Going on

The Girl had her 7th birthday and enjoyed a special cake. ChubChub helped put out the fire. Another day of butchering chickens...

Branch is really progressing in his English reading and enjoys spending time entertaining his brother.

The Girl and a friend shared lots of giggles.

Mean Ol' Mama, The Girl and Chan at the family reunion Saturday night.

Poppins and Josiah sharing a guy moment...

Poppins also regaled us while we were eating breakfast. What is he doing? Why, singing opera, of course!

The kids have worked so hard with so many activities these past 2 weeks that they finally collapsed and slept Sunday afternoon. Even The Girl curled up in the window bench.

We hosted 22 Haitians over for supper Sunday night. It was very stormy outside but nice and calm inside. They were a blessing to us.

Trying to learn a Creole song...

Branch put on a puppet show for ChubChub, who was feeling a bit under the weather. It's fun to watch them.

Teresa gave a nice class on Claude Monet and Impressionism. They really enjoyed seeing the different styles.

And now to play Art Lotto...

We enjoyed a delicious lunch Monday: Thai Basil Rice with Turmeric and Shrimp. Mmmm... The CD player gives us all a bit of vacation as we listen to books on CD.

Mean Ol' Mama takes a vacation of her own in a cookbook. A bit of an obsession...

The Girl is trying to memorize her Patriotic Performance speech by Wednesday.

Branch is marching is circles trying to memorize his.

And Josiah is lost in a book...

Breathe In...Breathe Out...

A week has passed since we last posted, but our life has been busy, busy, busy. For those who were asking about our Monday class, here are the books we use with the kids. The ones to the left are read-alouds, while the ones on the right are workbooks for Greek and Latin. The blue folder holds our current memory work. These books are only for Monday and are used in addition to other language books. Last Monday the boys rose early and picked peas with Teresa, so we invited a friend over and held a pea-picking while Mean Ol' Mama read through Religion, Logic, Trivia and Latin. Quite a combination: peas and philosophies!

Branch purchased an inflatable boat and has enjoyed every minute of it.

ChubChub is growing so quickly, but he's still such a precocious little guy.

The Girl loves her Daddy...(so does Mean Ol' Mama!)

We made a delicious pound cake (thanks, Martha Stewart!) using our fresh blueberries. Quite delicious.

The boys finished up their essays this week discussing the prompt What Constitutes a Good Eduation? They have some interesting thoughts. We have been observed these last 2 weeks by students from the local College who need to finish their education observation hours. Needless to say, school has been busy, busy, busy.

Uncle Tim brought ChubChub a pair of cowboy boots that he picked up somewhere. What a happy little cowboy!

And now we have two cow-punchers!

The next photo shows a not-too-clear page of The Girl's Spanish Bible work. One of the questions asked if her name was written in the Book of Life, and she quickly wrote it in on the little book pictured on that page. What a cutie!

Hot enough, Stennes? We have had stifling temperatures the last week, and the fellows are drenched after any amount of outside work.

We took a popsicle break after getting ready for company, and it was nice just to sit and "be" together for a while.

Last Friday we sang for our supper! A local assisted-living home invited us for a genuine southern fish fry and asked if we would host a sing-along afterwards. It was such a blessing for all of us, and the cheese grits were unbelievable.

We had a family visiting from Minnesota over the weekend. Five more fellows and two gals! We ate, ate, and ate. The boys had a paintball war while we parents were flabbergasted to see them wearing winter jackets in the heat of summer.

Our friend Jeremy spent some book time with ChubChub.

Look what Mean Ol' Mama found on her bedroom floor! The poor little guy was worn out from so much playing that he slipped off and found a quiet place.

The Girl finally had another girl to play with! In fact, she and her friend made a Father's Day cake together for supper.

Meanwhile the sweaty, sweaty, sweaty boys spent some time on the front porch with a couple of ripe watermelons!

Jeremy was kind enough to give the boys Army-style haircuts, and ChubChub was coerced into sitting still with Hogan's Heroes.

The ladies remained inside with Chan and put together a puzzle.

Stennes rode around the yard on the go-cart, offering rides to sweet little passengers.

Another family (5 more fellows! and two ladies) came to visit Sunday afternoon, and we sang songs before the Minnesota folks headed back.

Sunday night we went to a Haitian camp and had a meeting in the kitchen area. Talk about hot, hot, hot! We were all dripping wet when we left, but it was such a beautiful time with these people. They have taught us 2 new Creole songs, and we're planning on hosting a huge dinner for them this coming Sunday at our house. Their testimonies are heart-breaking.

And to finish up this post, Mean Ol' Mama snapped a shot of these cute cards left on her bed last night. The Girl usually leaves a little something special on our pillows each night. Talk about crawling into a soft, cozy bed...

Busier Than Ever

Our cousin down the road called to say that a turtle was burying her eggs right by the driveway. We had an spur-of-the-moment field trip only to discover that either a dog had already savaged the eggs or the turtle-mom was making a preliminary visit to seek the perfect place for her babies. Not a sight of turtle nor eggs, but an interesting discussion followed...

The Girl snoozed for a while, but the boys were busy fishing in order to have a fish fry on Friday night. We had a Mexican couple come for supper, and they were very interested in our foods and customs . We had a good time with them and a yummy meal!

The Girl set up a small desk for ChubChub in the school room. He really thinks he's special. And he is, is, is!

Alas, the poor copperhead should not have been in Josiah's bean garden while he and ChubChub were harvesting beans. We kill venemous snakes that are on our property. It's a matter of safety for the little ones and for Mean Ol' Mama's sanity.

Guess who dressed up as a Junior Ranger the other day? Big brother Anders made him a special cap to wear, too.

The boys have been busy helping Pop load/unload many cement blocks, putting up/taking down Pop's huge tent (for a funeral) and doing a lot of work around the homestead.

And just look at what Mean Ol' Mama discovered sitting right in the middle of her kitchen floor! Actually, Anders told her about the visitor, and Mean Ol' Mama remained barricaded in the bedroom until Mr. Sapo was escorted outside. Yep...

I've got jelly in my belly, jelly on my cheeks, jelly makes me happy, jelly keeps me sweet....

Look what the Big Boys did to our darling ChubChub...

Stennes was fiddling around with the lathe, turning a fresh stick of wood. He left it overnight on the counter, and we awakened to discover a tidy mound of sawdust made by a beetle buried within the stick. This piece of wood was also escorted out to join Mr. Sapo. Yep.

Oatmeal and math? The Girl not only couldn't wait to do her math but she also "stole" Branch's book to finish it up for him. He didn't complain in the least.

Chocolate peanut butter on fresh bread...What could be better?

Working hard, hard, hard. It's awfully hot down here in south Georgia, and our schoolroom can be quite "aromatic" some days when the boys pile in to do their work. Sitting between them during Latin class can be quite overwhelming, as well. And not because their imperfect subjunctive verbs are so perfectly parsed, either. [...Ahem...]

A quiet moment for Stennes as he tries to fix Josiah's fishing pole. A boy-to-man moment for Mean Ol' Mama.

Aha, so that's where all that jelly and chocolate peanut butter end up, eh?

Scrubbing the floor is an easy chore when they all work together. Concrete requires little upkeep.

ChubChub was elected to finish up under the table. He had a nice time wiping up the soapy water.

And as a treat...SWIMMING with SUPER-CHUB!!

We had a good week with lots of unexpected activity. We decided to switch back to alternating English and Spanish school because the kids have so much to do in each language that it's difficult to fit it all in daily, plus the other languages they're studying. This past week was English week for bookwork, and there was a definite sigh of relief for us all. We followed this rotation a few years back, and we're glad to be doing it again.