Lots-of-Action Weekend

Poppins bought the boys a new piece of equipment to further develop their exercise routines. He demonstrated how to use the "perfect push-up" pads. Then it was Josiah's turn. The boys are really beginning to develop strength, agility, and persistence.

Here's a photo of their purchase. So far they've used it quite a bit, even following a daily routine that gradually increases strength and good form.

Stennes finished 3 hand-carved signs that were ordered by customers. It's a good hobby for a boy. He learns a skill and earns a bit of pocket money.

We traveled to Alabama to perform for a group of 70. Mean Ol' Mama's aunt and uncle live about 1 1/2 hours away, so we stayed the night with them. The kids did an outstanding job. Mean Ol' Mama's guitar string broke on the 2nd song, and Teresa wasn't with us, but they were great. Speeches went well, the songs were loud and vibrant, and they received a standing ovation.

After the show, they were treated to pizza in the youth center. The pressure was off, so they were quite silly.

These three young ladies with ChubChub were actually hired by the church to baby-sit, but they were quite surprised to discover that he was the only child who needed watching. He's quite the lady's man, isn't he?

And these two silly kids were delighted to find "alien eyes" in a goody bag from their aunt.

The boys spent yesterday before the performance and Sunday morning fishing off our hosts' dock, so we had fish for supper. Poppins gave a lesson on the art of cutting a filet, and the results were yummy. These next few days will be very busy for our family, so we'll do our best to keep you posted.

Easy Days

The weather is balmy and enjoyable, especially for December. Mean Ol' Mama snapped this photo of the boys eating Chinese out on the picnic table. What a collection of oddities: chopsticks, cowboy boots, a football cap, a broken rifle, and a boy in shorts in December. Branch doesn't quite have the hang of chopsticks, but Poppins has made the rule that they all learn, so he's giving it his best shot. The other boys usually choose the sticks over forks.

Another odd shot: stir fry and...Peppermint Mocha coffee???? We drink a lot of different teas, but today was a coffee treat for Mean Ol' Mama.

The Girl is trying to decide why Anders is hiding. Is it because he doesn't want to do his Algebra, or perhaps it's so viewers won't know whose dirty feet those are. Hmmmm...the perplexities of boyhood...

The Girl was in charge of supper preparation, so she faithfully scrubbed potatoes without complaining. This is NOT her favorite chore, so she showed maturity in doing her duty.

Speaking of duty, Anders proves himself faithful in the next photo by doing a certain right hand motion over and over and over...Is he always so compliant, you ask? Not so, but he's certainly making progress. Whining about duty brings more of what they're trying to avoid, so it's to their benefit not to whine.

Josiah and The Girl decided to pick up fallen limbs out in the yard for the burning pile. We've had quite a bit of wind and rain, so limbs are usually scattered here and there.

ChubChub was given the chore of washing Mean Ol' Mama's bread proofing container. He got as much bubbles on himself as he did on the dirty dish, but it was a profitable 10 minutes of training.

The Algebra boys had a good time playing with ChubChub before their teacher arrived. He gets more than his share of attention.

The older boys were hired to detail-clean Mean Ol' Mama's kitchen. What a blessing to have strong, able fellows who are willing to do jobs such as these. Were they paid? One of them is working off a debt for the recent purchase of his .22, and the other received a bit of pocket money. They have worked much harder for as much pay, so they were quite pleased and even have made plans for other such jobs around the home that don't seem to get done often enough.

And this little guy? Even such a Mean Ol' Mama as I could not resist letting him have the last cookie. Just check out those eyes, that little pout.

Lives of the Little Folks

The three "littles" in our family have been easing along the past few days. The Girl works eagerly at her Spanish work every day, Branch's English reading is coming along nicely, and they both did a pretty good lesson in Latin and a bit in Greek today. If only our days would be more "steady"...[sigh...] ChubChub pulled off dried Seminole Pumpkin seeds that Poppins was drying for next year. He's a smart little critter who needs constant direction in order to produce favorable results. In other words, idle hands are ready for trouble, and an idle mind like his can devise tremendous trouble.

Mean Ol' Mama tried both a new bread recipe and a new baking technique and was simply enchanted with the results. The bread was delicious and was quickly enhaled by the six swarms of locust who live in the house that Poppins built.

Speaking of Poppins, he taught Stennes how to replace a door knob. He decided to put a keyed knob on his office door. Remember ChubChub and his idle mind...? Enough said.

Look what The Girl bought for $1.00 at the local Salvation Army! Tap shoes! On our concrete floor! Can you tell that Mean Ol' Mama is just thrilled? Speechless indeed...but The Girl is happy...

Finally, after a full day of whining, he's out. Mean Ol' Mama wonders how she's going to stay ahead of him once he starts school.

A chicken? A princess? Both. What a silly, precious Girl.

During school time, ChubChub has Blanket Time. He stays on the blanket and plays happily, or at least that's the intention. He's pretty cooperative, though, so our day goes a little smoother. Mean Ol' Mama makes him stay on his blanket for about 1 hour. Too long? Perhaps, but he is happy for that length of time, so we're sticking with it.

Branch and The Girl are having an English math competition in the photo below. They'll do anything for a teeny piece of candy and they each enjoy beating the other at skill games

After English math, The Girl wrote a thank you card for her fish soap [see previous posts] while Branch caught up with Spanish math.

As a reward, Mean Ol' Mama gave them a Surprise Snack with bits of goodies that were "special" [needed-to-be-cleaned-out]. They were pretty excited. The big boys were at Band, so it was indeed a special time with just the Little Folks.

The past few days

We have had 3 Christmas performances this week in addition to our "normal" wild schedules. The Girl took one of Poppins' shirts to a performance earlier this week in order to keep her dress clean during the luncheon that was served. She's still just as sweet as the brownie she chose for dessert. We went directly from the luncheon to another performance, and the logistics of loading all of those instruments can be quite a challenge.

And yet another performance. After this show, a sweet little grandma came up and asked, "Do you suppose the children could do just one more show? It's just down the road...". It's hard to say "No" to a sweet little grandma, and the kids had such a good attitude about performing yet again.

The Girl helped make a cumin-garlic paste with her molcajete. She's an industrious housegirl.

Wow, Branch, what's in the bag that makes you smile? Can we take a peek?

Incredible! A collectin of arrowheads given to the boys by a friend of the family. Pop already has plans to display these in such a way that each boy (and The Girl) gets a bit of history to keep and pass on.

Stennes has been busy the past few days with orders for hand-carved house signs. He needs to finish 3 within the next week, so between guitar, performances, Mean Ol' Mama, and a million other unscheduled "emergencies", he has his hands full. Branch went up to the Shop for a bit of carving, too.

Mean Ol' Mama's nephew graduated Thursday night in a nice private ceremony. The photo below shows some friends helping us get everything situated. Quite a few people attented, and we all had a good time visiting and eating, except for those of us who daintly just nibbled a piece of celery...[ahem...].

A very special friend sent a gift to The Girl at the graduation party. She made soap with a plastic fish "swimming" inside, wrapped in a baggy just as a goldfish from the pet store would be when purchased. The Girl was thrilled, but ChubChub was upset about not being able to touch the fish.

But the sweetest sight of all is to see a tired, hard-working man still in his work clothes, faithfully bent over his Bible as he shares Christ with his children. Passing on the legacy...

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!