Spring Science Event

  

Today is a beautiful Spring day.  Our assignment was to go outside and find the changes of Spring.  This is Nathan's take on Spring. 

 

I found tiny white flowers Iblooming and big yellow flowers.

I found a beautiful blooming tree and it had purple blossoms on the limbs.  I found tiny white flowers and big yellow flowers. This is one of the fluffy baby chicks we have in the workshop.  Here is a picture of our new puppy Maggie and I.  Maggie is a cute puppy and we have a lot of fun playing. We are going to train her to be a good dog.  Wait until you see her.

Our backyard with lots and lots of white flowers.

This is Mandy's report and pictures:

 

Here I am next to a blooming bush. 

 

 

 

 

 

I am sitting next to pretty white flowers.  I am looking through the plum tree in bloom and I love the daffodils of Spring.

 

 

 

                       This green plant was so pretty.

 

                           

 

I am touching the blossom of the fig bush and wild purple tiny flowers.

Maggie is

a very sweet combination  border collie /Australian shepherd that is 6 weeks old.  If you pull up either breed she looks more like the border collie.  We were at the auction and a man came in with puppies in a cage and wanted to give them away.  I admit I am a sucker for cute, chubby puppies with soulful brown eyes.  I will get a picture on her soon.  I am still having trouble getting the computer to accept the pictures.  I don't know why.

Nathan , of course, is  in love with Maggie and she seems to like him a lot.  Nathan loves small animals.  Any kind of small animal. 

You can blame Glenn for the suspense.  He thought it would be fun to string it out but I decided one night is enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We have had a busy weekend so far.  This morning Nathan went to baseball practice - third one this week and then Glenn picked him up and brought him over to the Church for the Primary Activity.  The activity was fun - we did an activity to get the kids to know each other.  We called them "me in a bag" and they were supposed to bring things that identified them personally.  It was cute watching the kids share the things they enjoyed.  Next, we went into the cultural hall and split into two groups and either colored a block for our quilt or made cards/letters for our Missionaries.   At the end of those two activities we met together and played  a game where there was 6 boxes (islands) and the kids were to walk around the boxes to music and when the music stopped - they were to gather on the different islands.  The point to the game was that no one was to be left out - even if you had to squeeze closer and closer together.  They needed each individual holding on to the person beside them to survive on the island.  The kids enjoyed the games and as everyone left they received goodie bags with homemade treats.  We all had fun but the turn out was small.  I am not sure how to motivate the parents to bring the kids and not a single teacher showed up.  Big sigh!

 

My favorite place

 

 

 

 

 

Coloring the quilt.  Dalton and Mandy

Making the Missionary cards and letters

 

 

Going from island to island

 

 

 

 

 

We are heading out this afternoon and attending the adult session of Stake conference.  Asia, bless her little heart, is babysitting as I couldn't get anyone out here.

Introducing Maggie May Ball

An adorable  baby girl is coming to join our family.  Nathan and Mandy are very excited to have another girl join our family.  Pictures coming as soon as possible.

New Look to the Blog

Okay everyone this is actually Kathie. I am sneakily changing the look of the blog (after Mama requested my help for the background and putting the family picture in the title). So, I don't have pictures of every individual family within the Glenn Ball Family, but thought it would be fun to have a line up from Mandy to the Turpins. So, if you could email me a picture you like than that would be great. You should all have my email address if not then call, posting my email address here seems pretty dumb. I do have the pictures I took of Cyndi's family at Christmas that I will post and Bob sent me a nice family picture that I can scan in and put on, but I do not have one of the Turpins, Lowes, or the Leavitts! So, if you have one that you wouldn't mind sharing than I can get it up! THANKS!!!

Doctrine and Covenants

I have been reading the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary since the beginning of the year, which by the way seems like it's been a year and it's only February.  Anyway, something I read last night affected me.  In Section 6 verse 25 it reads "And, behold, I grant unto you a gift , if you desire of me, to translate, even as my servant Joseph", speaking to Oliver Cowdery. 

Down below that in my commentary is this - "This is a divine promise to Oliver Cowdery.  A great many records have been kept since the beginning of history, which are now hidden.  God was willing to make the contents of some of them known to the world through Oliver Cowder.   To man those records are lost, but to God, they are only "hidden", and He can bring their contents to light.  This promise would, undoubtedly, have been fulfilled, if Oliver Cowdery had remained faithful".

I had chills after reading that to know that if Oliver had stayed worthy we would have other knowledge that as of yet we don't have and also that I pray I have not done something that kept me from fulfilling something the Lord had granted me permission to do if only...

When I was Relief Society President,  my secretary was given this blessing as part of being set apart.  This is not verbatim but my memory several years later - That if she continued to be faithful and fulfill the responsibilities placed before her that her family would come into the full gospel. Her husband was a non-member and her daughter was less active and her son didn't come at all.  The last I heard of her - she and her husband were divorced, her daughter was not coming to church at all and her son had committed suicide.  What a sad ending to something that could have been wonderful.

Just my thoughts on an evening in February.

Musings from a five-year old

 

Mandy has a talk to give on Sunday and so I was working with her about what to say.  I wanted to make sure she understood what we were talking about.  Her topic is "Adam and Eve, the first family".  So, we discussed the creation of the world and that Adam and Eve were the first man and woman.  They lived in the garden and talked and walked with God and then they left the garden and had a family.

We discussed what families do and that Adam and Eve also prayed and taught their children about God and other things.  She paused for a minute and then asked the eternal question.

Who taught Adam and Eve to be parents?  Of course, I told her that Heavenly Father and Jesus helped them as they learned to live in this mortal life.  I just thought her question was unusual for the average 5 year old.

It is Spring, kind of

I know I am late but Happy New Year.  This year has already started off  - busy - if not well.  The year was 2 days old when my Mother died and 4 days old when we had her funeral.  I started to say buried but she was cremated so we didn't actually bury her.  The funeral was rather different but ended up being fine.  She would have approved, I think.

Susie, Karen and I had the most bizarre shopping trip during that time.  Mama and Belcher had decided on their chose of funeral, many years ago.  At that time they had picked out an urn.  Flash forward to the time to use it and we couldn't find it.  They had just moved and we went through boxes and closets and we just couldn't locate it any where.  What to do?  We went shopping!  We went to Hobby Lobby and wandered around the store looking at vases.  Karen, who had gone through this earlier (her husband, 2 years ago) kept saying "no, not big enough", " no, the mouth wasn't large enough" and so on through the store.  We finally came down to 3 and we made our choice and went back to the house.  As we all gathered around the dinner table to eat something, there it sat in the middle of us.

Flash forward to mid-January and Shelly and Jason are flying out the door to fly to California to adopt a little girl they didn't know they were going to adopt!

Bob is looking for another job and will be here in Houston on the 21st and Cyndi and Jeremy are looking to interview with other schools, as well.  Everything seems to be in an upturn.  I hope 2009 calms down and runs a little smoother from now on.

We heard that two members of our Ward are in the hospital and have had major accidents in the last week.  With each one there was a great possibility they wouldn't survive.  One of them, a wonderful man in our ward was helping someone clear some land with his bull dozer and evidently was hit by a low tree branch and thrown to the ground.  Brother Caraway is one of the most caring men I have ever known.  When I had to go to the hospital in November, he came over and watched the kids while I was gone.  He is wonderful with the kids and has taught Glenn an enormous amount about our tractor and chain saw and how to live out here.  Our Ward is having a fast on Tuesday for him and Sister Lopez.

Spring has arrived here in Houston.  I took these pictures last week and am looking forward to the return of the green trees. I will get the pictures on soon.  I have new soft ware for my new camera and it is installed on the other computer.  It said it was installed here but doesn't want to save anything. 

Aaah, the Thanksgiving coma

 

Greetings, everyone.  I was chastised yesterday for not having blogged in a while.  Sorry  everyone , it has been a rather hectic time for me and my family.  Preparations for the holidays, birthdays and birthdays everywhere and my Mother being sick are some of my excuses.   So much for the mea culpa's.

I am sorry I have no pictures as I still have not found my camera.  Check Shelly's blog as she took pictures all day.  We had a very pleasant and yummy Thanksgiving yesterday.  Yes, we had Thanksgiving, gasp, on Friday!  It was more convenient and worked out well.  All of the kids are growing up and while it's fun to watch, it is also a little sad.  A couple of years ago I bought a supply of bicycles so that everyone could ride when they were here.  Fast forward a couple of years and I need to buy bigger bikes! 

It was fun to watch the kids outside playing football and swinging and riding bikes and playing with the scooter.  It is just hard to believe that Nathan and Cameron are big enough to play football and it honestly looks like football.  Cameron is almost as tall as I am and Nathan isn't too far behind.

Oh, one other major hurdle in Nathan's life.  On Wednesday, Shelly and kids, Nathan, Mandy and I and Asia and Aurora had a fun day.  We had lunch at Goodson's, invaded Walmart to buy some Christmas material for a Christmas craft we will be doing with Kathie, and then went to see the movie "Bolt".  By the way, it is a cute movie but rather confusing and I had to explain the movie on the way home.  Back to Nathan's hurdle - let's see, he had chicken fried steak, rolls and mashed potatoes with gravy for lunch, lots of popcorn at the movie and then as we headed for home he was "starving".  He ate his first quarter ponder with cheese and french fries and two fill ups of Sprite!  He now officially eats more than I do and he is seven.

Today Mandy and I are going to go with Asia and Aurora to Lowe's and buy 6 ceiling fans and then take them over to her new house to get them installed and then we are going to to to Joann's and check out the fabric sell.  We will try to avoid the obnoxious Christmas shoppers and arrive home safely.  Asia returns to Amarillo tonight and then will be packing up on the 8th and coming back. 

I am looking for a new camera as this week we have Mandy's Christmas dance recital and Jessi's baptism and then Nathan has a Christmas festival for his Christmas piano party.  If you have a camera you just love let me know. 

Have a great week everyone!

Our visit to Wisconsin

This past weekend the four of us traveled to Oshkosh to be with Bob and his family when Christopher was blessed.  Besides late planes and cold weather we had a great time.  On Saturday, we went to a indoor play place and all of the kids had fun.  On Sunday, Bob and his family, us and Bro. and Sister Newton took pictures right before Sacrament started.  

When the kids and I went to the airport our plane ended up with engine trouble and we were around 2 hours late.  Here we are waiting, sort of patiently to board the plane.  It reminded me of the time we spent 5 hours waiting for a plane in Jakarta.  The International airport had just opened and nothing went out that day!  There was no food or water and so it was so much fun to wait with all of the kids.  We ended up renting 2 taxis to take us back to our hotel and left the next day.  I know it was a different life and world away but the scene reminded  me vividly of that day.

 

Sitting around the table at Bob's eating cake he made for us.  Yum!

 

 

 

 

Riding the carousel - Thomas, Bob and Bethany and Mandy in the background.  Ethan on the bumper cars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the train, Bethany, Thomas and Bob

 

 

Mandy high above us.

 

 

 

 

Nathan in the ball pit.

Back at the apartment - Bob. Laura and sleeping Christopher

 

 

They were all painting pictures.

 

 

Laura, Bethany and Thomas - Boy, Thomas looks so much like Bob!

                   What a handsome family! Bethany, Bob with Thomas, Ethan,  and Laura with Christopher.

 

We had a great time, baby Christopher is adorable and it was nice to see Laura's parents, the Newton's again.

Texas vs Texas Tech

Asia was here during the big game between the University of Texas and Texas Tech and Asia and Daddy had a "date" in front of the TV to watch and celebrate whichever team won.  Glenn was dressed head to toe in orange and Aurora was decked out in Texas Tech colors.  For you fans that do not know - Texas lost!  Here are a few cute pictures.

Grandpa and Aurora in her black and red.

You can just see the football game in the background.  She has to be the cutest cheerleader ever!

Halloween was here!

Once again the ghosts and goblins were awakened and we joyfully joined them and had fun. Ben and Asia were here and Aurora had her first Halloween at Shelly's ward.  We had chili and hot dogs and the kids played games and won prizes.

Aurora was a Texas Tech cheerleader - her parent's alma mater.

 

 

Mandy and Nathan in front of Shelly's house.  Mandy was a pink fairy and Nathan was a ER Doctor, complete with stethoscope and ER badge.

Nathan and Elizabeth fishing.

 

 

Jason and Ben talked computers while the kids played.

 

 

Mandy trunk or treating. 

 

Nathan and Aurora at home before the fun.  Halloween was so much fun!

Renaissance Festival

Every fall the Renaissance Festival is held for 9 weeks.  It is about a mile from our house and they have a School day when area schools and home schoolers can enjoy and learn without the huge crowds and alcohol being served.  Last year Glenn was able to be home and join us but this year it was just Nathan, Mandy and I.  We enjoyed the day and hope to have Daddy with us next year.

 

 

A musician taught about Renaissance trumpets and other musical instruments. He was simply amazing.

 

 

 

A leather worker tried on the leather "caps" on the kids.  She said no self-respecting young man or maid would go outside without some kind of head gear.  They were well done and very costly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rode horses!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These three guys were wonderful.  They were Scottish and played everything.  The boy on the right danced the whole time.  He was not part of the group but just wanted to dance. 

We also really enjoyed the joust.  The kids finally just went to the fence and watched entranced.  Of course, Nathan was full of questions including was it real?

 

 

 

 

 

                     The German Knight

The English Knight

 

 

                      The Fight

As it turned out the German Knight - Sir Otto was a dirty fighter and won.

 

 

 

 

Nathan practiced his archery and actually shot one of the balloons.

While Mandy poised with lions.

 

 

We all had a great time.