Little lost puppy finds a new home...

This cute little puppy showed up at our house a few weeks ago, but we are only just now getting around to blogging about it! We are pretty sure it was probably dropped off, but no way of knowing for sure. He was a beagle mix and just looking for some warmth and food. After advertising on the radio and rollanet, we had some calls, but no one claimed him. Jenny posted it on Facebook, and one of her friends ended up adopting him. Happy ending for the puppy!
Posted by Pam

2nd Place in OAC Conference!

This past weekend the OAC basketball conference was held in Rolla. Varsity Boys & Girls teams came from Lebanon, Camdenton, Norwood, Ava, Wright County, and even from Mountain Home in Arkansas. Teams are from Christian schools or homeschool groups. Jenny's team nearly beat the winning team, but was defeated by 1 point by a buzzer beater basket. It was a very thrilling game. Here is the team with their 2nd place trophy.

The Royals had a great season, and really improved as a team. It is such a blessing to be able to participate with RHAA and benefit from not only the emphasis on basketball skills, but Godly character as well. By the way, the Girls varsity team received the best sportsmanship award during the conference which the other teams voted on. Way to go Royals!!

Posted by Pam

Hurrah for Ryan!

The Centre hosted a Chess Tournament on Saturday and Ryan was able to compete in it, along with his cousin, David. Ryan was pretty sure he wouldn't do very well since he hasn't played recently.

To Ryan's surprise, he ended up winning the 1-4th Grade catagory. Now, to David's credit, he probably should have won, but there was a mix up and David ended up competing in the next higher age group.
Good Job!

Posted by his proud mom, Pam

Pick Axes & Pictures.

During the winter, one of our (our = Jenny, Cordell, & Ryan) daily chores is to break a hole in the ice on the pond for the cows. While this is normally not a very fun job, it can occasionally become, if you have a friend with you, a grand adventure.


-Such was the case in the following pictures. =)

My bff, Desi, looking simply overjoyed to be doing chores. ...?

Me holding the weapons of choice.

Here, Desi is demonstrating the practical method of "drop, roll, & stand up" to get past the electric fence.

Once at the pond, you stand near the edge, lift the sledge hammer over your shoulder, and swing!

It's that simple.

Note* Wide stances help achieve the maximum amount of force.

Desi - 1 / ice - 0

And then I take a swing at it...

Sometimes, bits of snow, ice, and water, will fly up at you, so you have to make sure that you keep your mouth closed.

Unfortunately, sometimes you forget.

Once a large enough hole is broken, you then use the pick axe to shovel out the large ice chunks floating around in the water.

Me holding an afore mentioned ice chunk.

Lastly, we return the tools back to the barn, and on our way up to the house, make snow angels.

It was a lovely outing. =)

Seussical!

Rehearsals are in full swing now for Seussical - a wonderful, fun collection of Dr. Seuss characters ranging from Horton and Maizie, General Ghengis Von Schmitz, the Cat in the Hat, to the Sour Kangeroo all singing and dancing (and tapping!) to amazingly fun music. Fine Linen Drama is once again the incredible genius power behind this production.

You will want to mark your calendars now so as not to miss this. Show dates are April 7,8,9 and April 14, 15, 16.

Jenny is having a lot of fun learning how to tap dance and is in various numbers as a Hunch dancer and Beach Boy Singer and I forget what else. Cordell is a Cadet in the "Who Military" and sings songs like Green Eggs & Ham...

Check out this link to watch a video clip of their first rehearsal:

http://www.finelinen.viviti.com/UpcomingEvents

Hope you can make it!

Posted by Pam

Bald Eagles....

One of the benefits to living next to a lake is being able to see wildlife you don't normally get to see. We have really enjoyed spotting a pair of Bald Eagles who like to perch in a tree just beyond our front yard. They also have a young bird, probably not quite a year old yet, who is all brown and doesn't have the white head and tail yet. They are quite beautiful to watch. When the lake thaws out (which doesn't seem to be any time soon), we are hoping to be able to spot them swooping down and catching a fish out of the lake. Picture taken byJenny.

Posted by Pam

We're Back!

Well, we weren't actually gone, just unconnected! I am pleased to report that we have not only unpacked our computers, but also have our internet connection up and running again. Sorry for leaving you dangling with our progress on getting settled out here. Just to bring you up to speed....

Walter fell during the ice we had the weekend before Christmas while working a house fire at work. X-Rays and an MRI led the doctors to suspect a torn meniscus (cartilage) for the reason why Walter had a swollen knee and pain. The workmans' comp doctor recommended 2 weeks of physical therapy, and Walter was placed on light duty work (M-F, 8-4:00 pm). This really squelched our construction project at home. We had barely finished the tin roof before the injury, and had to get help to get the washer and dryer up and running, and the piano and roll top desk moved, etc.

Work on getting settled creeped along as Walter was only home on weekends, but we are mostly settled now. We abandoned the idea of enclosing the rest of the middle room, but at least it is under roof and keeps most of the snow off.

This morning, Friday, January 21, Walter had arthroscopic surgery to smooth out the tear in the cartilage. We are hoping that in another 4-6 weeks he can return to regular duty again.

In the meantime we are starting to look at house plans again. The kids are back to doing school work and activities again and trying to make up for time lost while moving. I am trying to catch up on everything I let get behind, and we are sure enjoying our new home, despite challenges with frozen water pipes, frozen doors, and a camper sized refridgerator and stove!

Christmas morning in the camper.

Our family at a Christmas gathering.

Posted by Pam