Images of this Week

The big boys brought animal balloons back from a bluegrass concert. The Girl and ChubChub were delighted, but Chub's doggy quickly found itself a bit deflated [...ahem...]. Josiah was in the hospital for 7 full days after the emergency appendectomy, so a dear friend of ours came over once in a while to stay so Mean Ol' Mama could be with Josiah. She sure was sweet to make banana bread out of those very ripe bananas on the table. And her helpers were just that: helpful [..painfully so...]

ChubChub enjoys a snack in the fresh air and sunlight.

Josiah was able to come home for a few hours on a day pass. He wasn't able to be active, so he sat on the porch with The Girl and helped her with her bird journal.

The Girl was missing Mean Ol' Mama. We are a fairly structured family, so anything out of the "abnormal" really throws us for a loop. "Yo quiero sentarme contigo, Mami" ["I want to sit down with you, Mommy"], and so she did and quickly fell asleep. It was quite pleasant for the two of us.

All dressed up for a birthday party!! Can you tell that ChubChub chose his own outfit? He's actually in-style but probably didn't try to be...

Hit it, ChubChub! Watch the kids behind you!

The Girl approached this challenge much more delicately. Tap, tap, tap...

Branch had no qualms about giving the pinata a decisively shattering whack. He struck treasure, and the dive for the goodies began.

Anders finished up the remaining legs of the poor little paper donkey.

Speaking of the donkey...While the others picked up candies, Anders instead chose the paper head.

Poppins gave the boys a class on using a yo-yo. He's actually quite good, and the kids were duly impressed by yet another fascinating facet of our beloved Poppins.

And now it's ChubChub's turn. The little guy had to stand on a chair for sufficient leverage.

We're excited to have Josiah back home. Things are working themselves back into a groove, but we're doing a lot of house -changing, garden- planting, book- reading, information -memorizing, and people -visiting, so our groove is a little bit different these days.

What a week - short and sweet post

Relaxing with encyclopedias. Comparing sea shells.

Preparing the side garden.

Celebrating a new birthday mandolin.

Grooving with the brothers.

Fixing Mean Ol' Mama's garden border.

Building raised beds for the south side garden.

Visiting Josiah after his emergency appendectomy. What a week.

A Day at the River

After a cold spell, we had a beautiful, warm Saturday to enjoy with Poppins. We took 3 of the canoes to a landing that leads to the Flint River. It was glorious out in the sunshine. Eeeeeek!!! A mouse hidden away in the canoe!!! Poppins suggested that the boys flip the canoe to let him escape.

And what natural delights are hiding under these rocks? Boys and boulders were made for each other.

Poppins headed out with The Girl and ChubChub to meet up with Anders and Branch who were slowly fishing their way to the river.

Stennes and Josiah followed behind. And Mean Ol' Mama? Ah, blissful peace and quiet. She happily waited with "to do" lists, plans, and beautiful blank pages with words just waiting to be written.

Poppins treated the family to fried chicken, and the kids quickly headed down to watch the water flow by. Isn't it a beautiful day?

Too much fried chicken, ChubChub? Gotta rest when you can...

The kids brought Mean Ol' Mama plenty of treasures from the water: a beautifully feathered plant...

shell rings to adorn her royal fingers...

and an aquatic bouquet that left her simply speechless...

Last (but by no means least), Anders surprised her with a real treat: a clawed, unhappy crawdad.

Josiah and Branch enjoyed batting the ball around for a while. It was so nice just to be together.

Even Poppins took a turn at pitching.

At last, Mean Ol' Mama decided to take on the river. She said her farewells to all of the children and Poppins as she made her way down the steep, slippery, dangerous, craggy, perilous way to the river...[ahem...].

"Catch me! I'm falling overboard! Good-bye, dear Poppins! Help! Save me! What do you mean we're not even away from the edge yet?"

"Good-bye, daaahling!"

Well, she made it back alive, although her arms will definitely feel the burn tomorrow.

We arrived home to discover an early birthday present for Anders: two "new" hamster cages (with accoutrements). Just what he needed to house all of those rascals!

And this little guy couldn't even wait on his Chinese supper. What a fun day we had!

Exciting Times

Branch was given a challenge by his violion teacher: learn a tricky piece in one week and he (the teacher, ex-Marine) would perform 70 push-ups in front of the boys. Go, Branch, go!!! Getting a bit rough, Charlie? 68...69...and 70!!! Way to go!

Mean Ol' Mama took all the boys for an over-night field trip in Warner Robins, 3 hours away. We saw some fascinating shows on TV, which was a real treat for the boys. The History Channel was a big hit. The photo below shows the boys getting ready to leave the hotel. Are you ready, guys? Guys? Hello, fellows????

And on to their favorite place: a buffet of any type. This buffet was quite delicious with a great selection of yummy food.

Another advantage of not having a TV at home is that children behave quite nicely when there is one to watch. Chinese food and Tom & Jerry cartoons were the perfect match.

We visited the Museum of Aviation near Robins AFB. We had such, such, such a good time. The only complaint from the boys..."No hay suficiente tiempo, Mami..." [We don't have enough time, Mommy]. We had scheduled just 2 hours for this trip, but we grossly underestimated the magnitude of the museum. Absolutely fabulous place. Between the Civil War fans and World War II scholars, there was more than enough to hold their interest for many more hours. We'll be returning in a few weeks.

This wooden airplane model was made by a pilot who died before it was completed.

You're the bomb, Stennes!!

This beautiful dress was made from pieces of American parachutes salvaged from paratroopers who fought in France during WWII. Those French women always have such flair. Yep, even a dress made of parachutes has an air of je ne sais quoi...

See those fellows hiding under the planes? They're plotting an invasion against the Nazis. The museum attendant was absolutely fascinated as she watched them "imagine". She was most definitely pro-homeschool when we left.

Mean Ol' Mama splurged on a bag of dried "astronaut" ice cream for the kids to test. It wasn't the greatest gourmet dessert, but they enjoyed the novelty. Even Poppins and some visiting friends tried a smidgen.

And see what a pretty sight awaited us as we exited a preaching place in Dothan, AL on Sunday afternoon. Isn't it wonderful to know that we are our Beloved's, now and eternally?