Out standing Hike

Me helping Caleb with his homework

It has been another great day here in France.  We helped the kids with their home schooling.  They have to be taught to read and write English since the public school is all in French.  After lunch we watched the kids play in the pool then we went for a hike.  The boys went one way and the girls another.  Our hike was much farther and steeper than the one the girls took.  It was a beautiful view from on top of the mountain ridge.  The boys had far more energy than I though near the end Micah asked me for a piggy back ride.  I declined his request since my soon to be 58 year old body was doing all it could to carry its own weight. It was a real good trail and the weather was perfect.
We are about to eat supper and tonight is the night they have their weekly Bible Study in their home.  We are hopeful that some will attend though this is vacation time and their regulars are gone out of town.  I will post some pictures below of our day.  God bless you.

The boys standing on a round boulder that caught their eyes.

Angie took this picture of us on the trail from her back porch.

The boys playing on a pile of rocks at the top of the mountain

Jason and the boys on the trail at the top

I am alive

On our way to Camp

It has been too long since my last blog.  I am still alive and well, just been busy.  We had a good time at the camp in Laneville, Texas.  We had 1 saved from our group and 17 total out of all the campers.  There were only 206 campers so the chow line was really short.  The big yellow church bus ran real good there and back getting 6.8 miles per gallon.  We had 29 kids and 2 sponsors on board the bus.  There was no A/C and on our way to camp it was cloudy and much cooler than I had expected.  On the way home it was hot but we managed okay.  The last kids to be picked up were at the church with us for an hour waiting after the others were gone.
The services Sunday were good and a young couple came forward to join at the close of the service.  It is always good to get new members.  Justin and Sarah arrived Sunday afternoon and stayed over night to take us to the airport.  We enjoyed their visit and it was nice to have someone to see us off. 

Janie trying to get some sleep at London's Heathrow Airport

Janie slept a little on the plane ride to London but I did not.  It was a 10 hour flight and was mid morning when we arrived.  We were very tired and had to wait 5 hours for our next flight.  The chairs were not comfortable.  Janie did manage to get about 20 minutes of sleep during that 5 hour wait.  I dozed a little in a chair.  We ate a ham sandwich for lunch and our flight left on time.  I began to get a migraine headache while on the plane to Toulouse.  Jason, Lilia, Caleb, and Andrew were there to pick us up.  I slept a little in the car at first.  As we got closer to Magrie I became more nauseated and just a mile or so from Jason's house I asked him to pull over so I could leave my lunch on the side of the road.  I went to bed immediately upon arrival and got up 30 minutes later to try and eat some supper. 

The Kids have changed a lot in a years time.

Angie had made a really good meal and after just a few bites I went back to bed and tried to get some sleep.  When Janie came to bed I got up and took some medicine for my headache and it seemed to do the trick.  I slept well and have felt well all day today.  I did take a short nap this afternoon.  I am now ready to hit the hay again and spend a busy day with the grandkids tomorrow.  God bless you.  

Wow Its Been a Long Time

Lets go swimming

I have been far to busy to blog thus the long time since my last one.  We really enjoyed the grandkids.  I took them camping and swimming over in Henderson on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I preached a revival service Wednesday night.  We headed back to Hillsboro after the services and got the kids to bed about 2:00 Thursday morning.  Stacie and Scott returned from Thailand safely.  I picked them up at the airport at 5:00 in the morning on Friday and they left our house to return home on Saturday at 5:00 pm.  When they were gone I took Janie out to eat here in Hillsboro and a complete stranger sitting a couple of tables over from us paid for our meal.  When it came time for our check the waitress said that our bill had been paid by someone else.  I asked the owner if he knew who it was and he did not.  He described the man and Janie remembered him being there when we arrived and leaving just before we did.  I wish I could have known who to thank. 

The kids setting up their picnic table at the camp site

On Monday we left the church at 5:30 in the morning and went to Bogg Springs Camp near Wickes Arkansas.  Camp went well.  The music was loud and the teens liked it.   The preaching was outstanding and the comedian that was there was really, really funny.  The magician that preformed was also amazing and funny.  There were 14 kids saved and about 500 campers in attendance.  It was very very hot each day.  One of our kids got covered in seed ticks and another was bitten by a spider on his face and ended up in the emergency room.   He is doing fine and the swelling on his face was going down as we were heading home.  I enjoyed the camp all things considered.  While at camp my mother had some problems.   I got several phone calls about her though I rarely had any phone signal.  I am very thankful that my brother, Ralph, was able to take off work and help her out.  She is staying at his house this weekend through Wednesday next week.  I will not be seeing her again until I return from France. 

Setting up the cots in the tent

We got right to work when we got home on Friday getting ready for the weekend and next week.  I took Janie out to eat for supper (and paid for it this time).  We did manage to take a nap today and that was good. The District Ladies Auxiliary meeting at our church was today and I preached from the text I plan to use in France.  The meal was really good.  I am all packed for next weeks camp.  The big yellow bus will head out at 6:00 Monday morning with 39 campers aboard.  It is going to be really hot at camp next week.  I hope our 18 days in France will be cooler.   Sarah and Justin are going to take us to the airport Monday after next.  We need to see if we can find someone to pick us up when we get back on the 18th of August then our travel plans will be all set. 
I am going to head for bed now.  I won't get much sleep next week at camp so I need to get in as much as I can now.   God bless you.

Breakfast time, eggs and pancakes

Grandkids Day 10

Kids playing while I worked on the van

It was a good day today.  It started with a phone call from my mother telling me she was going to the doctor because her hip was hurting really bad.  I spoke with her and her doctor afterward and it looks like it is just arthritis.  This afternoon the shot the doctor gave her started to work and she was feeling better.  My sister-in-law is staying with her tonight and I am thankful for that.  Mother was worried that she might have to have surgery and was relieved to find out it was not that serious. 

Kids at lake Whitney

I worked half of the day on my daughter and son-in-law's van.  It has been over heating and I found out that the problem was a bad relay.  The relay that operates the radiator fans had gone out and without the fans sucking air through the radiator there was no cooling.   It was quite a chore for this old man with bi-focals to find and replace that relay.  I had to remove the air filter housing to get to it.  I removed the thermostat and drained the water out replacing it with fresh anti-freeze.  I took it for a test run this afternoon with the outside temperature being 102.  It kept a constant temperature right where it should be on the gauge.   We took a road trip after supper over to the lake and the car ran fine.  The kids enjoyed wading in the lake.  I plan to take the kids to the church tomorrow and let them play while I study.  This will give Janie some rest and upon my return I will take a nap while she watches the kids.  Tag teaming them helps us keep going. God bless you.

Over Heated

Janie whelmed with grandkids

I took the grandkids out to eat for breakfast at Braums then over to Lake Whitney state park this morning.  I have an annual state park pass and wanted to try it out.  The park was not impressive.  While we were there the van over heated.  I let the kids sit under the shade of a tree while the van cooled off.  We returned home post haste.  The van was hot again by the time we arrived.  The outside temperature reached 102 today.  I am going to see if I can get at least that problem with the van fixed before Stacie and Scott return for Thailand.

Painting the table, I am so proud of our grandkids

In spite of the temperature the kids completed the breakdown table.  They had fun painting it.  They took a break after painting the first side of the pieces to cool off and get a drink.  After supper it was dry and Joshua and I assembled it.  It looks really good.  I am thinking about cooking breakfast in the backyard in the morning and letting the kids eat on the new table.  Grits, eggs, bacon and trail bread will all taste better some how when cooked outdoors. God bless you.

Grandkids Day 7

Well it has been a week with the grandkids and Janie and I are surviving.  It has not been as tiring as I had expected.  I have kept the kids busy and tried to give Janie as much help has I can with them.  I preached at the nursing home today and we took the kids to see the fireworks in Itasca.  Elijah did not like the fireworks at all.
I made a breakdown picnic table with the help of the kids.  I put them to sanding it today and tomorrow we will try to get it painted.  Enjoy the pictures and God bless you.

The kids enjoying the fireworks on the 4th of July

Jonathan and Hannah sanding on part of the picnic table

Joshua and Ruth did most of the sanding

Trying out the breakdown picnic table

Holds 4 adults or six grandkids made from one sheet of plywood

At church

Took the kids to my office at the church today. God bless You.

Waiting for Papa to take them back to his house

Grandkids day 3

Breakfast at McDonald's again

Breakfast at McDonald's with the grandkids is a good way to start the day.  We went shopping then returned home to Skype with their parents.  The kids watched some movies today but they did get the garage cleaned out.  It looks really nice.  We made homemade ice cream this afternoon and I am sure they ate too much of it.  They enjoyed the whole process of ice cream making.
The two older kids and I put together a robot kit which featured an aluminum can with a motor and three legs and 2 wings.  It did not seem to impress Hannah for when it began to walk in circles she said "Is that all it does?"  The older kids took all the trash bags that we had filled with junk from the garage down to the curb.  I don't know how many there were but it was lot.  I was glad to have their help.

Shopping at Wal-Mart again

This evening I had a conference call with my siblings to talk about our mother's status.  I thought it went well though I was called away before the conference was over.  I had to run over to the church for a meeting with the mission team that just returned from Alabama.  They had had a problem and thought I should be there to hear about it.  I was glad they called me and it looks like everything turned out okay.  The trip was a big success. 
Well I better wrap this up and get to sleep. Enjoy the video below of the Soda Can Robot in action and a few other pictures I took today.  God bless you.

Assembling a Robot

Grandkids Day 2

Breakfast with the grandkids

We cleaned out 3/4 of the garage today.  I don't like to push the grandkids the way my father pushed me when I was their age.  My father had us working on the church building in Ayer Mass when I was Joshua's age and it was long hard days of work.  I will never forget those days.  I want the work to be fun and not exhausting for them.  We took ice cream breaks and breaks to play in the water.  It reached 101 this afternoon.  Blogger went down this evening so this post will have to wait until tomorrow.  I will try to upload it then and then write the blog about day 3.  God bless you.