REFRIGERATOR MAGNET POETRY (OR NOT)

The kids got creative with the refrigerator magnets a while back.

I tried to turn it into something educational, so they all tried haikus next. It makes it more difficult with a limited vocabulary. You may need to click on the picture to be able to read this one

I don't believe these qualify as poems, but they made me smile when I got something out of the refrigerator.

MIKE HUCKABEE

We have been excited about what we have discovered on MIKE HUCKABEE'S website. We encourage all of you to visit his website at www.mikehuckabee.com Mike supports the Fair Tax, has established Covenant Marriages in Arkansas, he is solidly pro-life, has the support of homeschool leader Michael Farris, and seems to have a pastor's heart and humor. Again, please see what Mike is saying at www.mikehuckabee.com . We would also suggest watching videos of his different debates and interviews on youtube (but be very careful on that website.) We also encourage you to read a letter from Pastor Rick Scarborough expressing very well why he is supporting Mike Huckabee.

AUNTS, UNCLES, AND MISCELLANEOUS RELATIVES

Keith's Uncle Eric and Aunt Winn from Houston, Texas and Uncle Jerry and Aunt Virginia from Dallas, Texas were camping here in Missouri. They were here attending a week long gospel singing held in a cave (Meramec Caverns) and a blue grass festival (at Mountain View, MO) We really enjoyed the evening that they spent with us!


Our nephew Jordan, his wife Melissa, and their jolly baby Eliah.

Keith's brother Mark and his son Japheth. Japheth broke his sternum the day before in a football game. Tough guy!

VISION FORUM'S "WISHLIST" CONTEST

The friendly family at www.inashoe.com is hosting a contest to win $150 worth of Vision Forum products from their new 2008 catalog. You can view the catalog at www.visionforum.com (There are clues in this year's catalog too!) Part of the contest is posting my "wish list" from the catalog. Developing a wish list was easy, paring it down to $150 was hard, but here it is:

Passionate Housewives: Desparate for God $16
Ballantyne's Hunted and Harried: A Tale of the Scottish Covenanters $22
Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer by Kelly Bradrick $17
A Church in the House $12
Jonathan Park Volume 4 $25
League of Grateful Sons $20
2006 Best of the Festival $35

Which comes to $147.

WORKING ON HIS DUCK STAMP ENTRY

Adam, diligently painting on his 2007 Federal Duck Stamp Entry.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

A green-winged teal, ready to join the competition.

75TH FEDERAL DUCK STAMP CONTEST, SANIBEL ISLAND, FLORIDA

Adam and I were blessed to be able to attend the judging of the 75th Federal Duck Stamp Contest. For this special anniversary year, the contest was held on Sanibel Island, Florida. This is the location of the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, named for Jay "Ding" Darling, who created the first Duck Stamp and almost single handedly started much of the conservation efforts that exist today.

The Judging. The picture on the screen is Harold Roe's, a very nice man and accomplished artist, who has won the Ohio duck stamp many, many times. This painting placed second place.

And the winner is... Joe Hautman! Also a very nice man and extremely talented artist. Joe has now won the Federal Duck Stamp 3 times. Joe is shown here with Dale Hall, the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

A better picture of his painting can be seen at http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/federal/results/top15_2007.htm
This will show you the top 15 paintings and you can click on each one for a great enlarged image.

This is Adam with Adam Grimm, and exceptionally gifted artist and extremely likeable person. He holds the record for the youngest person to win the Federal Duck Stamp contest, having been only 21 when his painting was chosen. His entry can be seen at www.fws.gov/duckstamps/federal/results/top15_2007.htm
or more of his work at www.adamgrimm.com
(thanks to Rita Dumaine of Sam Houston Duck Company www.shduck.com/
for this picture)

We also had the privilege of meeting Adam Grimm's lovely wife Janet and his delightful (and very well behaved) daughter Madison, pictured here with her dad. It was and honor to meet so many artists that Adam has followed for years. These are the David Ecksteins and Albert Pujols of the Duck stamp world.

THE SANDPIPER INN, SANIBEL ISLAND, FLORIDA

Adam, ready to head to the beach.

We didn't get to spend too much time here. We left the room very early to catch the sunrises, and spent the days at the Duck Stamp Contest.

Florida is so "floridy"

The bikes to the left were available to use whenever we wanted and we had a great time biking all over the island. They had wonderful bike trails and I particularly like the fact that they are all very FLAT.

ENJOYING THE FLORA AND FAUNA

Adam was able to take hundreds of fantastic photos of birds. This is one of the few that is currently on this computer. I might post more later, but it really was a wonderful photo opportunity.

Adam's only problem was that the birds were getting too close. He finally took off his teleconverter

Everything was so lush and beautiful, even the bugs!

The flowers and plants were so different than Missouri's. It was a wonderful experience.

"For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD: I sing for joy at the works of your hands." Psalms 92:4

ENJOYING THE OCEAN

The water was great.

Sanibel Island is known for its abundant sea shells.

"Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers claptheir hands, let the mountains sing together for joy: let them sing before the LORD" Psalms 98:7-9

AND BACK ON THE FARM . . .

. . .Preparing to cook dinner while I was gone. The guys have a little different methodology than mine.

LANE SPRINGS DATE

Keith and I went on a lovely date night down to Lane Springs. I was commenting on how beautiful the setting was, and then added, "but our backyard is beautiful too." To which Keith replied, "Yes, but our backyard is too crowded." I found it amusing that a State Park in a National Forest was much more secluded than our house.

The faithful husband with the faithful (but very dilapidated) picnic basket.

Lane Springs always has beautiful wildflowers, even in the fall.

UNCLE BILL'S VISIT

My dear Uncle Bill Davis from San Antonio visited with us for several days this summer. I have so many fantastic memories spent at Uncle Bill's and Aunt Wanda's house. My sisters and I would spend a week at their house (in Albuquerque, and later in Los Lunas, New Mexico) every summer. The Davises exposed me to so many new and wonderful experiences, and I wanted my home to be like theirs when I grew up. They started their day with their Bibles, didn't have the T.V. on, made homemade bread and grew their own meat and fresh garden food back when it wasn't popular. Their home was filled with love, peace, and wonderful smells! Jesus Christ was there. They took us on our first camping trip, let us crank our first homemade ice cream, let us gather our first eggs, and although I didn't appreciate it at the time, served us our first butterbeans! I love you Uncle Bill and Aunt Wanda.

WATCHED THE DEBATE?!

We watched the Republican Debate last night and were again very excited about Mike Huckabee. We encourage you to go to his website and investigate for yourself. www.mikehuckabee.com You can find many videos of him from previous debates and interviews on youtube .

HUMILITY: TRUE GREATNESS

Humility: True Greatness is an excellent book by C. J. Mahaney

Here is a favorite passage from it:

"The difference couldn't be more stark.
As sinfully and culturally defined, pursuing greatness looks like this: Individuals motivated by self-interest, self-indulgence, and a false sense of self-sufficiency pursue selfish ambition for the purpose of self-glorification.
Contrast that with the pursuit of true greatness as biblically defined: Serving others for the glory of God. This is the genuine expression of humility; this is true greatness as the Savior defined it."

EAT THOSE GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES!!

I love Swiss Chard!! I had mowed down a section of the garden because it was too overgrown with weeds, and we hadn't had rain in over a month. I totally gave up on our eating anything else from it. This stuff came back from the roots bigger and better than ever. Fifteen minutes after this picture was taken, it was on the table with our favorite "Beans, Greens, and Cornbread" meal.

The 10 Advantages of a Unicycle Over a Conventional Bicycle.

Posted by Joel Nisbett. 1. There are very few things to go wrong on a unicycle making them much easier to maintain. 2. There are only a handful of people who ride unicycles which means that you earn a lot of respect if you can. 3. Unicycles don't require the use of hands leaving them available to carry things. 4. You have the ability to hop, making it easier to go up steps, etc. 5. They are much easier to maneuver precisely making them much easier to ride in a crowd of people. 6. You never see signs that say, "No Unicycling." 7. They are relatively light which means you can pick them up and carry them easily. 8. There is no end to the skills you can develop on a unicycle. (Can you go backwards on your bike?) 9. They are very versatile in a variety of different environments. 10. They are so much easier to pack so that you can take them along while traveling. Bonus Points: They are simply more fun to ride! The moral is, everybody should go buy a unicycle! Of course, if this happened, advantage #2 wouldn't be true but that doesn't matter; unicycles would still be superior to bicycles!

Horse and Rider

Clara Mosher came over to ride horses, and all the kids got in on the action.


Glory had a great time, and John was very cool.

Our neighbor's grand-daughter came to church with us recently and gasped as she walked in the room. "I've never seen you guys wear shoes before!"

The hero rescues the fair maiden!

The Cast of Characters

The star of the show, one of our horses, appropriately named "Star".

One very bored audience member, Nikki.

And one of the chorus, waiting in the wings for her turn.