Swim Training

There is some type of apparatus that people can get to attach them to the pool so they can swim in place. We haven't purchased one of those yet, so Tom decided that a rope would work well enough to see if it was something he wanted to buy. So he tied a rope around himself & the tree next to the pool and began to swim. Amazingly it worked. He swam in place for 20 minutes or more. The boys & I of course found it quite humorous. We thought it was funny to see someone swimming so hard, but not moving. Chandler decided that we should untie him. So they boys go out & work hard at untying the rope so he doesn't know they're out there. They finally get him untied & he realizes he's not attached to the tree anymore. He told us he was watching a spot on the bottom of the pool & wondered why it was moving...we had a great laugh...doesn't take much to entertain us for sure!

Tom's Tri

Last Sunday, Tom ran a Tri-Sprint for the 2nd year. He was worried about the swimming because that was the event he had trouble with last year. He finished the swim this year in pretty good time so we were excited for him about that. Clay & I were keeping up with the time so we could watch for him on the bike. We were able to cheer him on, & we're proud of him for endeavoring such an event. I'm amazed at the people who accomplish these events. I suppose the general consensus is that they are these extremely athletic people who are in tip-top shape. Not so. There were people there from all walks of life & literally all shapes & sizes. Now granted there were some who had about 1% body fat, but they were right next to the person with 75% body fat. We were proud of Tom for training & accomplishing the race! Way to go Tom!

Meteor Shower

Last night the boys, my parents, & I set out on an adventure to watch the Perseids Meteor Shower. As a child, I remember my parents loading me up in the car at 3 o'clock in the morning to go sit out at the fairgrounds parking lot to watch a meteor shower. We took a blanket & lay on the hood of the car to watch the "falling stars". I wanted to take the boys to do the same & last night was the perfect opportunity to do so. We traveled & found a good location, lay on beach towels, & watched the sky. The boys were amazed to see the meteor shower. They had never seen anything like it & had lots of fun. Chandler heard a dying body in a ditch crying 'help me' of course some drunk teenagers dumped it there...according to Clay's sources anyway. Chandler also says he also saw Moth Man...if you don't know who Moth Man is, then you should google him...he's from West Virginia, but he obviously made an appearance in Central AR last night. We all agree that it would have been much better to watch the shower from the cabin where there are absolutely no city lights, but we couldn't make it up there last night. We had fun anyway. We laughed & saw some really amazing sights. We talked about how God placed the stars in the sky & knows them by name! We could see for miles & saw only a glimpse of this amazing universe! God is amazing!

For What Purpose?

What are we doing? Is it right?
Do we take thought of the purpose? The true purpose?
Intentions. Good intentions. The best of intentions.
For what purpose?
What are we doing? Spinning our wheels?
Accomplishing a task? Fulfilling a dream?
For what purpose?
Do we consider the outcome? Do we look outside ourselves?
Do we consider there is a greater purpose?
Do we know the true purpose?
Have we asked? Or listened?
Do we hear what is being said? Truly said?
Do we look inside ourselves? Or see more than ourselves?
Do we dare?
Do we truly know?
For what purpose, For what purpose?

~stephanie thompson

Proverbs 2:1-5
If you accept My words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom & applying your heart to understanding, and if you look for it as for silver & search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord & find the knowledge of God.

Weeds?

Weeds? Are they a nuisance?
What do they become?
Left alone, growing.
Weeds? Are they nothing?
What do they hide?
Growing, in the midst of weeds, growing.
A treasure. Beauty.
Almost missed it.
Trying for neatness.
Cutting away.
Cutting away beauty in the midst of weeds.
Beauty, missed by many.
Seen by a few.
A rainbow in a sea of green.
Knowing all along what would become if left alone to bloom;
He placed them there.
To glorify, For pleasure, For a purpose.
But they are weeds....just as we.
~stephanie thompson

Songs 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth.
Ecc 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in it's time.

Cabin News

We took a trip to the cabin after Doris' play. The land looked like a jungle. We haven't been able to get up there since April. We definitely can't let that happen again. We arrived about midnight & began unloading the truck. As I was going upstairs, I just so happened to look to my right in the window sill. There looking at me was 2 little black, beady eyes & 2 alert little ears. I nearly killed myself getting back down the stairs. He definitely wasn't as cute as Mickey! I think we scared him away, if not, we left him some nice little poison to nibble on. We got up early this morning to start the mowing expedition. Tom got on the tractor & I started weed-eating.

Now many of you may not know, but I really hate power tools. After I use one, I just about have to pray through. Nothing frustrates me more than a gas-powered lawn tool that won't crank. Tom cranked the weed-eater for me, gets on the tractor & starts mowing. I chop about 3.2 weeds when the thing dies. Deep breaths...deep breaths I tell myself. So I pulled the cord...amazingly it starts again. I'm getting really excited thinking no big deal, I'm like that girl on tv who does this all the time. I chop down about 5.7 more weeds, & I hit a thick, barky weed & all of my line is gone. Deep, cleansing breaths; I tell myself. I sit the stupid thing on the trailer & just look at it. Tom, by the way, is just riding along on his chariot & his never dies. I think, ok, this tool from the abyss is not going to beat me. So I gently try to figure out how to fix the cord. Whaaalaaa! I did it. I took it apart & put it back together again! And I actually get it cranked again. I am on a roll. I head around to the front of the cabin & the idiotic thing dies again! I decide at that point that it's time for a break so I go inside, fix me some toast & coffee, bring the rocking chair onto the deck & sit & rock & watch Tom riding on his red chariot. I waved at him a couple of times, but do you think he saw me....well no.

After a while Tom does come crank the thing for me, & we do accomplish much more. He tried to make a funny about I probably really didn't want to do much work. He probably should have been glad that it wouldn't crank...I think there was a horror movie like this where people were chopped up! I then told him that if anything ever happened to him, that I was selling all the gas powered tools & buying electric ones because they worked EVERY time you plugged them in...he just laughed and said yeah right, you'll just hire a yard boy! He's probably right, but we won't tell him!

Mom & dad stopped by the cabin on their way home from Branson to visit. I was telling them the weed eater story & Dad said that I needed to create a flag system so that if I needed Tom while he was on the tractor, I'd put the flag a certain way...of course that would mean the king would have to glance around the kingdom while riding on his chariot. I'm sure we can figure out something. Maybe we could hire a yard boy...oh wait...we have 2 sons! Well problem solved!

We had a nice time. Worked a lot, still a lot more to do, we're going to go again soon to mow everything again so the land will be smooth & cleared. You can see a few before & after shots above. Well...Until then....

Oliver

Friday night we attend Conway Dinner Theater's presentation of Oliver. We arrived early for a great dinner. The food was wonderful! We had a joke/bet on the way that it would be chicken or roast beef. Chicken won! Generally, we probably would not have attended the Conway Dinner Theater since we live in NLR, but we were invited to see someone we knew in the presentation. Tom's mom,Doris, a.k.a. Grammy, tried out for a part in the musical & got it. She did a great job. I got a few snap shots of her. I even got one of her drinking....I think it was gin! LOL! We're really proud of her adventurous spirit in trying new things. The musical was wonderful! If you get a chance, she's performing again next weekend. Give her a call, I bet she can get you tickets. It's a fun evening out!