It's more than a book; it's also a game.

Conrad searches the unabridged dictionary of the English language for a word he doesn't know. It took a long time. :)

And the word that Conrad doesn't know (and I'm guessing you don't either) is... Discobolus.

Discobolus - now what could that be? Probably somebody who throws a discus or something...

Scott thinks; Dad drinks.

"Discobolus - a society of agnostics." That ought to trick them.

"What's an agnostic?" (Told you it would trick them.)

All the way back to the O's and still no word that Faith doesn't know?

Some definitions take a little bit of clarification:

*whispers* "This word is pronounced hy-po-con-dree-ack. Now make sure you say it right."

Dad and his honey.

And so ends the Dictionary Game. If you don't know the game, in short it involves everybody making up a definition for a word no one knows. It was all new to Scott and here are his thoughts on the evening:

"I learned that it's wise not to impignorate the stola of anyone who is suffering from lyssophobia, especially since they wouldn't be among the hoi polloi. I wouldn't want a discobolus to come and get me!"

Nope. I'm not going to translate that into vernacular English for you. You go look up those words. (This is my way of encouraging independent vocabulary studies. :-)

A Quilting Day at Monique's House

"Fabricologist Resource Center"... Now does that sound more impressive than "fabric stash"?

Sew much fabric, sew little time.

Don't look glum, girls. Remember, "ask not what your fabric can do for you, but what you can do for your fabric."

We can start by reading the instructions...

...measuring what we have...

...cutting more...

...and stitching only to rip again.

"Quilting with friends will keep you in stitches." ...And all I have to prove it is a blurry photo. Too bad.

"Blessed are the children of piecemakers, for they shall inherit the quilts."

That baby of yours is going to be one blessed baby, Monique!

Crying over the prospect of more ripping?

Or could it be Monique's onion?

Oh, no! It couldn't be. I love onions.

"Hang on a moment, I'll get you a fork." Monique made us a delicious luncheon replete with soup, sandwiches, cheese, crackers, hummus, fruit, cookies... in short, everything - except forks. :)

"Friendship is sewn with love and measured by kindness."

<><><> <><><> <><><>

Best Wishes for the New Year to all my readers,
The Editor

Hello Everyone,

There are two things that can keep me from posting: a wedding or a conference in another state. It's not a wedding this time, and so it must be... ta da! a conference! Actually, though, I am still posting, just not very much. I'm sitting here writing/posting this Tuesday night (a post done all in one night has got to be a record for me). Tomorrow I make sure that I have everything packed that I need on a six day trip. Thursday I leave. Saturday you read this. :) And Tuesday is when I get back to make sure that everything posted properly. So if anything seems odd or isn't working right, check back later to see if I have it fixed. (Already tonight I scheduled this whole post to post backwards.)

Note: All the photography of the event itself is by Emma or Elias Raine.

Behind the Scenes...

...of Martin Theatre Inc.

It all started a very long time ago (a month before family night). It was Dad's idea. We thought it couldn't be done. Then we started practicing.

The youngest member of the sound team.

Conrad worked so hard on the props that the music box literally became a part of him. He poured his whole soul into it and eventually lost his head over it. ;-)

Getting our act together.

We invade church, take over the sound system, and set up our theater.

Conrad steps into his role.

Dad - ratcheting away.

Conrad practices his "Mr. Oberholtzer handshake." (Yes. It was planned.)

IFRC Family Night

Speaking of Mr. Oberholtzer... He's the kind of guy who shows up when you start talking about him:
"It looks like we have a full program this evening."

Someone in the audience thought that "It's hard to take 'Canon in D' seriously with those red dots on Candace's cheeks."

The Pheros had a monopoly on poetry.

Though Mrs. Jackson gave them some competition.

Emily

I enjoyed it, Sarah.

The Great Escape - not hundreds of POWs escaping from a German concentration camp, but rather the story of one little boy's escape from his babysitter. You can imagine how hilarious! (It's a pretty incredible story really.)

And I just lost my program... therefore don't remember what Charlotte played. It was right here... Hmm... Dad, do you know where it is?...

This could bode ill for the rest of the post. :)

Our Act Comes Together

Mr. Oberholtzer introduces a clown and doll musical performance. I don't think he was sure what to expect.

The Martin Theatre Inc. is under-staffed: our actors double as stage crew.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Anyone who was there will tell you that this caption is genuine. All I can say is that we were hurrying, hurrying, hurrying.

Dad stalls for time... then... finally introduces...

Corky the clown.

The reason for the red dots.

For all you who were wondering where "that noise" was coming from.

Presenting our version of "The Doll on the Music Box" from the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Clown & Doll on a Music Box Act

Here is a video of our theatrical debut, which the publicity branch finally allowed me to post after much debate as to whether it's poor quality would be detrimental to the company's reputation. Renowned soloist Candace Martin never did give her complete sanction to the release of the this clip. In her words, "My voice comes in jerks." ;-)

It will give you an idea what we did.

Trio or Quartet just doesn't quite take it all in.

The Harpsters

(Hey, this late at night I'm allowed to make up words!)

Mr. Phero gets out his mystery instrument, which must remain a mystery since I forgot its name.

The Kitchen Fellowship

<><><> <><><> <><><>

God Bless.
Carmen