polished a little and it was a pleasant day of "being"...

Tuesday's Happenings

Our local homeschool group meets together for various activities on the last Tuesday of the month. We always enjoy seeing each other and doing the different fun classes. Here is The Girl and a friend (at our house after the meeting). They decided to paint together. Where were the boys? Keep reading down below.... Oh, here are the guys: all 9 of them! They are upstairs watching a video on the computer.

Here are some of the kids at the meeting, faithfully holding their just-made hand puppets. They are about to make the sound of the animal on Old MacDonald's farm...

And here is our guest speaker: Nancy Hart. It's an interesting research project if you're not familiar with what she did for the colony of Georgia. We had a jolly good time with our speaker, the puppets, action songs, and a hilarious "acting out" of the Good Samaritan. There were 59 attendees.

A Surprise Sunday

A gopher turtle was making his slow way across our yard when we got home from preaching Sunday evening. He was enjoyed for a while and then released down by the pond.

Pictures from this weekend

Aren't I a cute little prairie girl? Those buffalo won't know what to think of me, will they? Now, that's more like it. A real little prairie lady with her baby. The Girl received the outfits for Christmas this past year.

These are not prairie ladies. ChubChub decided to sit with them while we were preaching. This group had just arrived earlier in the morning . The man wearing shorts sitting in front actually knew us from when we had been preaching last year in another camp. Small world, eh?

Birthday Bash

Yesterday afternoon we went to a birthday party for a little Mexican girl. The food was great, and the children were able to break a pinata and get wet on a slip-and-slide.

Our Girl is in Love

What's not to love about this suitor? Kind, happy, hard-working, brings flowers, but...oh no, he's already married! To Mommy! Poppins bought The Girl her first bouquet of flowers just because she's so very, very special. (He is, too...)

Another Light in our World

Today Josiah finished his Shop with Pop project. He made a lamp for his bedside table and added his favorite theme: fishing. I had not seen this lamp before today, so it was quite a delight to see how nicely he made his project. The light pull is a fishing lure (see above picture), and the fish are very colorful and well-painted. Good job, Josiah!

Feeding these Critters

Today we picked up a bulk order recently brought in from Montana. The boys sure are handy at loading and unloading these big bags. We purchased bags of pinto beans, red lentils, green lentils, 9-grain cracked cereal, 6-grain flake cereal, and black beans. This order should last us till next week. Well, okay, maybe a little longer....but can you imagine how much food we eat at our house? We try hard to meet our criteria of 3: (1) nutritious, (2) inexpensive, (3) world conscious. I'm very, very thankful for bulk purchasing. It sure makes planning and cooking easier for all of us.

How do our gardens grow...?

Here are Poppins' famous tomatoes of different varieties. These will soon be staked with bamboo, as they usually grow higher than we can reach overhead.

This is a part of Anders' garden. I thought the corn stalk looked mighty proud and peacock-like. Each child has his own garden; Stennes has the largest. His is out in a fenced area behind the back yard.

Poppins has planted 4 citrus trees of different varieties this year. They're coming along beautifully, and we hope to pick some yummy fresh fruit this coming year.

Here is my little herb section. I really enjoy mint, rosemary, and basil. Unfortunately, the puppy also enjoys my basil, so I need to replace the plant. This little section brings me much satisfaction and adds tasty flavors to our simple meals.

Sunday Service

This afternoon we went to a trailer park near Quincy, Florida, which is about a 45 minute drive. We took a huge load of clothes for those who wanted them and we cooked hotdogs on the grill. As a treat, Pop brought deer sausage to be grilled for those who were adventurous enough to try them. They were a hit with the Hispanics! A friendly game of soccer topped off the day, and we got home at 8:30. We won't be seeing these people for the next few months; the migrants are here and our summer outreach with them is now beginning. Remember us in your prayers.

A Satisfying Saturday

Today The Girl and I had a class on making tortillas. It isn't that difficult to do, but the dough can be a little tricky to work with because the tortilla is pressed so thin that it tears very easily. We found our "rhythm" ; she formed the balls of dough, used the press to create the circle, and I cooked them. These yummy tortillas were served with a soup : squash (Anders' garden), tomatoes from last year's harvest, bits and pieces of veggies, and potatoes. Yummy, yummy...especially with warm tortillas. Daddy was quite happy. The Girl is becoming a skilled homemaker.

Friday Funny Fotos

Under the Big Top

This is Pop's preaching tent, set up for a friend's wedding this past Saturday. It's quite a job to set it up.

Now the kids are helping to break it down. Everything has to be done "just so" in order for each piece to fit back in correctly.

Josiah is unlacing one of the tent panels. Hands and knees work...and backbreaking...

Everyone has a job to do in order to finish. The favorite jobs are pounding in the stakes and knocking them loose again. Some of the boys like taking down the tall center posts because they get temporarily "trapped" underneath as the tent eases down.

Yep, everyone has a job to do. Rescuing stuffed animals from the "burning" tent is important for this little fireman.

The Performance of a Lifetime

Last evening was the second performance of the Tallahassee Homeschool Band. Stennes and Josiah joined this group last August. They all played so well last evening.
Stennes plays trombone, and Josiah plays saxophone. We're always amazed at how quickly the boys progress in their music. The band played 6 pieces last night, some of which were outstanding for first year students.

Cloudy Mother's Day

This morning we went to the Boat Basin, a local park with a small beach area. It was cool and cloudy, but the children enjoy swimming so much.

Here are the six of them, although one is still submerged. They are probably looking for buried treasure. Daddy and I are sitting on the beach, keeping an eye open for gators. Oofda!

ChubChub enjoyed playing in the sand. His little swim trunks were quite full of sand and pebbles by the time we went home.

And here is The Girl, shaking with cold. She enjoys playing with the boys, but the cold water and air eventually won out. She decided to rest on the beach for a while, wrapped in a cozy towel.

But what about Mother's Day? I received a sweet card and a promise for a plant of my choice. I can't wait to choose my new plant. Basil? A flowering shrub? Something exotic? Choices, choices...

A Day of Fun...(kind of...)

Isn't this a beautiful spot for swimming? Our cousins offer their pool as often as we want to use it, which is about twice a week. Their children are grown, so the pool stays empty. We travel a whole 1/2 mile to arrive, swim, and head back home. What a blessing! After a writing/geography class, Latin quizzes, shop cleaning, and general busy-ness, this is a perfect way to end the week.

Here are those boys making a splash as only boys can.

And check out those muscles ! We have an extra "son" with us for the day, and he's right in there with the rest of them. Aren't they silly (and handsome, too...) ?