Show Hope Helpers

The unappetizing mess below represents the start of our Black Walnut Ink project. To the left there you see the completion of it. Daniel and the girls collected them on their nature walk, and then we cooked them down all afternoon. It turns out November is the perfect time to do this, since the husks are supposed to be half rotten to make the ink.













After several hours on simmer we ended up with a quart of inky liquid that makes a satisfying, antique brown stain. I found the quills several years ago after a fox took out a goose, and they have come in handy. The girls practiced writing with them for nearly an hour. We think Sapphire writes better with a quill than with a pencil.



Last week Pearl and I were out until midnight on Sunday helping to run the Show Hope table at the Stephen Curtis Chapman concert at a huge church in Lancaster. Show Hope offers grants to families who are trying to adopt, but it also funds orphan care in China. They have some really progressive nurturing centers where they take sick kids and offer them treatment or gentle, palliative care for those who cannot be treated.

Our friend Diane, Pearl, and I handed sponsor cards out to folks who raised their hands just before the intermission when Stephen Curtis Chapman encouraged folks to commit to support the ministry. Then we helped process forms (she was the head envelope stuffer) when those people brought their signed cards to the table. We both enjoyed the whole concert, and Pearl was especially effected by the story and performance of the song "Cinderella" (of course). Afterward we went backstage and met Stephen Curtis Chapman.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy the concert, but I did. The performers had such humble attitudes. During Laura Story's part of the concert, we all just worshiped together, and worshiping with 1,000 people is a treat for someone from a small country church. They each had a neat testimony to share, and it felt like a mini-retreat.

Halloween 2013

With our big trip to Philly last week I did not include any of the girls' Halloween photos. They went trick or treating with a cute little skunk and dinosaur one night, and the next their daddy took them to the Halloween parade in town. There they collected more candy than seems legal, but I've since shared it with my college students who do not turn down free food, even when it is barely food.

In the last few weeks I have redecorated our family room. We spend so much time there in the winter that I wanted it to be cozy and pretty. This also allowed me to bond with my sewing machine and work on my math skills. Then, when those failed me, I ended up relying on my patience and work-around abilities too.

I love to see the girls reading. Pearl has recently discovered the joy of comic books, but she prefers fairies and princess themes to the typical superhero variety.

And here Sapphire pours over her Cubbie book. On Sunday afternoons she eagerly slips into her cubbie vest and pines for the hour when we can leave for Awana. For the two little girls, Awana means puppet shows, verse memorization, games, toy time, and table work--preschool-type activities.

This week I woke Ruby early one morning for her ear tube surgery. They popped those tiny tubes through her eardrums in five minutes, but she fussed over the effects of the anesthesia for about half an hour. We hope this will drain her ears, which always seem to show water, though not infection, thankfully.