SHE WON!!!

Savannah won a first place ribbon in the art competition! Here she is standing in front of her first place entry in the computer art division. It is titled "The Unknown". It is beautiful. I wish that you could really see it in the picture. I'll take good pictures when we bring the artwork back home, and post them.

She was really thrilled, and has been inspired to enter other competitions now. Computer Art and Pen and Ink are her favorite media, so far. And it is her goal to write and illustrate her own books. She is amazingly talented, and when you see her draw, or paint, or create something on the computer, it is absolutely mind-boggling. It is as if you are watching it flow out of her like some sort of silky-smooth liquid, and it is creating a beautiful image. And most of what she creates is done with lightening speed. It's as if what is inside of her MUST COME OUT.




Her other works received Honorable Mentions. In the picture you can see "Sparring Squirrel" and below that one of a single eye, done in charcoal. I can't remember what she called this one, but this is one of my favorites.


This was really a wonderful experience for her. Thanks to Emily for pointing it out, and turning in her artwork for us. And thanks to Thomasina for helping her to matte her pieces for display. She can hardly wait to do more! We are so proud of her!

Outdoor Pursuits......a defense

Our kids love the outdoors. This is one thing that Race and I have been successful at passing on to them.

But, still. Pictures like the ones below, undoubtedly make some folks cringe. Like we have abondoned our child to grow up with nature, as nature would have it. Like race and I have dreadlocks, and are living in a van down by the river. But, let me explain...

For Jack, the outdoors is like one Giant Treasure Hunt. The motherload, if you will of amazing, mindblowing mysteries to be solved.

I kid you not, when I tell you that this child skeptically, and correctly critiques "Survivorman".

He is very well versed in the dangers in our "neck of the woods". (Due to his own curiosity and the paistaking training of MANY family members! Thanks, Mam-maw, pap-paw, Aunt Thomasina, Austin, Savannah...just to name a few!) He can identify all the plants, reptiles, mammals, fishes, and all manner of living things here where we live. He knows which snakes and lizards are O.K. to catch, and which must be avoided and reported. So, we haven't just let the little guy grow up like Tarzan.......exactly. And we do wrangle him up on Sundays, clean him up and sit him in chuch to keep him civilized and religious. Really. There's no cause for alarm.

Look! Blissful childhood!! There it is! In action..


Behold! ............The Booty!! (No, I don't mean the quarter...stick with me, here)

Jack found this little baby snapping turtle in the creek yesterday. I thought that the kid was going to wet his pants! He was so excited that he wanted to sit down and write( YES. WRITE.....With a pencil and paper, and everything.......have I mentioned that this kid is a total pencil-phobe??) a letter to his little cousin(and fellow critter catcher) Q, to tell him about it. Complete with photo.

So, while he is, maybe, some sort of modern-day Mowgli, his father actually holds a very respectable job, his mother wears make-up, and much-too-rarely-, gets her nails done. And sometimes, on a weekday, we even make him discard his loincloth and wear civilized clothing. So......no worries.......we're good.

have a good day!

Melissa

Good Gear. Very Important.

I was going to try to put together my gardening post tonight, but I found that I just didn't have it in me right now.

So I thought that I'd go ahead and expound on something that Dy touched on last night. Dy's no slacker, and there's not much that the girl misses. After gazing at our camping pictures, she noted my most prized camping gear. Thank-you, Dy.
Check the photo below, and you will see.......

MY CAMPING WINE GLASS

This little baby was a gift to me from Race.

(Who, besides being a sucker for all things "GEAR", was probably tired of seeing his wife slurp wine from a tin cup, and then wipe her mouth with her sleeve.)

This little glass is a sheer stroke of genius. It is made of the same unbreakable material that the new nalgene water bottles are made of. You can drive over the top of it, and it WON'T BREAK. (this was definitely a selling point, because I tend to break all things fragile).

But- WAIT. Here is the best feature. Do you see the stem of the glass? It screws off, and nests upside down in the cup part! So you can throw it in your backpack, without worry, and without taking up precious room that could be used for something more important.......like an extra pair of wool socks...........or a bit of brie to go with that wine.

Of course someone still has to carry the bottle of wine. But this issue can be quickly solved by slipping the bottle into your oldest's backpack when he isn't looking.

Yeeeeeeessss.....................that's MUCH classier. Right?

Pick up your very own Camping Wine Glass at the outdoor outfitter nearest you and be the envy of all of your camping friends.

We have been busy!!!

I actually typed out an entire post the other day detailing the caving trip that Austin and Race had recently gone on. I had pictures and everything. But Blogger said it was a no go. So, I had to take a hiatus, and cool my jets. Now I am ready to blog again!!

As I said, Race and Austin went caving (spelunking?). I'll post the pics another time. They had a blast.

We went camping with Race the past few days. We had such a wonderful time. It was Race's birthday, and we surprised him.

We got up out of our tents before him and got the campfire going again. When he got up the kids and I handed him a pan full of hot cinnamon rolls (his favorite), and we sang happy birthday to him. With only the sound of our own voices, the rushing creek, and all the birds who were waking up for the day, it was really an awesome sound.

And, you can bet, that all this was not lost on Race. he was really touched. He enjoyed it so much!

We got him several things that every cool-outdoor-dad should have, but the best gift was a new camping hammock. This thing is the bomb! It sets up ANYWHERE, in less than 5 minutes, and packs up the size of a computer battery, and weighs only ounces. AND-you haven't heard the BONUS- you can attach a rain cover/bug net to it, and use it for sleeping in instead of a tent!! And, yes. 2 people can fit into it comfortably! (O.K., 2 couldn't SLEEP in it comfortably, but for just lazin' around, yes, most definitely a 2 person hammock).

So here are a few pictures from our latest camping trip:



Here is Race, enjoying his new hammock! (You can open it up, or close it in a coccoon fashion like he is doing here.) Will hold an amazing 400 lbs!!!

I took this picture standing under one of the giant pine trees where we camp. The tree is very much alive, and it is HUGE. But in the picture you can't see the pine needles. I thought it was cool.
And Oh LOOK! It's me! Someone took a picture of ME! I am recorded. I was there. With the Fam. Frolicking about, camping, and having a good time. There it is. The boys. Roasting marshmallows, and generally just being goofs.
We put that big dead pine tree on the fire, and it took 2 days of hot campfires to burn through it, before we had 2 pieces of nice pine logs on the fire!
Below, you see Austin and Scout. Scout's a good dog.
Hmmm.......not sure about this one. Reflection? Surprise? What are they looking at? Is someone speaking to them? Who? Have they made the aquaintance of an unusually well-mannered Yedi and invited him for coffee?? I just don't know.

In other news, Austin had his first varsity baseball game of the year. He played really well, earning himself the new title of "Aus the Hoss". BWAHAHAHA! Is there anything funnier than teenage boys?????

I have a whole gardening post that I've been itching to write about, so maybe I'll get to that tomorrow. Caving, camping, gardening........

G'night,

Melissa

One of the Mysteries of Humanity

Have you ever thought much about the fact that we, created by God for his own pleasure and glory, are permitted by the Creator Himself to deny Him? Even though we are totally dependent on Him for our next breath, with that breath we may declare that He does not exist or that we refuse to do what He wants us to do. We live by the life He gives us, moment by moment. We enjoy rain, sunshine, the growth of crops and flowers, sensations, delights, satisfactions of many kinds. Yet we often act as though we were sufficient in ourselves, needing no interference from Him.
I can, by the power mysteriously granted me by my Creator and Redeemer, declare myself master of my fate, captain of my soul, and say, "My will be done." That the Lord should expose Himself to this effrontery in a million forms, for millions of days and nights, is the mystery of love and grace. Still He draws us with cords of love, calls us to come, waits (amazing grace) for us to bow and say, "My Lord and my God!"

The above was written by Elisabeth Elliot and was in my inbox this morning. Thought that I'd share it with you, too.

Hope that you had a great weekend! Ive got some new pictures to post, so hopefully I'll get to that this evening. Have a good Monday.

top THIS!

O.K., so Dy posted about her less-than-stellar-parenting-moment. And then another friend sent me an email that reminded me of one of my own "moments".

When our oldest offspring/guinea pig was about 8 yrs old. He was going to his first sleep over with some of his very best friends from church. In fact, they were sleeping AT the church. And the adults were very good friends of ours. They had organized a super fun night filled with games, and candy, and food, and some Bible time as well.
He was looking forward to it, but as has always been the norm with our oldest, he was completely subdued, showing little-to-no- excitement. He just sat there looking all small in the seat, in our old clunker of a car, clutching his sleeping bag and pillow.

We finally pull up to the church where his friends (and mine) are waiting for him.

*Now, not to place blame....but my mother raised me on a healthy dose of fear. Strangers were to be avoided, as well as going to bed with your hair wet, running with a stick in your hand, and swimming after eating. I was RAISED on caution, folks. So the following conversation (which I recount with equal shame and astonishment that this child seems to be turning out well in spite of the up bringing that I have provided for him), was just good parenting to me, at the time.*

So. back to the story.

We pull up to our church:



ME: "No matter what, you stay inside."

Austin: "O.K."

Me: "Do you understand? Don't you go out those doors."

Austin: "Yes ma'am"

Me: "I meanit. No matter what ANY of your friends do, you stay in the building, with (our friends)."

Austin: "O.K., I will."

Me: (louder, and yeah, I have pretty distinguishable accent) " If that buildin' CATCHES ON FIRE, I better find you standin' in those ashes.....da'you understand me!??"

Austin: (quietly)" O.K."

Me:(all perky, now) " O.K. sweety!! You have a good time! O.K?(kiss,kiss) We love you Bubba!! Have fun!!"



Yes. It's all true. ......................All of it.


Even the "Bubba" part.



So- Top THAT!

Have a great weekend!

Melissa

C-C-C-C-CAMPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We love being outdoors. We spent the whole weekend camping!

We have an awesome spot that is a short hike from the house, at the back of our property. We had the most beautiful weather this weekend, so we packed up and headed down to our favorite camping spot. Not only is it beautiful..................IT'S OURS!!

Race and I headed out to the grocery store and grabbed the essentials: marshmallows and hot dogs for the kids; sushi and wine for us!! By the time that we got down to the campsite, the kids had their tents put up, and the fire ring repaired from last fall, and Austin had a great campfire going.

Here are some pictures from our weekend. Jack was sittin' pretty on the overturned bucket, while he and Savannah competed who could burn and eat the most marshmallows.

Above, behold the worlds most amazing, functional, and comfortable tent. It's MSR's "Hubba Hubba". It is a 2 man tent with zippers on EACH side, so that your partner doesn't have to flatten you out like a pancake just to get up and go to the bathroom! This thing packs the size of a loaf of bread, and weighs a mere 4 lbs.
Here you will see the oldest of our offspring assembling a bench. He was tired of sitting on the dirt. We have found that if you don't GIVE the little beggars every little thing, (ya know, like CHAIRS) they can be quite constructive!
Our beautiful creek! Teaming with all sorts of fish, water bugs, and fresh water crustaceans to make a little boys heart sing to the heavens!
Ummmm.....I don't know....maybe he smells something bad. That's always a likely possibility with my boys.
Above is an example of sheer boyhood bliss. (Buying that boy those waders was a stroke of genius!!!)

Jackson modeling the latest in head lamp gear!
I really wish that I could explain this one. Really. I do. The underwear. The saw. The log. All of it. I just don't know.
We had such a wonderful weekend. It was just what we all needed to re-charge our batteries. It was one of those weekends that makes you feel sorry for anyone who isn't you. ;-) And we could all use one of those once in awhile, couldn't we? Oh. And did I mention that there was wine and sushi???

Another 1st degree Brown Belt!

Yes, we have another 1st degree brown belt in the family. Jack passed his test, showing that he had learned the skills and had the physical fitness to earn his Jr.brown belt in mixed martial arts. We are so proud of all of his hard work. He did a great job!! Check out those push-ups!! And Race was home to see it.








The kids in the background were playing a game while Jack was being tested. And, yes, his coach is married. LOL!!

Way to go Jack!!

Meet George Jetson! .......Jane,His Wife!

Nope. No serious political bloggin' goin' on here, yet. LOL!

"We're like the Jetson's". This was Race's remark.

We were all in the car the other afternoon and headed for the wide array of activities for the day. Race wanted to know the schedule, so while driving, I explained that Austin would be dropped off at baseball practice at 3:20, then we head back into town just in time to drop Savannah at Pilates class at 4:00, and then almost making one big circle, we would get Jack to Martial Arts.

"We're like the Jetson's", he said.

In a way. I guess. But as I recall, the mother-figure in that animated series, Jane, was always dropped off at the mall, with a wad of cash. So in that way, we are NOT like the Jetson's.

*And as an aside, why do we not have the flying cars yet???? How long have they been promising those????*

Anyway, I think that if given the choice, I'd much rather be Judy Jetson. She was so cute and groovy. And man could that girl dance!

But in reality I think I resremble some sort of odd combination of Rosie and Astro. (sigh)

Savannah as Peter's Grandmother in The Emporer's New Clothes

Mam-maw and Pap-paw came, and the entire family showered her with flowers after the production. She did such an amazing job. Race and I just sat there in awe. She was so relaxed, so calm. She kept a perfect British accent through the whole play. WOW! My little girl is growing up, and we couldn't be more proud of her!

This Weekend

The whole family came down to visit us this weekend! They all converged on our little town to see a very important play. Savannah was starring in "The Emporer's New Clothes"!! We appreciated it so much that the whole family was here to support her. She did such an amazing job, and we could not have been more proud. She seemed absolutely fearless. Aunt Thomasina took the pictures, so as soon as she sends me a few, I'll post them here.

After the play, everyone came back to our house for dessert and coffee. As always, just a great time hanging out with the family.

After church today we went snow tubing with a bunch of people from church. We had a blast!