Hello Everybody,

Another two weeks of God's grace, and another blog post. The first is the only reason the second ever gets done.

This is actually a post I scheduled last night, since we have a very full day today. Some of you might know why. ;-) So if there are any posting issues, I will try to get them fixed the beginning of next week.

Here we go...

The Big Deal Is... It's Faith's Birthday!

Reminiscing about the day Faith was born. Well, for Faith it was more like speculating.

Do I hear cheers from Settlers fans?

Generally in life, it's not a good idea to make a big deal out of little things. Birthdays are the exception.

Box after box after box. Then a bag and a bit of wrapping paper. Finally the little thing within the big.

My gift to Faith.

Making a big deal out of a little thing like supper.

IFRC Family Night

One of the guys who test the microphones week in and week out and never get any recognition for it.

The Phero's didn't have a monopoly on the poetry this time, but that doesn't mean they didn't do some.

Nathanael's poem was about the Battle of Bunker Hill. Somehow I think he had the wrong war in mind when he planned his costume. ;-)

Mercy makes her poetry debut. Mom was there for moral support (and memory support).

"The Chinese plate looked very blue..." And Charity didn't realize it, but so did she.

"Casey at the Bat"

(Though I have to say, the person at the bat looked an awful lot like someone I know. And I don't know any Caseys.)

Poetry over, here come some strings.

More strings and more camo.

I love Mrs. Claytons style. :-)

(Musicians argue over this, but the piano is considered a stringed instrument by enough people that I think I dare to put it in with the strings.)

We're back to recitation. The Mills' performance really belongs in the poetry section because, after all, the Psalms are poetry.

Oh, I got this photo in the wrong place too. It was poetry, even though he did make it up himself. :-)

While Josiah was telling us about the many self-defense maneuvers he and Isaac had learned in the class they took, a sinister hoodlum was creeping up behind him.

The classes paid off.

Some shady gangsters haul off their incapacitated crony.

Next time you don't have a hammer handy, use your head - use it to realize that you should not use your head as a hammer substitute.

You think wood is something? What about four slabs of concrete!

Hey, is that pre-cracked concrete?

That won't do. Bring on a new slab.

Isaac, they work so hard to make you a nice, comfy foot-rest, and then look what you go and do to it. :-)

And that's it for the evening. Oh, that's right. You all are still wondering why there was so much camouflage around. How could I have forgotten? The answer's easy: Because I don't have any photos of the play the boys did. All I have is this photo of the boys reviewing their lines last minute (I know, not too promising is it?). Well, keep going. This is the end of my Family Night photos, but you never know what surprises lie ahead.

IFRC Boys' Skit Practice

(The Saturday Evening Post is finally, several weeks after the fact, allowed to publish some top-secret coverage brought to us by reporter Conrad Martin.)

Here is Conrad Martin now. So, Conrad, how are things coming on the play?

Thanks, Carmen. Right now I'm here in the IFRC church building. We just finished up our fifth play practice, which means just one more to go before the big day. There's a lot of excitement and camaraderie in the air around me right now.

Earlier on in the evening, my hat was at the wrong angle and...

...one of the lead actors was discovered reviewing his lines, but, other than that, the practice has been going very smoothly.

Here is our director, Mr. Mark Raine, pretty much unheard of when it comes to the stage, but he's doing a fantastic job. One of these days Broadway will want him, but I'm planning to hire him first when I start my acting company named "Narrowway."

His daughter Emma runs the sound system, puts off explosions, etc.

And, sometimes, she does some directing of her own.

I'm happy to report that most of the watching audience here tonight did not share Aaron's reaction to the play.

Most of the spectators spoke highly of the play, and I'm sure all future audiences will as well.

Well, Carmen, I see the pulpit is being moved back into place onstage. That's a sure sign that things are being wrapt up here for the evening. So I'll be saying good night.

One Sunday Evening...

...in Lancaster Cownty...

...I was playing peek-a-moo with a neighboring cow.

That same Sunday evening, we had our aunt and uncle over for homemade icecream.

We gave uncle Dale our invisible lawn chair to sit on.

Yeah, it's the trampoline again.

Unlike the lawn chair, the cat is not invisible. I bet he wishes he were.

Big brothers and little sisters...

...and big sisters and little brothers.

Either Eric shares my sentiments about soda or doesn't share my sentiments about photographers.

For once in his life, Dad had a storyless moment.

So his brother filled in for him.

When Jesse did his famous falling-asleep-upright act...

...we didn't need to look at the sky to know it was bedtime.

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And I don't need to look at the clock to know it's time to get this post finished.

God Bless.
Carmen