We Are Home

On Saturday we flew home. Everything went smoothly, aside from leaving a suitcase on the airplane, that is. Hopefully we will soon have that returned. The children are thrilled that it contained quite a few school books and so we are a little limited in how much school some of them can do.

The last week we were in Texas the weather was beautiful with highs in the 80's a couple of the days. We arrived home to freezing temperatures and a pending snow storm. We had difficulty getting up the lane so the girls and I walked while Keith and the boys pushed and cajoled the van up the lane. What a welcome home!

But the house is warm and it is so good to be with my sweet children all day in a normal routine! I do love coming home! And, of course, we all missed Keith so much and it is so good to all be together again!

And I have pictures of these beautiful little sweeties to edit. All is right in my world.

"Fun Day"

You know how my children are going to school here in Texas? Well, we decided to plan a fun afternoon for everyone before we leave. We made lunch for everyone (80 pigs in a blanket, oh yes we did!), including the moms and preschoolers who could come and then had relay races and games after lunch.

Everyone ate and laughed and cheered themselves hoarse.

Relay race wearing big boots.

Three-legged relay race.

At the end of the day my youngest brother, Jesse, came and joined the games. Everyone cheered and he did not disappoint with his amazing 12 1/2 foot jump in Jump the River!

I think everyone had a very good day. I mean what is not to love about food and games with family and friends?

Down Home On The Farm {Full Quiver Farms}

My parents have a dairy farm. They bottle their own milk: make cheese, yogurt, cheese balls, cheese spreads, and I don't know what all else. They have a little store on the farm. They also sell to Whole Foods, Central Markets, and at markets. It's a fun little operation. (OK. So fun to watch. Maybe not so "fun" for those doing the work.)

This morning I slipped on some boots and waded out to the store and cheese house for a bit. Considering the torrential downpour which happened over night this was a brave thing to do. Let's just say the puddles are pretty intimidating. But it was cheery and pretty in the store!

Making salsa.

If you ever find yourself near Kemp, Texas stop on by! You won't be sorry!

One Room School

While we are here in Texas our children are attending the little one room school that my sister, Hannah, teaches at. There are normally twelve students ranging from second to seventh grade. Hannah and one other teacher do all of the teaching. Half of the students are my nieces and nephews.

We use a lot of the same curriculum, so it is easy for our children to fit right in when we visit here, and, oh my, do they ever love it! They can't get over the thrill of packing lunches and choosing games at recess! And I also enjoy the little break for the time we are here, so it is a win/win situation for us. (We won't ask the teachers what they think...)

This morning I went out and snapped a few pictures during their devotional period. They were singing songs like This Is The Day and Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee and reviewing facts from previous devotions like "How old was Noah when the flood began?". As I left the older students were reciting the poem Paul Revere's Ride out on the porch so as not to disturb the younger students class.

These two teachers put so much effort into teaching the children and they are doing such a great job! The children and their parents are very fortunate to have them!

Skate Party

Yesterday Freeland reached a huge milestone. He is now officially a teenager. Casper's birthday is on Sunday, he will hit double digits.

Last night we had a skate party to celebrate both birthdays. I think I'll let the pictures tell the story. According to Casper it was the most fun thing he has ever done in his life.

What If It Was Jesus?

Papa went to McDonald's the other day. He was hungry while doing his Dallas delivery run and decided to stop. He went in and ordered his food. As he sat there eating he noticed a very friendly man crossing the street. This man stood out from the crowd. He was happy and friendly to everyone.

The man entered the restaurant and started playing a game that was there. After a bit he leaned around the screen and asked Papa if he could have a bite of his hamburger. Papa's automatic response was, "No!" But then he asked the man if he was really hungry. He was, so Papa gave him the $4.00 he had in his pocket. It was either that or a $20.

Papa went out to his vehicle and got to thinking. What if that was Jesus or an angel and he didn't even give them enough for a whole meal!?

As he recounted this story to us at home Mom's response was, "Well Jesus doesn't drink Coke!"

So there you have it.