Grab a cup of hot tea and a soft pillow! Three weeks' worth of life and photos...

Wow, we've really been busy these past weeks. We had 4 Symbols of America patriotic performances. The kids all had to memorize speeches for their particular symbols and how these national symbols can also relate to our relationship with Christ. They did a fine job with the music and speeches.

ChubChub: The Flag
The Girl: Lady Liberty

Branch: Baseball

Anders: Yankee Doodle

Josiah: The Bald Eagle

Stennes: Daniel Boone

Levi: Uncle Sam

ChubChub slept peacefully through one performance after giving his little speech...

Josiah has been hatching out chicks and quail. They are teeny-tiny...

Poppins, Dr. Peter, and the boys purchased and moved a pigeon loft that Dr. Peter had built on another property. It's quite a grand addition to our little farm.Branch was given 3 pairs of racing pigeons, which is a phenomenal gift. They traveled a few hours to pick them up and to spend some learning time with the previous owner. God has been really good to this little boy.

Anders brought home this owl for decoy purposes. The boys are always planning, planning, planning...

ChubChub has been very active lately. Yep.

And this beautiful rooster (Josiah's) has been visiting Mean Ol' Mama as she rests on her swing outside.

Josiah and Anders have been scouting crows for Pop down on the property. They justify the hours outside by taking their math lessons with them. Guns and Saxon math? Quite a mix...

The little folks have had to do more work lately, as the big boys have been working elsewhere. They have all been big helpers.

We enjoyed a family reunion, replete with delicious food and good conversation.

The boys and fathers enjoyed playing with all the cousins.

The Girl and Mean Ol' Mama enjoyed a unique Indian rice dish that they came across on-line. Yummy!

And now for the "busy" part of these three weeks. Due to company visits and upcoming vacation, we decided to overhaul parts of the house. This front porch was just awful, so we got busy and made it beautiful. But you have to keep reading to see the final results...

The transformation begins...

Poppins decided to paint a chalkboard scene all the way down the hall. We've had fun drawing on the walls!

Even Teresa was hoodwinked into painting a vintage "sign" [EAT at Pop's]. Mean Ol' Mama's sense of style is really, really different...

Tim put on a new door frame.

And Pop? What is he doing on the floor???

A star??? On the floor????

Isn't it beautiful?

In the midst of all this activity, Tim brought over a little visitor: this awfully cute 'possum.

We've also been busy on the weekends with the migrant workers who are just now leaving our area. We've had some very good meetings.

Stennes has finished up at the U-Pick farm and is now helping out with the cattle. Smelly, hot, dangerous work...

We had a mini-concert the other night for our visitors. The boys were a bit "played-out" because they had finished their final performance just that morning.Very sweet visitors. We had a nice time together.

And now for the finished porch. The photos are a bit "cloudy" because the camera lens was so cold in comparison to the hot outdoors. But isn't it lovely? Even a bit romantic?

Lots of plants...

We will be packing up for vacation to Minnesota this coming week. College work for Mean Ol' Mama is wrapping up, the house has been repainted inside (no photos, sorry!), things have been spruced up, we have de-cluttered quite a bit, and we're ready to hit the road and visit with family and friends. Mean Ol' Mama even bought a few special snacks already! ssshhhh....don't tell....

Stay tuned...

We're working like mad down here, making some significant changes throughout the house. Stay tuned! Lots of photos coming soon...

Hold On to Yer Horses, Folks!

We're trying to catch our breath down here. This month is speeding by with so many activities and daily responsibilities. Josiah has been working with all his chickens, and they're growing quickly. Stennes has been busy at the U-Pick, and we're hoping that his job will be finishing up around July 4th. He's gone from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. some days. That's a lot of work in the hot Georgia sun! He brought Mean Ol' Mama her first watermelon of the season. The kids shredded zucchini for the freezer. We'll be able to make bread all winter long.

Our Very Special Cousin filled a basket full of surprises for the kids on our upcoming vacation next month to Minnesota. They can hardly wait!

Look at all these tickets The Girl won! We had our monthly homeschool meeting at the local skating rink, and she spent some "quality time" with the fun video games. She's hoping to "buy" something special at the little store inside the rink.

ChubChub and Poppins were snuggled up on the couch together, sleeping soundly. Mean Ol' Mama thought this photo of their feet was sweet.

Anders helped Poppins put together a bicycle that he [Poppins] won for 10 years of good service at his job.

Branch bought a beginner microscope set at a yard sale for a grand sum of $2.00. He and The Girl enjoyed checking out many interesting things on the slides.

We invited Doctor Peter and his family (including his mother and father from New York) over Saturday evening. They also brought 2 extra kids, so the little folks really had a good time being silly together.

In the next photo, Poppins is leading an experiment on the center of gravity while lifting chairs.

Speaking of chairs, the young folks put up their heels on one chair, rested their neck on another, placed a third chair under their middle, and then pulled the chair out! It was really fun to watch them balance in mid-air (so it seemed)! Aaahhh, to be young again...

Stennes helped ChubChub get situated on his chairs after he begged to try. That little charmer was actually able to do it on the first try!

Poppins thought about impressing the kids, but then he decided that it wasn't worth a sore backside if he were to fall!

Doctor Peter decided to try, too, but then chose to impress us all with the size of his inflated belly! The kids really enjoyed that!

Peter and Poppins then sat down, linked arms, and stood up without letting go of each other. Quite a feat!

Those two old fogies were quite pleased with themselves!Now the little ones had to try, too!

Well now. Peter and Poppins had to hold on to their "IMPRESSIVE" title, so they decided on a show of leg wrestling.

And of course, the young fellas had to do it even better!

Did you know that Poppins had blue eyes? He doesn't.

Mean Ol' Mama screamed when she saw this in her kitchen sink Wednesday morning. It isn't real, but how was she to know B.C. (Before Coffee)? Boys...

Speaking of boys, this is what Mean Ol' Mama found on her pottery shelf Thursday morning: a vulture's egg, a miniature shovel, an eye-dropper for Josiah's chicken medication, and a dead dragonfly. Hmmm....

Mean Ol' Mama came home from teaching Wednesday night and found an adult tricycle ready for cruising. Even though it was late, she took it for a spin. What fun!

Branch showed off a nest, complete with 2 speckled eggs.

The Girl hosted her 8th birthday party Thursday morning. We all had a good time.

The theme was A Cowgirl Party, so the enamelware dishes were very appropriate. The food was delicious, complete with a cowgirl cake!

She was excited to receive a beach towel to take on our vacation. Gotta love colorful paisley!

Branch had cut himself badly just the morning before, and all the playing and excitement of the birthday party caused his wound to re-open and bleed profusely again. Fortuntately, Ms. Beth was at the party, so she "operated" and sent him on his merry way.

Old fashioned play is always fun...

We have prepared food for about 175 people just this week. Mean Ol' Mama is trying to stay on top of her College papers that have to be checked. Poppins is working steadily. The boys are busy with their activities. We have 4th of July performances coming up (new songs, speeches to memorize, etc.). Hold on to yer horses, folks!