Hello out there in Xangaland! Big Hiya to Luxiswiss who reminded me that it’s been a while.

So, I may be backtracking but here we go…speed journaling over the last few months, mostly with pictures:

Nov 1. My nephew Gaelan married Emily: A young woman of great beauty and worth, and I’m not talking her pretty face. This young woman and her sister are amazing. They are tireless in good works for the body of Christ and their firm faith and gracious love for others truly make them of far greater worth than rubies.

Nov. Thanksgiving. Okay, you saw my awesome labors on Turkey Execution day….I then did a major no-no. I came home exhausted, with the turkey in the cooler…intending to add ice….and we all know where good intentions lead you….yup…you guessed it…I petered out, and the bird went belly up. So we improvised…I should say, Heather improvised, and fixed us up another bird.  Next time, I’m packin’ ice. So anyway, I gave an open invitation to church in case some one didn’t have a family or thing to do on Thanksgiving, and we had a lovely group come and stuff themselves as well as play games and so forth. I also, got 10 bales of straw for the kids to play with in the backyard….and well…let’s just say that the V family weren’t thrilled with the state of their daughters hair afterwards, though I did help pick it out!

Girls playing with horses                                   Some of the eatin’

The dessert table, the lemon meringue pie looked gorgeous, that is, till we tasted it…AAAAAAAAAA! I had put 3 large lemons into it and had accidentally zested into the pith…the result was ghastly, a few people tried to valiantly choke down a piece…ahh well, it looked good!

Tim up there handing out about 5 pcs. of corn to each child. A tradition in their family as that was all the each pilgrim had to live on at one point. Each child had to say what they were thankful for as they gave back the corn.

Holly G. zonked out after playing horse….                                some of the children…

Some of our snazzy decor        …                                               Bradley and Baxter..chillin’ 

Bradley V. and Maxwell….buds………………………….                               Kelly C. and a son…Paul I think.

Baxter worn out from the V. girls playing                              My Lizzy B.

Jewel V. and Mae C.                                                                             I asked Jewel to give me a big smile, hence the “Cheese”

Jewel’s mom, Angela, giving me the “Cheese” smile as well….like mother like daughter…

Some of the straw play.

Rick C. working on my laptop…it’s shot ! Never buy HP!!!!               Bradley and Jacob tumbling…

A bit later, here’s Steve and the kids playing “Monster” :

ON another note…I went to TX to go to the memorial service for Don Ivy, my friend Anne’s husband. He was a lot like Frankie which was nice to discover…I can just picture the two of them meeting in heaven and Frank saying “Finally, another man who is always on time”. Here’s a few pictures of the memorial flowers, including the tulips our group sent and some lovely shots of Anne and two of her sons, Jonathan in blue *I’m informed he’s uniformly missing when picture time comes around* and Alex :

Anne has a lovely, warm family and it was a great privelege to visit with them all. God is good.

On the flight home, I got to have another treat…for the Steelers fans!:

The girls were totally trippin’ that I got to see the “official” Steelers plane. I didn’t see any Steelers though, at least, none that I know of…I guess they don’t wear game day gear 24/7…ah well….it’d be funny trying to see them buckle into those teensy airline seats in full padding…te-he..

A first for me, walking out onto the tarmac to get into the plane….had to grab a photo.

And….I will leave that for now, I’ll do Christmas for the next blog entry.

Hope your New Year is a blessed one.

Because Jesus Christ Lives and Reigns Forever!

~Kate

west to TX. Pray for my friend Anne as she celebrates the life she had with Don who was taken home to be with Jesus on Saturday.

Blessings,
~Kate

Our avian friends in all their radiant beauty:

 Tim valiantly rounding up:

Dead Turkey Walking..

Tim and Connor in their highly specialized protective head gear, lighting the propane tank for the turkey sauna:

All pretty after his bath, Phil the Turkey gets a massage: Feathers artfully plucked by Me, Amanda, Carolyn 

and at times by Elena & Hoppy:

Lizzy was on the couch, not feeling well:

And the Plier Plucking by Tim:

A nice leg, soon to be a nice haunch:

Brutus and his vigilant stance outside the chicken processing plant: (notice his night stick – whatta dog!)

Well, we finished the last turkey after the sun went down and the temperature dropped a good 15 degrees.

They payed me with a Hershey bar and apple cider….totally worth it. I’ll post pictures of our Turkey for you to see later.

I’m beat!

Agritourism….totally.

~Kate

You know you have….

The next exciting adventure of the AGRITOURISTS!

Yes folks, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and you know what that means….

TURKEY EXECUTIONS!!! Whoot!

Stay Tuned…….

Indiana was delightful as always, even though we were there for a somber occasion. As always it is a great joy in the sorrow when we are gathered to remember someone we not only love and miss, but someone we know we will see again in glory when Jesus returns. Awesomeness.

So, dear Aunt Rose, and everyone else… no sooner did mom and I return to Va, then we ran home to unpack and repack for our Church’s 3rd annual campout in Williamsburg. I was very thankful to have chosen to stay in a cabin instead of a tent. That is, until disaster struck a few times. The girls and I managed to lock ourselves out of our room and spent most of the morning with various people trying to break in with the “‘ol credit card trick”. We finally called down to the office for a person with a key…handy that. Then, we went up to the kitchen for breakfast, and found that one of the other ladies had burned her hand on the stove and was resting with her hand in cool water. “Welcome to Holly Cottage…we’re all well, really we are *manic smiles all around*”

The next day, I came up to the kitchen to see Mr. Y who was fanatically cleaning it. I asked him if he was one of those OCD super clean people. Mr. Y emphatically said no, and explained that he had flung open the fridge and a huge container of Italian dressing had exploded EVERYWHERE.  Poor guy was on his second cleaning to ensure no one slipped on an oil stain. “Welcome to Holly Cottage, we’re fine, really”

I think next year we’ll tent camp. The worst they had was cooler swapping and a rash of surroundings by civil war plastic figurines.  The war isn’t over. haha.

Since then we’ve been scrambling to do Mt. Laundry, which we’ve finally caught up on, house cleaning and for me, finishing the flower girls dresses for the girls who are in my nephews wedding.

Today is the only day I have to run errands. VA Beach to return a workman’s cord and look at the HSing store, then to get Em’s shower gift, to grocery shop, etc. Sewing later tonight. Tues. is ballet and Em’s shower; Wed. is drawing class for girls in a.m. and me in p.m.; Thurs. is tap. and Crisis Preg. ctr. banquet. ; Fri. I may collapse. 
Fitting school in and around! Woo-hoo.
Off to VA Beach.

Can’t wait for the wedding, it’ll be good to see family again (and Aunt Rose!)
 ~Kathryn

Well, I’m in Indiana with my mom. We flew in at short notice on Monday for my Uncle Billy’s funeral. We’ll be heading home on Thursday am.  I sure do miss my girls, haven’t been without them for years now. Aunt Marla misses them, as does Aunt Rose.

Uncle Billy was a really hard working and kind man. I think most of Jennings County was at the viewing.  He was buried in his bib overalls with his pocket watch even.  I saw many family members and missed even more, mostly because I don’t know many of them by sight, and as Frank would attest if he were here, I am in no wise observant.

If you feel led, please pray for my Aunt Helen and for Marla and the rest, as this was fairly sudden and they will have quite a transition time.  His passing will be felt by many who had plans with him for many building and good works projects that he was going to do. A fine man. Tomorrow will be the funeral, his older brother Rev. William R. officiating. Pray for Randy who is set to sing 2 songs for him tomorrow, that’s gonna be tough.

I’m glad we came, but I sure do miss my girls.  By God’s grace I’ll see them soon and go on our church campout the same day we return from IN.

Have a blessed week,

~Kate 

It’s been such a blessing to have the Dorny’s with us. Family worship has been great with them, especially the singing…much better with men’s voices as well. Jacob D. definitely brings us up a bit since he’s been trained in singing. . We’re also memorizing Psalm 91:
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will have refuge.” 

Today in school we have in addition to; Bible, Domestic Skills, Reading, Handcraft, Math, Penmanship, Phonics, Poetry, French and Spelling; History: for Liz & Elena Our Island Story ch. 65 Edward VI the Story of a Boy King; and for Hannah : Diogenes. in 50 famous stories. 
We also have our Folksong: The Drinking Gourd and a Hymn: All The Way My Savior Leads Me by Fanny Crosby:
All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt his tender mercy, who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in him to dwell;
for I know, what e’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me, cheers each winding path I tread,
gives me grace for every trial, feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter, and my soul a thirst may be,
gushing from the rock before me, lo, a spring of joy I see!

All the way my Savior leads me- O the fullness of his love!
Perfect rest to me is promised in my Father’s house above;
when my spirit, clothed, immortal, wings its flight to realms of day,
this my song through endless ages; Jesus led me all the way! 

   Isn’t that a pretty song? The tune is the same as Bless the Man that Fears Jehovah in the Psalter.
After school we’re cleaning, sewing, and running errands.
I hope you all have a great week. Tomorrow is my Lizzy’s 12th birthday. We have school and ballet during the day.  Lizzy requested Mrs. Dorny’s meatloaf for dinner and Aunt Margaret is making her a confetti cake. Coolness! The C. family will join us as well for dessert! I got Lizzy 2 Star Wars cook books. We’ll have to make Wookie Cookies and Yoda Soda! Luke! Use the Fork! hahaha.
Blessings,
~Kate

I thought I’d give a run down of life as it is right now. We are currently hosting Mrs.C, her 7 yr. old son and infant son for an indefinite amount of time. Her husband abandoned them. Our church is taking care of them and helping her to get on her feet.  Please pray for her as she must deal with hurt and anger, shock and sadness. Pray for her to adjust to this season of her life and to see God’s hand moving through these things for her good.  Pray for me to love them and to encourage them and point them always to our God’s tender mercies. God is also teaching me so much through her, it has really been a joy having them even though the circumstances are so grievous.

We will also be hosting our dear friends the D. family for a couple of months give or take. This will give Steve a chance to add to his resume as he gets some ministry experience from our church and also as he continues to minister to the widow and orphans, by which I mean, Steve and family are also helping me get lots of projects done around the house. The girls are so excited, I can’t tell you. Hannah told me how she has to be available to give Heather and Steve hugs every morning cause they need that.

 In other news, the girls have started school, Liz & Elena in yr. 3 and Hannah in yr.1 of Ambleside online, a Charlotte Mason curriculum. The girls and I are also starting drawing lessons with our Pastor’s wife. The girls taking beginning lessons, and I will be drawing people! Awesome! I’m so excited.  The girls also start ballet next week. A young woman at church teaches 2 classes; she’s very talented and gracious.

 Contradancing has also started up again! Friday was the first of the season, boy am I hurting!!  I thought I was doing so well prepping for it through all of the mowing I’ve been doing this summer. Ha! Nothing doing! I should have been mowing in circles with a couple of skips and bounces thrown in. I’d try it now but for the fact that the neighbors are already concerned that I’m going to kill myself mowing thanks to fair skin and it’s propensity to redden dramatically with any exertion.  They’d probably think I was having a fit or something.
For those unfamiliar with Contradancing it’s like folk/English/Scottish/country dancing. The video’s from last year
are above. Both dances in the video are some of  the more mild ones, some of them like the Virginia Reel, really do get you reeling! ha! Lots of hopping and so forth.

Other than that we are looking forward to going on our Church’s annual camp out in Williamsburg, 4 days this year! Whoo-hoo. Then Nov. 1st my nephew marries. We also have a Family Life conference at church with guest speaker R. C. Sproul Jr., which we are looking forward to as well.

That’s about it for chit chat. Mom is due in tomorrow along with the D family. Mom will be visitng Margaret for a while and is loaning me her room. Isn’t she sweet?!

Hope you all have a good week.
Blessings,
Kate
“Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who has made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations!” Psalm 100

Daughters, the Funky Chicken and the Magnificat….

Wish I had it in picture form, but c’est la vie.   So, we’ve started Term 1 of our Homeschool this week.  We use Amblesideonline. Along with standard courses we have an artist study and composer study. This term’s composer is Bach and we are currently listening to the Magnificat in D.  I’ve not exposed them to enough classical music, that is true, and so they are always a bit un-interested in it.  So, this time I brought them into my room and played the Magnificat online for them.  I talked about the many different instruments that he wrote a seperate part for and yet how each of those parts blend beautifully together. That went over really well. It wasn’t until the chorus started singing the very baroque sounding ” Magnificahhhhahahahahahahahahahaht! Magni!!! fi cah ah ah ah ah ah ah Ahat!” that the girls got into it. First they realized that these people sounded like chickens, and then Hannah jumped up and actually began doing the Funky Chicken to the Magnificat, and you know something? It kinda worked!!

We sure do love learning around here! The best part is, we went to Wal-mart a day later, and darned if the Magnificat wasn’t playing on their music sampler…and they all recognized it!! We’re a bit unorthodox in our learning, but we learn!

So, lately we’ve been cleaning and schooling and trying to get into an earlier schedule. Nan is on vacation yet again, this time with Aunt Rose in IN…I think they were headed for Chicago….

Well, it;s overcast with periods of rain and breezy from Tropical Storm Hanna…I love living here! My oak trees are lovely in the breeze! hey..that sounds like a poem.

I love Living Here by Kate

I love living here

My oak trees

are lovely

in the breeze

I love living here

The End.

Wasn’t that nice? You’ve had some insanity and poetry all in one! Life is good. It’s fun to learn with the Dally’s.

Have a blessed weeekend, we’re looking forward to joining with the Saints tomorrow in worship! ~Kate

Praise Him that the hurricane was much reduced! My brother and family are well and have gotten back home today. They are without power though, and so is about 80% of Baton Rouge.  Please pray that power is restored soon for them, it’s wicked hot down there!

My friend April is well in MS and looking forward to when she can return to join her husband. John did fine, only some areas of flooding because of the amount of water being too overwhelming for some of the pumps and they wouldn’t go on, so no major damage or anything, but just inconvenience and obviously a need for newer pumps.

Off to finish some stuff and get todays schooling rolling!

Blessings,

Kate