This Week in Review...

 This week we harvested our first crop that we raised ourselves in the garden.  Fresh Greens! They were so yummy.  Sweet crispy and good!!  We really enjoyed them.

The weather was lovely this week.  We spent a lot of our evenings out by the pond.  My Sister-in-law Mary was here along with her daughter Karen.  What is there to do out by the pond?  Frog hunting.  Karen wore her rubber puddle boots and hiked along the edge and into the water to catch them.

Elizabeth and Paul

Some of us enjoyed a campfire.

Thomas caught a stick on fire and waved it in a shape.  With a long exposure you can figure out the shape.  It was fun.

Mary loves to fish and fished even when it was too dark to see her bobber anymore.

Karen and Paul worked to help me get my garden beds ready to plant.

Thomas was busy with a baking project.  Michelle had another project going, but when she went to grab it out of the cupboard, it was a big mess!!!  Someone hadn't put the tie back on the top.

 Here is Thomas's final project.  He decorated it with candy from participating in sweepstake.  It was very tasty and gluten free.

This may be what you find on your camera if you leave it lying around at a speech and debate meeting.  Not sure who borrowed it, but they got some fun pictures.

More debate debrief pictures.

This how big our gardens are currently.  There is still room for growth, but I have stopped building the beds and started planting.  I can increase the size of the beds along the way.

I will spare you the pictures, but this week we moved the older chicks into a chicken trailer.  I will post pictures in a later post. When I went to move them I realized that it seemed like there were a lot fewer chicks there.  I counted them and found there was only 44 instead of 64.  We had been gone over the weekend at the debate tournament and I hadn't been out to check on them.  Paul had been feeding them.  I was at a lost to figure out where that many had disappeared to.  I checked with my brother ( Who by the way, brought me another beautiful load of aged manure this week!!!) and he inspected our stall.  I found that there was about 15 of the chicks lying dead behind the hay bale in there.  Apparently, a possum had gone in and killed them.  There was not a mark on them.  The possum had gone in and suffocated them.  So sad!  This was our first big loss.  I was really bummed.  She had even done in one of our great big Jersey Giant roosters that must have weighed about 8 pounds.  She killed at least one of each kind of bird.  She wasn't prejudiced.  I guess the good news is that she made her presence known before we put the brooder in there.  We won't be using the stall for chicks any time soon.

This week we added to our menagerie 20 turkey poults.  They are so cute.  They are feisty too.

These are bourbon reds.  It is a heritage breed of turkeys.  I am hoping to be able to breed and sell them in the future.  We shall see.  I was pleased at how well the poults did despite being shipped from New Mexico.  They were all lively.  The heritage birds are a lot smarter than the broad breasted birds.  They learned to eat and drink easily.  Yeah!  We also got some new chicks this week.  It is a busy time!

Geometry Marathon

T-Bob worked very diligently to get all his school work done before we left.   He had a lot crammed into a shorter period of time since he had gotten a later start.   He was successful in every subject, except geometry, which fell to the wayside.   We had no plans to bring it with us, until after packing everything we could think of, we still had room!  So the "strongly disliked" textbook came along.

After considering his options (tutors with time to assist him here vs. a very full schedule when we get home), he decided so set a high goal for himself,  to finish his geometry before leaving the Phillipines.   After counting his lessons he decided that if he did three lessons per school day he could finish.  So he began.

Kitty and I share the load of helping him understand new concepts and making sure he understands the logic of proofs, every geometry student's favorite.

Last week he successfully did 15 lessons! 

"This is the strategy for this proof..."

This week T-Bob is on course to finish as many or more lessons.

Nobody likes correcting problems you got wrong!

The finish line (for today) is in sight!

We had a slight interruption when this insect landed on the answer key.  I'm not sure what it was.  Underneath the almost sheer wings, the body looked like a cross between an inch worm and a slug.
Not nearly as exciting as the two inch flying cockroach that interrupted our dinner last night, but this very small insect did distract us for a few minutes.  Insects and other small creatures are part of living near the equator.

Correcting the last couple problems.

The marathon continues.  It hasn't been as difficult these past two weeks because school is still in session, but come the end of next week T-Bob will be the lone student.  Please pray for perseverance for him and patience for those tutoring!  And wisdom to know when enough is enough!  Thank you!

~JoAn

This week in review

This past weekend was our last speech and debate tournament of the season.  The last tournament is really large and is very competitive.  Thomas had varied results.

In the debate speaker award category Thomas placed tenth out of 114 competitors.  He was very pleased to get a gavel.  His debate partner Mikayla also got a gavel.

The guy here with Thomas  is an OSU law student.  He has been a mentor for him for several years.  He has been a good influence on him.  Our family has come to really appreciate Elliot.  Someday we will even vote for him when he runs for Congress!

Here is Thomas with his debate partner of two years.  They had a good run and won two tournaments and were in other semi-finals.  They worked well together and had a good influence on each other.

Here is Thomas with his hardware from the tournament.  He has a speaker's gavel, a sweepstakes medal and a first place plaque.  He had a very successful year!

I like this picture of DH and Thomas.  Thomas looks so much like his Dad.  

Thomas won first place in Impromptu Apologetics.  He did a great job!  He spent a lot of time studying Josh McDowell's book, 'More Than a Carpenter'.

Michelle took this picture.  There were millions of dandelion fluff balls to choose from.  Our yard needs to be mowed soooo bad, but it is just too wet.  Lots of dandelions here!!!

Here is another picture of our beautiful dandelions.  The moth liked them.  I saw a bird land on the stem of a dandelion.  It slowly bent over.  Then the bird flew to another dandelion stem and was able to hang onto it and while eating the fluff off another one.  It was such a tiny bird.  I am going to see if I can figure out what it was.  It was only slightly larger than a hummingbird.

The chicken coop is finished.  It only needs a chicken exit and ramp built as well as the nesting boxes installed.  Paul installed a window in it today.  It is very close to usable.  Now he is studying how to set up the electric fence.

The hens are doing well.  They roam all over the yard and sometimes into the neighbors yard.  They are not living there anymore so I guess it's ok.  We will be fencing them in soon too.
 

Here is one of the blueberry bushes we transplanted from the other house last fall.  It is looking well and has lots of blooms on it.  Yeah!!!

The garden is looking good.  The bare spots are where a robin dug at it.  You can tell because it pulled up the straw from underneath.

Here is the next bed I will be planting.  I am hoping my brother brings some of his beautiful aged manure very soon so I can finish the bed.  My tomatoes are overgrowing in the basement and need to be planted yesterday!

The shallots have all come up now and looking good.  The yellow color on some is merely from the reflected light of the sunset.  The plants are healthy.

The flag irises are starting to bloom.  They are really pretty. Mostly yellow and purple ones so far.

Over the winter, the herbs that Paul and I dug up and moved to the farm, all died.  It was very sad.  I was trying to figure out where I was going to get more and how to do it.  Then, when I was down in Amish country last time, one of my patients offered to section her herbs as they were so big so that I could have some starts.  It was such a blessing!  They look really healthy and all I need to do now is get that herb bed built so that I can plant them.  At least for now, they are happy in their barrel bottom.

I bought some rhubarb to plant in my apple tree guild.  They have done well and are happy while they wait for me to plant them.

Here is a sunset from the other evening.  It was so beautiful and then to have it reflected off the pond was twice as nice.  If you could see a larger view of this picture you would see the glow of the sunset lighting up the dandelions in the grass. Our Creator does such awesomely beautiful things.  I love our place here on the farm!!!

Tuldok Bola

What do you play outdoors in 100 degree weather when your only options are a badminton set and a basketball?  We didn't have a basketball hoop and weren't excited about making one, and badminton was getting old.  The driveway is a steep incline with a gate at the bottom.  The small yard is full of beautiful trees, a pavilion, many small fish ponds, stepping stones, and other obstacles.  So we brainstormed.   

The result....

Tuldok Bola

A new game! Using chalk we made circles for the "targets". Blue is 100 points, green 75, purple 50, and pink 25. The goal is to earn as many points as possible. You earn points by hitting the targets. You can also lose points by either not catching the ball or throwing the ball into the thorn bushes. (This was in order to save Fred's basketball from popping.) 

Throwing.

Strategizing.

The game involves 5 rounds with 3 rotations for each round.  The first rotation is shooting the ball and trying to get as many points as possible in your 5 shots.  The second is keeping score and judging whether or not the ball hit the target or if the puff of dust was just from the dust covering the driveway. (That's what happens when it hasn't rained in weeks.) The final rotation is catching the ball and also judging whether or not the ball hit the target.

Keeping score (Rotation 2)

Ready to catch the ball (Rotation 3)

Will he make it?

Adding up the scores...

The results!

~Kitty

Translation Work

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.   1 Corinthians 12:4-6

My family has had the opportunity to host missionaries on a regular basis all of my life.  I have always enjoyed hearing about what God is doing through believers who are obeying the great commission where God has placed them, whether in the next county, state, across the country, or around the world.  I am currently enjoying being an eye witness of missionary life during my visit, first with my family here,  but then with other missionaries who are nearby.   Each missionary has a different "job description," but each "job" furthers the goal of seeing people saved.

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to be a part of a translation team for the morning.  (I apologize for not taking any pictures.  I will try to do better to take pictures of what I am doing.)  

Kuya Graeme is passionate about accurate translation work.  Upon arrival at his home, he immediately put me through a crash course on translation work while his wife and two other team members worked on back translation.  

First, he defined the three key terms of translation work and drew a picture of the process, all the while speaking in his strong New Zealand accent.  Next he briefly explained the steps of translation that should result in an accurate translation of the text.   Then he elaborated on the exegesis, the part that I would be assisting Ate Naomi with.

After that Kuya Graeme explained levels of communication.  His goal is to have whatever his translation team translates to be understood on a paragraph level, not just a word or sentence level.   He also briefly described the origin of languages.  He believes that any people group without a common language to communicate with can come up with one language within eighteen months.  That is, languages evolve over time (i.e.Beowulf in its original form is hardly understandable to an English speaking person).  His interpretation of the tower of Babel is that God did not give many languages but that he confused the one language and the groups of families that were scattered came up with their own working language as they traveled.   Somehow I never read Genesis 11:7 carefully, where it does indeed say that God confused their languages.   Interesting food for thought.

Lastly, I was given my first Tagalog lesson.  Tagalog only has five different vowel sounds. It is hard to make my English speaking tongue correctly pronounce the vowel sounds and different consonant combinations, but I was coached until I could do it right.

After the condensed language lesson, the language team walked over to the office.  On the way to the office,  I learned firsthand a bit of Filipino culture.   Before we left, I had been asked if I wanted an umbrella to which I replied, "No thank you."  Who needs an umbrella on a sunny day?   As we left the house, the two other ladies on the translation team, pulled out the umbrellas and started walking.  Ate Naomi invited me to share hers and I agreed as Kuya Graeme explained.  Women use umbrellas to keep the sun and rain off while men only use umbrellas to keep the rain off.   Lesson learned.  Next time I'm offered an umbrella on a sunny day,  I will say yes (if I am in the Philippines).

After a morning of translation work (I helped with exegesis), the five of us returned to the house for lunch.  Kuya Graeme cooked while the rest of us got to know each other a little better.  Soon we crowded around a table and enjoyed rice, hotdogs, and creamy tuna.  I was encouraged  again to listen to the Tagalog being spoken rather than just hearing it.  I tried, but would have to do it a lot more before I started to make sense of it.  Surprise, surprise. :)

Prayer requests for translators: that they would not grow discouraged.  Translation is tedious work that requires commitment over a long period of time.  

~JoAn   

P.S. The highlighting is unintentional and due to my lack of formatting knowledge I could not fix it except to make it uniform. 

Mother's (Aunt's) Day

         T-Bob and Katrina planned and executed a yummy breakfast on Mother's Day morning.   

T-Bob jumps to avoid the splattering bacon grease while Katrina calmly cuts mangos.

Katrina carefully decorated and arranged the breakfast table.

The Cooks

The menu: cajun hash browns, scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese, mango coconut smoothies, and muffins.  Everything was delicious!

Aunt Miriam carefully examining detailed pictures from the younger cousins.  She enjoyed each one.   

The long awaited mini serving spatula.

Katrina planned ahead for this special occasion and did her shopping ahead of time so that I could bring some special items with us. 

~JoAn