Thanksgiving Holiday

Our friend Katty gave The Girl a sewing lesson on her little machine. Katty then helped her use the big machine to make forms for small pillows. Meanwhile, Mami was busy in the kitchen making corn tortillas, so The Girl decided to spend a little time helping out by forming the small balls of masa. Just in time for the first tortillas to come off the griddle, nice and hot...[hmmmm...]

Mean Ol' Mama gave The Girl a sewing box that Pop made for YaYa (now deceased) many years ago. She was thrilled and thoroughly enjoyed setting up her sewing supplies. Look like she has a new hobby...

Katty was busily sewing the whole time. She made The Girl 11 skirts with matching ponytail holders. What a blessing to have long skirts for such a slim little waif!

We had a hotdog feed at the Cook Out site. Even the guitar teacher came out for a roasted marshmallow, the first he had ever eaten. "Too sweet !", was his opinion. Can it ever be "too sweet" for kids, though? [And some big kids, too....]

The men sat around the pit and tended the cow's head that was slowly baking in the hot sand. Pop threw in a brisket for those who were a little [ahem...] less-than-thrilled about the cow's head.

Voila! Ye olde cow's head, teeth and all. This was brought out the next morning while Mami and Katty mixed up fresh tortillas and salsa. It was a "moo-ving" experience...

Poppins took all of the children to a local park to play a while and feed the animals. Wouldn't ya know it - our visitors had 2 boys, so The Girl was still just...The Girl.

After a full day of Thanksgiving feasting, Uncle Tim and a very full girl fell asleep on Aunt Linda's couch. We sure were blessed with food this year.

Josiah turned some more fishing lures in preparation for Swine Time, a local festival held each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We rented a booth to sell a few wooden items, give away Bibles and free wooden novelties, and sing at the top of each hour. The boys were a big, big hit!

It began raining, so the two lathes had to be covered. Before the deluge, though, the boys kept the lathes a-whirling, which drew quite a crowd of interested people. Poppins took this picture from the crowd's perspective during a top-of-the-hour performance.

We had a good time at the festival, but there's always work to get things back to normal. Those lathes are quite heavy, aren't they, fellows?

Poppins took some time Sunday afternoon to drill the boys on their multiplication facts. He's a very involved father, which is a blessing to us all.

"And now for a quiz, Anders. Look, son, I'll do one, too. Let's see who wins."

We celebrated Branch's 8th birthday Sunday evening with a small party. He received some unique gifts, such as Legos, cash, and...a crowbar? Yep, you never know when you'll have to pry yourself out of trouble!

Busy Monday and Tuesday

The older boys had pictures taken for the Tallahassee Homeschool Band. They're really progressing in their music, and the parents are looking forward to the Christmas Concert in a few weeks. Guess who got haircuts? All of those rascally boys. Mean Ol' Mama ain't no barber, but that little machine sure saves a lot of money through the years.

The Girl worked on her Spanish math one morning when everyone else was running around, entertaining visitors, and getting ready for a busy week.

Our visitors have spent the last two days looking at different areas on our property, but the Shop is always the most popular site. Stennes has enjoyed being with "Papi" (the elderly gentleman with his back to us). Being able to speak Spanish has been such a blessing in unexpected ways.

Katty and her mother gave The Girl and Branch a lesson on making gorditas, which are fat, sweet tortillas cooked on the griddle. Yummy, yummy, yummy. Definitely not for the calorie-counting gals.

"Mami" cooked the gorditas, which were snatched up and gobbled down as quickly as they came off the heat.

Mean Ol' Mama took the four adults to her Spanish 101 class where the students asked questions in Spanish and tried to understand the answers. We really had a good time. The students were already prepared with 3 questions each, so the conversations flowed smoothly (as smoothly as possible in foreign language classes...)

Papi was the hit of the class when he regaled us with a traditional Mexican song. The students were enthralled.

Wow!! Snacks and goodies from Mexico!! They were quite happy to try new tastes; some of the treats were a big hit while others were a little bit too spicy.

Adios! Adios! Mucho gusto...

Tuesday was a time for classes, Thanksgiving potluck, projects, and play with the homeschool group. The 4H teacher gave an interesting lecture on germs and demonstrated with a special light the "germs" (baby powder) that she had on her hands. Yuck! Gotta wash those hands, kids...

The kids also made Christmas projects to hand out at the nursing homes in the community. They really enjoyed the glue and glitter.

After a potluck lunch, the kids helped tie blankets for poor families on the border of Mexico. Stennes cut edges for the group to tie.

Josiah certainly had a pretty blanket, didn't he? Each fuzzy throw was embroidered on the corner with the words Cristo te ama [Christ loves you]. We hope that these blankets will be a blessing for many people this year.

The moms and kids formed groups around the room to tie up the edges of the blankets. It was a good time of fellowship and productivity.

After the homeschool time, we returned home to where the boys helped dig a pit in which to place hot coals and...A COW'S HEAD!! That's right, folks, Papi is going to treat us to authentic barbacoa. Bits of meat will be picked off the roasted head to be eaten with fresh tortillas. Another yummy!

Stennes and Levi worked at the Cook Out Site getting ready for a hotdog roast tomorrow. These are good days with good friends...

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Look at those pretty blue eyes. He's as sweet as his ice cream. Have you noticed his shirt before? Poppins and Mean Ol' Mama were doing an informal study on boys and their clothes [How Many Days Before They Change Without Being Told?]. Mean Ol' Mama couldn't take it any longer after the 12th day dawned and he came downstairs in the same shirt. What started out as Bible time ended up as sleepy time. Branch got on his knees to pray and didn't rise again until Poppins carried him upstairs to his bed.

We actually accomplished some English reading! Branch did very well the other morning and read through 6 books before he headed out to work in the Shop with Pop. Making progress...

The Girl took his place on the couch and worked on her Spanish reading while Mean Ol' Mama was busy hunting down ChubChub. We'll start in English reading when she finishes 29 more Spanish lessons. After that, she'll do school as the boys do: mostly in Spanish, with upper-level English living books.

In preparation for company coming from Texas/Mexico, the boys worked two days around the yard, moving logs, cleaning up, and getting the Shop in order.

They hauled logs to be burned at the Cook-Out Site, between our house and Pop's. They split logs for benches earlier this year, so we'll have a good time at our cookout on Wednesday. More photos to come...

You've probably heard of peeling fruit, but peeling logs ? Yep, the guys are "de-barking" logs in order to preserve the wood and discourage bug infestation. This is a chore that's been put off for quite a while, and we're glad to have it finished.

Ah, there's THE SHIRT again. Bespeckled with Branch's first squirrel from his trusty gun. Smeared with sweat and torn by briars. Never fear, folks, we're confident that THE SHIRT will be seen again in the future...[sigh...]

Josiah is pretty sneaky when it comes to chess. He thoroughly enjoys being on the winning side, and Poppins doesn't cut him any slack. The winner has to earn it fair and square.

Watch out! ChubChub's got his face ready to have a jolly good fist fight!

And his two older brothers are more than happy to trot him around the living room for a few rounds of exchanging blows. Gotta keep the little guy tuckered out...

Stennes and his cousin Levi spent some time in the Shop with our visitor from Mexico. We have enjoyed many pleasant hours at his ranch across the border, and we're so excited to have him and some of his family spending this next week with us.

Wednesday and Thursday

How many mothers can brag that they have a giant fishing lure hanging in their kitchen window? Mean Ol' Mama's quirky sense of humor and decorating works very well with having boys; she provides the impetus, they provide the product. Josiah worked hard at figuring out a tricky piece of fingering on his guitar. His algebra book is right under the music, so it was a photo worth taking: two struggles conquered by persistence.

Branch wanted to do a puzzle, so he and The Girl got one going. Branch's English reading is coming along, but Mean Ol' Mama is "puzzled" because his Spanish reading is still so much smoother. His English vocabulary is better than his Spanish, though. Go figure...

Teresa sent over a gift for the boys today, and they were excited to see a collection of Living Bible tapes and Sugar Creek Gang stories. We listen to stories during lunch hour while we eat. Mean Ol' Mama scrunches up at the corner of the table with a cookbook, and the kids chew quietly in order to hear each word of the narration. This works well for us.

"...seeing that she was lost in her muse, as imagination flowed from her fingertips..."

ChubChub was fascinated with one last flower from the yard. The boys' gardens are finished for the year, and as the weather turns colder, the plants are dying. We're already discussing garden dreams for next year.

Josiah is holding...grapefruit? Nope. Oranges? Nope. Squash of a sort? Nope. Lemons. Lemons. Lemons. Can you believe it?

And Poppins holds a satsuma that he picked off one of his trees. He holds Mean Ol' Mama's heart, too...