Our east coast girls are back home, having left here Friday afternoon. We miss them and Dave and all the little ones who bounced on our trampoline and around these walls for two weeks...it was sad to see them go but at least it was a nice long visit this time. Special thanks to son-in-law Caleb, the one one who didn't get to come, for being so generous as to do without his family for two weeks.

Snippets that make you go hmmmm....sent along by The Papa: There are more employees in the Department of Agriculture than there are farmers in America. There are around 775,000 words in the Bible; there are 7,000,000 words in the U. S. tax code. Don't ever say your government isn't working hard for you.

So this is the week I leave to go give aid and comfort to the troops The Papa while he's away serving his country in Hawaii. Of course I'd really rather stay at home than be with him in a full ocean view room with a balcony at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki for a week. But you know, when you've invested 35 years with a man, you know you're going to have to make sacrifices along the way. I thought long and hard about it and decided that this is more important than anything else on my calendar ;-)

Grandson Sam had a rough introduction to the fall cold/asthma season this week. As of today he's avoided a hospital stay but the next few days will be important in restoring him to health...

I'm increasingly disturbed about voter fraud in this election. This morning there was an interview on the news from an election official from a county in Alabama where 110% of the residents are now registered to vote. No one seems to know how that could have happened. Hmmm. On the other hand, I heard a (much too young) commentator claim that this could be the first presidential election to be won by fraud. Obviously said commentator is too young to know much about Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Fab Fridays here continue to provide our kids with extracurricular activities and provide the moms, and sometimes the dad, lots of relaxed time to visit, nap, catch up on their own schoolwork, etc. Halfway through our fall term I'd have to say it's a big success!

I smiled this week to hear that one of the books that Laura Bush returns to and rereads every few years is Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. I'm about halfway through it and not in any hurry to finish--it's that good. Don't know that as long as it is I'd be willing to read this one often, but I certainly understand the appeal. I'm sorry that I got to be this old without reading it, but then I'm not sure I could/would have fully appreciated it before now.

Today our little church was blessed with the beginnings of our orchestra....Our hymns were accompanied by our new piano, plus violin, viola, and acoustic guitar. A small but significant beginning as we seek to deepen our use and appreciation of music in the worship experience.

From this morning's glorious worship...

Unnumbered comforts to my soul
thy tender care bestowed
before my infant heart conceived
from Whom those comforts flowed

~~from "When All Thy Mercies O My God", Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

Later in the week I'll share a few pictures from our visit with the kids, but for now I leave you with these, along with the only thing I can think of to quote: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth..." (3 John 4)


This one includes a few "almost sisters" as well...


Have a blessed Sunday!

Labels: Books, Church, Family, Grandkids, Homeschooling, Political Observation, Sundays, Vacations