The picture below shows a few of the jams I've put up, and some peach preserves. I have a pantry floor full of canned goods, as well as floor space in the dining room. I had a friend ask me if all the boxes along and up the wall were full, and yes they are. It just looks so pretty I had to show it. Eddie says my Suzy Homemaker self is showing through, but I really do enjoy canning. Papa says I should take pictures when it is all sitting in the floor waiting to be processed. That is really true. Seven quarts of green beans is actually 1 1/2 buckets of beans. The peas took over the floor this summer and you had to literally step over them to get to the kitchen. Then there were the tomatoes, speckled butter beans, okra, squash, cucumbers, blueberries, peaches, strawberries and plums which at any given time were living on the floor and counters waiting to be put up. I'm sad to say we ate the plums and they never got to be made into jam, the same with the muscadines. But, I did make peach jam, strawberry jam, and blueberry jam. I have also made bread and butter pickles, stewed tomatoes, jalapeno's, chow chow, relish, green beans, and pickled okra. Then in the freezer are the peas, okra, squash, butter beans, corn and a few blueberries. It is very satisfying to know that we have been blessed with all of this to enjoy all winter. It has really shown up in our grocery bill, and at first I just was not sure why my bill was lower, but I was sure it was because I forgot something. Well I started watching and 90% of the veggies we have are coming from our garden! Tonight for instance, we had meatloaf, okra, squash, green beans, peas, the only thing I bought was the meat and seasonings. Papa was talking with someone about how well the garden did this year and they asked what he did when so many others did not do so well because it was still rather dry. He said he really did not know. Well in Bible Study this past week we talked about drink offerings I had never heard of them. Basically, we should pour out our blessings because keeping them to ourselves makes us bitter and stops the flow of the blessing. From our garden Papa has fed every widow woman he knows, honestly he has, not to mention his friends that may have gardens, but they did not have something we had, or it did not grow, he took it to them. Then Eddie and I gave to some friends of ours who have been really hurting and their garden would not grow because of the soil in their yard, and several other friends just because I can only do so much before I start losing the food and I don't want anything to go to waste. Because of all the giving I think God kept giving to our garden. It is the same every year, we get a fair amount out of it even though it has been dry for the last couple of summers. If it rains look out! 
Okay moving on....The kids still have school work and trips associated with that. We still have piano, scouts, karate, and art every week too! Bri and Alex are coming along really well with piano. Bri had left her music at home for Away in a Manager, but I did not know it and I was busy working on an Alabama Elephant, which are going like hotcakes around here I might add...I can't keep them made up before I sell or give one away! Anyway I never looked up when I heard the song being played, but I thought wow Bri is doing really good with that song, I'll have to get her to play it this Christmas! When we got home I complimented her on how well she played that song, she looked at me and smiled, then said "Mama that was Ms. Judy, I never played it today." I'll have to pay closer attention next time before I compliment her I guess. She did play Jesus Loves Me in a Depot has Talent talent show last week, and did quite good. She would not use her keyboard though and the piano was badly out of tune so it threw her off.
In karate the kids are gearing up to test for their next belt. Alex is looking really good! Bri is doing good to, she is just still getting a few katas mixed up, but Thursday she looked like she was really starting to catch on to it!
In art Bri is still drawing faces and I think she is coming along really good. One of the young ladies in the class drew a picture of her niece and it was really good! She said her sister wanted it, but she told her no she had the real thing so she was keeping the picture. Ms. Abbey is the sweetest young girl I have ever met, and when she said that she said it with more gusto than I have ever heard from her and it just made me laugh. For those of who went to Bri's ballet performance Abbey is the girl who drew the picture of the ballerina that was put up in the church. She is really quite an artist and she is just 17! She has started a beginning sewing class for young girls 8 and up because she thinks that it is something that young girls will need in light of the current ecomonic outlook. I think that she has such a good head on her shoulders, and she is such a Godly young lady. Even her mother says she is so much more together than most kids her age it is truly amazing.
The picture below is from the Southern Museum of Flight. They are working on a new wing to the museum and it is so cool. These are manuquins they have set up with different scenes throughout. There was one plane where they asked the kids to turn the propeller so when the little girl who volunteered did, the plane's engine started and it scared her. The plane was not going anywhere it was just a sound effect, but it was really cool. He was showing how those planes used to be started and he told them how they had it set up to do that. We also saw a plane from WWII that was pulled out of a lake in SC, I think it was a WWII plane. We had to hurry through that part because we had a McWane Lab to get to.
This is a model of the Leonardo flying machine that he drew. We had gone to the Museum of Art to see the Leonardo exhibit that morning and then we went to the Southern Museum of Flight to see what they had. This was really neat to see, but I would not make a special trip there to see it. The picture does not really do it justice though.
Check out this cake! We went to a birthday party Tuesday for one of Bri's friends. She has been learning cake decorating and made her own cake. I thought for a 10 year old she did a really good job! I did not get a close enough picture of it, but she did a really good job on the edging shells, the other things you see are flowers, and in person they looked like flowers. Like I said she did a great job I think. I told her she could do my next cake and she just beamed.
Well, that is a little bit of the things we have been up to this week. The kids did go and visit a friend's church this Wednesday since our church services were cancelled. They absolutely loved this church. Bri loves the kids group, and Alex has not quit talking about the youth group. I have sensed that his youth group is not getting it for him and for this reason I have been seeking God on what he wants me to do. I ran into a few people I have not seen in ages this past weekend and they just started talking to me about the importance of a youth group, out of the blue. I really felt that God was talking to me through them, but I'm still not 100% sure which way to go. I am thinking for the next few weeks I will take Alex to this church's youth group though! I met this youth pastor last year and I really like him. The pastor of this church talked to me about visiting one day, then he said "you were talking to me about it weren't you". I wasn't, I was just talking to God about it though. I came home and was sharing this with Eddie, who thinks I have a direct line with God, and this just sealed it for him. Anyway, that was out of the blue I know.
Monday we are off to Ft. Morgan to learn about bird banding and tour the fort. We will then do some siening, maybe, fish, swim, and see the U.S.S. Alabama. We will be home at the end of the week. We are really looking forward to our long distance field trip this week! Though we will be camping and I'm not 100% sure about it since my back has been keeping me awake at night in a bed, but with God's help I'll make it through. The kids are very excited. Alex loves to camp, and Bri has never camped and can't wait to experience it. Next to sleeping in the tent, her next big deal are the S'Mores we are going to do at night! Just pray for no rain!!
Well that's it now I promise, until next time.....Love you guys and I hope you all have a great week living and learning!
Lisa
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