Deogratias

Halloween

Tradition has it that Lee takes the boys trick-or-treating while I stay home and give out candy.  Lee and the boys went out, but unfortunately we don't get any trick-or-treaters here at the new house, so I'm  doing a long-overdue blog post.

Andrew is Megatron.

Nicholas is the scary skeleton guy.

Alex didn't have a costume planned, and after dinner Lee told him that he needed to come up with something in 5 minutes or  he couldn't go trick-or-treating.  I thought he did pretty well.  He's an assasin.  The bump under his side is his pillowcase for candy collecting.

Jacob is Barrack Obama.

Here he is in sunglasses.

Lee arrived in his make-shift costume just in time to head out.  I guess he's expecting some sort of trouble tonight, cause he's packin' heat.

Off they went.

Happy Halloween everyone!  Of course we're all geared up for tomorrow too.  It's All Saints Day.

A Sunday Afternoon in Pictures

Help Me, I'm Sinking!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all of your household and homeschooling responsibilities?  Are you over-run and/or outsmarted by one or more of your children?  That's what I'm going through right now and it's driving me crazy.  On top of it all, I have a terrible headache that I can't get rid of. 

I do have a chiropractic appointment this afternoon, so that part will be taken care of.  The others are the bigger problems though.  I decided to just do this rambling post in hopes that a) It will help me see things more clearly,  b) you might have some suggestions for me, and c) I'll feel better.  So here goes.

My entire house is a mess, covered with piles of clean and dirty laundry, stacks of bills to be paid and account statements, shoes and more shoes, and just plain dirt.  The windows are dirty, the floors are filthy and my sheets need to be washed.   We have accomplished much of our homeschooling duties today thus far and supper is on the stove, so the whole day has not been a wash. 

My two oldest children are doing a remarkable job at their school work this year, and are huge helpers to me around the house.  I can leave them a messy kitchen and come home to a perfectly clean one, I can completely neglect the dogs and the chickens and they'll take care of things for me.  They are just amazing!

It's children number 3 and 4 that I'm struggling with - mainly child 3 - 9 year old boy.  Since his birth I have often wondered if I should take him in for psychiatric examination, or if not him then me.  He was my early walker and thumbsucker.  He has always seemed to need constant attention from me.  He doesn't eat much and that's been a struggle because I've wondered if his moods are a result of nutritional deficiency.  Did I mention that he is extremely active?!

He can be such a sweetie and a charmer and turn around to become a demon and a bear.  He's incredibly smart, but I have so much trouble teaching him.   He's a super-advanced reader who could stay up all night reading.  He's got great leadership skills that make the rest of us depend on him in times of crisis or need.  But he's so stubborn and when he gets an idea in his head it is just so tough to change his mind.  If you try to make him do something that he doesn't want to do or stop doing something he's doing, he cries, whines, screams, throws things, hits, bangs his head on the wall, and/or cries so more.

His charm has been a good thing and a bad one, because it makes us all forget his terrible behavior and thus let him get by with things that no other child in the house can.  His brothers, even those he is regularly nasty to, just love playing with  him and constantly seek him out as a companion. 

Wow, I feel better already just writing this out.  Got to go now, but I'll write more later.  Thanks so much dear readers for being there.  Prayers, suggestion and words of support are welcome!  Happy Tuesday.

Oh, and here's a photo of him, in disguise to protect his identity.

How to Shock a Sleepy Hungry Husband

 as he looks in the fridge for something to eat. 

Do I have the nerve....

to turn this:

   

into  THIS???? 

If so, we'll be sure and have Tammy and Vic over for dinner!!

We've tried to hard to get these guys to eat up all the grubs growing in the Tammy's pasture, but they keep coming over our chicken house and begging for food.  They're noisy and annoying, and not too attractive in my eyes.  

We're planning on butchering some of our chickens and ducks soon, but the guineas are ready now!  They're French Guineas which are bigger than normal domestic guineas and they're known as roasting guineas.  

I'll keep you updated.
 

A Happy Anniversary, Rock Quarry and More

Yesterday Lee and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. 

Twenty years ago it was very rainy  in Johnson City, Tennessee where we were married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in the presence of God, our family and friends.  It was a wonderful day and it was followed by a fabulous honeymoon to New England. 

Fortunately yesterday was a sunny day in Georgia and we were able to spend the day together with our children beginning with a fascinating field trip to a huge rock quarry.  It was a field trip with our Catholic homeschooling group, which is always a great opportunity for the kids to get to gether with their friends and learn something.  Like most boys I suppose, ours love rocks, so that was even better.

It began with an interesting presentation about rocks, quarries and mining.  During this time we had an unusual trea -  a giant blast  rocked the ground.  They normally blast twice a week in the morning, but for some reason a blast was scheduled for this very afternoon.  It was underground and we couldn't hear it, but we sure did feel it!

Then our guide let us out back to collect some rocks. Unfortunately she forgot to tell us NOT to climb on the big rocks until it was too late.

 She told me school groups normally just hang around the flat areas and she doesn't have to worry about them climbing.  Homeschoolers aren't used to hanging around in groups and are used to running and climbing whenever the opportunity presents itself.  How blessed are children are, I thought.

 

 

Then we took a drive through the quarry.  

We saw some HUGE heavy equipment and big rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we stopped at the lookout point to see the giant hole in the ground.  We were told it was 1 mile long and 3/4 mile wide.  All of the water inside is runoff and captured rain.  Some of it is pumped up to spray on rocks to keep down the dust.  Believe it or not, this quarry is right near the downtown area of a large Atlanta suburb and less than a mile from a big university.

 

Of course we posed with some pictures on the lookout bridge.  Someone was trying to hide in this picture.

As you see, we made him come out.

Finally, Alex took a picture of the anniversary couple.

 

 

Lee came to the quarry prepared to bring home the biggest rock collection of all.   And it was a cool opportunity to actually see the product loaded, and then used.

At the end of the day we came home and unloaded the gravel in key erosion areas of our driveway.

Next we had a late lunch/early dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  Again, Alex took a picture of us.

 And I took a picture of Nicholas demonstrating his improving gymnastics skills on the stage in the restaurant.  We just let him do it because we practically had the place to ourselves.

All in all, it was a fabulous anniversary!  We thank God for our marriage and our family!