An Abundance of Friends and Family

My dad generously traveled from Louisiana to go hunting with Jonathan this past week. 

Friends from church let them hunt on their property. Jon and Phoebe arrived home from a weekend youth group trip the same day that Aupa arrived and everyone was dead tired. The boys still got up at 5 am to hunt the next morning. This was Jon's first hunt. They never did see deer (at least not while hunting; I think they saw some while driving), but they saw lots of signs and trails, so Aupa was able to teach him some things at least. And they had good quality time together.

Target practice behind the house. 

Those black things on the grass are our shutters. Phillip took them down, sprayed them all down, and I painted them today. 

I listen to podcasts while I do such things as paint shutters. If you're a homeschooler, you might love The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins. If you're a Christian woman, you might enjoy these sisters in Idaho (What Have You). If you're just a general person, this is a great news podcast from a Christian worldview: The World and Everything in It.

Aupa sharpened our knives. He often does that for us when he visits and I love it!

He also taught us how to play Shanghai, which was a very Clouse activity for us all to do.

The cats now expect to be fed at all hours of the day. 

That or they're longing to be in a warm house.

Abigail had her second batch of kittens, but we have not seen any sign of them. They may not have survived.

The boys being silly while I read at bedtime. 

Those are Phoebe's feet.

A very sweet picture!

Jonathan and Gabry have been dating for three months now. 

We love her and her family.

Jonathan at the Ark Encounter. 

This is where the youth group went this past weekend. Seventeen youths on the trip! Bless youth ministers and sponsors. 

Jon and Phoebe had a really good time, and we are glad they got the experience of seeing the ark and visiting the Creation Museum.

The ark at night.

Jon, Phoebe and buddies.

Jon and the boys wandering the town.

Phoebe and friends. 

They got the loft. After hearing that the boys stayed up so rambunctiously late downstairs, they were happy they'd had their privacy. Phoebe says she's glad she "didn't have to witness a thing ~ probably several crimes were committed."

Phillip and I also had some friends over while the kids were gone. 

Twila (who is illustrating my homeschool book that will be out soon) and Christy (who is The Preacher's Wife [she hates being called that :-)]) and their husbands came over for lunch. Twila and Chris had their son Moses with them, so Harrison and he had a good time playing. Jamie and Christy's kids were also on the Ark Encounter youth group trip, so they were empty-nesters that weekend.

And Andrea and I get together about once a month to talk over a Bible study on Jospeh. She knows all the good places around here. We met in Bowling Green today at a really cute coffee shop and restaurant. I'll have to take Liz and Phoebe back next week while Liz is home.

The farmers around here are tilling the fields that were in corn and putting anhydrous on the fields that were in beans. I think that might be the end of seeing the tractors pass by. Until planting season. 

My mom and dad just bought a house in the country, and Mom has been describing to me the farming around them. They get to watch rice farming, and Mom talks to the cows while she hangs the laundry. 

I've been reading The Yearling to Harrison. 

I came upon this sentence which perfectly says what I've been wanting to say about fall-ish weather. 

 

Harvest Partying

Harvest Parties and Revivals and Bon Fires. 

True fall activities that, along with the sometimes chilly winds and sometimes warm afternoons, plant you right in the middle of Distinctly Autumn.

Christy F. Photography

Christy F. Photography

Our church had their Revival this past week. I was trying to remember back to when I was last at a revival.... I'm pretty sure it was when I had just graduated high school — my mom and I were visiting Louisiana, and we heard George Faull preach the revival there. I remember three of his sermons: one was on Moses living on the backside of the desert, another on the Tabernacle and how it's a pattern of heaven, and another on David's Mighty Men. George knew how to paint a memorable picture. He also told me that week about a Bible college option that I had never heard of......

I was very glad for our kids to attend a revival. Maybe it's a lot of comfort and tradition for me, but I have such fond memories of late nights and church dinners and running around with other church kids after revivals (and evening church services and Singspirations). The preaching is often powerful, and I always enjoying singing. We were thankful for the ministry of Rock Solid Ministries who did our revival ~ It was a great week!

The boys were cowboys for Halloween. They were at the Vandalia Historical Society at this point. I think they just took some pictures there and then went out on the town trick-or-treating. It was kind of strange not to be very involved this year. In San Antonio I always went with someone, my kids or the neighbor kids or someone. But Jonathan and his friend Quinter took their little brothers around town on their own this year. Sniffle. But only a little sniffle. I won't miss it too awful much. 

Meredith J. Photography

This is Silas, Harrison's friend and the other little brother that was taken trick-or-treating by the big brothers.

Meredith J. Photography

Then the kids all hung out at Quinter and Silas' house around a bonfire. I didn't get to see this ~ the mom sent me a picture ~ but I really love all the good homes that open up to our kids here in town. 

We had our own bonfire a few nights ago. We had saved up quite a few boxes and branches, and Jonathan set up a good fire and hot dog roast with s'mores and youth group friends. Gabry brought hot apple cider (so yummy for a cold night!). Phillip and I went to bed at our usual time, and all the youths stayed up past midnight on the front lawn! 

Christy F photography

I was in charge of this monstrous jumpy slide for an hour at the church Harvest party. Then all the adults who were so inclined took a turn going down before they deflated it at the end. 

Harrison got plenty of turns. I was so surprised that not one kid turned around. I would have come back down those stairs myself if everyone hadn't been staring. It really wasn't scary once you went down, but it sure looked high when you were at the top.

I can't resist..... another sunrise.

Let's see, porch update: Phillip pulled the ceiling down and cleaned up all the hay and dirt that came down with it. Paul and Jamie helped pull nails and such. Shambach fixed our broken electrical problems this week. Next Phillip power washes the walls and shutters. Looking good!

 

Harvest Time!

 

I am amazed at the sunrises and sunsets we get out here on the prairie. 

As a kid in Seattle, I could catch beautiful sunsets when we went to the beach. But we didn't often go to the beach. 

In Florida we could see some pretty colors outline the clouds if we looked up beyond the trees and buildings we were living among. 

In Texas we could watch the mild sunrises behind Comanche Lookout hill, and there were often pretty colors outlining clouds if we looked up above buildings and trees at sunset.

But here......

We get to watch the sun actually peek above the horizon and dip back down behind it. 

Soul-satisfying beauty.

And the fields around us are about all harvested after this past week. 

Papa said once they got in the field it would go quick. And it did go quick. I almost wish it had taken longer so we could watch longer. I kind of enjoy the people milling about, dumping grain in the bins behind our house, moving that massive equipment. 

Elizabeth visiting. 

She is working for the coffee shop at Christ's Church of Oronogo now. She's in charge of the ordering and volunteers and cleaning up and such. It's a great job for her, and I know she'll do great at it.

We got out the box of pictures.

I wanted to show Harrison our wedding photos since he couldn't remember ever seeing them. And we have lots of printed baby and toddler pictures of all the kids from before we moved to all digital. 

Phillip found his box of tractors from when he was a kid, and now Harrison has so many tractors to play with! He's been making stop-motion animation videos with them.

Phoebe got it in her head to cook some sweet-and-sour pork.

It was delicious! 

She said the same thing I did last time I made the same some 18 years ago: 

"It was really good, but I'm not sure it was worth it."

The kids had some friends over. 

The teens sit and talk.

The pre-teens play with toys.

Jonathan made this chair in Ag Structures at the public school. 

Good job, Jon! I like it.

Phoebe and I had a little outing to see some Van Gogh in St. Louis. 

We had a good time together but not a good time at the event. Now that we live in a small town where a mask is not required anywhere, I just rebel against any place else that forces me to wear one. 

Okay, okay, I told myself I wouldn't complain on the blog about the experience, so I'll move on.  

Phillip cutting down the black rail posts. 

He replaced them with wooden posts which we're thinking of painting black. I love how open the porch feels now.

He's now (literally, right now) sanding, or rather grinding, down the old paint that's peeling off the cement porch. He's getting down below that top layer of dark cement. It's looking nice and white and new.  

One of our stupendous sunsets.

Back to Nature Walks

Harrison is our mail retriever. 

He brings in the local paper on Thursdays and proceeds to read me the news like a little old man. 

I love that we have a local paper. We regularly see names we know. Phillip sometimes shows up in the Yesteryear section. 

I am realizing that you can't hide out in a small town. The newspaper guy has shown up at times with a camera, and I wasn't really prepared for pictures that might show up in a paper. 😬 If you're going to an event in a small town, you might want to comb your hair and prepare to see people you know.

We finally made it on a nature walk in Missouri. This is something we'd gotten into a habit of doing before moving, but I hadn't yet made it to any place around here that had hiking trails. We prepared for an afternoon at Mark Twin State Park, and I was very pleased with the trails there. It's really not that far away ~ maybe 20 minutes or so. We used to drive 40 minutes to go to nature trails in Boerne, TX. Of course there were also some closer to our house. Maybe we'll find some closer ones here too. 

The kids were good about humoring me. I think they actually enjoyed it a little. I'm the one who loves hiking, but they didn't complain this particular afternoon. 

I texted Elizabeth a picture and she said, "I probably would have loved to take the raft out there." That's about right. I'm glad she made it through her raft/water phase without drowning.

These boys have a typical brother relationship. They mostly get along, and they are so funny to watch when they tease each other.

The trees in our yard coming up out of dark pools of dirt reminded me of the pools in The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia). Do you remember those pools that you jump into to enter different worlds? 

Harrison suggested I take my walk across the newly harvested bean field, so I got a picture of the house and sunset from the East this time instead of the usual South.

Three Ashfords in a row. 

Paul, Phillip and Jonathan: their middle names are all Ashford. Ashford Gore was the first Gore to settle around here, I believe.* 

Phillip has good plans for spiffing up the front porch. He took down the wrought iron railing yesterday. It really opens up the porch! He's going to work on putting white posts up soon. Then figure out why the porch lights won't work and put new light fixtures up. And paint over the porch and so on. I'm so excited to see how it turns out!

* Ashford settled in Palmyra and eventually moved to Center. James Henry Gore came and settled in this area. Ashford is buried in the Vandalia cemetery though.