"It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

Ir's a rainy night for Tullahoma trick or treaters. Our bell has only rung once. It was predicted that the rains would move in just about time for the little ones to start running around for their treats...and this time the forecasters were correct. I have had a day of doing "this and that." I did vacuum through most of the house trying to pick up all the white threads that had been tracked throughout the house due to the sewing project that I have been doing for my friend. I thought that I was going to sew today, but never sat down at my machine. I guess it was a "day of rest" from sewing. Before the rain started,Woody took a walk to pick up one of my prescriptions at our pharmacy. I came downstairs mid afternoon and began work on our supper--Shrimp Creole. Now, I think that we will both just settle in for the rest of the evening and listen to the rain on the roof. I'm hoping that strong storms stay away!

Wednesday View

Here's a view down our street today! Definitely the Fall colors seem to have arrived! Very pretty! I finished "the" sewing project last night. So this morning I got up and got it all packed up and ready to deliver to my friend. This afternoon I worked in the church library for a while. On the way home I stopped at the public library to check out a season of Project Runway that I thought that I hadn't seen--now that I have it home I have a vague memory of at least some of the episodes. But it makes for good watching while I sew. While I was at the church library working, Woody went on a walk to and from the library. So today was a library day for both of us! Since coming home from the library, I have been working on a long sleeved t-shirt for Elijah. I had cut it out a week or so ago and just hadn't gotten time to make it so this afternoon seemed like a good time. It is complete except for the hem. Nice to have a project that can be finished in one day! At the moment Woody is watching The World Series.

It's Beginning to Look Like Fall Y'all!

The foliage is beginning to show that Fall is really here...and of course the leaves on the ground definitely say "Fall!" I have just about spent the whole day sewing. I can say that I am now on the last step of the project that I am doing for my friend. I will be very glad to have this project behind me! I believe that Woody mowed some today...at least I heard a mower that sounded like it was coming from our yard. He just returned from walking to and from the church for his time in the prayer room. Well, back to sewing for me! I think that perhaps I will be able to finish it before I go to sleep tonight.

Monday

Isaac and Elijah came over for school this morning and then I had the rest of the day "free." I did a few things around the house--like give some of the rooms a "lick and a promise" with the vacuum. Then I went back to working on my friend's sewing project. Woody walked six miles this afternoon. Now he is watching the World Series on TV.

Rather Cool Saturday

At 4am when I happened to awaken, I checked to see how cold it was. Weatherbug said that it was 25deg F. I just checked our outside thermometer (that can be read from inside) and it said that it got down to 28 here...so colder wherever weather bug checks temps here in Tullahoma. I chose to stay in all day. Woody walked to the library and then later in the day he took another walk. He has watched some football and now baseball on TV. Sometime during the day, I think that I saw everyone except for Joy and Isaac (and, I know that Isaac was over--but he stayed downstairs with Goosey (Woody) and I was upstairs). Esther and Elijah showed up first. They said that they were on a treasure hunt. It was so cute. They both had backpacks and also a "map." They ended up staying here till lunch and then bopped back over shortly after lunch. They played in the kitchen with the play dough that Graham made while he stayed with us a couple of weeks ago (I had to divide the play dough "very fair!"). They also did a couple of art projects in the school room. I spent a good part of the day attempting to complete my study for tomorrow's Sunday School lesson. I think that it is together as much as it is going to be! I think that either a book or a TV show on the iPad is drawing me to my recliner. Woody made cranapple crisp for dessert this evening--yummy! That dessert is one of those that says "Fall" to me. I have another dessert planned for sometime next week that also says "Fall" to me. Guess the cooler temperatures are getting us in a Fall/cool weather-mode for meal planning. It is good to be back in soup making mode. I like the time of the year when we have soups as they last for several days and mean less cooking for me! Lazy? Perhaps...

A Full Friday

Woody headed off to the chiropractor fairly early. Then not too far behind him, I headed next door to Nathan and Kathy's. Kathy had an OB appointment and Nathan needed to take Graham to his orthodontist appointment. So I went over to keep an eye of the other five children. The oldest two got busy on their school work. I helped them when needed and kept my eye on the other three. Then when Nathan got home I stayed a bit longer and continued to help with their lessons till Kathy got home. Isaac kept taking my hand and saying "mon" which means "come on." He would then lead me to their front door. He wanted to go over to our house. So when I went home he and Esther escorted me home and they read with Goosey and played for a while. Woody went to the grocery store after his appointment. So when I got home from next door, I had groceries to put away. While putting them away, I took note of a couple of things that we still needed at the store so I headed off, got the items needed and then came home. I then got started on making our soup for tonight--Stuffed Spud Soup. It is an easy fix...except that now I make homemade cream of chicken soup rather than using canned (trying to cut back on salt). In order to make the cream of chicken soup I had to first stew the chicken. Then I had to bone the chicken before I could get started on the actual soup making. It ended up being a long process...or so it seemed to my back! And, since I had stewed the chicken I wanted to take advantage and make chicken broth. One thing just lead to another. And, then came the clean up...which is just about done. I still have a couple of things to put away. Sometime in the soup making process, Woody headed off for another doctor appointment. So it has been quite a day of appointments for both Woody and Kathy and Graham. I have one more thing that needs to be done today...at worked on some and that is the Sunday School lesson for Sunday. At least I can do that on my iPad while sitting in my recliner so will be able to rest my back doing my next task! Lots of thens and thens and...for my day!

Here's A Look at Thursday

It has been a pretty routine day. I had school with Isaac, Elijah, Graham, Abigail, and Esther. Esther is learning how to cross stitch during her time of sewing with Grammy. Woody ran an errand or two. And he took a four-mile walk this afternoon. Graham showed up this afternoon with an idea. He wanted to make a bag that he could use when he does Trunk or Treat at our church this Sunday. He found a piece of fabric that met his approval in my scraps. We got made the edges straight and then he came up and serged the edges together. Then we made a casing and finally found an appropriate string (a long shoe lace) to use as a drawstring. He plans to use this bag for some of his juggling equipment after he uses it to gather candy!

Wednesday

I'm in the mood for Fall color--leaves are starting to turn--but not a lot--so I decided that I would go back in my photo archives and find one to post tonight that shows more color. We had school this morning. Isaac had his school time first. He has pretty much mastered the sound that "m" makes and knows that "mommy" starts with it and he is also getting pretty good at making the sssssssssssss sound for "s" and that "snake" starts with "s." He's also working on counting from 1-3 and working on recognizing the primary colors. He loves the puzzles that we do at the end of the school time each day. Elijah is doing great sounding out three-letter phonetic words. He is also learning the continents and working on writing and also on cutting and he works on several math concepts--even and odd and he does lots of counting. While in Africa he got good at counting to 100 so now we are putting the written numbers with beads that make up that number--for example: 54 is made up of five tens and four units. He has a great time and his school time goes by very quickly. Graham came over and read to me. Abigail didn't have her time this morning because she went to Nashville to her ear doctor. Joy read to me and had her sewing time. She is making a pin cushion. We gathered all the supplies this morning and she made the circle pattern and then cut out the pieces for the pin cushion. She's ready to sew around the circle at her next sewing session. After their school time, Isaac and Elijah stayed and played and read with Goosey for a while. After lunch I headed to the church library. Once again we got quite a bit done--got a stack of books ready for their final processing steps when we work next plus did several other library maintenance jobs. As I was walking in the door from the library, Woody was walking out to take a four-mile walk. I sort of lost my get-up-and-go once I got home. The recliner has looked pretty good to me most of the evening. The computer has been so slow that I almost fell asleep waiting for the blog to open so I could write tonight's blog! It has been rather chilly and breezy today. I don't think that it ever got out of the 50's today and it is already 37 this evening. My achy bones aren't ready for the cold!

Painting Africa!

"Roadside Scene" by Graham (11) Graham's painting shows a field of papyrus and up on the road you see the bus they rode in while in Uganda and a red house and some of the roadside "stores" that sell everything down to one even having a unicycle...if you look closely at the store closest to the red house you might spot the unicycle. Graham said that this was the day that there was a brown cloud in the sky.

"Lady Carrying a Basket of Bananas on Her Head" by Abigail (10)

"Africa Potpourri" by Joy (8) Joy painted a banana tree at the top left of her picture, bottom left she painted a little girl named Joy who she met in Uganda. Next to Joy's new friend,Joy, is a chimp named Joy that our Joy saw in Uganda. Lots of Joys in Africa! Then Joy painted the table where she bought her African flute (that table also has a Fanta on it...Fanta was one of the drinks that was often served to them...Joy said that there wasn't really Fanta on the table, but she wanted to paint some there!) and then at the bottom of the picture is, but, of course, a Nile crocodile!

"Another Elephant" by Esther-Noel (6) Esther is still into elephants. Though, they didn't get to see an elephant while they were in Africa, they did get to see elephant bones. She added two crosses in this picture--a reflection of their ministry in Africa.

"Our Bus" by Elijah (4) Elijah started off just mixing colors with the paint when he got his turn to paint this afternoon. I told him that Graham, Abigail, Joy, and Esther had painted something that they had seen while they were in Uganda. After he had been mixing colors for a while on one sheet of paper, he said, "I think that I will paint something that I saw in Africa." So he painted the bus that George drove them around in while in Uganda. Elijah's one discovery with this painting is that he could make a circle by swirling the brush around. He really liked the wheels on his bus! As you can see it was art class day at Grammy's school. Along with art class for Graham, Abigail, Joy, and Esther, Joy and Esther read to me, Abigail had her sewing time and then after lunch Isaac had his short school time and then Elijah painted. Woody walked this morning while Abigail had sewing. And, now he has walked to the church for his time in the prayer room. I made Mediterranean Tuna Salad for our supper. That sums up our day...now to go undo the "art studio" and get it back to being just a regular school room!

Routine Monday

We got back into a school routine this morning. I "think" that we will have a "normal" school week this week. Today Isaac, Elijah, Esther, Joy and Graham had school time over here. Elijah and Isaac stayed over here after their time and played downstairs where Goosey (Woody) was. This afternoon I talked to my sister on the phone and worked on the sewing project for my friend. While I was doing that Esther and Elijah (and Isaac for a short time) came over and played downstairs with Goosey. It sounded like they were having a rousing good time! After they went home, Woody went on a four-mile walk. I'm now heading downstairs to dance with the stars!

Today Has Flown By!

This morning fairly early, planes started flying overhead. There was a gathering of aviation enthusiasts at the Beechcraft Museum today. This gathering is called a "Beech Party." I found out later that the ones that we heard early were heading to breakfast in Winchester. I found out on Facebook that they would be returning around 9am. So I decided that since they had flown overhead to get to Winchester, that would probably fly over head on their way back. I decided that I would try to get a photo or two. I had several strikes against me getting photos of them--trees and the clouds. I finally did get this one--not too exciting of a photo for the effort that I made! Oh, well...there will be other fly-ins. I think that all the children except for Graham came over to play this morning at one time or another. This afternoon Graham and Goosey headed to the Beechcraft Museum. Graham had been invited to come back this afternoon and build another balsa wood glider and then compete flying them. This was part of the young aviator program that he had participated in last week and part of the Beech Party. While they were doing that the other children were in and out over here...Esther cross stitching, Elijah playing with play dough, Abigail having a tea party with Elijah, Isaac just playing and being his cute little self, Joy making crowns with some of the building items under the stairs, somewhere in there a bit of pirate ship playing and other block building happened (between morning and afternoon). Nathan came over after a while and he put in an outlet that has both regular plug-in places and also USB plug in places so I can plug in my iPad and phone in one convenient place. I'm glad to have it...didn't know that this item existed till he offered to put one in! Thanks, Nathan! Nice to have a handy son! While Nathan was doing that Esther continued to cross stitch and Elijah played some of "his" games on my iPad. This receptacal was put at the edge and behind the headboard of our bed. So while the bed was pulled out I did a bit of cleaning that doesn't get done very often. I also decided that it would be a good day to change the bed...so washed, dried and remade the bed. After supper, Abigail came over and serged the edges of the fabric that we gave her for her birthday. That way I can get the fabric washed before her next school sewing time with me (Tuesday). All in all...a very busy Saturday. I sat down a few minutes ago for one of the few times today that I have sat down and dozed off almost as soon as I sat down. Woody has watched some sports since coming home. I think that he plans to watch the baseball game tonight...trying to find out which team will be playing "his" Cardinals in the World Series. Oh, and, if I had gone with Woody and Graham I probably would have been able to easily capture photos of planes flying overhead...Woody said that they flew right over his head...very close over his head! Woody made his usual trip to the library this morning...while I was trying to photograph planes. Here is a formation that I managed to capture yesterday on our walk...maybe they were practicing for today!

I Survived!

I survived the first walk I'd taken with Woody in a very long time. He usually makes his walks with me extra short...especially when I haven't walked in a while. But today he took me on his 4-mile-walk...cut short according to him...didn't seem short to me. I did pretty well for a while, but was really ready to get home by the end! I did take lots of pictures. Tonight's photo was one of the first that I took...before we even left our street. Woody headed off to the chiropractor early this morning and then did our weekly grocery shopping. Elijah came over and played for a while. While he was here I traced a sleeve pattern for a t-shirt for Elijah. He ended up playing with the play dough that Graham made when he stayed with us. He really enjoyed that. After Woody got back I helped put groceries away. I talked to my sister on the cell phone and not long after our call Woody came up and asked me if I wanted to go on a walk. Not long after we got home from our walk, Abigail came over and brought her birthday fabric over here. We talked for a few minutes and then she went back home to continue on her school work. I came upstairs and dozed at some point. Woody brought me "supper" = Cranapple crisp--nice and warm right from the oven with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream melting into it! A yummy supper! Not long after that I fell back to sleep and woke up a little while ago. Hmmmmmm wonder what this will mean for sleeping tonight! I guess you could say that the walk wore me out! There is a freeze advisory out for tomorrow night/Sunday morning...brrrrrrrrrrrrr! I am feeling the season change in by bones/nerves or whatever. Changing from warm to cold is always hard on my Transverse Myelitis...I look forward to Fall in some respects (the beauty of the season) but in others it isn't the best time for aches and pains for me. Oh, well, I'll try to just look forward to the beautiful part of the season!!!!!

Celebrating 10 & 8 With Abigail & Joy!

Big day for the neighbor Dorrell's--Abigail became two handfuls! We had a pretty normal day (for a day when the neighbor Dorrell's are home). I had school with Elijah, Isaac, Joy, Abigail, and Esther. Esther started her first cross stitch picture. She is stitching a rainbow--red,orange,yellow,green,blue, indigo and violet. We chose the colors from my large collection of embroidery thread and then she started making the red part of the rainbow. After lunch I holed up in our bedroom and got the presents for Abigail and Joy ready to be wrapped. Joy got the skirt and top that I had been working on for a while. Abigail will have to work a bit for hers...she will be making her own skirt and I will make her a top and leggings. Her present was fabric and thread! Elijah came over and played while I was doing that he brought a tub of Legos upstairs and built with them here in the sewing room while Goosey (Woody) worked on the computer. We went next door for supper. Abigail chose spaghetti for supper--yummy! Then she and Joy opened presents. After presents we ate Abigail's #10 cake--again, yummy! As I left to come over here to upload photos and sort through and choose what I would post on the blog, they settled in for a family movie night. The girls have had quite a time celebrating birthdays. They started this past Saturday with Joy's day while they were on the road heading to do a ministry program in GA. While in GA they visited with Kathy's parents and celebrated birthdays with them. So today was the final celebration for Abigail and Joy for this year! Seems like life is just one big party next door. But Kathy did say tonight that this was the last birthday for this year for those who live under their roof for this year. A bit of a reprieve before they start celebrating in January (Elijah, Kathy and perhaps their new little one). Judging by tonight's photos I think that Isaac "got into" this birthday celebration the most!!!! He REALLY enjoyed the cake and ice cream! And, by the way, Abigail's dress is the one that she bought in Africa.

Change is On the Way

There is supposed to be quite a change in our weather/temperature in the next few days. A cold front is on its way through and so far it has brought us a gentle steady rain. According to weather forecasters this is the start to cooler temperatures. Woody has done a lot of listening and watching it rain today...not a lot more! I did leave the house for a while this afternoon to work in the library and on the way home I stopped to try to find a birthday present for Abigail...tomorrow is the BIG day! As I was leaving the store, I took a quick picture of one of my favorite trees in town when it comes to Fall. In a week or so it will be a deep vivid orange...so pretty! I hope to capture a picture of it in all its splendor later in the month. But if I don't I have several from other years that I can share! The trees are starting to turn and leaves are starting to fall...such a beautiful time of year in Middle TN!

Drilling Tuesday

Note that I called this a drilling day rather than a thrilling day! I had to go to about my least favorite place today--the dentist. I had been having a problem with one of my teeth and I finally gave in and had Woody make me an appointment (something in my psyche won't let me make my own dentist appointment!). The dentist found the problem and he drilled it out and filled it. And, my final word on my "experience" is that my mouth/tooth hurts more now than it did before I went! But one good thing came out of my day--Woody just took me to get a Blizzard!!! Woody planted garlic today and also walked to and from the prayer room. And, after this sentence I am heading back to my recliner!

Monday

I woke up way too early this morning...before Woody...so that is really early. I have spent a good part of the day quilting on the project that I am doing for a friend. This morning, Woody rescued our car that died on him last night on his way to church...he thought that it had a problem, but decided to "feed" it some gas before calling the tow truck...and the gas did the trick! Running out of gas isn't something that happens to him very often! He went on a walk after supper and just returned. I think by the length of time that he was gone that it was a four-mile walk. He didn't come upstairs after his walk and I'm too lazy to go downstairs to ask! I'm trying to decide if I have enough energy to work on a top for Joy that I have all cut out and ready to make. Joy's birthday was Saturday...she turned eight. We will be celebrating later in the week with both Joy and Abigail. Abigail will turn ten on Thursday. Abigail's wish was to have her ears pierced. I questioned that she would go through with it...but go through with it she did! She's braver than I!!!

Slow Saturday!

Woody did our weekly grocery shopping, ran errands, and went to the library. Later in the afternoon he walked six miles. He has watched various sports on TV. I, on the other hand, have done close to nothing. I didn't sleep well so have dozed off and on and worked on tomorrow's Sunday School lesson. I have managed to get a load of wash going a little while ago. i

Friday Helpers

Woody had an early chiropractor appointment. Later in the morning Esther and Elijah came over and Goosey (Woody) put them to work. He had them pour and mix the of beans, etc. for our French Market bean mix. They had fun identifying the beans and remembering which ones they poured in...one poured in giant lima beans and the other poured in the baby lima beans...one poured in the red beans and the other poured in the red beans...and so it went till there were quite a few pounds of beans in the container. Abigail came over and brought back the book that Goosey had been looking for all morning...he had left it over at their house yesterday. Abigail came up and talked with me for a while. She is quite excited about the next few days...birthdays are approaching for her and for Joy. Joy's is tomorrow and Abigail's is next Thursday. Abigail will be ten and Joy will be eight. My time does fly! Seems just like yesterday that we were heading Georgia way to meet Abigail and then two years later Joy! I have pretty much just worked on Sunday's Sunday School lesson and on the "darning" project (having to mend quite a few places on the project that I am doing for a friend before I can proceed on to the next step--the places that need mending seem to be multiplying...seems to be a never ending job!). While Im mending I watch TV shows on the iPad. Woody walked four miles late this afternoon. That about sums up our rather hum-drum day!

Day Is Done

As our day is drawing to a close, the sky is beautiful as can be seen in tonight's blog photo. I walked out the back door and snapped this through Nathan and Kathy's trees...a beautiful sight! This morning Graham got up had French toast that Goosey (Woody) made and then got dressed and loaded up his things to take back to his house. Then Isaac, Elijah, Joy, Abigail and Esther had some school time over here this morning. Woody went for a six mile walk around lunch time. Then this afternoon we took care of the six children over at their house while their mommy and daddy went for an ultrasound. They had baby pictures to show when they got home! They have chosen not to find out if the baby is a boy or girl. We had leftovers for supper. Our recliners seem to be a good place to spend the evening!

Young Aviators!

Here's Graham and his buddy, Dawson. They enjoyed spending time together the last three days. Dawson is the grandson of our good friends Doyle and Linda Hasty. They came out with lots of things--a rubber band propelled Delta Dart, a signed and numbered print, a Beechcraft Stagger Wing t-shirt, a model stagger wing, a rocket, a wing rib--some of these are projects that they made while there and some are to be made. Graham was hoping to get underway with his stagger wing model but alas we have no model glue. He and Goosey (Woody) just returned from a futile trip to find some model glue here in our little town of Tullahoma! This will be Graham's last night with us. His family will be returning later this evening. He will be getting back into home school mode tomorrow--me too! Woody decided to take a walk after he dropped Graham off...leaving the car in the parking lot at the museum...gave him a different place to walk. He walked nine miles and was rather pooped out after. He said that he didn't realize how out of shape he is since he hasn't been walking as much lately. After he rested, he made Cauliflower Italiano for our supper tonight and he decided that he wanted to have meatloaf. So later in the day he made that too. Then he fixed broccoli. So he pretty much made all our supper tonight with just a little help from me. I could get used to that! I went with Woody to pick up Graham so I could take a couple of pictures. I worked a little on a top for Joy but didn't get very far with it. I also got my hair cut today. So...once again...a very busy day!

More Aviation!

Graham had another fun day at the air academy day camp. They finished making kites. Graham's went up...but went up too well and was forever lost in a tree! They had a speaker come from Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC)(where Woody used to work). They learned lots of interesting facts and got several fun items...light up yo-yo, a pin from the center, and a solar car model. Graham came home and immediately put it together but not enough solar power to run it...at least yet. He then spent time flying the gliders that he made yesterday. I managed to get a picture of him flying them both at the same time. Look in the upper right corner and you will see the second one coming at you on a diagonal pattern. Woody dropped Graham off this morning and then went to his chiropractor's appointment. He took a walk later in the morning that included a stop at the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions for the two of us. We had what the neighbors call Dorrell's Diner when they have them (leftovers)...so it was an easy meal for me. Woody walked to the prayer room and after he got back he and Graham had dessert. Woody made Cran-apple Crisp this afternoon and had it all warm and ready for an after "school" snack. It is delicious...but one helping in a day was enough for me...but the boys thought differently and enjoyed their second helping. Graham is now in the shower while I blog and then I will go in and read some more in the book we are reading together before he drops off to sleep after another busy day! And, then it will be tea time for me!

First Day of Air Academy & Some Face Time!

Graham had a great day at the air academy at the Stagger Wing Museum here in Tullahoma. They had a busy and full day. Then he came home and enjoyed flying the gliders that he made. The larger one he actually cut out himself with an xacto knife and then put together. He has told us lots about his doings of the day. It starts at 8:30am and lasts till 3pm. I did some around the house right after he left and then I spent quite a bit of time working on the sewing project that I'm working on now. Woody delivered and picked up Graham and that is about all he has done today. I don't think that he feels good. He says that he is just sleepy because he didn't sleep well last night. Supper about wore me out, but I seem to be reviving some. Graham's parents and siblings Facetimed him a little while ago. Graham had fun telling them about the day and they all acted silly together for a while. When Woody came upstairs I told him that we had all Graham's family visiting in our bedroom! Graham is now taking a shower. I'm blogging. Woody has already turned in for the night. And, once again the word that sums up our day = BUSY! About to wind down so we can get ready for another busy day tomorrow!

Graham Shares (some of) His Africa Pictures

We have had a busy day...in Graham's words...woke up, had breakfast, worked on Africa pics, walked to library with Goosey, on way home stopped at fruit and veggie market, started watching a DVD, started reading a book, ate lunch, finished DVD, finished book, played Legos, ate supper, ate dessert, worked on Africa pics, Goosey and I bought a bike tube online, transferred pics, and then blogged!GREAT DAY! #1 The Nile River #2 Baboon, #3 HUGE snail, #4 Monitor Lizard, #5 Ostrich and part of a Giraffe (zoo), #6 Hyena (zoo), #7 Spider Monkey (at hotel), #8 Daddy! (Grammy says busy day! And she thinks that it is time for a cup of tea!)

Booby Trapped!

Thanks to Auntie Cheryl (my sister) the children had a grand time today when a package arrived for them from her. They found a kit to make masks and also this wonderful spider webbing and several other fun things! They came running over to our house with their masks on begging us to come out to see something really big! And, it was this spider webbing stretched out all over their yard! So beware if you are in our neighborhood! This stuff can be treacherous to walk through...just ask Isaac! I couldn't resist posting the bottom photo of sweet Isaac sitting on their front porch steps examining his mask. We have had a busy day. Elijah woke me up a bit earlier than is my habit. Woody said that he had been holding him at bay for quite a while. I asked Elijah what time it was and he said, "Time to wake up!" and he turned on the light in our bedroom. It was about 7:15. They were all up early this morning and had already had breakfast! I think that their internal clocks are still on Uganda time! Woody went to the chiropractor this morning. Then when he came home, he and Graham went off trying to find and price the items that they will need to make a Martin birdhouse. While they were gone, I went next door to babysit while Nathan and Kathy ran a few errands before they had to pack up and head Kentucky way for another ministry opportunity. Hardly home a day-and-a-half and they were on the road again. They went off this afternoon minus one child. Graham is staying with us till they return the middle of next week. Graham is enrolled in an aviation day camp this coming week so in order for him to attend he needed to stay with us. As soon as he packed up a bag and did a few of his home chores, he and I headed over to our house. Not long after he stepped in the door, he and Goosey headed out the door to do our weekly grocery shopping. I asked Graham what sounded good and he said, "Broccoli!" Not a problem...he can have all the broccoli that he wants! Woody made us vegetarian burritos this evening...one of Graham's favorites (they have broccoli in them). He is in charge of making those when they do their "once-a-month cooking" next door. So we have had supper and Graham has had his bath. So he is pretty much ready to hit the hay any time that Uganda time catches up with him! He is learning to tie knots at the moment. He has the game that was one of the pickle presents this past Christmas that entails knot tying. He also has a Boy Scout, a Girl Scout, and a Royal Ambassador manual out to see if they show any other knots to tie. If I don't blog tomorrow night, you will know that I am tied up!!!!!!!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jog!

66 hours after being dropped off at Entebbe International Airport (Uganda, Africa) Nathan, Kathy, Graham, Abigail, Joy, Esther, Elijah, and Isaac and baby-to-be pulled into their driveway in Tullahoma, TN USA!!!! This morning I got over to their house just after their first U.S. bath/shower in several weeks! Esther and Abigail had new Ugandan dresses, Joy had a Ugandan paper bead necklace, Graham had a Ugandan drum and a knife, Elijah had a carved Nile Crocodile, and Isaac had a ball made from dried banana leaves. They had lots of tales to tell (and still have many, I'm sure!). I saw lots of photos and there are still more of those. Sounds and looks like they had a wonderful adventure! On the way home they flew from Entebbe, Uganda to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Rome, Italy to Dulles International Airport (Washington DC) to Atlanta, GA and then drove from Atlanta to Tullahoma, TN. Because they were bumped from their original flight (overbooked by 75!) they had to fly stand-by so it took a while to arrange things to get all eight of them on the same flight. In Rome they stayed on the same plane. It was just a stopover to change pilots and flight attendants. Isaac (19 months)learned a new word on this trip: "airplane!" I wonder why he learned that one! Don't you know that they must be glad to be home! We have had fun having the children in and out of the house once again. Woody watched Graham mow a part of our yard and the two of them studied plans for making a Martin birdhouse. We have decided that we need to invite some Martins to come live near our homes to help deplete the mosquito population around here.

Up In the Air?

I'm not positive, but I think that Nathan, Kathy, and family are heading Atlanta way as I type this. Nathan called this morning a little after 8am central time and they were at the Dulles airport in DC waiting in line to go through customs...back on U.S. soil. Since they got bumped from their flight on Monday, they have had to fly stand-by...not real easy to get a family of eight on the same flight I would imagine! It took them a while to convince the airlines to let them fly today...it was suggested to them that they wait till tomorrow to fly to Atlanta. Nathan said that didn't sound like a good idea to them...enough of having to wait 24 hours! They finally got a flight that was supposed to leave around 3:30 pm central time...but...upon talking with Nathan a little after 4pm central time their flight had been delayed (plane being worked on!!!!!) and it was delayed some more during our conversation. I'm not sure "when" or "if" they finally got off. But the fact that we haven't heard from them again, I'm hoping that they are winging their way towards Atlanta. I don't know if they will feel like driving back this evening or if they will spend the night in a hotel and drive home in the morning. They have REALLY had an adventure when it comes to getting back to the states...not an easy journey to say the least! One adventure--convincing Ethiopian airlines to allow Kathy to fly home since she was pregnant and didn't have a note from her doctor!!!!! Got over there without a note, but had trouble getting out without a note! But that hurdle was finally cleared and she WAS allowed to get on the plane! Oh, another adventure--they get to add another country to places they have been--this plane made a stopover in Rome, Italy to change crew--that stopover made their flying time between Ethiopia and the U.S. a longer flight. Nathan isn't sure at what point to start counting how long that their flight home has taken! I worked in the library this afternoon. Once again we got quite a bit done and there are new books on the shelves ready to be checked out. Woody went for a four-mile walk after lunch. Then this evening he attended the Wednesday night service at church.